Sounds like I missed quite the celebration this past weekend, but its ok cause my weekend was amazing as well!!! It was just one amazing thing after another. Actually this whole week was way good, and I am way excited to be here right now.
To start out with I was on exchanges in Crosby on Tuesday and Wednesday. Crosby is part of Liverpool, and it is really an amazing place. Everyone is so nice, and willing to talk to you, it's great. I was able to help a companionship that has been having some struggles to get going and they haven’t been working as hard as they could be. It was really good, and I feel that I helped out quite a bit.
On Wednesday night the missionaries from the Isle of Man (E. Shull and Driscoll (not the Driscoll I served with)) came and stayed with us for a few days. E. Shull is a former Zone Leader of mine in Manchester and now he is out on the isle. They came over a few days early so that they could go to interviews and then the Elder Bednar. They stayed with us, and we went on exchanges with them on Wednesday night and Thursday. They are amazing missionaries, and it was a blast serving with them. I went out with E. Driscoll and he is a beast. He is like 6’6” at least, and built like a football star. I had no fear when I was with him. We had a great day.
On Friday we went to Elder Bednar, and there are really not too many words to express how amazing he is. He did a very, very different thing than I have ever seen before. He did not just get up and talk at us. He is very keen on letting the spirit do the teaching, and he is very good at allowing that. We were all participating the entire time! I got to talk directly too him and that was really funny! He is very different when he is not in conference. He is actually a very funny man!!! He told us that he really didn’t want us to listen to what he was saying, but listen to the spirit. Well I stood up and answered a question. After I answered the question he looked at me, and said….. “So do you mean to tell me that you were not listening to the words that I was saying???” I said Yes, cause I told him what the spirit had taught me. He smiled and said GOOD!!!!! It was so funny. He did that with several other people as well. I have seriously never learned so much in my entire life. He talked a lot about what the true definition of agency is….. It is the right to Independent Action. He talked about how we are all agents not objects. We all have the right to choose, and that makes us objects. The amount of things that the spirit has taught me about “agents and objects” since then is amazing!
- We cannot turn our investigators into objects.
- When you use your agency to do something stupid with an object (alcohol for instance) you then become an object to an object.
- It is better to accept the gospel now while we are agents, because when we pass away we automatically become objects and we have to wait for someone else to help us.
The list could really go on and on, but I will save that for later. The conference was amazing. We got a picture with him, so that will be added to my collection. We didn’t get to shake his hand though, and that was kinda sad, but I will live. I got to see a lot of my old friends, and I even got to see Karen Riley from Blackburn. She was at the temple with some members. Because of some complications her and Jenna are getting baptised on the 10th of October, but I already received permission to go back for it. Karen started to cry when she saw me. She was already loving the temple, but I made her day better. It really was an amazing day, and you will see in the picture that the weather was amazing. Elder Bednar actually let us take our coats off, and that was way funny as well. He was quite laid back, but still very powerful. He really helped us learn a lot from the Holy Ghost. He had us read two talks before he came…. Ask in Faith from conference, and another one called Seek Learning by Faith. Go and read those, and you will have a good idea of what we talked about. We also talked about how to really learn something we have to “Jump out of the Boat!” You don’t know that you can walk on water until you jump out and try it! Wow, it was an amazing conference, and I am so grateful that I have had all these amazing opportunities. Elder Causse from the area presidency was there as well, and he was a powerhouse too! He just answered questions when invited by Elder Bednar, but he taught some amazing things as well. I wish that I could tell you all that I learned and experienced, but there just isn’t time. It was amazing…… that’s about the gist of it.
Yes, my interviews went really well, and I was guided by the spirit. It’s amazing how much confidence I have when the spirit is strong with me. I have to do another interview this week to a man that speaks no English, so that should be way fun! It will be ok, cause we should have a translator.
Yesterday was amazing as well. I got to stand in the circle to confirm someone, stand in the circle to give someone the priesthood, and I personally got to give the priesthood to someone else!! It was a power packed day. It was really cool cause we gave the priesthood to a recent convert named Goodyear, then right after, I gave the priesthood to Andrew the Brother of Rachel who just got baptised and confirmed. The way cool part is that Andrew was just receiving the Aaronic Priesthood, so he had newly ordained Goodyear stand in the circle, and I did the ordination by the power of the Aaronic Priesthood. This gospel is so amazing! Andrew loved it, and Goodyear was on cloud 9! I have gotten to do some amazing things on my mission, and I know that they are just going to keep on coming and coming.
Our two people dated for baptism are doing amazing. Dave Smith is getting baptised on the 25th with his 8 year old son Cavin, and he is really doing well. Camelia Jurcut (the one from Romania) is getting baptised on the 26th, and she is being so well fellowshipped. We are taking her to our ward mission leaders house tonight so that should be good! We are really seeing some good things happen over here, and I am loving it. Transfers are next week if you can believe that. This transfer has gone by so fast, and I think that it was because of my leadership position. If the rest of my time goes this fast I am going to be home in like a day or two, or at least it will feel like that!!!!
Well I think that I have successfully written you a novel, so I going to get going. I hope that you all have an amazing week, and that you can feel the prayers that I say for you. I love you all so much, and I am so grateful for all the support that you give to me! Take care, and know that I am working hard and doing good things!!!
Love,
Elder Neal
Me and Karen and Bro Cross and Sister Alty at the Temple
my MTC group minus 3 (the sisters go home next transfer so this was the last chance)
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