I Am So Grateful for My Savior Jesus Christ.

WOW. Happy 2 months to me!!!!! TIME IS FLYING. But also it feels like I have been here forever!!! How does that even work? I don't know. But what I do know is that I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY SOOOOOOO MUCH. LIKE SERIOUSLY IT IS THE GREATEST CALLING IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD!!!!!! 

Well everything I told you about Sister Barbosa last week was false doctrine. She is actually from BRAZIL and speaks PORTUGUESE and she is BASICALLY THE GREATEST AND CUTEST LITTLE HUMAN BEING EVER. Ahh I seriously love her so much already. We have so much fun together!!! Get this..... I'M KILLING HER. For those of you who don't know missionary lingo that means that this is her last transfer.... So basically she is just full of knowledge and I am so excited to work with and learn from her!! She is just AMAZING!!!!

Thanks for the fun Easter stuff Mom

Okay funny story. So we have been preparing all of the recent converts of the last year to go to the temple!!! The temple trip was last Saturday and it went really well:) 5 recent converts went of 7 which is really good!!! They had such a great experience :) Okay now the funny part... This guy called Malcolm, he is in his 70's and super spacy and forgets I stuff really easily, but he has such a strong desire to do what is right. He always prays that he can forget his Catholic ways and remember the Mormon ways. haha I think I have told you a few stories about him? But we were talking to Bro Jest, the Ward Mission Leader, about how the temple went, and he just started laughing. we were like uhhh what? And he told us that no joke Malcolm dropped a few F bombs in the temple........ uhhhhhhh ahahahahahaha. We were dying laughing.

How come no one ever told me how loud I am all the time? hahah AGAIN someone told me this

Cool! A Soccer Game at Wembley Stadium.

week that I am the most "American" American they have ever met. hahahaha I don't mind:) It's just me! You probably all have the impression that I scream at people or something, but let me reassure that that is not the case. haha I just talk loud naturally...... As you all know....

You guys. I bought a bottle of sunscreen last week.... Uhhh my life. Hey at least everyone in England is really white too so I don't stick out as much. haha

Okay Shannon is basically the greatest ever. She has been a member for 1 week and has been meeting with the missionaries for only 1 month and guess how many times she has read the Book of Mormon.... Yup.....7 times. No joke. She is amazing!!!!

We got  a scary text from her last week... She sent a text to us at like 9 at night and said, "Are you sure I made the right choice to be baptized?" ....................... No worries we called her right away. 

She told us that she just found out that her family is disowning her because she got baptised. Her mom is NOT happy and doesn't want anything to do with her. She told us that she just talked to the Elders too and they made her feel better and she read some scriptures in Alma 38:3-5 that made her feel better as well. 

UMM WOW. SHE IS SO AMAZING HUH!!!

She's like, "I have my new family here at least. And I know that this is true. And I am not going to go back because my life has changed now for the better." 

Wow. That is all I can say, is wow. Talk about great faith eh? She has so much faith.

Yesterday, she was confirmed into the Church and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost!!! Which was great:) But then she was sitting by us in Sacrament Meeting and was super shaky, and said that she

Love my Easter Box from Mom

doesn't feel well at all. So we went into the bathroom with her and she said that her health is not doing well and she feels so sick right now. She has some kind of Blood disorder, problems with her heart, and she had eye surgery last week, and she is just super shaky today but said that she doesn't want to go home though because she will feel to guilty. I told her that she should get a priesthood blessing. She didn't know what that was, so we explained, but she kept saying, "No I'm fine, honestly, I will be fine! There are people out there who need it more than I do."

So selfless.

But she was not fine. So the next hour in Gospel Doctrine, she was sitting with the Elders in class, and I was with Sister Barbosa in a different room because she was not feeling well either.. sick to her stomach... so my two girls were both sick. I got to play #mamaranck.

The Elders sent us a text during the class and were like, Shannon is not doing well. She is shaking and stuff.... still. But she didn't want to receive a blessing. 

Sidewalk Chalk is So Much Fun.
Elders wanted an "N" but I don't know why?

Sister Barbosa wanted one, so we during the third hour of church, we went to a little room with the Elders and Shannon and one other guy, and Elder Cowan (Our new district leader, from Good 'ol Utah!) gave Sister Barbosa a blessing. We asked Shannon if she wanted one now and she said that she didn't quite understand a blessing still.

For the next 15 minutes we talked about the power of the priesthood, faith, and the atonement to help her understand more. That was one of the greatest spiritual experiences I have had so far on my mission. The Spirit was SOO strong as we talked about the priesthood and shared scriptures about miracles and trusting in God. We talked about how the atonement is for everyone. She kept saying that other people are worse off than her and she would be fine, but we helped her to see that the atonement really is for everyone single person. It is for you, and it is for me. 

Think about it this way, if Jesus is walking down the road and their is a person on both sides of him who both need help, but the person on the left needs in "more".... Who is going to help? Yup. Both of them.

By accepting and using the atonement, you are not taking away from anyone else. The atonement is for EVERYONE. EVERY DAY.

She finally agreed and received a beautiful blessing from God. 

The Spirit was so powerful as she received that blessing and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be there to witness the power of the priesthood.... The power of God. I have such a stronger testimony of the priesthood now. It is REAL. It is a REAL POWER. It is GOD's POWER. It is for EVERYONE. 

We called her this morning to see how she is doing, and she said she doesn't know how but she is feeling so much better. What a miracle.

Some days I realise how human I really am. 

We were talking to this guy the other day about Christ and this other guy joined in and said, "do you believe that Jesus died for our sins?" We said yes! Then he started laughing and said something like, "Then I can do whatever I want and still be saved!" And kept laughing and joking about it as we walked away.

Don't get me wrong it could have been much worse, but it was not funny. 

My heart broke as I thought about my Saviour. As I thought about the amount of love he STILL has for that man. Even though he makes fun of, ridicules, and laughs at him. Then I thought about all of the people in the world who do the same. It breaks my heart.

I thought about some scriptures from Isaiah 53:4-9.....

4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. For his selfless life and sacrifice for me, a sinner. Oh how I need Him every single day. This Easter season, ask yourself these questions....

How are your feelings about Christ?

Is Christ implanted in your heart?

Is Christ a part of you?

I leave you with a challenge as we prepare to hear the words of our prophets and apostles this Easter

Yep.  There is a McDonalds here.
Eating with Shannon and my Companion

Weekend. Pray to know what gift you can give to Christ this next month? What you can be doing better in your own life to more fully appreciate the sacrifice that he has done for YOU. Then, APPLY IT. Wear Christ on your heart. Do not be ashamed of him. Do not be ashamed of your testimony. Because there will come a day when every ear shall hear and every knee shall bow, and everyone shall know of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

I promise you that as you do this, you will feel closer to your Savior. You will feel closer to God. And your love for them and for those around you will grow. You will be much happier. 

"For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." 

I love you all. May each of us strive a little more to remember our Savior this Easter Season. And to LET OUR FAITH SHOW by who we are.

ONWARD AND UPWARD.

Sister Ranck