Well what a great past few days this has been. Some amazing things have happened, and I am so grateful for all of them. I am loving Preston! There are so many great people here that I get to spend time with. I keep on meeting and teaching more and more Chinese people as well, and all of them are so intelligent! They are all over here on a study abroad program, and most of them are studying International Business. They are amazing though. I got to give a baptism interview to a man named Oska on Thursday, and it was a great experience. He was so committed to the gospel! The only concern that you always have to have is if they fully understand all that you say. The ones that I have met so far are really good about that. Oska spoke really good English, and he understood everything so the interview went very smoothly. I know that I am here for a reason like it says in D&C 100:4, and I am excited to fulfill this reason. Here is what President Bullock wrote to me today, it really made me feel good….
Elder Johnson, I gave a lot of time and prayer as to where you should finish your mission and I had a very strong impression that this assignment in Preston was just right for you. I know that you still struggle occasionally with ups and downs but I have all the confidence that you will stay up all the time, lead that big district and keep the momentum going in the Preston area and in your district. I have a lot of faith and trust in you. With love, President Bullock
I really love that man so much, and I am eternally grateful for the things that he has taught to me. There is so much that I have learned from him, and so many life lessons that he has helped me learn and apply it is unreal. Not only that, but he is not exactly small when it comes to the business world, so I might be able to use him as a reference some day, but that’s not a totally pure in heart desire ha ha ha. I am still very excited to be here, and I know that I am going to have a ton of fun these last 3 months.
I get to go to Manchester on Wednesday for the big district leader council meeting with president. I will be at the mission home with all the other District leaders from 10 until 4. I am really looking forward to it. I have heard about them doing this since president came in, but this is the first time that I have gotten to go to one. I am really excited to go, and to learn more from him. I am doing a 5 min training about how to conduct a baptismal interview so pray for me about that one!
So we got 4 new investigators yesterday which was an amazing thing. Two of them were students from China, and the other two were from India. Neither of them spoke much English (especially the ones from India), but the lessons went well. The girls from China want to become Christians, so I am glad that they bumped into us. We took one of the Chinese recent converts with us so he was able to help with the language barrier at times. It was really good. We got into the door of another man last night as well, but we didn’t teach him a proper lesson. The reason that we didn’t is because he was the carer of his severely mentally handicapped friend. I won’t go into details about the situation and about how his friend was dressed, or should I say not dressed, but lets just say that it was interesting. We are going back on Friday to teach them, and hopefully it will be a lot better.
Lets see….. Preston is actually quite a small area compared to some of my previous areas. It is probably not as small as Chorley, but it could be close. Wigan and Shrewsbury take the cake for size though. Oh yea speaking of Shrewsbury, they put Elders back into there. There is now a threesome of elders down there, so I am curious as to what will happen. I got moved out of there, and the senior couple move in. They did an amazing job down there, and they really got things moving. They had a lot of success, and got a lot of people baptised, that I never thought was possible. Good for them. Preston is a proper College town. It reminds me of Fort Collins around campus. It is really nice though. I haven’t gotten to see too much of it, but what I have seen is great. The Church building is an exact cookie cutter of the Shrewsbury chapel! I know that time is going to soar, and that scares me, but at the same time that means good things to. I still have a lot to learn, and I am very excited about that!
I haven’t had an overly huge amount of time to study anything new lately. I have just been studying for lessons and trainings and what not, but hopefully I will have something new for you soon. We are going to be starting the Book of Mormon reading next week, so I am trying to get as far in the D&C as I can. I read section 100 today, and the first 2 verses really stick out to me. I think that any missionary that is struggling with thought and worries about home needs to read that section and it should give them comfort. I love the scriptures, and I really love expounding on the scriptures. I think that that is one skill that I have really developed through out my mission. All the members of my flat (the zone leaders) say that they admire me for my “mass well of knowledge.” I have no clue what they are talking about, but hey it’s a good compliment. I have studied a lot, but more importantly I have experienced a lot, and that’s where the knowledge comes from. I am able to apply all the crazy experiences in my life to principals of the gospel. Who ever thought that snowboarding, drum line, and DJ-ing would teach a man gospel principals? Well they have taught me more than one, and I am able to use them all the time!
I love you all so much. I am so thankful for the many blessings that I have received from being a member of this amazing clan!!! I love you and I thank you for all of your prayers and support! Keep on studying, and keep on working hard. Tell everyone that you see that I am doing great, and if you see any of my close friends tell them that I am waiting to hear from them.
Talk you soon!!!!!
Love,
Elder Neal
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