Lots of Work to Do, Lots of Miracles to Happen

Ahoy,

            Crazy week – lots of twists and turns. Our mission started to use Facebook this week. It’s pretty interesting. I think it will be good, getting in contact with members and investigators. We will see where it takes us!

            Last Tuesday we went to the district meeting in Gillingham. It was crazy being back. It was all very familiar. It was a good meeting, and afterwards we went finding with the elders in Chatham. Spoke with a good guy from Afghanistan, and the other elders saw him this week. Chatham is an interesting place. There are always a couple of crazy people that are roaming around – definitely keeps things interesting. There was a man that had a banjo, which was wayyy out of tune, and he was just strumming away on it for a couple hours. Fun stuff.

            We really don’t have that great of a teaching pool right now. It is definitely lacking, so that’s a big focus for us this week. I've noticed that there are loads of people from Nepal here. Apparently they move over here and then work for the military in Ashford. Most of them are Hindi. Nice people, but it’s hard to communicate with them. To be quite frank, to just have a really good conversation with anybody is proving to be a task, but Elder Kopischke and I are doing a good job at it. We are slowly finding some people that are interested. Just takes a good attitude and a lot of faith!

            Saturday we had a leadership meeting in London. The train from Ashford to London is pretty fun. It’s part of the Eurostar so lots of people on the train are from Europe coming over from France and Belgium and places like that. It only takes about 30 minutes from Ashford to London – much better than the 3-hour drive from Norwich to London. It was a good meeting, and the mission is heading in a great direction!

            Yesterday was a good day as well. It was British Mother’s Day, so most the services were about families and motherhood. Afterwards we went and street-contacted in the park. It has been really beautiful and all the flowers and trees are budding. It was a good time and I really enjoyed it. We saw some good success as well.

            We then had a dinner appointment with some members. They are English but they used to live in India and they made a pretty wicked curry. It was delicious and I ate wayyy too much. Good way to end the week.

            I am sure this week will prove to be very eventful as well! Lots to do and not a lot of time to do it. Lots of work to do and lots of miracles to happen.

Cheers big ears,

Elder Purdy

I am Happy to be Serving Here

Hello Hello,

            Hope you all had a good weekend, I sure did!

            Elder Kopischke and I had a great time teaching and finding over the weekend.

            We are teaching a friend of the Stake President. His name is Brett and he is one of the nicest guys I have ever met! We helped him move a shed in the stake president’s back garden and got to talking. We invited him to take the missionary lessons and he said he would love to! We taught him on Sunday and he knows quite a bit about the church, and said he would be baptized if he feels the spirit. I'm well chuffed about him. He is a star.

            Also we had a lesson with a guy we met who used to live in the States. He has a friend who is a mission president in Uruguay. He just got back from there where he spent two weeks with him. He said he was very curious to learn more about our faith because he really felt good as he went to church meetings even though he does not speak Spanish. We are seeing him this week again.

            The flat here in Ashford is nice.  I agree with the way Elder Kopischke explained it – “it’s just enough” – just big enough to house both of us.  Especially the bathroom and shower – they are pretty tiny.

            The ward here is great. I am really happy to be working with them. They are very supportive and really help us to bring others unto Christ.

            We had a district meeting in Deal on Thursday. It was fun driving by Dover again and seeing the cliffs. They look very lovely around this time of year!

            I’m happy to help the other missionaries as well. We have 2 or 4 meetings this week with them and it will be fun to work with them and go on exchanges.

            I am happy to be serving here. I’ve got about 9 weeks left and I just want to love everybody into the Gospel. I am sure I will see plenty of miracles between now and June.

Love,

Elder Purdy

Looking Forward to Some New Adventures

Transfer Week … Back to the Garden of England

Well well, 

            President Jordan gave us a ring last night, and it seems I will be heading WAY down south to be a zone leader in Ashford in Kent – from one extreme in the mission to another, which will be interesting. My new companion is Elder Kopischke, from Germany! My third German companion. He is a great missionary and I am excited to work with him.

            I'm a bit gutted to leave Norwich. We have been doing great work up here and I have loved working with the missionaries and members up here. When I first got sent to Norwich all I could think about was how far away it is. But it has been amazing and I am so glad I could spend four transfers here. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to good people like the Baldock family, the Stanton family, the Bikliqi family, and the Simbi's.

            I'm looking forward to some new adventures though.  I am sure Ashford will be good, and quite probably my last area! I'm excited to go and find the people that are waiting to hear the message of the Restoration and God's plan of happiness for us.

Love,

Elder Purdy

Good Times in Gorleston (plus Colchester, Norwich, and London)

Hello Hello,

On an exchange with Elder Call in Gorleston

            Great week this week. The weather has been absolutely lovely. It was like 18 degrees Celsius yesterday! It was brilliant.

            Had zone meeting at the beginning of the week. It was very uplifting. Good things were said, the spirit was felt. I love serving with the missionaries in this zone. We have a good time. I had an exchange in Gorleston this week, which was fun. We went finding by the beach most of the day because the weather was very nice. It was nice seeing the sea again. We met some very nice people and even found a family that was interested in learning more. I always like going to the little coastal towns in this zone. There are some good people there.

            We got a new car this week as well. Had to drive down to Colchester in Essex and sleep there for a night on Thursday night, and Friday we went the rest of the way into London and got the car. We did planning – organizing some things for our zone as we were down there as well.

            We had a great lesson with the Simbi’s this week. They were having some questions about the Book of Mormon, and during the lesson we really felt like we should just read some of it with them. We read 3 Nephi 11 and it was so powerful. We asked them how they would feel to be there when Jesus Christ appeared. And as they answered there was such a good spirit there. Power of the Book of Mormon! They are getting baptized on the 29th of this month.

            We are doing great. England is beautiful and we are having a good time.

Pip pip cheerio,

Elder Purdy

Here are some pictures from Gorleston:

. . . and some other random pictures:

This probably wasn't supposed to be a photobomb, but ...

looks like a rough morning for Elder Vogel

Happy as a Clam

On an exchange with Elder Elliott
from Jen:  no info about this Elder -- I just read his nametag  :) 

Hello Hello,

            Time flew by this week. We had a couple of exchanges with the Norwich elders and the elders in Lowestoft. It’s always fun to go cruise around the beaches of Lowestoft and speak with people – especially when the sun is out. We had a nice lesson with a girl on the sea front about prayer and how God answers prayers. It was a nice setting for a lesson.

            Cool experience – we were talking with people in Norwich city centre. I always like going to city centre because it is filled with the most interesting people! Norwich has a reputation for that, -- it has quite the characters. I had really prayed that we would find success, and we had some cool experiences. A lady came out of a shop right in front of us and I casually said hello. She said hi in a rather glum tone and we asked her if we could help her at all. She has a lot going on in life and we had a great lesson with her. She feels the gospel can help her. And we spoke with a Portuguese family that wants to learn more about eternal families.

            We also went into London on Saturday. That's always a good time. We have to go again this week for some more meetings and what not. 

the beautiful Simbi family

            On Sunday the Simbis fed us some proper African food – something called fufu??? Anyways it is pretty much like mashed potatoes, but it’s not potatoes. It was fufu, and some vegetables and meat. They don’t use silverware so were just going at it with our hands. It was something else. Apparently we didn’t eat it right because they were all laughing at us. It was a good time.

            Spring is in the air in beautiful England. Flowers are budding and popping up, and everything is turning green. It is beautiful and I am happy as a clam.

Cheerio,

Elder Purdy

Returning June 4!

from Jen:  check out the e-mail we got today!

A Birthday and a Baptism

Hello Hello,

            We had a good week this week! Really mental in fact.

            The families we are teaching are doing well, never a dull moment I'll tell you what. We had a good lesson with the Simbis yesterday. We taught a lesson while we snacked on some sugar cane. Apparently that’s what they do in Africa! They are loving what we teach and we always feel the spirit with them. Lots of our lessons this week were really focused on reading the Book of Mormon. We read 3 Nephi 11 with Yohanna and he loved it. The spirit was powerful as we read it together, and he recognized it for sure. The Book of Mormon is so powerful. 

            Had a couple exchanges this week. I didn’t even see Elder Vogel for 2 days straight haha but we got lots of work done in our area and the other missionaries’ areas as well. Found a cool guy from Portugal that we are going to start teaching. He looks a bit like John Lennon which is cool.

Christian, Neil, Roy, Elder Vogel

            My birthday was pretty great. The weather was really great – sunny and warm. We played some football with our investigators. It was fun, lots of them came. And then we had a couple lessons. And the best part of all – Roy got baptized! Neil baptized him. It was great to see Roy get baptized by another recent convert. We sang "I am a Child of God" in Chinese at the baptism and the spirit was super strong. It was the best way to spend a birthday! 

            The weather is still great today! And I am looking forward to another great week in Norwich! Great things are happening!!

Love,

Elder Purdy

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 

The Church is True, The Book is Blue

Hello Hello!

            Well as I said last week, have a new companion from Germany, Elder Vogel. He is a great guy. We have had a good week.

            The downside to this week was I was rather ill until Sunday. I had lost my voice completely, so I was pretty ineffective as a missionary. We taught a couple from the Congo – Cadeau and Sifi. During the climax of my ailment I invited them to be baptized. My voice sounded terrible – a bit like a frog – and my voice cracked right in the middle of it. But they accepted! By small and simple things great things are brought to pass.

photo from deseretnews.com

            Going into London was a bit manic as well. There was a tube strike so all transportation was over ground. It took us so long to get to Euston Station, where we were picking Elder Vogel up. So to pass the time we were handing mormon.org cards out the window to people on the street or to people on bikes. It was really good, We even gave one to a red bus driver who we pulled up next to us haha. The goal next time is to give out a Book of Mormon.

            Recently I have been reading lots of the Book of Mormon in 3 Nephi when Jesus visits the Nephites. I have really enjoyed it. I came across a cool quote from Neal A Maxwell that I like about the book: 

“The Book of Mormon is like a vast mansion, with gardens, towers, courtyards, and wings. My tour of it has never been completed. Some rooms I have yet to enter, and there are more felicitous fireplaces waiting to warm me. Even the rooms I have glimpsed contain further furnishings and rich detail yet to be savored. There are panels inlaid with incredible insights, and design and décor dating from Eden. There are even sumptuous banquet tables painstakingly prepared by predecessors which await all of us. Yet we as church members sometimes behave like hurried tourists scarcely entering beyond the entry hall.”

            Very true, the Book of Mormon has helped me grow my belief in Jesus Christ so much, and I keep learning new things from it!

            The Simbis are doing well. They came to church. So did Cadeau and Sifi and their family. We had loads of people at church in fact, it was pretty incredible. It was definitely the most I have ever had at sacrament meeting. We took up a couple rows of the pews. 

            Other than that, the weather is rainy, but I am happy as a clam. I’m grateful to be in Merry ole England and spreading the good word!

            The church is true, the book is blue.

God Save the Queen!

Elder Purdy 

Flooding in the UK

This is from an e-mail from one of the members that Christian grew close to when he served in Kent:        "I just thought you may be interested to know that the U.K. hasn't had rain as bad as this since 1760. We've had constant rain since Dec 24th 2013 minus a few hours respite here and there. I've been keeping an eye on the weather in Norwich and it's not one of the hardest hit areas in England. The SW of England has taken the brunt of the rain, gales & flooding. We have another 3 storms waiting to hit England from tonight into next week but again it's the SW that will be the hardest hit.        So Christian is in England during an historic weather event...        Hope the weather is calmer in SLC and you and your family are happy & well."  from Jen: Here are some pictures I found on the internet that show the flooding in parts of the UK.  I also found a story about how Princes William and Harry were out helping crews sandbag in areas affected by the flooding. When reporters gathered around firing questions at them, one of the royals said something like, "Why don't you put down your cameras and come help instead of just standing there?" from a report in USA Today, February 2014:        "England, which has been lashed by wind and rain since December, had its wettest January since records began in 1766, and the rain has continued this month. Storms this week have brought wind gusts of more than 100 mph (160 kph).        Floods have drenched the southwestern coast of England, the low-lying Somerset Levels and the Thames Valley west of London, where hundreds of properties have been swamped after the river burst its banks.        Another bout of gale-force winds hit the country Friday, bringing large waves and up to 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) of rain.        As winds gusted at up to 80 mph (130 kph), landslips and fallen trees caused havoc on the rail network, and some arriving flights were diverted from London's Heathrow to other airports amid fierce bouts of wind.        Peter Willison of the Environment Agency said Friday's rainfall would send waters on the Thames and other rivers even higher, flooding hundreds more properties."