Great Thanks

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:12

Man, what a good week! We had a couple exchanges that went well. Elder Mortenson came over from the Isle of Wight and we taught a guy named Karim from France. He is a chef at a local restaurant so hopefully he'll make us some food when we teach him again. He was so receptive and wanted to know about Christ. He found the right people to help. On Thursday we had Zone Meeting and it was really good. Sister Swinton talked a lot about President Monson because she and President Swinton are close acquaintances. He's such an amazing man! No wonder he is the prophet. You can really see how different he is now that he's prophet too. On Saturday the assistants came down to do exchanges with McConkie and me. We did a bunch of finding and it was a lot fun. We found a really cool couple named Emmanuel and Fallon. They have a 15 month old daughter and a 7 week old son. They came to church with us on Sunday and it was amazing. Because of the time difference we got to watch the last session of conference after the sacrament. I couldn't believe how good it was. They really enjoyed it. Elder Bednar and Elder Holland had such good talks. Especially Elder Bednar's when he talked about how the missionaries are full-time teachers and the members are full-time finders. If every member would work on that, the missionaries would be full of appointments, but unfortunately people are really busy. Yesterday was crazy. We had 5 appointments set up for the 1st lesson. We were so sure we were going to get all of them as new investigators. Every one of them flogged (weren't home, cancelled, etc.) us. It was so disappointing. We all need our patience and faith tried every once in a while. For us, yesterday was the day and we definitely got a little discouraged. But God knows and loves us and as we were walking through the high street (outdoor shopping mall) some guy yelled to us and asked if we had a DA. It turned out he was a returned missionary who was in Portsmouth for the day. He went to an ATM, took out some money, and gave it to us for dinner. I didn't really know what to do. It completely caught us off guard, but our moods changed almost instantly and we realized that God was mindful of us enough to help that RM see us when he did and offer us dinner. Our spirits were lifted and we became more positive throughout the rest of the day.
Thank you all for the letters I've gotten over the past couple weeks and thank you for the prints. It's crazy how much the nieces and nephews are changing every day. Kaiden has changed so much. I love hearing the little stories about them. Kami-tell Brooklyn thanks for praying for me, I need it. Every prayer helps. Braiden & Kathryn-thanks for your letters. I love and miss you too. How's the rest of the little one's? I'm sure Emilee and Kendall are walking all over the place now, yah?
So I’ve been asked for some details about the ward. Our building is pretty much like any other-ish. It just so happens to be the Stake Center so it's quite large. Our ward members are really nice. There are about 60-80 every week that come. McConkie and I are looking to increase that number though.
We have, I think, 155 missionaries in my mission. Things are going to change quite quickly though. Next Thursday is moves (transfers) and we'll find out if we're getting transferred then, on Wednesday morning. If you don't get an e-mail from me on Wednesday it's probably because either McConkie or I have been moved. I don't really want to move yet, but it's not really up to us. Our area is the Portsmouth area. McConkie and I are the only ones in our area. Our district consists of us, 2 Chichester elders, and 2 elders from the Isle of Wight. We have 2 districts in our zone. The other district has 4 elders in Southampton (that includes the zone leaders), 2 in Hamble river, and 2 in Winchester.
The food here is fine, I suppose. Yes, it is quite bland, but it isn't horrible and you get used to it. The DA's are all nice and I really can't complain. My pickiness with food went out the window from the MTC on so no worries there. I eat everything. We only get what's called "Sunday Dinner" on Sundays of course, and that comes from Margret's daughter who lives next door. It usually has some tasty meat, veggies, and of course gravy, which I love. We get or make what's called Yorkshire Pudding. They're little cup pastry-like things that are made pretty much from batter like what you'd use from pancakes and you put gravy in them. Other than that we just eat what's quick and easy. Mostly baked beans on toast, pasta, or grilled cheese. Every Tuesday night we get Kebabs and if we have time we'll make a bit nicer of a meal. One night last week we made Japanese Curry and it was really good. I'll attach pics of all of them. I forgot to mention that I've had 2 battered and deep fried mars bars (Milky Ways). We call them heart attacks because lets face it, not too healthy. It was just a celebration for a good teach is all. They're quite tasty because the chocolate and caramel is melted and warm and the batter is what holds it together. No pics of them, sorry.
Dad- I'm so proud of you for being diligent in your running. I wish I was. I bet you could beat me in a race now. I'd run in the mornings, but it's really hard. Ask Kurt, being a missionary is tough work and sleep is very valuable. Thank you for doing my taxes, I owe you a nice gift from Portsmouth, I should be sending you and Mom something sooner or later.
Mom- It sounds like you've still got your hands full. :-) I bet you and Dad are looking forward to your well deserved getaway. Thank you for your letter. I'm glad you finally got the package. I was a little worried that they lost it somewhere. Our area is huge. You should Google Earth my address and see my flat :-). It takes us about an hour to walk to the beach. And we ride a bus every so often northward. How's the Hoskins family? I haven't heard much from them.
That's all for now, attached are some fun pictures of my food and a project I've been working on. I love you all. Thank you so much for your continual support and prayers.

-Elder Warner

P.S. I can't get this darn computer to work; I'll have to make a CD of pictures again or something. Sorry.