Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Hello Family,

This has been a good week. We had our last zone conference with
President and Sister Bullock. There were quite a few teary eyes. We
sang "God be with you 'till we meet again" for the final hymn which
created most of the tears, and then as they were walking out we struck
up "Called to Serve" and even I got choked up at that point. It was
very spirit-filled and powerful. I actually just wrote my final letter
to President Bullock. So now it's time to look forward to President
Preston, and I'm pretty excited. He has some huge shoes to fill, but I
hear only good things and he seems like a very good, faithful person.
My final year should be good.

Other than that, the most interesting thing this past week was the
weather. We went from mist all day for a good 4 or so days, to bright
and sunny. Unfortunately, it's now officially summer and it's very
uncomfortable. You start to sweat within minutes. I don't really know
what to hope for now, rain, or hot and humid. I can't decide which is
the lesser of two evils.

There was one other good experience I had this last week that I can
share. I was on exchange in Middleton with Elder Whited and we taught
one of their investigators named Attima. She is from France, but lived
in India for 7 years and adopted a lot of Hindu Beliefs. She is
probably the most upbeat person I have ever met. All she talks about
is making people happy and sharing the love. She was amazingly
pleasant, but wasn't really listening to us. We weren't going anywhere
with her until Elder Whited asked what it would mean to her if she
knew that she could be with her family forever. Turns out she believed
in Reincarnation and so she didn't understand what we meant at first,
but when she did, she fist pumped the air, stoop up, and said "Ya!"
She was so jazzed she couldn't contain it. She just loaded us with
butterscotch sweets and said, "You made me happy, so now I need to
make you happy!" It was quite an enjoyable experience. The gospel is
true.

So life is good and things are going well. I hope that everyone back
home is happy and healthy.

love,

Elder Misbach

Monday, June 20, 2011

Hello Family,

This last week was our last interviews and trainings with President
Bullock. It was excellent. In the afternoon we were allowed to ask
President and Sister Bullock any question we had about their lives.
They shared how they met, and other things about their lives. They
also shared the secrets to happiness and President shared the secrets
to success in your career. All of it was excellent. President Bullock
has been the CEO of a couple of companies and when we asked about what
he was going to do after his mission he said, "I don't know yet, but I
have to do something. I don't know if I'll go back to what I was doing
or start a business for fun or something, but I have to do something."
haha. His career advice was good stuff. We also now have another dated
investigator named Carol. She needs to give up smoking in the next 10
days, but I think she can do it. Other than that it was a good week.

This week will be our final Zone Conference with President and Sister
Bullock. I'm looking forward to that. Elder Smith and I are also going
to walk through this free museum for a few minutes on our way to ASDA.
That should be good. We celebrated my year mark on Saturday by getting
Greggs for lunch. It sells meat pastries. It was proper disgusting.
But I deserve it, I shouldn't be so absorbed with how much time I have
left. Life is good overall! I'm going to try and buy healthier again
this week. We will see how it goes.

I hope everything is going well with the family. Choose the Right!

love,

Elder Misbach

Monday, June 13, 2011

Hello Family,

This past week has been a very good one. We have been able to see a
lot of miracles recently. There really is no such thing as a
"coincidence." I'd say the most interesting thing that happened this
past week was the 400th anniversary of the printing of the King James
Bible. There was a choir concert held at the Preston temple that we
were able to attend. There were about 2500 people that went, the choir
was great, the weather was fantastic, and the spirit was strong. I was
able to see a family from my first ward, and the family that we
baptised in the Colwyn Bay branch. Dawn is now the second counselor in
the Relief Society, Joan is the secretary, and Adam is the first
counselor in the young men's and is preparing for a mission. It was
great! I unfortunately forgot my camera, so I will be selfishly
hogging those memories to myself, but trust me when I say that it was
good.

We will be having our last personal interviews with President Bullock
tomorrow, so that's big. I'm definitely looking forward to that. I
also found an old mission roster in our flat and I now know the exact
date that I will "die" in the mission. I will end my mission on June
20th 2012. Crazy! I'll actually be able to serve a full 2 years, which
is rare because of visa issues. It's rained practically every day this
past week, but my umbrella is holding up.

Yep, pretty much life is good and the mission is going well; like
always. I hope that everything is going well for the family!

Love

Elder Misbach

Monday, June 6, 2011

Hello Family,

This past half a week was pretty good. We saw some pretty good success
and found a lot of new people. The weather has been really good. It's
to the point where it is uncomfortably warm. It's also unfortunate
because now we go out in only a white shirt which drastically reduces
the amount of pockets at my disposal; it's very uncomfortable to have
a phone, bus pass, planner, and two wallets in your pants pockets.

Not much more to report really. Here are a couple of random tid-bits of
information: Our zone focus this transfer is having the members mesh
better with our investigators and with ourselves. We didn't come up
with a proper name for it but I liked "Binding the Ward to the work of
the Lord." I thought that was pretty catchy. I am now buying proper chicken breast and preparing it on the grill! I have never been more satisfied with the meals that I am preparing. Chicken is so delicious.
Oh, and I'm also going to send off my application for my provisional
license today, so I'm one step closer to obtaining my proper UK
drivers license.

Yep, the missionary work continues to move forward and the church is
ever so true. I hope that everything is going well for everyone back
home.

Love,

Elder Misbach

Friday, June 3, 2011

May 16, 2011

Hello Family,

Well this week was a little less interesting than last week, but we
did have a successful double baptism. It was very stressful but ended
up going well. Leslizia got dizzy during the actual baptism and
actually tripped out of the font when she was getting out. That was
interesting.

It's been raining every day this week and it's rough. One day we got
so wet that the phone stopped working and we needed to call a member
for a lift to a tea appointment. That was very stressful. We ended up
having to barrow someones phone in a shop.

At the end of this week I will be going on exchange with my Father
(Trainer)! Elder Kersey and Elder Gallacher will be coming for an
exchange on Saturday and I am downright Jazzed! It's going to be some
good times.

Other than that there really isn't much to say. I hope that everyone
is doing well and that everyone is happy. Thank you for the emails!

Love,

Elder Misbach

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Hello Family,

Things are going well in Rochdale. We just had two of our "eternal
investigators" accept a baptismal date and we are looking forward to
that. The weather is getting a bit better, it's not longer raining
EVERY day. It's getting warmer as well, which is nice.

Transfers were pretty good. Elder Smith and I are staying together for
another transfer, which we are both happy about. I have two new
missionaries in my district. One of them, Elder Raybould, is actually
from my group, so that should be fun. This upcoming transfer is going
to be very crazy because of the new Mission President coming in. I'm
certainly excited.

One interesting story that I can tell is when we were tracting two
Sundays ago. We knocked on a door and this very large, slightly drunk,
man answered the door. He was white with a shaved head, overweight,
wearing a tank top that had multiple disturbing stains. He came to the
door and acted like he couldn't speak English. I wasn't in the best of
moods that day, so I called him out on it and he started to speak in
English to us. Unfortunately it was then that I glanced at his
mutant-like skin deformation all over his arms and hands. He noticed
this and probably wasn't too happy. I tried to end the conversation
and get out, but before I was able to he put out his hand to shake it.
I didn't feel it would be smart to not shake this very large, slightly
drunk, and now slightly irritated man's hand, so I went in very
gingerly. I think he noticed this as well, so he took my hand squeezed
it and then kissed it. Elder Smith went in with power on his shake so
he avoided the kiss. Needless to say I nearly threw up and we
immediately stopped working to go wash our hands THOROUGHLY. It was
probably the most disgusting experience of my life. All is well now
though. =)

Those experiences are great stories, but my favorite ones are the ones
that make me realize just how real God is and how much he loves us and
how true the church is. I have had many of those, which is one of the
biggest reasons I LOVE my mission.

I hope everything is well with the family and I love you all

Elder Misbach