First District Leader Meeting. Juicy hug from President Preston. Working hard.

Hello hello hello! Holy cow, it sounds like everyone is having fun. Live it up! I love you and miss you all to bits, and happy birthday my father! You have no idea how grateful I am to be your son. We have been working our butts off here in Stafford, and we have been seeing amazing things happen. I am super drained, but its good to finally start seeing the results of hard work. So here's the deets!

On monday we had a really powerful lesson with Tony, and I think that I'm actually learning more than him at this point. But the whole man cave (the shed he lives in) was filled with a beautiful spirit, and Tony is definitely now a life-long friend. He wants to come to my wedding, and I'm going to try my best to go to his! After the lesson, we walked all the way to the train station to pick up Elders Schiona and Greaves, because they were to spend the night with us, PARTY ON! The night was way fun, and we didnt get a lot of sleep, but it was refreshing to just relax and tell jokes late into the night. In the morning, Elder Schiona and I woke up really early and caught a bright and early train up to Manchester for the all-day District Leaders Council Meeting. All the district leaders all showed up, and I finally got to see my dear friend Elder Caleira again! It seriously feel like I was reunited with my brother.

So the meeting was crazy good. I learned so much, and a huge emphasis was "what you learn here, and what you learn as you lead your fellow missionaries, will stick with you for the rest of your life.You are all chosen leaders, not just for the mission, but for life." It really struck me hard, so I opened up my ear holes extra big to hear and learn and feel and grow as much as I possibly could. However, the thing that remains the same throughout all the training is, the best leaders are the ones who are themselves and are real. Amen. No more evil robots.

So on wednesday....I lead my first district meeting!! I was nervous as flip at first, especially because President Preston sat in on it, but it all eased once I got started and just flowed on in a very Bryant Goodman style meeting. The theme of my meeting was "Serving from our Strengths". I thought it went really well, and funny, and there was beautiful spirit that could be felt as well, especially after singing the closing hymn. Side note: I absolutely love singing now, and I think singing everyday has given me good practice and I no longer completely sound like a dying racoon. After the meeting, President Preston came up and gave me a juicy man-hug and congratulated me on the meeting, and I felt the love, big time. After the meeting, me and the district chilled in the chapel and ate lunch together and quoted moonrise kingdom, fantastic mr fox and nacho libre. Good times. I love my district!!!!!

For the rest of the week, we worked and worked and worked. We have been hitting the streets hard, and have been tracting down a lot of the lost sheep. Many of them have chosen to remain lost, which is a bit sad, but along the way, we have found others who are prepared to hear the truth! We are now teaching a big black woman named Pauline, Sharon, Alfred Badger (rad name), random people near the skate park (I love skatepark contacting), and our newest miracle, Paul!!

About halfway through our Elders quoram lesson, Paul walked into the chapel and began browsing around. We went out and talked to him, and we found out he is just looking around for a good church to go to. So we invited him into the rest of the lesson, and we could really tell he felt a spirit and power and unity that he has never felt before. So after that, we got his details, and he is totally stoked to learn more from us and he even said he wanted to join our church!! It was amazing, and I have such a strong hope that he is going to go far. Our little branch could really use him.

So other than that, nothing too crazy has happened! We are still teaching a lot of our members, and I have especially fallen in love with one family in particular, the Sherrards. They have four little beautiful children and they all cling to me: Ellaiyna, Ismai, Jarom and Rowan. Just playing with them all and sharing their joy and love makes me so excited to be a father some day and have children of my own. One day. But for now, the work is moving on, and I love you all, and I'll keep you updated on the life and adventures of Elder Bryant Goodman next week! Peace out home skillets!

 

Elder Goodman

BA

 

p.s. I would love some new tunes.

p.s.s. Elder Hatch has been converted to making blow-guns, and we have competitions at night.

 

Secret pond we found

I have to pretend.

Blue Tie.

Traveling, Tracting and Teaching.

Whats up home skillets?! Greetings from the land of cloud sauce, bus rides and good chocolate! I love you all and I love your words and I love all your support. Thank you mom for sending the warm fuzzies....they make me feel.....warm and fuzzy. And congrats Tanner on the mustache. Fact: All great men have mustaches. Well everything is going pretty well here in this quiet and sleepy old town of Stafford. The lack of sun makes me perpetually tired, and my body is craving the Arizona heat. I never thought I would miss it this much! This week wasn't terribly exciting, but here it goes:

On monday, we had an incredible lesson with my new, recent convert friend Tony. He is a spiritual giant bursting with spirit juice. He is getting over his hard times, and his positive energy and hippie mentality is rubbing off on everybody. Love the Earth and everything in it and all that jazz. But he is way good, and I love teaching him as he is preparing himself for the Mel. Priesthood and temple. After the lesson, we had our traditional jam session, and it was good to get my fingers back on the strings again. I miss my music soooo bad. And it doesnt really help when there are a few amazing street performers rocking out in the town centre here. One of them looked just like trevor hall and was playing a rad didjeridoo (or however the heck you spell it). The UK is truly the land of good music.

Tuesday, we had a big ol' mission conference/skills workshop, that basically lasted all day in Manchester. It was really good to see a lot of my MTC mates again, but the sad thing is, a lot of them are falling into the trap of becoming super missionary robots with .07% personality or emotion. Its so lame. We are here to improve and progress...but not change who we are. There are people out there waiting for us personally, that's why we were called to the places that we are! But overall, the meeting was really good, and we recieved a lot of good training. Oh ya, me and Elder Holyoak (Jackson's cousin) met up and we clicked instantly became solid friends. There are so many random connections here its crazy.

Wednesday, we traveled up to the rural, out of the way town of Uttoxeter. I think its beautiful and quiet. We had a tea appointment with the Campbells, and I love them to death. Bro Campbell is a pure nerd and gamer at heart, but he is hilarious and loves hearing and speaking in a bunch of accents. Sis Campbell is much more proper, and is incredible at cookng. She made some bodacious lasagna and probably one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever had in my life. After tea, and after Bro Campbell showed us his vintage Nintendo collection, we all headed to Branch Council and had a really good discussion session. The branch has an amazing missionary energy, and I loved being able to be a part of the branch leadership and input all our foot-soldier missionary advice and direction. As long as this energy and vibe keeps on going, I can see great things happnening here in Stafford.

Apart from the service we offer to the members and less-actives, finding has been a bit rough. But we finally have an investigator! Her name is Sharon, and we found out that she spoke to the missionaries about 3 years ago. She has a large family, and has over 20 rabbits, and is really into mediums and human-to-spirit communications, and she believes she has been reincarnated to fulfil a god given purpose....which makes teaching very very interesting......but we are trying our best to channel her into the direction of the true gospel and allowing her to feel the Spirit as much as we can. Time will tell, but I have hope for her and her family.

So, those are pretty much the highlights. We have been working with a lot of members, and working the streets here in Stafford, and tracking down lost sheep up in Stone. Its been good, and even though not a lot has changed with my companions work ethics, I have been able to tolerate him more and find some laughs. I think by the time my mission is over, I will be able to handle nearly any kind of person. This is a mission renowned for people who need to learn or who are not be easily offended by people. It has some rough, anti-faith people, but it allows us to stretch ourselves and still show compassion and love towards them. As long as we are emulating the Saviour, we cant go wrong.

Well I love you all and I miss you all. This week I will be going to the mission-wide District Leaders Council, putting on a district meeting for my district and special guests: President Preston and maybe even the assistants (no pressure), and then dedicating all of the flats in my district (other than Elder Hatch, there are 5 sisters in my district. its quite different). I will keep you updated on all that, and on all the miracles as well! Till next time, peace out. 

Elder Goodman

aka BA

p.s. Sleep talking/walking companions are flippin hilarious  

represent. Welsh pride

Me

I found english Kona!!!!!!!!

Lady Magnet Hatch

pimp my ride

the town of Stone

Elder Hatch, Tony and I

Me, Elder Hatch and two of the sisters in the district, Sisters Hansen and Barney

Stafford nature

Rain, rain and plenty of it.

Hello my loved ones! It was a very long week and it felt extra long since I have heard from you all, but I am super grateful for your words! I love you and miss you all, especially since this week included meeting a lot of member families and showing them pictures of all of you for intros and such. Its not been easy, but hey...a mission isnt suppose to be a bucket of puppies. Luckily though, I have had some really good experiences this week! Oh yeah first off, my companion.

 

Elder Hatch came out in the same MTC district as me, and has been in Southport for the past 6 months. Elder Hatch is a born and raised bubble Utahian from Orem,you could tell just by looking at him, which definitley makes working with him both interesting and frustrating at the same time. He can be a very loud, disrespectful and somewhat obnoxious person. Sorry, im venting. A lot of the time, I feel like I am babysitting, and I have to constantly remind him to stop being lazy and to be proactive and to stop eating all my food, but luckily I love him. We have some good laughs, but I honestly feel like I am doing all of the work myself without any support. Its definitely tough, and there is still so much more work to do, but on the plus side...its a great learning experience. My patience has never been more greatly tested, neither has my compassion nor self-control. I feel myself becoming a more peaceful and independant person.

 

Well, thats about it for now about Elder Hatch! I want to talk about something happy. So before our zone meeting, we were chillin at the Stafford Train Station, and I spotted a man a little ways away from our platform. I usually dont have a crazy urge to go up and talk to random people (even though I'm a 'missionary' I am still kinda the same keep-to-myself person. I have to force myself to talk to a lot of people) but I went up to him quite naturally and we started talking. He is Jamaican!!! His name is Asten, and we kicked off an awesome conversation. It was very hippie-love-everybody talk, but we started talking about the Gospel a bit. After some basic belief talk, he welcomed us to come over sometime! We havent been able to make it yet, but I really really hope it works out. He has been in my prayers. I think the thing that really sealed the deal between him and I was our love for music and the positive force it can be. And of course, he is a hardcore Bob Marley fan. It was so refreshing. In the middle of the quiet train station, he started belting out some of the classic Marley hits, No Woman No Cry, Redemption Song, Buffalo Soldier, and even though I didnt have a rad Jamiacan accent like him, I joined along and sang too. It has probably been one of the bet mornings I have ever had on my mission so far!

 

Hmmm, so other random thing of my week:

 

We have been meeting a lot with a recent convert named Tony. He is amazing, and he has become a really good friend. He has been going through some really hard and heartaching times, but it was amazing to see how the priesthood blessing we gave him immediately enlightened his soul. He had never had a blessing of comfort before, and we thanked us with open arms and tears in his eyes. Once he recovered well, him and I kept up with the good vibes and we got out his guitar and had a little jam session. I love music and how it can bring people together!

 

Yesterday, in church I was able to give a 15 minute talk in sacrament meeting and then taught the Elders quarom lesson. I love teaching, and I love teaching while being in tune with the Spirit. It feels somewhat natural.

 

It has been raining like crazy!!! I have never seen so much rain in all my life. Nearly everyday it has poured down, and yesterday while walking to our tea appointment, a huge semi truck drove across a puddle next to us, and we were soaked with a tsunami of rain water. Lovely. But luckily, we soggily made it to tea, and got to air out a bit. Oh, another thing I have noticed is that....I have been craving and destroying eggs lately. It seemed weird to me, but then it clicked. There has been very minimal sun all week, so no vitamin D, but eggs are loaded with vitamin D right? By body is telling my what it needs. Thanks body, high five. You rock.

 

On Saturday, there was a member baptism at the church, which I got to go to. To my suprise, the whole Pierce family from Wrexham came, and it was like a big reunion! It seriously felt like I was seeing family again, and I was so happy. It make me only realize how happy I will be when I actually get to see you, my real family.

 

Well other than that, its just been a week full of finding and also getting to know a lot of the members, which are not a lot. Its been good, and I'm exciting to just keep on working in the area and also being able to help and serve those in my district. I find joy in the service, and I hope that I can be a postive influence to all those around me. I love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, and I love all of you and I thank you for all the support and love and bodaciousness that you share to me. Until next time, peace out home skillets!

 

Elder Goodman

aka BA

Moving into Stafford.

Hello hello hello!!! It hasnt been too long since the last chat, but luckily a lot has happened! But first off, thank you for all the lovely emails and words of love and support, they help keep me flowing and going. I love you! and can you believe its already been 6 months? That's crazy sauce. So anyways (nacho voice)....here's my little weekly update:

 

So while working in Stoke, my stoke level was quite high, Elder Hatch and I have been talking to a ton of people and getting some mighty fine referrals for the Stoke Elders. Miracle time: Elder Hatch and I were walking around the town and we came across a man raking some leaves in front of a church community center. He was wearing a Batman t-shirt, so naturally I had to compliment him, which began a good little conversation. We ended up offering our help to him but he kindly declined, but...he said we could try by his church just down the road to see if the others needed help. So we did. We found the church and knocked on the doors, and a young man opened up and welcomed us in with a warm "Hey Elders!". Inside was the Pastor, and 5 or six other men working and cleaning inside their chapel. We introduced ourselves a bit, and then asked if we could help in anyway. After a bit of hesitation, they agreed and we began to help them build some book shelves and other small wooden racks for their children's nursery. We just kept it casual and friendly, but then the Pastor asked the golden question of...What makes your church different from ours? Winner winner chicken dinner. This opened up into a whole 45 minute Restoration and Priesthood lesson. They stopped working, surrounded us with open ears, and their questions began to flow. With the spirit, we were able to answer every one of them in a passive but powerful way. Occasionally their Pastor would argue some of our beliefs with Bible references, but without getting confrontational or in anyway bashing, we were able to draw upon the Book of Mormon to clearify our faith and to resolve any questions they had. The spirit was so strong, and it was amazing to see all these good and faithful men have their eyes opened to the truth. I know that they were all dedicated to their specific church, but I could feel a new curiosity working inside of them. Hopefully they can continue to let this curiosity grow, and have the courage to call our number that we left with them. This gospel is for everyone, even those who are of different but respected faiths.

 

After some other good times in Stoke, I was able to go to my first District Leaders Council meeting up in Crewe. I loved being able to work with the other district and zone leaders in the Newcastle Zone, and I loved inputing my ideas and opinions to help our fellow missionaries and to keep progressing the work. (Side note: one of my zone leaders, Elder Walker, trained my good friend David Graham for track in BYU. The mission is full of crazy connections). Overall it was a way good meeting, but we got a suprising call on the way back. Our flat in Stafford was ready!! Elder Hatch and I were now to move out that Saturday night. So we got back to the Stoke flat, packed up our bags, and waited for the office elders to pick us up and take us to our new home. (hopefully I can attach some pics). Stoke was a good time, but it is now time to work and let the adventures begin here in Stafford.

 

Stafford is a very small and quiet town, and we still havent been able to explore too much of it. However, we were able to go to church yesterday and meet a lot of the members in the Stafford Branch! The branch has about 40 active members, and a lot of them are pretty ancient. I think if one of the men tripped and fell over, he would poof into a cloud of dust. But there are definitely some good, young and solid families. I was amazed at the difference of how reverant and powerful this branch was compared to Wrexham ward. Especially the priesthood. Instead of bickering and harrassing, there was a deep reverance and energy towards missionary work. It was way refreshing! Already we have been able to make a good appearance and gained a lot of their trust. They are incredible men, and I cant wait to work and become good friends with them. Later on Sunday night, we were invited over to the Mansfields for tea. They are a really educated and proper English family, and I felt like I had to enhance my vocabulary and polish up my manners while I was over. Haha it was pretty fun to pretend to be proper English. 

 

Well my family and friends, I love you all. This week I will be working really hard getting to know the people of this area and where everything is, but you are never forgotten. Its incredible how sharing my pictures and stories of you help bond me with others, and it is powerful to teach about how the gospel blesses families when it has greatly blessed mine. Take care of yourselves, and I cant wait to read your words next week. Peace out home-skillets!

 

Elder Goodman

aka BA

 

The New Flat:

The goodbyes in Wrexham:

Keighleys

 

Prices

 

Hortons

Off to new adventures. Meet your new District Leader.

Hello everyone! It seriously feels like forever since I have been able to talk to you all. I miss you and love you all so much. Things are going great (except my pen just exploded in my pocket as I walked into the library. Lame sauce). But yes....it is true......I have packed my bags and I am in a new land! My itchiness to travel has been relieved. So here's the story:

In the middle of one of our lessons with our recent convert Abi, we got a phone call from none other than President Preston. This was a big call. In his loving and excited english voice he said "Elder Goodman....are you ready for an adventure?!?" Flip yes I was! (not my actual words to him. I have to be a dignified missionary). So he told me that I was going to serve in Stafford.....and that I would be white-washing and opening it for elders (that is intense. new flat. no supplies. no knowledge where anything is. no connection to any ward members)....and I will be serving with my fellow MTC district missionary (Elder Hatch. This might be a bit like baby-sitting, but it will be a good mentoring experience)...and I will be District Leader! I was a bit shocked at first, but I'm stoked to step it up and work hard and serve my fellow missionaries with love.

Also, President was not done talking. Haha he told me that my flat is not ready in Stafford, they dont even have the keys yet. So, Elder Hatch and I had to find our way from the Transfer meeting in Manchester to Stoke-on-Trent. We will be staying with the Stoke Elders for about a week, so it will be a crazy 4-man flat experience. We have already been working in the area for a bit, and I just love the change. The only hard part is fulfilling my role as a District leader, when i'm not even settled in my own area. Its a bit strange, but I like strange. Being on the mission has especially helped me learn how to just roll with the punches and work hard while going with the flow. The best thing is to just look at the mission as a huge adventure. It makes it way fun.

There is so much more to tell of all my mini adventures. Unfortunately, too much for the time at hand. But I want you to know that I love you all, and my love for the gospel and simply helping people is growing everyday. In my last week in Wrexham, I had some very emotional good byes with a lot of the ward members . They seriously feel like family, and even I got some juicy grandma hugs and a lot of bro hugs. But the final message that I left to everyone was a simple but profound scripture message found in 2 Nephi 26:29-31. Charity. I will leave you to all read and ponder those verses for yourselves, but I have never felt more moved by any other scripture. This charity towards everyone is the fuel that is keeping me going, and it can affect everyone around us, from the little kid playing with slugs in the street, from the 14 year old chav who now has an open heart, and even to the older people who previously thought it was too late for hope. I now that this gospel is true, and that charity it the core of all happiness.

I will be able to talk and give you some more updates on monday, but peace out for now! I love you all

Elder Goodman

aka BA

p.s. yes...in case you were wondering....I did pack my bottles of Cholula and I did take them with me. Never alone