Hey ma!! so i got sent to a new area.. i was just getting on to let ya know! I'm in a place called Lincoln.. its almost as far north as you can go in the mission.. so I'm in the middle of nowhere. but it does have a huge city and a school and stuff.. my new comp is elder Higham. He is from idaho falls idaho. he has been out for seven and a half months and it a complete stud! He went district leader after three transfers and has stayed since then.. I was sad to leave cheltenham but from what i have seen Lincoln is really cool :) well i gotta go but i love you guys! thanks so much for the packages!! tell gram those stars are amazing! i wish i was able to have those back in cheltenham because i had some people i really wanted to give them to.. so I'm going to send some to elder palmer for him to give to some people.. the dried fruit was amazing as well :) i really really love you guys!!! oh and with emailing I'll probably only have 2 hours.. were in an apple store right now so we don't have long.... oh and elder mcgreger served in boston.. which is the farthest north you can go.. we're the second farthest north you can go! so i gotta get some gloves and stuff..  ah fun stuff :) 

love you!

love elder wiser

our address is 

46 deansleigh 

lincoln

LN1 3QB

soooo that is my flat! its tiny haha ah bless

October 28th, 2013

Hellloooo family :)

Another great week in cheltenham!

So, interesting things that are happening... we learn who is getting moved tonight.. I have a feeling that I am getting moved.. but we all have no idea so it is what it is.. I wanna stay because this is my home but anywhere God sends me is home :) I think im ready for some change as well.. just to see how I handel it :)

We did some good work this week.. but right in the middle of the week Elder Palmer got a weird strain of the flu or something.. so he was pretty much dying for a couple days.. we had to stay in the flat becuase he was really contagious so I put dads church videos to good use. haha that and wrote a few letters :) I also got to study a lot,.. one crazy thing is how I have read the book of mormon a few times..and im reading it now and there are so many good scriptures that I just read over!! so I have been marking and learning like crazy.. its been a really good experience... go book of mormon!

We did have one thing that was funny happen.. so we were talking to this lady named Zhen from china (pronounced like jen) and out of the corner of my eye I see this car getting really close... when I noticed this huge puddle right in his path.. so he continued to get closer till he hits it and completely soaks Elder Palmer and I... I managed to save the lady from most of the water.. ah man it was funny but I was soaked for the next few hours.  It looked like it was on purpose, but thats ok :) its a good story! haha and ya Elder Palmer got wrecked... I feel pretty bad at the moment so I think I'm getting the same thing..I just gotta wait for it to kick in.. os i'll keep eatin fruit and laughing!! that is the best medicine we have :)

About the busses and outdoor markets. The busses pretty much look like the normal ones at home butttt they have the big red double deckers :) I have ridden in them many a times! they are really cool :) have you ever google mapped cheltenham?  They give you a pretty cool view.  The out door markets just look like the ones in like dominica? remember those? I should take more pictures  but I don't always take my camera ha sorry ma.. its just a bunch of dirty farmers selling their stuff for cheap :) its the best!

The work was a little slow because of the illness going around but I feel like I strengthened my testimony and I feel like I used the time well.. Elder Palmer is all better now so life is good!!!

but I love you all and have a good week!

the church is true!!

elder wiser

October 23, 2013

this one is with suzy.. her family is so cool!! so one day i asked what she thought about mustashes because i used to have one ha so she drew one on my face :) then everyone did it was pretty fun.. 

soo! this right here is a medium chips... and it is very large. it costs one pound fifty. they are really good but i try not to eat them that much.. :)

Just got an email from Sterling - He wasn't able to email on Monday but got permission to send a little note right before District meeting - so here you go! -Thank you all for supporting him so much.

Hello family!! man it was so good to hear from you all this week. I love hearing about the fun you guys are having :) man I love you guys!

so this week... hmmmm oh man, funny im from utah moment... sooo we found this rootbeer that is really cheap. its called bunderburg i thnk and its from australia.  some ppl told us it was good so we decided to try it.. so on our way to buy it the lady asked for my I.D... i was thinkin wow thats weird.. but i didnt think anything of it.. till i got outside hahaha so apperently this rootbeer has less that .5 alchohol in it! so we tossed it but how funny is that... i havent ever had my id checked ha so i guess im really sheltered :) yay

ah man so this week was a true england week.. it rained soo much.. we had one storm where i felt like i was swimming.. i havent ever been that soaked in a rain storm... we were on our way to a dinner appointment after a teaching apt when it hit... whoo england rain is so thick.

 this week has been really really good.. phil our investigator on a date is doing so good and is so happy :) man i love it!! we have his baptismal date coming up soon and he is so ready! just the final home stretch.  its sorta hard to explain in words but this week i have had some lessons where the spirit was so strong.. the people we were teaching were involved there was no distractions and it was so good.

the most crazy part though is transfers is next week.. i cant beleive how fast it went.. and i have almost been out for five months.. man life is moving so fast. so i just try to hang on to it and squeeze as much work in there as i can :)

this week there was something i really focoused on.. and that is loving people.. i love helping people and i love loving! ha but as a missionary i noticed i sorta started going through the motions a little bit.. so this week i really focoused and thought of ways to make myself better at loving. everyone needs a friend and everyone needs to feel loved. so that is what im going to try to do is to make people feel my love for them.

church is the best! keep it up and you will be blessed.

i love you all!

love elder wiser..

October 21, 2013

Sterling wasn't able to email today he sent a quick note saying that he hoped he could get back on tomorrow before district meeting to send the family email.  He said he loved us and loves his mission and that he is doing well.  Transfers are next week and he hopes to stay in Cheltenham. I hope we will hear more tomorrow.  -Laura

October 14, 2013

elder turney! he is a missionary out of redding :) he is one of the boys :)

this is the pond where over six hundred ppl were baptised,,, crazy right......

sister reidhead and I get to chill quite a bit :) she is so cool!! were pretty good buddies.

hello family!!

first thing I would like to make an announcement.... as of yesterday I have officially been out for four months.. and that is a long time!

so this week in cheltenham.... the work has been pretty much the same but there is some cool stories I would like to share... so first one is about the trip to the Glendfeild Elm Chapel

which was a chapel founded by the early saints in England :) Wilford Woodruff.. did a lot of preaching there and as a result six hundred ppl were baptised in a small pond not to far away... tons of the ppl who came to america from england are the reason we have the gospel today :) so thats really cool! it was really spiritual and i learned a lot.. it was also really good being able to talk to some of my friends i have made :) i love talking to people!! its the best :)

 

oh i have a miricle! sooooo the other day we were coming home from a mission activity.. we had just gotten off the train and were cycling home when i heard a snap and some grinding........ so i pulled over looked at what needed to be done threw my bike on my shoulder and started to finish the few miles till i got home... so one of my mission mottos is everything happens for a reason... thats the second one behind there is something positive in everything that happens.. so i was thinking about that when i started to talk to this guy... we talked for about ten min just walking along and it truns out he is studying religion! so i talked about what we are doing in england and he said he wanted to learn more!! so it was like god broke my tire so i could talk to this guy :) pretty cool huh? and when i got home i had the tools to fix what was broken and now my bike is all better.... everything happens for a reason :)

miricles happen everyday!

 

this week was really good and im still learning sooo much :) i love the mission!!

love you all :)

elder wiser

October 7th, 2013

my first kabeb........ ok so my opinion... I like the flavor.... but its like eating a hot dog...pretty much its a bunch of meat they heat up and you eat :) Basically, they take a variety of unwanted body parts on dead animals (no one really knows what kind of animals...) put them all into a giant blender the size of Kentucky, then dip a stick in the mush, get some meat-ish stuff on it, then hang it on a contraption that makes it spin. it stays there until someone dares to buy it. So that could mean weeks.  It tastes ok but you have no idea whats in it and you have heart burn for an hour afterwards..... the only thing that makes it worse than a hot dog is that it litterally spins on a stick out in the open for who knows how long.... so i'll eat em becasue I'm a man and thats what men do... but I don't like thinking of all the gross stuff that sticks to it when someone walks by or something.. so there ya have it! Kabeb!! 

me being a model haha :) oh dad remember how you took the mic out of style glasses? well they are huge here.... this and like the retro hypster look.. all of that came from England.. 

sooo photo time! here is my new/really old bike ha! A new bike would just cost a lot.. the thing is though, I can be as careful as I want and it would still get stolen.. a lot of missionaries have been through like six or seven bikes... so I'd rather just ride a crap one till it dies then ride a different one till it dies.. I have the tools and the skills to work on them without spending much.

Just got a new haircut - English Style!!

Hello family!!!

man where to start. this week has been so crazy.. conference, lessons.. mission life!

it was really good to hear from you all though :) so I have some cool things to share this week.

So first thing.. this was on friday and again demonstrates the power of prayer...

ok so the front door to our flat has a pin that you can engage so you can't unlock the door from the outside... for some reason our door doesn't close very easy so we have to shut it kinda hard... we had a DA that evening with sean and juliana, so we went back to the flat to grab our bikes and get there on time.. slamming the door on our way out. Dinner was great and we had a really good spiritual thought and Juliana made some of the best african food ever. When we got home we realized that our door had been slammed hard enough so that the inside lock had engaged... so we were locked out.. I went around and tried all the windows and everything was locked tight. So I got my jimmy nutron on (sorta) and constructed this contraption out of a stick so that I could stick my hand through the mail slot and try to unpin the door.. I worked on this for a little while till Elder Palmer looked over and suggested we say a prayer.... my response was.. "bro the door is locked.. i  got this!" I continued to swing the stick around in there till he said it again shortly after.. we agreed and he said a prayer... right after he said it he put the key in the lock.. and pushed open the door..............

This story is really cool because, that my friends is a miracle.... I'm being a little repentant as I tell this because I was trying to do it myself when God was ready to help... it was just so crazy because the door was locked... prayer.. it wasnt locked anymore.... so that was a really cool testimony builder for me.. and a builder to my faith.

The thing thats crazy.. is we all are so blessed each and every day and it took something like the lock story for me to realize it.. as a missionary we pray for missionary and service experiences to pop up and for us to be able to recognize and have the courage to act on it no matter what it is.. we see those blessings every single day.. without a doubt... I noticed I was sorta starting to get used to it but I take some time every day to think about all the blessings God has given me and all the ways he has helped me.... I love it!

Conference was sooo good!  I loved it... the spirit was so strong and I learned so much..I honestly really loved it.. I took so many notes and I have so many new things to work on :) it's funny how I can sit back some days and think... I'm not too bad... I'm doing good stuff.. praying, reading my scriptures.. but there is always so many ways we can improve :) I love progressing though... whenever I feel like I learned something and then I have the opportunity to apply it, somehow it feels so good! I'm sure you know exactly what I mean :) ah man life is good ma :) I'm so happy out here serving.. even though I miss you guys a ton.. I am so happy.....

I want you to know ma though that I really love you... I have told that to everyone in the family today because I really mean it.. I love you all more than I feel like love can describe... but I love you :) thank you so much for all your support and for being so good to me... 

Well I wanna leave you guys with a quote and a scripture I read this week..

"I wont let back. let up, slow down. or be still. my past is redeemed, my presence makes sence, and my future is secure. im finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, cheap giving and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I dont have to be right, first, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on HIS presence, walk with patience. I am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, comprimised, detored, lured away, divided, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the advesary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder in the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of the mediocrity. I wont give up, shut up, or let up untill i have stayed up, stored up and paid up for  the cause of christ. i must go till he comes, give till i drop , preach till all i know, and work till he stops me. and when he returnes for his own, He will have no problem recognizing me. my banner will be clear."

I dont know who did this quote... but it is intense..... I put it in here because it helped me raise my vision and goals :)

this is a scripture I spoted in the bible during study

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

13"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."

14 "let all your things be done with charity."

well guys its been another really good week here in Cheltenham :) I love you all and I hope this week is awesome!!

love elder wiser

P.S. Sooo my bike... yes I was really angry but I got over it pretty fast... my new bike.. I call her wendy falcon.. it took me so long to come of with that name.. she is old but she is good :) I love riding it.. I miss my old one for sure and since this one is a fixie my legs are going to get huge!!! I need the work out though.  I did have to take some money out but everything is good and I saved about a hundred quid doing it all myself :) how cool is that! I'm a bike worker guy :) and the sisters called me when they got a flat and I fixed it in like ten min :) yay!! so life is good I hope this bike lasts me for  a good while though its pretty old but I did some good work to it :)..