Time just keeps on passing by

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 3:55 AM
I think the time is starting to pick up. I think the longest part of my mission is starting to come to an end. I can't believe we're at week two in my next moves already. Time flies when you're working hard. We've had quite a busy week of appointments. On Thursday we had Zone Conference in Poole. It took pretty much all day. It was about 8:15 when we arrived back in Portsmouth. E. Dutson and I rode with the Wheelers from Southampton station to Poole and we took the scenic route through what's called New Forrest. We went through a couple villages called Burley and Lyndhurst. They were amazing. Small streets, flower baskets hanging on the outside walls of the pubs, we even went into an authentic sweets shop. It was like travelling back in time 50 years. They had jars full of so many different kinds of sweets. Every wall was lined with them. The roads we went on were so small too. They were about the size of a biking path back in Utah. They were lined with pastures for wild horses and cattle. It was amazing. I didn't take any pictures. It was too much to take in; you'd just have to be there. Look it up online. It's worth it.
On Friday we picked up an Albanian investigator named Arben. He's really nice and quite interested in the Book of Mormon. Saturday we had an amazing testimony builder of prayer. We'd prayed a couple nights previous to know which street to knock. E. Dutson and I looked at different maps and were impressed to knock the same street. When we got there we prayed that the people we were about to meet would be prepared and that we'd be able to get in and teach. Well we were about 3/4 done with the street until finally we met a family from Ghana who gladly let us in and we taught them. They have 7 kids total, but we taught the mother and 5 of the children. It was a really spiritual teach. Unfortunately the next day the mother said she didn't want anything to do with us anymore for some reason (probably spoke to her pastor, it happens a lot) and refused to even read the Book of Mormon. It's sad when people do that, but they have their agency. Sunday after church we taught a young couple named Jamie and Deon. Jamie is in the Royal Navy and is from St. Helena Island off the coast of South Africa. Deon is a Portsmouth native and a stay-at-home mom. They'll be coming to church on Sunday. Yesterday we were blessed even more. We taught a lady named Sandra (different one than before) and she'll be coming to church as well. We also taught a woman named Julie at the church with Margret. It went really well and she is now preparing to be baptized on the 14th of July. She'd met the church in Hong Kong whilst travelling so she knew loads about the Church. We had an appointment with a guy from Ethiopia afterwards who turned out to be a preacher at a small, local church. It was a great meeting, however, without any contention. We just taught him about the Book of Mormon, gave him a copy, and now he's committed to read and pray about it.
We've been so blessed with so many people to teach. There were a few other new people that we were able to teach as well, but for time's sake I'll wait to see if anything develops. My testimony of the power of prayer has grown so much. Obviously we don't get ALL the answers we want, but we do get some, if they're righteous ones :-). Well that's my week. I should be sending a DVD and tape home this weekend or maybe early next week. I hope you all have a good week. Thanks for all the support. I've got a Plethora of e-mails to read so I'll talk to you all next week.

Elder Kyle Warner

Summer....

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 7:00 AM
Wow it's been really nice in Portsmouth the past few days. We've had quite a bit of sun and humidity(which I'm not used to yet). I've got nice tan lines from my shirt, watch, and CTR ring :-)
I hope everyone had a good week. Mine went by pretty fast and odly enough I didn't do that much. E. Dutson and I have been working really hard. He's a few inches shorter than I am and walks about 3x as fast.

My comp's name is Brad Dutson from Hyde Park, UT(in logan somewhere?) and he's been out for 6 months.
It's great. We've only had a couple of teaches since thursday and the rest of the time was spent finding and at church. We've done almost 23 hours of finding since thursday, it's crazy. The blessings of new investigators should be coming by the end of the week. Some bad news- Anya's baptism is on hold for a while because of some complications so we don't really have a date anymore, but she is still very committed and is doing really well. We actually just finished teaching here a couple hours ago. She made us lunch and gave me a small massager that looks like a frog. It'll come quite in handy. On Sunday we taught her about Tithing, Fasting, and how to donate tithes and offerings. Sis's Browne and Herridge were there and both shared very powerful and emotional testimonies. It was great! That's pretty much all we've done since I e-mailed last week. I've attached a couple photos of E. Dutson and me about an hour ago so I hope you enjoy.

I hope you all have a great week and I'll talk to you soon.

Elder Kyle Warner

Staying in Portsmouth

Thursday, June 5, 2008 7:31 AM

Hello everyone!
You guessed it. I'm still in Portsmouth, but E. McConkie is gone to Brighton to be a District Leader. He left this morning and E. Dutson, from Logan came in. E. Di Iulio left the Isle of Wight so Dutson is the new DL. E. Lovell from my group got sent to the Isle so now in my district there are three of the original four that came to my mission, it's crazy.
This past week went by quick. We saw our Anya a couple times and all is well for her baptism date on the 14th of June, as long as we have permission from her husband. She's amazing. To be able to see the change that has occurred in her since E. Mortenson and I taught her how to pray is such a blessing. She reads and prays often now and feels bad when she misses church. I love it. We didn't get to build the wall for Ethel on Wednesday; however, we did finish it as you can see from the pictures.
Before.....







...and After.









We're pretty proud of our handy work. Ethel made us an authentic African meal when we were finishing up the wall. It was really good. We had beef sausage, plantain (BIG, wild bananas), potatoes, and African doughnuts (doughnut holes).

She's one of the nicest people I've met out here so far-very grateful and hospitable. McConkie and I had a good final day together. We taught Anya in the morning and had a sad goodbye then went to the Toby Carvery with Margret. We then taught an investigator named Kevin and saw a member, Vic, and his dad (recent convert) Roy. We visited them for a while then headed to see Ethel. We chatted for a bit then headed to meet Sister Parkes to go to dinner. She fed us nicely and we went to see E-man and Alison. They offered to feed us, but between the Carvery and the Parkes, there wasn't any more room in my stomach. We discussed the two-week challenge with them and McConkie and I got to play a little Wii (shhhhh...). We stayed up quite late packing and I even fell asleep in the middle of it. This next moves should be great. E. Dutson is a great guy and I think we'll have a lot of fun together. I hope you're all great and I'll talk to you next week!

Elder Kyle Warner

3 months already????

Date: Wed, 28 May 2008 09:37

We had quite the week. It was full of miracles, that’s for sure. Last Wednesday our district got together and bowled a couple games then went to an amazing restaurant called Nando's. It's a Portuguese bbq place that's really popular in England. It was kind of expensive, but well worth it.




This one's for you, Dad!



Elder Di Iulio was in Portsmouth with me on exchange that night and we knocked into an amazing family. They're from Zambia. Ethel(the mom) is a single parent of two, Koshita(co-shta) he's 10, and Muzhinga(moo-shinga) she's 8. All three of them are really nice. We saw them a few times last week. E. Di Iulio and I taught Ethel about the Restoration Wednesday night and she enjoyed it. She even prayed in Bemba for us. It was amazing. We saw her the next day and gave her a Book of Mormon and agreed to put up some blinds for her and also build a new wall in her home because she wants to foster a child. That's what we'll be doing today. Elder McConkie and I, with the help of the Isle of Wight Elders (Di Iulio & Zundel) are putting up the wall today. I'll take some before and after pictures of our handiwork.
Friday was an amazing day. We got a call in the morning from the office giving us two referrals of University students in the same building. We thought they were pranks because the first one I called said he changed his mind and the second one didn't answer. Later in the day we stopped by the chapel to use the bathroom and I decided to call the guy who didn't answer. I talked to him for a bit. His name is Martin and it turns out he has friends in the Church and was very interested. We had planned to find that evening so I offered to bring him a B.O.M. and teach him that evening. We went down there and taught him in the library. It was a very good teach, despite the surroundings. He was very excited to read the B.O.M.
Saturday E. McConkie and I went with Bro. Taylor to look at Ethel's home to see exactly how we were going to construct the wall. He's a builder so his help was great. We showed Ethel and Muzhinga the DVD on the Restoration afterwards and they both really liked it. We haven't been able to teach Koshita, but hopefully later this week. We picked up a new investigator named Steve. He was really nice, is married, has two kids, and we'll be seeing him again on Saturday. After Steve we saw Martin again. We went to the library, but it was packed so we went to his student housing and watched the Rest. DVD. He enjoyed it and agreed to come to church.
Sunday was a busy, busy day. We met and walked with Martin to church. Anya also came to church and enjoyed it. Our Sunday School lesson went really well, even though we didn't have much time to prepare. After church Steve Taylor invited E. McConkie, Martin, and me over for lunch and to teach Martin some more. After eating we taught Martin the Plan of Salvation and he enjoyed it. We committed him to be baptized on the 7th of June and he accepted it. In the evening E. McConkie and I went to see E-man and Alison. We had dinner with them, talked a bit about testimonies, and offered a two week challenge to Alison. The challenge is to live all the commandments and to study them for 2 weeks and we promised her that if she did so diligently and sincerely she would receive a testimony. It was a lot of fun to put together. We made a two week calendar of what she was to do and gave her pictures of temples and such to put up in her flat. We even gave her some MoTab CD's.
Tuesday we taught Anya the Plan of Salvation at the church. She really enjoyed it. Afterwards she gave us both some small gifts, little hand-made bracelets and some postcards of where she lived in China. They're things we'll keep forever. She too is committed to be baptized.
That's pretty much my week, to me, one of the best of my mission so far. Daily I am feeling a lot of joy from what we as missionaries do. I love you all and I look forward to hearing from you next week.
fyi-it's moves week next week. My P-day will be Thursday regardless. There's a good chance E. McConkie and I will be split up so we'll see how things go.
(A hint to everyone!!)

Elder Kyle Warner

Ole... Ole, Ole, Ole. Ole....Ole(football chant)

Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 10:25

Wow, what an eventful week. Time just flies(I'm pretty sure I say that a lot. Wednesday was really fun. We got to see a lot of old and new warships and even take a tour of the harbor on a boat.


We saw the Mary Rose, which is coming up on 500 years old in 2011. It's not all pieced together. It capsized back in its day and has since been recovered out of the bottom of the harbor. They keep it in a massive room that's temperature and moisture controlled. It's quite dark in there, but I'll attach the best photo I have.
They are constantly spraying a wax-like preservative on it too. I had quite an eerie feeling in there looking at it.


It was a well spent P-day.
(Missionaries will preach to any captive audience!!)

On Thursday we had an appointment with an investigator who dropped us for a few weeks at the church. Fyi-appointments at the church rarely go through. As we were leaving the flat in the morning I prayed that Anya would make it and about 3 seconds after I said Amen she called to say she was at the church and was waiting for us! She was 10 minutes early so we ran(for about 80 yards, then speed walked) to the church. It was an amazing teach about the restoration. She loved it.
Saturday was a big day for Portsmouth. Their football team was in the FA cup final. We worked all week to fill the day with appointments, but the time during the game was left open, unfortunately. We went out when the game was on and the town was empty, like ghost town empty. No cars and only a few people here and there. We went to see a recent convert who, coincidentally ;-) loves Pompey (Portsmouth FC's nickname) so he was watching the game. After the first half we taught him then left to see bill. They won the game and the town went nuts, and still is today. People all over town were chanting, singing, driving around honking, getting drunk if they weren't already- it was amazing. Obviously not safe for us, but still amazing to see the atmosphere.
Monday we went to the High street for a bit and met a guy named Mike. He has been recovering from over 30 years of all sorts of addictions and has been free from them for 2 years now. He was so cool and friendly. He got us some bottled water and we sat down to talk for about an hour. His life experiences were incredible; especially what he was able to come back from. Hopefully we'll be able to teach him soon.
Yesterday we were out contacting in the morning before seeing Anya again at the church and we saw Sandra. We asked her if we could teach her for a bit at the church since she lives nearby. We ended up going over the plan of salvation again, but a little more detailed. She remembered so much of it and almost taught us, it was amazing! She said she loved learning about it all, which is convenient because we love teaching it. Anya is from China so we got her a Chinese Book of Mormon and she loved it. We watched the Restoration DVD in Chinese too. Although we had no idea what they were saying, the spirit was still the same. She said she felt something different while watching it too. The work is Amazing! I love it. I've never experienced something so rewarding.
Today we're having a district P-day and going bowling again. E. Tuttle from Chichester is going home at the end of this move. I believe it's on the 5th of June? I can't believe my 3 month mark is in just 7 days. I swear I was just bragging about my 2 month mark. I'm writing down a lot and talking a lot in my tapes so hopefully with everything being saved I'll be able to remember all of these great experiences and the little funny things in between. Anywho, I love you all. Thank you for all your support in e-mails, letters, prayers, etc. even though I'm not the best at replying. The church is true. This is God's work and it is the most worth while thing anyone my age can do. Till next week....

Elder Kyle Warner

Heat Wave

Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 10:44

Well hello again. It's been a while :-)
It's been an interesting week. As you can see from my subject it's been really hot lately. I'm not used to the heat yet, maybe in a week or so, but by then I'm sure we'll have some more rain.
The week was quite eventful. Obviously we had a baptism. Luke and Dean were baptized on Saturday, confirmed on Sunday, and next Sunday Luke will be ordained a deacon. It was so cool to be apart of it all. The baptism went really well and all E. McConkie and I had to do was take care of the font and offer the prayers. There were a lot of people from the ward there too so it made it a little more special for them. I attached a picture of us at the baptism.

Dean is next to me, he's 11 and Luke is next to him, he's 12.
The other picture is for you mom.

I tried to send it last week, but the computer that I was using had broken USB ports.
On Monday we had a DA with the Wield family. The meal was really healthy and tasty. I ate cucumbers, tomatoes, and a few other veggies you wouldn't think of me eating. It's crazy how my pickiness in food went out the window when I got here. You guys won't even recognize me when I get home. :-) Last night we taught the investigator from Trinidad at the Parkes'. The house was chaotic and loud as usual and I loved every minute of it. We get fed so well when we go there. Ben, he's the youngest @ 5 yrs old, is hilarious. He blessed the food at dinner and his prayer went something like this. "Dear Heavenly Father, please help Jared(his brother who he was fighting with before the prayer) and I to stop fighting, please help me to not be mad at him. We're thankful for the food and the missionaries,(at this point E. McConkie snickered along with Jared) and please help people not to laugh during prayers, in Jesus' name, Amen." He was serious the whole time, everyone was laughing afterwards. After dinner we taught Hayden about the Restoration and it was quite spiritual, one of the best firsts we've had so far.
Today we're going to go tour the warships down in the Harbor so E-mail will be short today. Sorry. I really enjoyed talking to you all on Sunday. I love and miss you all. Till next week.
-Elder Kyle Warner

Mother's Day

Date: Wed, 07 May 2008 11:18

Hey everyone!
Yet another week has gone by. I think the time here is starting to pick up a bit, which is both good and bad. I had a few things happen this week that were pretty great. We had Zone Conference on Thursday in Poole. It was kind of a long trip, but still really good. We talked a lot about how we can try to get a bigger effort from members to help the work. President Swinton even did "show and tell". He told us a story about a couple that he taught back when he was in England on his Mission. The guy is black and at the time he was being taught the blacks weren't allowed to have the priesthood. This guy's faith was too strong to worry about that. President told us about a prayer that the guy gave after they discussed the priesthood with him and he said something to the effect of "I am so thankful for the opportunity to be able to join your church and if I receive nothing else(meaning the priesthood). I am just happy to be able to be baptized a member." Shortly after President lost contact with him and just over a year ago the guy was able to find President and they met up for the first time in over 30 years. The guy had been very strong in the church, eventually received the priesthood, and had served in various callings. President even invited him to come speak at our Zone Conf. It was so spiritual to see the two of them crying out of joy together. It was a joy that I'm looking forward to have in 30 or so years.
After the Zone Conf., I exchanged with the ZL's in Southampton and worked with E. Cusick from Orem. We were able to teach a couple people. One of them was a lady I taught on my last exchange in Southampton so it was cool to see and teach her again. The ZL's have recently moved to a 4-man flat with the other 2 elders in Southampton so in the morning the 4 of us ran to a nearby cage and played football. It was a lot of fun. It felt good to play a little bit again. We got to see Emmanuel and Fallon again this week. Every time we go over there we have a good time. Emmanuel showed us a video clip of his sister's wedding in Ghana and on it we got to see a lot of his home. Ghana looks like a really cool place. On Sunday we had such a miracle happen. McConkie and I got to the Church about 5 min before it started and there was a new guy sitting with our Ward Mission Leader. We were quickly introduced to him and sat with him during the meeting. He was so cool. His name is Hayden and he's from Trinidad. He's engaged to a member who is currently in the Philippines and he's in the navy here in Portsmouth. They're getting married in June. He's going to pick her up from the Philippines then go to Trinidad to get married, but before he does he wants to get baptized first! He looked up our ward building online and everything. He even paid tithing!! How blessed are we?
We had a DA this past week with the Jones family. Sis Jones is American, from CA, and Bro Jones is English. They made us authentic fajitas. Wow, they were tasty. We had another one with E-man and Alison. McConkie and I made them Chinese curry which was pretty good as well. They're fun to visit and we're teaching Alison. Dean and Luke are coming along well for their baptism on Saturday. They've got it all planned out too. All McConkie and I have to do is say the opening and closing prayers, fill the font, and witness the baptism.
So Mother's day is Sunday. Yea! Because of the time difference here we've got to call in the evening here. I know everyone has church at different times, but I'll be calling around 7:30 my time so 12:30 your time. I hope you all can make it. If not, there's always Christmas in 6 months...:-) I'm looking forward to it. It'll be nice to talk to you all again. That's pretty much my week. I hope all is well and I'll talk to ya Sunday!

-Elder Kyle Warner