A new transfer to Crosby.

Hey all you home-skillets! Greetings from Southport...and yes...it will be the last time emailing from this sea-side town! Here's what's happening=

I am moving down the coast...to Crosby! I was initially a bit bummed because that area literally borders mine, but my good friend Elder Tuioti is serving there and has filled me in on a lot of the deets. My new area has some beautiful beaches and nice parts like Formby, but it also has some sketchy areas like Bootle (notorious for throwing things at missionaries). I am pumped though, I have felt like my guard has been down the entire time here in peaceful Southport...so I'm stoked to be and work in some dodgy parts again. Look forward for some stories.

This next transfer will definitely be interesting. First off, I will be a new daddy! I have already follow-up trained Elder Bradley, but I'm stoked to train a brand new missionary of my own. That will be the fun part, but the challenging part....Crosby ward is dying pretty heavily with only 30-40 active members (well...still better than Barrow)....and the rest of my district includes one intense Canadian sister, 2 crazy Tongan sisters, and one super sensitive Lithuanian sister who can still barely speak English. Basically, I have a ticking-lady-time-drama-bomb on my hands. So with all that mixed together....I am up for another adventure.

This week has been pretty sweet. I have spent a lot of time bonding and doing service for the members here, and I will miss so many of them. I also finally got to see Gary again! It was incredible timing, but basically I got to leave him with my testimony and a solid bro hug, and hopefully his door will be opened to future missionaries. Southport has been an incredible experience, full of ups and downs, but amazing friendships.

Well that's about all for now, but I'll fill you in on the new deets from my new home and new companion next week. Till then, I love you all, and peace out!

Elder BA

the Harbon crew

The Grays, aka my southport grandparents. The coolest cats I know

Huge liverpool concert

Roar

Gary the man.

best-southport-friend-Joe

Southport crew

Football and Drunkards.

Hey everyone! First off, happy birthday sister! (more to say later on). Haha seriously, your beach bum adventures are making me day dream super hard right now, and it's super hard to type.

My week has been good though. Here's the quick deets (huge time crunch today):

I had an exchange in Liverpool with Elder Roberts. Liverpool is always an adventure.

Back in Southport, we were walking through Hesketh Park and challenged a whole group of people to football, and Elder Frandsen and I won! Take that you smelly English pig dogs! Anyways, we ended up teaching them, and 4 of them asked really intelligent questions, showed really good interest, and became new investigators! They, along with many other random on-the-spot lessons with good people, are slowly building up our teaching pool, which is what we desperately needed. Not only that, but one of the former investigators here has been coming back to church, and she is showing good progress and is looking good for baptism in the near future! We are taking it slow, but I can totally see it happening. The work is pumping up, and it's awesome.Haha Elder Frandsen took one for the team and got rebuked really hard on the bus by the driver for preaching. Stick it to the man.

This week's theme, drunkards and pot-heads calling us over to "change their lives". Their intentions to bash us reversed though, and every time their hearts were softened and we were actually able to teach and laugh with them. This one man even bought us drinks while we taught him right outside the pub!

Anyways, the truth is unconquerable, the Holy Ghost is real, the gospel brings peace, and people are inherently good, sometimes you just have to dig a little deeper.

I love you all, and I hope you continue to have a chillax radventure by the coast. You are the best family ever. Till next time, peace out.

Elder BA

p.s. transfer calls this Saturday! pretty sure I'm leaving, but who knows, I have been surprised before.

p.s.s. It.is.your.birthday 

New President and adventure.

Hey everyone! I'm going to keep this one short and sweet, cause I want time to write to everyone individually before I head off to our man day in Crosby with the other elders. So here are this week's deets!:

Last p-day, we started a tradition, MAN-DAY-P-DAY! We gathered with some other elders in Crosby, ate manly food, and played chair football for over 3 hours (best game ever, I'll introduce it when I get back)!!!!

Exchange with the new trainee in my district, Elder Lee! He is a super rad, crazy, surf/skate outdoors kid...so needless to say...we had an instant connection. The whole exchange was filled with spontaneous connections made with random people, and service and also...skating with a group of kids by the pier!!! It was so fun, and now I have a testimony that skating can connect people from all over the world, and yes...it can even lead to sharing the gospel.

I finally got to meet Pres. Ulrich at the multi-zone conference! I was a bit sceptical at first, but now I really like him. He is basically a wannabee Bruce R. McConkie, but I love his desire to make us all gospel scholars. He is a good man with a deep knowledge of the gospel, and I believe with his energy, and us getting I-pads in September, this mission is going to explode.

So, this Saturday was absolutely hectic! As you know, I was suppose to go to the temple with Alex. We got a train to Bolton, only to find that our connecting train to Chorley was cancelled. Flip. So we ended up having to get a coach. Funny thing though, it was the most random but funniest coach ride ever! The only people on the huge coach were Elder Frandsen and I, another random kid, the driver, an actress and....yeah...Jack Sparrow. Picture included. He was a professional impersonator, on his way to work a carnival but was totally lost, but remained in character the entire time! Haha so for over an hour, we were talking with this actress and Jack Sparrow, and the driver was just laughing at our conversations the entire time, with people taking pictures of our odd little group. We wrote a mini screen play for "An Actress, Jack Sparrow, Two Mormons, Stuck On A Bus". Look for it in theatres.

So after that adventure, we ended up getting to the temple literally 5 minutes too late for Alex's session. I was destroyed!! Luckily though, we just did a later session, were filled with the spirit juice, and we were then on our way. Super bummer that I missed Alex, but we were able to meet and teach some really good people on the way there and back, so that attempted to make up for it.

Well everyone, I love you all! Stay sweet, don't forget to floss, and peace out!

Elder BA.

p.s. picture proof

Hospital teaching and more kisses from homeless ladies.

Snap, hold on while I try to overcome my beach camping trunkiness...AHHHHHHHHHHHHH....ok I'm done for now. Seriously, I wish I could be there with you all right now! I can't wait for those good times again to enjoy the sun and water and just...be with you. It's crazy to see everyone grow up so much, but it makes me happy to hear that all of you are still adventurous, funny, witty, sarcastic and good friends. Best family ever.

And even before this email, I have been having some wicked daydreams of SUP surfing. It's catching on, even over here in England!

Anyways, drawing my mind away from your beach adventures, here's what happened in my not-nearly-as-epic week:

So the work has been really dead lately, but we have been able to have some really good small moments. For example, we had a little hospital adventure. Alma Perry, a really old, witty, less-active, funny lady who we have been teaching was in the hospital for about 2 weeks before we were actually able to go visit her. When we finally got there, we found that she had totally packed up her bags, ready to go...without the doctors really telling her it was ok to go. Haha so that was pretty funny to see her all ready to escape, and we also got to be there when she was bantering with a lot of the nurses. We were there for quite a while, but the amazing thing was that there were a lot of good people in her hospital ward, and the lady sitting next to Alma began to ask us some really good questions. Long story short...we ended up teaching a lesson to basically everyone who wanted to listen in there, and even one of her nurses joined in! It was a really unique teaching experience, and the spirit was strong. Afterwards, we ended up wheeling Alma out of there, catching a taxi home with her, only to teach the taxi driver on the way. Overall, it was just a really unexpected but good day...especially due to the fact that I hate hospitals.

We got to slack-line at Hesketh Park! We saw some families gathered together trying it out, just like our family has done in the past...so we went over and asked if we could try, and they welcomed us! They were a bit hesitant at first, but I think having the chance to film 2 Elders embarrassing themselves slack-lining softened their hearts a bit. It was fun though, and they were good people. I am totally rusty.

The 4th of July was incredibly lame (except for the food mum, that was lovely. We had a killer BBQ. Thank you!). After singing The Star Spangled Banner in the morning over the phone with the other 'muricans in our district, we basically spent the whole day walking in the rain. I miss freedom

I don't know why, but all the flippin homeless people flock to us! Sure they are good people, but I am getting tired of smelly homeless women kissing me on the cheek in the street. They are pretty funny to teach though, the alcohol asks us some pretty "deep" questions.

The highlight of the week was definitely our Family Fun Day! Basically, we just had a big BBQ and games and junk at our chapel with the whole ward. It was good to see everyone come together. Bragging time= one of the games was a Wellie throwing competition. For you Americans, that's basically a rubber rain boot. The competition was to see you could hurl it the furthest...and I won it for the men's group! My prize was a golden wellie for the trophy, so you'll probably see it when I get home. Win one for 'murica.

Other than that, it's been a pretty boring week. President Ulrich is officially here, so we are starting the transition. We will get to meet him on Thursday, so I hope everything will be cool beans.

Oh yeah, I am going to the temple with Alex this coming Saturday!! I am so stoked to see him again, my welsh brother from another mother.

Well my dirty beach pirate family, I love you all. I can't wait to join you at the beach next year, but until then...just keep on having Brien fill my place. Thanks for looking our for him. Peace out everyone, enjoy your time together!

Elder BA 

If you want an adventure or to learn something new....you just have to open your mouth.

Hey family:) Life is good. My favorite local, mentally handicapped man is sitting next to me right now and he is showing me things on his computer every other second, haha so sorry if this letter is a little scatter brained. Also, I want time to reply to all your individual emails, so here are this week's quick deets!:

I got to explore St. Helens! We had district meeting, and we played some serious chair football with Elders Clark and Lee. They are both pretty rad. I have missed chill, 4 man district meetings. Bro time.

On the train ride back (2 flippin hours!) something crazy good happened. So I was sitting by myself and when we pulled up to a stop, a saw this super hippe looking kid my age with a bodacious beard and groovy tunic shirt waiting to get on. I just visualized in my brain, him getting on and sitting right next to me, then me saying "hey I like your shirt". And...it happened exactly like that. As soon as I said, "hey I like your shirt", we instantly connected. Turns our he was actually on his way to...Glastonbury!!!!! I have always wanted to go there, and when he mentioned that Jack White, the Pixies and Arcade Fire and many many others were playing there this year...we both exploded. It turned into a furious talk about music.  So that was only the first good part. He ended up asking me the classic "so why are you here" question, and before I could answer, a lady sitting across from us spoke up and said "you are a Mormon missionary!" Turns out, she lived in the States for 14 years and knew all about us. She was super nice, and it came out that she was a world traveling backpacker. I was just like...what?!? Then the hippie kid was like...yeah I just got back from a European back-packing trip with my girlfriend....and I was like....what?!?!?!? So for the next hour, the three of us had an awesome discussion about music and traveling, and it eventually lead into a spiritual and philosophical discussion. We were firm in our beliefs, me being a devote but open minded Mormon, hippie kid being on open free spirit but mostly atheist, and the lady being a scientific but spiritual psychotherapist. It was incredible to be open and share all of our ideas, and I was so grateful for that chance to learn so much and bond with new ideas and people. So, moral of the story...if you want an adventure or to learn something new....you just have to open your mouth.

President Preston's farewell...incredibly sad. I will

miss that man. He was one of the ultimate examples of living the gospel and understanding and loving people, and I have learned so much from him.

I was on British National television! They made a super cruddy documentary called Meet The Mormons, following Elder Fields serving in the England Leads Mission. He was in my MTC group, so I was in a lot of the footage from the MTC! "I'm a pretty big deal...people know me" (Ron Burgandy voice)

Yesterday I met a serious hunting/gun enthusiast, and I got to handle his shotguns, so that was pretty sweet.

There has been a dip in missionary enthusiasm in the ward...so Elder Frandsen and I totally spiced up the missionary board in church. Pic included.

Well other than that, nothing too much out of the routine happened. Our teaching pool is pretty low besides a mountain of less-actives, so I made a fun weekly focus for the district this week. Everyday, we have to dare our companion to do something totally out of their comfort zone in a finding situation. Haha this should be fun. I will let you know the stories next week.

I love you all. Go enjoy the waves for me. I will continue on here being a monk.

Peace out!

Elder Goodman

p.s. if you are bored...don't buy a venus fly trap. They take 3 years to grow! flippin lame

Persecution puts hair on your chest.

Hello my adventurous family! Hearing about your nature travels makes me want to do a legendary fist-pump in this library because of your pure awesomeness. I can't wait to join you all again. Get the kayaks ready!

Anyways, life is pretty good here. This week has been a week of facing change. Here are the deets:

So on Monday and Tuesday, we spent a lot of time with the sisters. Mexican food, ninja, jam sessions, blitzing streets, swan feeding, and having a final BBQ at our friends the Elston's. It was really fun, but at the same time really sad because we all knew our separation was imminent. It really hit hard when we went over to help them pack and prepare their flat for the new missionaries coming to Southport in 6 weeks. I never thought that I would have more "friend separation" problems on the mission, but hey...that's how it goes. With all of that and Gary falling through, it's been a bit down here in Southport. Luckily though, the sun is still shining and it's time for a new adventure.

Our new district is now Elder Frandsen and I, Elder Clark (my good redneck friend from my group who was in my Wrexham district at one point, now serving in St. Helens), Elder Lee (Elder Clark's new trainee, still haven't met him yet), Elder Roberts (goofy, but chill zone leader) and Elder Christiansen (from my group, biggest goober that I have ever met. I have never seen so much pride in all my missionary life). So, this will be a transfer of bonding with our St. Helens Elders and avoiding our zone leaders. It's pretty much unanimous. Good times ahead.

On Thursday, I got to meet up with Elder Tuioti from my group and we headed off to Manchester to the new YSA building for a district leader's conference. No one gave us any directions, so we had a little city adventure trying to find our way around and asking locals. Basically all we were told by the zone leaders was that it was by an aquarium...so whenever we asked someone on the streets for directions, they looked at us like idiots. Haha turns out, there are no aquariums in Manchester....but there is an "aquatic center". Basically a glorified swimming pool. After a while, we found the building and had a pretty good meeting. And since it was one of the last meetings President Preston will be at (incredibly sad)...he bought us all Costco pizza. I love that man.

The rest of the week went pretty well. Elder Frandsen and I got split up one evening as we started teaching two groups of street bums who called us over. A homeless man almost punched me in the face, and we had to seriously defend our faith, so that was pretty exciting. This is a really heavy "finding" mission, and at first I dreaded it. But I have come to realize that finding on the streets is where our faith can grow the strongest, simply because that's where we get attacked and have to defend it the most. Persecution puts hair on your chest.

On Sunday, I taught both the gospel principles lesson and Elders Quorum lesson with like 5 minutes notice. I have faith in the spirit and God watching out for us...because half of what I said did not come from my own brain, and I am thankful for that because it really moved a lot of people. I want to be a teacher for the rest of my life.

Other than that, our week was filled with the same ol' same ol'. Finding, teaching, finding, teaching, eating, then more finding and teaching. Since we don't have other missionaries here to hang out with and recharge...I have set up a music room in our flat. Guitar, ukulele, harmonica, keyboard, and a sweet speaker system. That's where you can find me every night now.

Well my family, I love you all. Thank you for your love and keeping me updated on your outdoor journeys. Keep it up!

Till next time, peace out.

Elder BA

A Roller Coaster of Sorrow and Awesomeness...

Hey there home skillets! Greetings from sunny Southport. I am staying another transfer here! Oh yeah, happy father's day dad. I love you. Well, just pretend I sent that yesterday. Cool beans.

The weather has been absolutely awesome and sunny lately, and it actually feels like summer. Its just funny to see a bunch of pasty English people celebrate this rare occasion, when to me it just feels like a taste of home. I now have a major missionary/farmers tan. Party on.

So this week has been a rollercoaster of sorrow and awesomeness...

Ok lets start off with last P-day. We had just finished shopping and emailing and we met up at the chapel with the sisters to hang out and have an awesome day, but then we got a text from Gary.....basically saying "hey, I changed my mind, this isn't for me, I have a girlfriend now"....and Elder Frandsen and I were totally devastated. Especially Elder Frandsen, who had a major breakdown. I tried calling Gary several times, but no response. It was seriously one of the hardest heartbreaks on my mission, and I felt destroyed. Gary was such a good friend, and he was so close and had a new light in him and everything...but then a skanky girl ruined it all. Sister Thomson and I had a good Mumford jam session to help cool my head, but even after P-day we felt destroyed. So we started a fast for Gary, that we would be able to contact him by the 11th of June. To be continued...

In the meantime, we were about to call it a day and head back to our flat, but we got a call from the sisters. Sister Thomson got spontaneously and insanely ill and was vomiting everywhere and looked and felt like death, and they asked us to come over and give her a blessing. So we ran all the way there, and I gave her a blessing. It was a very sacred experience, but basically the words came out "by tomorrow morning, you will be completely healed". We ran all the way back to the flat to make it home in time, and we were shattered, both mentally and physically. To make things worse, we got another call from the sisters and Sister Thomson had to go to the hospital. For the rest of the night, we were all kept awake making sure she was alright. Turns out, she got crazy food poisoning. Haha it was a night of hell. She now has earned the nickname Chicken Chunks. But then...in the morning we had a zone meeting, and the sisters surprisingly showed up to the train station with us, only having about 30 minutes of sleep from the night before. It was actually pretty hilarious, they were both kinda high. And guess what, even though she was shattered, Sister Thomson was completely healed. Simply put, I have full faith in the power of the priesthood and the power of healing.

The rest of the day included all of us hanging out at zone meeting. For an activity, we played a zone wide game of ninja with over 30 people, and I won it! Southport represent! So that was the end of the bad and a start to the good times this week.

So two days after our fast, on the 11th of June, we randomly stopped by Gary's house after not being able to contact him at all. And guess what...he let us in! It was incredible, and even though he has had some major setbacks, he still has held onto his faith and wants to be baptized. It will just take some more time. We were very bold with him, and basically let him knew that Satan was trying every trick in the book to stop his baptism from happening, especially sending a skanky girl his way. So, the power of fasting is real as well, but we still have a lot of work to do.

The rest of the week was full of adventures with the sisters. They are both getting white-washed out, and sadly no one is taking their place, leaving Southport all to me and Elder Frandsen. Since we are all really good friends now, we just decided to make the best out of this last week. I will send some pics, but we walked all the way to Tarleton, went out to Nandos to eat, played volleyball with the ward and all wore custom Southport t-shirts with all of our faces on them, did a lot of garden service, but my favourite was definitely our adventure on Saturday. We all got Subway and met at the beach in Ainsdale. The weather was perfect, and the water was warm. After we ate, we had a spontaneous adventure all the way to the Southport pier. We all looked like dirty beach pirates after everything was done, and it easily earned its spot as one of my favourite memories on the mission so far. Life is good.

Aside from that, we have just been trekking on with missionary work. Working hard, playing hard, and not spending too much time in between (props to you dad).

I love you all, and I am so happy how tight knit we all are. Let's keep it that way, like macaroni and cheese.

Take care, and peace out.

Elder BA

Klingonsmith, Thomson, Frandsen, BA

walk to Tarleton

Sandy Feet at the beach

Frans and Sister K

Chicken Chunks

dirty pirate

sister pirates

post game of ninja on the beach

aftermath