June 13, 2016

Hello everyone! Again! This past week has been pretty awesome! We have had lots of things happen! Unfortunately, I didn't have a planner this week because we are waiting on a supply order, so this update is all from memory! Wish me luck! 

MONDAY - Monday was P-day! It was pretty intense! We did our normal emailing thing, but we also received a referral from a member who was at the church when we arrived. She was cleaning the windows when this random polish lady came in and said she loved everything about the church. The member tried to find a Book of Mormon in Polish since the lady did not speak hardly any English, but to no avail. She gave the lady her number, and then we rolled up right after she left. So the member told us the story. She only got her name and the street she lives on. But no phone number, or house number. So we will have to do some hunting. Later in the week we would end up getting lost trying to find this lady. And we are still at this present moment trying to find the house. So that is going well. Then we went and taught Owen, the recent convert who just moved in. We rode all the way out to his house from Ballymoney, which is about 2 miles. But the sun was blaring and the humidity was real. I thought I was going to die during the last hill. But then we arrive and had some ice cream, so it was all good. After Owen, we rode out to family home evening, and that was really fun! We actually won the quiz this time! They split the missionaries up since we were sitting on opposite sides of the room, but I was on the winning team! Woo! But that was Monday.

TUESDAY - Tuesday we had District Meeting. It was pretty great. One of the most solid DM's I have ever had. We went over our goals for this coming transfer, and Elder Richards and I gave an instruction on the ward missionary process and about the many miracles we are seeing from implementing it in our area. After DM, we headed back to Coleraine, stopping for a Boojum's of course, and then picked up the work right where we left off in our area. EXCEPT FOR THE GIANT FLIPPING THUNDERSTORM THAT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE AND DRENCHED US FROM HEAD TO TOE IN ABOUT .00000002 SECONDS. It was pretty awesome! I missed thunderstorms so much!!! It was amazing!!! We also had a Branch Council meeting that went okay. Elder Richards and I were able to introduce the Ward Mission Process more fully, and get everybody backing it! It was really awesome!!! 

WEDNESDAY - Wednesday we taught Isobel. That was pretty good. We taught her more about the Book of Mormon and the necessity for a restoration of the Gospel. After Isobel, we taught James. James is so solid. He will have a baptismal date this week! We know it! He had to attend his church this week, so we had to move his date from the 18th, but James will get baptised! He loved the gospel of Jesus Christ lesson, and he is almost done with Mosiah in the Book of Mormon! It is amazing!!! That was Wednesday.

THURDSAY- We had weekly planning, and then we taught Paul. Paul is doing okay. He will progress eventually, but we are not sure if it is his time for missionaries. Afterwards, we taught Book of Mormon class. That was pretty solid. That is really all I remember from Thursday.

FRIDAY- Friday was pretty cool. We did finding, and then the Newtonabbey Elders came up for an exchange. I was with Elder Benton. It was a great exchange. We taught Trevor, and also did some finding. We also went to a gourmet burger place and it was dang good. Elder Furko and Elder Richards were so jealous! But it was an awesome day!

SATURDAY - Saturday we were still on echange, and Elder Benton and I basically went finding all day. We found a few potentials, and then we sent the Elders back to Newtonabbey. It was a pretty great day. Then Elder Richards and I did some more finding.

SUNDAY - Sunday we went to church and we met Sharon! Sharon was street contacted in Belfast by some missionaries, and told them that she lives in Coleraine. SO they gave her our church address and she came to church. It was awesome! She felt the spirit and said that she really loved the service. She was even teary eyed a few times, so that was great! We gave her a BoM, and then we got her information, and we should be able to start meeting with her more this week! Woo! The rest of church went well. Elder Richards and I taught the Elders Quorum lesson. And it was pretty good. We had a good discussion, and there was lots of particiaption. It was pretty great. After church, we went finding, and then we got caught in this huge giant rainstorm that drenched us. Again. SO that was pretty fun. After finishing off the night, we headed home.

Well, that was our week! It was really amazing! We have seen so many blessings and miracles as we have made real effort to cleanse the inner vessel of this branch, of this area, and of ourselves. We are at last ready for the Lord to pour out His infinite blessings in the area! And we know He will only do so, and continue to do so, if we keep working our hardest and doing all that we can. Don't forget 2 Nephi 25! For it is by Grace that we are saved, after ALL that we can do. We are saved by the grace of Jesus Christ after we make out best efforts! And after all, the grace of God continues to save us, during all that we can do as well. Love you all!

--

Till the Work is Done

-Elder Mickelsen

June 6, 2016

                                         

This past week has been full of awesomeness! Not to mention, the weather here is fantastic!!! We are hitting almost 30 degrees every day! So, in the mid 70s all week! But SUPER humid!! But it is flipin sweet!!! We have had the chance to do so much this past week! And the Lord is showering his blessings down upon us! Truly it is a case of asking in faith and having a knowledge that you will receive! This week I am going to try something a little bit different and just go over some highlights of the week! Any empty spaces in the schedule are just filled with GQ-ing, so I am getting tired of writing that all the time! So here we go!!!

MONDAY - Monday was just email day since it was moves week this week! So we emailed and then we went up to Portrush to do some GQ-ing! It was so beautiful! So amazing! You would not think that you were in Ireland if you were at Portrush when we were! It was so amazing! We talked to a lot of really nice people, and handed out some cards and things, but we didn't get any return appointments. So we just headed back and then we headed to family home evening! It was a blast! This week, we actually won the quiz! It is usually men vs. women, and the women always win, but we won this week! Woo!!! We also shared a spiritual thought about how we can become true disciples of Christ. We used the example of Alma the Younger and Captain Moroni. How they were both amazing men of God, and how the very powers of hell shake before them! It was a really good lesson!

TUESDAY - Tuesday we had our P-Day. Since Elder Richards and I are staying. We went up to the Mountsandel Fort. Which is very misleading. It is not a fort at all. It is in fact a giant hill, with a hole in the top. Like a grassy volcano. It was really beautiful up there, but I was expecting a real fort. 'Twas awesome nonetheless. Then we just chilled the rest of the day outside! Gotta make the most of this weather! And then we went and visited Tommy, who is doing well. He is pretty cheeky, but he is a great guy.

WEDNESDAY - We were finding a good chunk of the day, but we did have a dinner appointment at Sister Dunn's house again. That was super good. She is a dang good chef. She makes the best food.  After that, we went over to Isobel's house and met with her parents and her. It was a pretty good meeting. Isobel has a nice family. Wold told them how our sole purpose is to bring people closer to Christ. Whether that be to the point of baptism now, or later. We shared our testimonies on how we love seeing people grow closer to the Master. It was such a great meeting! Testimonies on both sides were shared, and the Spirit was present during such.

THURSDAY - Thursday we were in Belfast on an exchange with the AP's. It was awesome!! The weather was spectacular! I was with Elder Penman. Our exchange was awesome!!! We taught a recent convert and that lesson was good. But the best was finding. We talked to some super great people, and we were able to set up some good appointments for the Belfast Elders. After the exchange, we went and taught James at Boojum's. (Which was a win win experience) then we headed back to our area and had Book of Mormon class. Which went pretty well.

FRIDAY - We had Weekly Planning and then we went to go visit Trevor. Trevor was super good! He was stoked to come out to church with us and told us he was excited to start listening to the Book of Mormon. It was a good meeting! After that we went and tried by John and Paul. But they werent in.

SATURDAY- Saturday we helped a member do some sheep herding! It was awesome! We helped them gather them all up and then treat them with some medicine and things like that, so it was pretty great! The member's farm is in one of the 9 glens of Antrim, and it was really beautiful! Like,  really beautiful! I will attach a picture! I was able to understand more fully why the Savior refers to us as 'sheep' in the New Testament. We are so much like them in a spiritual sense! After that, we went and taught Isobel, and that was a good lesson! We answered some more of her questions and helped her see how she can keep progressing! She is excited to come to church with us soon! So that was awesome! Then we went and taught James the Plan of Salvation at the church! It was a really good lesson! He couldn't get over how there was no Hell in the plan! He kept saying, "This is too merciful. There HAS to be a hell!" But we assured him that there was no hell in the sense that he was thinking. In the sense of fire and chains and whips and lava and stuff. We taught that hell is a state of mind. So that was a dang good lesson! 

SUNDAY - We had church. Which was awesome! Super spiritual! It was great! So many testimonies were shared. It was probably one of the most spiritual testimony meetings that I have been in on my mission! It was super solid! The rest of the day went pretty good as well. President Culbertson gave us a referral to go try by a less active family. When we go to the door, she answered and we told her who we were and she said that she was actually going to call us soon because her son just turned 8 and she wants him to learn and be baptised! It was such a miracle! 

Well, that was our week! It was amazing! We are seeing the fulfillment of the Lord's promise that if we ask in faith, and do our part, He will answer our prayers, and we will accomplish great things.

--

Till the Work is Done

- Elder Mickelsen

May 30, 2016

Hello once again everybody! Things have been absolutely peachy up here in sunny little Coleraine this past week! We have seen miracles and have truly witnessed the hand of God in our work here.  This is truly a time of hastening! Let's get to it!

MONDAY- was pretty awesome! We did our emailing and our shopping, and we also went up to the Giant's Causeway, which was stinkin' legit!! It was really beautiful! We did an audio tour up there, and it was so worth it! There was a ton of cool stuff to see, and it was a beautiful bus ride up there, as well.  After the Giant's Causeway, we headed to FHE, which was awesome.  Elder Richards and I wrestled beforehand, so my shirt was green, but it is okay! It was about time to retire that shirt anyway. And then for FHE, we almost won the quiz, and we had some really good food! Afterwards, we headed home and hit the hay.

TUESDAY- we were in Belfast for District Meeting, which was pretty great.  Elder Richards and Elder Allred wrestled for the big room to see who would have their meeting in there and Elder Richards won, so we got the big room! After DM, we went to...you guessed it...Boojums.  And then we headed home.  Once we arrived back in Coleraine, we went to go visit President Culbertson and talk to him about a few things and then we had to take some dished back to a member.  So once we did that, President Culbertson called us agin and asked if we wanted to go to dinner with him. So we were like, "Heck ya!" and so we went and got some Chinese and then we went to the Branch Presidency Meeting to give a missionary report and receive further instruction.  We did ride the back of President Culbertson's van, so that was nice and dark; it felt like we were getting kidnapped, haha. It was awesome! Then after the meeting, we did some try-by's and then we called it a day.

WEDNESDAY- We started off by going to Portrush and doing some try-by's.  Then we went over to a guy named 'R's house.  That was intense.  He seemed like he wanted to learn, but at the end of the meeting, he said he only requested that we come over to see if he could "de-convert" us. So that was a bummer.  But we had a good talk.  We confounded him on a lot of points.  I did make an unintentional mom joke, and it was pretty funny, but the appointment was a little crazy.  After that, we had some Subway, then we went out finding some more until we had an appointment with 'N'.  We got there and his wife let us and our joint teacher in, but 'N' never showed up.  So we waited for 20 minutes and then we left. So that was a bummer.  His wife had said that he was coming right back, and she couldn't find him when he didn't come back. So we were a bit worried. But we found out later that he made it home alright, so that was all good.  After that, we met with a treasurer from a Presbyterian church who is a really solid guy.  He took us out for hot chocolate and we had a really nice meeting.  We talked a lot about the church and stuff, so that was awesome. He said maybe he will come to church sometime, so that's a start.

THURSDAY-we had weekly planning and then we had some lunch.  Then we went GQing and did a few try-by's.  Then we had a service project and a lesson with 'J.D.' That was really good.  We helped him clean out his junk closet, so that was awesome.  Then after that, we taught Book of Mormon class on Jacob 5, so that was a bit like herding cats, but it was awesome nonetheless.  Really good and spiritual.  After that, we headed home and called it a day.

FRIDAY- Main highlights of Friday is that we taught a guy named Trevor Duff who is a recent convert who lives in Portrush, and that was pretty awesome! He gave us a few packs of Jammie Dodgers, which are flippin' legit! They are shortbread cookies with jam in the middle and it is awesome! After that, we taught 'I' and we are still working on the whole, "getting an answer" thing.  She is progressing well, she is just looking for that definite answer.  So we are now working on that. 

SATURDAY- we had a flat check which we passed! So that was baller, and then we taught a guy named 'J'. I met him up in Belfast while on exchange and he is willing to meet up with us, so that is awesome! It was a really good lesson.  He agreed to be baptized on the 18th of June if he comes to the knowledge that this church is true.  So that is awesome! Then we sent out church texts and ate some pizza and called it a night.

SUNDAY- we went to church, and we taught the 5th Sunday joint Priesthood/Relief Society lesson.  It went really well.  We focused a lot on member missionary work and we had quite a few people come up to us after and offer their help and assistance to us! It was really great! After church, we went home for some lunch, and then we got invited up to the Kilgore's house for dinner.  It was a dang nice dinner! So good! Elder Richards and I will be staying together in Coleraine for the next 5 weeks! This is gonna be great!

Well, that was this week! It was pretty awesome! The work is moving forwards here in Coleraine! No man with his hand to the plow looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God!

-Till the Work is Done

-Elder Mickelsen

May 23, 2016

Well everybody, this week has been pretty awesome! We were all over the place! And I set my new mission record for lessons taught in a week! We also found a few new investigators this week, and we got to see a very special guest live in person at Stake Conference! So I will just get right to the good stuff!

MONDAY- was Pday. We didn't really do much besides email, shop, clean and walk around Coleraine, seeing the sights.  We also had Family Home Evening.  It was pretty good, lots of food and good times.  The weather was also pretty nice on Monday. So that was a plus.

TUESDAY- We headed up to Belfast for District Meeting bright and early, and District Meeting was pretty good.  We had the Zone Leaders in our meeting and it was pretty great.  Afterwards, we all went to Boojums and then we were on exchange with the Zone Leaders.  I was with Elder McCappin. It was a blast.  We taught a few lessons and we spent a lot of time talking to people in front of the University.  I was also able to find someone that lived in Coleraine that is really super solid that we will begin teaching soon! It was a really solid day. And it ended with Domino's! It was really great.  We had a ton of fun!

WEDNESDAY- We headed back to Coleraine with the Newtonabbey Elders to go on exchanges.  I was with Elder Furko. He is from Hungary.  We had some good time teaching a few lessons and getting some solid potentials.  It was really a great time! The people are starting to soften their hearts, and we are starting to see the Lord's blessings be poured out in the city of Coleraine! Elder Richards and Elder Rich also taught a new investigator and got her set up with a baptismal date for the 11th of June, so it was a super solid day!

THURSDAY-We had our Weekly Planning and then we headed to Ballymoney to visit a guy named 'O'.  'O' just showed up at church last week.  Turns out, he was staying in Columbia for a while, and he was actually baptized there (shout out to Elder Braiden!) and now he is back in Ireland to look for a new job. So we have been meeting with him and teaching him about the Priesthood! He is really solid.  After that, we headed back to Coleraine, and then we taught 'J'. He is doing pretty good.  We have a service project lined up with him this coming week, that is pretty awesome. He is doing really well, though.  Super solid! After 'J', we headed to the church and we had our Book of Mormon class. We covered Jacob 4, and that is a really good chapter on the power of faith.  With faith, we can do anything! Absolutely anything.  Faith is a force to be reckoned with.  Afterwards, we went to our Branch Mission Leader's house for coordination, but he wasn't in, so we headed home and had some dinner.

FRIDAY-Was pretty great.  We first started off by burning the Book of Mormon on a CD for a recent convert who lives in Portrush.  After that, we had a lesson with 'I'.  It was a good lesson.  She just had some questions about the church and things like that.  She was the one who actually called us an asked to meet up, so it was kind of last minute, but it was good nonetheless.  After 'I', we had some lunch, and then we went over to 'N's house.  He is doing well.  During the course of our lesson with 'N', our investigator with a date dropped us, so that was kind of a bummer, but it was all good. We have another lesson set up for Saturday with a really solid guy.

SATURDAY- was solid.  We taught 'M'. He told us that he likes our church because we line up with a lot of the teachings that Jesus taught, and we have a lot of his same standards.  He told us he wanted to read the Book of Mormon, so we left him a copy on our way and we set up a return appointment for next Saturday.  He is so solid! It was awesome! After 'M', we traveled to Portrush and we taught 'T' and gave him his Book of Mormon on CD.  It was a bit of an awkward lesson, but he is really quiet, so we had to make it work.  After 'T', we headed home, and then had dinner to finish off the night.

SUNDAY-was awesome! We walked to the church bright and early to catch a bus to Belfast for a special Stake Conference. President Uchtdorf came to Belfast! I sat and heard President Uchtdorf talk! It was so amazing! And we also had 'I' there as well! It is great! She enjoyed it! And I got so much out of it! It was really awesome to see him! And although I didn't get to meet him personally, being in the room and feeling of the Spirit he has is incredible! It was such a good conference! Then on the way back, our bus broke down and we had to ride this rickety ghetto bus back to Coleraine, so that was an adventure as well! Sunday was great! 

We also had a tiny thunderstorm! And I missed the only bolt of lightning! Dang!! We called everyone on our phone and set up a ton of appointments for this coming week! It was awesome!

Well everybody, that was this week.  It was great! So spiritual and so awesome! And we taught 13 lessons this week! New record! It was so good! The Lord blesses the diligent!

Love you all!

Till the Work is Done

-Elder Mickelsen

May 16, 2016

Well, this week was pretty dang awesome! Highlights of the week: I went to Dublin on Tuesday, an Investigator has a baptismal date, we found a few more people to teach, and I got one heck of a sunburn!
Here it goes…

MONDAY- we did the usual P-day things, and then after that, we just enjoyed the outdoors in the town centre.  After that, we headed down to Newtonabbey to stay the night there so we could make it down to Dublin easier the next morning.  But Monday was great! A partly cloudy day, but still nice.

TUESDAY-started early.  We had originally planned to get up at 6:00 so we could leave at 7:00 and arrive in Dublin by 9:30, like usual.  But, at 5:30 in the morning, we received a call from the Zone Leaders saying that we had to be in Dublin by 8:00am, which meant we had to be ready to leave in 30 minutes!  So, all 4 of us got ready as fast as we could and peeled out to head to Dublin.  It was really nuts!

Once we arrived in Dublin, the Conference was great.  We talked a lot about using the scriptures to teach with more power and spirit.  It was really an enlightening one.  We were shown what scriptures could apply to which situations, and also which ones are good to teach some of the most basic principles, in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  The conference was also good because I got to see a lot of my past companions! (Since most of them are still in Ireland). So that was great! After the conference, we headed back to Belfast, and picked up some ice cream, and then we stayed again in Newtonabbey since we had a meeting to go to on the next morning.

WEDNESDAY- We woke up and went to our meeting, and then we headed home.  Total these past three days, we did over 10 hours of travel.  It was exhausting! But pretty awesome! And the weather was absolutely amazing starting with Wednesday.  Once we arrived home, we grabbed our list and went out to try and locate some people.  We weren't able to find anyone on Wednesday, but we did have some good conversations with people, and then we retired to bed.

THURSDAY-We started off by going and doing some finding around the church, and after trying by a potential investigator, we had a lesson with 'I'.  It was really good.  We really focused on the scriptures and helping her find an answer to her prayers.  We ended up committing her to baptism on the 28th of May! We gave her the date so that she could show her willingness to follow God's plan of us, so we are hoping and praying that she finds an answer! 

After the lesson with 'I', we headed over to 'J.D's house and had a wee chat with him.  He is doing good and seems to be getting better since we have been teaching him more often.  So that is really good.  After 'J.D', we headed to the church and taught our Book of Mormon class.  It went pretty well.  We focused on Jacob 3.  We were going to do Jacob 4 as well but we ran out of time.  It was a good class nonetheless.  Then we headed back for dinner and off to bed.

FRIDAY- We did weekly planning and then we went out and had some tryby's.  They worked out okay.  We weren't able to find anybody but we did talk to some good people.  But Friday was pretty slow.

SATURDAY- we went down to town center and we GQed for 4 hours.  We found a really solid guy named 'M' who has heard of Mormons, but he has a lot of questions and he is super solid.  He is looking for a belief, and he is really interested.  It was awesome.  I also bought some American cookies from a guy at the farmer's market in town.  It was great.  Then we went over to President Culbertson's shop to see if there was anything he wanted us to do.  After that, we went over to the church to teach 'I'.  We had a Plan of Salvation scripture chase, and it went really well.  Only thing is, the weather was dang nice and I decided to sit directly in the sun for two hours.  That was a colossal mistake.  I got roasted! It has been a while since my skin has seen the sun, and it had a panic attack.  I was pretty red hot for the rest of the day.  

After 'I', we went and GQed a bit more and then we went over to 'P.C.'s house.  He really opened up this time and told us how he is feeling so we are really making progress there.  It was actually a pretty good lesson.  After that, we headed home and to bed.

SUNDAY- We had church, which was really good.  We had a lot of visitors from Utah again! They were on holiday or something, but they were really nice.  The sacrament meeting was great, and the rest of the classes went pretty good, as well.  I really enjoy Sunday School.  After church, we headed home from lunch and then we headed out again to go see Norman.  He is doing good.  He had a little bit of a spill on his bike and fractured his arm, but other than that, he is great.

After Norman, we had a try by and there was girl living in the house that we were trying by.  She said she wants to come closer to Christ, and she would love to have us over.  So we are going to be teaching her on Wednesday night.  It is exciting.  After that, we went chapping for a little while more and then headed home for the evening.

Well, that is about it. This week was pretty great! We are starting to see the Lord pour out great blessings in Coleraine! It is just a matter of being ready to receive them! It has been an amazing week!

Till the work is done

-Elder Mickelsen

May 9, 2016

This week has been nuts! Hard to believe it ended in Mother's Day and a Skype call home! It was really awesome! This email might be a bit shorter due to that, but the week was still good!

MONDAY- we did the P-day things.  Then we had Family Home Evening and 'I' came! So that was awesome! Then after FHE, we returned back to our quarters for the evening.

TUESDAY- We left to Belfast, (which is a 2 hour trip) to make it to District Meeting.  It was a really good meeting.  Our District is small, only 4 Elders usually.  Technically there are 3 teams but one team is the Zone Leaders so they are hardly ever there.  So just the 4 of us Elders have a gospel conversation and it is great!  After District Meeting, we went to Boojums.  That is the new tradition.  It is so good! Then we headed home and did some finding to finish off the day.

WEDNESDAY- We did some finding all day and then we went to go see a less active named 'P'.  He is a good guy and he really liked the lesson.  So that was Wednesday, nothing much else to report.

THURSDAY- We had a weekly planning and then we went and hunted down some addresses in our area book.  We have a huge list of names, addresses and numbers that we carry around.  We call it our 'Spiritual Hit List'. So we did some of that for the rest of the day and then we went and taught 'J'.  He is doing good.  We shared a wee spiritual thought and then we just talk with him to take his mind off things. 

Afterwards, we went and taught Book of Mormon class and we started off with the Book of Jacob.  It was pretty good.  I really enjoy Book of Mormon class.

FRIDAY- We did some tryby's and then we went over and taught 'N'.  He is doing great, as well.  When we went over, he was just outside enjoying the sunshine in his backyard.  It has been really nice here lately! In fact, today it is supposed to get up to 70! Woo!! And no rain!! Anyway, after 'N', we went to a fundraiser that 'I' was doing for her church and they were playing hymns and stuff in a band and then they had some bagpipe playing.  It was pretty legit!

SATURDAY- We tried a new tactic.  Elder Richards went soapboxing while I was GQing around him.  It was pretty good.  It was kinda rainy so people were in a hurry, but it was a fun morning nonetheless.  After soapboxing, we taught 'I' about the basic foundations of the church and she said we answered some of her questions, so we are making progress there.  Then we did some tryby's and then we went down to Belfast to spend the night so we could be on time to Stake Conference on Sunday morning.

SUNDAY- was awesome! I got to see a lot of the members from Lisburn as well as be spiritually uplifted by the speakers and the messages.  It was a really good meeting.  We have some really good leaders up here in the Belfast Stake! After church, we caught a train home and then we went over to President Culbertson's house to Skype home for Mother's Day!! And I enjoyed that very much! It was really awesome! 

Well, that is all for this week! The Lord will bless the diligent and faithful! We must be patient in our trials because God is making us into who we need to become! 

Love you all!

Till the Work is Done

-Elder Mickelsen

May 2, 2016

Hello Everybody! This past week has been amazing! We have seen lots of things happen and we have also made some good progress in the area.  Whitewashing can be a pain, but it is a ton of fun!

MONDAY- was P-day, obviously.  And it was pretty fun.  We spent the day emailing and shopping and looking around at some of the shops in Portrush.  Portrush is awesome.  Then we ran into our golfer friends that evening and said hi.  Then we did some GQing around the town center.  It was pretty cool.  And really, really, really windy!! After that, we caught a bus and made our merry way home for the night.

TUESDAY- We had our District Meeting and it was pretty good.  We had Elder Allred and Elder Carroll there since the rest of their District was in Dublin.  It ended up being a really good meeting.  We focused a lot on making sure we do the best that we can, and really exemplify the behaviors and actions that will clearly identify us as servants of the Lord.  After District Meeting,  we had lunch at Boojums  Mmmmm…Boojums. So good, so good, SO GOOD!! Burritos are the bomb!  I think we have inadvertently started a new tradition for post District Meeting lunch.

After that, we went home and then we fixed or bikes up a bit, but they still aren't road worthy.  Besides, we can talk to more people on the street without them anyway!  Then we went over to the Douglas' home and gave them some cookies and gave Sister Douglas a blessing.  Truly a spiritual experience.  Next we headed over to the church to meet with the Branch President to get our bearings in the area and get a game plan.  So that was good.  Then we headed home.

WEDNESDAY- We went to Ballymoney in the morning to try by some less active members.  It went well.  We knocked on the first door we had been sent to and we didn't know what was gonna be on the other side of the door since there was a sticker on the door that said, "Blood Covenant!" So while we were freaking out about what was going to happen to us, this guy opened the door and turns out he recognized us and set up a return appointment! Woo!! Then we went and got some lunch, and taught 'I'.  She is pretty great.  She is really progressing well.  She is learning all the things she can and she asks a lot of good questions.  Right now we are just working on helping her take that leap of faith to make the commitment to be baptized.  But all things are progressing well. 

We then went to talk to a guy named 'N'.  He is a less active and we had a good lesson with him.  We have seen some great success come from inviting people to come and see President Uchtdorf on the 22nd of this month.  So we have had a big push for that. We shared a scripture with him and then we signed his Book of Mormon that every missionary who meets him signs.  So that was awesome.  After that, we got some dinner and then retired for the evening.

THURSDAY- was pretty great.  We had weekly planning, which was awesome, and then we went GQing for a bit and then we went and talked to 'I' again.  She had some questions about the Spirit World and we helped answer those for her.  She said it made a lot of sense, so that was a bonus!  Then we went over to a less active's house.  His name is 'T' and he is pretty cheeky but I think he has potential to come back and make progress.  He is really nice, though.  The lesson went well.  

On our way home, we received a text from a recent convert asking where we were and we said in town center and asked why.  She told us that they were waiting at Book of Mormon class for us, which was a half hour walk away! So we quickly turned and ran for a while to the church to teach the class.  In other words, I exceeded my running quota for my life on Thursday!! But Book of Mormon class went well.  We are now moving into the Book of Jacob so we are making some good progress!! After class, we headed home and then the Newtonabbey Elders came over for exchanges.

FRIDAY- was awesome! I went on exchanges with Elder Rich.  And he has a car, so we spent the whole day with the area book and a GPS going ham on the area.  We looked up so many people.  It was great!  We were able to find a new investigator out of it and gave him a Book of Mormon.  It was awesome! We shared with him how it can change his life and he was excited to take and read it.  He is a bit mad, but he is cool! We actually spent most of our day in Portrush and Portstewart, and we finished off the day with burritos and ice cream.

We then had a less active lesson with a guy named, 'P'.  He is a nice guy.  We shared with him our favorite scriptures and prayed with him.  We also invited him out to come see President Uchtdorf, as well.  So that was pretty good.  Then, we returned home and found an Orange Order Parade going on so we went to the flat.  Then we burned a tie for Elder Furko's 6 month mark.  We burned it with a deodorant flamethrower so that was awesome and then we headed to bed.

SATURDAY- was pretty good.  We went finding in the morning and then we had a meeting with a Church of Christ minister and President Culbertson.  It was a good meeting.  We talked about God and other things that we believe similarly on.  So it was a good time.  Then we went over to a dinner appointment.  And we had soup and then stew and then a rice pudding eating competition.  It was a good Dinner Appointment! SO. MUCH. FOOD! SO FULL!! It was awesome! It was a truly majestic way to kick off a fast! Haha!

SUNDAY- was great! It was fast and testimony meeting.  There were some good testimonies shared.  I realized that there really are amazing members of the church here.  We have seen our attendance slowly increase over the past two weeks and it is truly a great blessing! 

Then Elder Richards and I taught Elder's Quorum, so that was pretty fun. It actually turned out to be a pretty great lesson.  After that, we mingled with the members for a bit and the we headed home.  Elder Richards did his District Leader additional study and then we went to church with 'I'.  It was a pretty good service.  There are lot of good people here in Coleraine.  So many good people! After that, we headed home for dinner and then we went to bed.

Well everyone, that was this week.  It was pretty amazing! We were able to see the sunshine and then some rain, and then some snow and then back to sunshine, then back to rain.  So it was awesome! Gotta love it! 

On a more spiritual note, I echo the words of President Monson from this past General Conference on choices.  We are not like Alice from Alice in Wonderland.  We know where we want to go.  We know how we must get there and now is the time to take the right path.  Choose the right when a choice is placed before you, Let God and Heaven be your goal.

Till the Work is Done

-Elder Mickelsen