Transfer to Birkenhead

First email:

I just have to send a quick one saying that I am moving to Birkenhead. I really had no idea I would be going there. I saw myself seeing a lot of things through here, but here I go. I will tell you more about it hopefully later today, and definitely next week. My new companion will be Elder Riedhead's old companion, Elder Taylor. He came out with me. He is a great
guy. Once again, I hope to be able to e-mail again later today, but I just wanted to send you a quick one saying I was transferring. I really can't believe it! Birkenhead is just across the Mersey from Liverpool. I love you all and hope to write to you later today!

From the second email:

Well, I made it to Birkenhead. I don't think that I told you exactly where it is, but it is right across the Mersey from Liverpool. However, we are not even in the Liverpool stake. We are in the Chester stake and close to the border of Wales. We are on a Peninsula with the sea on our West, and Rivers on our South and North. It is still pretty Urban, fitting as many people into as small an area as possible. Elder Taylor and I are getting use to the ward and the area, and just trying to receive the revelation we need to understand what we are here to do. Right now it is looking to strengthen the ward and prepare the area. Not
every area is a baptizing area, but we will do that if God wants us to. It can be daunting, but I know that we are not ever called to fail, and that we will be given everything we need to do the job at hand. I have faith in the Lord and in my mission president to receive the proper revealation for this mission. That shows how much his ability to receive that revealation has an affect on those he is over. It is the same with us. We may have been called here for a reason, but if we don't live in a way to receive that revelation, we will affect the reason we were called here, and affect the people we will called here for. I love all of you and your uplifting stories. Please teach me how to have fun! And teach me how to be taught.

Elder Davies

Evaluating Investigator Progression

Thank you for your love and support. I know this work is very important, and that I am receiving many prayers a day. Thank you.

I have learned some great lessons from this past week, and continuing to try to learn the ones that are still in progress, I guess that is what life is all about. I am having some thoughts come back to me, so just bear with me.

There is a difference between having a testimony and being converted. Being converted takes years of sacrifice and evidence of faith. Many of us go through that stage at different times, but we can all tell when we are converted. Also, there is no plateau and no top in this life. It is just different levels of conversion, and we increase in our conversion each time we read or feel the spirit, or act upon faith and see the fruits of our faith. The older people reading this can attest that you can never reach the pinnacle in this life, it just won't happen. Just different levels of conversion. I read some quotes about that, but can really remember what they say, just know that most of that didn't come from my brain.

We have also been focusing on faith this transfer, and I think it was inspired, because I am learning the true meaning of faith. There are so many things that can grab our attention or cause us to lose focus, and it can happen at many different times in a day. But as we step forward with faith, doing those things we know we should by the spirit, I have seen that all things work out for our good. It is definitely not easy, but it will strengthen your faith. God is just trying to mold us to the level that he knows we can attain.

Another thing from this week is the principle of love. If we can truly develop charity (like Mom), the outlook on this life will be so full. We do not shrink, but we are confindent, enthusiastic, and faithful in what the Lord thinks of us. I have felt your love this week with all of the cards, and I thank you for that. They are so great! I have tried to really love people. To desire their salvation, and not get too frustrated when they openly deny it. Loving people doesn't just mean that I sit there on their couch and say that everything will be okay, and it is fine that they didn't read this week or anything. If we truly love someone, we should look at what the Lord did. He was always uplifting and building and sharing. The best gift we can give is 'living water' (John 4, I think). I love all of you.

On a similar note, we have been going through our investigators really seriously and trying to focus and get through those that are and aren't interested. It has been tough, and I was pretty forward with a man last night. But we must love those that are waiting for us. A cool experience about that: The zone leaders started to do that with the faith that the increased finding they were about to have would yield results. They met a couple named M****** and S*****. Long story made short, they got baptized on Saturday, and they bore their testimonies afterwards. Words cannot describe they spirit that was present in that room. M****** is a head teacher of a school in South Afirca, but came up to get some more degrees, he is so smart. But he is so humble, and has seen how the gospel has changed his life. He is going to baptize ALL of South Afirca. He wants so desperately to share this with everyone he knows. We are soon to have a BYU-Afirca. He is very smart, hard working, and carries an amazing spirit with him. I am excited for what happens. We have been doing that a lot, baptizing people who are going back to their native country. C****** will go back to Malaysia and make big splashes in the church there too. AWESOME! Excuse my American.

Here are some answers to Mom's questions:

1. About our investigators. This has a little bit to do about something Mom said earlier about how it is hard to drop people and see people dropped, but there are many out there who are ready to receive the word, and who knows what kind of seed we planted in the 'dropped' investigator. I don't really like saying 'dropped', because they are still on the Lord's list of investigators. However, the only way I feel comfortable putting them off our list completely is if we teach with the spirit. If we do not, it is our fault that they are not progressing. We must give them a reason to change, and then ask them to - 'Declare
Repentance'. If that happens, we must have enough love for the person waiting for us to drop the current person. This is another example of the importance of the spirit in the work. He can tell us when to drop and then where to go to find that person waiting for us. It is the single most important aspect in the work, which makes the rules are that more important. What all that has to do with my current investigators is that we are focusing more time on less people. We do not just drop others without teaching them, but with those that are progressing we try to meet with often and then there are the others that we meet with maybe once a week. I still feel like a have a lot to learn about teaching and finding and all that, but I can only rely on the Lord that what I am offering right now is good enough. So we are focusing on:

D***** and T****: I went on exchanges with Elder Somerville, my new zone leader, on Monday and it was great. I love exchanges, because I learn a lot, and my confidence waxes strong in the message and my abilities. Those leaders who can do that are great men. However, I don't want to have to rely on them for that. I want to be that type of missionary that can uplift those around me. Anyway, about D***** and T****. Elder Somerville was very foward with them, which they didn't like all
that much, or so they say. However, I saw a big change in them. They are very excited about church on Sunday, and I can see a baptism in the next few weeks! They want to get more involved and we just glowing after our lesson yesterday

K***: We got in touch with her again!! It was so great, and the lesson was really good too. She has some crazy notions in her head, but we have decided to teach things that will uplift, rather than to try and convince her against her negative notions. It is just nice to get back in contact. How we did it was cool too. A couple of months ago, I had left my scarf and gloves at her house, and her sister had taken them. Well, they finally came back, and we 'had to drop by' to pick them up. Luckily, we brought the bishop with us. I don't think that God had me leave my gloves there because he knew what would happen, but I am grateful that He made something out of my silly mistakes to make it possible for this wonderful lady to come closer to the church.

There are so many cool things happening, and the trick for me is to just focus on those. It makes everything seem so much more fruitful. I will give more updates on other investigators once things really start to pick up with them, and once I can remember better.

Scripture of the week: I left my scriptures at the flat, but I think it was D&C 88:118. Look it up, I hope it was good.

My miracle was K***.

I love you all, and I appreciate your prayers. I don't really know what I just wrote, so I pray that it is good.

Elder Davies

Press Forward

Sorry this is so short, but my mind has really been occupied on the work. Just trying to be really effective, and trying to know what the investigators need, and also taking everything at face value. We have been blessed to grow from some trying experiences last week. My testimony that all will work out for your good when you are with the Lord has been strengthened. I absolutely love the words of the Prophets. They are such inspired and loving men. They just want to warn us and teach us. I love their boldness and Elder Hill and I are going to start work on the aspect of our work. We will teach truth, but there has to be no doubt about how important and serious we are about the work, all while having a good time of course. This has to become and treasure and a large part of someone's life. We aren't like other churches, where the church fits your life style. We overcome the natural man to find true happiness. If you trust that God wants the best for you, you can get over that. We have seen people be able to do that. God will not give any of his children any trials that they cannot handle, or are not common to man.

Sorry, I have been all over the place. Back to our week. We have been having some of our strongest investigators start to drop appointments and stuff. K*** dropped us completely. She called all freaked out about the Book of Mormon and said that she doesn't want us to be in contact with her and she would when she is ready. I have no idea, but the work must go on. The continual overhaul of investigators makes it more of a challenge not to look at each person as just another investigator.
Each one has their own potential and their own special difficulties. The Lord really blesses us to love and understand these people. On Saturday, we were blessed to be able to see President Hinckleys funeral. It was absolutely great. We have such a firm foundation and God is so wise in the way He works. I wonder how much we all appreciate the fact that we have a PROPHET on the earth. I started to share that with more enthusiasm and the results have been great. Yesterday, we got let
into a house. They are Christian and believe that many churches are true and asked a lot of questions. We are going back better prepared, but are very excited to be able to teach them again. We were blessed like crazy on Sunday to get a hold of many former investigators who are very promising. And then Monday we ran into M**, the girl that showed up from X***'s hometown one Sunday. We hadn't had contact with her since we last talked to X***. So we see her on the bus on Monday night on the way to FHE. We had also stopped by X***'s house for the first time previously that day with no answer. Catch this, while we were talking to M** about the situation with X***, we get a phone call. Who from . . . . X***!! It was wild! I was so excited! The very same day, and basically the same time. Mysterious are the ways of the Lord. We don't really know what is going to happen from here, but we live each day at a time trying to do the best we can. Also, yesterday we had a man
walk up to us and just give us his number. I asked him who he was, and his name is S******. I was flabbergasted. On Sunday I was going through the area book and saw S******'s teaching record. We decided to give him a call, but we were not able to set up anything with him. So on Tuesday, he just happens to be taking the same bus we do. Coincidence? I think not!!

Well, we certainly are being blessed and just trying to do the most with the blessing we are receiving. It is the Lord's work so we are trying hard to do it the Lord's way. It sure is a lot more fun and exciting doing it His way. Press Forward with a steadfast faith and perfect brightness of hope. It is funny how the scriptures make so much sense!

I love you all,

Elder Davies