Hiya
Fam!!
This
has been a great week, in my opinion. It went by so quick, too! Funny how that
happens, huh?
So
basically we went on two exchanges this week, and went to a BAPTISM!!! It wasn't ours. It was a girl that had turned
8 named Thina. The "h" is silent. Still!!
Anyhow,
on Wednesday our District did a Blitz of Belfast. Elder Harman and I went to
Fort William, Elder Schippers and Elder Sheppherd went to Ballysillan. It was
an interesting day! Unfortunately we didn't find anybody willing to learn more
about the gospel. But it was greatly appreciated!
That
same day, I had my first Mass!! Yep. I went to Mass in the Falls. F
thought it'd be funny if we went, and I've always wondered what Mass was like,
so we went for it!
In
all honesty, it was kind of creepy. The priest in these elaborate robes read
passages from the bible, reciting prayers, and at certain times the
congregation would repeat them and/or stand up/kneel down. The head priest also
had basically an assistant priest with him who would occasionally ring a bell.
I dunno, it was just different. The church was nice! Oh, and don't worry, I
didn't drink the wine. ;)
So
Thursday, we just did some finding. We were actually at this street called
"Mount Carmel" strangely enough! Do you guys know what Mount Carmel
is? I'll give you a hint, it's in the Bible.
It's the mountain that Elijah chose for the big "showdown"
between him and the 300 priests of Baal! You remember, they both pray for fire
to come down and consume their sacrifices, the pagans pray all day long and
nothing happens, and Elijah dumps 3 buckets of water on the sacrifice, then
prays and fire consumes the whole thing, stones and all!!
Anyhow,
Friday I went on an Exchange with the Zone Leaders. I went with Elder
Beckstrand, while Elder Schippers was with Elder Penman. We were in Hollywood
area while they were in Cavehill. It was a great exchange! Elder Beckstrand was
trained in Cumbernauld just before I got there! I replaced him, in fact! So we
had some good memories to share. First we painted their Ward Mission Leader's
bathroom. Let me tell ya, their WML, E, he writes songs. But not normal songs.
He had us listen to one while we ate lunch (ham, cheese, and jalapeno sandwich
:9). It's called "Poop Street." Perfect for Lunch Time. Nice guy.
Then
we met with their investigator, J, who had a date a few weeks ago, but he
smoked the day before the baptism, so he couldn't get baptized. He's a great
guy, he knows its true and really wants to be baptized! His family and friends
are just completely un-supportive.
Then
we stopped by a LA's house. He let us in for a moment. I am sorry, but I am
very guilty of Covetousness, because I want his house!! It's so cool! I don't
even know how to describe it. He's a coding guy (listen up JC!) and he would
work up in the attic in a little Man-Cave. He had three computer screens and
was hoping for a fourth. I don't know what you would need four screens for, but
okay! It looked so cool with all the lights and the decorations. Like a secret
lair haha He's also a professional airsofter (listen up JB!), and he has SUPER
high-tech stuff! He had everything a real soldier would wear/use, only Airsoft.
Oh, it was sweet... But I digress! We do see a lot of really nice houses. So
many different styles of decorating. It's given me a lot of good ideas haha
So
then we did some finding at a park nearby a university. And oh my goodness,
Elder Beckstrand is a FANTASTIC finder!! I want to be like him! Within an hour
and a half, we had I think 6 potentials. SIX! Oh, it was great. Then the
Rosetta Elders came by and we blitzed the park for a while, and got another two
potentials.
One
guy was very interesting. This is going to sound bad, and I don't intend it to
be, but he was a Law of Chastity Pharisee. I think Spencer W Kimball talked
about how some people get too focused on one commandment, say the Word of
Wisdom, and it just consumes them. That kind of thing happened here. He
believed that kissing a girl before you marry her was
"lasciviousness." And when Elder Beckstrand told him that it's okay
to kiss before marriage, he completely flipped out and rebuked us. The sad
thing is that he probably would have listened to us if he hadn't brought that
up. He had a really good grasp of the Bible and the Gospel. He was 21 too.
Anyhow,
then we had dinner with this awesome family. Then we all (including the Rosetta
Elders) slept at the Rosetta flat. It was a fun sleepover. In the morning we
exercised together by going to the Rosetta building and playing volleyball. I
lost, sorry.
However,
Elder Schippers and Elder Penman were able to get 8 potentials!!! Two of which
were Return Appointments!! I don't know much about them, seeing how I wasn't
there, but one of them is a South African family! We also got back in contact
with S and L. Do you remember them? We went by them a few weeks ago, then they
somehow slipped off the radar? Well, it was great. This coming week is going to
be fantastic. Oh, and I forgot to mention: F went to Womens Conference! So
excited for her!!
Oh,
and I also forgot to mention the Moves! First off, for MANOK, I got a Boojums
Burrito and Elder Schippers got Burger King. Delicioso!
Okay,
so for the news!
Drumroll
please!!
We're
staying together!!
Bet
you didn't expect that!! I know I didn't!! Well I did, but I didn't. I had an
inkling that that was going to happen. But I didn't believe it. Who knew!? I'm
going to be "killing off" Elder Schippers haha because it's his last
transfer? He's dying this transfer? You get me.
I'm
glad! This area is starting to pick up again, and I want to be here for it! Ha
ha!
So
on Wednesday, we were heading to the church, when I got a phone call from the
AP's. They were in the middle of planning the moves. Elder Haller, the AP I
talked to, said this:
"Elder
Bates, we're working on your moves, and we notice that you've been in Cavehill
for a long time now. We're going to be seeking the Lord's will on this, but we
just wanted to ask for your thoughts. Would you rather stay or would you rather
move on?"
I
was stunned, to say the least. I asked him if I could think about it for a
moment, and he said sure. So we got to the church, and I went to the chapel to
pray and think about it. Initially I was certain that I'd tell him to move me
out of here, and as I thought it all over, it clearly seemed like the best
choice for me. Then I prayed about it. I can't really explain it, all I can say
is that I felt prompted to tell them that I'd rather stay. I was very confused,
as you can imagine! I had just thought it over and I couldn't think of any good
reason for me to stay! I've already been here for six months. Yet I couldn't
deny what I was feeling. So I called them back. And told them I'd rather stay.
They told me that they would still seek the Lord's will on the matter, so I
shouldn't assume that that's what would happen. And then it was done. I
initially thought that it was just a test, to make sure that I'd be willing to
do what the Lord would ask. Like Abraham, though that's a little more extreme.
It was really more of a hope than anything else.
Well,
here I am! I don't know why, but I'm here.
Mom
asked about the Brazilian food I like so much here. Well, for
the most part, it is rice and chicken. But both are cooked in a really good
way!! I'll definitely get some recipes for you. It's either that, or I'll have
to marry a Brazillian. One of the two!
This is kind of a funny story! One of the referrals contacted us
last Monday and said he only talked to us because he thought we were
very attractive!!
I'm staying warm enough. My jacket will do. This week is going to be
sunny sunny sunny! Every day in the 60's! Farenheit I mean.
I have gotten better about
goals. Elder
Schippers has been great at getting me to understand the importance of goals. I
made up my list and a quota.
Last week I heard from Brother Duvall
and Brother Runolfson! Last week was fantastic, I had over 30 emails!! It felt
so good! :) I've also been hearing from
Dayton and Ben.
Love
you guys so much! Hope you all have a great week!!!
Elder
Bates
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