Feb 12, 2012

I really should get a cord for my camera. The other problem is that I left my charger for the battery in Helston but I will be getting that back on Wednesday. We have a big half-mission conference in Crawley on wednesday, which I always look forward to. I am starting to know most of the missionaries, and it is always really good to get to go and hear from Pres. Shamo and just get to see all the other Elders. This week has been sort of a crazy week... mostly because of the district here was starting to fall apart. Everyone just seemed to start cracking all at the same time. Luckily Elder Jones, one of my really good friends from the MTC is just a really solid guy and really helped to hold everything together. I went on exchange with him on Wednesday, he served a year in the swiss military before he came out, and he is very wise and just someone good to talk to. I actually just got off the phone with him. He is ordering me a genuine swiss army knife for my 72 hour kit. I am going to get the rest of it together next monday. I already found a lightweight sleeping bag in the flat. Yesterday was a really good day. It started out badly, as Jay and Ernest both couldn't make it to church. THen Shivonne texted us and she said she felt ill. And Cherise and Lilieth didn't show up either. That is, until about 11 when a lady sitting in front of me said she saw two african ladies, through the tiny window in the chapel door, walk into the church and then turn around and walk out. I ran out of the meeting, grabbed a jamaican sister who just happened to be in the hallway, and got out to the parking lot just in time to stop them from driving off. It was CHerise and Lilieth, and they said they got lost and were really embareassed they were so late and so they would just come next week. We managed to talk them into staying, and I think they really enjoyed it. Their 7 year old daughter loved primary as well. Our ward mission leader was supposed to teach gospel principles, but at the last minute said that he wouldn't be able to anymore. So we did an impromptu lesson about the sacrament that I thought went okay. They both said that they really liked how at our church we have discussions and not just get talked to. And then after church we called Jay, and Ernest, and they were both free. So we got our Elders QUorum presidnet to drive us all to Staines, the stake center, where Pres. and Sis. Shamo gave a fireside about the BoM. They both met a lot of people, a lot of recent converts as well, and both said they had a really good time. I sadly missed the whole thing, as I had to interview 3 people for the zone leaders who they are baptizing next week, but I was finished in time to get some of the refreshments at the end. Jay had a really rough week. He really is getting a hard time from his landlady and her family (who he lives with) for his investigation into our church. It got so bad this week that he is being forced to move out. He does so much for them, just because of his gratitude and his love for them, he cooks meals for them and cleans up after them everyday. And yet they have been treating him horribly. He says he is feeling really confused and is facing a lot of opposition, which is why he didn't come to church. But we managed to talk him into coming to the fireside. He just needed to realize when we are down that is when we most need to turn to the Lord, and not the other way around. I think it uplifted him a bit, Pres. Shamo is a pretty spiritual dude. Another really cool thing this week was the help of this guy named Elvis in our ward. He is Phillipino, and I guess loves working with missionaries but none of them had talked to him for a while. Last sunday we were talking and he told me he wanted to come out with us on tuesday. So for like 4 hours tuesday morning he came with us, knocking doors and teaching lessons and driving us around. He is such a funny guy. One of the lessons he started talking about how he was into drugs and stealing stuff and violence and all this crazy stuff before he was baptized, and then after his baptism how he changed. The investigator was like 'wow, how old were you?' Turns out he was baptized at age 10. I don't know how he got up to all the stuff at that age. And as we were walking by this fruit stand, he stopped and asked the guy what a bowl of oranges cost. He asked for two bowls, but then saw this huge crate of oranges. He bought the crate instead for like 10 pounds. THere were literally at least 50 oranges in there. And he knocked off like 4 of them in the next five minutes, and kept trying to get us to eat more and more of them. I could only eat two. Elder Curran only ate one. He only eats maybe 50% of the meals that members feed us as well... most of the time he just says he isn't hungry after he takes one bite. He is very picky. Maybe this is why we get like no D.A.s here...Anyways, it was a pretty good week. It still isn't Helston, and never will be, but I am starting to warm up to the place. We have some great investigators and ward members here, and I am really enjoying my time here. We actually had another big snowfall this week. Not as big as the first one though.THe address I gave you is wrong. THe real one isFlat 3 Stoke house23 Upton ParkSlough, BerkshireSL1 2DAWe live in a flat (apartment). The lady that lives under us is always smacking her roof to tell us that we are too loud, even though we are very respectful and quiet. I think she is a little bit crazy. That snowmobiling sounds pretty cool. I would love to do that, but it sounds like it might have been dangerous. Falling off the snowmobile multiple times?Windsor castle cost 17 pounds to get into, and I'm trying to be better with my credit card so I didn't go in. Some Elders did, and the rest of us had a big snowball fight in a field and played some snow soccer. It was still pretty good though. Ya we are very close to Heathrow. I don't really notice many planes though. That is too bad that video didnt fit... I would seriously have loved to see that. Hope all is well back in Canada. You got any good missionary stories yet seeing as you are ward missionary?Love Elder Steed