Hmmm... week 35..... wow time sure is flying!
I'm sure you are all wondering where I went to as I kind of left you wondering in the last letter home.
Well, I am glad to tell you that I made it from one side of the mission to the other ...well, almost. I arrived in my new area Weymouth last Friday (20th of December), and it's right on the coast! It's a very beautiful place! It feels nice to be out of the office. Don't get me wrong though, the office was nice, but in a different way and a different type of work. Needless to say, I enjoyed my time there and my service as an office Elder is over!
We kicked off our day Saturday (21st) with 4 hours of inviting (couldn't go out inviting on Friday because we arrived to late to our area). There is a town center in Weymouth, and boy is it hard to get people to talk to you. Although the 2 people that did stop and talk to us ended up wanting to meet with use again, which is nice! The next day was Christmas sacrament meeting at church. It was awesome! We ended up meeting a lot of the members in the branch. There are a lot of part member families there, so we are hoping to get a chance to meet with them and invite them to make covenants with God. The rest of the day wasn't anything special just normal missionary work.
Monday I had my first exchange as a Zone Leader! That was quite interesting. We had district council that day as well and it went really well. We talked about Alma 8 and did a lot of role plays. It was quite fun. After that we all went out caroling in a park in Bournemouth. What a festive park that was! Lots of Christmas lights and decorations. The mayor of Bournemouth even showed up, thanked us, took a picture with us, and then we gave her a Book of Mormon! What an awesome experience!
After that we had a dinner appointment on Christmas Eve that we drove back to the next day. What a nice family! The dad is the branch mission leader, the wife is the Relief Society president and they have 7 kids...... I can only imagine how busy they are! Nonetheless, they are valiant in the faith and trust in God and His plan. They are a wonderful example to us all.
Wednesday, we had a dinner appointment at a hotel and had a wonderful meal! There is someone in the ward who owns the hotel so we got to eat there for free. It was quite posh. We had a massive carvery meal (called carvery because they carve meat in front of you and serve it to you). After that we drove to Salisbury and played some games at the chapel there with the missionaries in that area. It was quite fun. The chapel there is also very new, 4 years old in fact. It looked really posh.
Today, we drove 3 and a half hours to Birmingham... yeah not even a week later and I'm already back in Birmingham! We are here for mission leadership council tomorrow. Should be fun!
Also, it feels nice not having to be answering 50 phone calls a day... now I'm lucky if I even get 1. Really nice!
So with it being Christmas and all, I have a phrase that I would like to share with you. 'We celebrate His birth because of the way He lived His life.' What a statement. It is very profound if you think about it. If Christ hadn't administered to the sick and afflicted, performed all those miracles, and most important of all, performing the greatest act in all humankind --His Atonement for all of us-- then there would be no reason to celebrate His birth. The more I study His life, and His Atonement, I develop greater love for Him and all of His children. In turn, I grow in my desire to share the message of peace that His Gospel brings as I live by it. I testify that Christ died for our sins, that He rose again the third day, and because of this, we can be forgive of our sins. Because of it, we can be exalted on high. This is why we celebrate His birth. He is my Saviour and I love Him and I am glad to say, that I know Him. I am so grateful for the gifts that He has given me. I invite all of you to think what gift you will give Him as this year finishes up. Whether it be doing a better job at saying you prayers or reading the scriptures, reaching out to help someone that maybe in need, or even doing as James states, to visit the fatherless and widows. Those who are alone can always use some company. Whatever the Spirit prompts you to do, work on it.
I love you all and that you for all the support.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS
Elder Jakob
I'm sure you are all wondering where I went to as I kind of left you wondering in the last letter home.
Weymouth, right on the coast
Video of the Coast of Bournemouth
Well, I am glad to tell you that I made it from one side of the mission to the other ...well, almost. I arrived in my new area Weymouth last Friday (20th of December), and it's right on the coast! It's a very beautiful place! It feels nice to be out of the office. Don't get me wrong though, the office was nice, but in a different way and a different type of work. Needless to say, I enjoyed my time there and my service as an office Elder is over!
My new companion Elder Parker and I
My cmpanion Elder Parker (pronounced Pahkah - he's from Australia)
We kicked off our day Saturday (21st) with 4 hours of inviting (couldn't go out inviting on Friday because we arrived to late to our area). There is a town center in Weymouth, and boy is it hard to get people to talk to you. Although the 2 people that did stop and talk to us ended up wanting to meet with use again, which is nice! The next day was Christmas sacrament meeting at church. It was awesome! We ended up meeting a lot of the members in the branch. There are a lot of part member families there, so we are hoping to get a chance to meet with them and invite them to make covenants with God. The rest of the day wasn't anything special just normal missionary work.
Presents the members in the branch gave us
Monday I had my first exchange as a Zone Leader! That was quite interesting. We had district council that day as well and it went really well. We talked about Alma 8 and did a lot of role plays. It was quite fun. After that we all went out caroling in a park in Bournemouth. What a festive park that was! Lots of Christmas lights and decorations. The mayor of Bournemouth even showed up, thanked us, took a picture with us, and then we gave her a Book of Mormon! What an awesome experience!
Crazy lit up Christmas tree in Bournemouth
Video of the crazy Christmas tree
After that we had a dinner appointment on Christmas Eve that we drove back to the next day. What a nice family! The dad is the branch mission leader, the wife is the Relief Society president and they have 7 kids...... I can only imagine how busy they are! Nonetheless, they are valiant in the faith and trust in God and His plan. They are a wonderful example to us all.
A church in Dorchester. It's in our area
A street in Dorchester
Wednesday, we had a dinner appointment at a hotel and had a wonderful meal! There is someone in the ward who owns the hotel so we got to eat there for free. It was quite posh. We had a massive carvery meal (called carvery because they carve meat in front of you and serve it to you). After that we drove to Salisbury and played some games at the chapel there with the missionaries in that area. It was quite fun. The chapel there is also very new, 4 years old in fact. It looked really posh.
A nicely decorated street in Salisbury
Today, we drove 3 and a half hours to Birmingham... yeah not even a week later and I'm already back in Birmingham! We are here for mission leadership council tomorrow. Should be fun!
Also, it feels nice not having to be answering 50 phone calls a day... now I'm lucky if I even get 1. Really nice!
So with it being Christmas and all, I have a phrase that I would like to share with you. 'We celebrate His birth because of the way He lived His life.' What a statement. It is very profound if you think about it. If Christ hadn't administered to the sick and afflicted, performed all those miracles, and most important of all, performing the greatest act in all humankind --His Atonement for all of us-- then there would be no reason to celebrate His birth. The more I study His life, and His Atonement, I develop greater love for Him and all of His children. In turn, I grow in my desire to share the message of peace that His Gospel brings as I live by it. I testify that Christ died for our sins, that He rose again the third day, and because of this, we can be forgive of our sins. Because of it, we can be exalted on high. This is why we celebrate His birth. He is my Saviour and I love Him and I am glad to say, that I know Him. I am so grateful for the gifts that He has given me. I invite all of you to think what gift you will give Him as this year finishes up. Whether it be doing a better job at saying you prayers or reading the scriptures, reaching out to help someone that maybe in need, or even doing as James states, to visit the fatherless and widows. Those who are alone can always use some company. Whatever the Spirit prompts you to do, work on it.
I love you all and that you for all the support.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS
Elder Jakob
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