Hello friends!
It's midnight here and I should probably be going to sleep so I will make this short! I'm sorry I haven't written for the past couple of days. It has been complete madness. And I did put a bunch of pictures on Facebook so that counts for something!!
Since it's fast sunday I've had the chance to reflect upon the week and all the things that I'm grateful for. I absolutely love it here. I feel like me and London are meant to be. We are made for each other. This city knows me so well! I've only been here for a couple days but I honestly feel like I've lived here for years, that's how wonderful it is. The week before I departed I was up every night stressing out and worrying about how it would be. I was so scared for no reason at all about making friends, and budgeting money, and doing homework. Don't get me wrong, I was excited too. I don't want to sound ungrateful or anything:-)
But now I'm realizing that fear was ridiculous. The homework is sometimes a lot but I think I can manage, everything is expensive but I'm learning how to budget, and the people are absolutely amazing. I already feel comfortable with almost every person here. They are all just as excited as I am and just as willing to go out and get lost in the city.
I've also discovered that my alone time is something I value more than anything. I love every second I spend with my new friends but my favorite day so far is actually one I spent alone. I decided to go walk around Hyde Park, which is literally right across the street from where I live. I listened to music and took pictures and watched the people who were there for the royal wedding. Even though I was alone in a strange city I felt completely at peace. I found this beautiful little bench by the pond that was dedicated to an author whose works I haven't read but for that moment I felt connected to him. I wrote briefly in my journal then sat and read for a while and was just in heaven. Eventually my peace was broken by a Nigerian man who had decided to come talk to me. At first I was a little annoyed, all I wanted to do was read, but it actually ended up being a great experience. He asked me what I was doing in London and I told him about the BYU study abroad program. We talked about Shakespeare for a bit and then we ended up discussing religion for a good three hours. We stayed on that bench until it began to get dark then we went our separate ways, both the better for having met. To me, that's what traveling is about. It's stepping out of your comfort zone and having experiences that surprise you. While my first instinct was to get up and find a new bench, I stayed and very quickly felt at peace again talking to my new friend. He shared some of his thoughts, we debated a few issues, then we both talked about how we still believe that there are miracles on this Earth. I shared my testimony of Christ and the Book of Mormon, which is something I don't do often enough, and by some miracle he didn't think I was crazy for doing it. Just the opposite actually. He considers himself to be a very spiritual man who is also rational and has been jumping around from church to church trying to figure out what works for him. When I left the park I wasn't sure if I'd ever see this man again. I told him I'd be at church at 1 o clock on sunday and he told me he'd try to make it but was probably too busy.
Lo and behold he was there. I nearly fell out of my seat during our testimony meeting today when I saw a small, out of place figure approaching the stands. Miracle of miracles, it was my friend! He got up and talked about how he enjoyed the spirit of our church and how he had met some of it's members recently who were able to answer some of his questions. He talked about how he thought Joseph Smith was a brave man for sharing his dreams with the world. He didn't seem judgmental or put-off by the story of the first-vision, but instead said said that he'd began to read the Book of Mormon and found it interesting. After the meeting I went up and shook his hand. I smiled and thanked him for coming then brought him to the missionaries who took him through the next two meetings. He had initially only planned on staying for sacrament meeting so it was great to see him again after priesthood. He has such a sweet spirit and such an intelligent and eager mind. Seriously, that man is educated and I honestly felt intimidated by him at times, though he listened to my opinions respectfully.
I don't know how he will progress or where his path will take him. He made plans to meet with the missionaries again on wednesday. They are supposed to call me to see if I can sit in on their discussions and hopefully everything goes well. I know that sometimes these things fall through and I am prepared for that. I sincerely hope that he recognizes that what he is looking for is in the LDS church. Nothing would make me happier than to meet with him again on Wednesday, but for the moment I am content with what I have already been given. I feel so blessed to have had the experience of meeting this interesting man.
Well, there about a billion other stories I could tell you from this first week but hopefully a picture is worth a thousand words because I don't have time! Haha, I just re-read this post and saw that at the beginning I promised to make it short. Sorry 'bout that!! Oh well. Good night!
This is the bench where I sat and spoke to that man. Definitely a new favorite spot. I'll be going there to read as often as possible from now on :-)
Also, these are some pictures from Portobello road and of some of the girls in my group. I had the best belgian waffle of my life on this day :-)
