Plain, Small, and Simple

Christian's zone.
Christian is top row, third from the right. His new companion Elder Vogel is to the left of Christian,
and to the right of Christian is Elder Jensen -- a former companion from when he was serving in Sittingbourne.

Ahoy,

            We had a really busy week last week,

            We had to move the baptismal date of the family from Zambia, but they are still doing well. They will be getting baptized in early March now. We also have baptismal date for another family from Africa for March, and we started to teach a family from Portugal as well. So lots of families! It’s brilliant. The gospel is all about families and it’s great to be able to see families here in England accepting it. For me it has been fun to introduce the Book of Mormon to them. As we read passages to these people it is great to see them understand and love what the Book of Mormon teaches.

            We should have a baptism this Saturday. Roy from China should be getting baptised, and Neil should be baptising him! I’m happy for him. It has been cool to see his progress as a member. He passes the sacrament and he gave a talk in church this last Sunday and he should be going to the temple in March.

            The weather has been OK here. Other parts of the country are flooding right now, but Norfolk is fine – blue skies and warm. I really don’t have anything negative. Life is good.

            We had interviews with President Jordan yesterday. It was good to have some time with him and Sister Jordan. They asked if I knew of a good place to eat in Norwich for dinner and I told them to go to a place called the Waffle House. It’s a restaurant where they make different waffles for dinners and lunches and what not. They called me after their dinner and said they spoke with their waitress and she was interested in us going around and teaching her family about the restored gospel. Another family!

            It reminds me of a talk given by a Seventy named Francisco J. Vinas, he says:

“Among the old and sacred values to which we should return are the plain and simple principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These should be firmly established in our homes to ensure happiness in family life. It is precisely because these principles are plain and simple that many times they are not considered when there are challenges to face that affect family life. At times we have the tendency to think that the more serious the problem, the bigger and more complex the solution should be. That idea can lead us, for example, to seek help from people or institutions outside the home when in reality the most effective solution will come by applying the glorious principles of the gospel in our homes in the small actions and duties of everyday life. The scriptures remind us “that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6).

           How true that is.

Hope you all have a good week!

Elder Purdy