February 1st, 2017

I'm sorry that this email is going to be so short but I am currently in the Epsom hospital A&E with Elder Dey. So back story. There is this place in our area called box hill and it has a fun hike on it and it was raining so we thought it would be fun to go muddy hiking. Well we were just at the end and Elder Dey was in front and there was a little downhill part right before an uphill part so as he was hopping down the hill he slipped and fell. Naturally I laughed really hard and then he stayed on the ground. He then sat down and said that something was wrong and he has a bad cut. Turns out he fell right where there was a broken bottle and he sliced open his knee pretty bad. So we are waiting and have no clue what's wrong but hopefully by the end of this email we will have it figured out.

He is okay! He just had to get 8 stitches..... Here is my weekly update

Elder Dey and I are doing great and loving our companionship. We were able to run a zone training together with the sister training leaders that went from 10am to 8:30pm. Yeah it was killer but quite fun and Elder Day and I were able to come up with a lot of fun ideas. It was a zone interview day with the President and we had one district come in at a time and while president was interviewing one companionship we would be running a 30 minutes workshop. When the companionship being interviewed was done they came and joined the workshop and one companionship left. We had 3 workshops and just keep running through them all day. I was so tired by the end of it and then we had our interviews which were great and then me, Elder Dey, and the STLs had dinner with president and went through a leadership training with him. I loved all the practical teaching applications he gave us. I also loved being able to work with the zone. There is so much diversity in our zone as well. Out of the 22 there are only 4 Americans. It's makes it quite funny and everyone knows that they can be themselves so we laugh a lot. 

Most of the new investigators we have gotten in the past few weeks have dropped us. We are still working with Paul but he is going to be a slow going journey. He comes to church every week and most people think he's a member but he just doesn't see the need to be baptized yet. Hanifa is doing well although we weren't able to see her this last week but we are seeing her Saturday. We are excited to use some of the new tools that President Gubler has taught us yesterday to find and retain new people though.

The new schedule is so nice. It makes the evenings so much more relaxed and focused on accounting with the Lord at night and it's gives me plenty of time to write in my journal. I also like mornings better. Elder Dey and I go to the chapel and play ping pong every morning. All in all it just gives us a lot more freedom and I love that.

The weather here has been rain rain and more rain. To be honest though I don't even notice that it's a rainy day anymore. The rain doesn't change anything people do in England so it doesn't change anything we do haha it think it's rained more days then it has not rained on my mission. 

I've loved being able to work with all of them so closely and it has helped me to learn how different people are and how every one needs to be ministered to differently. People give and receive messages of love, encouragement, correction, and appreciation so differently. I have been working on identifying how people give and receive those messages and then trying to do the best I can to adapt myself to the person to show them that I care about them and want to help them. For some people it's pure listening. Some it's talking a lot. Some like opinions and some don't. Some people like to receive written cards or cookies haha. And some people don't care what it is as long as you're just with them. It's cool because the more I've been learning about how to treat other people the more I've learned about myself and what I like and don't like. That cliche saying "you learn something new everyday" is my life at the moment. All the the way from learning cool doctrine to learning how to talk to someone. I love it. 

January 18th, 2017

I've been doing a lot of learning about looking back to learn from the future as well. One of the keys to faith is remembering. I'm reading in 1 Nephi at the moment and Nephi is constantly telling his brothers to remember how great the Lord has been. When we remember and learn from our past it help us to learn and move forward! When we doubt, the first step is to remember. Then we gain a hope for the future and then we act on that hope. I've actually being doing a lot of study and pondering on faith. It's the first principle of the gospel and it's so powerful. It leads to all other principles.

Life this week was good! Me and Elder Dey are having tons of fun together and both of us have a really upbeat and positive attitudes which makes the work so much more fun. Our goal is to beat the assistants in key indicators and on Friday we were working hard and having loads of fun talking to everyone we saw and because of it we got 4 new investigators. It's been a good change of pace. Paul is still progressing but things are going to be a bit slower with him.

The two of us really get along and I love working with him. Something great - we had the opportunity to have a mission zone conference in Crawley with 5 zones. Me and Elder Dey planned an hour long breakout session with our zone. We started by doing a really fun object lesson where each group had 25 balloons and in 10 minutes they had to see who could build the tallest structure. The mission president came in right as we started and we told him if he wants to stay he has to participate... his group won haha it was a great time and the zone conference as a whole was awesome! One of the biggest take aways was about faith. I've been thinking a lot about faith and what it means to me and I've come to the conclusion, which I'm sure will change as I grow as it always does, is that faith is an abiding trust in God. It's me saying I know that what you want me to do is best, so I'll do it an put away what want. I've seen that when I have a question and I want revelation from God I have to trust him before an answer will come, or before I find someone who will be baptised I have to trust him that he has prepared people and that my efforts aren't wasted. It's all about trust. And as I just trust and let go of my set back, what ever the outcome is I always have this rock solid sense of peace that can't leave me. Right now I feel like no matter what happens to me I can't lose this sense of peace because it's a peace that comes from God.

January 11th, 2017

This week has been pretty eventful! I got a new companion, Elder Dey, who is from North Carolina. He has been out a year and he seems like a really good companion. We also had MLC and there was a way cool change that happened throughout the whole world with our missionary schedule. It's a bit hard to explain but essentially we no longer have a strict structure to our morning routine. We can now study, exercise, and prepare for the day in what ever order we want. Also we plan in the mornings too so our evenings have nothing and we can now choose to go to bed at 9:30 or 10:30 which is so nice. It may not seem very cool to you but it's huge for us haha

Paul is gone. He moved back up North and is living with his family who sorta talked him out of baptism. He said one day he might get back into it but for now he is going to leave it. I was pretty crushed about that but I know the Lord has him on a path. We did pick up some new people. Hanifa, who we have taught twice now and then Paul(2) who is the husband of a member in our ward who was recently reactivated by the sister missionaries but Paul(2) wants the Elders to teach him! We're pretty excited. Me and Elder Dey have set good transfers goals one of them being to beat the APs in key indicators but also we really want to get into out of the box finding again like I did in Plymouth and Salisbury. So that's pretty much my life right now.

Funny sorry. We were our way back from a district meeting at the temple and I was on exchange with Elder Ribero who is an office Elder. We were about half way there when out of no where I got hit in the stomach with that all too familiar stomach pain that I get when I have mad diarrhea. I wasn't sure what to do so I decided to try and man up and see if the pain would pass. That thought quickly left my head when I got more shooting pains in my stomach so I frantically asked Elder Ribero if he could pull over at the next petrol station. The sisters were in the back just dying of laughter (Sister Manage is from Sri Lanka and Sister Cassidy is from Scotland and they're super funny) and it was making me laugh which made everything hurt more. So we pulled up to the petrol station and I got out and waddle/run to the toilets and Elder Ribero chased me. I got to the bathroom and there was an out of order sign on the male toilets with a maintenance man there. I instantly was filled with fear and looked at the girls bathroom but then Elder Ribero showed me there were disabled toilets. The best part of this story is while I was exploding in the toilets Elder Ribero was talking to the maintenance man and got his number and a return appointment haha just goes to show you can be a missionary in any situation!

Something I have really been focusing on this past week or two is giving everything to God not worrying about the outcomes. Using a prayer journal has helped a lot to communicate with Him. There were some things that I really didn't know what to do and I was trying to get Heavenly Father to tell me what to do but I wasn't getting anything and I learned that revelation comes when we are completely willing to do what God wants over what we want. It's so difficult to do but being on a mission helps so much. It's kind of like an incubator for spiritual growth. I am so grateful to be here.

December 14th, 2016

The week! 

So a lot happened this week. We had MLC which was a lot of fun and it was good to see a lot of my old mission buddies. Seeing Elder Foster who is now a zone leader was fun. I tried to bring some things to the council that I thought would be good next steps for the mission but many people didn't agree. I had a mini revelation during that time that God will not necessarily give people the best thing but he will give them what they need at that time. Tying this into my Old Testament studies it's like how God gave the children of Israel the law of Moses even though the best info is the law of consecration. The people couldn't handle it as a whole so he had to give them what they could handle at the time. This is he great thing about revelation and why it is so important to not only follow our leaders revelation but to constantly seek for our own. 

Good events that happened this week was I passed my driving test!!!!! I was really nervous when I went into the testing centre but as soon as I got into the car I felt calm. That was up until I thought I caused an accident haha so he told me to turn into this super tight road that was a two way but there were cars parked in both sides so only one car at a time could go through and I was driving and almost got to the end when another car turned in and started coming towards me. I was almost out so they stopped and I stopped to wait for them to get out of the way. Instead of going backwards this other car tried to go forwards and squeeze into a gap in between a car and a big metal garbage bin the size of a truck to the right of me.  She didn't have enough space though because I was there and so she turned really sharply and crashed into the metal bin. I then got super nervous and backed up cuz I thought it was my fault then she tried to back up but she was stuck against this bin and while reversing she scraped the side of her car super bad and I think she took off her door mirror. When there was enough space I drove away without checking to see what happened because I was in the middle of the test and had no clue what to do. After that I was sure I failed but I asked him about it when we were done and he said it was her fault haha English drivers are ruthless. 

Regarding Paul he had some things come up this last weekend so we had to push his baptism to next week but he is still on date and all is well. I really hope Satan doesn't get the best of him this last week though. He has been working on Paul really hard.

Going back to personal revelation. Something cool that I've learned and have been trying to apply this week is accounting to God every evening for the works of the day then asking him what my next step is for tomorrow. It has been super helpful to review my day in personal prayer and then ask Heavenly Father what I can focus on tomorrow to help myself grow and repent. Then I can account the next thing, go over my day, and see how I improved in that one thing. It's helped me feel fulfilled as I have been making daily measurable improvements even if they are sometimes quite small. It's also helped me receive daily revelation as I ask God what I can focus in for the next day. Another important thing I do is write down the revelation I receive and make sure I work on it.

November 30th, 2016

This week has been full of change! So first of all we had some training and what a great time that was. So we planned it all around finding yourself. We set up 3 different workshops and had missionaries bring 3 items or pictures that describe themselves. In the first workshop we got into small groups and talked for 3 minutes about each item and how they relate to us. The second workshop was all about coming up with ways to implement ourselves into the work. So we got into small groups again and discussed different ways to implement our personal talents, skills, hobbies, interest, etc. into finding, teaching and fellow-shipping. Lastly, we did role play where we more practically applied what we discussed to specific situations. It was super fun! We also had some great presentations that brought the Spirit. All in all it was a fun and educational zone training that ran smoothly so we were well chuffed!

     Moves happened yesterday and we had 8 people change which is sad because they were all good friends but the new ones seem pretty cool. One of them just came from Trowbridge and I'm excited to talk to him all about my first area.

     Paul is still on date although he hasn't been to church in a few weeks. It's not lame excuses though. He had very legit reasons and he was really sad that he couldn't make it but we have still been meeting and it's been going great. We teach him over Skype a lot which means we can teach him more often. He has his baptismal interview this Sunday and the 3 of us are going to the mission president's house for dinner and then he will have the interview there and the baptism will be on the 11th.

      The area of Epsom has been good. We've been finding people and all that but I think I've been getting a bit bored of the same routine and it's been getting sooooo cold!! It was -4 c today which was killer especially with the icy wind. It's definitely feeling like winter. Not so much Christmas yet though. It's rare to see a house with logs on it although the city centres in most cities here have lit up so that's nice.

    Another reason it doesn't feel like Christmas is because there was no thanksgiving! It's pretty weird because to be honest I forgot it was thanksgiving especially because it was zone training that day. But I'm definitely grateful I am here!

     I'm finished the Book of Mormon for the 3rd time I think since in my mission. My new goal is to finish all the standard works in the next 8 months. By my calculations it will take me around 92 hours if I read the BoM again. We'll see how it goes. The Old Testament is so boring and I'm 60 odd pages into it and there has been so many weird things. It made sense why most Mormons haven't read it haha I love the last chapter in Moroni in the last few verses how he bears testimony of Christ and His atonement in such a profound, yet simple way. It reminds me of the testimonies that the prophets and apostles give. They are so simple and powerful. We can talk about all these gospel things for ever and ever but at the end of the day it is all about Christ. Through Him all of it is made possible and through Him we can do all things.

Ps I have my theory test for my English drivers license tomorRow so pray for me!!

November 2nd, 2016

This week has been pretty eventful! So on Friday we had specialized zone training. This is the one that President Gubler and the assistants are in charge of and me and Elder Persicke don't have to do anything. Or so we thought. So the zone training was in Crawley which is a 45 min drive from us so we woke up at 6 to get ready and on the road early and at about 6:45 Elder Persicke realized that we had no clue who was going to make lunch for the whole zone... we made a frantic call to the assistants and asked if they set up for someone to make lunch. They laughed and said nope that's your responsibility. So we panicked a bit and then on the drive there I made a plan to make Chilli for everyone. There were 27 people there and I only had £20 in my wallet so we went to Asda and got as much food as we could buy for £20 then frantically went to the Crawley Elders' flat and made 2 massive pots of chilli and then we bought loads of day old bread rolls and the cheapest tortilla chips we could find haha but it was good and everyone liked haha

The zone training itself was amazing and we talked all about why we do missionary work. President taught us the doctrine of the answers to the 4 questions of the soul. Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? And who am I? We especially focused on "who am I" and learning the doctrine of the noble and great ones and what that means and the amazing potential we have. When we know who we are and what our potential is it changes our perspective on life and it changes what we do. 

We then had exchange with the assistants and it was really cool as I got to be with Elder Tunnicliffe who is from York and is a very good friend and we had some great chats and were able to help each other with different things we were working on. 

I love the friends I have made on the mission. Life long bonds of friendship come when you serve together as a missionary because the work you do is so hard and you are so focused on loving the Lord that it just becomes so easy to love those around you starting with the missionaries you serve with. 

Paul the guy we were teaching dropped us on Saturday after teaching him the Law of chastity. It was in of the most spiritual teaches of my mission but after he sent us a huge message and said he doesn't think he can change who he is and he can't live the law of chastity. We were pretty sad but the next day he said he felt like something was missing so we had another teach last night and the spirit was so strong and we got him back. It taught me the importance of the spirit in teaching and how it doesn't matter what we say or how we explain things. As long as the spirit is there then he will touch people's hearts and begin the change within them. He continues to change me. 

October 26th, 2016

This week was full of new things. I forgot how overwhelming going to a new ward is and learning a hundred people's names in 3 hours. It's nice though because I don't have to figure out the area. The ward seems really nice but people in this side of country are so busy because it's so expensive. Someone who lives in the M25 would pay 200 thousand for a flat the size of our kitchen. The area here is about an hour away from the temple and about an hour away from Central London so it has a ton of people. It's not like inner city but because it's so close to London there's a lot of people and the neighbourhoods are super rich. There are so many posh people and I've never seen so many super cars just casually driving around. Something really cool that we can do in the eastern zones is bring people to the temple to the visitors centre. I got super lucky and on Thursday we got to take an investigator named Paul to the temple. The Spirit of the Temple is so strong and tangible and he definitely felt it. We sat in front of the Christus and talked about the Saviour and what He has done for us. We then asked him what his next step would be to come closer to Christ and he said Baptism!! We set a date for the 19th! God is so good. The last two days was pretty long as a lot of our appointments flogged so we went finding all day both days and got no new investigators or lessons, so that was a bit rough. 

The good thing is me and Elder Persicke are like brothers. We fight and argue but love each other and have so much fun. We both came to the conclusion that we are both usually the leaders of our companionships so it's going to be hard for us not to argue about things. But we both know when we are wrong and we admit it. And we never hold grudges. We are so similar though so we fight a lot.

We had a guy almost call the cops on us. We were knocking and it was getting a bit late and we knocked on a door and the guy was a bit mad and said we shouldn't be doing this and we told him we are just missionaries. He then said he didn't care and we need to stop because it's dark and we could be burglars. So we just walked over to the next and he chased us down and started shouting at us. Me and Persicke both just started laughing and told him it's not illegal we have talked to cops and then he shouted that he didn't care and spew should leave. Anyways after about 2 minutes of us getting shouted out and threatened to get the cops called on us we decided we should just leave and not cause a fuss.
I read a super cool talk in studies today called "willing to submit" by Neal a Maxwell. It was so good. If you get some spare time check it out. Of not here's a sweet quote "For the faithful, what finally emerges is an understanding of “things as they really are” (Jacob 4:13), such as the reassuring realization that we are in the Lord’s hands! But, brothers and sisters, we were never really anywhere else! Demonstrating this great attitude is our beloved and submissive brother, Bruce R. McConkie.  “Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God?” (Morm 5:23) Likewise, “all flesh” (D&C 101:16, Moses 6:32) and “the heavens and the earth” (D&C 67:2)! Perhaps the realization of being in God’s hands comes fully only as we ponder the significance of the prints in the hands of our submissive Savior. (See 3 Ne. 11:14–15.) Some will have to ask what those wounds are, having been estranged. (See D&C 45:51–52.) These are they who “regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands.” (2 Ne. 15:12)   The more we study, pray, and ponder the awesome Atonement, the more we are willing to acknowledge that we are in His and the Father’s hands. Let us ponder, therefore, these final things."
I love that and love knowing that He has me. Even though things suck sometimes and we may lose faith and not feel his hands or at least recognize them, He has us. I love it!

My first haircut on my mission from someone that's not me haha super cool member here

their sweet dog