Radventures and Happiness.

Hello everyone! Oh yeah I agree, bank holidays suck! But luckily, there is so much love oozing from the computer right now. It sounds like all of you are having some crazy good times, times of growing up, and family connections that just make me smile. I love you all!

So, I don't know what's happening exactly, but there are some serious miracles happening in Southport at the minute. I just...can't even explain it, but I am incredibly happy! Ok let's see if I can focus and share the deets:

We had a radventure up in Rufford. Knocked one street...found 3 new investigators, including a beautiful little family. I think it's been ages since missionaries ever worked this small little farm town, but it turns out, the people there were prepared to receive us and were super friendly. The whole adventure took about 7 hours, including travel time, but it was totally worth it.

We found Gary....the man. Miracle. Ok quick story. Elder Frandsen and picked a street to go knock at like 7:30 in the evening last Thursday, and we seriously knocked one door and all I could think was..."I'm not feeling this. This isn't right". So we bailed from that street, and we were pretty clueless where to go next. So Elder Fransden was like "lets go find towards the Botanic Gardens" and I was like "OK". Started walking. Bam. "I'm not feeling this. This isn't right either". So we turned around, and I felt like we should go try by our investigator Ronny. So spontaneously we walked all the way there, and knocked on his door and Ronny warmly welcomed us in. And there was Gary, sitting on the couch. To make a long story short, Gary is the most prepared and spiritually ready person and eager to learn person I have ever met on my mission. We have seen him and taught him everyday since then, he is reading from the Book of Mormon, he even downloaded the Book of Mormon app, he came to church with us, full suit and everything, met all the members, stayed all three hours, he read through 12 chapters of Gospel Principles already, he is determined to quit smoking and drinking, and he is powerfully recognizing the spirit. Not only that...he is being baptized on the 21 of June. I have literally seen a new light in him. Needless to say, I can't remember the last time that I have been this happy on my mission. Please pray for him.

Other than that, there are just so many little things that are happening here. It feels so good to be a part of another ward family. We were able to go to the wedding of one of the members here which was really cool, we had a mission activity so I got to chill and hang out with all my good friends in normal clothes and eat burgers (mini pre-farewell for President Preston), us and a few of the ward members are putting together a musical fireside that is really coming along, the sisters and Elder Frandsen and I are performing too (we are singing how great thou art, but totally remixed it in an indie folk kind of vibe. completely different melody with different singing parts. should be good), Bishop gave me his guitar to borrow and my fingers and ears are totally happy! Life is good.

So, that's about the life of Elder Goodman for the moment. I can't believe I only have 9 flipping months left. It seems a bit unreal. Even though I now have some seriously deep roots here, I can't wait to see all your faces again. I love you all. Keep up the good times. Peace out!

Elder BA

p.s. I forgot if I told you already, but Elder Frandsen and I felt a little food-venturous.....and we found a little shop that sold bull testicle burritos...and yes we ate them. Super weird, but at least now I can say that I did it. Anyways...we are buying them for the zone leaders next week for lunch. Prank war...continued. Game on

It's Warming up in Southport and it feels good....

Hey what's up home skillets? Life is good here in Southport. It's been really warm lately, with last weekend being the hottest weekend of the year so far. Me gusta. Haha it's kind of funny, we have been doing a lot of service outside with some members, a lot of sun, and my good friend Curt got major heat exhaustion and sun burns. And I was just like..."what's wrong with you? This feels really good". Poor sun-deprived british people. Thank you mom and dad for raising me in the Arizona sun! 

So this week had some crazy ups and downs, but I am happy still, and here are the deets:

Exchange in Liverpool with Elder Mapfumo, aka Blackfumo. Liverpudlians are some of the craziest but nicest people I have ever met. Out of all the people though, my favorite was Matt. He is totally artistic and intellectual and funny, and he just went and saw the Book of Mormon play. After he saw it, he referred himself online, so Elder Blackfumo and I went over and we had an incredible lesson with him, now he's a new investigator. It was one of the most interesting lessons I have ever had, because we simply listened to some of the songs of the play, which are hilarious, and then explained all of the truth and doctrine that the play brushes up on. Thank you writers of Southpark! Anyways, the rest of the exchange was full of traveling, combating serious bible bashers and walking the streets of Liverpool, talking to all the characters in the way.

My heart was pretty destroyed this week. Grant, our best investigator who was on the brink of baptism...fell into the trap of anti-mormon material. He thought we tricked him and betrayed him and now he wont even answer our calls. There is nothing wrong about intellectually challenging the church and studying with logic, but when all faith and memories of miracles are totally put aside, that's when problems arise and the peace crumbles. Sadly, this is where we are at with Grant. We hope and pray that we can see him again. 

Random note, we were walking by the bay in Southport and we saw something totally rad. A man was stand up paddle boarding.....with a full dress suit on! Shirt, tie, jacket, trousers, shoes and everything. This man should win the "Classiest man in Southport" Award.

So like I said earlier, we have been able to do an incredible amount of service lately, both for members and non-members. It has opened so many doors and it has made me so happy to just go lose myself. I love the idea "some churches wear crosses as their symbol, our symbol that we wear is our love and service to others". Amen.

Stake Conference in Liverpool was...interesting haha. So in the middle of it, this lady got up and totally lost her mind and started cursing the Stake President in front of hundreds of people. It was mega awkward, especially with the Mayor of Liverpool attending. She had to be dragged out of there. Never seen that before. Check that one off the list. 

Other than that, this week has been pretty chill. Just missionary work and finding everyday in the sun, and then nerf shoot-outs in the flat during lunch. This week should be good though, we have a mission activity in Chorley, and a wedding in the ward that we are helping out at this weekend. Should be fun. 

Well, I love you all, and I am totally stoked for Hawaii. 9 more months to work hard, change lives, and create the stories that I will tell to my children and my children's children. 

Take care, and peace out!

Elder BA

p.s. next monday is another flippin bank holiday...so look out for my words on tuesday! 

me and the Deids

Elder Mapfumo, aka Blackfumo, aka FantomManx

Pulp Fiction

Liverpool Cathedral. My lens isn't wide enough

Skadoosh!

BA and Fradsen

I now see how rare it is to have a such tight knit family as ours.

Hello again! It was way good to talk to you all yesterday. At first I wanted to punch the computer in the face, but luckily everything worked out brilliantly. God is watching out for us. I love you all! And even though Tanner is tall and got the whole man voice going on, and Brien is all tatted up, and Randi is almost off to Hawaii...it's good to see that you are all still the same family that I love. Especially being in England, I now see how rare it is to have a such tight knit family as ours. Let's just keep it up, forever, simple as that. 

So yesterday pretty much covered the deets of my week, but here are some random brain thoughts:

As far as big cities go....Liverpool is rad

Elder Fransden. So he is from southern California, has been out about 10 months, had some major struggles at the beginning of his mission, but is now getting the hang of himself. Being 18 when he came out and coming from a super wealthy family, he had some major maturity and pride issues. He is still very materialistic, which really grinds my gears, but he is already a lot better from when I first met him. We get along for the most part, and luckily my patience is at a level where I can tolerate mostly anything, especially when he thinks he is the boss. The best way I found to combat that is to just let him take over then wait for him to realize "hey...I need your help". The only way to fight against pride is to win with humility. I hope I can mentor him more and that we can become friends. He is a good kid, still a baby face, but a good missionary. May the adventures continue.

Yesterday after skyping, I talked to Bro. Fullwood about my finger which has been really jammed and swollen and in pain ever since sports day, like a couple months ago. Being a chiropractor, in literally 5 seconds he worked his magic, popped and cracked my finger...now its incredibly better and back to normal. It was fascinating! Wizard. But for real, it really motivated me to follow one of my passions to become a myopracter and help restore people back to proper order. 

Work is a bit slow at the moment right now. But luckily our best investigator Grant just got out of the hospital, so we hope we can get him back on track again. Advice, don't do drugs, and don't get STDs. Bad combo.

The rest of my life has just been filled with basic missionary work, traveling and doodling whenever I get the chance. Southport is really nice and posh, but it can be very boring as well. It feels like my guard is totally let down, because all I have to fear is some old lady running over my foot with her walker or something. There are no dodgy areas here. I can't believe it, but I kinda miss Barrow now. Well, I will do my best this transfer and make the best of it, but I hope I move out soon. Especially with time running out, I want to see and experience and help out as many people as I can all over the mission.

Once again, I love you all. Seriously, one of the greatest changes I have seen in myself over this mission has been my increased love for all of you. I'm not getting all fluffy and mushy, but you know what I mean. Keep on keepin on, and continue on with all your radventures. Till next time, peace out!!

Elder BA

p.s. this library smells like old people and sunscreen. bad combo

"Worry a bit less, and trust in God a whole lot more"

Hello everyone! Wow I am exhausted right now. I spent all morning traveling to and from Liverpool for a zone conference, bank holidays simply throw off all my groove, and I just had to run to this computer before that old man snatched it up. Other than that though, I am happy. 

Since my brain is a bit scrambled right now, here's this last week in quick bullets:

We finally got a serious tradition of P-day football with the neighborhood kids going. Best source of investigators so far.

We found one new investigator who turned out to be homeless. Very clean and kind, but homeless. Turns out, the news spread and now a bunch of homeless people are flocking to us. One lady kissed me on the cheek. Interesting day

I love scousers. Best people in England

I am now on the committee to organize a musical fireside for the ward. I love music, but how the flip do I do this?

Grant has made incredible progress, and so many miracles are surrounding him. Words can't explain.

For the bank holiday yesterday, we went to the temple as a district, which was an amazing experience. What made it even more awesome...I saw Elder Diederich there! We had an epic reunion, and basically I haven't laughed that hard ever since he left Barrow. Still my favorite companion. Good times.

My new Southport family= the Mcmanus'. I love them to death. 

I simply love the people here.

Oh yeah, transfer news! I am staying here, but Elder Bradley is off to Chorley. My new companion is Elder Frandsen from California, I haven't met him yet, but I have heard some interesting things about him. Basically he is really struggling, so this will be another interesting transfer. 

Thank you for the Easter package! It made it here safely, and now it is safely in my stomach. 

Skype on Sunday! I will hopefully be skyping from the Fullwoods at 4, so pray that it works out. I miss your faces. 

My new mission/life motto at the minute, "Worry a bit less, and trust in God a whole lot more". This is a message I have been sharing and living a lot lately, and it was an answer to some questions that I had taking into the temple. It works wonders

Well my family, I love you all. Even though I am deathly tired, I am still on the adventure of my life, and I'm loving it. I can't wait to see all your faces on Sunday! Till then, stay sweet and peace out.

Elder BA

"It's not all a bucket of puppies, but the good is far outweighing the bad."

Hello everyone! Greetings from the land of sun, old people, alcoholics and coconut ice cream. Life is good at the moment. It's not all a bucket of puppies, but the good is far outweighing the bad. No matter what people say, happiness is always an option. 

So here are the deets for the week:

District meeting and exchange with good old, zone leader Elder Mapfumo. Him and I worked together occasionally at the beginning of the the mish, so it was way good to reconnect. So many black jokes. I never thought I would make so many connections with so many people here, and I love it. Our district is really getting tight, and Elders Wirtala, Mapfumo, Bradley and sisters Thomson and Klingonsmith and I are all pretty good friends now as a group. The sisters initiated a prank war, with tricking me into eating a "vanilla icing" (toothpaste), chocolate cupcake. It's on. Updates on the prank war next week.

Work is really starting to take off here in Southport and Liverpool. Sheila Barnes, a friend of the Bishop's family, has finally made the commitment to be baptized, so we and the sisters are helping prepare her the best that we can. I am interviewing her on Wednesday, and when she passes, she will be baptized on the 10th of May!

Our investigator Grant has been making incredible progress. There have been so many miracles and "woah...did that just happen?" moments with him. Words can't explain it well enough. He is a psychology focused intellectual with a rough and gritty past, but he is finally recognizing the spirit and Heavenly Father's love. On Sunday, Elder Bradley and I were inspired to go over and visit him, and it turned out to be an amazing lesson of peace. He needed to then run to the shop, so we walked with him...only to bump into some of his friends...especially Ian. Turns out, Grant has been talking to Ian about us and how his life is changing because of it, and Ian needs a life change more than anyone. I have never seen a man so sad and rock bottom before. He lost absolutely everything, and is left carrying an empty beer bottle in his pocket for sheer protection. Needless to say, he was totally open to the gospel message, and long story short...we set up a lesson of Friday for both Grant and his fiance Haley, Grant's mum, and Ian. It's just a testimony to me that Heavenly Father works through us to help all his children. 

The rest of the week was pretty bland, but we got to meet with some good families. Sunday roast at the Fullwoods were incredible. Since a lot of the families are really well off here, we have been teaching a lot of "what really matters" and "materials don't bring happiness" and "the importance of family" lessons. So far, it's going really well and we are making some good connections. 

Random note, we explored Hesketh Park and the Botanic Gardens, so you should pull it up and check it out for yourselves. There are some beautiful area's in town here. 

Well, that's about all I have to say for myself this week. Just a heads up, next week is both a Bank Holiday (lame)... and transfers (5 week transfers rock)! So look for my words on Tuesday. I doubt I am leaving Southport yet, so no worries there. I love you all, and hearing about all your adventures makes me happy. Only 10 months left for me on mine, so it's an even better time to make the best of it. Peace out home skillets, talk to ya next week!

Elder BA

p.s. the man sitting across from me looks exactly like Jack Johnson. 

p.s.s. TBT seriously played Where is my Mind?? what the cuss

p.s.s.s. Tell Brien I love his guts

Easter in Southport. Power of Prayer.

What's up home skillets?! First off, bank holidays suck. They totally throw off my groove, but I'm happy that I got to finally read your words and email today. This library is overloaded and we barely got our computer reservations. It's a bit hectic, but now...I just get to chill and type out my brain thoughts. Life is good:) I love you all, and I hope you all had a killer Easter. 

Ok first, I will rewind a bit and give you this weeks deets:

The missionary work this week really really picked up, which was much needed. There was a lot of prayer, and Heavenly Father rewarded us with a lot of prepared people that we met on the streets and trains. It feels good to teach people that are genuinely interested in what we have to say. Oh yeah, a mini miracle happened. So our focus has been to find a family, and also to help boost up Bishop's confidence. So, I asked him to pray about an area that we can go find a family in. Apparently, Bishop took it really really seriously, prayed and pondered hard, and basically gave us a whole battle plan of what area's to hit and in what order. So one day we went to the first street in the area to go finding, and after about 30 or so doors...we found a family! It was incredible, and the Steph, the mother, was so happy and open to hear about what we had to say. The spirit was strong as we focused on eternal families, and she invited us back again. As soon as Elder Bradley and I left her door, there was a flurry of high fives and prayers of thanks. We then called Bishop to give him the good news, and he was super surprised, but it gave him a major confidence and faith boost! Hopefully this is just the beginning to the work boost here.

Other than that, we just met a lot of interesting people on the streets and we explored around Southport and Liverpool and the beach more. Fun adventures. Oh yeah, we went over to a members home one night, only to find that they locked themselves out of their house. They were panicking a bit, and were just about to break the window, but then inspiration hit. Long story short, I ended up climbing up through the second story window and squeezed in and unlocked the door from the inside. Byron, their 13 year old, came up to me after and said " thank you thank you so much...you just got me out of so much trouble". Haha now we are tight.

One night, our appointment fell through so we were left with nothing planned for the last hour of the day. We were walking through town center and passed a group of hood-rat skaters. After a dare from Elder Bradley, I walked over and started talking to them...and ending up getting challenged to a game of SKATE. Haha so I rolled up my sleeves and borrowed one of their boards, and we had a legit game of skate. I wasn't doing too bad until the kid I was playing, Daniel, moved over to the 4 stair and started busting out some tricks over the gap. I ended up just doing one ollie off the 4 stair but after that I was just like "I'm done, if I get hurt, I'm dead". So he crushed me in the end, but we earned some major props with that crowd. Since then, we passed the skate park and saw Daniel there, and we got a wave of respect. It felt good.

Nothing too exciting happened after that, but yesterday morning we had a huge ward football match. I am loving the sport now, but am still no match for these European naturals. I am loving the ward so far, but its such a huge change from my other areas. A good portion of them are temple workers, and they are so posh and formal, especially at tea appointments, and I feel way out of my comfort zone just coming from Barrow. It's been fun getting to know them all though. Easter Sunday was very good, and we had a solid 90 or so come out (the largest number that I have seen my entire mission). 

Well everyone, I love you all. Life is good at the minute, and I'm grateful that you are all doing well. It's crazy, I will be able to SKYPE in just a couple weeks! And next Easter, I will get to spend it with you. Thank you for all your love, and all your awesomeness. Till next time, peace out!

Elder Bryant Goodman

BA

Kitchen

Meditation balcony

Flag Wall

Grandma bedroom

Weight room

Bathroom

hallway

living Room

Tarn Haws hike

money tree

Muddy shoes and Blue Skies.

Hello everyone! Nothing but blue skies today, and it feels awesome. Short sleeve shirts everyday, and i'm even shifting from pasty white to a pseudo tan. Life is good, and I love you all.

Well...this week has been an interesting week here in Southport. Haha here are the week's deets:

On Monday, it was pretty much the most exhausting p-day ever. We ran everywhere, not by our choice. I hate late buses.Good exercise though. However, the good running came from playing football at the church with a couple kids from the neighborhood. I hope we can get to know their families and start teaching them like we did in Wrexham.

We had a beach adventure! We were working in Ainsdale just south of us, where we met and taught our new investigator Brian!, but it opened up right to the coast...and we couldn't resist. It was seriously the best beach I have ever seen in England. So...we were spontaneous and decided to have an adventure and beach contact all the way to the Southport Pier. It took way longer than we thought, and we ended up getting stuck in some muddy bogs, but the ocean air and the sun and the good people along the way more than made up for it. Haha we got several strange looks, especially when we finally made it to the pier. All people could see where two weirdos in white shirts and ties and muddy shoes and trousers and one holding a walking stick that he found along the way (me). Good times.

Thursday though, was absolutely chaotic. Small taste of the day...I burned my fingers on the stove in the morning, our afternoon appointments fell through, the bus didn't stop for us when we needed to get to our coordination meeting, so we caught a later bus, only to realize we left the phone back at the stop, got off and had to run all the way back, miraculously found the phone that someone took, finally made it to coordination, only to get talked down to by our ward mission leader who only likes our sisters, who Elder Bradley and I do not get along with,and then...the rest of our appointments fell through for the evening. Yup, that was a good day to be over with.

Except for an adventure down in Ormskirk on the weekend, the rest of the week went pretty downhill as far as missionary work goes. I have never had so many appointments fall through in my life. Our motto this week was just "come what may and love it". Haha I'm glad that a new week has started.  Time to start fresh and just move on.

I can't believe I have officially been out for 13 months!! Craziness. I can't wait to see you all again. I love you all, and you're the raddest family I could ask for. My intro. testimony on Sunday was focused on living simply and "simplicity is beautiful", with family being the most important thing in our lives and in the life to come. The gospel is for eternal families, simple as that. So thank you all for all the love, and keep it coming, and I'll do my best to return the favor. Till next time, peace out! 

Elder BA

p.s. sorry for the lack of photos! It's been a bit busy, but I promise I will be trigger happy this week

Fullwood Family.