Post Christmas Hangover and New Investigators

Heyo everyone, long time no talk. It was so good to see everyone's bodacious face once again! Even though Tate's teeth are finally growing in and Tallin has metal on his mouth bones and Randi looks like a sunbleached mexican and Tanner has hair on his...face.....everyone pretty much looks the same and I feel I haven't missed too much, and I am stoked to get back into the family flow again. I miss you all.

This week ended off brilliantly. Here are the quick post-christmas deets:

We are making major progress with our two friends John Raven and Serafim. John even picked up Serafim for church on Sunday! It was a double dip as far as investigators go. They are such good friends with us now, and I hope that I can see them baptized before I go. They are so close.

Ok, for more of the food-venture= One night, our friends Saroosh and Mo spontaneously called us and told us to meet them. So we did...and they took us to the newly opened Greek/Mediterranean restaurant in town. It was...incredible. Mum, this is for you. Gourmet lemonade, tomato based chicken liver and greek salad and pita starters, followed by platters of lamb shoulder, greek potatoes, diced herb beef, swordfish skewers, and bowls of char-grilled vegetables, ending off with the always delicious sticky toffee pudding and lemon glaze sponge cake and fresh icecream. By far, one of the best meals I have ever had on my mission, and the price tag was almost as impressive as our friends' generosity.

On a more spiritual note, we had a little miracle happen. We got a referral from mormon.org, named Matthew, so we went over and delivered a Book of Mormon. That was about the extent of the visit, but the next day at church...he totally showed up on his own! He is 19, and is genuinely and independently looking for the truth. His long bus ride to the chapel was proof of that. He said that this was his favorite church he has ever been too, and even invited himself next Sunday! Heavenly Father is definitely looking over the people in this area, and I can see Matthew going far.

Other than that...life has just been good. Even though it's been freezing and covered in ice, we are continuing to work and to have adventures. I want to leave England with no regrets.

I love you all, stay classy, and I will see you at the airport soon. Till then,

peace

Elder BA

Missionary Style Christmas

Hello Hello Hello! Merry Christmas from across the sea. 

Life is sweet, and I love all you hooligans.

This week has been pretty majestic, and the Christmas vibes in the flat are getting pumped! We had a deep Jesus the Christ group study this morning, next to our fireplace and our beautiful Christmas branch, then cleaned the flat, while listening to our traditional and epic "Spirit of the Glen" bagpipes cd.....quite majestically. It may sound lame, but...we are having good times here. I will definitely miss the missionary style Christmas though. Instead of hanging out at a large member

family's home this year, we have decided to spend it with some of the single members of the ward. So on Christmas, I will be at our big ol' Romanian friend, Andrei's flat for when we Skype. His flat is pretty meager, and we are not too sure about the internet connection, but we are praying that it will work out. I will Skype around 3 (my time), but if the connection is rubbish, then we will go to another family's house later that night for backup. So we will see what happens, and I will email you the deets when the time comes. I am so excited to see your faces though. I miss you all.

Other things that happened this week:

*We went to the Temple as a mission again. Again, a very unique experience.

*We had a baptism for Elder Candland and Mongie's Chinese investigator, Guowei! (it sounds exactly like Nacho " Go away...read some books!") It was a very intimate but powerful baptism, and we all know he is going to be a powerful leader in China. He returned to China yesterday, but before he left, he fed the four of us a traditional Chinese meal. It instantly brought back flashbacks of Wrexham, and made me remember how much I love the humble, Chinese people.

*For a ward activity, we had "A Night in Bethlehem". It was actually...super legit. They transformed the chapel into the old Jerusalem setting, and we all wore "traditional" Jewish style clothing, and sat on the floor instead of chairs, and had an amazing Nativity program. It was..a pretty sacred night. Even though people were obviously in costumes, and the props weren't professional...it had a very special feel to it all, and the true spirit of Christmas was very strong. It will definitely be a time I will never forget.

Other than that, Elder Schofield and I have been having some good adventures (we got lost on a different route to the chapel, and ended up walking around in a circle in a forest at night for an hour), and we have been teaching our friends John and Serafim, and they are incredibly progressing.

Thank you mum for the food, and thank you everyone for your love and support and humor. You are the best family I could ask for. Too true. I love you all, and until I see your faces on Thursday, peace out and

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Elder BA

Guowei the man!!!!

 Night in Bethlehem. You have to trust me...everyone else's costume was actually legit. We had to improvise... and cut up a duvet cover. More Nephite than Jewish if you ask me

Christmas season.

Hey everyone, what's happenin. This week was a very interesting week, but Christmas is in the air and the times are good. Here are the deets:
 

The work is getting extremely dead, other than our two solid friends John Raven and Mr. Portuguese Seraphim. They are really our only investigators right now, and everyone else on the streets, and most of the members are all shutting down into holiday mode= don't talk to me. So...we have resorted to having adventures and hanging out with the

remaining YSA here. They are all awesome and super chill. Tonight for FHE, we are having a mega white elephant shindig, so that should be pretty cool. 

As a squad, we have also been making the best out of life by starting a tradition of having a fire every night. Behind our flat is a sketchy little alley way, and it's perfect for a concealed fire. I am glad that I have been saving all my missionary planners, because they are the best fire starters we got. Having a fire has helped bring out that adventure spirit again, and is pumping me up to have some majestic adventures in just a couple short months.

We also got to have another lecture presentation at Bro. Wellingtons house...this time the topic was Temple Symbolism. Dad....you would have loved it. It was incredible. Obviously I cannot share most of it, but my testimony about the eternal nature of temple ordinances (from Adam...to Christ in the middle ages....to the restoration and modern day ceremonies) has strengthened tremendously. With sources from common canon, obscure records and historical artifacts....the true temple ceremony and symbols and clothing has always been the same. The Church is true, enough said, amen.

Other than that, not too much is going on other than our mission temple trip on Wednesday, which I am stoked to go and apply the new focuses and insights I have learned. And I am beyond excited to finally go to the Gilbert temple soon. Not too long left!

I love you all, and I hope you are having a rad Christmas season. Stay fresh, make sure Brien keeps his mustache free of debris. 

Peace

Elder Goodman

p.s. oh yeah, we have a new flat pet....we named him Sanj. He is majestic

Oh Christmas tree.

Hey everyone! Greetings from the land of hail. This has been a crazy week of weather, and let's just say this bones weather is making me miss Arizona even more. This week seemed to blow right by in a blur,
and I don't have too much to write about (even though all the inside jokes and stories would fill up too many pages).

Ok, here are the basic need-to-know deets:

With Christmas around the corner...it was proper that our flat needed a christmas tree. So, Schofield and I went to Avenham Park right across from our flat and got one (to be more specific, I kicked it
down and we dragged it to our flat). Hopefully the picture shows the true character of our Christmas branch. With Sanj as the star, our flat has never been more majestic.

We have a new investigator named John Raven. He has 15 guitars. We had a jam session. He has been to Utah. He loves mormons. He has a yacht.
He is going to be baptized soon. He is awesome. Enough said. Amen.

Other than that, this week was been full of walking in the dark (it's now getting dark at flippin 4:30), enduring the hail, and in the middle of all that, trying to convince people on the streets that Jesus Christ, the family or even Christmas is important. Not gonna
lie, the work has been extremely rough. Everyone either bashes, is Muslim, or simply doesn't care. However, Mormon's powerful words in
Moroni 9:6 is contantly ringing in our ears, and we are continuing to do our part.

I love you all, and I hope everyone is as happy and well as I am. I have heard it time and time again, but I have finally received a strong testimony for myself= we are happiest most when we are serving
others. That is our Preston Sqaudron's focus this Christmas season, and we have never been happier. Try it out for yourself.

I am stoked to see all your faces in a couple weeks, but until then...peace out!

Elder BA

So Cold!

Power stance.

Make sure you zoom in on all the details. You can't get more majestic.

The mighty Sanj.

The Preston Squadron. Party of 6. 

Thanksgiving in Preston.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, mermaids and mermen...hello! In the words of Joe Dirt, "Life's a garden....dig it". And I am diggin it right now. We got our transfer calls, and the Preston squad is all staying together! You all might have heard our battle cry across the world when we received the news. Needless to say, we are stoked to spend Christmas together. 

On other news...I got my trunky call and death letter. The "3 months to go" and "what are your flight plans?" hit me hard. Not gonna lie, it felt super weird...kinda surreal. But it's here and it's happening! Ok, instead of ranting about how I am coping with the trunkiness, I'll just give you this week's deets instead:

Thanksgiving was actually really really good. Way better than last year. Even the hosts are a bit wack, they made some incredible food! A full American Thanksgiving spread, with over a dozen platters of different types of european/american dishes, good ol' turkey, and then some of the best ice cream and truest pumpkin pie I have had my entire mission. 

We had another day over at Bro. Wellington's up in Ribchester. I am not sure if I told you about him last time, but he spent over 6 years in Saudi Arabia, mapping out all the possible routes that Lehi and Nephi and the family took over their 8 years in the wilderness, and finding all the landmarks that perfectly correlated with the record in the Book of Mormon. He gave us the rest of the presentation...and it absolutely amazed me. Basically...the Book of Mormon only gives us a rough outline of what happened, but 8 years of traveling leaves a lot of room to read in between the lines. I won't go into detail in this email, but one thing I learned....Lehi and the company were not alone, especially at Nephi's Harbor. The study of the culture and the land and the hints in the text testify to that, and it now makes it so much more interesting to read. 

We also got to have tea with our Saudi friend Saroosh. Once again, he fed us an incredible home cooked meal, with more traditional Mediterranean and Arabian dishes. He gave us a history lesson and cooked us some samples of the "blessed foods" (the foods that most of the biblical prophets ate). Between Saroosh and Bro Wellington, I have so much more appreciation for the "old world" cultures, and it fascinates me. Hopefully the tension over there eases up sometime soon, cause I want to explore it for myself now.

Other than that, the work has been going pretty well. A little slow, but we are still teaching some good people. With Christmas coming up and the death letter and all of us sticking together, it's been a bit hard to focus, but we are doing our best and working on. 

I love you all, and I can't wait to see your faces in a couple weeks. 

Till then, stay fresh, 

(And I challenge all the boys in the family to grow the most bodacious facial hair that you can for the skype sesh)

and peace out!

Elder BA

A temple trip and spiritual nourishment.

Konnichiwa! And I love you all. This was an incredible week here in Preston. Here are the deets:

On Tuesday, we joined our dear friend Elder Maljanen at the temple with President Ulrich for his farewell. We had a sunny, warm, peaceful, morning endowment session, just the four of us.  Afterwards, while still dressed in our robes, President Ulrich took us into one of the private rooms of the temple...and we had an amazing question and answer session. Powerful revelation. President Ulrich unfolded so many things that I had questions about, and we all received some incredible insights about the temple ordinances that I will remember for the rest of my life. It was a sacred experience to say the least. 

This week, we also had a conference with a General Authority, President Dyches. Once again...another experience I will never forget. 

More on the fun side, we got to hang with all the YSA and we had a chill movie night. Popcorn and homemade sushi, skadoosh. Yuki came with us too, and now she is super tight with most of the other people our age here in the Preston ward. I love it. We are all from all over the world, but it's amazing how we can all just chill together as if we were friends for a long time. 

Saturday, we had the baptism for miss Yuki! It totally topped off my week of spiritual experiences. Elder Candland baptized her, and she came out of the water happy as ever. After they both changed into dry clothes, we performed a song for her. With all the missionaries in my district, we sang the "I like to look for rainbows..." song (yuki's favorite)...and we did it in Japanese!!! With different parts and much needed practice...it turned out beautifully...and Yuki couldn't hold back her bucket of tears. Once again..I will never forget it. 

With all that being said, and finding some new and incredible prepared people and having Hamblin and Lauener spend the night again and getting revenge on them from past pranks (we slipped some laxatives into their breakfast burritos...mwahaha), this week has been awesome. Life is good, and I can't believe it's almost December. 

I miss you all, and I can't wait to see your faces soon. Thanks for all the lovin, and thank you for all being tight! You are a bodacious family.

I love you all, and peace out

Elder BA

The Majestic Sanj.

 Yuki's Baptism

  Our Spirit Animals.

Diversity.

Heyo family! Life is good here in Preston. Just a warning, my brain is so tired right now, so I apologize if this letter is short and sweet. Well, here's what's been goin on in life:

This week was an incredible, multi-cultural week. For a flavor of it...we befriended and ate with a lovely scottish family, I helped teach and interviewed a japanese girl named for baptism for here in Preston (Yuki is the bomb), we taught bulgarians, romanians, polish, and then my favorite...we visited Saroosh. He is a less active man from Saudi Arabia, married a polish woman and now have 4 beautiful. We went over just to get to know them, but were unexpectedly surprised with a whole table filled with a huge variety of home cooked Arabian food. It was...bodacious. I think I tackled and savored 5 full plates of different types of lamb, fish, chicken, rice, squid and shrimp, and all the homemade sauces that mix with them all. Not only was the food awesome, but Saroosh is awesome and he easily worked his way to become one of our favorite people here in Preston. Good times ahead. 

With all 10 missionaries here in Preston, we went to the small and posh village of Ribchester, and had a lunch/fireside with one of the members, Bro. Wellington. At first I thought he was just a posh old man. Wrong. Turns out...he spent over 10 years of his life exploring Saudi Arabia and the middle east in search of possible trails that Lehi and his family took on their exodus out of Jerusalem. He gave us a full presentation, and only later did we realize...he was the author to Lehi in the Wilderness...a book I totally read and loved! It was such a good experience to talk with him, and now i am even more eager to go out and explore something. I just want to grab my backpack and go.

This week, because of their flat being worked on...Elder Hamblin (fellow arizonan) and Launer (swiss) have joined our flat crew...making it a crazy 7 man party every night. Without more detail...we have had some good times. Today, we are continuing on those good times and playing football at the park right by the River Ribble with the 4 Lancaster Elders. 

Other than that, in a couple days, we are saying farewell to our dear Finnish friend Elder Maljanen. We are stoked to go to the temple with him tomorrow, but we are all sad to see him go. He extended his mission time, but now it's time to head back home to the north pole. 

I love you all, and I wish you all well. Keep up the adventures, and peace out!

Elder BA

Preston.

Hello hello hello! Greetings from Preston, the most diverse, character packed place I have yet to serve in. I am beyond happy and well. But because of time, here are this weeks quick deets:

I was kissed by a man.......a chubby, Indian gay man named....Sanj. As of now, he has marked 4 of us with his juicy man kiss....and he has officially became our Preston squad mascot. Haha his name has become a substitute in most of our conversations, and he always randomly appears around town. I don't think I have laughed harder in my entire mission, and if you are lucky enough...I might be able to send you a picture of the Majestic Sanj. 

On a more serious note, we met an incredible lady from Bermuda! Tamara has lived in England for over a year, and told us that we were the first people to really stop and talk with her. Now, she is a solid, new investigator and is living proof that the Lord is directing prepared people to England to hear the gospel, even if they might not know they are looking for it. This is exactly what Elder Nelson was prophesying about last year when he and Elder Holland spoke to us. 

Other than that, we have just been meeting more crazy characters that keep the entertainment alive in our days. Also, the five of us are still really tight, and the laughs and pranks and spontaneous exchanges never cease. Today we are going to check out President Hinkley's and Heber C. Kimbals old missionary flats, then go try out a local buffalo wings shop, then probably play some football at the park, right next to the historic River Ribble. Sounds like a good day to me.

I love you all, I love my mission, I love daily adventures, I love Sanj, I love life.

May the Sanj be with you...

and peace out!

Elder BA

Lee's Baptism and Adventures In Preston.

Heyo everyone, greetings from Preston! Life is so good right now. The 5 of us are super tight, and we are conquering and having radventures in this historic place. It's been one of the continuously happy times in my whole mission, and I am trying to savor every moment of it.

So here are some of this week's deets:

 

Many times this week we have discussed..."if we were not on missions....we would never experience things like this". For example, we knocked on a door and 2 sketchy, shirtless men came to the door and started harassing us. Then their lady friend came to the door, cussed them out, calmed them down, invited us in...and soon we found ourselves in a random home with 3 catholic, alcoholic heroin addicts, their ex-mormon mother, and their Church of England friend, who kinda reminded me of an old, wise hermit and his dog Bonzo. At first, it was a bit dodgy. Then, everyone got to know us, and we got to know them, then Elder Moljanen, Schofield and I were basically teaching 3 separate, simultaneous lessons to the crazy crowd. After a while...everyone meshed together, we had a final spiritual thought, and they agreed to come to church with us. It was all just so...random. But it was incredible. Would I ever go inside a home with those people in it if i wasn't a missionary? Answer=heck no. 

We have had so many things like this happen, from an insane dog-loving Irish lady, to a whole Ecuadorian family who barely spoke English, to a Sikh man who attempted to foretell our future while sitting at the bus stop. Out of all of it though, it just proves that the gospel is for everyone, and it connects us all.

On a different subject, Halloween was pretty fun. All of us played some intense chair football at the chapel, then we put on the "haunted hallway" for the church halloween party. Us three were zombies who chased after the kids...until one of the kids got brave and punched Elder Schofield right in the gonads. He dropped...haha and it was flippin hilarious. The ward is really good though, and I am already growing to love them. 

The best part of the week though was Lee's baptism! He finally made it! Seeing him come out of the water, and do a double fist pump of pure happiness made all the stress and persistence worth it. Lee will be a friend forever. 

Other than that, the week has just been full of work, and pulling pranks on Elder Candland till he almost poops himself. This is such a good adventure right now, and I am surrounded with such good friends, and I am so happy and at peace. 

I love you all, stay fresh, and peace out!

Elder BA

Lee, Elder Plumb and the Patton Family

The Preston Squadron.

Heyo everyone!!! This week has been gnarly so far. But I am loving life. Being in a trio, and serving in a 5 man flat has been such a new and awesome experience. Not only that, but even more new missionaries were added to my district, making a grad total of 14! I have officially renamed it to Preston Squadron, and instead of district leader I am squadron leader. But seriously, being in a flat with 4 other elders is so fun. Besides Elder Maljanen, the other 3 elders have all been out under 3 months...but they are all so good, and we are already all tight knit. We have been walking the streets as a 5 man squad, and all we are missing are earpieces and concealed weapons. CIA status. 

Alright I am going to finally send some pics (hopefully this computer will be nice and cooperate), and I need to reply to all your individual emails...so I am going to keep this short and sweet, and give you more deets next week.

I love you all. I miss you all. I am stoked for my next 4-month radventure...then I will see all your lovely faces again. Good times ahead. 

Take care, and peace out!

Elder BA

p.s. The trio (Maljanen, Schofield, BA)

p.s.s. The squad (BA, Schofield, Maljanen, Candland, 

Mongie)

new address:

Flat 1, 36 Bairstow Street, Avenham

Preston PR1 3TN

England

Farewell to Crosby.

Hello hello! Yes it is true....I am leaving Crosby. I was so stoked when I got the transfer call!!!......I am going back up to Preston......to serve in a trio with a Finn and a fresh-out Englishman (follow-up training again), with two other brand new elders...all in the same flat (5 Elder flat= party time)....and I am still district leader...over 4 other sisters and Elder Hamblin (origin member of the Barrow Tribe, hoorah) and another fresh missionary. So this is going to be a massive 11 member district, and this is going to be a crazy adventure. Especially with the holidays coming up...there is so much potential for good times ahead. I am so pumped!

Needless to say, my mind has been pretty elsewhere this week...but we still have had some good times here. 

In the beginning of the week, I had an exchange with my dear Russian friend Elder Nebesnii. He is going home tomorrow, and it was one of his dying wishing to go on exchange together. And it was incredible. Bro Romero in Liverpool picked us up and we went to my new favorite restaurant in England. It''s called Jimmy's BBQ, and it was incredibly fresh and crazy tasty Iranian food. Best kebab I have ever had in my life, and it didn't even make me feel like death afterwards. That was really good, but still not the highlight of the exchange. The best part was when we were invited to a house party for a local ecclesiastical church. Elder Nebesnii got the hook ups through his neighbor who was a member of that church, and so we showed up to this really small house, that was crowded with 20+ people or so. We both went in with the mindset of "ok, have fun, be smart, make some friends, but don't try to convert anyone". For a while we had a really good time, just eating and socializing with all the people. I was amazed to see how good these people were, even being a part of a different faith, with so many different backgrounds. Eventually though, Elder Nebesnii and I got separated. He was simply in the room next to mine, but that's when their Pastor leaned over and asked me the classic bashing question "obviously we have differences in our faith, and I don't want to offend you or anything, but I heard some interesting things about Mormons. Do you really believe....?", and then he unleashed all the questions that he could about how our doctrines contradict with his. Then....the quote came into my head "never bash with people....but if you do...make sure you win". Haha so looking back on it, I can see how the spirit really took over as I clarified and simplified and unfolded our core doctrines to him....and soon the entire room got involved, and it turned into one big sermon. It was all very peaceful though, and I could see so many of them open up their hearts to the things I had to say. It was a powerful moment, and the Holy Ghost was definitely present, softening everyone's hearts and allowing us to still all be brothers and sisters, even though we were of different faith's. 

When Elder Nebesnii and I got back to our flat, we were so pumped that it worked out so well, and it opened the doors for future missionaries to continue to see them. Being a missionary is so cool! And then he gave me a sweet Russian jacket as a farewell present. I love that Russian.

Well that's about my update for the past week, and the next time you hear from me, I'll update you all on my new Preston adventures. Time is going by so fast, and I love and miss you all. See ya soon. Peace out!

Elder BA

Patton Family on the right, Lee and Elder Plum

The blessings of the gospel.

Hola mi familia. Greetings from Crosby! This could be my second to last time emailing from this place. Transfers are right around the corner and I'm pretty sure I'm headed out next week. I am stoked for whatever adventure lies ahead.

This week has been really really.....good. I don't know what it is exactly, but there has just been a flood of peace recently. Elder Plumb and I are really getting along, the connection with the members is brilliant, Lee is on his way to baptism, we found 4 new investigators to teach, we have been able to do a lot of service, and all worry seems to be out of my mind. Also last night, we were able to go to the missionary fireside in Manchester where all the recent converts get up and bear their testimony and share their story. The spirit was so incredibly strong and radiating from everyone....especially Gary. Gary, from good old Southport, humbly got up to the podium and gave a beautiful testimony, and gave Elder Frandsen and I a special shout-out. Not going to lie...my eyes may have gotten a little sweaty to see how our good friend has completely turned his life around, has totally embraced the gospel, received the priesthood, is now on the young mens presidency, and has become our eternal friend. Words can't really explain how I feel, but...life is good. 

I have been so blessed to personally help and see people embrace the gospel in every area that I have been, and now it is Lee's turn here in Crosby. Please send some prayers his way, because even though he knows the truth, he still has some internal demons to fight. I love him though, and I have no worries that we will be baptized and carry on, either on the 24th of October or on some other day. 

Other than that, life has been full of walking in the rain, restoring a whole box of vintage tools that Elder Plumb and I found during service, making mexican food, eating mexican food, proselyting to uni students at the Liverpool University campus, and reuniting with Elder Diederich, Robinson and Sis. Thomson in Manchester. I am in a happy place right now.

I love and miss you all.

Peace out

Elder BA

Excited for life.

Heyo dirty beach bums! I love you all. So this week has seriously been a blur. I think the haze of man-flu and conference this weekend has blended all the days together this week, and when I woke up from my deep coma this morning...I thought my companion was messing with me about it being p-day already. Hey...I ain't even mad. But anyways, here are this week's quick deets:

We have spent a lot of time with the Patton family this week. Mike, the non-member husband, had a hip replacement surgery, so we spent a lot of time visiting him in the hospital, preparing his house for his return, and just helping out momma Patton. Good friends, good times.

We finally got back in touch with our other good friends the Standleys! They need some major carpentry help in the future, so I am stoked for that.

We were able to bring our main man ponytail Lee to conference! Initially he was a little disappointed...because it was no happy-clappy, baptist style, halleluiah, praise Jesus celebration. It worked out well though, and he started to really feel the spirit and the truth of the words that were being spoken. Lee's new best friend is Dieter. Haha every time President Uchtdorf got up to speak, Lee (at just the right reverent volume for everyone to hear) said, with a fist-bump, "Dieter! yeah man, that's what's up!". We can always count on Lee to bring some energy to any meeting.

Other than that, the week has ended with me pondering all the inspired words that we have heard...and I m so excited for life. Especially for my own little future family some day. In due time, in due time....but I am pumped. 

I love you all, go have an ocean adventure and make a legit sand-trap at the beach for me!

Peace

Elder BA

Hawaii Trunky but working hard.

..........................................hold on.....let me kickstart my hawaii trunky brain again. Flip Randi........you are living my dream life! Ok ok focus....being a missionary is cool too. I am helping people come closer to Jesus Christ and back to Heavenly Father. (That's what I have to tell myself everyday to stay focused). Healing people, physically and spiritually, is one of the sweetest feelings I have ever felt, and I am loving life right now, for the place and purpose and moment that I am in. (I am happy....but my hawaii daydreams are still running wild). I will talk to you all more in the personal emails.

Ok, here's this week's quick deets:

Last P-day, I finally got to tour the birthplace of the Beatles!!! It was way cool, and I hope I can figure out this computer and send some proper pictures.

We have been able to once again offer our service to people, and it brought a whole new level of love and trust with our friends! Especially Anna. We went up to her house in Kirkby, worked and prepared her whole property for the winter, and taught her, and after a year or so of missionary visits...she finally came to church!

We have also been making a lot more progress with Lee. We have set up a new system with him. We teach him, give him some scriptures and a pamphlet...then the next day, we swap roles and he teaches us. It has been working brilliantly, and he is well on his way to get baptized on the 24th of October! Just pray that he can totally kick out the cigs, and he'll be golden.

Other than that, it's just been the usual missionary work and meetings, so I won't bother you with extended detail. But just know I am happy, I love these people, and even though my level of hawaii trunkiness is at a record high...I still love where I am at and who I am serving. 

I love you all, and I can't wait to see you all again.

Peace out home skillets

Elder BA


***He hasn't been able to upload pictures on the library computers..... sad face. 

Powerful sermons and Skatepark contacting.

Hello chaps! Life is good in the outskirts of Liverpool. Today I am going to go explore more of the sites and docks and shops and the Beatles home turf, so today will be short and sweet. Here's the deets on why life is good:

Last week, we had an all elders training in Manchester. The entire day was comprised of listening to a powerful sermon on the Atonement from President Ulrich, hanging out with my crew, playing a massive football tournament, and participating in a "deep doctrine question and answer session" with President Ulrich. He is a master teacher, and he inspires me. Getting to relax and play sports and enhance our deep knowledge on the gospel made it an awesome day.

So Lee had his baptismal interview with President Ulrich, and sadly we had to push his date back to the end of October. I know that it's a right decision though. This way, Lee will have more time to totally get rid of his smoking habit, and also time to allow his testimony to really settle and strengthen. We still have high hopes, and Lee is continuing to progress. All in the Lord's time.

I was feeling a bit burned out towards the end of the week, so we spontaneously walked to the Bootle Skatepark, and I did some classic "skatepark contacting". This was probably one of the best ones though! They immediately welcomed me in, and I got to skate around with them for a bit. They were good, down to earth punks. I think I got a little carried away though, and I totally ate it hard when I tried to ollie off of a tall ledge. Scabby palms and a black shirt instantly brought back good memories though.

Other than that, life has been good. We have been getting to know the families here more deeply, and I am amazed at how good these people really are. I love them all. I know exactly how Gordan B. Hinckley felt when he shared his love for the people of England.

I love you all as well! Thanks for all your motivation and love and awesomeness. 

5 months to go!

Peace!

Elder BA

"You must be shapeless, formless, like water."

Heyo you water pirates! All of your liquid adventures are making me crave it even more. This week though, I needed some serious freedom and a recharge to my exhausted battery, so I walked along the coast from Cosby beach all the way to the top of Blundellsands. I made sure to walk well ahead of my companion, just so that I could feel alone and free for a moment. The ocean has become one of my greatest therapies and favorite places of peace. No wonder the Savior spent so much time and delivered some of his most powerful sermons by the sea.

Anyways, I am going to keep this short and simple so I can have time to respond to your individual letters. Here's the deets!:

Lee is progressing like a mad hatter. He is so good, and is already giving away Book of Mormon's on his own like a boss. We have been seeing him everyday, and he has been joining us for member tea appointments, family home evening, church, sitting in on blessings, and is even coming to my district meeting tomorrow. Lee's official baptismal interview is on thursday, so pray and wish him luck! Good times here is Crosby.

We had an incredible Brazillian dinner/hang out at the Patton's. They are pretty much the best Brazillian family I never had.

I got to see Joe (aka dragon (I am nighthawk)) and some of my other good friends from Southport on Saturday. They stopped in Crosby for the WW1 100 year anniversary bike ride. All these connections are awesome.

Other than that, life has been full of experimental cooking, playing my new guitar that Sister Nemec gave to me before she went back home to Austria, knocking on Jehovah Witness's doors, reading JW literature and bashing it to pieces, saying hello to our friendly neighborhood Scousers on the street and day dreaming about my future. Not going to lie, the reality of my mission coming to the end is kicking in, and it's pretty hard to focus a lot. I am living on Sheldon Kent's advice to me though " Towards the end...forget about the numbers. Don't even think about them. Get to know the ward members and people in your area. Explore it. Study the topics you want to study. And just enjoy being on a mission. You will miss it."

Wise words.

I love you all, 

and peace out

Elder BA

p.s. random Bruce Lee quote

“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.”

New Investigator, Lee.

Malo e leiei! (Sister Fonoifua is teaching me a bit of Tongan). Life is good here in England, even after the change of transfers and after saying goodbye to some of my dear missionary friends going home. I hate goodbyes with a passion. Anyways, Elder Plumb and I are staying another transfer together in Crosby (no surprise there), but we are sadly saying goodbye to Sister Fonoifua. She was the only change really to our district, with it now being Me and Elder Plumb, and Sisters Toly, Dugan-Jones, Fetuli and Dargyte. Two Americans, one Canadian, one English, one Tongan, and one Lithuanian. It's a multicultural party.

This week has been pretty amazing though. Not even a week after Gary got baptized...Elder Plumb and I found Lee. Lee...is definitely one of the most prepared and knowledgeable and ready people I have ever met on my mission. We have literally been seeing and teaching him everyday this week, and his progression is smooth and strong. It's kinda funny, the biggest disappointment we had from him...is when he found out he was too old to serve a mission of his own. He is 31, and he was destroyed when he found out he couldn't be a "missionary" like us. I was just like "flip....if that's your biggest problem with the church, then we have nothing to worry about." Lee is amazing though, and is strongly committed to be baptized on the 27th of September!! Do you want to know something awesome though? He wants to be baptized in the ocean!!!!!! I am so stoked! Pray for Lee, that this all won't be too good to be true.

Other than that, this week has been filled with the usual missionary work, but also some hidden adventures, like when Elder Plumb and I went on a spontaneous trip to the dunes and beach in Formby to scout out locations for Lee's baptism. Redneck Plumb hated the sand, I was in barefoot heaven. 

We were also able to go to the missionary fireside yesterday in Manchester with Lee, and the stake center was packed with everyone that I love. It was way good to see Diederich and Hatch and Bradley and Robinson and Klingonsmith and so many others once again.

Well, that's about it for now. I love you all, and even though I am still very very Hawaii trunky, I am happy to be here right now. I love you all, and peace out!

Elder BA

Gary's Baptism.

Aloha family! So, I am totally going to avoid the topic of Hawaii right now, because you would get nothing but a very long, envious rant...but as for now, I am happy and well and I had an incredible week! Here's the deets:

Between going to the temple on Monday and Saturday, the week was crazy slow and pretty uneventful...but Saturday has ranked to be one of my very favorite days of my entire mission. 

 the morning, we boarded a bus and headed back to my Southport home. It was a very strange mix of emotions, driving past all the sights and streets that I have worked for the past 4 and a half months before Crosby. It was weird, but when we entered the chapel, I had a sweet reunion with the members of Southport that I grew to love. But the best moment, was obviously seeing Gary there. He made it! After a few months of miracles and heartaches, Gary the man finally made it to baptism. Haha it will definitely be a baptism I will never forget too, for a completely different reason! There was a technical difficulty with the font, and we could only get about 2 feet of water in it. So...for the first time I experienced a "sitting baptism". Basically, Gary had to just sit on the font floor and slowly lean back until he was completely under the water and laying on the floor. Haha it was pretty unique, but it totally worked. He went completely under, even though it was awkward. Too legit to quit. Especially with baptisms being in very short supply here in England, this day had already been made one of my favorite memories so far.

After the baptism in the morning, we then traveled back to Crosby for another baptism! It was for Anita, one of the sister's investigators that has been investigating for over 3 years.She pretty much already seemed like a member, but finally made up her mind and gained the confidence to go through with it all the way. The baptismal service was incredibly spiritual, especially with President Ulrich giving a powerhouse talk on the Holy Ghost. At most baptisms, the talks are usually really light and happy and a little fluffy......nope, not this one. This talk was powerful and deep and intense, and we all learned so much more about the Holy Ghost. President Ulrich is pretty much a living Bruce R. McConkie, and I love it.

The thing that made this day the most special though, happened after the baptism. Sister Klingonsmith was able to make it all the way here from Shrewsbury because her companion taught Anita in the past, and the reunion with her was awesome. However afterwards, she asked President Ulrich if he could give her a blessings for more health issues that have just come up, and she asked me to join. So the three of us went into a room....and I experienced the most powerful blessing I have ever experienced in my entire life. Like, Sister Klingonsmith and I walked out of the room and all we could do was look at each other and say..."wow, that just happened." Without getting into the sacred details, I just want to tell you all that I have an even stronger testimony that God is real. He speaks through his chosen and ordained leaders. Angels are literally by our side. Elements obey righteous commands. And the Holy Ghost can empower and sanctify us. I know this to be true, amen.

I love you all, and even though I fight Hawaii trunkiness everyday, I love being a missionary here in England. Transfers are next week, and even though I'm pretty sure I am staying in Crosby, I will let you know the final deets on Monday. Till then, peace out!

Elder BA

6 months left!

What's up everyone?! I love you all. Bank holidays are still so funky to me, it really throws off the groove. But hey, I am still happy and life is still good, especially with a belly full of homemade coconut cake that Elder Plumb and I made from scratch for Sister Toly's birthday. Be proud of us mum. 

So this week's quick deet's=

It seemed like everyone wanted to bash with us this week. Jehovah's Witnesses, Pagans, atheists, Catholics...the whole shebang. My whole mission I have avoided bashing with people, but this week...yeah we stuck it to the man (well, as much as you can as a missionary). It has seriously strengthened my testimony though, and showed to me that 18 months of sincere and deep study has really paid off. I am with Joseph Smith, when he said “A man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge....and knowledge is power". I believe that the more you study, the more material the Holy Ghost will have to work with, and with the Holy Ghost, you will never be confounded before men, because the Holy Ghost fears no man. 

Yesterday, we were able to go to the temple and see the new video! It was incredible, and it was so god to see all of my good missionary friends again. Hatch, Bradley, Klingonsmith, O'brien, Maughan...and so many others. I never thought I would make so many true friends on my mission, and the reunion was sweet. Pondering more on reunions....in 6 months, it will be the best one ever! I.am.so.stoked.

Other than that, the week was full of teaching and walking and finding and exploring Formby and meeting crazy people, then meeting with normal people, only to find out that they are crazy too. Everyone has a little bit of crazy in 'em. 

This Saturday, I get to go to Gary's baptism!!!! It's been a long and bumpy road, but he finally made it. I can't wait to see him face to face again and give him the biggest bro-hug of his life. Seeing the process of change in Gary has been one of the greatest highlights of my mission, and I will remember it forever. Missionary work is joy.

Well everyone, I love you all. Keep up with the adventures and never settle for mediocrity. Till next time...peace out!!

Elder BA

The Crosby Blitz.

Hey there everyone. Not gonna lie, it's kinda a surreal feeling right now only having about 6 months left till I see you all again. It hit me pretty hard today, and as of right now in this library...I am mega trunky. It's crazy, all week I was actually thinking about and reminiscing about the cabin...then I check my email and bam!!! cabin pics. I just can't wait till i can join you all there again.

As for me this week, things have been going pretty well. Elder Plumb and I are finally starting to really open up to each other and bond more, which has made the work way more enjoyable. We have also been bonding with a few of the ward families, and the Pattons and McKenna's and the Standley's are all seriously some of my favorite families I have met in the mission, besides the Kent's of course. Even though the members here are in small number, for the most part they love the missionaries. And when you are real and down to earth with them, they are real with you and take you in, and you really feel like part of the family. 

This week we had the Crosby Blitz, with all 30 missionaries in the Liverpool Zone come to Crosby and work the streets all together. It was an incredible experience, and now both companionships here in Crosby have about 30 new people each to go contact. I am so stoked to go out and meet and work with them! Elder Plumb and I alone found an incredible investigator named Amy, and after wards it made Elder Plumb so happy...he voluntarily gave me a hug of pure joy...and this is the same kid who thinks any man-to-man hug is homosexual and in his words " nah man that's queer" (redneck accent). Hopefully it will kick start this ward again. 

Other than that, this week was full of normal missionary work, pick-up football matches, skating with some kids, picking blackberries, spitting out sour blackberries, eating paella with the Pattons, laughing at Elder Plumb, going on another exchange in Liverpool, pinching a crazy nerve in my neck, handling sister drama, stepping in dog poop, and running in the morning on the beach. 

Life is good, and time is going by crazy fast. Being real, I am happy doing the Lord's work here and befriending so many people and doing what I truly love, teaching.......but I am so stoked and excited to see and be with you all again. Well, it's going to go by fast here, so I will enjoy it to the utmost awesome levels as I can. So in the meantime, take care, I love and miss you all, and peace out. 

Elder BA

p.s. next monday is a lame bank holiday...so look for my words on tuesday

Reviving Crosby.

Hello there chaps! It's good to hear from all of you. I love and miss you.

Life is going pretty well over here on the Liverpool coast. Elder Plumb and I are over most of the new-missionary-bumps-in-the-road, and the work is exploding here. It's incredible.

 

So here are the deets:

 

Earlier on in the week, we had a long talk with Bishop (one of the best bishops I have served with on my entire mission) and he simply and boldy told us..."Crosby has never had real growth. And if real growth doesn't happen soon, Crosby will be shut down in 5-10 years". The members here are such good people and I love them, but I fear they lost some hope for Crosby as well. So...we have been working extremely hard and relying on the Lord even more.

When we first arrived, we had one shaky investigator. Over the course of the last week and a half...Elder Plumb and I now have 9 investigators, with two that are close to baptism. There have just been so many little connections and "coincidences" and good people opening the door to us, and I am stoked to keep on working here.

To revive Crosby even more, the Stake President has told us to do a "Crosby Blitz"...with all 30 missionaries in the zone coming here on Friday, and literally finding most of the working day. Not gonna lie, after planning it with some of the other leaders...it's going to be crazy. I have never heard of this happening before, but Operation: Crosby Revival is in full effect!

 

So along with that good news, I also got some really good news from Elder Frandsen. Remember Gary from Southport? Well he has once again committed to baptism, and is totally back on track and has ditched his skanky girlfriend. If everything goes well, I will be going to his baptism on the 30th of August! I seriously almost cried when I heard the news. Please, keep him in your prayers, Gary needs it.

 

Other than that, this week has been full of missionary work and just getting to know Elder Plumb even more. Haha he is a flipping crazy redneck kid, but he is good. Once you peel back some layers, his good heart really shows. Kinda like Skrek. I still have some really good friends in this zone too, like Elder Clark and Lee. Today we are going up to Liverpool and playing chair football with some of the other Elders again. I.am.so.pumped!!!!! I will definitely bring this game back to the states.

 

Well everyone, take care, and for those of you who have to go to highschool and junior high.....mwahahahahahahah! Randi, I am still jealous of you though. I'll see you there soon.

I love you all, and peace out!

 

Elder BA

 

 

 

 

Crosby adventures and Elder Plumb.

Hey everyone! Greetings from the land of Scousers, metal men, crazy Irish old women and rednecks. There is so much going on lately, but I am happy and well. Hopefully I can squeeze in the main deets of what's going on:

 

So rewinding to last week, on tuesday night I got to go to train the trainers again, and it was awesome. Pres. Ulrich is so deep, and so many of my other good friends were there and training as well. The incoming group had 24 missionaries coming in, so the mission home was packed of trainers. The meeting was very inspirational, but the best part was staying over in the manchester flat at night with 14 other elders. Haha it was a party. Elder Van Waganer and I found a guitar...and luckily he knew how to play every single one of the Flight of the Conchords songs. Business Time.

 

The next morning, we were all exhausted, but stoked to get our new trainees. My new mission child is....Elder Plumb! He is an 18 year old redneck from Casa Grande Arizona, and even though he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed....haha he has a good heart. We have had to get over some pride issues already, but he is quickly learning the ways of the mission. He already loves to talk (very very loudly), and we have been able to meet some amazing people here in Crosby and Waterloo.

 

It's been an adventure so far. Since we white-washed in, and the other Elders left us with absolutely nothing...we have been hitting the streets hard. On Friday, we literally tracted for 8 hours, and talked to everyone in between on the streets. I still hate the idea of tracting with a passion, but Heavenly Father blessed us with finding 3 new investigators already! We are slowly reviving Crosby, haha and I have never been more tired, or more soaked. It has been dumping down rain hard lately...like waterfall status.

 

The Crosby Ward is very small with only 40 active members, but I have already found my Crosby family! Sister Patton and her daughter Amanda (both Brazillian! The husband is english and a nonmember, and hates missionaries) took us in, and they treated us so well, and serioulsy fed us like kings. I love them so much already, and we have been able to help out eachother so much. They also showed us to their friends, and now we are trying to start up a traditional football match with some of the other teens in the area. I have been incredibly suprised with how nice the people here have been so far. The people who live on the outskirts of Liverpool are just so funny and scouse and open to talk and help us out. I'm stoked to play football again and bump up our teaching pool.

 

Other than that, I have just been working hard to help out Elder Plumb and to help out this ward. He is a workhorse, and I am so grateful for that. I have no idea what we are going to do for fun for pday, but I hope you all have some rad times at home and enjoy the sun! I love and miss you all. Till next time, peace out home skillets.

 

Elder BA