Defending the Sister Missionaries
Here is our miracle today. Francesca Sherit was originally a member of the Church of England but didn’t enjoy hearing about how God was "angry and hated her" (her words). Well, she had some unfortunate experiences in her church that made her leave and know that it wasn't right for her. She studied some religions in school but never came across the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). She said that God however had other plans in the form of a quiet voice in the back of her mind asking "Are you ready to return?" (but how and where?). Each time she said No and refused because she wasn’t ready. Then she moved to North Shields right by one of our churches but feared it because she had read some outlandish and crazy things on-line about the church. Well one of her neighbors sent two young missionaries over to her house and she became interested. She has been investigating and coming to church and all activities for over a year. Several times she wondered if she should consider joining the church, but had not received a confirming feeling. Then two weeks ago she received her answer. As she was attending an open house at the church with the sister missionaries, two people came into the church and began to profane and belittle the sister missionaries. Francesca could not stand for it and began to vigorously defend the sisters and the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ they taught. At that moment, the Spirit confirmed to her that the Church of Jesus Christ was true. She wanted to be baptized right away. Her baptism was held today, September 23, 2023. She is spiritually strong and faithful (also very fearful of submersion in water -- but she had the strength to go through with the baptism of immersion because of her strong desire to be a member of Christ's church).
We are constantly amazed at how the small and simple things can lead to great things. One of our favorite scriptures from the Book of Mormon is Alma 37:6 --
"... behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..."
This last week Elder Pentz, one of our Zone Leaders and a great cowboy wrote the following:
"Good morning Elders and Sisters as I've been studying and pondering the new mission standards we received at Zone Conference this question came to mind: if I can't do the small and simple things how can I expect great things to be brought to pass? It made me wonder if the Lord can trust me to do his work or if there's a few things I can work on or repent of."
"Repentance is the key to avoiding misery inflicted by traps of the adversary. The Lord does not expect perfection from us at this point in our eternal progression. But He does expect us to become increasingly pure. Daily repentance is the pathway to purity, and purity brings power. Personal purity can make us powerful tools in the hands of God. Our repentance—our purity—will empower us to help in the gathering of Israel." Russell M. Nelson
Here is the song we shared at our Fall Institute kick-off social on Thursday. Small Things by Leah Campbell:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixiU9Q4qBBE
Institute 2023-2024 Opening Social
We were delighted to have over 40 young adults attend our institute opening social. (This was a combined group of students from the Ashington Institute with students from the Gateshead institute). It was fun for Elder Betteridge to make our 9-square game black-light responsive. All loved it and the giggles and laughter filled our hearts with joy.
Mohan Chukka turns 25
We have written about Mohan who is from India and is studying business in England. We had written about him in the past when we took him to the temple in March of this year. He invited us over for some VERY SPICEY Indian food. He brought Sister Betteridge and me a sweetened yogurt drink to take the edge off the hot taste in our mouths. It was a fun time as we gathered with his friends to celebrate. He is pictured below in the red sweat shirt.
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