Goodbye's to Barrow... A new adventure awaits.

Hola! Yes it is true....I am finally off on another adventure. Southport is calling my name, and I am super stoked to go. In my letter to president before transfers I said "president, I will go wherever you want me to go....especially if it is by the ocean". Haha and he took me seriously! I love that man. I heard the beach in nice there, the people are nice, it's close to Liverpool and the nickname is Sunny Southport. Sounds like a pretty rad summer area! I'm happy.

I will be follow-up training my new companion. His name is Elder Bradley, I don't know anything about him other than he has been out for a month or so, but I will help him finish the second half of his training. It should be fun. New experience.

The goodbye's I have had in Barrow have been suprisingly sad. First off, I have met so many cool people, and a ton of skaters. I did some classic "skate shop contacting", and met some awesome kids. They were super open to talk about religion and just life in general, and we became friends, and they loaded me up with a ton of free skate stickers. Good times.

Saying good bye to Elder Hamblin and White has been rough too. Those two were truly in the Barrow Tribe, with Elder Hamblin being the true "last mohican".

But the people I will miss the most are the Kents, aka my british family. I love them dearly. It was super sad to say goodbye, especially to Orson, but the goodbye hugs from the kids and Sheldon and Abi and the fact that they want to come to my wedding made it a lot better. I will definitely see them again!

Overall, Barrow itself has been rough, but the good people here have more than made up for it. I love these people, and it's sad to go, but I know there are more people in Southport waiting for my help, whatever it is.

Peace out everyone, next week I will give you the deets of my new adventure. I love you all! Adios

 

Elder BA

Braveheart

Hoad Monument

Pasty Sun Reflectors

View of Piel Castle

Lovely Tysons

Landlord Ray

Miss Elizabeth

Roberto

The Kents

 Love Swarm

Freedom

Good things in Barrow.

What's up scalawags! It's good to hear from you all. Life sounds like its treating you well, which makes me happy. Life is fairly good here, a bit slow, but at least a bit more sunny than usual. It's crazy, we will be getting our transfer calls this coming saturday! I am super stoked, because unless President goes back on his word, I will finally be leaving this place! Barrow has definitely grown on me and I love the people here...but I am so excited to get out and have an adventure somewhere else on this island. Especially after hanging out with the Kents last night and browsing through all their travel photos, my travel spirit is getting itchy.

 

Well here's this week's deets:

 

Monday- celebrated St. Patricks day at my irish Bishop's house. Good ol' irish food and good ol' irish accents

 

Tuesday- missionary work

 

Wednesday- SPORTS DAY!! we gathered at the Manchester stake center in the morning, had a mini spiritual thought, got changed, ate costco pizza...then had a free-for-all with whatever sports we wanted to play. Freedom tasted really good. For a solid three hours, I played in a massive game of American football, which started off as two-hand-touch, then slowly turned into tackle. It felt so good to really sprint and tackle people and get hurt again. I jammed my hand and tweaked my lower back and have never felt this sore on my entire mission...but it was totally worth it. Dont worry mum, I'm fully recovered now. Good stuff

 

Thursday- I cant remember, probably just missionary work.

 

Friday- We had a morning adventure in Cartmel. The Cunninghams, George and us headed over the the little cafe in the middle of the beautiful little village and had homemade soup, rolls, and then the world famous sticky toffee pudding. It has now won the spot for my all-time favorite dessert. I love that little place. It's always loaded with travelers and backpackers, and they and the locals are alwasy super chill to talk to.

 

Saturday- Connie went to the temple. WOOHOO! Other than that, missionary work. Found a new investigator though! His name is Kai, and he is friends with another former investigator that we were meeting with. We asked him if he wanted to join in the prayer. Yes. Is there anything that you want us to pray for? Yes, for my dad to come back...Kai is only 12 or so, but he broke down in tears after he told us his dad has been missing for over a year. It was a very tender moment, but it was a perfect opportunity to bear a loving testimony and teach him about prayer and to pray with him.

 

Sunday- church was pretty boring, but at least 2 of our other youth investigators, david and ethan, showed up! They are my favorite people to teach here. I think teaching youth is my favorite in general. Pretty chill day though, especially ending with our traditonal "evening with the Kents". Yeah, they are pretty much family.

 

Well, that was pretty much my week, nothing too exciting. The people are good though, which makes everything better. Only one more week here in Barrow, so I'm going to have as many adventures as I can this week! Right after this, we are going with the Cunninghams up to Ulverston to hike up to the Hoad Monument! Should be fun. I love you all.

Peace out!

 

Elder BA

 

 

Longboards and Investigators.

Hey all you dirty beach pirates! I love you all. Thank you all for being rad coast dwellers. It makes my soul happy to see the boards, the sunburns, the ocean hair and pure love for life. I don't think you understand how much I wish I could have been there with you. You are...pretty much the best family I could ever ask for, no joke, and you can bet your bottom dollar I will join you in the future ocean adventures. I can't wait to eat good food, surf, hit up all the local shops, skate, experience Z-boy nostalgia, play on random beach playgrounds and resist Mom when she tells me to shave off my sunbleached, dirty beach beard (mom, you have a year to learn to accept it). Good times ahead.

 

So rewinding back to the recent past, here's this week's deets:

 

Monday was super trunky. Why? Other than the emails which made me want to go run and jump into the ocean, at night....I met some incredible friends. It was late, and we were just about to walk into our flat when I heard the old good sound of a pack of longboards wheels on the cracky pavement. There were 4 of them, 1 girl named Hermione, and 3 boys. I didnt give any extra notice, until I noticed the kind of boards they were riding (Rayne Demonseed, Comet Voodoo and 2 Loaded boards), and that the girl was wearing a legit backpacking set-up. They stopped on the other side of the street from our house, so I had to go over and talk to them. Turns out...they are all super legit longboarders!! And...they knew about Adam Colton and Orangatang, and Longtreks and bacially everything else that is awesome. Instant click, best friends, and our discussion opened up into a whole new world of skate talk that I havent had in over a year. We talked about local places to bomb hills, their training for their next Longboard trek up to Amsterdam, news in the downhill world and...yeah they let me ride their boards. In my missionary get-up, I got to shred down the street a couple times and I felt some freedom flow back into me. It was the best feeling ever.

So now, I have super good friends my age that live across the street from me, and they even asked me to go boarding with them. Investigator sports?

Life was extra good that day.

 

After Zone meeting we made a zone-wide video making fun of the PMG District dvds. I acted in it as the new, super naive missionary that wanted to baptize the world, and afterwards I got to edit the whole video. Haha this video is super funny, basically making fun of all the stereotypes in the mission. Fun stuff.

 

I went on exchange with Elder White, a super chill kid from Utah that used to skate. We get along really well, and we worked hard.

 

It was crazy foggy and misty this week!! It seriously looked like a zombie apocolypse.

 

Official year mark. So I kept the tradition strong and burned a shirt. Felt good to be a pyro

 

More garden service

 

We refound an old investigator named Stephan, and things are looking good! He loves Bob Marley and is super chill and down to earth. He even commited to coming to church! Let's go Stephan.

 

Church was suprisingly good. Two of our less actives that we have been working really hard with showed up! That made me really happy. Two investigators, David and Ethan, also showed up, which made me even more happy! I gave a talk about the Plan of Salvation, which I turned more into the doctrines of premortal life and intelligence. It was fun to dig a bit deeper, and already have had some good responses. After 4 months of hard work and love, I truly feel part of the ward now, and there is some major mutual trust built up. I love these people, and it will be sad to leave them.

 

Every area where we dwell, we should make a difference. 

This came to mind yesterday, and these are my greatest joys that I've experienced and been a part of in Barrow:

Our beloved Connie is now going to the temple this weekend to do confirmations. She has come such a long way.

The Bishop has gained much more confidence, resulting in better leadership.

The Kents have come back to full activity.

 

I am grateful that these people let me into their lives, and I am grateful for Heavenly Father's hand in this work. I will remember this forever.

Well everyone, I love you all. Thank you for all the support and love and music that you have sent to me. Keep on being rad, keep on being elegant beach pirates, and keep on living life. Peace out familia

 

Elder BA

 

p.s. Ghost on the Shore is now the soundtrack of my life

 

 Zombie Apocalypse

Burning of the shirt:

One year down, One to go!

"And there'll be sun sun sun, all over our bodies, and sun sun sun, all down our necks, and sun sun sun, all over our faces, and sun sun sun -so what the heck!" 5 Years Time by Noah and the Whale is pretty much hitting the spot right now. The weather is beautiful outside! This is the first time I busted out the short sleeve shirt since August, and my pasty arms are enjoying the freedom. I am incredibly happy right now, and from all your bodacious words and adventures...it sounds like you are all pretty happy too! Life is good. I love you all.

Overall, my week was exhausting, but full of good times. Here it is in a nutshell: ( )  <------ this is my representation of a nutshell

 

On tuesday, we had a killer district meeting with killer ping pong. I taught them how to become misisonary experts at inviting people with this simple formula=

ask bold, inspired invitation....simply promise blessings....lovingly bear testimony. Incredibly easy, works brilliantly....as long as you are living the invitation yourself!

(this is crucial. without living it first.....it's super shallow. no bueno)

 

After the meeting, we did some service for the Cunninghams (new super posh senior missionary couple) by setting up all the furniture in their flat. Muscles. We then rewarded ourselves and kept the Barrow tribe tradition strong and went to Pizza Hut to have an epic lunch buffet, whish always turns into a competition. Elder Hamblin won, with a new record of 35 slices! Elder White came in a close second with 34 slices...but has been constipated ever since. If you aint first...you're last. (Ricky Bobby voice)

 

That night, spontaneous travel to Lancaster.

Early morning, wake up early, arise from sleeping on floor, sore back, live out of backpack, bus to train station, train to Machester, bus to Manchester Stake Center, District Leader Training from 10-5, bus back to Manchester, eat some cruddy sweet and sour chicken, train back to Lancaster. Meet up with Zone Leaders. Drive all the way back to Barrow. Sleep. Wake up, Zone Leader Blitz in Barrow. Work hard, all day long, finding a lot of new people with my Swedish friend Elder Wirtala, make fun of his love handles, walking in the rain all day, soaked to the bone, laughing along the way, especially after rebuking a very rude man who we tracted into. Swore at us hardcore, rebuked him by simply walking past his window again, smiling and waving. He swore at us some more. Good times.

 

Overall, we found some really good people, especially a very tender, older man named Tom. We taught him for a long time in his cozy little council home, and afterwards, he insisted on giving us £20. He wouldnt let us refuse...so we made a deal and gave him a Book of Mormon in exchange. Such a good soul. With him and many others, I hope we can start teaching more in order to bring this area back from the dead. I love the people here, and it's time for some growth.

 

Random note, I have a new found love for gardening. Since the weather has been way good, we have been able to do a lot more service, especially at Bro. Witham's big allotment garden. He is a greenthumb sensai.

 

Well everyone, I love you all. I know I say it over and over again but hey...its true. Keep on having adventures everyday. Only one more year till I can join you all at the beach!!! I miss you all. The entire week, by brain has been drifting back to Hawaii/California daydreams. So enjoy the beach for me. I'll be soaking in the sun here while I can. Peace out!

 

Elder Goodman

BA

HotTuna

 

p.s. Mom, I challenge you to a SUP race when I get back. Game on

 

A trip to the temple.

Hello there everyone! I love you all.

 

First off, woah...the temple dedication sounded amazing. I so wish I could have been there for it! (I dont think the rain would have affected me too much. One of the perks serving in England). Dad, you looked pretty legit. Too legit to quit. I can't wait to be able to go through the Gilbert Temple. That's a major understatement. Luckily though, I was able to go through the temple this week and experience the temple,  English style. I want to be a temple dweller for the rest of my life, and that's not just Elder Goodman talking. I got to finally see the new video (the new new video) and I loved it. It was incredible, both for physical and spiritual eyes. Enough said.

 

So this week was pretty slow, but pretty good as well. A lot of travel, which always spices up the week.

 

On monday night, we travelled to Preston and explored the town a bit, saw a group of drunk chavs get kicked out of Mcdonalds, and then chilled with the Preston elders in their massive 4 man flat. It was sweet, they had a guitar and ukulele, so Elder Hawkes (music guru. we seriously talked about music for hours) and I had a jam session and we had a fun night. Very little sleep. The next morning we woke up early, caught a bus to Chorley, and had our full day temple conference. Everything else was alright...but the temple was amazing. Also, the temple food in Preston is super good. Full roast dinner. Me gusta.

 

After the traveling back, our week was pretty slow. We have a draught in our investigator pool, so we are spending most of the time finding, which can be very draining. Luckily though, I found a way to spice it up a bit. We were walking in the council estate area, and there were a couple young kids playing football in the street. They were pretty crude little chavs, but they let me join their game because they wanted to beat an american. We played a bit and they loosened up, but then...something crazy happened. It seemed like every kid in the neighborhood stuck their heads out the door to see what was going on. They all soon started to join, and we went from a 5 man game, to over 20. It was crazy. Elder Jenks sat out, so I had all the focused attention from everyone. We played hard, I combated their crude remarks with witty bantor and secret football skils (the key to earning respect in England) and by the end of it...their was some major respect gained for missionaries in that area. Deep down, they are all good kids, they are just missing good examples. I hope that we can do the same thing in Wrexham....gain respect with the kids, so that they introduce us to their parents...then bam!! Teaching families.

 

Another thing that is spicing up this area is our new missionary couple that just got here, the Cunninghams! They are a super posh couple from Wolverhampton, but they are super nice (Sister Cunningham reminds me a bit of super british grandma connie). Since they have a car, we have had a lot more freedom to do work in some of the outside towns and villages. I'm stoked to keep on working with them, and hopefully we can see more progress in Barrow.

 

On Saturday we had our mission-wide 4 hour consecrated find. Of course, it was dumping down rain that day. Earlier on, we asked Bishop to pray about a street that we should work on. So that morning, we walked down to Telford St. and started knocking all the doors in the pouring rain. Not much success. Lovely. But...towards the end of the street, we knocked on a man's door and something really good happened. Lewis (older man with crazy blue eyes) opened up...but immediately tried to get rid of us and was flat out grumpy and rude. However though, we kept talking and he softened up a bit. He let us know that his wife passed away just last year, and he was still struggling, but he still had a faith that he would see her again. I then taught him a bit about temples...temples being the way that we can be with our loved ones forever. Although brief, the spirit was strong. Lewis was still fighting it a bit, so we decided to leave it there. We kept on knocking doors down the street, but looking over, I saw that Lewis came out of his house again to let his cat out. After a friendly wave, we walked back over and started talking again. Totally different man now. He was smiling, told us to hold on, he walked inside, then came out with a carton of fresh eggs which he gave to us. This man went from totally grumpy, to incredibly nice and egg-giving. I believe it was truly that spirit that touched and softened his heart...and I hope that we can formally start teaching him. The gospel can change people. The church is true. Enough said.

 

Other than that, the week was pretty uneventful. We got to see the Kents again, and they are awesome as always. Abi says that she wants to go to mine and Heather's wedding. That would be incredible if they could make it! I love them.

Well, the weather is finally getting less suckish. I'm craving the sun, and it's teasing me more and more by breaking through the clouds lately. I can't wait for summer.

Life is good. I'm happy. I miss you all. Party on. Peace out.

 

Elder Goodman

BA

HotTuna

 

p.s. Mum, serious question: What's your favorite disney princess? Dont ask why