Week 45

Well this week was a busy one we did a lot of finding and I'm pretty
sure we biked up and down Swindon at least twice a day this week or at
least that's how it feels.

This week we went too Wotton under edge with our District to go
finding after District meeting, it's a town in the middle of the
Cotswolds so it's gorgeous as you could expect I took about a million
photos. We hiked up a minor part of the Cotswolds (big Freaking hill)
and we could see Wales so that was really cool.

This week we stopped by our Brazilian Investigators oh man they are so
fun but also awkward because we speak English and they speak
Portuguese and we both have our google translates out just going back
and forth with our broken Portuguese and there broken English for an
hour but hey we figured it out. I'm now a master at saying thank you
and good bye and that's about it but hey we still got three more weeks
of this transfer so maybe I'll pick up some more.

I forgot that riding a bike makes me look like I'm being abused by my
companions I have a constant supply of bruises up and down my body.
Don't ask me why they just keep appearing.
  
On Sunday we went to a less actives home and watched the women's
session with her and it was honestly just so great to be taught
something. I love the analogy of the oil in the lamp and that we need
to keep filling ours up along with sharing our oil. I feel like as a
missionary sometimes it just feels like I'm sharing my oil with
everyone and then caught running low myself. But by watching
conference and going to church and the little things like praying and
reading the scriptures helps put drops back into my own lamp. So
needless to say I am beyond excited for General conference this week.
Again I'm also Freaking out because last general conference was
literally just the other day and now it's here again so time just
feels like it's flying these days.

Life is good Swindon is pretty and my companions are a ball



Love,
Sister Talia Brown 🇬🇧
3 westonbirt house
21 woodcutters mews
SN25 4DP
Swindon
England

Week 44

Well needless to say I'm feeling 22 after this week of birthday
shenanigans. But for real though I'm pretty partied out.

So my companions told all our diner appointments this week that it was
my birthday so I had not one not two but five birthday cakes this week
haha so we had a pretty good time with members. I felt very loved.

On Thursday at district Meeting my district celebrated my last days of
being 21 and we did that by almost setting the chapel on fire.... Just
kidding one of the Elders made chicken adobo for my birthday and the
only thing he had to make at the chapel was the rice. So halfway
during our District meeting he remembered the rice and ran out of the
room we were all super confused and then the fire
alarm went off so we ran down to the kitchen to see the poor elder
fanning smoke out the window from his destroyed rice. We spent the
next few minutes running around like chickens with our heads cut off
trying to figure out how to turn off the fire alarm. We finally called
the bishop and got it sorted but us poor missionaries were pretty much
scared after that experience. The chapel is fine by the way the rice
is just a bit charred.

This week we had a lot of DTR's (define the relationship) with
Investigators, I'm so old I had no idea what that acronym meant till
this week. So our teaching pool is under some major construction but
it's ok we are saying good bye to those who aren't ready so we can say
hello to those who are ready for the gospel.

My companions are so sweet on my birthday they made me breakfast in
bed and we had a good time seeing our Investigators and seeing our
Less active we are working with. That night we ordered Chinese food
for diner and watched a church movie so it was pretty a pretty magical
day haha Also my companions got me a Swindon magic round about t-shirt
because that's what Swindon is famous for haha.

I'm starting to realise just how huge and a bit hilly Swindon is it's
a really nice place though it definitely looks like England which is a
big change to Boston sometimes I'll turn a corner and have a major
deja vu moment because Swindon looks so much like Gloucester.

Life is good though and I was able to have a very happy birthday.

Love,
Sister Talia Brown 🇬🇧
3 westonbirt house
21 woodcutters mews
SN25 4DP
Swindon
England

Week 43

Well on Tuesday I left my beloved Boston for my new area Swindon!

Transfers were only slightly traumatic but against all odds I've made
it to Swindon with my bike and all my crap. Navigating trains is
probably my least favourite past time in the world I think now.

I met my new companions Sister Gee and Sister Chenna. Sister Gee is
from Provo Utah and she is incredibly sweet she is in sister James
group so she has only been out for three months. So Swindon is still
her greenie area. She is so funny I don't think I've laughed this much
for a while. Sister Chenna is from Andhara Pradesh ,vishakapatnam
(India) haha she has been out for four months and she is adorable but
funny enough she has a wicked sense of humour like telling sister Gee
she is acting like a drunkard or that she is like a light bulb open
off open off. Oh my days between the two off them I just sit there and
pee my pants haha. Oh also out of the three of us I'm the one with
cooking skills so I've been putting my home making skills to the test
this week but I made curry and I got sister Chenna's stamp of
approval.

So I got to Swindon and we had a Baptism to plan for that Saturday
holy stressful! It wasn't our areas baptism either it was the other
teams but they got there area closed so we were given there
Investigator and four lessons to teach him and a baptism to plan for
him but he is seriously as good as gold such a sweet heart and he
kinda even looks like Santa haha. So sister Gee sister Chenna and I
put on our big girl skirts and planned a baptism in less then a week!
But it went beautifully the only hitch was that the font wouldn't fill
but after we made an ensemble line with buckets we filled that thing
right up!

Guess what else happened this week! I gotta see my mission mom
(trainer) Sister Vousden! She was already planning on coming up to
help her sister move and of course because we are missionary's we were
there helping her move too so it was nice being able to see her and
talk to her after like six months.

So I am no longer in a car and I've been put on a bike again oh my
days it's really sad because when I was a greenie I thought I worked
through the whole aching feet and muscles time of my life but after
being in a car for six months all my missionary muscles have turned to
mush so I'm back to square one which is a bit depressing but hey it
gets made up for by the wicked flat we live in that is only across the
street from Aldi!

Something else that blew my mind this week was the ward here in
Swindon they have a 120 active members it was a bit overwhelming to
see so many people at church! I couldn't believe how many youth and
primary they had as well it was so cool.

Anyway this week should be a bit less high speed now that we don't
have transfers or a baptism.

Week 42

Well cheers to the best last week in Boston! This week we had a multi
Zone Conference in Coventry and we got to hear from a seventy Elder
Massimo De Feo, it was so dang good I loved hearing from him he had a
lot of good insights but in all honestly it was just nice to be
spiritually uplifted. Funny that a missionary needs to be spiritually
uplifted but it's so true I really needed it especially with transfers
coming up. Also it's always a party when you get to see friends in the
mission! It's really sad a lot of my friends go home in the next
couple of transfers. But hey at least I getta see sister Romero until
the very end haha.

As expected I was worth the term totes emosh this week every time I
said good bye I felt like I was getting a punch to the gut. Something
I didn't expect on the mission was to never want to leave an area. I
was honestly hoping that I'd have tons of areas so I could see the
country but now I'm like uhh can I never ever move please... so ya but
something great happens when you leave people tell you how much they
love you and how they appreciate you so that was fantastic for the
good ol missionary self esteem haha.

Now for the grand conclusion to the Boston chapter of my mission.....
The smith mum and dad got Baptised!!! I think it was the greatest day
of my life in all honesty but I think I've had a couple of them now on
the mission. So that night we were driving back from Coventry but we
hadn't heard from the smiths so naturally we started freaking losing
our minds thinking they skipped town haha. But right before we turned
down there street they texted us letting us know they had just topped
up there phone bill and that they'd see us he next morning at 10.
Woooho all was well we met them that morning and had a wonderful
baptism service for them except when I gave the talk on baptism I made
the mistake of looking down at the mom who was balling so naturally I
cried all through my talk and yes it was the ugly cry. I loved being
able to be at the font with a towel and a hug waiting for the mum to
come out. Later talking to them that dad said I never realised how
heavy I felt before my baptism but coming out of the water he said it
was like he had shed the weight he had on his shoulders. The mum felt
the spirit so strongly she just kept saying how wonderfully peaceful
she felt. The next day was there confirmation in sacrament meeting and
the spirit was so strong it was amazing. Again I balled my eyes out so
much this week that I gave myself a big headache haha I think from
dehydration.

So ya later I got the call that I'm moving! So sad! But hey I
was pretty ready for it. So I'm moving to Swindon! Funny story about
Swindon we actually have some history. My greenie area was meant to be
Swindon with Sister Vousden. the night she got her dodge call was that
she would be training in Swindon but her Sister and Brother in law are
the ward mission leader in that ward so they had to change our area to
Gloucester so it looks like the Lord really wants me to serve in
Swindon haha. And guess what he wants even more for me to be in
another bloody trio!
So ya nothing but adventures this next Transfer.

Love,
Sister Talia Brown 🇬🇧
68, Norfolk St
Boston
PE21 9HQ
England