-District Preparation day--chair football at the chapel
-Another MLC
-Phillipino party.
-Another Zone Training
-Using Facebook...?
-Nerf wars
My friend the Viking and I have been privileged to attend numberless meetings throughout the last few weeks. We had another fantastic MLC last Thursday, which means that there was another huge sleepover at our "duplex" on Wednesday night (those are always a good time). That also means that I again saw my good friend Elder Phelps! It's always good to talk to that guy about our adventures and remember sleeping on a hardwood floor for a transfer together. Good times! It was also my first time conducting a zone training. Definitely a learning experience! We sure do have a good zone over here in Greater London though...these new greenies are absolute fireballs and I love it! But the topic of all these meetings was online proselyting. Facebook to be exact! To be honest, I'm still a bit shaken up about being allowed on Facebook since I've been told not to for the last year. But I do believe that it will move the work forward a great deal. So if you missed it, that's why you saw a post from me :) a good thing about using FB is that the good habits we make now will be with us for the rest of our lives and will protect us from the dangers of the Internet. The best filter for inappropriate content will always be a converted, disciplined mind.
Alright, the members of this ward are impeccable! We almost always have a member with us when we're doing anything...they're just always hungry for missionary work! On two occasions we had a dinner appointment where somebody invited their friend(s) to meet us. One of these was on Sunday. A family from the Philippines invited us over for dinner, and we were surprised to find out that there were over 20 non-members there, and all of them were from the Philippines too! Complete heaven for any missionary. On top of that, we were fed traditional Philippino food, which is really interesting. I decided to go all out and try everything there. I was a bit nervous, but I don't regret anything. I ate some fish with the scales still on them. I ate what I thought looked like shrimp. I ate some things that I didn't even recognize. My friend James Sutton often said "some people often ask me: 'what do I do with chicken legs?' And I always say: 'wear slacks.'" Well, I actually ate chicken legs...feet and all! It was a bit tough to chew, but it wasn't too bad. Tasted like chicken.
One thing I love is playing sports. You know that in many sports there is a halftime. In sports like soccer, football, and basketball, halftime often consists of a halftime report, or the statistics of the first half. Based on the information, coaches and players will examine, study, analyze, and evaluate their performance and will tweak some things in their strategy...sometimes even changing their entire game plan. Halftime truly is a critical time in the course of any game or event. I hope you can see my transition coming! Folks, I'm here today to tell you that it's halftime for me. Yes, believe it or not I have been on my mission for an entire year! I was privileged to address you last August in sacrament meeting the week I left for England. I was very excited to come here, but I never would have imagined or dreamed of what has happened throughout the last year. It's been life changing. It's been soul-stirring. It's been miraculous! Now, at halftime, I have taken some time to look in the rear view mirror at this quick last year. I stand at the top of a mountain, looking down at the spiritual ascent. Much has changed in the last year, no doubt. God has changed my heart completely and he has molded me. He is the pilot of my mission and I trust Him completely for He is able to do more with me than I ever could on my own. There have been ups and downs, but God has been there the entire time. I have many people to thank: my family, my friends, my Savior, and my Father in Heaven. It's halftime for me, folks! And it may be halftime for you as well--you're halfway through 2016. Does the opposer seem to be on top right now? Do you need to evaluate your performance? I soberly testify that with the help of God--our coach--you can always come out on top. Every time. You can and will win! His team will always be victorious. Let us follow His game plan and keep his rules. I love this mission and testify of the truthfulness of this church in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Love you all! Have a great week!
Love, Elder Thomas
ELSM
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| Elder Phelps and I reunite! It was glorious! |
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| MLC |
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| MLC |
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| Philippine BBQ |
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