10/7/2019
Date
October 8, 2019
Area
Cannock, England
Companion
Elder Warner
10/7/2019
We watched a video while I was still in the MTC, which seems like forever ago, but I think it truly puts into persepective some of the toils of missionary life. The video is the death crawl scene from the movie Facing the Giants. Please click on link to watch before continuing on with my letter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sUKoKQlEC4
Sometimes I, and undoubtedly some of my fellow missionaries, often feel like the young man in the scene. Even though I'm just starting out, I can see how this might relate more to me down the road. As I knew before I left, missions are not easy. However, we all promised before we left that we would give the Lord our best effort..."You Promised Me Your Best!" he might say in a less aggresive manor. And that is a promise I will keep. That is something I constantly tell myself out here. I have both found and been told that I shouldn't focus on the yard line, figuratively speaking, but to only focus on giving my best day by day. Thankfully, I'm slowly and surely getting more and more familiar with mission life in Britain and the load seems a bit lighter every day.
This week we had the opportunity to visit a brother in our ward who is currently battling cancer and not winning. We visited to check up on him and leave him with a spiritual message, as missionaries almost always do. However, we discovered that this wise man had much more wisdom to offer us. I'll never forget some of the things he told us. He knew that we were constant rejection. He has lived in Britain his entire life and even served his own mission in the Isles. To help "arouse our faculties", he shared a scripture with us that he modified so we could better relate to it. The scripture is Alma 26:23-24 & 27, which reads as follows...
23 Now do ye remember, my brethren, that we said unto our brethren in the land of Zarahemla (California/Utah), we go up to the land of Nephi (Britain), to preach unto our brethren, the Lamanites (the Brits), and they laughed us to scorn?
24 For they said unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites (the Brits) to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can convince the Lamanites (the Brits) of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers, as stiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in the shedding of blood (i.e., committing sins of the world). Now my brethren, ye remember that this was their language.
27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites (the Brits), and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.
Now I know none of you laughed at me before I left, and I hope no one laughed or scorned Elder Warner, but this was a very motivational exchange nontheless. I had read those scriptures just days before this conversation with this wise man. And I even prayed to know how to be patient in my afflictions more effectivly, the Lord truly answers prayer in many different ways.
Life has been good here in Cannock. Every day is a grind but it is definetly a good kind of grind. I learn more and more every day and go to bed exhausted every night. We talk to a lot of people every single day and have met some very interesting characters. Every once and a while we'll get someone who wants to hear the Lord's message and we are quick jump on those opportunities. However, most of the work we do is trying to meet with and talk to "returning members" (i.e., less active members) which are definitely abundant here. The members of the ward are fantastic! They have a very strong spirit about them and are very much a family. They jokingly correct me on my English quite a lot which is always a fun conversation to have. One of the men in the ward, who very closely resembles Winston Churchill, told me that "The U.S. and Britain are two countries seperated by the same language."
"How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time"
Also, there are some massive spiders over here. They're not like the size of a football or anything but they are everywhere. It's crazy.
I hope all of you are doing great! I pray for you every day.
-Elder Pricer
Sometimes I, and undoubtedly some of my fellow missionaries, often feel like the young man in the scene. Even though I'm just starting out, I can see how this might relate more to me down the road. As I knew before I left, missions are not easy. However, we all promised before we left that we would give the Lord our best effort..."You Promised Me Your Best!" he might say in a less aggresive manor. And that is a promise I will keep. That is something I constantly tell myself out here. I have both found and been told that I shouldn't focus on the yard line, figuratively speaking, but to only focus on giving my best day by day. Thankfully, I'm slowly and surely getting more and more familiar with mission life in Britain and the load seems a bit lighter every day.
This week we had the opportunity to visit a brother in our ward who is currently battling cancer and not winning. We visited to check up on him and leave him with a spiritual message, as missionaries almost always do. However, we discovered that this wise man had much more wisdom to offer us. I'll never forget some of the things he told us. He knew that we were constant rejection. He has lived in Britain his entire life and even served his own mission in the Isles. To help "arouse our faculties", he shared a scripture with us that he modified so we could better relate to it. The scripture is Alma 26:23-24 & 27, which reads as follows...
23 Now do ye remember, my brethren, that we said unto our brethren in the land of Zarahemla (California/Utah), we go up to the land of Nephi (Britain), to preach unto our brethren, the Lamanites (the Brits), and they laughed us to scorn?
24 For they said unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites (the Brits) to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can convince the Lamanites (the Brits) of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers, as stiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in the shedding of blood (i.e., committing sins of the world). Now my brethren, ye remember that this was their language.
27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites (the Brits), and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.
Now I know none of you laughed at me before I left, and I hope no one laughed or scorned Elder Warner, but this was a very motivational exchange nontheless. I had read those scriptures just days before this conversation with this wise man. And I even prayed to know how to be patient in my afflictions more effectivly, the Lord truly answers prayer in many different ways.
Life has been good here in Cannock. Every day is a grind but it is definetly a good kind of grind. I learn more and more every day and go to bed exhausted every night. We talk to a lot of people every single day and have met some very interesting characters. Every once and a while we'll get someone who wants to hear the Lord's message and we are quick jump on those opportunities. However, most of the work we do is trying to meet with and talk to "returning members" (i.e., less active members) which are definitely abundant here. The members of the ward are fantastic! They have a very strong spirit about them and are very much a family. They jokingly correct me on my English quite a lot which is always a fun conversation to have. One of the men in the ward, who very closely resembles Winston Churchill, told me that "The U.S. and Britain are two countries seperated by the same language."
"How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time"
Also, there are some massive spiders over here. They're not like the size of a football or anything but they are everywhere. It's crazy.
I hope all of you are doing great! I pray for you every day.
-Elder Pricer
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