Week 54

I’m moving on! Transfers has come and gone and I’m moving to a place called Stamford!  I’ve been there a few times in the past when I was serving in Boston and I think it’s the prettiest place in England I’ve ever been too so needless to say I am pretty pumped to be going there! 

This week was a hard last one in Swindon I spent most of it being sick and having back problems. But on Sunday we were able to go to stake conference and we were able to hear from one of the area seventy. The whole conference was about the Atonement or at least that is what I took out of it the most, and I absolutely loved it. I loved hearing about starting over and becoming clean. I feel like I make dumb decisions all the time and that I am constantly having to wipe the slate clean and start over, that is why I am so incredibly grateful for the Atonement because of our Saviour we can actually wipe the slate clean and we can actually start over. I’ve been thinking about the Atonement a lot lately because with Transfers I can move to a new area put away my mistakes from the last area and try to do things better this time. I think also with New Years we all feel that same way the hope of starting new and making goals and plans. But something that I’m learning more and more is that I need to repent now and be the change that I wanna see today not tomorrownot the first of the month or the first of the year but now. I’ve learned I’m a bit of a procrastinator and I’m realising more and more that time goes quick and if I don’t try my best today I might not get another chance later.

I’m grateful that I’ve been able to serve in Swindon even if it’s the shortest I’ve ever stayed anywhere I’ve met people who have made me better and I have had some of my greatest companions here. Hopefully I’ve helped the area in a way but it has definitely helped me.

Love,
Sister Talia Brown 🇬🇧

3 westonbirt house

21 woodcutters mews

SN25 4DP

Swindon 

Englan

Week 53

I'm not trunkie but I did have my trunkie meeting this week! Woot woot
this good looking group of kids are going home in 6 months.  In my
mission they hold a self reliance meeting six months before we go home
so we had ours. Sister Cho and I left our companions in good Ol
Gloucester and left at 6am for Birmingham so it was a day spent on
trains the mission home and eating some proper Asian food with my
proper Asian friend. All in all it went pretty good they basically
reminded us that when we go home not everyday is Pday and that we
actually need to get jobs and have lives so that was a rude awakening.
But hey I still got six months to figure it all out so I've got time.

It was so good going to Gloucester they had a relief society activity
and I was able to see all my people that took care of me as a greenie
so that was a magical experience. I definitely felt loved which I
really needed to feel.

This week we have Transfers so we will see what happens!

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

Week 52

One year down six months to go!! Woooohoooo! So this week as you can
see from my subject line I have been on the mission for 12 months! To
be honest I can't be bothered to write an email this week which is
kinda lame because it's my year mark. But this week was full of
missionary work and interviews and exchanges and poppy appeal and
curry. So it was a happy week and I'm looking forward to the next 26
weeks of mission life to come.

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

Week 51

Well I've just about done it! On Wednesday I will have been out on my
mission for a whole year woohoo I did it! Praise the Lord! Let me tell
ya nothing this last year went anything like I thought it would but
you know what that's ok because I have met so many people who have
left an impact on me and I am so grateful for that I'm also grateful
for all the many disappointments and the plans that definitely didn't
go according to plan because they have shaped me and taught me things
and I'm excited to see what will happen in these last six months!
Because after that I'm coming home! Woot woot! I'm not trunkie just
excited for this milestone to happen! I'm a bit proud that I can say
I've done this for a whole year but any ways on to the stuff that made
up this week!

So this November I've come to realise that the Poppy's that we wear
back home are bigger deal over here leading up to Remembrance Day and
I've got to say I think England wears it best. There are literally
poppies growing out of people's ears here the streets are being
painted with poppies and it's been really cool to be a part of it. As
missionaries we have been volunteering our time during the week to
help with the poppy appeal but it's actually been a bit harder then I
thought I originally thought oh this will be fun we will sit in a
booth for a few hrs and people will buy poppies. But because we are
acting as volunteers we aren't allowed to proselyte and a lot of
people who come and talk to us about the poppies have been affected by
loss in some way and it was really frustrating to not be like hey you
are going to see your family again and here is how!! call me!! Sister
Chenna and I are going to try and figure out a better way to be able
to get across the point that we are missionaries with a life changing
message for these people in a none proselyting way.

So far on my mission while biking I've had zero flat tires and in a
car I had one. This week I got two flat tires in a row and the first
one happened at quite possibly the worst possible time. We were biking Tuesday
morning to get to the train station to get to Zone Conference
and we were trying to catch the 6:45 train. But only a few blocks from
our flat my tire went completely flat I suspect it was from shattered
glass on the pavement left over from someone's Halloween festivities.
Because we had no time we had to lock our bikes to a dodgey pole and
start running until we found a bus stop that could take us the rest of
the way. By the time we got to the platform we were both almost
coughing up our lungs but we caught the train just in time and still
managed to totally beat the elders there so that's all that matters
haha.

On Halloween we had to be in our flat by six so we decided to make use
of some of that time by decorating our flat for Christmas! We cracked
open a couple of Terry's chocolate oranges played all the Christmas
music we had between us and went to town on our tree with Christmas
decorations we bought at Poundland the day before. So needless to say
things are looking very merry and bright at our little flat at 3
Westonbirt house.

It was Guy Fawkes night in short it marks the day that Guy
Fawkes tried to blow up the parliament building, keyword he tried they
took Guy Fawkes to a bonfire and through him in to it. to show that
you don't mess with parliament in this country. Naturally this has
become an English holiday now where leading up to that day they have
fireworks and bonfires and will through a fake person into the flames.
All in good fun though! Didn't have a chance to go to any bonfire
parties because we are trying to serve the Lord and obey our curfew
but we could definitely hear the party happening... every night....
the whole week...

While walking this week I found the greatest representation of England
in a car. It's both patriotic and accurate in size haha. I also found
an ape in the park that's pretty much all for this week.

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

Week 50

This week was honestly a blur but as you can see from the photos we
celebrated Halloween. I also ate more Indian food but might I add that I
ate it Indian Style (with my hands) and I only embarrassed myself a
little bit.

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

Week 49

First week with out Sister Gee and thankfully Nobody died! The only
struggle was navigating on a bike everyday I miss the garmin I had in
Boston! But hey we only got lost once.

Sister Chenna has been dieing to take us to a proper Indian food
restaurant so we decided to treat ourselves and go eat the real deal
Indian food. Sister Chenna chose everything I ate she was so excited
to eat it and honestly it was so dang good!

We were visiting the guy we met last week and he showed us his Native
American collection. Something kinda funny here I noticed is how much
people love the Native American culture it's so fascinating to them
but maybe it's the same for people in North America looking at people
from Egypt so much culture but you don't really ever getta meet them
in your own land. He was so excited when I told him I grew up next to
the mosses lake reservation. Naturally we took pictures with his
Native knife collection. He also gave me a rock that is shaped like an
amazing creature that is going extinct and I'd be lucky to ever see
one in person.... it's called a Buffalo hahaha I blew his mind again
when I told him back in Canada I have seen not one not two but many
buffalo at a time.

It's been getting a whole lot damper and colder and rainier out I
think I've acclimatised because I'm Freaking cold all the time even
though it's still above 10 degrees and I know I've been a whole lot
for colder at home so I think a year of living here as finally got to
me.

We had a second hurricane come into town this one was so windy which
was terrifying while biking but we still survived although we suffered
some minimal eye damage. (crap blowing into our eyes)

This week the Elders come to Swindon so Sister Chenna and I won't be
alone anymore so that should be exciting.

All in all it was a good week we've been trying our best to get things
moving and also just being happy while doing it.


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

Week 48

So apparently England gets hurricanes? I'm more inland so it's just a
ton of wind but ya people are freaking out about the weather.

This week we got our transfer dodge... and I'm staying in Swindon for
another transfer! But the trio life is coming to an end sadly sister
Gee is leaving us for Derby but sister Chenna and I are staying
together so that will be good! Just sad that we have no more trio
life! Sister Chenna and I have decided that we are going to eat an
Indian diet which is basically vegetarian but with curry so I'm pretty
pumped for it she keeps telling me that we are gonna feel so much
better after this Transfer but I'm not so sure because it's starting
to get colder outside which means primarily our dinner appointments
are going to be roast dinners.. which is basically the opposite of
vegetarian.

So this week we got a referral so we biked to the bottom of Swindon
(1hr later) to meet this old man who joined the church in 1989 and
hasn't been able to go to church in the last 18 years but he has been
reading the Book of Mormon everyday watching general conference and
studying church material. And then on Sunday he came to church for the
first time it was so cool! He said it blew his mind that there was so
many people because when he first joined there was only 25.

This week we went on exchanges which wasn't to exciting except we
found some cool people that we are excited to follow up with this
week.

So in England proper sized apples grow from trees... not little crap
crab apples that are painful to eat but Freaking huge apples called
Brambly apples and they are so good I'm so proud of the fact that I
was walking saw this massive thing on a tree picked it and ate it!

The work in Swindon is slow but life is still good.




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