1 Corinthians 13:11

I have found one of my favourite scriptures in the Bible! On Saturday we had a Mission Leadership Conference in London and talked about how we can best help the missionaries in this mission. We came across the topic of remembering who we are. Everyday we put on a name tag representing our Saviour Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 13:11 this is Paul writing and says, " When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." I think this is how I am hopefully starting to become the man God knows I can become. 

I have never had so many meetings in a week then this past week. Everyday we had to travel somewhere else to go give a training or go to a district meeting just to see how everyone is doing. We somehow found some time to meet some amazing people. I met this woman last week who said that she has met missionaries a month prior but they have not contacted her yet. So we are seeing her and her family this coming week! Then a few minutes later I met another woman from Dubai that said she met missionaries a few months ago and wasn't interested then but she agreed this time as she knows that the family is really important to the church. We are seeing her and her new family this week as well. 

I am really excited for general conference this coming week. Six months has passed so fast and I can remember how amazing it was. I don't think the Prophet and Apostles said anything different but I think I put on my spiritual ears to listen. I invite all of you to put on those same ears so the Spirit may guide and direct your life. 

I just had some real english food and fun little fact. English people say pasta but instead of saying it like we do they say it like we say past and add an A after haha. We were talking about it at dinner and they were making fun of my American accent. I guess it is not as strong as others but it is still there. Hopefully that will change! I don't have too much time but I hope you all have a great week and hope this week treats you well. 

Love,

Elder David

Peace and Quite

I am loving here in Norwich! On Wednesday I met my companion and Wednesday and we took a 5 hour drive to my new home for the next period of time! I can not explain to you how much I love having a car again. It makes life so much easier! 

Not too much has gone on this week and I am having to adjust missionary work up here. I feel as if I am in a completely different country! The ward is full of English people which is something new for me. We have our own house and it is just the two of us in the house so no other missionaries. This will be the first time being just us two all the time and no other missionaries. I wasn't sure how I would do with that but it makes it a lot easier when you enjoy your companion. That was my biggest worry before coming out on a mission. Not being able to get along with a companion but I think my attitude has changed. It doesn't matter who they are, you can still love them. And if that is difficult then you have to serve them until you love them. And if that doesn't work just fake it until you make it. I have not had a companion so far that I have not liked. They will be friends for life and we all have great memories. 

We are teaching the wonderful family who is planning on being baptised in April. They are from Congo and are so funny. Last night we watched the Joseph Smith movie titled, "Prophet of the Restoration," It was a really good experience and they loved to see the life of Joseph Smith. I had the strongest feeling last night that what we were sharing with them that it was true and they felt it as well. I love the Holy Ghost and being able to have those feelings confirmed by the Spirit. 

Before I came on my mission I did not really enjoy reading. I could not sit down and read a book. This has drastically changed. I have found to love reading and especially to read the scriptures that we have been given. When you study them, there is so much knowledge and information. As we learn in Doctrine and Covenants that "The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth." We are asked to gain all righteous knowledge we can so it can be to much advantage in the world to come. We all know that as we pass on from this life to the next we do not start over. It is a continuation in spirit until we receive our resurrected bodies. We keep all knowledge we have gained in this life. We keep all habits we have formed in this life and we will be brought before the Lord to be judged according to how we lived this life. What a wonderful time to prepare.  Increase your knowledge of the Gospel. Read books written by past Prophets and Apostles and as you do so your understanding of light and truth will begin to increase until we can become like our Father in Heaven. "The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint- heirs with Christ; If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Romans 8 16-17. I know, as the scripture in the bible states, that we can be heirs of everything God has as we obey His commandments and continue to gain righteous knowledge. I know that the fullness of what God wants us to know has been restored and it is only found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am thankful to know that God has called a prophet on the earth today as He has in times of old. I am so thankful to know that the authority to perform sacred ordinances have been restored after the long promised apostasy foretold by the prophet Amos saying, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and from to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." I am thankful to know the Plan of Salvation. The answers to questions like; Where did I come from? Why am I here? And where am I going after this life? I am really happy right now in my life!

I love you all and hope you have a great week as you increase your knowledge in the gospel. 

Love,

Elder David

NEW ADVENTURE

Good Morning Everyone!

So yesterday was Moves Calls Day and I found out where and what I will be doing for the next 6 weeks. So here is the news.... I .... am.....  LEAVING LONDON! I am the new Zone Leader up in Norwich! About 3-4 hours north of London! I am now going to be in the country side of England starting tomorrow. I was so surprised when I got the call from President Jordan yesterday because I thought I was staying and Elder Adriano was leaving because he has been here for 6 months now. But nope! I am finally kicked out of London and will have a car to drive around the country side. My new companion is from Germany and his name is Elder Vogel! I am excited for this new experience.

This past week we had a missionary experience. So Elder Adriano and I were sitting on a bench in the park and struck up a conversation with a woman walking buy who spoke Portuguese. So Elder Adriano is talking to her in the language and I am trying my best to follow along and all of a sudden we see this drunk man running across the park toward us who is yelling and cursing at us in Portuguese. So obviously this scared off the woman we were talking to and this drunk man says in slurred English,  "It is time to leave." Then walked away. So we were just annoyed at his stupidity and continued to talk to others in the park. Then a minute later he runs back at us with a beer in his hand and dumps it all over us. We are now soaked with beer and the people in the park could not believe what had just happened. It took every fiber of my being not do something I would regret to this drunk man. Elder Adriano and I just stood up and walked away and as we were walking away he started chasing us again with another opened can of alcohol and now with his dog chasing after us. We out ran them both and went to a members home who was close by. It was so crazy and as Elder Adriano and I look back we just laugh and say, "Yep we are definitely missionaries." We did not have time to go change back at the flat so we had to go to our appointments smelling like beer and then having to quickly explain why. It was awkward at first because the people we were teaching all looked puzzled of why we wreaked of alcohol. 

On Friday we had a whole day of service. We painted this woman whole flat and re arranged her furniture. Then later on in the day we went and did some yard work for a member in the ward. It was the first time not being in a suit in like 2-3 months and it felt really weird. I didn't like the feeling honestly but I did like the yard work part. I know that my Dad will never let me forget that sentence as I return home haha. Service really opens peoples hearts. While we were doing landscaping, the member had a friend over and she came out back to request our service for her own home. We agreed and then she sat around for the lesson that we shared the member family. We will soon be teaching her. Or Elder Adriano and his new companion will be. 

I have had a great time in London and serving in this ward and will miss them so much! But I am excited for what is to come!

Have a great week and keep studying the scriptures. Take a self evaluation of yourself everyday and see if you are becoming more like the Saviour.

Love,

Elder David

Home Court Advantage

I was thinking this week about how important families are to God's plan for us. Really the family is the best place where we can apply gospel principles. There is trust, love, and support. We can feel love, peace, and joy more fully in a positive family environment when founded on the gospel doctrine and principles.

 

As many of you know I will be going to Utah State when I get back home. Utah State is known for its home court advantage and it has the best advantage in the Mid west! It is so loud in the dome that people of the opposing team have a hard time focusing and even hearing one another play. When on the other hand the Utah State Aggies are used to this. They play here often and know how to operate under such conditions.

 

I would like to compare this to how we have this advantage in our homes!! We see in these times that the family is being attacked. It is being manipulated and that is making it hard to fortify our homes to protect us from these things but it is possible. If we make our homes hard for the opponent (Satan) then we can experience the joy of winning the game and receive the reward of eternal life.

 

If we read our scriptures, pray and do family home evening, we can make it impossible for the opponent to score any points against us. I challenge you to talk together with your family tonight and think of ways that you can increase your home court advantage. As you prayerfully do so, you will receive revelation on how to keep or recommit your family to walking on the straight and narrow path that leads to God. DO IT AND YOU'RE COOL!

 

This was a good week and we are having a lot of success finding prepared people but the best part is that we had a member want us to come teach her friend. They are both from the Philippines and are so nice! During the lesson the woman we were teaching started crying because the presence of the Holy Ghost was so strong and the words being shared touched her in way we may never know. We are seeing her again on Thursday!

 

Last night we had a music performance in Hayes for a future missionary fireside. All the young men and woman who were preparing to serve the Lord were there and we were singing for them and doing a question and answer about things they wanted to know before they got in the mission field. It was a really good night and it made me think of Dalton! It is so cool he is going to Panama City! What a perfect place.

 

Today we rode bikes around London and went to some museums and ate some good pub food. Good day. I hope you all have a great week and I will talk to you soon!

 

Love,

Elder David

I thought this was a funny.

Importance of Having a Ward Family

I have really learned am important lesson this last week when it comes to church and having a ward family. It was quite an amazing experience and I am thankful I am able to learn from it and share it with you this week.

I have seen a direct correlation between coming to church(keeping the Sabbath day holy) and spiritual strength through revelation. This was our main focus for the people we were teaching this week. 

Throughout the week Elder Adriano and I worked really hard on getting the people we were meeting to church. We were arranging rides, wake up calls, and even travelling across town to go pick them up. We were really prepared for Sunday and felt like we did everything in our power so that it would work out. We called them nights in advance and the night before to make sure everything was okay and if we could help in any other way. By the end of Saturday night it looked like we were about to have 12 new people come to church. We were so excited. We fell asleep feeling really good Saturday night. Then Sunday came. 

We wake up Sunday morning to do the wake up calls that they have asked for and their phones are either off, on silent, or they are just not waking up to the ring. We then said to ourselves, "They are probably busy getting ready." We leave to go pick up our friends and get to the door and stand there knocking and waiting for about 15 minutes and by that time it began to look apparent that they are not awake. We were sad of course but then thought, "Hey we have a lot more people we have to look forward to." So we go to church to be surprised with no one that we invited be there. We then started to call them and as they one by one answered they said something came up. Both Elder Adriano and I both were wondering why and how this was happening. We did not understand. Everything was set up perfectly and still it did not work. The ward members were excited to meet these people as well and as they asked us where they were they could sense the disappointment we were feeling. Immediately they began to comfort us and console us with compliments and words that personally really touched my heart. The Bishop later pulled us aside and told us of a similar experience he had on his mission. He was so kind and his words helped us to lift our heads and keep pressing forward. I am thankful for the kindness of those who spoke to us because it truly did strengthen us. 

It was quite a frustrating experience for us but because of the ward members and their help we were able to be strengthened. I know that coming to church is a commandment that God has given us so we may draw closer to Him but I also know that church is here so we may strengthen our brothers and sisters. I love the ward I am serving in. 

In times where we are going through trials it is easy to not go to church or to blame God for the things happening in our lives. We know that sometimes life is not as easy as we would like it to be but God has instituted, through His prophets, ways we can receive help and guidance. Church is one of those ways. Getting to know those at church is essential to experiencing these uplifting moments. How can we expect to help others or have others help us if we do not know them in the first place. It takes trust and care to open up to someone and to be the friend everyone is in need of.  After we are baptised we take upon ourselves the name of Christ and also covenant with God to bear one another's burdens. 

I challenge you this coming week, while at church, to reach out and let the spirit guide you to those who need the assistance only you can provide. 

It has been 8 months while on my mission and I am really enjoying this time to do the Lords work. I hope to be growing in every aspect of life. I had a dream last night of the day I come home and it was really powerful to see the change I saw in myself on that day. I am working hard so that change may take place.

As many of you know Dalton should be getting his mission call this week or the next. I am so proud of him and his decision to serve. My official guesses for him are: Germany, Russia, or France. How cool would it be if he got called to the England London Mission?! The only place I hope he doesn't go to is the London South Mission (we call them the Lamanites). It is all a joke but what an exciting time for him. 

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!! Talk to you soon.

Love,

Elder David