Colwyn Bay

Hello Family!

I'm serving in Colwyn Bay!! It is absolutely gorgeous here. You will have to look it up on the internet because it is beautiful. It is a coastal resort town in Whales. The weather is perfect and there is practically no ghetto areas. I'm loving it! We even have a solid investigator with a baptismal date, which is not what you expect in an area like this. I hear that the branch out here is a little crazy, so I'm excited for that as well. I have already heard many great stories about what happens in the branch. We meet in an office building, I haven't been there yet, but I'm excited to go this Sunday. I'm serving with Elder Hanks. He is a die hard Ute fan which makes me want to throw up constantly, but we are getting along fine. We just can't talk about college sports. The missionaries apparently just barely moved into the flat that we are staying in right now. I love it. It is way small and perfect for a missionary flat, we even have our own reclinable sofas. This is also my first bus area, so I was able to buy my first bus pass and do some bus contacting! Good stuff. I'll send a few pictures but I haven't taken any pictures of the area yet. I will definitely be sending some soon. There are so many things to take pictures of. Oh, and I'm feeling fine now. I had a cough yesterday but I'm doing great. Anyway, thank you for the emails and it was good to talk to you all, even though I was sick.

Love,

Elder Misbach

Pictures: 1) Me and Elder and Sister Cannon (Joe's parents) 2) Christmas tree in Telford 3) Elder Rapata and I with the Wrekin Elders at the Hoars home on Christmas 4) Elder Rapata and I as I was leaving 5) My new companion Elder Hanks

Baptized!!

Hello Family,

My first baptism!! Woo! It finally arrived, and although it didn't go nearly as smoothly as it should have Craig is now baptised and confirmed. We received 10 inches of snow on the day of the baptism, and England is amazingly ill-equipped to handle snow, so there was a brief time when we thought that we might have to postpone the baptism. Then we realized it was much more important for Craig to receive the Holy Ghost than wait for three weeks just so more members could see it.

After we decided to go ahead with the baptism we started to worry that no one would be there and we were just trying to ensure that we had at least another witness. Luckily we have a strong ward here and there was a pretty good showing, with a lot of late-comers.

Then the baptismal service began and it was certainly less than spectacular, haha. We had a member of the bishopric who had been called just last week. He is very handsy when he speaks and has trouble getting to the point, and he decided to not use the podium when he welcomed Craig to the ward, haha. But we were just grateful he came. We also had a speaker who only joined the church last march and has just been called to be the first counselor in the Elders quorum. He gave a very interesting talk on the Holy Ghost including one part where he mentioned that after Craig was confirmed he would be "invaded" by the Holy Ghost, haha. That was enjoyable.

Then it was up to me. All I had to do was memorize one sentence. I probably said it over 100 times in the two days leading up to the baptism. But when it really counted, I choked, haha. I said "having been commissioned BY Jesus Christ" as opposed to "having been commissioned OF Jesus Christ" I honestly don't know how that happened and I knew it was wrong as soon as I said it, but needless to say it was fairly embarrassing. But then he was baptised and the purpose to the service was accomplished. Craig's Brother and Grandfather came which was good because his mother wasn't able to make it.

Overall it wasn't nearly how I thought it would be, but it was great. And it was on my six month anniversary, which I thought was cool. I included a good picture and a random picture.

Talk to you soon!!

Hello Family!

So I like the idea of sending a general update of myself to everyone and then responding individually. It seemed to work out nicely that one time. That way I don't have to type the same information 3 or 4 different times.

As for Elder Rapata and I in Telford, things are fantastic! We have another dated investigator. We walked to church with him yesterday. He is the most intelligent person I have taught so far on my mission and he is only 14 years old. His name is Craig and he is taking a R.E. (Religious Education) class at his school, which is why his mom said he would be interested. He keeps telling us stories about how he already knows the answers in R.E. because of what we are teaching him, haha. We told him that he probably knows more than the teacher. We are teaching his mom as well, but she doesn't have quite the same commitment Craig does. He should be baptized on the 11th of December! Long time between now and then, but I'm still excited.

The other dated investigator is named Kara and she is the finance of a member's less active son. She is doing really great. She has lived a very rough life so far and she tells us about how happy she has been since meeting with us. She has felt the spirit a ton and loves to tell us about it. She should be baptized on the 18th.

It was a pretty good week overall because of the progress we made with Craig and Kara. We really struggled to find new people though. I haven't experienced success yet, so now that we actually have some, I struggled to schedule things correctly and keep the right mind set. It's tough to go from teaching people that accept everything you say, to out on the streets where people aren't quite as nice. So, our finding was actually the worst of my mission, but we will do better.

Other than that, things are just going well. Elder Rapata and I get along very well. We haven't had any real conflicts. Because we are both fairly new we have a very similar mindset and we mesh well. It's getting very cold. They describe the cold here as one that sinks into you, and now I get what they mean. It's pretty brutal. Especially with the wind chill on the bikes. Overall though things are great.

Love,

Elder Misbach

Good Ol' England

Hello Family!

First off, thank you very much for the emails, they are the highlight of my week. I don't have a ton of time this week for various reasons, so I'll send a few individual replies, but I thought I would try one big general reply this week.

I'm very glad that everyone seems to be doing well, I hope that everyone had a good Halloween. I'll send a picture that shows the highlights of how I spent mine. We had to be in at 5 because of all the stuff that goes on at night. It is kind of cool right now though, because fireworks are allowed during the week prior to Guy Fawkes Day, so we were able to hear a ton of them and even see a few. Basically I spent the extra time trying to get my "whites" to the point where I felt they were worthy of that title again, reading Jesus the Christ which is just amazing, talking to Elder Holman about the three Nephites and John the Beloved still being alive; Bigfoot; and how incomplete the Bible is, drinking some delicious strawberry milk from a wine glass because I was too lazy to wash a normal one (plus I felt like it was a special occasion), and taking a very lengthy shower. I enjoyed it quite thoroughly.

As for England, it is doing great. It is beautiful over here right now. The weather isn't too cold and the trees are gorgeous. I went on two exchanges this week, one was with my district leader and one was with an assistant to the president. (The assistants came because lately Elder Holman has really been struggling). Both of them were amazing. Elder Craig (district leader) and I taught a Rastafarian (AKA people who justify smoking weed by placing it under the title of religion) who was very interesting. He was very happy. We also went down the biggest hill in our area called Wombridge Way. I have very limited breaks right now so I always just use the grass to slow me down, but I failed to realize the wet conditions. My fenders have been gone for quite a while so I got DRENCHED in mud. It was intense. It took me quite a while to get my suit to the point where I could justify not dry cleaning it. My exchange with Elder Lunt (the assistant) was just amazing and spiritual. He leaves this week and Telford was one of his old areas, so it was just amazing.

Other than that there isn't much to say about Telford. Things are still trying to pick up, and we have a lot of potential, but nothing real promising yet. I should be leaving next week, but you never know what the Lord has in store.

I love you all very much, thank you for the emails and support. I wont be emailing again until either Wednesday or Thursday next week, depending on if I get transferred or not.

Love you!

Elder Misbach

Latest News

Hi-
As for transfers, it is in 2 weeks from Wednesday. I have no idea where I will go, but I'm pretty excited for it. As for Telford things are definitely going better. We saw some success last week but we are really looking forward to this week. I have a good feeling about it. There still isn't much to say, but I'll share some quick stories.

One man I talked to told me about how he had just come out of prison and he believed in God because people die. He said that nothing happens after we die because we wouldn't be able to handle what we left behind, but God loves us, so everything just ends when we die, we don't have to think about it. First time I had heard that one. He then went on to say that just from looking at us he could tell that Elder Holman believes in God more than I do and I that I am afraid of death. He was an interesting character.

Last Tuesday it started to rain and hail so hard that I began to drip inside of my suit. It was the wettest I have ever been.



I met a woman a long time ago that said that she didn't believe in God but she knows that He is there...

I also heard a story about a missionary in another mission that wanted to get transferred right away so he decided to start freaking out the members. Whenever he would have a conversation with a member, right in the middle of it, he would just randomly shake his head and convulse for a second or two and then act like nothing happened. I thoroughly enjoyed that story.

And this week we contacted a man dressed as a woman that said he didn't have time because he was "on the clock." I'll I could think was how badly he needed to get off the clock and into some man's clothing.

Anyway, I'm going to try to send the pictures now. Hope all is well.

Love to you all- Elder Misbach

September 6, 2010 September 13, 2010

Hey mom!

I enjoy the quotes quite a bit. Ya the new place is great. The electricity isn't the best. Our study room and all of the upstairs has a short, so none of the lights turn on, haha. But we get through it. And I'm actually getting my bike fixed today. I'm thinking I probably won't be in a bike area by Christmas, but thank you. I'm excited for my bike to run smoothly. I'll try to remember to take some pictures this week of the new place and stuff.

You should send a shout out to Kacey from me on the blog. It was good to hear from all the family, I didn't even realize they were looking at the blog and stuff.

As for things in England, they are going ok. Elder Holman and I aren't getting along to great right now. I went from Elder Kersey, who was a bit overly strict, to Elder Holman, who isn't nearly strict enough. And I have had issues with both of them, haha. One because I wasn't as in to the work as I should have been, and the other because he feels I am too into the work. I have brought up the issue with Elder Holman and he isn't too happy about it. We tracted (knocked doors) for 5 hours yesterday! and for about 2 of those hours we didn't really talk to each other, haha. We are fine now, and in the end he always says that I'm right (whether or not i actually am, idk) but in general I'm trying to be more obedient and it isn't going over very well for the companion ship. We pretty much haven't had any success as far as the work. I think that is mostly because we aren't getting along as good as we should and because we aren't being very obedient. I hope that my email next week will be a bit more upbeat about the situation.

I do have a good story this week. For two days we worked as a threesome because Elder Green from the next area went to leadership training and his companion Elder Huges came to work with us. The first day we worked in their area (which is beautiful, by the way) and it went really well. We had a lot of lessons and the spirit was way strong, it was definitely good. But on the way back to the flat, we had to hurry because we needed to get back to the flat and we were on the complete opposite side of their area. My brakes on my bike don't really work (the reason why it's in the shop today) so I couldn't go as fast as them and I was just about to yell at them when we went around a corner and they were completely gone. It was rather surreal. I decided to go the way I thought was correct and just hope they were waiting for me. I went a little ways and realized they were no where in sight. I then saw two kids walking on the side of the road and asked them if they had seen two men dressed like myself come by on bikes and they said they hadn't. I realized then that I was lost. It was completely dark by this time, it was about 8:40 and it was very interesting. I asked the kid if I could use her phone and she said yes. Then I proceeded to dial the wrong number about 4 times, haha. The girl had to enter a password everytime I dialed too, it was great. Finally, I looked in my planner and it was there. I got into contact with Elder Holman and they came and found me. I contacted a few people while I waited for them as well. We absolutely booked it back (I have never pushed myself that hard in my life) and we made it back exactly on time, 9 o'clock. There were so many miracles that happened that night it's amazing. The Lord was definitely on my side. It's ironic though because out of the three of us, two of us had phones and knew the area, one of us did not have a phone and no clue about the area, especially at night, and that was the missionary that got lost, haha.

Anyway, just thought I'd share that. Hope you enjoy it, haha. I love you very much, thank you for everything, I hope Aspen Grove is fun, and I hope everything is going well. I love you!

Elder Misbach

9/13/10-

The new apartment is going well. The mission president and his wife are actually going around to all the flats to personally inspect them this transfer. This is only the second time they have done this, so we really lucked out. I bet ours will be the cleanest in the mission. Elder Green actually fixed the upstairs lights, which was awesome. We only have one room with no electricity, it's our study room, which is annoying, but it's not worth the hassle of calling the landlord. We just use handheld lights. My bike is fixed, thankfully. I fully fixed it this morning. Ya, depending on what area you are in is what determines what transportation you take There are some areas that have cars, some use buses, and some use bikes. Chances are I won't be in a bike area after this one, and I'll probably only be in this area for another 9 weeks. I really don't need anything sent to me. There are a couple of CD's I would like, but I figure I'll just ask for those for Christmas. If you would like to send me some American candy (sour patch, chewy sweet tarts, pez, starbursts, etc.) (not chocolate though because the chocolate here is actually way better) I would greatly appreciate it. But you really don't need to send me anything, I'm fine. Thank you though.

haha, I love hearing the Cole quotes. I miss you all very much too.

I'm glad Aspen Grove went well. And I hope the birthdays went well. CB seemed to like his and I enjoy his goatee. I certainly hope that school is going well for Cole and Cooper. I got the email from Cooper and thoroughly enjoyed it.

As for England, things are going much better. We had a lot of success this last week. We had zone conference last week and it seems to have inspired both Elder Holman and I. We are starting to do all the little things and it is amazing how much the Lord blesses you when you just put forth the effort. We really have seen miracles. Right now the woman we are really excited for is a woman named Freeda. She was someone I contacted a few weeks before I stopped working with Elder Kersey. I had made multiple appointments with her and she just kept falling through. She always had an excuse and said she was really interested though so I kept rescheduling here. This last week I rescheduled her for Friday afternoon and she fell through again and rescheduled for Saturday morning. This was her last chance. This was the fifth appointment we had made with her. We knocked on the door twice with no answer. We were so disappointed and irritated. We started to right a note to leave on her door and like 3 minutes later the door opens, haha. It was Freeda's daughter who told us Freeda was just in the shower. We ended up teaching her that day. We had to sit outside while she sat inside because her husband wasn't home, but it was an amazing lesson. She was very interested and couldn't believe that faithful young women in our church were virgins until they got married, haha. It started to poor rain and we wrapped it up, but she is very solid. I love it when we find people to teach!

I love you very much. Thank you for everything. I hope that everything is going well and that everyone is happy. I'm going to try and send some pictures, but we will see. I love you!

The girl in these photos is named Gayle Marshal. Elder Kersey and I found her but she was taught in the area next to us. She is the first person that I have found that has been baptized =) it was an amazing baptism. And Guin just wanted to say hi.

August 31, 2010

Hey Mom!

Things are going really well over here. We have moved flats and it is VERY nice. I love it. It feels like a vacation condo and it is in a very nice area. It is in Leegomry, which is like the greenest area around here. There are very pretty bike trails that we take all around here. It really is great. It is a great flat to come back to after working hard. Elder Holman and I are getting along very well and we are working well. It is very relaxed (hopefully not too relaxed). He is quite the Loogey Hawker, haha, and he does it often. But I figure that he could do things much worse than that, so I just generally ignore it. Our bikes are both running well and his is especially good. We just ride whatever bikes we want. It all comes out of personal funds, so really it's our choice. They are both mountain bikes though. Elder Holman's bike is pretty nice, and mine works, so I'm thankful for that. No I haven't received my mail yet and I won't for about another week and a half. I did receive two letters though because they came at a different time than the big load that the zone leaders have. One of the letters was from Stephen. I really enjoyed it. I wrote him back, but he didn't give a return address so I can't send it. Could you get his address so I can send it to him? Elder Holman gets his mail because he just gives everyone our flat address. I could do that, but it is a lot more complicated and when I'm transferred my mail would get mixed up. The address that I have everyone mail to is the mission office. So I receive mail whenever there is a big meeting or when someone from the office sees us. I think I might give the direct flat address when I move from Telford but I don't know.

I forgot to tell you, but a few weeks ago we ran into the first French man I have met in England. He hardly spoke English at all, but I was able to let him know what we were talking about and bear my testimony in French. It was way cool, haha. I thought you might find that interesting.

Other than that things are going well. We didn't have a good week last week because we were moving for most of it. But this will be our first full week of actual work and it is already off to a good start. I'm excited and I have a good feeling about this week. We have one solid investigator named Andy. He is the brother-in-law of one of our less-active members named Alan. They are both amazing and our lessons are so enjoyable. Andy is pretty excited to get baptized but just has some word of wisdom problems to get over first. We are excited for him though. Other than that we haven't had much going on. But I expect I will be able to send some good stories pretty soon. Last Saturday we tried out a new trail where we live and it is beautiful. It goes right past this old estate where this extremely wealthy family lived. This man we tried to contact told us all the history of the area and stories about what happened, who died in there, and what ruins you can still see, haha. England is just loaded with history and it's pretty cool. The wellington town center, right next to where we used to live, dates back to the 1200's. And I think I already told you that Charles Darwin was born about ten minutes away from here in Shrewsburry. We have had some amazing weather lately. I think that might be a big reason why I have been enjoying the work so much, but regardless I'm glad I have been. I really have just been happy while doing the work. People listen a lot more when we are happy. It's tough to share the plan of happiness when we aren't happy ourselves, haha. But I am really enjoying it and things are going well. I will try to send pictures of my new flat and where it is.

I love you very much. Thank you for everything. Tell everyone I love them too. I hope everything is going great and that school goes well for Cooper and Cole. Love you and talk to you next week!

Me and Elder Green- the new district leader

Me and Elder Peterson- former zone leader that just went home.

Me mowing the back lawn "The Beast"

August 18, 2010 & August 24, 2010

Hi mom!

Sorry it has taken me so long. This week was transfers week so we don't have a p-day until Wednesday. That happens every 6 weeks except for the one 5 week transfer.

I have a new companion!!! Elder Holman! He is from Pleasant Grove Utah and he actually knows Madi (the girl that I would hang out with when I hung out with Heather and Annie). I am so stoked!! He is so much more relaxed than Elder Kersey. I appreciate Elder Kersey and all that he has done for me, but I am so glad to finally work with a missionary that enjoys the work and helps his companion enjoy it as well. It was somewhat sad to say bye to Elder Kersey, especially since he got called to be a zone leader in Liverpool, which is in the north of the mission, so I won't see him for a very long time, but I am just so stoked to work with Elder Holman. He actually just moved one area over. He was already in this district, I have seen him a ton, and we have even been on an exchange. He is way cool. This was the biggest transfer in the history of the mission. In these last two transfers 33% of the mission is new. It is pretty exciting, but pretty crazy as well. I'm really looking forward to this next transfer.

I'm going to try to send at least the picture that I just barely took of Elder Holman and I, but it made the computer freak out last time I tried, so we will see. I took a lot more pictures. I had an exchange with Elder Peterson this last week which was amazing. He is going home this transfer unfortunately and we just barely helped him leave. It is pretty discouraging to see missionaries leave and think "that wont be me for a LONG time" but with Elder Holman it's easy to get excited about the work again.

We haven't received mail for weeks now so I actually don't know what it is that you sent me, and I'm angry too. I want to have it! I'm going to have to spend a whole p-day just writing people back because of the back-up of letters I will have (hopefully).

I also had training camp yesterday, which was way cool. It was only the missionaries in my mtc group for a follow-up training with the assistants and president. It was way good to see everyone again and everyone is doing amazing. This is definitely a good mission filled with some amazing missionaries.

We are moving flats next week and I am pretty excited. There is a lot of change going on and I really feel like it is a good thing. This flat is just not in good condition, I might take some pictures before we go, but you can tell that missionaries have lived here for quite some time. Every time I go to another missionary's flat I think "wow, this is nice!" But that is probably just because of the condition of the flat I am in right now. Our new flat is supposed to be really nice though, I'm pumped.

Thank you very much for doing my blog. And my wrist is doing well. I wear my bone stimulator every night I am at the flat. Same with the vitamins. Things are definitely going well and I'm excited to send some success stories.

I love you very much! Thank you for everything! Talk to you again on Monday!

Elder Misbach

Hey mom!

Sorry I was a day late today, we came in yesterday and had just enough time to read our emails when the power shut off, so we weren't able to do it yesterday. I will be emailing a day late next week too because it is a bank holiday on Monday next week.

Things are going well. I really enjoy serving with Elder Holman. It seems more like I'm serving with a really good friend of mine now. We were supposed to move into our new place tomorrow morning, but we just got a call and the moving van broke down. So now it will probably be later in the week. But the new place is supposed to be very nice. I really looking forward to it. Elder Holman knows Madi because they went to the same school. We are actually in the same graduating class, his birthday is just at the beginning of the school year (9 days from now actually). Things really are going well. We get along very well and we serve well together. Our area has nothing going for it right now, but we are confident that we will see miracles soon. Elder Holman's bike is broken and we have had to take a lot of time to clean the flat, so that is why things haven't been picking up. But after we are all settled in our new flat, the area will pick up, I know it will.

I still have yet to receive my mail because the zone leaders forgot it, hopefully I'll be able to get it this Saturday though. If not, I will have to wait for 2 weeks. I'm rather irritated that I don't have it, especially because Elder Holman is receiving a ton of mail because it's his birthday soon. But it's ok, I'm looking forward to when I get it.

Anyway, things are going well. Our companionship isn't has diligent as my last one was, and it sometimes gives me a guilty feeling. But as soon as we move and get Elder Holman's bike back we will be fine. We have a brand new missionary in our district named Elder Huges from Oklahoma. He is very cool and I look forward to our exchange together.

I love you very much. Tell everyone else I love them very much too. Thank for the emails and I hope I get my mail soon. Miss you! Love you!

This is of my new companion elder Holman, I took it while we were here at the library, that is why it is so unfortunate looking. The chapel at the top is the "Lawley Chapel" only three chapels of that design in existence-very nice.

August 2, 2010

Hello,

Our teaching pool is dwindling. We have pretty much lost all of our investigators. One night we taught these amazingly troubled people and as we left we found out that they flattened our tires (or tyres if you're English). Right after that a social worker for one of our 2 progressing investigators called and chewed out Elder Kersey. Now we can't teach that investigator anymore. The other progressing investigator said he doesn't want to get baptized anymore and his smoking is now getting worse. Other than that we really have no one. The night after that I had quite an argument with Elder Kersey. He was completely neglecting things that I was saying and other various things that I didn't appreciate, so we had a rather heated debate. But overall things are better then ever. Because of the argument we get along a lot better now. And on that one horrible day with the tires, I really wasn't irritated. I just kind of felt shock and pity for the people who did that. Yesterday was almost completely unsuccessful but I still felt good. I'm very glad to finally be able to consistently enjoy the work.

It is amazing how much England smells like smoke. I just had two people come and sit down at the computer next to me and they smell like one big lit cigarette. I don't know how it is in America but all of the cigarette boxes here have big bold letters on the front that say "Smoking Kills" and then facts about how bad it is. A few of them even have very graphic pictures of smoking related tumors and stuff. It is amazing how many people smoke!

I think I might have a really small piece of gravel in my hand from my bike crash, because it doesn't look like a scrape and it refuses to go away. The streets in Europe are so small it's ridiculous. I'm absolutely amazed that there aren't more accidents. People just park on the sidewalk. I had another crash last week. I wasn't injured, but right as it happened this car drove past and gave me an exaggerated laugh. I don't get bothered by those people though, the people in cars are really easy for me to ignore for some reason. Plus, I don't think they realize that when they drive past and yell things, it's impossible to understand them; especially for me because of their accents. It's kind of funny how many unintelligent things people say to us everyday. I think we cause so much negative emotions and hate in some people that they can't even think straight when they are trying to insult us, haha. It's a shame really. But things are going better and I seem to be finding the right mindset. It's not as hard. I'm starting to look forward to the mission and not just going back home.

That is really it. Not much happening. Lots of rejection at the moment, but I have a feeeling it's going to turn around soon.

I love you very much. Tell the family I love them as well. I miss you all and I hope everything is going great.

July 26, 2010

Hello,

England is getting progressively better. I'm getting more involved in the work and that is very good. My scrape is all better now. I have been thinking about Kellie lately because we are biking a ton lately and since you guys are at the beach. We don't have a clip, we just tuck our pants into our socks, haha. It's looks awesome, especially when we forget to take them back out once we are at an investigators house. Golf was way fun, it was only a par 3 course, but I just love golf. I read about Papa Mike's hole in one, very cool.

I'm glad the beach is going well, I heard about the drive there and it didn't seem to great. I hope the drive back goes better. I actually miss the beach and I'm really looking forward to going when I get back.

Things have been pretty good over here. I had my first Zone Conference and it was interesting. I just missed the best Zone Conference they have ever had and there was a lot of reminiscing, haha, that wasn't that great. But it was good to see a lot more missionaries. I also found out that we wont be having zone conferences and meetings with the president ever transfer anymore, just 4 times a year, which I wasn't very pleased with. But it was good. I also went on my first real exchange with Elder Green. I was the "senior missionary" and it actually went really well, we had a lot of success. I was just so tired at the end of the day. We also found the new flat we will be moving to because we are being evicted. You should look at google earth with dad. This flat is in a MUCH nicer area and I'm very excited. The only other story worth telling is one that happened yesterday. It's the funniest experience I have had yet. We were teaching a woman from India the first lesson and at the end we invited her to pray in Malayan. So she did. And she just took off. It was like she was racing someone else to finish the prayer. Just this long, continuous, monotone chain of rambling. Elder Kersey and I were trying very hard to hold back the laughter. Then she, all of the sudden, slows down and in the creepy deep voice says "Jesus" but she paused just long enough for Elder Kersey to think that she was done so he said "amen" but then she just went right back into the race. At that point we were both shaking we were trying so hard not to laugh. She would periodically slow down and in that same creepy, deep voice say "alleluia" then start quick-praying again until the very end when she again did the slow down thing for "Jesus Christ...amen." It was the best! We did a good job of covering our laughing, I don't think they knew. I feel bad for laughing because of they way she prayed, but it was just so enjoyable.

Anyway, that's it really. I also gave a talk in sacrament which went well. But things are going better. I'll try to take some pictures to send.

I love you very much, and tell everyone else (including poochie) I love them too and miss them. Wish I could be there, and I hope the beach is awesome. Love you!

PS: If anyone feels so inclined to email me, I probably wouldn't have enough time to give them much of a response, but they can email me. They are included in "family." Basically 1st cousins is were the line is drawn. Love You!!

July 19, 2010

Hello

This week was a very interesting week. I had my first district meeting this week and on the way there totally fell on my bike and tore a big whole in the knee of my suit pants (hooray for missionary mall!! *sarcasm*). I also got a pretty bad scrape on my hand, but it is doing better. It wasn't bad, just irritating.

My companion makes some pretty great food. I don't ask him to cook, but it is really good.

He does eat with his mouth open which bugs me like no one's business and is not a tidy person. But I endure it. He really is a great elder, he is exactly obedient and corrects me when I do something wrong. I couldn't have asked for a better trainer.

I know that I haven't had the highest opinion of the beach in the past. But I'm definitely looking forward to it when I get back. I wish I could be there this year. And I definitely want to be with you guys for Disneyland. But that sounds way fun and I'm glad the vacation is soon.

We met five new investigators this week, which was great. Kaz is a man that talks incessantly and is obsessed with the second coming and Satan. His mom is Muslim and just stands there and yells at us while we teach him, haha. It's awesome. Jayson is an elderly, former investigator, that was very very enthusiastic about the message. He gave us his word he would show up at a certain time, and then wasn't there. I don't know about him. Michael is from Poland and speaks very little English but understands it well. He was giving all the right answers (with hand gestures and stuff) and I feel really good about him. Leanne is totally solid. She is from a part member family and wants to get baptized because her grandmother was very strong in the church and just recently passed away. The last person is Krissy, who I found yesterday. Her lesson was the most I have felt the spirit so far in the field. She shared that she had just lost a nephew and a really close friend. I testified about Jesus Christ and how He knows her pains and has felt them Himself so that she doesn't have to. I feel good about teaching her.

Other than that, things have been going pretty well. I went on splits with the assistants yesterday and it was cool. They are really good missionaries. It is raining way more, but once you are already drenched, it's kind of fun to preach the gospel in the rain. I have had a lot of good conversations with some really good people. I appreciate those people, because, if it wasn't for them, i would lose a lot of hope in humanity. I'm going golfing today!! A member is taking us and I'm stoked. Oh, and I finally received some letters from friends back home. Good stuff.

Anyway, I love you all very much and was way glad to get the emails. I hope the beach is awesome and goes very well. Miss you! Love you!


- Show quoted text -

July 12, 2010

These first few days in the field have been intense. I have been drenched with sweat every single day. Today is the first day it has rained while I have been in the Field. I love the rain, and I actually hope it rains a lot more.

Things have been going well though. We have had a lot of success and it is really surprising to me how many people are actually willing to listen to our message. It's also amazing to me how many people will stand and talk to us and completely ignore everything we are saying. There have been some pretty vulgar people. I don't mind swearing, you can get used to that pretty quick, but the people that try to get under our skin by sharing their recent sins and how they are so proud of them are the ones that can bother me. Some people really do have no morals. Overall though, there are some really nice people here.

The ward is amazing. There is kind of a Central family called the hoars (pronounced like whores) and they are all amazing. So funny and really strong in the church. Everyone in the ward is nice though, I have a feeling that a higher percentage of members here take church more seriously than back home.

Elder Kerysey is a very good trainer and gives me a lot of praise. He isn't very cleanly with some things and that is starting to bother me a little, but overall we get along very well. We teach together very well. He praises me a lot and whether or not it's deserved, i don't know, but it certainly helps me feel positive about the experience.

We currently have 9 new investigators, pretty much all from these past two days. Hopefully it will all go well. We met a man two days ago that actually said he would get baptized, but we haven't heard from him since then. I'm still hoping for him though.

The ASDA, is nice. The products are better quality than walmart. Plus, Elder kersey likes to cook, so I have been eating well for sure. I thought you might be interested in hearing that their shopping carts can only be used/unlocked after you put a pound in a slot on the cart. You can get the pound pack once you return the cart. So there are pretty much no carts left in the parking lot! I know that's something that bothers you a lot. The roads are a lot nicer here too. They are way skinny though and riding our bikes on them was a bit intimidating at first.

I'm sure there are many other stories I can share, but I think that is enough. You can put as much on the blog as you wish.

Thank you for everything and supporting me with my decision to be here. I love you!

July 8, 2010

I'm out in the feild! my new companion is Elder Kersey, he is the newest trainer in the mission but he recieves a lot of praise. I'm excited! For the very first train we needed to catch, we walked up the wrong side and had to sprint to the other side in order to catch the train just in time. My first area is in the Newcastle area, Telford branch. Its pretty much as far south as I can get. Borders the Birmingham mission. I taught my very first lesson on the train and nailed it! haha. He didn't commit but I told the first vision from memory. What a blessing. Then we had a lesson with Nick who is Pagean (?) He talked about how he doesn't pray but pathworks, where he sees a rainbow and is allowed to talk to Gods. It was intense. Then I met some people from the ward and they were amazing. Great people for sure. They gave me a gift. Chocolate, and a shirt that says "mormon in training" and a LED pink flashing light for my bike, haha. Oh!- its a biking mission! We have some more lessons today and I'm about to go shop at ASDA (the english walmart) Things are going great and I know I'm forgetting things, but it will be in my journal when I get back. I love you guys and think about you often. Thanks for everything and I hope everything is still going well.

Cass at the MTC

All further mail should be addressed to:


Elder Cassidy Misbach
England Manchester Mission
Spring Wood Suite G5
Booths Park
Knutsford WA16 8QZ
England

The MTC

Hey!!

Hey family!

This place is amazing!! I love it! it is so beautiful and I feel the spirit every single day I'm here. So the flights went well. On the first flight I sat next to a big guy from Oakland that wanted to buy land in Costa Rica and a guy going to New York to visit some friends. I was cramped, but they were both good guys and i enjoyed the flight. Then we got to the Atlanta airport and that place is HUGE. I wanted to get a Braves key chain or something, but they didn't have anything sadly. Walking off the plane into Atlanta was nasty. The heat and humidity was intense. I was glad to leave there. Oh! also, I was not expecting that many missionaries to be flying with me. There was like 25+ Elders that flew with me from Salt Lake and a few more joined in Atlanta. Here is a good story though. We have the second flight, which was pretty brutal because I couldn't fall asleep even though the travel pillow did come in handy, and we get to the Manchester airport. We go through customs and wait for our luggage forever. After a long time only like 5 or so Elders have their luggage and no more is coming out. We go to talk to the airline and it turns out that they left our luggage in Salt Lake! haha. So the majority of us had to wait another day for our luggage. It was pretty annoying, but way funny. We went to the Temple for the first time today, and it was amazing. It is so beautiful and it was just a really good experience. We also had a devotional watching one of Elder Holland's talks. It was way funny but one of the best spiritual experiences I have ever had. I really do love this place and can't wait to get out into the field. The food is pretty good. It's not nearly as bad as people say it is, at least so far, but it is pretty different. Flavors are just a little off. I had fish and chips for the first time yesterday and it was way good. Much better fish than you get back home. We play soccer at exercise time and we are actually going to go play after this. Its so much fun because only like 2 or 3 people out there actually know what they are doing. Everyone gets along. I really do love being here and this opportunity. This Friday we are going to Manchester square (1,000's of people pass every hour) and trying to place BOM's. I'm stoked! I could tell you more, but my time is running low, and it probably wouldn't be that interesting to you anyway. Let me know how things are going back home. I included some pictures. The first two are just the elders that I flew with, and the third one is all the Elders that didn't have luggage. The rest are pictures of the MTC grounds and my companion. Oh ya! My first companion is Elder Mecham from Montana. Good guy, good sense of humor, but doesn't really take this as seriously as I would hope. He is taking it more seriously each day though. I love you guys so much, and I think and pray about you. I hope everything is going well, and I'll talk to you soon. Love you guys!

And so it begins...

So I'm heading off in a few days and i realize that i wont be writing everyone. So I set up a blog for anyone that wants to check out whats going on without having the hassel of writing me :) My family will periodically update some letters i write, photos I send, and any address changes. My address will also be on facebook. I can't email anyone except family. Should be interesting!

MTC (3 weeks):
Elder Cassidy Michael Misbach
England Manchester Mission
England Missionary Training Center
Temple Way
Chorley
Lancashire
England PR6 7EQ

Mission home (should work for entire mission, just might take a little longer):
Elder Cassidy Micheal Misbach
England Manchester Mission
Springwood, Suite G5
Booths Park, Knutsford
England WA16 8QZ
United Kingdom