Fast Week

Monday, April 20, 2009 3:59 AM
Wow this week really blew by. It was very busy, which is good. I've got a lot to do on the computer for district meeting tomorrow so I'll try to be short and attach a picture or two. I'll just touch on the highlights.
Tuesday I was in Reading on exchange with E. Roberts (S. Africa) and it was really good. We taught a family that they're teaching and preparing for baptism. The mother is amazing. Since she was taught the Word of Wisdom just over a week ago she hasn't touched a single cigarette. She's getting her whole family there. It's amazing.
In the morning on Wednesday I got back into Oxford to teach a couple times. We taught a Kenyan woman who is now on the back burner because of her commitment. We taught an Indian woman who is Hindu (for now :-). We've taught her a few times this week and she was handling it well. We then headed to Newbury so I could interview one of the people the Elders there have been teaching. I stayed overnight and exchanged with E. Wojtkowski.
Thursday morning we headed to Zone Meeting in Reading which was really good. We learned a lot about how to be better organized and more consistent in our work. I was very ready to finally make it to my bed in Oxford that night.
The Chinese woman is doing well. She's doing a lot of studying/work so it's hard to see her during the week. She came to church on Sunday and enjoyed it. We didn't get to do much finding this past week, but we've got a busy 1st half of this week. It might be my last full week in Oxford (hope not), but we'll see. So moves is next Thursday I'll be writing again then. Maybe from a new area....:-(.
The pictures are from last P-day at a member's mum's house. We dug up the garden then planted potatoes in it. It was good fun. E. Keeble, Adrian, and Tory.
Tory and myself making a line of potatoes. A card in the ZL's flat that I thought was funny. Driving to a member's for lunch yesterday.
I love England in the spring. It's beautiful. I'll try to take pictures of the drive to Reading tomorrow. Love ya!
=Elder Kyle Warner

Spiritual Week

Monday, April 13, 2009 4:40 AM
Alrighty! I've only got a little bit of time to write before reading the e-mails and (hopefully) responding too. Our P-day is going to be cut short a few hours for some yard work. Our week wasn't too bad. I had a lot of extra-spiritual experiences and answered prayers. To be honest we didn't teach very much, but I still feel all right about our week.
We started teaching an older English guy on Monday, taught him again on Wednesday to commit him for baptism, and he came to Church. He's a great guy, but unfortunately we dropped his baptismal date for now. He's still putting things together in his mind.
On Tuesday I was in Newbury for an exchange with E. Byrd. It was pretty good. I like Newbury. It's a nice little town and the high street is pretty cool. In the evening we were taken out to dinner by a couple members that were there from Utah on work. They were great guys and it was fun to see some fellow Utahans. Thursday evening we had a cool fireside-like presentation about the Atonement. There were four different speaking parts to it; The Garden, Golgotha, Paradise, and the Resurrection. It really strengthened my testimony of the Atonement and of the love that our Heavenly Father has for us.
Friday was cool. As we were knocking in the evening we were prompted to go to a street we hadn't planned. We weren't sure if it was a prompting because we thought we should stay with what we originally planned, but after prayer we decided to go to it. The last door we knocked on we got in and taught a great Chinese lady. She is really humble, but really intelligent too. We'll see what happens in the coming week with her.
Saturday I had an answered prayer of a renewed testimony of the Book of Mormon. We were teaching a woman and at the end of the teach she asked what the Book had done for me. I don't know why I was surprised at the question, but it really got me thinking. I shared with her how I've grown in my understanding of the love of God and Christ, the power of the Atonement, and so forth. The spirit hit me so hard. I could probably say I gained a real testimony of the Book of Mormon as I bore it. It was amazing!
Easter was great. The ward did a nice Easter program with music and speakers. Our ward is really musically inclined. We had lunch with the Mcluckie family and if I counted correctly there were about 15 of us in their home (English homes are a bit tighter than American ones). It was fun and the finding was amazing. The spirit has been with us a lot more lately. I think it might be because we've changed our prayers. We have prayed more for the people than for us two.
I love this work and everything about it. My testimony grows daily. I better get reading. Here's a picture or maybe two.....One is of me with E. Byrd on exchange E. Keeble, myself, and the now E. Davies who took off last week to the MTC.

Love ya!
Elder Warner

Conferenced out?

Monday, April 6, 2009 4:35 AM
Alrighty well there's not much to report on this week unfortunately...But man, was General Conference amazing or what?!? I loved it. I could listen to the Apostles for ages. It took up our Saturday evening and all of our day yesterday, but I learned so much and had a few questions answered. Saturday evening we watched the Sat. am session live. I loved it. My favorite talk from that session was Elder D. Todd Christofferson's talk on covenants. We watched the recorded Priesthood session yesterday morning, the recorded Saturday pm session at 1, then the Sun. am at 5. I love Conference. I was looking forward to Elder Holland's talk and I was almost in tears from it. He's such a powerful speaker. I hear from missionaries who got to watch the last session late last night that it was a great finish so I'll be looking forward to seeing it another time. The best part about all of this is that Gwinyai came to all the sessions except for the last one. He really enjoyed it. Unfortunately he's going back to Zimbabwe for a couple weeks, but it gave him a lot to take in while he's gone. So this week we're going to be "pounding the pavement" to find new people.
We had our Zone Conference on Thursday, which was great too. We basically read through a few scriptures and did some of what we call, "unpacking". Some amazing insights were given and I grew a lot, spiritually. Well that's pretty much my week. This week might be similar, but without the Conferences so we should have a lot of new people this week. Pray for us. We need it.
I have learned so deeply out here that Jesus is the Christ and that he loves us all soooooo much, as well as our Heavenly Father. Elder Holland's talk really inspired me to serve better and harder. I don't ever want to abandon him in the fight against sin. I owe them so much to have you and dad as parents, to have this Gospel in my life, and to be able to share it with others. I really do love the hymn, "I Stand All Amazed."
I've been hit a lot lately with a realization of how blessed I am. I've done a lot of reflecting over the Conference weekend and mass feelings of gratitude have come over me. I'm so grateful to be a part in this Gospel. I absolutely love it when E. Holland teaches and testifies about the Atonement. That man has a love for our Savior and Heavenly Father that I am striving to acquire myself. Missionary service has helped me with that. We are so blessed to have this Gospel and great Church. I love everything about it.
Love ya! Talk to you soon and Happy (early) Easter! Tip: focus on the real purpose of Easter; it makes it much more special.
Elder Kyle Warner

Short one

Monday, March 30, 2009 7:20 AM
Well it’s been a bit of a slow weekend... Not much has happened since Thursday. We've been trying hard to get new people to teach. We've picked up a few, but they haven't been too interested since. We had a good experience on Saturday. We met a young guy from Zimbabwe who's a student here. We shared with him a little bit about the Restoration and the 1st Vision. He felt the Spirit and accepted the invitation to come to church. He came, enjoyed it, and we taught him after church. We'll be seeing him again on Wednesday and he should be coming to Conference this weekend. Unfortunately he'll be going back to Zimbabwe next Tuesday for two weeks, but he should have an amazing experience to leave with and ponder over for two weeks. I'm really excited for General Conference this week. It's my second to last one in the field (a bit scary). We're quite blessed to be able to go to the Oxford chapel and watch it. Well I'll attach a couple more pictures and see how many e-mails I can respond to. Love Ya!!!
Elder Kyle Warner

-The Trio at the Visitor's Center at the Temple.
E. White, Wojtkowski, me, Lindsay, and Keeble on the top of Magdalen Tower.
Me with the key to get in and out of the door to the tower-it was a really heavy door.

Unfinished business?

Thursday, March 26, 2009 5:37 AM
Allrighty. A lot has happened since the 16th.

I'll be quick because I've got a few e-mails to read. If I don't respond to all of you, thanks so much for your support.
First off, last P-day was really cool. Elders Lindsay and Wojtkowski came up from Newbury and we toured Christ Church College and went up a really big tower at another college. I'll attach a couple pictures.

The Lord wants me to be in Oxford for at least another 5 weeks (hence the subject)! It's pretty exciting. I love Oxford so I'm alright with that. Sadly, Elder White has been moved to Brighton and left this morning bright and early. It's going to be a weird adjustment at first since I spent half of my mission life living with him, but change is constant in missionary work. So it’s just Elder Keeble and myself now. We're excited to stay together. I've also been called to be the District Leader again so I'm going to be quite busy this moves. Side note-notice that I said 5 more weeks. This moves is a short one, we get one every year.
Clemencia and Chris' Baptism and Confirmation went really well.

I did the baptisms and Elder Keeble confirmed them. They gave the three of us Setswana names. Mine is Lefika (salvation), E. White's is Ceabelo (gift), and E. Keeble's is Kaleboga (thank you). They also had a great experience at the Visitor's Center and Temple. We got to go down with them. I loved it. We watched the Joseph Smith film and it gave me such a deeper realization of how true Joseph's calling to be a prophet is/was. Clemencia didn't want to leave. The feeling on Temple grounds is amazing. I've got lots of pictures to attach of our day on Saturday. I'm so grateful for these experiences I've been given.
Sadly, we've kind of lost contact with Brenda over this past weekend. We're not sure why, but now her baptism is cancelled. Our teaching pool is pretty much gone. We've worked hard and have found a few people so we should be picking up a few new ones in the next few days.
That's pretty much the highlight of our week or so. I love this work. I know it's the work of the Lord. I know that Joseph Smith is and was a prophet of God. I know that the Book of Mormon is truly another testament of Jesus Christ. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and is very mindful of our needs. I love you guys. Thanks for your prayers and support. Talk to you Monday!
Elder Kyle Warner

Quick one

Monday, March 16, 2009 7:02 AM
Well we've got a busy day planned today and I've got a few e-mails to read so I'll be brief. Unfortunately our week was quite slow as far as finding new people to teach. Clemencia and Chris are really excited for their baptism on Saturday. We'll be taking them to the Visitor's Center at the Temple before it so that should be really neat and spiritual for them. Chris is so cool. I'm not sure if I've told you already, but we gave him the Book of Mormon Stories book and he loves it. He remembers the stories almost perfectly and he is always asking if there are primary activities during the week.
Brenda and Yamu (South African couple) are doing quite well too. Their understanding of the Gospel is really good. We've been quite blessed with some great people to work with. Yamu hasn't accepted a baptismal date yet, but we'll see if he'll be baptized with his wife on the 28th. They too are going to the Visitor's Center on Saturday. We're really excited for them.
On Thursday we had our Zone Meeting in Reading (as usual) and it was really good. We discussed a talk by Ezra Taft Benson from decades ago that was about pride. I never realized how many different ways we can be prideful in our lives. It was a good way to evaluate myself and the progress I want to make.
That's really the highlights of my week. I was a bit ill most of the week, but am pretty much over it now. I'm going to attach some pictures then start writing back, if possible. Love you all. The weather here is really nice now. Hope it's getting close to spring for ya. Take care.
Elder Warner
The pictures are good this week! One is of us three after Zone Meeting in our comp. ties.

The other two are still frames from a video I did last p-day. We were walking down the high street and a guy was doing a magic act so we stopped since we had time. He asked for a volunteer so we encouraged E. Keelbe to do it and he did.


The guy had E. Keeble wrap him up in a chain, put the red cloth over him then the guy escaped. It was pretty cool and funny to hear this guy call E. Keeble Elder like it was his first name. He sounded like a member.

Fast week

Monday, March 9, 2009 6:17 AM
Well this week past quick too. Becky's baptism was really good. I've attached a picture.
It was an interesting week on top of the baptism.
Monday we picked up a couple new people. One is from New Zealand and is really trying to figure out truth. He came to Church and enjoyed it. Tuesday was interesting. I went to Newbury on exchange with E. Wojtkowski. We taught their friend Betty who is going to be baptized on the 15th. She's got a solid testimony and is more than ready for baptism. The weather was awful, ha-ha. It was really windy and we got completely drenched, but it was ok. We didn't get discouraged at all. In fact, we were singing "There is Sunshine in My Soul Today."
While I was gone Brenda and Yamo were taught by E. White and a member and Brenda accepted a date for baptism on the 28th. That's pretty exciting. I got back into Oxford in the afternoon on Wednesday. We've taught Clemencia and Chris a few times this week. They've accepted everything well and have started to gain testimonies of their own. When we taught them the Word of Wisdom Chris was so happy he didn't have to drink tea (Clemencia used to have him each cold morning) that he stomped on the boxes of tea then binned them. It was pretty funny. He's really smart for a 10 year old.
We've taught a few other people here and there that are new, but I'll keep you posted on whether they progress quickly. Saturday morning we did what's called Ox-clean and cleaned up the car park across the street from our chapel then had a BBQ. It was good fun. We saw Clemencia and Chris before they came to the baptism and they've now bumped their date to the 21st of March. It's going to be a fast few weeks preparing them and Brenda (hopefully soon, Yamo) for baptism.
Becky was confirmed and given the Gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday. It was the first time I've confirmed some one so it was extra special for me. We had some interesting experiences in the afternoon that ultimately deepened my testimony of the reality our Heavenly Father and the fact that this is HIS work. I'm so grateful to be a small part in it. I know that it's the true work of Christ and this is His church. I love you guys. Take care.
Elder Warner
The three of us after our service project on Saturday

The Elders in the Zone last P-day after playing football. Top row: Coombs, Lindsay, Wojtkowski, Fowler, White, member from Farnbrough, Evans. Bottom row: yours truly, Barker, Roberts, Keeble, and Martins.

Three's company

Monday, March 2, 2009 4:01 AM
Well this week went by really fast. I forgot my connector for my camera in the flat so you'll have to wait till next week for pictures. I'll just touch on the highlights.
Tuesday after District Meeting in Reading I headed back to Oxford with E. Lindsay for an exchange. It went quite well...About an hour after being back in Oxford I realized that I only got the phone from E. White, not the keys to the flat. They were with him in Newbury! We couldn't really do much because we had teaches in the evening. We saw Becky and she's doing great. During the teach I got a phone call from President Swinton and he informed me that we were getting a new companion. His name is E. Keeble from up north in Halifx, Yorkshire, my first British companion. It was an exciting night. We also saw our Hindu friend, but we've since lost contact with her. Afterwards we tried to break into the flat, but it just wasn't working so we ended up having to drive to Newbury to get the flat keys from E. White and got home just before 10:30 :-).
Wednesday morning, E. White came back. We did a bit of finding then we had to rearrange the flat a bit to make room for a third bed in the bedroom. E. Keeble arrived around 4 then we spent the rest of the evening teaching. We saw Clemencia and Chris who are doing great! We saw them again on Saturday and they're now going to be baptized on the 28th of March. They came to church and loved it. We also saw the South African couple in the evening and they're alright, but were away for the weekend.
Thursday we helped a member and her husband move house. We saw Becky again then did some finding. Becky is getting all set for her baptism on Saturday. She's just got to be interviewed and she's good to go. It's been interesting being in a Tri. I was quite nervous for it because I wasn't sure how it was going to work, but I like it. We've gotten a lot of work done since he's been here. E. Keeble is a good missionary so it makes it a lot easier.
We had a good turnout at church. Becky came, of course, Clemencia and Chris, and another investigator and her daughter. It was a pretty good day. We're working things out quite well as a Tri and we all get along easy. Today we're going to Reading for a Zone P-day so that's why my e-mail is all over the place. I'm in a hurry. I'll have pictures next week. Love ya! The Church is true!
Elder Kyle Warner

Fasting for 40!

Monday, February 23, 2009 4:27 AM
Wel,l my week wasn't the most eventful yet, but not bad. We had some really good things happen. Unfortunately we've had to let a lot of people go, but we're now preparing Becky for baptism on the 7th of March. We're also teaching a South African family that is really prepared and should hopefully want to prepare for baptism soon.
On Thursday we had Zone Conference in Reading. It was amazing. It was unreal how powerful the spirit was. We're now doing something special, kind of what we've done before though. We're fasting for 40 days, not from food, but from things that may distract us from the Spirit's influence. Its crazy how many little things make you lose your focus. The intent is obviously not just for 40 days, but by the end of the 40 days we should be changed, more spiritually in tune, and not go back to those things. We've done one before, but it's time to do another. I really like it. It helps my focus on the reality and seriousness of my calling.
We've had a couple other visits with Becky this week and she's doing great. All is well in the work. Things are going to pick up quickly this week, I think. The weather has been really nice lately. It's been in the mid 40's-low 50's F. A bit better than home I presume? :-). Anywho, the pictures are:
E. Karges and myself at Zone Conference and
a house in Oxford that has a shark body diving in.
It's pretty funny. I heard that no insurance companies will take it.
Love ya!
Elder Warner
(ONLY 5 MORE DAYS UNTIL.......HUMP DAY!!!!)

Hello!

Monday, February 16, 2009 4:41 AM
There's not too much to report since last Thursday. We finished the moves alright. Thursday evening we taught Clemencia and her son. It was a really good teach. Unfortunately they're gone till the 23rd, but when they get back things should pick up quickly.
We've done quite a bit of finding this past week. We've been working to find those who are prepared for us. Its tough work, but it's been working out alright. Church attendance was really low this week, but things should get better as we get further into moves and pick up some more people.
Becky is really close to a baptismal date. She's praying and reading every day. She's enjoying Church too so we're real excited for her. It's going to be a slow progression for our friend who thought we were police, but she's really good and trying to have faith in Jesus Christ.
That's pretty much all that's gone on here in Oxford since I last wrote. The weather is a bit better-staying around 7 degrees C, so not too bad. Thanks for your prayers and support. Love ya!
Elder Kyle Warner

A couple of firsts

Thursday, February 12, 2009 5:04 AM
Well E. White and I are going to have a couple firsts this next moves. We'll both be having our first area for 6 months or more and first companion for 4.5 months or more because we're both staying in Oxford! It was kind of surprising news, but we're both excited because we know the area, we're getting to know the ward better, and we've got some good things started.
A lot has happened since last Monday. I want to send a couple pictures so I'll just touch on the highlights. It's snowed a lot here (for England); the most in 20 years. It was fun for us because we're used to it, but schools shut down, buses shut down, etc. They aren't prepared for it so the streets just had to be cleared by car and the sidewalks just turned to ice. Most of it’s melted now because it's warmed up and rained a lot too. But I attached a picture of the view from our flat the other day.
We've taught a couple people a few times. We've been working with mostly women lately. The one who let us in because she thought we were police is doing amazing. She is going to be coming to church this week and is loving the Book of Mormon. Every time we see her it's so spiritual. She must be really sensitive to the Spirit.
On Saturday we went to Newbury so I could interview a girl who's preparing for baptism then had an exchange with the Assistants in the afternoon. It was really good. We started teaching 5 new people with their help and I learned a lot. Sunday we had only 3 people at Church, which is better than last week, but I know we can do better. Tuesday was pretty good. We taught a new woman from Botswana who is amazing. We're seeing her and her son tonight. They're going away for a week, but when they get back things should progress quickly.
We've been meeting a lot of people who've been quite prepared by the Lord for us. We've been praying hard for it and our prayers are being answered as usual. I love being able to teach our brothers and sisters and help them feel the Spirit. I get excited each chance I get to bear my witness of our Heavenly Father's love. This is going to be a fun moves for E. White and myself. We've got big plans for our friends we're teaching. I hope all is well. Till next week.
P.S. the other picture is of the District after District meeting on Tuesday. Left to Right-Me, E. White, E. Barker, E. Gasparato, E. Lindsay, E. Wetherill, Sisters Eyre and Higbee.

P.P.S. E. Gasparato has been moved to Staines and E. Roberts is the new ZL. E. Wetherill has been moved to Worthing and E. Voycowsky (not how you spell it, but how it sounds-he's Polish).
-Elder Kyle Warner

I looked out the window...

Monday, February 2, 2009 5:04 AM
And what did I see?
Snow?!??!
It snowed last night and has been snowing off and on all morning. Not much has stuck though. Not even an inch, really, but I hear it's going to continue over the next few days. It's been an interesting week. Tuesday I was on exchanges with E. Wetherill from Newbury and we had one of the most spiritual teaches about The Restoration I've had all mission. We had a member with us and almost all four of us were a bit teary eyed as I finished quoting the 1st Vision. It was amazing. The spirit was so strong within me as I quoted it. It gave me a deeper testimony of it's reality. It was the woman that let us in Sunday night. She loved the teach and we'll try to extend a baptismal date to her tomorrow.
Wednesday we taught a member referral who was pretty cool. She has been to a temple open house, seen the Joseph Smith film, and is burning through the Book of Mormon. We taught Michael the Word of Wisdom on Friday and he took it quite well. He's really interested in the D&C and wants one of his own. Saturday was interesting. We had a lot of teaches set up, but 3 of the cancelled. I saw E-man (from Portsmouth). He was in Oxford with his brother Tom, who's in our ward. He's doing well and if you remember Allison, E-man's girlfriend that I taught with McConkie and Dutson? She's no longer his girlfriend. They're engaged and she's going to be taught the lessons again. I was so excited to hear the news. E. Karges will be teaching her too so it's a cool tie. In the evening we taught Lydia and she accepted a baptismal date for 28 Feb. That's really good news too.
I think this week should be pretty good. It's week 5 of moves so that means that next week. We'll have P-day/Moves on Thursday. I'm not sure what will happen. Anything could, really. Elder White and I have both been here for the same amount of time so we'll just have to see.
That was pretty much my week. I should be sending home another DVD full of pictures and video clips for ya. The picture is the view outside my window just before I studied this morning. LOVE YA!!
Elder Kyle Warner

Interesting week.

Monday, January 26, 2009 6:21 AM
This week was a little tough in some areas and really great in others. We had 5 people at Church yesterday, which is really high actually. I still feel we can do better though. We'll see what we can do this week. It was a bit of a long week. We didn't teach anyone until Thursday.
On Wednesday we had our Zone Meeting in Reading. I have been to the Reading chapel more this month than the Oxford chapel. But Zone Meeting was really good. The Zone Leader presentation was on praying with faith and forgetting ourselves. It can be a tough thing to do sometimes this time of year when it can be cold, but it is when I'm the happiest. We tried to commit the Zimbabwean family for baptism on Thursday, but the father said he had to think about it, which is fair enough. He was trying to understand where authority comes from so we'll see if anything more develops there. We're working hard on a few more people so we should have some people with baptismal dates by the end of the week. We knocked into a guy from Castelo Branco, Portugal (I think E. Chad Smith served there for a while) who was actually pretty good. We'll hopefully be seeing him tomorrow.
We taught that Kenyan couple on Friday and Saturday. We did a two-part lesson on the Plan of Salvation. The guy, Michael, really loved the doctrine of the Pre-Existence and the truth about Adam and Eve. I love seeing people's faces light up when the Spirit witnesses the truth and they just smile and say something like, "This makes sense and feels like its true." We usually say something like, "Well, truth does make sense." I love teaching the Plan of Salvation. My testimony deepens of it each time I teach it.
Last night we got in and taught a lady who originally let us in because she thought we were the police, haha, a lot of people think we are. She was excited when she realized we were from the church when we asked if we could pray with her. She vented about some problems in her life for a bit then we started to teach about the Atonement. She said she loved Jesus and pointed to a small statue on her dresser. There were a few small pictures of Jesus next to it. One was a pass-a-long card we use. I was shocked. It was great. Sometimes you feel like they go nowhere, but obviously they can and do. We'll try to see her this week again.
Sorry, not too much to report. We only picked up two new people this past week, but this week should be really good. We're going to be working harder than before. I know the gospel is true. It's such a blessing to be able to bring it to our brothers and sisters. Love ya! Talk to you next week.
-Elder Kyle Warner

p.s. the picture is of E. White and me at Donnington castle. It's actually not much of a castle any more. You can see the remains behind us and it's blocked up so we couldn't go inside...
Some more great pics!!...

The castle

Sister Eyre and me...Always striving for greater heights!

My great comp!!!...Elder White
A couple of bubbley missionaries!
The ward in Oxford

Good news and bad news

Monday, January 19, 2009 6:42 AM
Well this will be a quick session. Like I said last week I'm in Newbury for the day. I finished my driving test about 2 hours ago which brings me to my good news. I PASSED!!!! I almost had a perfect drive. I'll be getting my UK license in the post next week sometime.
Unfortunately I've left my planner and camera in the car, so no pictures and I'm going to struggle to remember what happened this week. Isn't that sad? I've got a bad memory. It wasn't a bad week. We ended quite well. We taught a few new people. We had to let a few people go for a while because they weren't quite ready to accept the gospel (Ecuadorian family included). That got me down for a couple days, but everything is alright now.
On Saturday I was in Reading all day with Elder Gasparato from Italy. We had a pretty good day. It felt weird to do an exchange over to Sunday morning, but it was Stake Conference yesterday so it was fine. This is where my bad news comes in. I killed-ish my camera while on exchange. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but when I pulled it out Saturday night in the Zl's flat the screen looked really bad. The glass isn't broken, but the inside had a bunch of weird black lines. It still takes pictures, but it's about as good as a point and shoot camera because I can't review my pictures. But hey! I passed my test!
We had a couple investigators come down to Conference with some members which was really good. The Swintons were there and it was good, as always, to see them. We had an alright day yesterday after Conference. We had a couple appointments. Today the Sisters are here as well. We'll be heading off to see, I think, Donnington Castle in a bit so that'll be cool. I'll probably buy a new camera first....:-) we'll see. Anywho, I've got a few e-mails to read and time is short. I love ya! Hope the weather isn't too snowy. It's not too bad here, just wet. Talk to you next week.

-Elder Kyle Warner

Interesting week

Monday, January 12, 2009 6:08 AM
Well, it was definitely an interesting week. We had a lot of ups and downs. On Tuesday there was a Mission Leadership Meeting in Staines that lasted all day. It was cool to see all the district and zone leaders in the mission. It humbled me a bit. It was a very spiritual meeting. We talked mostly about what we can do better to lead in the Savior's way. I saw all of my previous companions too, so that was fun. Elder White went to Farnborough all day then we drove from there to Oxford.
Wednesday things got a little complicated. Washington's mum doesn't speak any English so they wanted to go to their old Spanish speaking church in London. Fortunately we have a Spanish branch 5 minutes from that church. Unfortunately they didn't go (we don't know why). Thursday we visited with Eveline and had a great spiritual boost for all of us, really. We just read out of the Book of Mormon then bore our testimonies. She's doing well.
Friday was our Zone Conference. I attached a picture of a small reunion.
Elders Warner, Schunke and Martin
Elders Martin and Schunke are living together in Staines now so it was cool to see them again. Saturday we picked up a Brazilian guy who speaks little English. We're going to try to bring by one of our Brazilian members on Sat. to help him out. We had a nice dinner with David and Plastida in the evening for Elder White's b-day.
Elder White, Elder Warner, David, Plastida
After Church yesterday we had a nice lunch with the Walker family, but had to jet off to a teach right after. We picked up a Zimbabwean family (I love those people). They're a bit apprehensive about it, but I'm confident that if they pray sincerely they'll get their answer. This week will be nice. We don't have any big meetings, Uni is back in session, and the holidays are over so we should get a lot done this week. Next P-day is my driving test at 11:11(lucky?? we'll see) So I should be able to, hopefully, report some good news on that when I'm done. I'll probably e-mail from Newbury again in the afternoon. We might go check out a castle whilst there too. I'll be sending off another tape. I'm definitely sending a lot more than I'm receiving.....Anywho, Love ya. I hope you're not too cold. The temp here has warmed back up to about 8 C, but it’s rainy. I'm not sure if I prefer it or dryer cold...
-Elder Warner

Happy New Year!

Monday, January 5, 2009 6:30 AM
My e-mail is going to be short this week. I've got quite a bit to read. Sorry if I don’t' have time to write everyone back, but thank you for the e-mails.
We've been teaching a small family from Ecuador this past week. They've got two kids, 8 and 5. They came to church yesterday and they're preparing to be baptized on the 31st of January. We've been blessed this past week to find a lot of people to teach.
On New Year's Eve we had our District Meeting in Reading at 7. We didn't start working on New Year's Day until about 2. Things went quite well. No one really complained about us knocking on that day.
I think this week is going to go by quick. Tomorrow I've got a leadership meeting in Staines in the morning and Friday is our Zone Conference for this moves. This will be my 8th moves and I'll fall just short of my year mark at the end of it. Pretty scary.... Anywho, I've got to get reading, but I love you all. I hope you all have a great week as we're starting the New Year. Take care!
--Elder Kyle Warner
----just a small picture of the river and Magdalen bridge
---and a picture for Mum White of her Elder!!!!

Hello From Newbury....

Tuesday, December 30, 2008 6:32 AM
Good news... Elder White and I are staying together another moves in Oxford. He's my second companion (besides McConkie) that I've stayed with for more than one moves so that's cool. A lot of things have changed in the mission. In Reading, one of the companionships got moved out so the Reading sisters are now in my district. It'll be fun being DL for them. It's Sister Eyre and Higbee. In Newbury, E. Wiklof moved out and we now have E. Lindsay, which is why we are here today-so E. Wetherill would have some priesthood holders to be with.
So not too much happened on the buildup for Christmas. We picked up 3 people on Christmas Eve, but two have dropped off the charts because they're from an island called Estimor or something and only speak Portuguese. Christmas was nice and it was really good to talk to you all. Friday we had a great day too. We had some lunch with the McLuckie family and knocked the rest of the day. We knocked into a couple Kenyans. They've been really hard to see since, but it was a very spiritual knock in. We've been very blessed this month to get in and teach so much.
Sunday wasn't too bad. Slow, cold finding... We picked up a woman from Ecuador yesterday and as well, we have a couple from Rwanda who wants to get married and baptized. In the evening we had an amazing experience. We were knocking and weren't getting received very well. No one likes to keep the door open long in this cold (-1-3 degrees C). However, we met a woman who knew the name Mormons from the Osmonds (very popular with the older generation in England) so she let us in for a moment. She told us why she doesn’t' like some other religious groups because of their views. One was of what happens to our spirit after death and before the resurrection. She said that no one really knows. The spirit prompted me to have her read Alma 40:11-12. She read it a few times and was immediately captivated by the Book of Mormon. We shared Joseph Smith's experience, Moroni's promise, and bore our witnesses. She loved it and offered to buy the book from me. I kindly told her I wouldn't let her buy it, but that it was all hers for free. She was ecstatic and is going to read and pray before we see her tonight to share more. It was unbelievable. It just came out of nowhere too. We'll see how it goes.
Today we've been in Newbury all day. After we're done e-mailing we'll head back to Oxford. We've got dinner with some members and we're seeing the Ecuadorian woman and the English woman tonight afterwards. It should be pretty good. Anywho, I'm going to run. I've got little time. I love you all and talk to you later.
-Elder Kyle Warner
p.s. Attached are pictures of me Christmas Eve and morning

Interesting week...

Monday, December 22, 2008 5:38 AM
Well the weeks just keep shaving by especially in anticipation for Christmas. I think that the excitement building up to it is more fun than the actual day...maybe :-). Monday went by quick and not too much got done because traffic out of Reading was bad.
Tuesday, after District Meeting I went to Newbury on exchange to do a baptismal interview for one of their investigators, but didn't end up doing it until Wednesday morning. She should be getting baptized this Saturday.
Thursday was interesting. Besides finding, which is a bit slow now, we taught Pete (the man we met last Saturday). He had a lot of questions about missionary work in general, nothing weird. I suppose we missionaries are a bit odd compared to most people :-). Friday felt like London. The only appointment that went through was for dinner, ha-ha. We did, however, sing at a doorstep in knocking. They were two young women and they asked if we were going to sing. We yelled through the door that we weren't planning on it, but if they wanted us to we would. They said, "Go on then." So Elder White and I started singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing. It wasn't too bad and we had a good laugh, despite the fact that they were both visiting their parents and didn't live there.
Saturday wasn't too different. We taught a former investigator of early this year. We'll see if his desires to learn more have changed. We had a nice meeting with three Muslim guys. They used some of the Bible, but to be frank it wasn't the best use of our time since they didn't give us time to teach...
Sunday was a great Christmas program. The ward choir was really good. We had a pretty good teach with Nimi (knocked into her a couple Fridays ago), but she'll be going to India for a month and a half. Sorry, we didn't have the most eventful week. I think things are going to slow down over the next couple weeks. We'll do our best to not let that happen, but we'll see. Thursday is coming fast. I'm excited to talk to you then. I love you all and I'll talk to you then!
Elder Kyle Warner

What pigeon?

Monday, December 15, 2008 4:36 AM
Well it's getting a lot closer to Christmas!! It's been an alright week. Really busy too. I was on exchange in Newbury on Tuesday and part of Wednesday with Elder Wetherill. It was pretty good. We knocked the whole time, but didn't get in, sadly. Wednesday I had a fun experience...On the way home from the train station in Oxford, Elder White and I were walking along and I felt something hit my head-like a raindrop. I looked up to see where it came from, but there wasn't any edge of a building that could have dripped on me. I looked at the grocery bag I was carrying in my hand and there was bird poop on it. Guess what was on my head too! Even on my left shoulder. Later I found more on my backpack and shirt collar. That was at least 3 different splats on me all at once! I had to change my shirt, wash my hair and such before we went out to work. I suppose there's a first for everything, even getting bombed by pigeons.... Our luck changed however. In the evening Elder White and I got in knocking and taught a man. He's not a new investigator, but he was really open. We'll try to contact him again in the future.
Thursday night we taught a guy named Nathan. He knew his Bible really well. So instead of a "teach" it was more a discussion of verses (not bashy though). We left him a Book of Mormon and told him to read and pray.
Friday we were blessed to get in knocking again. We taught an Indian woman. She was really nice and we'll be seeing her again on Thursday. We taught a Zimbabwean family in the evening who was such a great family-very Christ-centered. They're extremely busy so they can't really come to church, sadly.
Saturday was amazing as well. We taught a man named Karl. He's doing alright. He's a great guy who is really interested in the Book of Mormon. In the evening we knocked in again to a man named Pete. He's quite wealthy, but admitted that his wealth wasn't bringing him the satisfaction and happiness that he wanted in life. We explained to him that wealth isn't a bad thing, but true and lasting happiness comes from the Gospel. We taught him how to pray then went to our Ward Christmas Party. They had a Jerusalem theme that was pretty neat. Lots of good food and a really good presentation of the nativity with the primary children. My time is short because we have to go to Reading (Redding) for a small meeting at the Zone Leaders flat, but I love you and I'll talk to you a week from Thursday!!
Take Care,
Elder Kyle Warner

Amazing Weekend

Monday, December 8, 2008 5:36 AM
Well this e-mail is going to be short because of time. We're going to a gym every Monday with an investigator and we have an orientation in an hour.
We spent the week preparing Eveline for her baptism and all went well. She's now one of the newest members of the Church! Attached is a picture before her baptism.
(Finally got to wet those baptism clothes!!)
You've got me, Eveline, E. White, One of her twins and the other twin's left arm on the far right side :-). It was a wonderful evening and the Confirmation was great too. She was the 3rd one to bear her testimony at testimony meeting too! I'm so grateful to have been a part in her journey of getting closer to Heavenly Father and joining the Church.
On Tuesday I was on Exchange with the ZL's. I worked with E. Di Iulio (it's his last moves) in Oxford and we had a few miracles. I'll share one. We were finishing the night and had only 45 minutes to knock. We prayed for new people to teach and started knocking. We got a lot of rude rejections until about 10 doors in. We shared with a woman the 1st vision and the Restoration on the step then went in to share more. It turned out that she recently lost a nephew and was still struggling with it. We shared with her what she needed and set up a new appointment. Sadly, we haven't been able to see her again since because of other family problems, but the point is we got our prayers answered.
Our Zone Meeting was in Reading on Thursday which went really well. A lot of things were covered. After lunch and a little bit of instruction we got to watch last year's Motab Christmas. It was really good. I'm getting really excited for Christmas time. P.S. Thanks for the package mom and everyone else who helped. It's been fun adding to the tree each day.
Many other miracles are happening this month. I'd love to share, but I'm pressed on time. Just know that I know that our Heavenly Father lives. He hears and answers all righteous prayers. The work I'm involved in is one of the most important works on Earth. I am so grateful to be a small role in it. I love ya and I'll TALK to you soon (17 days).

Elder Kyle Warner