Elder Bryant Goodman: 4th week in Wales.

Hello my lovelies! There is so much love radiating from the computer and all your emails right now, its amazing. I feel incredibly lucky to be supported by you all! its quite inspiring! First off, thank you mum for the letter and the Ron Swanson quote...i was tempted to use it so many times. I miss you and love you, and even read your letter in a funny voice as you predicted. So this week and a half has been an adventure! Hopefully i can remember most of the things that went on. So last week we had a huge conference with everyone from my MTC group, and it was an amazing reunion! We are all really tight at this point, and we all look forward to serving with each other hopefully in the future. President Preston talked to us a lot, and he is one of the funniest and most loving people i have ever met. I dont know if i had said this before, but he is like the biggest, british teddy bear out there. He also told us a joke that almost made me die. 'What is the similarity between a small bird with no teeth and a missionary?................They both succeed (suck seed)!!' Haha yeah....I appreciate every joke I hear here.On Saturday, I had a pretty rad bike ride adventure. It was sunny outside, so we planned about an hour long bike ride to go visit a part member family north of Wrexham. We set up the appointment by phone and were off. Only a little after we started riding.....the clouds became swollen and started dumping rain on us. Oh ya, and the wind was not very pleasant at all. But we pushed on. We rode and took a path that lead through one of the most beautiful areas in Wales I've seen so far. It was so green, and it was through the hills and valleys and through tunnels of trees and vines. We soon approached a gnarly gnarly downhill rode.....and I so wished I had my longboard with me. It was the king of all hills, and Im pretty sure we broke the sound barrier as we sped down the hill. So that was mega fun and all, even with the rain, but then...we approaced the uphill. I think i cried one, internal manly tear. We pumped up the mega hill, and at the top, my legs felt like they were going to implode. Eventually we made it to the appointment, totally soaked, and right as we got there...the rain cleared up. Figures. And...the family forgot we were coming over, and they were just about to do some yardwork...so we worked another hour with them, ripped out a cemented-in playset, and got super dirty in our fancy clothes. But after, we had a lovely tea and lesson with them. Good times!We also got to have another tea appointment with Francais. He is funny and Nigerian. One of my goals this mission is to learn greetings and phrases from as many languages as possible. I already picked up some German, Polish, kinda Welsh, Chinese and now some Nigerian (Ig-Bo). Aman na ulo uka wu ezigbo ulo uka!!Another adventure, was our travel up to Ruthin, more north in Wales. It was breathtakingly beautiful and the pictures dont do it justice. We went up to meet with a referral, but we couldnt find her house, so we got to talk with all the locals and try to find our way around. It was fun! All the while, I soaked in the country and remnants of old walls and castles and day dreamed about someday backpacking here after my mission. It will happen! On the bus ride back, I talked with a man named John Thomas, probably the most english name I have ever heard, but he is a hardcore traveler and told me tips and info about everything about Wales and other European countries. He was a bit of a tour guide too, and he lives in Wrexham so I might go visit him!So...I am officially here for another transfer! Im pumped. Elder Coleman will be gone next tranfser for sure, but I hope I can stay here for the next two. I am getting to be good friends with the ward and locals. Tomorrow, I am going to help out old man Tony paint and clean out his old wood shop. It should be fun stuff, and a good excuse to wear some normal clothes for once.Well, I love you all, and I hope you are all doing well. May the force be with you. Amen. Elder GoodmanBA

Ruthin, and a wee castle

Almost Ruthin

Walking the streets of Ruthin