I Rode a Double Decker Bus For the First Time....It Was Rad Sauce!

Whats up home skillets?!?

I hope you are all doing well! Its fun to hear about your adventurous week with the scouting and cabin and such. Tell Tallin happy birthday for me!

So this week for me has been pretty alright. The work has been a bit slow lately, but some good things are happening. Earlier this week I got to go back to Picadilli in Machester and I rode a double decker bus for the first time! It was rad sauce. We then went to a big multi-zone conference and that was fun and spiritual as always. I got to see a lot of my close MTC friends again, and we had a mighty fine reunion. At the end of it, since a lot of missionaries were going home this transfer, they each gave their farewell testimonies. It just made me realize...wow, missions really do end. I got to live it up here while I can! Mission time is so strange...it goes by slow when I want it to, but goes by so fast when I dont! But overall, im still loving it here in the UK.

Also this week, we had another exchange. I stayed in Wrexham again, but Elder Ostler came down, our Zone Leader. We had a flippin fun time! He is just like me, and we spent a lot of our free time talking about music (he was in some bands back at home) and we pretty much have identical taste. Even... Flight of the Conchords. Late into the night, we were busting out and singing the greatest hits of Germane and Brett! Everything but Business Time. We also got to do a service for a part member family in the ward. The dad does not go to church, but he is from liverpool and he loves music and just joking around with us. He had some bad experiences with missionaries in the past, but we have definitely befriended him and he is opening up a lot! So together, we basically built a shed from scratch! It was refreshing to get my hands on some tools and get covered in sawdust and create something. So that was pretty much all we did in our short exchange, but I learned a lot of advice from Elder Ostler, and I'm sad that I wont end up serving with him because he's leaving next transfer! However, we righteously partied on while it lasted.

This week had some flippin crazy weather. One minute bright blue skies, the next minute, ferocious hail storm. Haha it always keeps us on our toes, and its no wonder why British people always talk about the weather. Oh yeah, I also saw a super crazy drunk man slamming his neighbors windows with a shovel. It was in the sketchy part of town, and we were knocking just a few doors down, and it was quite interesting. The whole street came out, and we were kinda stuck in the middle of it. We got out as fast as we could amongst the 'Bible Bashers, Bible Bashers!!!' There is some major opposition here. All the athiests just think they are so smart, and they think that we are unintelligent sheep, and there is definitely a turning tide against all religion here.

But...something really really great happened on Saturday. We were walking down the street and on the opposite side I saw a mother with 3 little children. In my mind I just thought 'that would just be amazing to have one of those missionary moments where she comes over and talks to us'...and guess what....it happened exactly how i envisioned it! With her and her children holding hands, they crossed the busy road and very excitedly started talking to us! Or trying to talk to us...she was Polish and knew very little english, but she kept saying 'missionaries'. After trying to talk for a bit, she just got frustrated so she lead us all the way to her house in a very run down part of the area. As we approached, we saw that all the rest of her family and friends were outside having a mini bbq. Her husband came out and he could speak a lot more English so it was easier to communicate. All the while, everyone was so happy to see us and friendly! We all talked for a bit, and i tried to throw in as much Polish as I knew, not much other than 'my name is...' and hello and good bye. We found out that the wife, Yola, had met missionaries before in Poland, and they recently moved here, and she wants us to teach her Engish!! I have no idea how to even begin teaching a foreign language speaker English, but I am very up to the challenge, and its actually something that interested me ever since I got here. This whole experience was amazing, and the happiness of the kids and everyone else there, even in their poverish state, was incredibly refreshing. I cant wait to keep on going with this adventure.

I love you all, and miss you all everyday, but I am so happy to be out here. This is my time to serve, and I am growing closer and closer to my Heavenly Father everyday. Well till next time, peace out and keep on with the excellent times! K Bye!

Elder Goodman

BA

p.s. something very very very sad happened......the package with your music came......but it was destroyed and the flashdrive was gone. It was heartbreaking. There is a special place reserved for you MUSIC THEIF! I tried contacting the mail service but they are stupid and it seems impossible to even get a refund or whatever. So...can you please send me something again? I will make you cookies when I come back. Thanks, much love!