January 11, 2016

Hello again everybody!  This past week has absolutely flown by!  I really feel like I just wrote the weekly update yesterday!  I cannot believe how fast things are going!  I actually just received word that it is January now.  I just sat there and thought, "Dang." But time really does fly!  Well, I know you are all probably just itching to hear about this week, (okay, maybe just Mom) but here we go…

MONDAY- was a good Pday.  I took Elder Tolk and taught him how to play snooker.  He picked it up quick and we had a good match, but I came out on top!  Woo!  And then we walked around town just looking at different shops and things that I had never really been before.  It's amazing how much stuff I didn't notice.  Being here for almost 6 months, I thought I had a knowledge of what Lisburn has, but I guess not!  Anyway, it was a fun day.  We ended the night with some pizza.  But it is not anything like the regular good ole American pizza.  O, the day when I eat regular pizza again! Anyway, that was Monday.

TUESDAY- Elder Tolk and I did some finding in the morning and then I went on exchange with Elder Plewe.  Then we did some GQing and chapping all day, so there isn't much to report.  We did find one potential, though, so hopefully we will be hearing from him soon.

WEDNESDAY- Elder Plewe and I were together all day since Portadown was busy teaching, so we got an extended exchange.  It was pretty good.  We did some more finding, and a crazy ton of walking!  We talked to as many people as we could.  People are starting to open their hearts again.  People will briefly stop, if but a moment, and listen to something we have to say to see if it interests them.  I believe this area is going to see a major welcoming of the gospel in the near future.  We exchanged back around 2100 and then we headed to bed.

THURSDAY- We had Weekly Planning, which was pretty good.  I don't really like it because we are sitting down for so long, but I do enjoy setting up an outline for how we want our week to go.  It makes things flow just that much smoother, but after Weekly Planning, we had some lunch and then we went and GQed the nature footpath for a while.  After no success there, we decided to head back into the center of town to talk to all the people there.  On the way, we chapped a neighborhood, and we found a potential named, 'G'.  We set up a return appointment for the next day and then we headed to town.  Nothing much happened there, and then we headed home for dinner and bed time.

FRIDAY- Nothing really happened on Friday finding-wise, but we did teach 'G' and 'N'.  'G's lesson was good.  It turns out she has 2 friends that are living with her, so we were able to  teach all three of them!  They all went to the Belfast Bible College, and are pretty well versed, but they don't use it against us.  They are really good to teach.  They all committed to read the Book of Mormon as well.  It was a pretty good lesson to teach.  We have a return appointment for Wednesday and we have to bring 2 more Books of Mormon because we didn't now we would have three investigators!  Then we went and taught 'N' the Plan of Salvation with emphasis on Temples and things and then we headed for bed.

SATURDAY- was good.  We taught 'T' in the morning, and that was a good lesson.  We showed him the talk, "Faith is not by chance, but by choice", from this past conference.  He liked it.  I think we are getting through to him.  After that, we just went finding for the rest of the day.  So nothing much else to report.

SUNDAY- We had church today.  It was a pretty good service.  We had a lot of good speakers, although, I can't really remember what they spoke about!  We also had a good time talking with the members afterwards.  Then we went finding for the rest of the day and talked to so many people that I lost count.  Then it got really bitter cold, and we went inside for dinner.  All in all, a good Sunday.

Well, that was my week!  Hopefully, all y'alls are having good weeks as well!  Time flies when you're having fun!  Talk to you all soon!

Alma 5:13

A mighty change was wrought in their hearts!  Can ye feel so now?

-Elder Mickelsen

January 4th, 2016 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Hello All! This week has been pretty crazy!  Some totally unexpected things went down!  But it's all good. The week was pretty much almost the same thing every day, so here we go!

MONDAY- was only email day because we were going to have a little bit of Thursday night off, as well as all of Friday.  So we only got to email for one hour.  Then we went shopping, and then decided to go chapping for a good part of the day while we waited to teach 'N'. Her lesson was good, but her friend was listening intently so we are hoping to start teaching her soon.  Afterwards, we went home and had dinner.  Exciting, I know!

TUESDAY- We had District Meeting.  It was good.  We then had a District lunch at Subway and then retired to our respective areas.  It was a pretty good start to  our day.  After, we did some chapping and GQing and then we had one of our lessons fall through.  So we did, wait for it, MORE CHAPPING AND GQING!!! WOOHOO!!!!  It was good, though.  I have come to enjoy it.  It is pretty fun.

WEDNESDAY- was very…dynamic.  We went and did a giant GQ loop on a footpath around Lisburn but there was an enormous rain storm the night before and it had caused some debris to fall to the ground.  We were making our way around fallen trees, an overflowing river and even a mudslide.  It was quite the experience.  Then there was a crazy ice storm that really hurt, like really! Pain. Cold. Icy pain!  But we headed back to the flat and dried off, had lunch then it was all good!  We went out and did some more GQing, and low and behold, the flipping sun came out!  We were dumbfounded.  Then we went over to the Harkness' house to have dinner and to teach a lesson.  It was a good time.  Soon after arriving back at the flat, we received a call from the AP's and found out that a missionary in Limerick Zone (down south) went home and they had done some crazy e-moving to fix it, so Elder Allred was bring transferred to Bangor to be the new District Leader and Elder Toll, who is in my group, came down to Lisburn to be my companion. We are on Special Assignment, which means that none of us is Senior or Junior companion so it's pretty great.  We get along fantastic.  I was sad to see Elder Allred go, but my current companion is still awesome!

DJ-ing the New Year's Eve Party 2016
They both look a little sad from the sudden transfer earlier that day.  They both loved their companions and the people they were teaching.  But, they are happy to be able to work together!

THURSDAY- Elder Allred left and Elder Tolk arrived.  We had weekly planning, GQed for a bit, and then had to go in because of New Year's Eve.  So, we went to the Church and helped set up for their party an also played with some DJ equipment, which was pretty fun.  Then we went home and headed to bed.

Niamh took these pics of Cody.  He wasn't smiling in the first one because he was sad from Elder Allred being transferred so she told him to pose and smile for the second photo.  Haha!

FRIDAY- was New Year's Day and nothing much really happened.  Elder Tolk slept a lot and I got a chance to read a ton of Jesus the Christ.  IT is a really good book if any one is looking for a good read.  We also went to Five Guys, which is brand new in Belfast, and it was a good taste of home.

SATURDAY- We went bak to work.  We started by teaching 'T' in the morning and then having Subway for lunch.  We love Subway.  Then we basically GQed all day and did some chapping, and we found out that we have quite a good rhythm of teaching and talking to people.  We get along pretty good.  So there's nothing much left to report from Saturday.

SUNDAY- was good.  We had church, which is always a good time.  Even though I fell asleep for about 10 minutes in Elder's Quorum, Don't tell anyone.  But church was just the right boost we needed to push through for the week and get back into the grind.  Afterwards, we did some tracting and GQing and we had a try-by.  She answered the door but said she wasn't interested anymore.  It wasn't exactly the best thing to happen, but oh well.  It wasn't her time, I guess.  Then we just did a giant GQ loop home and had dinner.  

Well, that was this past week!  Sorry if it wasn't that gripping to read.  It was a good week, though.  Anyway, here is my ponderizing for the week.  

D&C 100:5-6

Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men;

For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment what ye shall say.


Til the work is done!

-Elder Mickelsen

December 28, 2015

Hello All!! This weekly update won't be too long again since we only have about an hour to email and I'm flying through it! Here we go!

MONDAY -  We had a half P-Day since it is Christmas this week and we have a few more days off, so we just emailed.  Then we shopped and did some regular proselyting!  It seems to me, that the closer we get to Christmas, the more hardened people got.  Ireland is a place where the topic of religion is a wee bit…volatile.  So it gets hard sometimes, but we push through and make the best of it!

TUESDAY - We did a really giant GQ loop in the morning to make sure we shared as much Christmas spirit with people as we could and then in the evening, we taught a referral from one of the counselors in the mission presidency! And he was our joint teach! Lemme tell you, teaching with a member of the mission presidency is really good!  I highly recommend it! She committed to be baptized in the first weeks of February!

WEDNESDAY - We did another giant GQ loop and it was really fun.  Rejection is part of life and we just blow it off.  Sometimes if the person is particularly rude, we will say something along the lines of, "Your opinion does not change the fact that there is a God, and that he has restored His Church back to the Earth."  Thankfully, we don't have to say that hardly at all, but there was a time or two when we did.

THURSDAY (Christmas Eve) - We had weekly planning and then we went and did one final Christmas finding session.  Still, no one was very interested.  For the evening, we went to the Johnson's and had some take out.  Then we watched Big Hero 6, which is a fantastic movie, by the way.  Then we traveled home and hit the hay.

FRIDAY - Christmas!!! It was great!  Elder Allred and myself both opened our presents and then we proceeded to make a giant American breakfast as per the tradition of our forefathers.  

We made eggs and bacon, as well as hash browns and tiny little roasties.  We also made a big ol' stack of waffles with a waffle maker that we found underneath our sink!  It was such a delicious breakfast!  After that, we went out and delivered cookies to the single elderly sisters in our ward and shared a wee Christmas message with them.  It was very good.  After that, we went over to the Whithorns for a Christmas dinner and it was huge!  I didn't even come close to finishing!  And then we traveled to the Reid's, where they gave us free reign over their TV.  So we watched Dragon Ball Z with Nathan.  It was awesome!  Then we headed to the Johnson's again and Skyped our families.  That was really cool!  It has really been a long time since I had seen them! It was good to talk and to chat with them.  After our Skype call, the Johnsons let us play their Wii, since their kids were busy with a new PS4, so we played Super Smash Brothers for a bit.  It was awesome!  

SATURDAY - We had another day off! Boxing day is cool!  First off, we went to town and I picked up a new suit, then we went to the Parker's and watched the Man U Game.  It was pretty fun.  Then we played FIFA and got absolutely destroyed!  It was almost an embarrassment.  But it was fun. Then we went back over to the Reid's and watched the LEGO movie and Hercules and had some Chinese food.  It was pretty good day!

SUNDAY - Was back to work!  We went to church and then GQ'ed for a while.  We found a potential! She is an older lady named 'S'.  So we are excited to see if our teaching come through or not.  It should be good!  

Well, that is it for the week!  Hope you all have a fantastic week!  Talk to you soon!

Ponderize D&C 20:16 (Get it? 2016! Haha!  It's a good one!)

16 For the Lord God has spoken it; and we, the elders of the church, have heard and bear witness to the words of the glorious Majesty on high, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

-Elder Mickelsen

December 21, 2015

My Christmas Onesie PJ's

Hey Everybody! How are things going? Good to hear! (Just imagine me pausing to listen like Dora does!)  But things have been awesome here!!  I am going to give a short weekly update since we only have 1 hour to email today and I'll be Skyping on Friday!  Woohoo!! You know what that means??? It's Christmas!  I have been  out for a while now!  At the end of this transfer is my 6 month mark! WOW! That was fast! Anyway, here we go…

MONDAY - is the same as always.  We emailed, shopped and played snooker.  To which Elder Allred and myself are still tied.  The battle will continue after the New Year! But we also did a bit of finding to build our teaching pool!  No luck, but mean people are awesome! We just laugh at it now.  We love opposition! Just like in video games, it means we are going the right way!

TUESDAY - We just had a whole day of finding!  Woohoo!! Also, this week was pretty warm…lots of sunshine!  It should be close to 18 celsius on Christmas.  We have a jet stream from the Caribbean coming in! Woohoo!!

WEDNESDAY - You guessed it! Finding!  It was starting to get exhausting, but we powered through! We found 'N' exactly like this.  We have faith!  And FAITH IS POWER! (That's my motto!)

THURSDAY - Weekly Planning!  And we ate 6 tubes of sour cream and onion Pringles…which was a bad choice!  But is was awesome nonetheless.  Weekly planning can be a drag sometimes, but it is necessary!  The Lord can't guide your footsteps unless you are willing to move your feet!

FRIDAY - We had our Ward Christmas Party.  It was fun.  They did a little Nativity and it was a good one.  Roberts 1st has still got 'em though! They also had a ton of food!! Chicken curry is fantastic!  Put it over some rice and it's enough to make a grown man weak at the knees! It's awesome!!

SATURDAY - We taught 'T' and then we taught 'N' a recent convert lesson.  Her friend from England was there so we kind of taught her as well.  Her friend was interesting… but it was an okay lesson.  After 'N', we went finding! Woo!

SUNDAY - was the Christmas service in Church.  It was really good.  They read scriptures and sang all the songs.  It made me excited to be here for Christmas!  What better way to show my appreciation for the birth of the Saviour than to serve here!  Sunday was also spent finding!  We just love love love it!

Anyway, this week has been fantastic.  I encourage all of you to remember Christ this Christmas.  And always be grateful for all you receive! 

Moroni 10:33 is my ponderizing for the week! We can become holy without spot through Christ!

Merry Christmas Everybody! And a Happy New Year! And to my family, SEE YOU ON FRIDAY!

Til the work is done!

-Elder Mickelsen

Monday December 14, 2015

Niamh's (Neve) baptism
December 12, 2015

Hello Again! This week has been jam packed and flew by quicker than I can possibly try to comprehend!  We had so much going on!  From teaching and finding, to playing a Farkle Tournament and getting our moves call! It has been a wonderful and miraculous week!

MONDAY- was P-Day, as we all are aware. (I'm pretty sure I say that every week, so I'm gonna roll with it) And it was a very good day.  We did our usual email and snooker, in which Elder Allred and myself tied.  So it's a tie breaker this week!  But we did our usual P-Day things and then headed over to the church to have 'N' try on a jumpsuit so we could take it to a member and have it washed for her baptism.  After that, we took her over to the Jackson's house to teach her another lesson.  We taught her on Enduring to the End and making sure her conversion was permanent.  And lemme tell you, 'N' has a very, very, very strong conversion.  It was truly a fantastic day.

TUESDAY- We went finding! Woohoo!  We haven't had a day to find in a very long time and it was pretty awesome to go out and knock on doors and talk to people in the rain!  We also read the Book of Mormon with Sister Walsh, and that is always a fun time.  We listen to her stories and talk to her for about 30 minutes and then we read a good chapter out of the good ole blue book, and leave her with a prayer.  They have been some good lessons.  

After Sister Walsh, we headed to the church to give 'N' a mock interview right before her real interview.  She aced our interview, and then after her real interview, Elder White (Our new district leader) told us that she was the most prepared person he had ever interviewed for baptism and that she was super solid.  That made Elder Allred and myself very happy!  It was awesome! We also had a District sleepover at our flat because we were taking the train to Dublin early the next morning.  We have been to Dublin twice this transfer, and it is really a great time!  After having a gospel discussion, we headed to bed for our early start the next morning.

WEDNESDAY- All Ireland Conference! They are so much fun!  We all get to meet together and see our friends and also hear from some pretty good speakers.  This time we heard from Elder Patrick Kearon of the Seventy, and he is also the Europe Area President.  It was awesome!  He had such good things to share with us and made us all super pumped to be missionaries! I have heard a good deal from Elder Kearon this past transfer, and I can testify that he is called of God!  After the conference, we made it back home and headed to bed.  Traveling like that really takes it out of you!

THURSDAY- We had our weekly planning and we also taught 'N' her LAST LESSON!!!! We weren't totally sure what to go over, but we covered what she can expect as a new member in the church and how she can best serve in the Ward.  It was a pretty good lesson.  We also had a dinner appointment that day with Daniel Hamilton, and it was a good dinner.  They had a chicken and leek bake that was more like soup, but it was delicious.  We also had coordination.  But Thursday was a great and marvelous day and a day well spent.

FRIDAY- was Awesome!! We got up and got to wear normal street clothes because we were going to the church to clean the font for our baptism!  Woot woot!  And after we had done so, we helped the Bishop clean up the kitchen since it was just barely renovated.  So that was pretty fun.  We also had a big old slot of time to go finding and we spent it GQ-ing in the park.  It was good!  We didn't get many people interested, but it doesn't really deter us.  We know we have the truth and nobody will stop it from coming forward.  After our big day of finding, we headed home around 8pm for dinner.  It was a spectacular day.

Happy Baptism Day!!

SATURDAY- is what you all have been waiting for!!! 'N's baptism!! It was fantastic!  But first we went up to 'T's house and taught him the Tree of Life.  We have these Book of Mormon animated stories and we showed him the tree.  It was a great lesson.  He is starting to come around and our work is beginning to pay off.  After that, we had lunch and then we headed to the church to get things set up.  We cleaned the chapel, set up chairs, turned the heating on, and of course, filled the font.  It was an amazing experience to finally see that font fill with water!  Then we finally had the baptism!  It was a fantastic service.  We had two speakers, Elder Allred and Nathan Reid.  Then we had the baptism, performed by Elder Allred.  During the time they were changing, we had a short testimony meeting and quite a few people bore their testimonies.  When 'N' finally did come back in, one of the members of the Bishopric asked her to bear her testimony and she got up and the first thing she said was, "This church is true.  I knew it from the moment I met the missionaries."  It was so powerful!  The best part though, was that she didn't now that you had to close in the name of Jesus Christ, and so she just finished talking and then she hit the podium and walked off.  We were stoked.  It was so awesome!!!  After the baptism, we cleaned up and headed home.

Elder Allred baptized Niamh on Saturday
Elder Mickelsen confirmed on Sunday

SUNDAY- was also a pretty good day.  We went to church and I had the opportunity to confirm 'N'.  It was a very spiritual experience.  I was excited and she was, too!  As I told her to receive the Holy Ghost, I felt it come to her and she knew she had it.  It was super awesome!  We also got a referral to teach one of our mission president's counselor's cousins!  They came to our Ward and said that they wanted and needed us to baptize them.  So we are committed to baptize more people now!  

And the moment we've all been waiting for… Elder Allred and myself are staying one more transfer in Lisburn!  Christmas in Lisburn is gonna be awesome!

Anyway, I hope all of you are having a fantastic time no matter where you are.  At this time of year, the most important thing we can do is think of the Savior and the great gift he was to not only us, but to mankind.  I encourage all of you to watch the Church's new Christmas initiative video on LDS.org and take Elder Ballard's Christmas invitation to bing a friend.  Tis the season!  Till the work is done!

Enos 1:7-8

And I said: Lord, how is it done?

And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen.  And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, they faith hath made thee whole!

-Elder Mickelsen

December 7, 2015

Hello All! This week has been fantastic! We have seen miracles in our area! The work is picking up pace! And Elder Allred and myself are so excited to be a part of it! Also, yesterday, I hit 4 months! 20 more to go! I have blinked and my mission has disappeared! I was still sitting there thinking, it's only August, and then I checked the calendar and saw that it was December 6th! I was blown away!
Anyway, here we go!

MONDAY-was Pday as we are all aware, I hope.  We spent the day doing our usual Pday things: We had a heated bet 2 out of 3 snooker match and then we had some lunch! It was awesome! I lost, then I won, and then Elder Allred made a run for it and won.  So I am gonna win this week!  Woohoo! After that, we had a lesson with the most golden investigator on the face of the planet! 'N'! She is so ready! Elder Allred and myself are experiencing things that only States missionaries have experienced! (No offense to yous in the States).  We have actually run out of things to teach her!  She accepts everything and she has a powerful testimony!  It is so great!  We actually taught her a deeper version of the Gospel of Jesus Christ today, but she already knew most of it! It is so awesome to see someone so prepared!  After that, we were going to have a lesson with Sister Walsh but couldn't find a male to go with us so we had to reschedule, buy hey! It all works out!

TUESDAY-we had District Meeting, which is always a blast.  We had it in the Lisburn building as opposed to our usual Belfast building, and it was pretty great.  I had to give instruction yet again, and it went well.  We always have great discussions.  It's awesome!  After District meeting, the whole district came back to our flat and we made a giant Mexican dinner!  It was amazing!  We had chicken burritos and nachos.  Boy oh boy has it been a while since I had eaten like that.  It was so delicious.  I miss Taco Bell :(  But I will be back soon enough at this rate!

After lunch, we taught 'N' again.  It was so good.  We taught her on the Grace of Jesus Christ and showed her the talk, "His Grace is Sufficient," by Brad Wilcox.  I encourage all of you to give that one a read!  It is a good talk!  Then we just GQ-ed and tracked for the rest of the evening.  We have much higher spirits right after a lesson and we love to share the gospel with everyone!  Rejection is very common here, and we run into more Born Again Christians than I would care to talk about, but nevertheless, we strive to carry this message to all the world.  People will reject us, but only because we have the truth!

WEDNESDAY-HUMP DAY! Not really, missionary hump day is really on Thursday since that is the middle of the week.  With only 1 day off a week, it gets pretty awesome! Anyway, we chapped and talked to people on the streets all day on Wednesday whilst we waited to teach 'N' in the Johnson's home to finish off our evening.  It was a pretty great day!  It was really sunny and warm as well.  The grass is green and it was 62 degrees outside, (15 celsius) but it was beautiful.  We taught 'N' the Ten Commandments and she loved it!  She is sooooo golden!

THURSDAY-MISSIONARY HUMP DAY! Woo!  We had weekly planning and we planned for a BAPTISM!!!! WOOO!!!! Weekly planning is legit. But anyway, after planning, we taught 'N' and recapped the Word of Wisdom and Tithing and also told her to keep going strong.  Afterwards, we talked to people for a while and then went over to Alice's house to have dinner with her and her parents.  It was a pretty good dinner!  We had mince pie and gravy, as well as pavlova for dessert!  Yum!!

FRIDAY-was fun.  We made some Rice Krispies for the Bishop and his family since we forgot them the last time we made them, (oops) and that went awesome.  The Rice Krispies are so good!  We also set 'N' up on family history and we taught her a little bit about it at the Edward's home.  She loved family history and is excited to keep going with it.  It is so awesome! I feel like I say 'awesome' almost every other word!! It's awesome! Woo!  Then after family history, we dropped off Bishop's treats and then went to teach Sister Walsh to finish off the night.  It was a great day!

SATURDAY- we had a full day of teaching!  We started off by teaching 'N', (big surprise), and then we taught 'A'.  She is progressing well! She has committed to baptism on the 30th of December! So we are going to have 2 baptisms this month!  It's incredible!  After that, we went and grabbed some lunch and then we had to catch a train to Belfast so we could take 'N' to a baptism that was happening in Rosetta.  She loved it!  It put her at ease about the last thing she really didn't know for sure.  She was really nervous about what baptism would be like, so that helped immensely!  Then we headed home.

SUNDAY-was great!  We had church, and then we did some GQ-ing in the park whilst we awaited a lesson we were having with 'N' at the Jacksons.  The lesson went fantastic.  We went over the Articles of Faith and she said they were awesome! Then we had dinner with the Jacksons and it was superb.  This area is so good! It is so incredible here!  I love it!  Miracles are here and they are here because the true work of God is here!

Well everybody, that has been my week! It has been incredible!  But to close me off, here is my ponderizing scripture:

Alma 26:5-8

5 Behold the field was ripe, and blessed are ye for ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted.

6 Yea, they shall not be heated down by the storm at the last day, yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds, but when the storm cometh, they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them.

7 But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the Harvest, and they are his; and he will raise them up at the last day.

8 Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever!

-Elder Mickelsen

November 29, 2015

I'm just going to start off this update with the statement that this week was AWESOME! We have seen miracles and more and more progression with our work here.  Hard work really does pay off! It is so incredible!

MONDAY was P-Day! No surprise there, but, we did teach 'N'! We have been teaching her every day and she loves it.  Today she was taught the Word of Wisdom and she committed to live it right on the spot.  It was awesome.  She is progressing so well!  We are still debating on whether or not to move her date up, but both Elder Allred and I want to make sure she is 110% ready to be baptized.  We are still in shock.  People this prepared don't happen.  So we need to verify that we aren't really dreaming.  Indeed in the vernacular of today's youth, "It was awesome!"  But later that day we went over and read 3 Nephi 11 to Sister Walsh.  She really enjoyed it.  The part we focus on in when the Savior invited all the Nephites, one by one, to come and feel the prints in His hands and feet and to thrust their hands into his side.  The same thing happens today.  He does not invite only one or a few to partake of his goodness and to find out that He lives, but He invites us all, one by one, to come and feel of His goodness and love and mercy.  And that is a wonderful, wonderful thing!  

We then headed home and hit the hay.

 At the Johnsons after their son's mission farewell.  He's serving in the London England Mission

 Hard at work studying!

Elder Allred taking a little cat nap after all the chapping!

TUESDAY-was pretty great.  We had District Meeting, which is always good.  This was the first District Meeting we had this transfer.  Elder White is our new district leader and he had some great ways of teaching.  The meeting was truly Spirit led, and it enlightened us all! We learned so much and answered questions.  District Meetings are always great.  Then afterward, we went to Subway, as per tradition, and got some lunch.  Elder Allred and Elder White traveled to Portadown, and Elder Plewe and I were left to convert Lisburn.  It was a day filled with finding and chapping, and not many people were too chuffed to see us, but we smile and say our bit and them invite them to action.  We got one potential as well!  She is a Polish lady named 'M'.  She was really nice, but also busy and we only had a few seconds to get her information.  But we will be trying by her soon!  We then went chapping and GQ-ing for the remainder of the day.  Fruitless, but fun.

WEDNESDAY- was pretty great.  Really the only thing I want to focus on is the fact that we taught 'N' again, and this time it was the Law of Chastity and the Law of Tithing and the Law of the Fast. And she accepted all 3! It was incredible! All three without question or complaint!  She said that God wanted her to do it, so she would.  After Elder Allred and myself had closed our jaws, we went out chapping on a spiritual high! And let me tell you, it was awesome!  But, people don't really wanna talk when it's dark outside, even if it is only 5 o'clock.  But oh well.  The work will go on!

 THANKSGIVING 2015 at the JOHNSONS

THURSDAY- We all know about Thursday or should I say, Turkey Day!!  It was pretty great.  'N' has finished all her lessons, so we decided to watch Prophet of the Restoration with more detail and doctrine. And that was a spiritual home run.  If any of you have not seen the Prophet of the Restoration, I would encourage you to go watch it.  It is so good!  The lessons was so spiritual and 'N' loved it!  After the lesson, we headed up to the Johnsons to have ourselves a Thanksgiving dinner!  It was pretty fantastic!  The turkey was good, and they also made cornbread and stuffing and potatoes (which I didn't partake of) and all other kinds of food.  It was awesome!  I was happy to have Thanksgiving, but unfortunately, it is not a holiday here, so we don't get it off.  We still had to go finding for 2 more hours after dinner.  That was awesome on full stomachs! Yee haw!!

FRIDAY- was a straight up full day of finding.  Really nothing to report.  Just talked to a ton of people and carried the work forward.

SATURDAY- was pretty good.  We had coordination, and then we had our usual meeting with 'T'.  We showed him the "Bearing our Burdens with Hope" Mormon Message.  It was really good.  Then after 'T', we went home for lunch and planned our next move.  We decided to go finding until we were to meet Sister Kirkpatrick at the Galley for dinner!  OOOOOOHHHHHH THE GALLEY!!!! It's pretty great!  She also took us out to an ice cream parlor for dessert.  WOOHOO!!!  

After that, we headed across town to go visit a part member family and we got there right when they were setting up their Christmas tree so it was pretty fun to see that.  We left the 3 Nephi 11 message with them and made our way back home.

Chatting with the Youth in the Lisburn Ward

SUNDAY- was great! We had 'N' and her friend 'S' at church and we taught them the detailed Plan of Salvation lesson afterward.  It was a dang good lesson.  Then we headed over to the Jacksons for lunch and they had roast beef and yorkshire pudding with sweet potatoes that were fantastic!!  So awesome!!  The Jacksons are the best!  

Then we traveled down to another less active's home in a freezing rain storm and he wasn't home so that was awful.  Then we went home, I put on my onesie and went to bed!

My Ponderizing Scripture:

Jacob 4:11

Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him through the Atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son, and ye may obtain a resurrection, according to the power of the resurrection which is in Christ, and be presented as the first fruits of Christ unto God, having faith and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth himself in the flesh.

Talk to you all soon!

-Elder Mickelsen