July 9, 2008

According to our investigator K*******, congratulations to us beating the Aliens on July 4th. She honestlly didn't know that it was against Britain, but that could be some persuasion from adults around her not wanting to admit that they lost. Who knows? We celebrated it by being invited over the the P*****'s. They are a mother and a daughter who love missionaries and help us out so much. They are so great and rooted in the gospel. There are a lot of people who help us out a lot and I know that God loves and blesses them. Another one of those families is P**** and K*******. P**** was recently re-baptized (long story) and K******* is his neice whom he lives with along with his sister (K********'s mom). K******** is to be baptized soon, but we are still working on softening the mom's heart. They feed us whenever we are over to teach a lesson and they are a great help to us. P**** has a friend named C***** who has been investigating for the last couple of months. I can't remember if I had told you about her yet. We committed her for baptism for July 19th and overviewed the commandments and everything yesterday and everything is a go. We are excited for this and she really is a great lady who has found her faith in Christ again. She is in her 50's and P****'s friend. She loves the gospel and is dedicated to it!

On Sunday we got to have tea at the Ward Mission Leader's home. His name is Brother B***. His family is great. His wife is blind, and he takes such good care of her. He loves the missionary work and is very excited about getting things going. AND he makes some amazing food. Roast Dinner!! Man, that has got to be the first thing we have when I get back! Speaking of, if you come get me, we need to go to Liverpool. It is the coolest city, especially for a family like ours. you can't spend days in it like NYC, but I like the tourist part of it. The people seem to be really nice too.

This weekend we worked with something the Public affairs department of the church has been doing. It is called family history on the road. Elder and Sister Hull go all around the UK and bring a huge database of names with them. We volunteered to help and saw some missionary opportunites out of it. They had a really good turnout in Liverpool and I heard that there were so much opposition, but they really turned to the Lord and he made it all work out. They really did all they could, but Heavenly Father worked things that we couldn't even touch. It was amazing! I love miracles and the faith that people in the church have.

We have a Zone Conference tomorrow and I get to meet the new President for the first time. I really don't know him at all, but the Assistants tell me that he likes to work closely with his missionaries, which President Jacobsen didn't do as much. I am excited to meet him and see how things go. Our Conference is in Chorley, so we get to go up to the temple again, which is always a joy. We are so blessed to have one in our mission!

We just had an amazing lesson with an investigator named C*****. She was being taught by the Elders in Crosby (the area just above ours), but she was moved to us because thier ward is struggling and our ward is great. I have always served in strong wards, except Birkenhead, which wasn't long. Speaking of Birkenhead, when we are on hills, I can see over the mersey to my old grounds. Back to the story . . . She is so amazing! Our ward has latched onto her and she will need it. She came to church and knew this was something she needed to do. She gained a witness in front of my eyes about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. We dated her for the 19th, but Satan has thrown some opposition, so we might have to move her to the 2nd of August. With it being so quick, we needed to teach her the commandments as the second lesson. I was a little hesitant to do so, because we usually teach the foundation first, but she was great. She likes to move quick. She wanted baptism as soon as possible and she is going to commit to live the commandments. She sets her mind to something and does it. She owns her own business at 24 years old and is a very impressive person. She wants to put everything she has into this. She has to give up almost everything on the list of WoW, though not anything too bad. Also, she lives with her boyfriend, which she says in no problem, she doesn't see it going anywhere anyway. We just rattled off commandments and she was WRITING THEM DOWN and the scriptures we used. She knows it will be hard, but man does this woman have faith! A gift of the spirit. When she found that the Restoration is true, I asked her what she thought she should do next now that she knows. I was expecting Baptism or something like that, but she went further. She said "Share it". She also noticed how people in the church can take this for granted. She is so genuine! I hope this all works out for her. Pray for C*****!

I am learning some more things about the Atonement. Many people just think it is to wipe away sins. But church members understand it to mean that we have help though trials, sicknesses, temptations, etc. It is the power behind miracles. I am sure that it goes even deeper, but I have seen another side that I am beginning to understand a little more. It has lifting power. I have always believed in God and Christ and the power of the Atonement to cleanse me and help me through trials, but it is for the times when we are trying to improve also. People can lose faith in themselves sometimes, but still profess to have faith in God and Christ. This cannot be, for if you have faith in Them and what They do, you understand that they have not destined you to fail, and They can lift you up to a new level. It is the power to change. For example as a missionary we feel the power of the atonement, as we try to improve ourselves. It is not of our own power. We put our faith in God and we can suddenly do things we were not able to do, I guess this ties into Ether 12:27. And it is the backbone of the plan. God did not just provide his Son for us to be clean, but for the ultimate goal, for us to be perfect! One can be clean without being perfect. The Atonement helps us eliminate the weight holding us down from protection one little piece at a time, and then we still rely upon the Grace of Christ. Something I learned about the Atonement. I know it is in the scriptures somewhere, but I will have to research that better.

We have been doing service at a place called Habitat for Humanity. We work on building houses for poor people. The work is slow and some volunteers aren't very serious, but it is fun to get into the building business again. Elder Morrow is a hard and fast worker, so we get some good stuff done!

I realize that I haven't told you much about the area, just that it is cool and good. I have trouble wrapping my mind around those things which I notice, but don't really tell you. Our area is huge and six of us serve throughout it, which is unusual. We don't have set areas between the six elders of the ward. So we go into the city a lot, and also take 90 minute bus rides to the outskirts. It sounds like a long time, but would probably only take 15 minutes in a car.

That is probably about it for this week. I have felt the divinity of the work, and grow to love the gospel more and more. I love you all and appreciate your help. Please pray for us.

Elder Davies