Church History Tour

Hello everyone! Greetings from Chester! (I am on exchange till thursday! I love exchanges) Wow it sounds like a lot is going on back at home... farewells, temple, broken foot, cute&loopy wisdom teeth video, and general family lovin and adventures. I love you all, and I miss you all, but I'm so glad that you are crazy supportive and loving towards me. Work is going great here, and i'll squeeze in as much as i can during the short time that i have here in this library that smells of old people and old books. 

So last tuesday I got to go on an incredible Church history tour! Half of the mission gathered together and our first stop was the Liverpool docks. My very first instinct was to just jump into the water. I am craving it, and every time I see the ocean, it brings back memories of beach camping. Luckily my beach-sickness was shortly lived after i hooked up with my missionary friends and we had an adventurous day. We looked around the Liverpool museum, and it had a lot of exhibits about the early emigrants in the 1800's and ship life and.....a lot of weapons! I think 90% of the pictures I took was of the old school pirate guns and primitive african bows and swords. It was was good. We then all boarded the coach and headed up to the River Ribble in Preston, to where the first british baptisms were. Again, more water, more of a temptation to jump in and swim. The park nearby was incredible, and we all lounged on the hills and had a mini devotional thing. I think i was more captivated by the beauty of my surroundings rather than the speakers though. I wish I could have spent all day there. We then headed up to a lovely little green hilly village of Downham, and ate lunch by yet another river. We then all gathered together in the old cathedral there, where the early missionaries once taught. The experience was incredible. The hymns that we sang in there filled the crazy-acoustic chapel, and it was truly powerful. Especially when we all belted out The Spirit of God. One of my favorites. Then the speakers spoke, which i actually listened to this time, and the spirit could be felt even more strongly. The meeting ended with the farewell testimonies of the old missionaries, which included my dear Finnish friend Elder Marijanen (Elder Marijuana as the members called him). Luckily, after the whole tour and after our very long coach ride back (the ride was beautiful by the way) i got to go on exchange with him! He filled me in on all his old missionary wisdom, and we just talked about music and cooked killer breakfast burritos.

Other than that, not much has happened out of the ordinary work. We have still been working with a lot of the chinese families, and I have even gotten to help make and eat some of the traditional chinese meals. This week I made sweet potato dumplings filled with oysters and weird chinese seaweed-leave stuff (weird texture, but the taste was alright), and i ate more weird traditional dishes, including strong smelling sea oysters, mini-whole fried fish, excellent garlic cucumbers and a soup of mysterious contents that i didnt have the courage to ask what was in it. It looked completely alien. Or maybe what comes out of an alien after he ate a meal.

Having been in the area for so long, basically all the little kids know me now, and I know all of them. Many times while we are traveling, we meet some of our mini friends along the way, and we play catch up games of football and ninja. I love it. I also know most of the rougher crowd as well. I lost track of how many times i have been offered weed and other drugs, and I have gotten really good at dodging rocks and other things thrown at me. There are some major rough places in Wrexham, but I am glad that i was born here. Haha it will just make a lot of the other areas seem so much nicer and posh. Oh yeah, tranfers are coming up!!!!!!!!!!!!! This saturday we will get the glorious transfer call, and I'm dead positive that I will be moved out. 6 months in wrexham, craziness!!! I am stoked to get out and be in a new fresh place. So just as a heads up, i wont be able to email until next thursday because of the transfer wednesday. Oh and if you are going to mail anything or any letters, please send them to the mission office until after i get settled in. Thanks!

Well that's about all the time that i have for now. i love you all, and I will keep you up to date on my adventures next week. Peace out!

Elder Goodman

aka BA

p.s. at night, our flat was filled with moths. So...i made a blowgun with a needle dart and have been hunting. That much hasnt changed

Chinese-ness

elder marijanen and I

model shot on the bridge over the River Ribble

devotional spot

The work of the breakfast ninja

Rad african masks

inner docks of Liverpool

Very sleepy travelers

Typical study lunch

happy chinese cooking

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A trip to the mission home, the best meal ever and a double decker bus.

Hello hello hello! I love and miss you all. A lot. x12. I think the more time that goes by on this mission, the more my appreciation and love grows for all you family and friends. You mean the world to me, and you are the biggest support group ever. So thank you! Keep on being bodacious. Oh yeah, thank you for the harmonica!!!!!!!! It made me so flippin happy. I dont really know how to play it yet, so im still in the major experimental phase. Everyday as a companionship, we have to read a few pages from the white handbook...so the harmonica has let me spice things up a bit. I beatbox into the harmonica and make a steezy rhythm and tune, then Elder Chong raps the words of the white handbook. Oh the life of missionary entertainment.

 

All is well in Wrexham Wales! Not gonna lie, it pretty much feels like home right now. I know the entire area like the back of my hand, and I know the entire ward like family and I'm pretty sure I've seen and smelt nearly every person in the town. That being said, I'm gettin itchy to move on. Even though im getting that stuck feeling, we are still seeing miracles! It definitley brightens up the work! So here's a recap of my last week:

 

We play quick neighborhood football matches every couple days. We mainly play against all the local tweens, and they kick my butt, but I am slowly getting better. I learned a couple of their footy tricks and I've gotten a couple of those "OOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" moments. We had a BBQ at the chapel, and we invited a handful of these kids and they showed up! It was way good to see them in the chapel, rather than doing drugs in the streets. We are trying to be the best positive influence on them as we can, and we can already see a lot of progress. I love them all, and its awesome to hear "Hey Elder Goodman!!!" when we randomly see them in town or on the streets. It is my hope that their hearts will be opened to missionaries in the future when the time is right.

 

Exchange with Elder Clark! He is from my MTC group, and he is a hardcore gun/knife/bow/redneck enthusiast from northern Utah. That being said, we got along very very well. It was way refreshing to connect with someone, Ron Swanson status, and to just talk about weapons and anything related to outdoors. It got us both a little home/adventure sick, but we overcame it and worked hard and met really funny drunk people on the bus ( "DONNA!!!! wake up babe! DONNA! I love you babe!" she was black out drunk). Elder Clark is a really good friend, even though he ate all of my precious Jaffa Cakes, and we made plans to go on outdoor expeditons together after the mish. I love exchanges!

 

We had a lunch appointment with a young, funny hipster couple out in their cottage home in the middle of the Welsh fields. Their entire home had funky artwork, vintage cameras, a sweet garden and pandora TV playing all the music that I love. I love the Bridgewaters, and even though they fed us a really organic meal that left me hungry 5 minutes later, I could totally see me and Heather in them. One day

 

I finally got to go to the mission home! There was a chinese planning meeting there that Elder Chong was a part of, so I got to tag along for a bit. The home is massive and beautiful (for Britain). When their meeting started, I teamed up with another tag-along elder, Elder De Ligne from Belguim, and we decided to go work (explore) the grand city of Manchester. We took the tram, walked a bit, jumped on some double decker buses (of course we sat in the very front up top. Its the closest thing to flying on the mission), and met some very interesting people. We ended up in Picadilly, which is just a huge mixing pot of different people, cultures, smells and shops. It was Elder De Ligne's birthday, so we stopped and treated ourselves to Subway and the LEGO store. That store is every kids dream. Pure Legos. Everywhere. Overall it was a good day with a lot of traveling, so it definitley eased my itchy feeling. For now!

 

So....yesterday I ate probably the best meal that I've ever eaten on my mission. For sure. We met a young Vietnamese man named Kevin, and he invited us over for tea! When we went over, there was a full spread of traditional ingredients around the kitchen, and we got to watch him cook! The end product was a bowl of flat rice noodles, beef, spring onions, chinese parsely, mint leaves, lime, and Sriracha sauce, all swimming in an ox tail broth. It was incredible! It was incredibly fresh and it smelled like heaven, and it warmed up my entire soul. Best meal award so far. Oh yeah, i'm getting pretty shnazzy at chopsticks now, thanks to all my new asian friends.

 

This entire week, we have been cycling hardcore. Its really tiring, but its allowed us to get so much more work done. Plus, its the closest feeling I can get to downhill longboarding. Lately, we have been getting home late and I'm always exhausted and I crave relaxation and sleep, but the thought always drifts into my mind "I am here to teach people...not to get back into my flat at 9:00". It pumps be back up, and gets me stoked to talk to more people. The mission is hard, I only really share the good things that happen, but I'm loving every second of it. I cant believe I've been here for over 5 months already. Time is truly flowing right by!

 

Well my lovely family, keep on keeping on, and I will see you again before we know it. I love you, and God be with you till we meet again. Peace out!

 

Elder Goodman

aka BA

 

p.s. I get to go on the Church History tour tomorrow!

p.s.s. There is a lot of cloud sauce today

 

 

 

 

A visit from the Apostles....

Hello there all you brochachos and miss ladies, I love you and miss you all! Thanks for all the emails, and it sounds like everyone is doing superb (scouse accent). I am so thankful that we have this metal box to communicate to eachother with, and it makes me happy everytime I read all your lovely words. So thank you! and thank you thank you thank you for that incredible music! You have no idea how happy it made me when I heard it. That cd has basically been on repeat the entire time i'm in the flat. Thank you for giving me a piece of home and saving my soul and sanity.

 

So this week has been an amazing adventure, both for "woah look at that!" to the "woah, I feel like a had a total spiritual reboot and upgrade".

 

So on tuesday, we had a really good zone meeting, even though most of my friends moved to different areas (lame). The highlight was probably when we all sang Joseph Smith's First Prayer together...and it rocked me to the core. You know that feeling when your body instantly gets cold all over and you get shivers down your spine, but then a warm swelling starts to burn in your heart? Well that's what happened, and I loved every bit of it. Later on that day, we got the spontaneous chance to go the pageant again! James Williams came and picked us up in the mini bus and we picked up some others as well and then headed up to chorley! Overall, I think I had an even better experience than the first time. I luckily got to hang out with Elder Caleira there, and after that glorious reunion, we got to watch the pageant together. Since we had to give up our seats for some investigators, we had to stand, but we got to stand pretty close to the stage. This allowed me to pick up more of the energy and the music and the clever behind the scenes actions of the show, and it was definitely another flood of spiritualness. I wish more than ever that you could have all joined me.

 

Thursday. Thursday was pretty much the highlight of my mission so far.

James picked us up early in the morning, stopped by a McDonalds, and then we were off to Manchester to see the beloved apostles. Every single missionary in the mission gathered together at the Man. South chapel, which was an amazing experience in itself. It has never happened before! There was so much missionary power underneath that roof. After all the hugs and reunions, President conducted and let us know how to basically behave ourselves when the apostles showed up. We all sat dead quiet for nearly 40 minutes, which was a time for us to spiritually prepare and relax and listen to the piano playing. It was incredibly calming. Eventually, president preston left the chapel, which we knew that it was the sign that the apostles arrived. We all arose in one accord, still dead silent, but my nerves were going crazy on the inside. Then...in walked the group. In single file, in walked Elder Nelson, his wife, Elder Holland and his wife, then the two other general authorites and their wives, Elders Keirnen and Evans. I was sitting on the outside of the bench, and they all walked right past me! I was so close! But I could seriously feel a change in the whole chapel as soon as they entered. There is an amazing spirit that just radiates off of them, and I could already tell, before even hearing them, that they were truly servants of the Lord.

It was even better hearing them in person. I cant possibly describe how it felt or all what I learned from them, but here are some highlights:

Elder Holland:

First off, he is the master at balancing "laugh your face off" moments, and "woah, this is intense" moments and even some "fist slamming into the podium and choked up voice" moments. He was just born to speak to people.

He mainly talked to us about the mission experience, but his words can be applied to our entire lives really. He urged us to "savor every moment, and to never waste an hour" and my favorite " Start right now, to create the stories that you will tell to your children, and your children's children, and even to their children." It was all very powerful, and I will remember that experience forever.

Elder Nelson:

The main thing that stuck out to me was his pure love for all of us, and his statement that " The Lord is moving people to the UK to meet you, and they probably dont even know it." The way he said it...it just felt like he had a personal conversation with the Lord himself. Well, he is an apostle. I wouldn't doubt it. The other thing he urged us to do, is to testify of the Father. People need to know him.

Overall, I have gained such a testimony that the Apostles are truly servants of the Lord, and that they speak words of pure truth. Sadly I didnt get to hug or even shake Elder Hollands hand, but I got to stand right next to him, and while he was on the stand...we had some serious eye contact. That was more than good enough for me. The thing that made this experience even more amazing was that it fulfilled some of my patriarchal blessing. I know that I am meant to be here.

 

So after that powerhouse thurday, I had some good mini adventures. We got to travel up to Liverpool for a baptism, and the journey was an adventure in itself! But I loved seeing the city and the rich culture and crazy architecture, and of course, I loved being in the Beatles birthplace. There is just such a unique vibe to this place and I love hearing all the scousers. I hope that you all can visit with me someday! So on the way home, we met a cool mongolian girl on the train, and she became our travel buddy. Heading back late into wrexham, there were a lot of drunk people on the train, and we ended up having to defend her from getting preyed on. Luckily there was no further conflict, but it did open up her trust towards us and we ended up having a lesson with her and leaving her with our details. Hopefully something happens! Oh yeah, also on the way back we were attacked by little chavs with water guns. They are so lucky I am in missionary mode. Other than that, work has been pretty good. We had 3 chinese families at church with us, and we are just working on ways we can integrate them with the ward. Its been hard and there has already been some conflicts, but we will find out a way that it will work. We just dont want to lose them after Elder Chong leaves.

 

Well that's about all I have time for right now, but its been good hearing from you all! i love you all, and I hope that you keep on having excellent times. May the work and the love flow on. Peace out!

 

Elder Goodman

aka BA

 

p.s. I'm going to go and pick up the package from the post office right after this. I dont know what it is yet, but thank you anyway!

"All actions should be motivated by love"

Hello there home skillets! Greetings from the land of trees and bad teeth! I love you all with 99% of my heart (the other 1% is reserved for cadbury's chocolate). It sounds like everyone is safe and doing well and it makes me happy to hear. Keep up with the excellent times. Live with no regrets! ( Random note. I actually met a really chubby shirtless man, and on his stomache, he had a big "NO REGRETS" tattoo....haha and it was only half finished. I think he regretted it.)

So everything is going great here! Here's the deets...

So on thursday, I got the opportunity to go to the British Pageant! We boarded the coach with our ward, and we all headed up to Chorley together to the temple grounds. I absolutely love the temple, and the Preston Temple definitely has a special place in my heart. So the grounds were packed with people, members, non members, and a lot of my fellow missionaries. It was so fun talking and having mini reunions with my dear friends, especially Elder Bahr and Elder Ostler! There were a lot of booths set up for activities and such, and a little area where a oldschool folk band was playing. It was amazing, and I flippin love the irish fiddle, flutes and bagpipes. The fresh celtic music made my whole soul happy. Later on, we gathered inside of the huge marquee and finally at 8:30, the pageant started! It was actually really really good, and had a lot of incredible music and dancing, all in the rad irish, welsh, scottish and english styles. The whole marquee was filled with such a unique spirit, and it was powerful. Bagpipes and welsh choirs may or may not have produced some manly tears. The story of the play was pretty informative as well, and I have already been hearing stories of non members going to the pageant and already wanting to get baptised and join our church. Miracles are happening everywhere! It was all way good, and guess what...I get to go again! We scored some tickets, and with the help of James William's mini bus, we are taking Heather and Ann there tomorrow. I'm stoked!

Oh yeah, mum guess what, I ate some crazy food! We were trying by some of the chinese families that we have met, and Lin Yun and her husband spontaneously invited us to join them for tea. However, they warned my that it was going to be a traditional chinese meal. Of course we accepted, we are missionaries and never turn down food. I was pumped, but once I saw the spread, I got a little anxious. They just kept bringing out bowls and bowls of funky looking and funky smelling stuff, but I just went for it and ate everything. So now, I can say that I have eaten chicken feet, pork stomache, crazy-chinese-veggies, a very rare chinese grass soup (with added chicken bones for flavor), lychee fruit, aloe vera juice, and a very traditional, chinese flower tea. It was a crazy experience, but I loved it and I loved soaking in their culture.

So we have shifted focus a bit in our finding, and we have been teaching a lot of the younger crowd recently. Haha we had "The Sermon of the Stoners". We were walking back to the flat, and we came across a large crowd of kids, and one of them had a skateboard! So I asked him if I could ride it. I think he was just amused that some dude dressed all fancy wanted to make a fool of himself, so he let me! I rolled around a bit, and then busted out some slides and ollies, and we instantly earned their respect. After that, we had like an hour long sermon with them, answering as many of their random, weed-related or even some deep questions! It was way good, and even though we probably wont see any of them converted, we have definitley opened up the doors to future missionaries. Good times!

The rest of the week was filled with traveling up to Ewloe for a district meeting (our district is so different now. I'm the last remaining original member, and its just not the same. There is too much robotic missionary and lame-sauceness. I miss Elder Caleira), traveling and working up in Rhyl, meeting and hanging out with a new family, Norman (welsh) Tom and Ice (thai with british accents) and Prai (the mother, full Thai), workind and meeting with a lot of random younger people on the streets and in the parks (we made a teenage girl cry yesterday, in a good way) and connecting with all the local community workers and becoming friends with all the neighborhood kids (we play football with them and they love us now. Some of them are trying to make me learn how to scooter. never). But its been good, and we are definitely busy with work. Working with my new, ultra busy companion is good, things are getting done, but sometimes I worry that the motives are for the numbers and for the sake of being busy. However, I am trying to stay as "quality over quantity" as much as I can. People simply know when you dont have your heart in it and your arent being sincere with them. The one thing that I am learning, and it could be applied to both missionary life and everyday life, is that "all actions should be motivated by love".That is how lasting personal and gospel relationships are made. 

Well my lovely family, I love you and I'm grateful for everything you do to support me. Keep on being the cool and loving people that you are, and always be well stocked of rad sauce. Next week I will tell you all about my hug (probably handshake) with Elder Holland and any other adventures that happen in the life of Elder Bryant Goodman, but for now, peace out! I'm off to go bike through the dark and gloomy rain. Enjoy the sun!

Elder Goodman

BA

p.s. I found a mini stonehenge. I dont know why, but it was exciting

Mini Stonehenge
Inside the Marquee
Chinese Meal