E-mail from Neal -- Received 3/29/10

[Editor's Note] Subject Line of E-mail:  Hospital Part II

Hello to one and all!!!!

Before you freak out because of the subject line, I am going to tell you that I am fine, and all is well. In the words of Elder Dittmer “Alles klar.”

Well it sounds like all of you are dealing with some sort of sickness, and I can tell you that you can add me to the list. Although I would say that mine was a bit more than just a cold. Here is the saga……….

I went out and worked all day Tuesday (the day before zone conference), and was feeling great until dinner. As we were walking to the bus station however my stomach started to not feel so good. I just kinda ignored it, and went on my way because we had an appointment. The pain didn’t go away in fact it got worse. If felt just like normal gas pains, which I get occasionally. I instantly ruled out my appendix, so that was a relief, but still a worry.

SIDE STORY: Elder Dittmer had his appendix out a few years ago as well, but a few months after his operation there were some major complications which put him back in the hospital and caused him to have another operation. It was a long ordeal with him, and it was not good at all. This is why I was worried when I started to feel bad.

I ended up going to the appointment but it fell through. By this time however I was in a lot of pain. I was not able to concentrate while talking to people, and my stomach was killing me. We went to a members house who lived close and I crashed on his couch for a bit until I decided that I had to go home. The member and E. Dittmer gave me a blessing, and we went on our way. The pain was not going away at all, and I was heading straight to bed. We got home and I curled up into bed for about 45 min before I had to go the bathroom and throw up. I did that and went back to bed for another 45 min or so until I had to throw up again. That is where all the fun began. For the next 2 hours or so I was in absolute agony. I was throwing up (or at least trying to) every 10 min. after that I never felt any better through out all of that. I actually felt worse. I have never been that sick before in my life. At one point I was sprawled across the bathroom floor screaming because I was in so much pain. May I take this time to remind you now that this was the night before my LAST zone conference, where I had to give my departing testimony. I could not miss this! By this time the other elders were back along with the Elders from the Isle of Man, and here I am dying in the bathroom. Many phone calls were made (president, mission doctor, district, etc) and the call was finally made that we had to go the hospital. I wasn’t too happy about that because being back in the hospital was not my idea of a good night, but I submitted (humility I know). I had no idea how I was going to get there though, cause I could not move. I asked all the elders for another blessing though before we left. Picture this….. one elder dying on the floor of a cold and dark bathroom being surrounded by 5 other elders. An amazing sight I am sure. If you want to know what pure brotherly love looks and feels like, you should have walked into our flat on Tuesday night. Anyways the blessing was said and we slowly made our way out to the car. I am glad that my comp is big and able to carry a lot of weight. He helped me out a lot! I am also glad that the zone leaders have a car. We made it to the hospital and we checked into A&E (ER). I plopped down on a seat and just hunched over and tried to get comfortable. I am not sure what happened next except that I fell asleep and woke up to the nurse calling my name. I stood up and instantly felt much better. I went and saw the first nurse, and she said that everything was fine, but she wanted me to go and see another doctor, so I did. By the time I got to that doctor I felt a whole ton better. I felt as though I had totally wasted their time. I was in and out of the hospital within an hour, and I was in bed asleep at 12:15.

Is God a God of miracles? I submit that he is. He knew that I had to be at the zone conference. He honoured my faith and the faith of the amazing Elders around me that night, and I was able to be healed by the power of the priesthood. The blessing that E. Dittmer gave me said that I would be able to go to Zone Conference, and I made it there. The blessing that E. Rowley gave me commanded my body to be healed, and a hour later I was. The priesthood has amazing power, we must never forget that! I am so grateful that I have a loving heavenly father, that always honours the faith of his children! I am perfectly fine again, and I have been since Thursday! I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me. The atonement was on my mind many times that night.

Zone Conference was great. It was very sad to realise that it was the last time that I would be standing up in front of all my missionary friends. It was the last time that I would be directing the special musical item as well. We sang “Abide with me tis’ evn’ tide” and it was amazing. I am really going to miss doing those musical numbers. People always ask me where I come up with the things that we do for those songs, and how do I get it to sound good. I always say to things….. There are great singers in the mission, and my parents taught me well! President and Sister Bullock always compliment me on them. I am sure that they will mention something to you in the mission home. It hit me this time though as I was singing the song that that was going to be the last one. It was a double hit when I had to give my departing testimony right afterwards. It was a sad day, but a good one as well. I got to see some of my great mission friends as usual, and we all had a laugh. I was hoping that Elder Nielsen was going to be there, but he is still out in Wales somewhere I think. I am really hoping that I will get to see him before I go. I think of the three comps that are still in the mission that I love the most, and I think of Elder Nielsen, Lloyd, Llaguno, and Dittmer! They are great men, and I know that you will get to meet them someday! My time is running short, but I know that our friendships will last forever.

We are continuing to plug along. The clocks moved up on Saturday for us and so the nights are no longer dark as early. That is really nice for tracting. We are still in the finding mode, but what can you do. I think that Satan is just trying to pull us down because at the same time that we have no investigators, no one seems to want to listen to us, I get sick, and I am going home soon. It is time to put all the attributes that I have learned on my mission to the test and “concur the enemy of all righteousness.” I know that I can, and I have my big German enforcer to help me! We will do it!

Today we are going to Blackpool for a district activity so we are way excited about that. We were going to plan football on the beach, but I don’t think that the weather is going to allow that. We have been praying though. Next week is a bank holiday, but we are still planning on emailing. There is an internet café that is open so we will use that. It will probably be a short one, but it is the last one so there won’t be too much to tell. I can just fill you in when I see you. We are also going to be going to the temple next week. I couldn’t really think of a better way to spend my last p-day and E. Griffeth agreed. I am really excited. That is going to give me the strength that I need to push through the final week. I am grateful for this time that I have had. I am looking forward to conference next week. I have really grown a great love for conference on my mission. This is going to be E. Dittmer’s first conference so I am hoping that he will enjoy it as much as me!

 Know that I am healthy and safe, and I am working hard. Satan can try all he wants, but he is not going to slow me down. I have a labour to perform and I am not done until I am done. I love you all so much, and I am looking forward to seeing you very soon! Time moves too fast. I was reading in Jacob today and in verse 26 of chapter 7 he agrees with me…. Go read it!

I Love you all So much…..

Elder Neal

E-mail from Neal - Received 3/22/10

Hello everyone,

Well the second hand is clicking away. The hourglass is down to its final grains, and here I am still plugging away. Each day seems to move quicker than the last, and each event seems to come faster than the one before. We have Zone Conference this week… my last, and I will have to give my departing testimony….. I am not excited. I will get to see a lot of the members of my MTC group one last time before we go to the mission home together…. I am not excited. Things are going way too fast. I am excited to get home, but I am not excited to say goodbye, and to leave this beautiful place. To answer your questions; [Editor's Note:  Mom asked him: 1. Would you ever have been where you are now without your mission experience?  2. Will the rest of your life be better because of your mission experience?]  I would not be anywhere right now if it weren’t for my mission experience. I would hope that I would be active in the church, but I couldn’t even guarantee that! I would not know half of the things that I know, and I would not be able to do half of the things that I do. I know that this experience is going to help me in every single phase of my life from here on out! I have full faith that when I get home the blessings from my service are going to pour out upon me. I know that friendships are going to be tighter, talents are going to be more polished and cultivated, opportunities are going to be rampant, and happiness is going to be everywhere! I can put all that down to the amazing experience that I have gained on my mission! I guess that really answers the other question as well. I know that every aspect of my life is going to be better when I get back. Shauna told me today that Chris already has my schedule ready for May. How on earth could someone that I knew for 3 months miss me that much for 2 years with out that being a blessing from God!!!! I know that I am going to be abundantly blessed not only for my sacrifice, but for my service. I think that I am going to find that when I get home it is not going to feel like a sacrifice, it is going to feel like the greatest experience of all time! I have no regrets. I give all the glory to my loving Heavenly Father. He knows what is best for me, even when I think that I know better. I was talking to a missionary the other day about my Drum Corps experience, and that really caused me to reflect on just how wise Heavenly Father is. He loves us, and he gives us things in life to make us better. My mission has been tough at times, but it has prepared me to build up his kingdom in the future. I don’t know how, but I know that I will be able to participate “mightily” as it says in my patriarchal blessing. I could continue, but I will stop there. Think of more questions like that, and ask me them while we are driving around England, or when we have time at nights to talk. I know that I will probably make dad cry (as I am sure that this already has ha ha ha), but this is the truth, and this is honestly how I feel!

Ok so this week has been a good one. I was on two exchanges this week, and that was great. I was able to go to South Ribble and then stay in Preston with another missionary. We saw a really cool miracle on Saturday though. We were out street contacting before we traveled back to Blackpool to exchange, and we went through Avenham Park ( I will take you there for sure). This is the park where the first baptisms took place. As we were walking we saw this main sitting in a pavilion nice and dry and out of the rain. We went up and spoke to him, and we ended up teaching him right there. It was amazing teaching someone the restoration and challenging him to baptism right in the spot where the first baptisms took place in England. I felt really good about that, but it gets better. As we were teaching a man walked by and said “well hi Elders” in a very obvious Utah accent. He was on business in London and he decided to come up to Preston for the day to see the sights and go to the temple. Think about this from his perspective. He comes to see where the church and missionary effort really all began, and what does he see….. 2 missionaries teaching a man on a bench. The church is so true, that is all that I have to say. That same member came to church yesterday, and I got to talk to him a bit! I love these amazing experiences that we have. What made it even more amazing is that in 3 weeks I will be able to show you that pavilion!

Well I hope that you have enjoyed this letter. I had better get going. P-days don’t last forever. I hope that you have a great week. Keep studying. I am at Jacob 4, so I am flying along. I love you all, and I am so grateful for all the amazing support that I get from each of you! I am excited to see you very soon. I only have 2 more times to email!!!!!!!

See you soon!!!

Elder Neal

E-mail from Neal - Received 3/15/10

Hey there,

Well it has only been three days or so, so there is not much to report except for some cool things that have happened this week end. Nothing super amazing, but still quite cool. I have really been focusing on listening to the promptings that I am receiving and amazing things have been coming from it. Just on Saturday we had a couple to appointments fall through and so we had some time to find. I felt prompted that we should go to a certain spot that is close to the bus station, so we did. We started to talk to everyone as we usually do, and we soon talked to a man that was really solid. We are going to be seeing him this next Saturday, and I am really excited to see him. Good things are happening and I am staying happy, and working hard, so things are good. I am so grateful for the things that I have learned on my mission thus far, and I know that the learning is not going to stop. I still have about 4 weeks left, and they are going to be amazing. I am planning on doing my best all the time. I have decided as well that even if I don’t feel like working, it is not fair for E. Dittmer to have to work alone, so I am going to work for him if nothing else! He is great, and yes you are right when you say that I have had great companions. I am already planning on a making a trip over to Utah and Idaho in August to see E. Nielson and Weekes, and maybe a few others!!! Of course me and E. Lloyd are going to have a big party when he gets back! (Elder Lloyd is from Broomfield)

Well as I said it has been a short week so that’s about all that I have to share. I am going to be going on 2 exchanges this week. One to South Ribble and then one to Blackpool. That is going to make the week fly! I will talk to you all next week, and hopefully I will have some great things to share!!!

I love you all,

Elder Neal

E-mail from Neal - Received 3/10/10

Hello to one and all!!!!

Well this week has come and gone faster than anything! Actually this transfer has come and gone faster than anything! I am honestly scared as to how fast these next 5 weeks are going to go. They always say that the end goes faster than anything else, but with it being a 5 week transfer on top of that, I am going to wake up tomorrow and it is going to the be 14^th!!!! GAH!!!!!!! I am excited for what is coming, but I never thought that it would come this fast! I am honestly scared. Nevertheless (good scriptural word) I am calm and collected, especially after going to the temple today. The peace that I felt today while I was in the Celestial room was very helpful. I know that all will be well, and that everything is going to go just as it should. I am still allowed to be scared, but I know that everything will be just fine. The temple was amazing today though. The sun was shining; the big stained glass window in the celestial room just explodes with color when the light hits it! I am really excited for you to see it. I have decided that we should start each day with a temple session if possible. We will have to see how that works out, but it would be very nice!

I guess to answer the question that you might have…. Yes I am staying in Preston, and so is Elder Dittmer. We are very excited! He has been one of my most favourite companions! We have another 5 weeks together, and then who knows. The zone leaders are also staying the same. So I will be with Elder Rowley and Elder Griffeth for the next 5 weeks as well. We are going to be working really hard, and finding some great people! I am really excited, and I am happy that I got to start off the transfer with a great visit to the temple! I am hopefully going to get to go once more before you get here, because there is a bank holiday on my last p-day. We will see. I love this place! We were in the temple with the South-Ribble Elders and the Lancaster Sisters today. Only one companionship changed in my district, and that was Blackpool. 

So we had some bad news this past week. Our main investigator David dropped us. We was supposed to get baptized on the 27^th, but that is no more. What we think happened is that he got scared. He was given a gospel principals book at church, and I think that he read into that and hit the commandments. If you find them on your own, you have to be really prepared to live them. It is much better to be taught them. It is really sad, cause he was really great, but I guess all we can do is pray for him now. He wanted to give us back all of the books and stuff that we gave him, but I refused to take the Book of Mormon back. I testified of it, and I challenged him very boldly to continue to read and to pray about it, and then to contact us when he wants to continue. I know that he had felt the spirit as he prayed, and I am was not going to let him forget that! I have a good feeling that he will be baptized sometime. I don’t think that it will be in my time, but I think that he will eventually! Sad day, but what can you do. Its not the first time that I have had something like this…. At least it isn’t a repeat of Sean from Manchester!

Other than that my week was really good. We got some training at interviews about our area books. We started working on cleaning ours up, and we found some good people to try by. One of them is named Hii, and he is from Malaysia. We went and tried by, and he let us in. He was taught about 2 years ago, and he was really good. He had just gotten back from Malaysia the day before after being gone for 3 months, so I think that we chose the right day to go and see him. He was really cool. We also got into the door of a Romanian man the other night as well. I thought that I was serving a mission in England, but I guess I should probably think again. He was good as well, but he was a Greek Orthodox man. Nothing like Camelia. We are going to be seeing him tomorrow, and so we will find out then how solid he is! The work is really going well though, and I am excited about what is coming in the next 5 weeks!

I really don’t have too much else to say. I have decided that my goal for this last 5 weeks is constancy. I don’t want to turn into something that I am not for the last 6 weeks, just cause I am going home. I do not want to make up for the things that I have not done either. I simply do not want to die. I want to endure to the end, and the only way that I can do that is by being consistent. I know that I can do it, and I am asking for your continued prayer and support. I want to finish strong so that I feel happy about the sacrifice that I have offered. I know that the way that I can be truly happy is by pushing consistently to the end. I really can’t speak too soon, but I think that you will notice a big change in who I am now. My mission has changed me because I have let it! This mission has not been easy at any time, but I am so grateful for that! It has turned me into something that I am happy about being. As I was sitting in the flat yesterday listening to one of my favourite mission songs, I was reflecting about how much I am going to miss this time. It is going to be hard to get back to “normal,” if in fact I ever do. I have decided that I am going to stay super busy when I get home. I am probably going to go straight into work so that my body doesn’t slow down. I want to stay at the level that I am at now, and I know that I can only through my own effort. I am going get off this subject now, cause I still have a night of work ahead of me!

Well I think that I am going to get going. I love you all, and I am so grateful for the amazing things that you do for me! Keep studying! I am leaning so much from the things that I am studying in the Book of Mormon, and I know that that will only continue throughout my life. I had a really cool thought as I was in the temple today too that I will have to share with you in a few weeks!

I love you all!

Elder Neal

E-mail from Neal - Received 3/1/10

Happy March!!!!

Well we walked out of our flat this morning to beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine! March is here, and unlike Colorado I think that we are going to be getting more and more sun. I am expecting lots of rain, but that’s just England for you. I am missing the snow for sure, but I can tell that spring is right around the corner, and that is one of my favourite seasons. Spring in England is amazing, so I am really glad that you are going to see it! Hmmmmm where to start…. OH YES!!

Ok so about this week. It has been a slower one. We had interviews and training this week. It is amazing how fast things come and go. It is March already and that is my final full month. That did not make me very happy when I heard that, but I will live. I was on exchanges in Blackpool again this week, and was really fun. They are teaching some really amazing people, and they are all progressing so well towards baptism! I like going to Blackpool, because there is always and adventure to be had. Other than that the week has been about normal. We have been working really hard and for the first time on my mission tracting quite regularly. I really don’t find it that effective so I usually try to find another activity to do, but I have learned that sometimes you really just have to do what you have to do, and that is tract. It’s good though, I am starting to enjoy it, I guess. Street contacting is still my favourite way to find people.  

Nicky and Yumi are doing alright. Yumi has been really busy and so she is not ready for baptism, and Nicky promised her that she would wait. That is the problem that we are dealing with at the moment, and it is not fun. We are praying a lot to find out what we need to do, and are hoping to get some answers soon. We have another investigator though named David that has really taken off. We found him a few weeks ago, and the first appointment fell through. We stopped by a little later, and set up a new appointment, and that one went through. We taught him once and when we came back for the 2^nd lesson he told us that he had read and prayed, and that he felt that everything that we said was true! I love it when people are humble enough to accept our invitations. He is now dated for the 27^th of March! He came to church yesterday and he really liked it. I love it when things go right like this. We are seeing him again tonight and we are going to be finishing the Plan of Salvation! I am excited. I will keep you updated with his progress.

Study this week has been really good. I just read 2 Nephi 4 over the past two days. I really love that chapter. There was one sentence in particular that stuck out to me, and it was during Nephi’s prayer. He says this….

“Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?”

Of all the things that one could wish for in the world, he asks for this. I think that you can really tell where his priorities are. Nephi knew exactly what was most important in life. It wasn’t money, cars, fame, friends, or power, it was returning to live with God, and we do that by avoiding sin.

Mormon says this…..

“for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God.”

I know that Nephi understood that, and he wanted, no he needed help to accomplish that task. This wish of course would not cancel his agency, but it would in fact help him return to live with God. You said it right mom, the scriptures are the way to be happy and to find peace. Reading them is a good start, but I would have not noticed that if I would have just read the verse. I found that through study. Through opening my eyes I found some great truth. The Book of Mormon is full of it, and I am so grateful that I can learn more from it everyday. It is true! Keep studying it!!!!!

Ok well just in closing, yes transfers are next week, and I am 98% sure that I am staying, and I am 85% sure that Elder Dittmer is staying with me. We will be emailing on Wednesday if that is the case and we will be going to the Temple. I am excited for that. Yes I do have a new Email address, but everything is transferred over. Just keep replying to my emails, and all will be well. The new system is really nice. And last I am assuming that you liked my idea about the camera card since you said nothing.

I hope that this week is a good one for you. I will be going on exchanges on Tuesday, but I am staying in Preston this time. Good luck with the baptisms on Saturday, that is going to be very exciting. Baptizing families is so great. I will always remember when Dave and Cavan Smith got baptized on the same night…. SO COOL!!!

I love you all so much!

Elder Neal

E-mail from Neal - 2/22/10

Hello to my Snowy family!!

You can complain all that you want, but I honestly miss snow. We had that big storm just after New Years, but all I could do was sit and look at it. We have gotten nothing really since. I don’t consider dusting a snow storm, so in my opinion we have gotten nothing! I miss snow, and hearing about the Olympics makes me miss it even more.  The Olympics are really not big over here at all. Hardly anyone watches them, and no one talks about them. I really do miss America sometimes.

Time is moving so fast. Every week seems to go faster and faster. Elder Rowley made a comment earlier this week about how we only have like 8 weeks or something. I think that he was able to read what I was thinking by the evil look that I gave him. It is good having Elder Griffeth with me, cause we are just choosing to forget together. It is going really well so far, and I can honestly say that I am far from Trunky!!!!! We had another really good week this week. I was on exchanges in South Ribble (the lower half of Preston) this weekend, and that was really great. I had to deal with some issues, but it is all taken care of, and things are all good again. I was with a missionary named Elder Kersey. He is going places. He is amazing. He came out with Elder Boahene, and he is a rock star of a missionary. I was so glad that I got to work with him. I learned a lot from him!

This week we have interviews and as always I am really excited. I am going to Blackpool tomorrow for an exchange. My weeks never seem to get any less busy, but that’s how I like it. Elder Kerr, our area 70 is going to be in Preston next Sunday, and he wants to go and meet some investigators and recent converts. We are going to take him to see Nicky and Yumi, and they are really excited. We have had to postpone their baptism again because Yumi has been really busy, but I think that Elder Kerr will help us move forward with them again. He is really amazing, as are all general authorities. I have gotten to hear from him many times over the course of my mission, but I never get tired of him. He is from Scotland as well, and he is just an absolute riot!

I am feeling great and working hard. My appendix scar is not even a thought anymore. It is still very red, but its doing fine. I can’t even remember what I went through anymore unless I look at the scar. It has just become a new fixture on my body ha ha ha!!!! I love you all, and I am so grateful that I have your thoughts and prayers. I feel them, I really do. I have been getting bolder and bolder as I get further in my mission, and I love it! I know that I have the lords support! Keep reading!!! I am at 1 Nephi 21 and I have noticed a lot of really cool things so far! I love the book of Mormon so much!

I love you all!

Elder Neal

E-mail from Neal - Received 2/15/10

Hello to my Crazy Family,

Well this has been a wild and crazy week. There has been no stopping, no breathing, and never has sleep been so needed. We have been running around like crazy. We have had a lot of fun though, and we have seen a lot of success. It seems as though we have been here, there, and everywhere as well. I was in Blackpool, Lancaster twice, Chorley, and all over Preston as usual. It has been a lot of fun, and a good solid week. I like weeks like this because they fly by way fast, but at the end you have a lot to show for it. Sometimes you get weeks that just drag and at the end you have nothing to show, those are the worst. Anyways let me run you through my week.

Monday – We had a district activity here in Preston, and it was WAY fun!!!! We played football (both types), Frisbee (OH-YEA), and a bit of touch rugby, but that was a disaster. My district is so amazing. I have a 2 Englishmen, a Welshman, a Scotsman, a German, and then me and the sisters are American. It was way fun to play sports, and to let loose and have fun. This was the first time that I had played sports, and so I was a bit scared. I prayed really hard that I wouldn’t get hurt, and it worked. I stayed good and healthy, and was able to play hard the whole time. Sister Mather had her appendix out last year and she was really worried about me. She was in Southport (my last district) for the past 4 ½ months, so she has been here for the whole ordeal. She got on my case a little on Monday, and I just said that I have to find out what I can and can’t do sometime right?? She understood and the games continued. It was a lot of fun. After the activity I headed off to Blackpool.

Tuesday – I was in Blackpool all day long, and it was great. That town is really nice. There are a lot of “interesting” people there, but it was still fun. Blackpool is right on the coast and as you can tell by the pictures its quite nice. We need to go there for an afternoon. Blackpool is full of tourists all the time, so we should fit in nicely. It was a cool town though, lots of things to see (being and tourist town and all). I was able to do a baptism interview as well while I was there. Here name was Zivile, and she is from Lithuania. She was so cool, and so ready. She is married to a missionary that left this mission when I came into it. I had never met him until Tuesday, I had only heard that he was crazy, and all the reports were correct. It was good though. He got to baptize his wife on Saturday, and now of course the next step is the temple! AMAZING!!!!

Wednesday – Pretty normal day. Nothing too exciting, just work as usual. It was good though.

Thursday – Zone Conference in Chorley. It was great. Nothing special, just a normal easy going zone conference. I got to see all of my friends of course, and that was great. Afterwards though, we traveled to Lancaster with the sisters to do another baptism interview, which got canceled while we were on the train. Yea it was fun. We got to help the sisters teach a man, and then headed home. Lancaster is a really cool town as well. It is extremely old and medieval. There is a really cool castle right in the middle of it! We will have to go there too. Good thing all of these places are really quite close to Chorley huh?

Friday – Normal day, except for the dinner appointment. We went to our Chinese investigators for dinner. Oh my goodness I have never had anything like that. They made us authentic Chinese hot pot, and it was amazing. I can now use chopsticks quite proficiently and I have a new found love for Chinese food. I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. E. Dittmer I think did die and go to heaven, cause he couldn’t stop smiling and laughing! It was Chinese New Year this past weekend, so they are going to be cooking for us again. Something traditional for the New Year’s celebration, I am really excited.

Saturday – We were back to Lancaster. I got to give the interview that I was supposed to give on Thursday. This lady was named Sheila, and she was 65. She was so amazing. She basically answered all the interview questions before I asked them it was great. E. Dittmer and I were going to alone and just head back right after the interview but at the last second Elder Rowley (zone leader that we live with) felt that we needed to go on exchanges. So him and I took the car over to Lancaster which allowed us to work over there for a bit after the interview. During that time, we found a man named Josh and taught him the entire first lesson on a bridge in the middle of town. It was so amazing! Elder Rowley had felt that there was someone that we needed to teach that day, and I had faith in his prompting, and we found him. It was a great testimony builder! It was a way cool day.  

Sunday – President and Sister Bullock came to the Preston ward and as always gave amazing talks. I love them so much. I have grown such a love and respect for them, especially after my surgery. They are great!!!!

Overall the week was great. We still managed to pass the mission standard and set up 19 appointments. We also got 5 new investigators which was amazing! I am really loving Preston. This is rapidly becoming one of my top favourite places!

This week is going to be much quieter, but still busy. I am going to the other side of Preston in the South-Ribble area on Friday and Saturday, so that will be good. I have to do yet another baptism interview. This time the person is 8 years old though, so it should be good. I am a little scared for that one ha ha ha!

One last thing…. We just started reading the Book of Mormon as a mission and we are marking it in a new way. Any time the Saviour is named in anyway we mark it in one colour. Any teaching from the saviour in another colour, and any attribute of the saviour gets marked in another colour. It has been really great so far. I am in 1 Nephi 10 right now, and I am loving it. You are welcome to join if you want. We are doing it as a mission and I am really excited for it!

I love you all so much. Keep studying and keep working hard!!!!!!!

Elder Neal