8/4/2020
Date
August 11, 2020
Area
Pontypridd, Wales
Companion
Trey Logan
8/4/2020
I've definitely been slacking off on writing these. Often whenever something memorable happens I'll jot it down in my notes app on my phone with the goal of including it in here, I've found that it has definitely mounted up over the past couple of weeks. Things have been really good actually. I don't know if I've said but I have a new companion named Elder Logan. He's a super nice guy. We definitely have different personalities but I'm learning to love him. He knows a bit more about tech than I do so it's been good to learn a thing or two from him. I've been trying to teach him how to better engage with people, not that I'm an expert. We just have strengths in different areas, which is definitely a good thing.
We were able to have zone conference in person a few weeks back, which was weird since it's been over 6 months since we had our last one in person. It was really good. Social distancing and other restrictions were in place so it still wasn't "normal"(whatever that word means) but it was really good and refreshing. There was a very interesting training where they told a story about missionaries who knocked on every door in their area with no luck whatever so they told their Mission President that there wasn't anyone to be found. The Mission President said that there were still people out there and that they should go back out. So the Elders went back and knocked on every door again! Now I think the theme of the training was diligence. Why would you do it the same exact way if it didn't work the first time?! There's a word I use a lot that my mom says I use way too much so I won't say it but the definition is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. And it's not exactly a word that you would want to associate with your actions. But, thankfully one of the positive sides of our situation is that missionaries have to think outside of the box of ways to find people to teach. And it has proven to be much more effective and healthy. RIP tracking, your death was long overdue. You will not be missed.
We still stay in contact with the woman who lost her husband in the floods and get groceries for her every week. But last week when we were heading up to her house to drop groceries off we ran into my good friend Mike who is a local town councillor who we worked very close with during the floods. It was so nice to catch up with him and see how he was doing. We reminisced about the flood experience and had some good laughs. In a way I miss helping it with the floods. I found that the more we went out and just immersed ourselves in helping people in need the more we forgot about our own problems. Hopefully as lockdown eases up a bit we'll be able to do more service and get some more of that feeling.
We had a baptism this week! Our good friend Kris was finally able to get baptized. He's been waiting since the pandemic started so it was about time. It was such a hassle to get everything in order because of covid. We didn't know if we could use the building or if we had to use the river. The assistants were no help at all, they would give me contradicting information left and right and it wasn't until the day before the baptism that they told me exactly what the regulations were. So that part of it was a little frustrating and stressful. But anyway, it was a really amazing experience. Kris asked me to perform the baptism, which I was more than happy to do. I would have honestly preferred a member to do it since we're so temporary in the areas we serve but I was very much honored to be a part of it. We scouted out this place along the river Taff to do the baptism that was perfect. It was relatively secluded and beautiful. It was kind of weird baptizing him in the same river that flooded back in February though. I seem have a very complicated relationship with that river. Both Kris and I had to wear masks and gloves for the ordinance, which isn't very typical of a baptism to say the least. Before he was immersed under the water we had to make sure he had time to remove his mask so that I didn't accidentally waterboard him. The water in the river was freezing as well. As Kris and I were walking out he turned to me and said "flippin heck it's freezing" to which I replied, "Well you're the one going all the way under". He thought that was hilarious. There was a very strong sense of calm during the service that I'll remember forever. It's no small secret that a mission is often the hardest thing we as missionaries have done at this point of our young lives, but it's moments like that that make it all worth it.
A few days after his baptism Kris took us to this tour of the local coal mine. Apparently coal mining used to be massive in Wales. Welsh coal is apparently very high quality and even fueled famous vessels like the Titanic. It was such a cool tour. I can't believe the history of it. Men were down in the mines for 12 hour shifts! And before there were any child labour laws kids as young as 4 would go down there. Absolutely insane. I know we all often complain about the quality of our lives but next time I complain I'm going to think about those miners to set me straight.
Pictures:
-Kris' baptism
-We went to a Brazilian BBQ on p day👌
-Elder Farar dropped by on Saturday to say bye before he went home. (This was the closest thing to a serious picture that we took😂)
-Hank Smith gave a devotional for the stake youth.
-Got a new suit👌
-Elder Logan and myself
We were able to have zone conference in person a few weeks back, which was weird since it's been over 6 months since we had our last one in person. It was really good. Social distancing and other restrictions were in place so it still wasn't "normal"(whatever that word means) but it was really good and refreshing. There was a very interesting training where they told a story about missionaries who knocked on every door in their area with no luck whatever so they told their Mission President that there wasn't anyone to be found. The Mission President said that there were still people out there and that they should go back out. So the Elders went back and knocked on every door again! Now I think the theme of the training was diligence. Why would you do it the same exact way if it didn't work the first time?! There's a word I use a lot that my mom says I use way too much so I won't say it but the definition is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. And it's not exactly a word that you would want to associate with your actions. But, thankfully one of the positive sides of our situation is that missionaries have to think outside of the box of ways to find people to teach. And it has proven to be much more effective and healthy. RIP tracking, your death was long overdue. You will not be missed.
We still stay in contact with the woman who lost her husband in the floods and get groceries for her every week. But last week when we were heading up to her house to drop groceries off we ran into my good friend Mike who is a local town councillor who we worked very close with during the floods. It was so nice to catch up with him and see how he was doing. We reminisced about the flood experience and had some good laughs. In a way I miss helping it with the floods. I found that the more we went out and just immersed ourselves in helping people in need the more we forgot about our own problems. Hopefully as lockdown eases up a bit we'll be able to do more service and get some more of that feeling.
We had a baptism this week! Our good friend Kris was finally able to get baptized. He's been waiting since the pandemic started so it was about time. It was such a hassle to get everything in order because of covid. We didn't know if we could use the building or if we had to use the river. The assistants were no help at all, they would give me contradicting information left and right and it wasn't until the day before the baptism that they told me exactly what the regulations were. So that part of it was a little frustrating and stressful. But anyway, it was a really amazing experience. Kris asked me to perform the baptism, which I was more than happy to do. I would have honestly preferred a member to do it since we're so temporary in the areas we serve but I was very much honored to be a part of it. We scouted out this place along the river Taff to do the baptism that was perfect. It was relatively secluded and beautiful. It was kind of weird baptizing him in the same river that flooded back in February though. I seem have a very complicated relationship with that river. Both Kris and I had to wear masks and gloves for the ordinance, which isn't very typical of a baptism to say the least. Before he was immersed under the water we had to make sure he had time to remove his mask so that I didn't accidentally waterboard him. The water in the river was freezing as well. As Kris and I were walking out he turned to me and said "flippin heck it's freezing" to which I replied, "Well you're the one going all the way under". He thought that was hilarious. There was a very strong sense of calm during the service that I'll remember forever. It's no small secret that a mission is often the hardest thing we as missionaries have done at this point of our young lives, but it's moments like that that make it all worth it.
A few days after his baptism Kris took us to this tour of the local coal mine. Apparently coal mining used to be massive in Wales. Welsh coal is apparently very high quality and even fueled famous vessels like the Titanic. It was such a cool tour. I can't believe the history of it. Men were down in the mines for 12 hour shifts! And before there were any child labour laws kids as young as 4 would go down there. Absolutely insane. I know we all often complain about the quality of our lives but next time I complain I'm going to think about those miners to set me straight.
Pictures:
-Kris' baptism
-We went to a Brazilian BBQ on p day👌
-Elder Farar dropped by on Saturday to say bye before he went home. (This was the closest thing to a serious picture that we took😂)
-Hank Smith gave a devotional for the stake youth.
-Got a new suit👌
-Elder Logan and myself
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