Medic!

Why is everyone sick. Like stop, please. The other set of elders and the sisters are all sick, so it's just us and the mandarin elders carrying the ward at the moment. Hopefully everyone feels better. Its really empty at the institute. 

For starters, we baptised Mason! He really loved it. It was a really spiritual experience, and my companion got to baptise him! He is ready to endure to the end, and I'm sure the Lord will watch his career with great interest. 

He was baptised on the 25th of January. For folk back home, that's a special day. Burns day. He was like some old Scottish poet who wrote some good stuff, so we have haggis and a celebration for him. Sadly, we did not have haggis at masons baptism, becuase I actually think it's illegal to buy over here. Anyway, it's an even more special day than people think, becuase just as Mason was baptised on the 25th, so was I. 25th January 2015 is when I was baptised, and that's too much of a coincidence to be one. It's poetic, and all thanks goes to God and the Holy Ghost

We went to the beach for pday, and it was awesome. Then we went to the institute for the rest of pday becuase the regular building we go to is doing renovations or something, and the other church building had a funeral on. But pday was great. Elder durrant and i got to jam out, him on piano and me on the organ, which was sick. Turns out I'm a lot better at table tennis than I thought I was. Or maybe I just got really lucky. 

On the way back, we met a bloke called Raja, who was wearing a Dresden football top. We got to talking about it, and it turns out he knows an exchange student from Edinburgh Uni here at UofW! And what's even crazier, is that i ran into him back in October! The only downside is that Raja is a celtic fan, so he was immediately made a red dot, do not contact, and he will not be receiving any of the missionary lessons and the blessings that come with baptism

I celebrated my 19th birthday on Wednesday, and it was such a good day. One of our friends, Tony, of whom we've been trying to meet up with for the past few months, decided that he would take us out to his restaraunt for some hotpot, which was awesome! Institute was good as well, as it always is. 

I've also had "Rock 'n' Roll Star" by Oasis stuck in my head for the past two weeks. No one over here has ever heard of any Oasis songs except Wonderwall. Yay

On Thursday we got a call from President Sherman to go to the hospital and give a blessing to one of the sisters who was ill. We got told to go to the UW hospital, so we went to it. We spent about 45 minutes running around with about a dozen phone calls to the sisters, the APs and President Sherman to find out where they were in the hospital, and we found out that they were at the other UW hospital, 20 mins away. So we make our way over there, and finally meet up with them after about two and a half hours of trying to get to them. After president showed up, another two hours later, he took us out to five guys, becuase we hadn't actually had breakfast yet. I can tell you I'd never eaten a five guys burger that fast in my entire life. I ate most of the chips as well

We spent a lot of Friday running around getting meds for sick missionaires. We got a lot of leftovers from Sister sherman, dropping off the sisters back at their flat, and it's been good so far. They've been great leftovers.

We had a lot of lessons on Saturday, and that was cool. We had a phone call lesson mid game night, and I took my cards with me when we went to take the call. I've played with a lot of cheaters, so I'm not taking any chances. We had to leave early, but i was definitely gonna win that game

We had our first, last and only dinner appointment of the month, and it was a really nice lasagne! We also went out for some curry on Saturday, and you got to pick your spice levels out of 5. I got a 4, and it was a good level of spice. Enjoyable and tasty, whilst having a spice level that was hot and not burning to the point of discomfort. We've got some ghost pepper sauce in the flat, and i feel like I need to be using it more. 

Overall I'd say this week has been really great. There are some days where I'm just looking for a place for my head or to runaway, but every step forward gets me one step closer to a better day. It's getting colder, and my hands have become so numb, and I've actually got to use handwarmers. I'm happy with what I've done, and if it weren't for the Holy Ghost I wouldn't be able to do any of it. In the end, it doesn't even matter how good i am, cos it's all the spirit working through me. Yes, it's easier to run from the spirit, but you should never be to the point where you've given up. Yes, there are some days where nobody's listening, but we just keep going. People might not show it, but they care. 

That's a mission for me. A whole lotta fun, a lotta bad days, good days, and linkin park references. 

This week's spiritual though comes in the form of something it says in Preach My Gospel, the "missionary manual" that has all the lesson and everything you need to know to be a better missionary. This quote is from shapter six in PMG, Seek Christlike Attributes. It's Elder Holland saying:

"The Lord blesses those who want to improve, who accept the need for commandments and try to keep them, who cherish Christlike virtues and strive to the best of their ability to acquire them. If you stumble in that pursuit, so does everyone; the Savior is there to help you keep going. … Soon enough you will have the success you seek"

My favourite part of this is where he says that the Lord blesses those who TRY to keep God's commandments. We all fall short, but we can rely on the Saviour for strength and power. He lifts us up when we are weary and empowers us when we are weak. He is there for us. Use his love for your benefit. 

Keep going!

Doggies!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ke7PcXCfxR8azkcG9

Well it certainly was a boring four days since last pday. Not that many interesting things happened aside from a few highlights 

We went to the temple on Thursday, which is always nice. It's such a sacred place, and I always feel the spirit there. I did not feel the spirit when my companion ordered an "Oscar Burger" at the diner we went to after. For context, that's my dog's name. I felt very uncomfortable in how much he enjoyed it.  

We had a dinner appointment with a member of the bishopric, and his dog is sooo high energy! Very cute and huggable. I hope my dog doesn't get jealous. It was a great day. We made (yes, made) pizzas and had a great time!

The sisters had another baptism. That makes five baptisms in the space of three transfers, which is awesome! It's really nice to see people make covenants with the Lord and grow closer to Jesus Christ! I got told that I was playing hymns the night before, so that was stressful. It didn't help that I'd never played one of them before, and never heard the other played, nor played it myself. I think I did OK though.

Our friend, Mason, is getting baptised on Sunday! I'm really excited to see him take the next step in his journey. I taught him how to tie a tie the other week, and he loves history, so we are able to talk about that a lot. I'm able to put all that time reading Horrible Histories to use, finally. Who knew it would help me help someone enter into the covenant. 

 

Uno no mercy again at bible study. There was one game we played where i was doing really well. I was just about to get out, then someone lands a +2, then the next thing i know is that there's been three +10s played, and I've got to pick up up 32 cards. If you dont know, in Uno no mercy, if you get over 25 cards you're out. So i was eliminated. I was so close! I'm still laughing about it to this day, and it's a fun memory that I'll cherish. 

We had a very last minuite dinner appointment with a member, and it was nice. He did a spicy sauce challenge with one of the elders, and took a little bit of tobacco habeñero sauce. I was tempted to join in, but i didn't want to embarrass them. I really like spicy food, and have been trained in the arts by my father, so I felt like i needed to stay out. We did get some ghost pepper sauce, which i put on my cheese toasties. That's a grilled cheese to you Americans (which, by the way, is a stupid name). 

So yeah not much happened this week. Or rather, in the four days since I wrote my last email. I'm still doing fine. I get moments where I wish that I was home more than anything, but for the most part I'm happy with where I'm at. I got challenged to write a missionary parody of the Phineas and Ferb theme song, so I'm working on that. I'm also writing another parody called "Wake Me Up When Stake Conference Ends" which is still in the works, but I'll put them on my Google Photos when they're finished. It sucks only being allowed to play instruments on pdays, because I used to play music almost every day back home, and it sucks only playing once a week. But hey, that's a very small problem to worry about in the grand scheme of things. It could be worse. And I'm grateful for that

I was reading 2 Nephi 33 the other day. It's one of my favourite chapters in the Book of Mormon. It's the last thing that Nephi writes on the gold plates (3 Nephi and 4 Nephi are different people) and it's just great. The first verse is awesome. It says:

"And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught among my people; neither am I mighty in writing, like unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men."

My first thought when reading this is that Nephi is a big fat liar, becuase he's responsible for so many bangers in his writing, but the more I thought about it, and applied this verse into my own life, I realised that he's right. It's all the Holy Ghost, and we are just the translators, or the vessels by which the Holy Ghost speaks through. 

I've taught lessons where the spirit has been present, and they're really good lessons. I've also taught lessons where the spirit got the wrong address and never showed up on time, and they've been really tough to teach. It didn't help that my exchange companion didn't do anything, but that's not important. When someone speaks by the power of the Holy Ghost, it really does carry it unto the hearts of men, and works wonders for yourself. Every time we have a great lesson, it just reaffirms my faith in God, and helps me remember why I am here, and why God has decided to bless my life with fortune, even though I don't deserve it. He sees our full potential, and guides us to it, directly or indirectly. I'm incredibly grateful for God's hand in my life, becuase if it want for Him, then I've got no idea where I'd be. 

Count your blessings, guys. Seriously. Name them one by one. See what God has done for you, and believe in him. He is real, he loves you, and will never abandon you. Start making those changes in your life to fully capitalise on the blessing that God had given you. Make your lives a little brighter. As a great friend of mine once said, "If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and make a change. 

Na-na-na, na-na-na, nana-nana"

Until next time

How I Met Your Mother

I'm writing this on Monday, when we were supposed to have our pday, but it got moved to today, and I've already forgotten everything that happend this week. Yay!

All the days roll into one. I feel like I'm confusing what happened last wednesday with Saturday, and Sunday with Tuesday. Its hard to remember what happens on what days. But thankfully i keep a journal, so most of the stuff that's in my emails is straight from there. 

I'm writing this today, and the rest of the week has been so hectic that im extra thankful for my journal!

We put our friend, Mason, on date for baptism! He is so ready, and I saw him get a bit emotional when we talked about the Spirit world and baptisms for the dead, so he's getting baptised on the 25th of January. Another one of our friends who we gave to the Mandarin elders is also getting baptised on that day, which is awesome!

I went to get a haircut last week, and it was great. Everything is a lot more expensive here, so it makes sense that the haircut was $40 (no it doesn't, that's ridiculous). However, the barbers had two TVs on, one playing the Africa Cup of Nations, and the UEFA Champions league final, so at least i got to watch Egypt v Benin and Liverpool v Real Madrid. Its been ages since I've watched a football game, and it wad awesome. I'd pay it again to see that. 

I met two of our freind's mums. One of our friends, Arjun, brought his mum to church after accidentally going to the Church of Christ instead of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but they made it for the end, and they're also really eager to come to church! Arjun's mum is cool, and we talked for a while about stuff. We also met Miguel's mum. You might remember miguel from a few emails ago. He asks questions that the MTC doesn't prepare you for. More on him in a second, but right now I want to talk about Miguel's mum. She is very cool, and we also met his brother. They're all basically variations of the same person, and it's great. I'd get along with them really well if i wasn't a missionary and trying to teach them about how they can receive eternal life. His mum has met with missionaires before, and knew what we were about and the wrong questions to ask. We just spoke about how prophets aren't perfect and left it at that, and she seemed fine with it. She's gone through the routine, and knew what to expect. She's just so cool. Miguel wasn't able to come to institute or church or anything becuase he was spending time with her, and that's fine. If you don't have time for your mum, then who do you have time for?

Finally had a kebab. So good

Also filmed an ad for the church with the admins (tech missionaires). So if you see me telling you to go to church, go to church!

Went on an exchange with Elder Brooks who I came out with. It was an adventurous day. We have a friend who we just need to meet up with. His name is Marcus. Our tactic recently has been to call him up and ask if we can swing by today. He said yes, and he'd give us a call when he gets home from shopping in about an hour. We went down to his house, then realised we got on the wrong bus. But becuase of that, we had a really nice conversation with a sweet old lady who loves talking to missionaires! She would take a Book of Mormon, but we made her day. Some more bus shenanigans later and we finally got to his house. He wasn't there. But we had some decent conversations on the way. We got harassed by some evangelicals from the Church of Christ or something. Being on the other end of missionary work really gives you an understanding of why people don't like us that much. 

We had a two hour lesson with Miguel. Our plan was that we'd play a game of pool or two, then go into the lesson. It's strange teaching him, becuase I fear that we are too casual with him. We need to be bold. We taught one maybe two principles in two hours, becuase he asked questions that the MTC doesn't prepare you for. Nothing we'd talked about already, he'd leveled up and asked questions about the nature of God before he was God, and I don't know enough about that to answer it. Miguel is a politician's worst nightmare, becuase he will dismantle and deconstruct every single thing you say to him, put a spin on it that's not ture, but not false. Very much "so what you're saying is..." that kinda stuff. Ach well. We know how to deal with him now, and that's what matters

Yesterday was probably one of the best days I've had on the mission. So much happened that it felt like three days rolled into one. We did a stand on campus with a whiteboard that said "What brings you joy?" It went really well. I had some concerns, becuase i know uni students aren't the most mature, but we only had one incident, which was cool. We met this super elect guy called Bryson, who's probably gonna be put on date by the end of next week, which is awesome!

All three ysa companionships made ten friends that day, six going to the sisters. There was another stand behind us that was playing some bangers. Bruno Mars, ABBA, Nirvana, The Killers. I was having a conversation with someone, then "Free Bird" came on, and it was hard to not jam out while I was trying to get this guy to come to church. He didn't come, but at least I finally got to listen to some music. 

There was a returning member who came round and was promoting his business. He was cool, and offered us some fizzy drinks. I wasn't concerned, because I just assumed it was another brand that I didn't recognise. I got about halfway through the can before Sister Monson came and showed us that it had caffeine from green tea and coffee. So I accidentally broke the word of wisdom yesterday, but I don't think I'm gonna get docked some points when i get to the judgment bar of God. 

Speaking of the judgment bar of God, there was a talk that i was listening to from this last General Conference. The speaker references a scripture in Alma 41, in the Book of Mormon. He uses verse 7, and it says:

"These are they that are redeemed of the Lord; yea, these are they that are taken out, that are delivered from that endless night of darkness; and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they are their own judges, whether to do good or do evil."

I like to focus on the last sentence. "They are their own judges, whether they do good or evil" goes right in line with a scripture from the sermon on the mount (revolutionary thing that Jesus said) that says "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?"

We need to be careful with what we are gathering, becuase when it's our turn to he judged after we are resurrected, and we show our hand that we've collected over this life, if we've played smart, and righteously, we are rewarded. If we fumbled, and forsook God's commandments, we face the consequences. 

Be careful what you do in this life! 

Michael 

Subterranean Homesick Alien (but not really, cos I love it here. Sometimes)

This email is gonna be a little different. I've got a lot of stuff on my mind, and I need to write down. I'm undecided if im gonna do two emails again or not. Probably not, becuase not much happened this week. Struggled to find friends, did exchnages, passed off elect friends, got new elect friends, hot chocolate stand, work for other areas, powernaps, you get it by now. 

I also accidentally gave away my copy of the Book of Mormon which I had been taking notes in. All the way up to Alma 45 (about halfway through), and the person hasn't gotten back to me yet. Oh well, he might need it. 

We had to pass of Zhang, who is on date for baptism, to the Mandarin elders. He understands most English, but probably best to have someone who speaks clearer teach him, and not the Scottish bloke. 

However, as we pass of one Chinese elect friend who is ready for baptism, we get another one! His name is Mason, and he loves people in our church. We are planning to put him on date for baptism tomorrow. 

I've talked about this a million times before, but there's some new folk here, so I'm talking about it again. As missionaries, we live a life that focuses all of our efforts on Jesus Christ, and this is great. I've never felt closer to my saviour, but going from just kinda living God's commandments to being fully immersed in them sucks. It's like only being able to swim with inflatable thingys, then having them be taken off and thrown in the deep end. Or like fighting the Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring straight off the bat. It sucks, and it's been a struggle. 

All of the media we are to consume is supposed to increase our faith in Jesus Christ, and help us feel the spirit. No matter how many times I tell my companion, he doesn't believe me when I tell him that Foo Fighters helps me feel the spirit. I mean, they are a very spiritually and Christ focused band, with members who keep and obey God's commandments. Wait a second...

I feel myself thinking in american units instead of British ones, and it doesn't help that I've still not met any European missionaires. I've met a South Korean missionary, a Mongolian missionary, and some Canadian missionaires (doesn't count) in the field, but no Europeans. I want to trash the Americans with them. I mean, living with three Utahns isn't stopping me from talking smack about them, but two Europeans are stronger than one. And I feel like with the power of our combined accents, and about how much Americans love an accent that's not theirs, we could baptise the entire state. Honestly, we could. 

People keep telling me to go to BYU with them, and I tell them that I'll visit. But if I go to BYU, and if it's in any way similar to how I was treated at the MTC, i could establish a monarchy and rule BYU in maybe three weeks. Honestly, the amount of attention that people who were non American got was shocking. I loved it, and could bond with a Welsh guy that I met about it, because he was going through the same thing. 

I had a trip down the Road to Damascus on Thursday. The zone leaders had an exchange with other missionaries (you basically swap companions for the day), so Elder Denton and I were together, since both of our companions are the Zone Leaders. I went into it thinking I could change his attitude about missionary work, and maybe address some of the stuff that he was doing which didnt present the best view of the church. I tried it, and very quickly realised that I was not Bob Rock, and could not transform him into the missionary the Lord needed him to be. 

This was not for lack of trying though, some people just dont want to change. I realised at about 12pm that it wasn't working, and the more I got into his mindset and how he thinks about and views his mission, we got along more. I won't go into the specifics, but we butted heads for a while, but then I prayed, read a little Moroni 7 and my heart was softened. I was able to find a level that we could still do some form of missionary work while doing stuff that he wanted to do. And, to be fair, if it wasnt for our "arguments" and waiting around for each other to change our minds, we wouldn't've seen so many miracles.

I wrote that bit on the first day of our three-day exchange. This is day three that this bit is being written on. We had an exchange the first day, then the other elders went up to MLC (Missionary Leadership Council) the next day, then another exchange the next day. I learned a lot in these exchanges. I learned what not to do as a missionary, I learned that I can get along with people even when they're not motivated, I learned that I maybe need to do a better job of representing the Saviour, and I also learned that you can't make someone be who they don't want to be. You could say that we can't give them the dreams that weren't theirs anyway. 

A companionship should act as one, in unity,  but "a double minded [companionship] is unstable in all [their] ways" (James 1:8). Our companionship was when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, becuase I wouldn't take a vague answer from him to my questions, but he would never give a straight answer. It sucked, and we got into a lot of arguments. This, in turn, effected our missionary efforts when we fell out. However, I was able to make four friends for their area, and get numerous homeless people to come to church

When you serve a mission, you don't go by your first name. You go by Elder/Sister whatever your last name is. Something i like to ask missionaires is if they think about themselves as their first names, or as their Elder/Sister counterpart. Some people think of themselves as missionaires, some as their first names. I got this idea from a clip I saw from Batman Beyond, where there's a voice in Bruce Wayne's head that calls him "Bruce" but that's not who he refers to himself as when he's thinking to himself, becuase he's so far gone in the Batman persona that he thinks of himself as Batman. 

On the topic of the World's Greatest Detective, I feel like Two Face, where sometimes I'm Michael, and sometimes I'm Elder Black. Most of the time, Michael and Elder Black both have a hand on the wheel, but there are sometimes when Michael has the keys to the car and Elder Black is stuffed in the boot (trunk). The good thing is that Michael still kinda wants to do missionary work kinda. It's an interesting thought experiment I like to share with people, and it's cool to see their responses. 

Some missionaires have a good balance, some missionaires are like darth vader, where their previous life is killed off and they've fully embraced the mantle of missionary. I don't feel like I'll ever get to that point, because I'm scared of forgetting who i was and am. I don't want to lose my personality in missionary work, and I think having that balance of Michael and Elder Black working together in union works wonders. Michael is able to relate to people, have some fun, play fast and loose with some of the rules and be a good friend. Whereas Elder Black is able to teach people how to progress their relationship with God and provide spiritual support for the people we are teaching, and give spiritual support to Michael, becuase he needs it every now and then. 

I'm very glad that I grew up around people who weren't members of the church, so that i have that ability to relate to them. I'm much better at it than people who live in the Utah bubble, where there's a church every block, and you drive past 5 or 6 temples on the motorway (Yes i know you guys call them freeways. I'm preserving my culture). 

I've also made four Batman references, one Oasis quote, an MCU quote, and a reference to one of Metallica's producers. I'm on fire!

I've been around missionaries who are just unable to be people, just regular people, and can't relate to non members becuase everyone in their high school, neighbourhood, family and social circle(s) are members of the church. For me, it was me and my sister at high school who were members of the church. There was about 1,000-1,500 people at our high school. So when it talks about "[receiving] no witness [of God] until after the trial of your faith." (Ether 12:6) in the Book of Mormon, that's practically been my entire life, which is why I always thought of the church as secondary in life. 

I never really thought of it as it needing to be the sole focus in my life, and letting myself have an "eye single to the glory of God" (D&C 4:5). This led to a lot of bad decisions being made on my part, all of which were great learning experiences, but I regret doing them. I still feel myself struggling with moving on from these mistakes that I've made, but I want to, and have a desire to change my life for the better, and move on from these mistakes. 

Repentance is a beautiful thing. We truly are able to "becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord" (Mosiah 3:19)

I never really had a real desire to go to church until the first regional youth activity, where all the youth (14-18 year olds) in Scotland met up and had a day together, with a dance at the end. That really opened my eyes and made me realise that there were more people that were just like me. Don't get me wrong, I liked going to church. I liked seeing my friends, but i didn't have a desire to go to church for church. Through that social aspect of more people my age fueled my desire to go to church. 

I'm very thankful for all of the friends that I've made through church, regional activities, FSY and Festinord. I don't think they've fully realised how much they all meant to me, my spiritual and my physical journey in the church. There were other youth in my ward back home, but most of them left, to the point where it wad only me and one other young man. My sister had no one. It was hard for all of us. And that's why the regional activities meant so much to me, because they actually made me want to go to church, and continue along the covenant path. This has gotten a lot deeper than I hought I meant to, but i needed to write this down. 

I love all you guys back home so much, and I hope that you've not forgotten me when I get back, becuase I will never forget you guys. Everything that you've done to me and for me, the good, the great, the bad, the heartbreaking and the ugly, has shaped who I am today, and I wouldn't majorly change any of these events. Seriously, thank you all so much for everything. You might be thinking "even the time where I said/did that?" Yes, even that. Even that has shaped my journey, no matter how small, or good, or bad it was. No matter if it was a good thing or bad thing, it has contributed in some way, big or small, to my personality and how I view myself and others. 

Alma 37:6

"Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me, but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass, and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."

God loves you! Keep going! You've got this!

Elder Black