I've had a great week!
I followed the prompting I received
to study the Atonement this week, and it has been FANTASTIC!!!! My testimony of
the Savior has multiplied and grown so much! I've been using True to the Faith,
Preach my Gospel and the Bible Dictionary, but just from those my understanding
and love for Jesus Christ has grown incredibly!! I love my Savior so
much!!!
Thanks for sending the
obituary. What a perfect summary of a
great life! I wish I could be there for the ceremony. Be sure to send my love
to Grandpa and everybody. I was really sad to hear, but Dad sounded really
optimistic about the whole thing! I was really glad to have received that email
from him. Marie told me a bit about the miscarriage too. I've been praying for
her and Dad every night this week. What a trial they're going
through!! I'm sure the trip to Mexico will be a welcome respite for them. Sad
that they have to miss the funeral, but I'm sure they'll have a great
time.
They have so many holidays out
here!! They have at least one Bank Holiday each month, and they always end up
on Mondays so the Libraries are closed!! Yesterday there was a Marathon as
well, which meant the buses were closed down, so we weren't able to go to the
church to email. Shame. But hey, better late than never, eh?
How adorable to hear Brielle saying
my name! Oh I wish I could be there to
hear that!! Take a video some time and send it to me. I've got some headphones
I could use.
We had to buy some things that our
new flat doesn't have. Like shower curtains (I had no idea how important those
curtains are until I stepped out of the shower and almost slipped on one of the
many large puddles!) and a toaster (do you realize how many things we eat using
a toaster? Crazy!) and a kettle (they've got these kettles that rapidly boil
water for ya. EXTREMELY useful for a missionary that only has an hour to cook
stuff!)
My birthday is on Stake
Conference. I actually got called by the
Mission Home yesterday! Tomorrow is Zone Interview Training, so they'll be
bringing those packages. They said they had 3!! I did get a package from the
Tolsmas, but I've been obedient to their instructions and haven't opened it
until my Birthday. Elder McPherson
and I get Ice Cream for Weekly Planning sessions so I'll have some ice cream
for my cake. As for skyping, we have a
member who has been very kind to have us over right after Stake Conference. I
don't know what time exactly, but Stake Conference ends at 1 pm our time, which
is 5 am your time. I go to bed at 2:30pm your time, and wake up at 10:30pm your
time, but I don't leave the flat until 2am your time. So, by the sound of it,
our only option is to skype in your morning.
Elder McPherson is from Utah, and he
is a very spiritual guy. He's really good at trying to use every minute of
personal study for studying. He's also been fantastic at leading out the area
while I'm getting my bearings. He's particularly impressed me in that department.
Our new flat is in the heart of
Belfast (which is technically out of our area, but we need to be here to catch
our buses so it's okay) so I get to experience a bit of city life, which is
different from my last two areas. It's loud and bright at night, which has been
a change for me. Strangely, the noise isn't really from cars so much as from
seagulls and pigeons, both of which I now consider the spawn of the devil.
There's nothing worse than waking up ten minutes early because a seagull,
perched on your window sill, has screeched as loud as it possibly can. Luckily,
that hasn't happened often. Today is the rainiest I've seen it so far. Luckily
I'm going on exchanges with the District Leader, Elder Preece, so hopefully his
area is a little drier. There's a common saying that in Ireland (I've also
heard this about Scotland, so I think it's interchangeable), you can get all
four seasons in one day. I found that to be true last Sunday. We were walking
along (we walked 8 miles that day to get to an AUF and back!) and I experienced
snow, rain, sun, and bitter wind within an hour or two.
In the past, Elders have usually had
about 2 or 3 DA's a week, but due to random events we haven't had as much. One
family that usually has us out basically dropped us due to their health. The
Armstrongs. I can promise you that you'll hear more about them as time goes on!
They are great!
Anyhow, I'll keep praying for everyone!
Stay strong! Good luck with Seminary! Love you!! Miss you so much!!! See you
next week!!! :D Remember, Satan tries
hard. We just gotta try harder!
Love,
Elder Bates
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