"They filled the pot hole Elder"

Moves have come and gone. I'm staying for another transfer in Inverness!!! YES!

Unfortunately, Elder Bagshaw is headed oot. He's going to the land of car bombs and born agains, Belfast Town, Northern Ireland. 

However, due to having our first ever full mission conference this Saturday, it's going to work a little bit differently from usual. Elder Bagshaw is going to stay here for the week and head down to the conference with us on saturday and then head to his new area after the conference ends. Speaking of us,

My new companion is Elder Mørklid! He's from Norway! My first non native english speaking companion! And what's great about being a Nord is he's got that cheeky 50% frost resistance. We are picking him up today at 1:30 ish and we will be on our way.

Subject line today came from Invergordon, they have this super massive pot hole next to their flat (as in like 9 feet by 15) that one of the Elders used as an object of prophecy when they first got here. There has always been water in this pot hole, so this man told us the day that pot hole dries and there is no more water, is the day they close the area. Well last week we came up for district council and there was a bobcat-uk equivalent pushing a mountain of sand, dirt and then gravel over this pit. A bit overkill because it went from a pit to a hill about 8 feet tall. We took it as the sign and sure enough, the area closed this week. So Elder Mørklid, Elder Bagshaw and I will be taking over the work there as well. We already had the biggest area, but now we have T H E   B I G G E S T   A R E A. With all caps and spaces. I'll send you a screenshot of our new boundaries when it updates.

It's a Big Day for the mission at least for me. My MTC sisters are headed out on a plane back home today. The rest of my group is on the clock now. 6 months left for them. 9.5 left for me. The last 6 months have vanished by, I'm sure the next 6 will do the same.

Elder Keenan goes home today as well, if you remember, he was the elder who was with me when I was sick last year. He was the one who saw me off! I'm now the only living missionary to have served in sligo. A lot has happened since then. Can't believe how long that year was.

Elder Fisk

Oh Aye

Well it's been a superb week!

Not a lot has happened that's particularly special, except I can say I've had some very exceptional personal study time. 

We've had a couple lessons this week, visited a few of our friends, had dinner with our bishop etc it's a good week. 

The weather these last couple days have been amazing too! 

This week we are working on condemning our flat. It's been owned by the church for 7 years and it's time to get a new flats so hopefully I get to see it. 

Transfers are this week, I'm really hoping I'm staying for another. I love this place and dont want to leave just yet. But we will see how it goes.

Another Week Down

Well it's been pretty uneventful this week. A couple lessons, a barbeque, exchanges. The caravan moves on.

We caught a couple Spiders this week. A fly flew into the flat. I injured it by breaking its wings, put it in the little spider container we had, and we watched the circle of life in action so that's pretty good. 

Other than that things are ok on my end. I'm ready for a good restart. Dont know what's ahead of me, but I'm optimistic about the future. 

Not much to share for this week. Love you all!

The Beginning of the End....

This week has been really good actually! Big highlights!

On Thursday we had our zone conference, and it was a little different this time. The sisters in my MTC district go home this transfer, so that meant today they gave their departing testimonies. It was great to reflect with them about our original journey into the mission what felt like so long ago. And one of them is in my district! So I get to be in frequent contact with her till she goes home! 

We've had some torrential rain this week! Flash flooding happened all over the highlands. Our drive to Aberdeen was pretty sketchy but it was STILL beautiful! 

We had exchanges with the invergordon elders and we blitzed a town about a half hour away from us called Nairn. 

We are subject to a beautiful travel day today as we journey to the isle of skye. Super excited to get this fabled CTR ring. I told the stornaway sisters to go get one on their way down from the island for conference, and one did, and she brought it to the conference to show me. Oh my goodness it's cool. I've got no other real bucket list souvenirs that I really want. I COULD get a kilt but they have been fast fading from the culture, you really only see people wearing them for the tourists in the shops or on the high streets playing bagpipes. Other than that you basically never see them. Scotland is taking a blow culturally. The international cell phone and internet culture had an iron grip here as well. 

Thought this week comes from the doctrine and covenants. If I had been shown this scripture when I went home it would have helped me out so much. If anyone has something out of their control take them out of the mission field whether sickness, injury, or brutality, I say brutality because in some areas there are missionaries that go home because they got beat up real bad on their mission. I've heard of one who was separated from their companion by a Mob, and beaten, then thrown in jail since they didnt have immediate proof that they were a citizen, or legally allowed to be there. Once they got out, they went home. I'd likely feel the same if I was in their place. 

Doctrine and Covenants 124

49 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might and with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold, it behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings.

Hope you have a good one!

Classic and clean

Time for another email!!

To be honest, this past week has been long. I've been under a load and I've learned a few things, so I've got some thoughts to share.

1. Keeping the commandments are more important than having a good attitude. Fix your life, then enjoy the blessings of peace.

2. The first vision is extremely doctrinaly correct. At the time of Joseph Smith, Catholic and Protestantistic ideas and theology was the standard of truth. All they knew about God was he was a force of nature without body parts or passion, without form and without understanding. This was likely what the boy prophet was thinking when he went seeking answers. If he went out of the forest that day saying God the Father spoke to him, and answered his questions it would immediately be accounted for false doctrine. Among those who spend any reasonable time studying the Bible, or really any standard work, we know that Jesus christ is the Mediator. He is the one who answers our prayers, and whom we receive direction. That's part of what a mediator does. The fact that he came out and said that there were two persons and Jesus was the one who answered his question, is completely doctrinaly sound.

Those are a couple things you can munch on for now I guess. I've learned them in a practical sense this week and I'm grateful for it. I love my savior and how much sense his gospel makes. He is not a God of mystery, he is not a God of hatred. His ways are mysterious, but that word must be understood correctly. It's not that he is trying to be difficult here, we are the ones who go around trying to do things the hard way. Asking for things at no cost to us. Asking for faith without thinking of the trials needed to acquire such faith. In our limited scope, we do not see that the result of our behavior will not be meeting our needs over time, God can see it, he has all time and all things before him, do you think he might have a good idea about what things you can do to be happy? He definitely can.

Well we've got lightning storms right now, which is really rare here actually. I'm going to go back to watching them for the next bit till we got to leave. 

See you next week!

New Companion New Life

Well I've got a really good week to report!

This week has been really good for everyone in the district! From my many conversations with them, and from my own work, we are all learning to be happy.

So on Wednesday morning I woke up to the carbon monoxide alarm at just after 4:00 am, and I went and checked the alarm, and then woke up my companion. We left the flat, called 999, and sent the fire brigade. 

So they come down, and they bring TWO fire trucks. They come to the house, 6 of them hop out and March into the house. We are sitting there in a slight daze since the sun is coming up at the time, and the firetrucks are just lighting up the neighborhood, and the whole mess of it all just gave it a good memetastic atmosphere. 

They come down after about 10 minutes and tell us we have a faulty alarm and to get it replaced, they gave us one to use in the meantime, they pack up the trucks, and leave. 

So I have no time to email anymore so I guess I'll be able to fill you in some future day. Sorry!!

I love you all!

The buildup to full power

Transfers are in process! I'm called to stay in inverness for another transfer! I'm so excited.

I've got a new companion, a very good friend of mine, elder Bagshaw.

Wasnt too long ago he and I predicted this would happen, although we thought it would be at the end of our mission, not so soon.

The summer is beetin doon this week, I'm ready to lose. Just kidding. Today is the high, and it's pretty strong. 

I can totally feel the motivation to write big great emails just plummet. I'll share a quote I found this week that is just amazing.

This is from the Teaching of the Presidents of the Church.

President Kimball, chapter 2.

"If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith.

If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil—all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls."

I believe that with all my heart, and all its implications. 

Study the scriptures, it will open your mind.

Elder Fisk