Well, I actually don't know what to write about this week! It was such a blur. We had the Motherwell Elders in Dumbarton for two days so we could go on exchanges. And that was really fun to have 4 missionaries in Dumbarton! Really good!

The weather here has started to pick up, and it has been sunny and warmish almost all week! Elder Sheppard and I also helped out cleaning the beach in Helensburgh this past Saturday, and that was really fun! We spent the first couple hours of the morning with pitchforks and bin bags and we just started shoveling seaweed! It was pretty good! There were lots of people there, and we got to talk to some of them. The weirdest thing was when the people were like, "Are you guys the ones that walk around and talk to people on the streets?" And we were like, "Yep!" and they would be like, "Oh! You guys are actually really nice!" haha! So at least people know that we aren't going to eat them now! haha!

But this week was good. Spent a lot of time finding and reaching out to people. So it was a good week for missionary efforts with people being out and about. But, honestly, I am struggling to remember anything from this week! It went so fast! I promise next week will be better! Apologies to anyone that was in dire need of an epic tale of action and adventure this week! 

Yesterday, there was a special broadcast to Northern Europe from Salt Lake City, and Elder Ballard was the main speaker. He said that in ancient days, the apostle Paul used epistles to help the saints in different areas stay strong and remain true to the gospel. Yesterday, he said he was going to give us an epistle, in talk form, or course. And it was really good.

He talked about ways that we are doing good, ways that we can improve, and things that we can do to make sure that we stay true. I really enjoyed his talk. One thing that I liked was that he talked about the Europe Area Plan. Which is to: 1. Bring a Friend 2. Become Spiritually and Temporally Self-Reliant 3. Find an Ancestor. And I love that plan, especially the “bring a friend” bit. We are commanded by the Savior to, "Go therefore and teach all nations. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." This can seem like a daunting challenge, but we can always start right where we are.

As we put forth our best efforts, and expend all our energies into fulfilling the commandments of the Savior, we have a promise that we will be blessed, and those that we bring will be blessed. What better motivation? The Lord of us all, the God of the Universe, promises to bless us when we share. I know that as we do this, rich blessings will be in store for us. And we will reap the rewards of our work. In the words of the Savior, "Go to, for lo, I am with you, always"

Love you all!

-Till the Work is Done

-Elder Mickelsen

How do you like my new glasses?