week 45

It's beautiful weather here in Wales, the sun is shining and the sky is blue!  It's awesome!  Today we have done some shopping, browsing around some stores, and looking for a bike rack for the senior couple's car.  It's a good day today! 

It's been a good but challenging week.   We have been talking to everyone and in the past couple of days we have handed out 5 books!  

 We drove by Aberystwyth the other day for a baptisimal interview and the sky was gorgeous!

Aberystwyth

Ocean view with cottage

Sunset

week 44

Me and my new companion, Elder Brewer

It was transfers this week, so I'm staying in Milford Haven and my new companion is Elder Brewer, who was in my group when we came out on our missions! That's kinda cool we get to serve together.  He is very obedient and very dilligent.  I'm excited for this transfer.  Elder Brewer is the District leader so that will be cool.  I'm excited for that!   It's all good.  We have a senior couple here now so we are going to meet up with them around 2 and have some lunch.  That will be sweet we can get to know them. 

I can't believe I've been out 10 months!

Michael and the Martin boys

My "Artsy" picture!

Me and Elder Walton--he went home!

Me and Elder Zundel, he goes home in 6 weeks.

week 43

Things here are good.  We have been doing loads of service for the members and we are teaching a couple of really cool people.  Transfers is next Wednesday so you'll here from me Sunday:) and then Wednesday or Thursday depending on what happens.  We are getting a senior couple here so that will be really cool!  

This area has soo much potential, it really just takes hard work, as with anything in missionary work.  As we do our part and trust in the Lord, he will do his part.  It's an amazingly simple formula:
work hard+obedience=blessings!  



We had Stake Conference yesterday and it was sooo cool!  The Stake President is the bomb!  
The vision for the stake is to bring 1 in and bring 1 back so we can all go back!  It's pretty cool!  

week 42

The experience I had last week with the man coming up to us on the street and referring us to his friend really helped me to see that "no effort is wasted"  Everything we do as missionaries has an impact on the lives of people and even though they may never move forward in our time table, that doesn't mean we aren't successful, it just means that it's not there time and we are mearly a tool used in the process of their conversion. 

 

I have an amazing story!  Our convert from Swindon has the priesthood and he is actively attending the temple to do baptisms for the dead every week and he is preparing to go through the temple and receive his endowment!!  I'm so happy for him and it made me realize that, that right there is the goal--the temple.  I love it!!

 

We are trying to find a solid investigator that wants to move foward, unfortunately the one investigator we had has dropped of the radar and we can't get ahold of her or anything :( We have a couple of semi-investigators so im really excited to get them progressing and moving toward baptism and the ultimate goal, the temple :) 

Michael and Elder Keddington

Michael and Elder Tonga

I have almost been out 1 year--that is weird to think about.  We had Zone Conference and it was sad because so many missionaries I have come to love are leaving and it was Pres. Ogdens last :(  I know though that this work that I am a part of is a great work that deals with the salvation of souls.  As missionaries we are lifeguards saving souls physically and eternally.  I know that this gospel brings happiness and that we can find joy in knowing that God is there and that Jesus is the Christ.  God loves us and answers our prayers.  It is amazing!

 

week 41

This week we had no investigators because our one investigator was out of town, so we did finding and service for members.  

On Monday we went to Barafundle Bay--one of the top ten beaches in the world and also stack rocks these huge cliffs!  awesome day!  

Tuesday we did finding and found this way awesome lady who invited us back!  

Wednesday was district meeting and service for the Branch President. 

The coolest day was Friday.  We did some finding in the morning before a service project and I am speaking to this guy and I leave him a card when this other guy comes up and says, "hey elder!".  I'm like what what!  We get chatting and he had been taught before and wasn't too interested; but he told me he had a friend from California living just up the road and he was going through a rough patch. So we stopped by and met him and his girlfriend and they are awesome and they are trying to quit smoking so we are going to come around Thursday and teach them the church's stop smoking program and start teaching them!!  It was sooo cool! 

 

Im happy, loving the mission

week 40

We had a sick branch party on Friday.  It was a beach party and BBQ lol so awesome!!!  There was probably about 20-25 people there so that was good.  We had 3 nonmembers, and 4-5 less actives!!  It was soo fun we ate loads of food. Funny story about the Branch President's wife, Sister Martin who is basically my mother away from home.  We were eating and she was like now Elder Weston, lol she calls me that, I expect you to eat five burgers or hot dogs.  So #1 one normal burger, #2 a hot dog with 2 hot dogs, #3 2 chicken breasts and a sausage on a burger bun, #4 3 saugages on a hot dog bun, #5 3 sausages on a burger bun. lol I was so full and I would always ask for drink and she would pour me half a glass and say that's all for now and you can have more when you finish your food lol!  She is awesome.  We played Cricket at the activity that was way fun!  

There was a baptism in New Castle Emlyn on Saturday and we were able to get our investigator to that and she really enjoyed it!  

Its E. Lyman's B-Day today--Happy 20!  We are going to this lookout point with the man Bro. Dickie and then we are headed over to the Martins for a b-day bbq and party -- it will be a fun day!

Seminary is so different over here.  There are three students lol and they have it every Thursday and what they do is answer questions out of a study guide and read the scriptures on their own and then on Thursday the teacher checks to see if they did their assignment.  Also it is a requirement, for them to pass, that they have to memorise all the 100 scripture masteries!!  It is sooo much harder over here, I wouldn't pass.  I was blessed to have it where I did.  The youth in Britain are soo strong!  They are fighting this battle nearly alone as they most likely are the only member of the church in their whole school.  They are courageous and strong I'm well impressed. 

 

Things are going well.  The Lord doesn't ask us to be perfect in this life because if that was the requirement we would all fail.  We have to do all we can and do our best at it and the Lord will take care of the rest.  It is so much better when you humble yourself than when the Lord does it for you.  

One thing I've learned is this marathon we're running, everyone runs it at a different pace, but it's not a race as long as we keep moving forward--that's the important bit. 

 

  

 

week 39

Happy Easter!  We had 5 less active members at church!  Afterward,we didn't do anything special. Just came home, ate dinner and went and stopped by to see some people.   A recent convert called us and said to come over, she had some sweets for us.  So we went over and she had a bag of easter eggs and chocolate.  It was Awesome!!

Our investigator didn't come to church, she wouldn't answer our calls. oh well. We are going to invite her to a baptism this weekend in NewCastle Emlyn to see what she thinks.  Hopefully she will want to go. 

We are doing a lot of finding and we have found some pretty cool people that I'm excited about.  The Lord is blessing this area in little ways and now its our job to take those tender mercies and turn them into miracles. 

The Abber District

Transfers were good.  I am............staying in Milford Haven.

Elder Lyman is..............staying in Milford Haven.

This transfer is going to be soooo fast because it is the 5 week transfer and it is just going to fly by. 

Man my mission is flying right on by. Daddy Elder Dahl went home yesterday!  It made me realize how fast this goes and then I realized I have been out 9 months!  ahhhh!!!   It's scary to think that it is only going to get faster and faster then poof, it will be gone!   

We have been biking a lot lately and it is good fun, I love it much more than the bus.  So we caught a train to Milford Haven and took our bikes.  Then from Milford we biked to Neyland which is about 5 to 6 miles and half of it is uphill because we are in Wales lol. So we biked that in about an hour and saw potentials and formers and members and less actives, and then we left about 8 for our 836 train and we cruised to make it.  We pulled up at the roundabout and the train was already in so we shot across and just caught it, I was soo shattered!