E-mail from Neal - Received 6/1/09

Hello One and All!!!!

Boy oh boy, is it ever summer over here. It has been really hot this past weekend and today is another hot but beautiful day!!! I tell you what, this country can be nasty and cold and wet, but when it is nice and sunny, it really is a quite enjoyable place to be. The only problem is that when the weather gets nice and sun comes out, the clothes start to become less and less covering. It is really annoying, but you just have to deal with it I guess. I have been wearing short sleeve shirts for the past 4 days or something, and my arms are starting to go red! The Humidity is really what is getting to me. I am a Colorado boy through and through so I am not used to all this muggy, wet air. I am having to drink loads and loads of water to keep myself hydrated. We fasted on Saturday cause it was fast Sunday yesterday and we almost died Saturday night. It had been a long day, and it was dang hot!!! E. Driscoll has been not feeling 100% all week so that didn’t help at all, but the work must push forward. The reason that fast Sunday was this week is because we are having a special stake conference next week. It is a UK wide broadcast from the Hyde Ward Chapel in Manchester. Pres. Uchtdorf, Elder Neil L. Anderson, Elder Robert C. Oaks, and a few others are going to be there. I am way excited. We aren’t having any mission conferences I don’t think, but you never know. They kinda dropped Boyd K. Packer on us all so you never can tell. I would love to see Pres. Uchtdorf again. Can you believe that it was a year ago that he spoke to us!?!?! It is going to be a good week that is for sure.

We have zone conference on Thursday, so I will be getting everything that has been sent to me over the past like month! I haven’t gotten any post in who knows how long. I guess everyone has forgotten about me. Oh well, I’ll live. After zone conference is Clifford’s Baptism!!!! I am really, really excited. Tom is going to come and see it, and he is really excited as well. Tom is the kid that I told you about last week remember? He is amazing, and doing really well. He is loving the YSA, and he is so ready for baptism!! He asked us why people go out of their way sometimes to ridicule the church and us as missionaries. He has been getting some opposition from friends and so he has really been wondering that. We could only really give him one answer…. That it is true!! He agreed with us, and then told us that he wants to serve a mission. My heart leapt for joy, and I know that E. Driscoll’s did the same. That is the most amazing thing to know that he has a desire to serve his God in the best way that he can!! It has been a dream to teach him! We took him and his Mom to walk around the Temple last Thursday night. It was great cause all the YSA were there for baptisms, and they all knew Tom and they were so kind to him Mom. She isn’t too interested, but I feel that she will come around soon. She felt the spirit on the grounds, and we taught her all about the Restoration, and so now it is really in Tom’s and God’s hands. Tom has a solid beyond solid testimony, and so I am really not worried at all!!! It was a really great night. As soon as they dropped us off back in Blackburn we were so excited that we just starting speaking to everyone around us. Tom and his mom both saw us, and she was very impressed. Tom was really curious as to what we were saying to them, and what the outcome was. I think that he is doing research from when he goes and does it! Blessings are coming from everywhere.

I have been reading all of the conference talks now that I have the ensign, and I am loving them. I read at least one a day, and they are really helping me out. I read Jeffery R. Holland’s talk a few days ago, and basically the whole second half is highlighted!!! That talk is defiantly on the top of my list of Favourite talks ever!!! You all know that Elder Holland is my favourite, and this talk just reassured that completely! I am going to be reading L. Tom Perry’s talk tomorrow, so I am really excited for that. You all said that I would love it, so I am looking forward to that!

We are going to Burnley today for a zone activity. We are going to have a BBQ and then play capture the flag with water balloons! The weather is amazing, and I could not be more excited! It is great serving in Chorley again because I love the size of the Zone. There is 12 of us, and that is like perfect for anything. Manchester was huge at one point we had 10 in our district alone!!!!! That is one district out of the 4 that are there. I like smaller groups!

I love you all so so much
Elder Neal

P.S. – You really should send more pictures. I have no idea what is going on back home. I don’t care what you send them of, just send some.

P.s.s. - Don't just read Preach my Gospel.... STUDY it!