What a week this last week was. One that will forever be remembered. Starting with Tue we went and retrieved the luggage of Presidents son and also the amazing new senior couple Elder and Sister
McClellan. President played a funny prank on us... As we arrived at the airport he was talking to three South American looking brothers. We came up to them and President tried to play off on us that these guys were really interested in the gospel and learning. They were from Brazil and didn't speak much English and were doing a great job of playing non members. Then one of them pulled out a old missionary badge and told us there story, they were all members waiting for a friend coming from Scotland, it was a right good laugh! Later that day we spent time helping with them and then we shot off later in the day to go on exchanges with the missionaries in Staines. We rushed off and arrived up there and had subway for dinner. As we were eating we called them to let them know we had arrived and come to find out they were at the temple visitor center with an investigator that was getting baptized that weekend, mis-communication led us to go out finding in their area. We knocked on 3 doors in about 45min, set up some appointments and knocked into a guy named Andy. He had been taught by missionaries before and this was not too long ago. We went in and talked with him and prayed and taught, in the end it was a really good spiritual teach as we extended invitations. He really did not except any of them, how sad it was to see him exercise no faith and not understand the whole principle of putting the lord first. We left and spent the night at the missionaries flat. Had a great night and morning and all was ready for that day. We headed off to presidents house, and for that whole day we were doing technical stuff, Elder Christensen and Elder McClellan was running President and another
mission president in training through our new mission key indicator analysis program and how to run it. It was very exciting seeing everyone run through this amazing program. While he was doing this I was questioning and taking in information from Spencer who served a mission in Costa Rico about 1 year ago and also now teaches in the MTC in Provo. We had a great long talk where I learned loads of new good ideas and different ways of running things to be most efficient and productive. For the rest of the day we were doing these things and figuring out how to get everyone ready and organized for all of their things. The next day we spent our time in preparation for the mission conference with Elder Quentin L Cook. We were working through all the logistics of getting everyone there and on time and also some planning for our exchanges. The next morning we headed off to Reading for an early start, it was amazing to see this all come together as a member of the quorum of the 12 came and instructed us for about 2 hours. We got everyone there and things were ready as we sat waiting for Elder Cook, he arrived about 5min early and we shook his hand and walked in to the meeting. He is such a nice man and so kind and inviting. He was our only speaker as well as his wife spoke for a short few min, It was amazing to sit and listen and be instructed by this spiritual of a giant man, he has so many great experiences and stories and all his knowledge to share it was wonderful. D&C 31:7 was a scripture he read to us and the day before I had been fasting to learn something or to just better understand some principles with regards to who prepares the hearts and who will establish the church. We must once and for all understand that we are not the ones doing it we are the Lords hands, we must do it his way and he is the one guiding them and using the hands in the way he wants. This is what really stood out to me as well as some other things concerning ch 3 and ch 11 in PMG as well as he told us to not have a narrow vision of
missionary work to build the kingdom and really help others. He then bore the most powerful testimony of the
Lord Jesus Christ I have ever heard in person. It was so amazing to hear his personal witness and what this really means to us as children of our Father in Heaven. It was a great conference, we did some running around and travel for the rest of the day. On Saturday we headed back to Reading for an exchange with the Zone Leaders and also later in the day Elder Toyn and his companion Elder Karjalina...haha I cant spell his name correctly. So we went on these two exchanges and it was amazing to be working with such good missionaries. Later that day at 5:30pm we went to the baptism of the Ynajosa family, the family we met @ the ASDA store at Reading. What a family, so ready and prepared for the gospel and what good hearts! They are so wonderful. I love them so much, you can just feel there pure hearts and the what the gospel has brought them! How amazing it was to see the Lord guide us by his hand to do such a small simple act to bring about such an eternal important decision. We had a celebration dinner at Nandos and then headed off to Bristol for a Stake Conference the next day. It took us a while to get there about 3 hour drive but we arrived safe and sound and then woke up this last Sunday and went to the Bristol stake conference at which Elder Cook again instructed us along with two other amazing speakers, they were both seventies, Elder Keron and Elder Ketcher. Such amazing talks, I learned so much as we sat there in the amazingly beautiful weather, it was 80+ degrees they opened all the windows and doors. The spirit was strong and powerful as all these leaders gave instruction. We left on a spiritual high and went off on exchanges for a few hours with Elder Joel and Elder Rantsha, what wonderful missionaries that work so hard and have such great faith and zeal for the gospel. We drove off to the temple to do Sunday night accounting. That was the crazy awesome busy week and for P-day this last Monday we went to Hampton Court.....Check out the place on the internet.I love this work and it is so true and does bring true and lasting happiness but only if we ourselves put in the effort that God requires of us. Enjoy your week and smile big!
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