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
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
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
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
Monday, April 25, 2016
April 25, 2016
Hello again everybody! This past week has been pretty awesome! Things are really good here in Coleraine! I love it so much! This week was filled with twists and turns and every things was pretty legit! And it culminated in meeting some guys from Utah and finding out we have a very special guest coming to meet us in Belfast! So here we go…
MONDAY- Well, we had a service project first thing in the morning. We helped a sister in the Ward weed her garden and also build a taller garden box for her so it is easier to reach. It was really fun, actually. The weather was semi decent and the sun even came out for a moment. It was incredible! Then we went over to the library and sent out a quick email, then we had to go meet the maintenance guy at our flat to fix our shower, but he didn't show up. So, that was awesome! And then we weren't to the church to email since the Library had since closed. So after emailing at the church, we headed to Tesco to do our weekly shopping trip. Then we headed home for the day. It was really a great day.
TUESDAY- Was pretty great. We got up early and headed into Belfast for District Meeting. Our district is pretty small since we have the ZL's in our District and they are always gone working somewhere in the mission. So it's usually just the 4 of us, but, it is some good fun! We had District Meeting and then we picked up some bikes from Newtonabbey Elders. So we had to take our bikes on the train. That was a pretty fun experience. People look at you pretty funny and it is awesome! Then we got some lunch at home and went to teach our investigator named 'I'. She is pretty cool. She is 17 and has been meeting the missionaries for almost a year. She wants to know 100% before she makes any decision on what she should do about baptism. She did invite us to come with her to her church on Sunday night, so we said we would if she would come to ours on Sunday morning. So we made a deal. Then after that, Elder Richards and I did some finding.
WEDNESDAY-was fun. We did some finding in the morning before lunch, and then we were going to an area to go finding whilst we awaited our dinner appointment. Then we went over to Colin's house and he took us over to Sister Dunn's house to have dinner. She made us an awesome dinner. It was chicken and roasts and sausages and broccoli and carrots and the to top it all off, she made a fresh fruit sponge cake! It was so good! After dinner, we shared a wee spiritual thought and then we went over to 'J.D's house. He has PTSD and he just needs people to talk to sometimes. So he said we had picked a good night to come over and chat, since it was a hard day for him. Then after the appointment, we GQ-ed home and headed to bed.
THURSDAY- We went finding in Coleraine for the first part of the morning, and then we had a lunch appointment with a Brother Kilgore and Brother Mckenna. It was a pretty good lunch. We went to this cafe that made waffle sandwiches. It was sweet! Then we talked a little bit about missionary work in Coleraine, and what we can do to help it move forward faster than ever. So it was lunch hour well spent. Afterwards, we spent a good chunk of time finding in the town center and then we went and had our Book of Mormon class. It was pretty good. We actually had a good turn out and there were some good things talked about. We focused on 2 Nephi 30 & 31. Those are some really great chapters! I would definitely recommend reading them once more. After the Book of Mormon class, we headed home and had some dinner and then headed to bed.
FRIDAY- was pretty great. We started off by doing our weekly planning and then we went over to town to teach 'I' again. It was a really good lesson. We really focused on having faith to move forward. It was great. A lot of experiences and testimonies were shared. After 'I', we caught a bus to Portstewart for a dinner with a guy named 'N'. He has been meeting missionaries for a while and he takes us out sometimes. We had a pretty good dinner with him, though. Afterwards, we missed our bus back to Coleraine by 1 minute, so we had to walk all the way back. It was 5 miles back! So we started the long trek back. And Elder Richards got chased by some cows, and then he insulted a crippled sheep and then we got rescued by the Young Men's president! It was so awesome! We finally got home about 10, and we were exhausted! But it was definitely one heck of a day!
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| These LDS guys from Utah saw us on the street, picked us up in their tour bus and took us to lunch at the Golf Course |
SATURDAY- We woke up and decided we wanted to go to Portrush. Just on a whim, we went and got a ticket and made our way up there. In the process of going to a try by in Portrush, we got passed by a bus and someone knocked on the window and waved at us. So we were like, "Sweet!" Then the bus stopped 50 feet in front of us at a hotel and the first guy gets off and says, "Hello Elders!" Now, when someone in this country greets you like that, it means one of two things: Either they are a member, or they are a born again. Then the next guy gets off the bus and says, "I'm looking for the true church of God." So we were definitely thinking these were just some cheeky born agains.
Then they all got off the bus and said they were all from Utah, Idaho, Colorado, California and Wyoming. And one of them was the BYU football coach and he knows Elder Richards' brother, who plays for BYU. Small world! Well, we find out that in the group there are some former Bishops, and Stake Presidents as well as a former Mission President! It was awesome! They then took us out to lunch at the Portstewart Country Club. That was pretty great! The course had some dang good food, as well as some really good views. Portstewart is right up there on the list of courses that are really super posh. After they took us out to lunch, they said they would be coming to church the next day and we would see them again.
SUNDAY- was really good. We had our Branch Conference so the Stake Presidency was there and they taught all the lessons, as well as our American Golfer friends came to church! So it was a really great meeting. I enjoyed it a lot. After church, Elder Richards had some District Leader study, and then we headed out to GQ for a bit. After that, we went to church with 'I'. It was a pretty good service. The pastor had actually met missionaries before and they had helped him with a lot of stuff and they had come by for chats a few times. The pastor really liked us. He is a really good man! He even has a set of Conference CD's that he found at a charity shop that he really enjoys listening to. So that was a plus! We gave him our number so that if he ever needed anything, we could help him out.
Well, that was my week! It was pretty awesome! I don't really know how else to describe it! It was also really spiritual as well. An things really culminated with Branch Conference and the Stake President speaking. Things were just really good. Well, everybody, talk to you soon!
Till the Work is Done
-Elder Mickelsen
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
April 18, 2016
   |
| Here we are in Coleraine!
Hello again but this time from Coleraine in the Beautiful Belfast Zone! I am so happy to be back in the Belfast Zone! I enjoy my time here so much! Belfast makes me so happy! Anyway, this week was super crazy so I will just get right down to it…
MONDAY- was PACK DAY since we move on Tuesdays now. We emailed and then I spent the evening just packing up. I hadn't quite settled down in Bray yet, so I wasn't too rooted. My stuff was still relatively packed, haha! We were told that we would need to catch the 5:40am train to get to Dublin so I could be on the 7:00am bus to Belfast. That will be great! Then, we hit the hay.
TUESDAY- MOVES DAY! We got up at 4:00am something and got ready then I made some final preparations and away we went to Dublin. Lemme tell you, the train ride to Dublin at 5:30 in the morning is super dead. Nothing is really on the train and Dublin is still asleep. We arrived at the train station and all of the missionaries that were moving got on the bus and away we went! I arrived in Belfast at about 9:30ish and then we just waited for other missionaries to arrive and did some finding in the meantime. Oh how I missed finding in Belfast! It is so much fun! We also went shopping with the Zone Leaders and picked up the new missionaries and their trainers who just arrived from Edinburgh. Then we finished the day with some more finding and some Boojums, an eating establishment, which is awesome! We then spent the night at the Zone Leaders flat.
WEDNESDAY- We dropped my new companion, Elder Richards, off at the airport to go to Edinburgh since he has to attend the New Leadership Training meeting with the Mission President. Elder Richards is the new District Leader here in Coleraine. Afterwards, I spent the day finding with the Zone Leaders and helping them teach a few lessons. We had Boojums again today, as well. Boojums is dang good, people! I highly recommend it. We also ate dinner with some relatives of Elder McCappin, our Zone Leader, and they took us to this BBQ place that was fantastic. I had an incredible chicken sandwich that was to die for. I also indulged in a brownie sundae that was called "The Chocolate Skyscraper". It was class. Then that night, we picked up Elder Richards from the airport after his meeting in Edinburgh. We then went to spend the night in the Newtonabbey Elder's flat since they were going to drive us to Coleraine in the morning.
THURSDAY-We woke up, had our studies and then we went to the Antrim flat to pick up Elder Richards' luggage. We then headed to our new home in Coleraine, which is about 2 hours north of Belfast. It is a beautiful drive. We arrived in Coleraine at about 2:00pm. We unpacked and went grocery shopping. Then we did a bit of finding to finish off the day. After we arrived home, we sat down and chilled by the river, which is in our back yard. Yep, our flat is right on the river, like, it doesn't get much closer than where we are. It is great! It was a beautiful day!
FRIDAY-We did our weekly planning and spent a good chunk of time looking through the area book. We are basically whitewashing Coleraine, which means we are two new missionaries in the area and starting over from where the last set of missionaries left off, and it is so awesome. We were able to get a few appointments set up as well as finding a few potentials.
SATURDAY- We went chapping and just offered service to people. It was a really grand time. We got our names out there and really tried to introduce ourselves to as many people as we can. I am having so much fun here!!
SUNDAY-We had church but we were late since our shower is a little nuts and you can turn it on with every light switch in the flat. It is pretty funny. Here's the catch: The shower only stays on for about .00000000001 seconds and then it turns off again. So, we were in the bathroom trying to figure it out for three hours! We then realized that we were gonna be a few minutes late to church and we just decided to bag the shower. The landlord is definitely getting a call on Monday, though.
We finally made it to church and had a great Sacrament meeting, but we spent the entire hour of Sunday School talking to a less active lady who only believes in Joseph and Emma Smith. She even prays to them! She repeated the same 4 things to us over and over and then she left. It was a good welcome to Coleraine! Haha!
Priesthood was good. We talked about building the Kingdom of God from the teachings of President Howard W. Hunter. After church, we did some finding, had lunch, continued finding and then we ate dinner.
Well, that was this week all summed up! The Lord has great blessings in store for all of us! All we have to do is ASK, SEEK and KNOCK!
Love you all!!
Till the Work is Done
-Elder Mickelen
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Monday, April 11, 2016
April 11, 2016
Hello everybody! This week went by quick! And it was quite the wek as well! And it culminated in a moves call. So, I'll just give you the run down!
TUESDAY- Well, on Tuesday, we had our District Meeting which was pretty good! We had lots of treats and stuff since one of the sisters in our district is dying! (going home) and it was a pretty great meeting. We talked all about how we can be better and how we need to get to know people as friends as we teach them. After that, we traveled back to Bray and we taught 'P.F.' He is doing good. He really enjoys the Living Scriptures cartoons and he learns a lot from them. He also just loves cartoons. Then after that, we went to the church to set up our progress record, and then we had our branch council meeting. It was a pretty good meeting. We were able to talk about a lot of things that we can do to help this area and the branch.
WEDNESDAY- We went finding all day. I don't really have much to report. Wednesday just kind of ended up being empty, but it was fun to go out and go finding.
THURSDAY- We had our weekly planning! And then we had a lesson with 'A'. He is pretty cool. He is interested in Family History so we told him a bit about that. And then afterwards, we went finding until our English class. We had a few people show up, so that was fun. We helped them become more fluent in their English, so we just sit and talk with them. It was pretty great. After that, we went home and went to bed.
FRIDAY- ended up a lot like Wednesday. We went finding all day. We also stopped by a referral to deliver a Book of Mormon, but she wasn't in, so we left her a note saying to call us and then we did some more finding. Pretty good day.
SATURDAY- We went finding in the morning and then had some lunch. Then we went finding some more. Then Elder Giles had to go and get his GARDA card, so we went and did that and then we set up the church for Sunday and then we headed home. We ordered some pizza, as per tradition on moves call eve, and then we headed to bed.
SUNDAY- Church was good. We had fast and testimony meeting. The rest of church went pretty well. We had our missionary correlation meeting right after church, so that was really good. Then right after church, we went to McDonald's to teach 'A'. Don't worry, we didn't buy anything. But it was a good lesson. We told him a little more about family history. Then we went with Corneliu to Monkstown where we tried a lady named Sister Carter. She said she was busy at the moment and we couldn't come in. So, instead, we went over to visit another sister in the branch named Jean Cowap. She was really nice. It was a really good meeting. After that, we headed over to the Bunda's house to teach Mathoni and have some dinner. It was a pretty good night. And we also got moves call right after church! It was the earliest moved call i have every experienced! And I am moving out of Bray. I am headed up to the Belfast Zone! I will be moving to Coleraine, which is on the North coast of Ireland. I am really excited! Bray has been fun but I am excited for this new step!
Well, that was my week. Sorry it wasn't too interesting. But is was really quick for me. Anyway, hope you all are doing well!
Till the Work is Done
-Elder Mickelsen
TUESDAY- Well, on Tuesday, we had our District Meeting which was pretty good! We had lots of treats and stuff since one of the sisters in our district is dying! (going home) and it was a pretty great meeting. We talked all about how we can be better and how we need to get to know people as friends as we teach them. After that, we traveled back to Bray and we taught 'P.F.' He is doing good. He really enjoys the Living Scriptures cartoons and he learns a lot from them. He also just loves cartoons. Then after that, we went to the church to set up our progress record, and then we had our branch council meeting. It was a pretty good meeting. We were able to talk about a lot of things that we can do to help this area and the branch.
WEDNESDAY- We went finding all day. I don't really have much to report. Wednesday just kind of ended up being empty, but it was fun to go out and go finding.
THURSDAY- We had our weekly planning! And then we had a lesson with 'A'. He is pretty cool. He is interested in Family History so we told him a bit about that. And then afterwards, we went finding until our English class. We had a few people show up, so that was fun. We helped them become more fluent in their English, so we just sit and talk with them. It was pretty great. After that, we went home and went to bed.
FRIDAY- ended up a lot like Wednesday. We went finding all day. We also stopped by a referral to deliver a Book of Mormon, but she wasn't in, so we left her a note saying to call us and then we did some more finding. Pretty good day.
SATURDAY- We went finding in the morning and then had some lunch. Then we went finding some more. Then Elder Giles had to go and get his GARDA card, so we went and did that and then we set up the church for Sunday and then we headed home. We ordered some pizza, as per tradition on moves call eve, and then we headed to bed.
SUNDAY- Church was good. We had fast and testimony meeting. The rest of church went pretty well. We had our missionary correlation meeting right after church, so that was really good. Then right after church, we went to McDonald's to teach 'A'. Don't worry, we didn't buy anything. But it was a good lesson. We told him a little more about family history. Then we went with Corneliu to Monkstown where we tried a lady named Sister Carter. She said she was busy at the moment and we couldn't come in. So, instead, we went over to visit another sister in the branch named Jean Cowap. She was really nice. It was a really good meeting. After that, we headed over to the Bunda's house to teach Mathoni and have some dinner. It was a pretty good night. And we also got moves call right after church! It was the earliest moved call i have every experienced! And I am moving out of Bray. I am headed up to the Belfast Zone! I will be moving to Coleraine, which is on the North coast of Ireland. I am really excited! Bray has been fun but I am excited for this new step!
Well, that was my week. Sorry it wasn't too interesting. But is was really quick for me. Anyway, hope you all are doing well!
Till the Work is Done
-Elder Mickelsen
March 4, 2016
Hello Everybody! This past week has been great and definitely a highlight of the week was seeing General Conference!! It was a very good one indeed!! Well, this week's update is going to short (sorry, mom!) This week was a bit slow, otherwise, but things are starting to pick back up again.
I am just going to start with Tuesday now, since all of my Monday summaries are just, "Today was Pday" So, here is Tuesday.
TUESDAY- We had a Blitz in Bray. Our District Leader, Elder Taylor and Elder Perkes came down to help us find some more people to teach in Bray. I was with Elder Perkes all day and it was really fun! We ended up finding 9 people in total that day, and we ended the night with some burgers at Eddie Rockets. It was good! Elder Perkes and I even taught 2 lessons: one to a visiting Spanish girl and the other one to 'P.F.' We taught the Spanish girl all about prayer and recognizing the blessings that God has given us in our lives and we showed 'P.F.' the "Mormon and Moroni" video from the Book of Mormon animated stories.
WEDNESDAY- We spent most of the day finding. It is starting to rain here everyday again, and it was weird to see the rain, as crazy as that sounds. But it was a good day, wet, but good. We had a lot of lessons from our potentials fall through, so we were kinda bummed about that, but we began to teach a guy named, 'A', and he is pretty cool. Hopefully he will progress and come closer to God.
THURSDAY-We did our weekly planning in the morning and that was good. We were able to get that done pretty fast and go out finding. We also went finding all day on Thursday, as well. The days just kind of blur together when you're finding all day in the rain. But hey, such is life in the SIM.
FRIDAY- You guessed it! We spent the day finding. It was really crazy. By this day, we were a little worn out, but we kept going. Nothing much really to report for Friday.
SATURDAY- We went finding until 3:00, then we caught a train down to Dublin to watch the Saturday morning session of Conference, which started at 5:00. So we headed down there for that and it was a good session. We were a little tired but the best sessions were yet to come.
SUNDAY- was a really good day. I really enjoyed the Conference sessions. We started off by watching Priesthood session, then we watched Saturday afternoon and then Sunday morning. I still haven't seen Sunday afternoon but I can tell it was a good session. My favorite speaker by far was President Uchtdorf. He gave one of the best talks I have heard. I loved how he talked about building new things, and following God to receive blessings. My favorite part was when he said that we do not need to do anything to deserve to be rescued. If we ask, the Savior will rescue us. That was the best thing I have ever heard. I realized that all I need to do is ask, and I can be helped. I have decided to apply this principle even more in my every day missionary labors. TO JUST ASK!
Sorry for the short update! I definitely needed the boost that conference gave on the weekend. My favorite quote now is this, "I CANNOT has never accomplished anything. I WILL TRY has wrought wonders." I know that all we have to do is try our best and work our hardest and we will see blessings. No matter how long we have to wait. No matter how hard it becomes. If we keep persevering, we will see the arm of Go and we will be rescued.
Till the work is done.
-Elder Mickelsen
I am just going to start with Tuesday now, since all of my Monday summaries are just, "Today was Pday" So, here is Tuesday.
TUESDAY- We had a Blitz in Bray. Our District Leader, Elder Taylor and Elder Perkes came down to help us find some more people to teach in Bray. I was with Elder Perkes all day and it was really fun! We ended up finding 9 people in total that day, and we ended the night with some burgers at Eddie Rockets. It was good! Elder Perkes and I even taught 2 lessons: one to a visiting Spanish girl and the other one to 'P.F.' We taught the Spanish girl all about prayer and recognizing the blessings that God has given us in our lives and we showed 'P.F.' the "Mormon and Moroni" video from the Book of Mormon animated stories.
WEDNESDAY- We spent most of the day finding. It is starting to rain here everyday again, and it was weird to see the rain, as crazy as that sounds. But it was a good day, wet, but good. We had a lot of lessons from our potentials fall through, so we were kinda bummed about that, but we began to teach a guy named, 'A', and he is pretty cool. Hopefully he will progress and come closer to God.
THURSDAY-We did our weekly planning in the morning and that was good. We were able to get that done pretty fast and go out finding. We also went finding all day on Thursday, as well. The days just kind of blur together when you're finding all day in the rain. But hey, such is life in the SIM.
FRIDAY- You guessed it! We spent the day finding. It was really crazy. By this day, we were a little worn out, but we kept going. Nothing much really to report for Friday.
SATURDAY- We went finding until 3:00, then we caught a train down to Dublin to watch the Saturday morning session of Conference, which started at 5:00. So we headed down there for that and it was a good session. We were a little tired but the best sessions were yet to come.
SUNDAY- was a really good day. I really enjoyed the Conference sessions. We started off by watching Priesthood session, then we watched Saturday afternoon and then Sunday morning. I still haven't seen Sunday afternoon but I can tell it was a good session. My favorite speaker by far was President Uchtdorf. He gave one of the best talks I have heard. I loved how he talked about building new things, and following God to receive blessings. My favorite part was when he said that we do not need to do anything to deserve to be rescued. If we ask, the Savior will rescue us. That was the best thing I have ever heard. I realized that all I need to do is ask, and I can be helped. I have decided to apply this principle even more in my every day missionary labors. TO JUST ASK!
Sorry for the short update! I definitely needed the boost that conference gave on the weekend. My favorite quote now is this, "I CANNOT has never accomplished anything. I WILL TRY has wrought wonders." I know that all we have to do is try our best and work our hardest and we will see blessings. No matter how long we have to wait. No matter how hard it becomes. If we keep persevering, we will see the arm of Go and we will be rescued.
Till the work is done.
-Elder Mickelsen
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
March 28, 2016
Hello again, everybody! This week has gone by even quicker than the last and it's hard to believe that March is coming to a close! We had a really good week with Zone interview training and some good finding sessions, as well as teaching some less actives and finding a new investigator!!! Woo!!! I will just jump right into it then…
MONDAY- was fun. We walked around Bray in the morning and just looked around at the shops and then we ate some lunch. It was a pretty good morning. Then, we headed up to Dun Laoghaire to do our usual emailing and then we went back to Bray to do our shopping as well as look at a music store that is right by LIDL's (which is where we shop). It was pretty fun. Next we dropped our groceries off and headed out to do some tracting and GQing. We were supposed to have a less active lesson with a lady named, 'S', today, but she got sick last minute and had to cancel. So, we just did some good finding. People are opening up here now! They actually talk to us! The only thing is that they are all tourists, so we will have to teach em quick! hahahaha! But this week started off on a good note.
TUESDAY- was pretty great! There was no District Meeting on account of having Zone Conference tomorrow, so we were able to spend another good day finding. In case you haven't noticed, we spend a good chunk of our time finding! We don't really have anyone to teach. Our only investigator is having some Visa problems, so we are trying to build up our teaching pool and keep this area alive! But we are finding like mad! So we spent a good amount of time knocking doors in the morning and then we went to go and teach 'P.F.' He is a character. He likes to have us over, but sometimes he doesn't really listen that well. Lucky for us, we have struck a gold mine with the living scriptures cartoons! (Thanks Elder Allred!) So, he was really engaged in that. We showed him the story of Helaman and the Stripling Warriors and it was really great. We focused on the fact that if we know we are being righteous and we know God is on our side, we can never truly lose. It was a great lesson.
Afterwards, we went finding some more and then we went home to have some dinner. Then we crashed hard because we have to get up early and head to Dublin for Zone Conference in the morning.
WEDNESDAY- So today we had Zone Conference. It was pretty fun. I always enjoy meeting up with the other missionaries in my zone, even though I don't really know most of them. Being around other missionaries is just fun in general. You are around people you can relate to and have a good time with. It is great! We learned a lot of good things in Zone Conference. And although it felt a bit hasty and sped up at times, I came away knowing more than I did when I went in and also realized that my teaching style is the way that works for me and I don't need to change anything to conform to what every other missionary thinks I should do. That is the main thing I learned.
I also had a good interview with President Donaldson. He was able to guess my concerns without me even saying anything! It was crazy! He gave me some solutions on how I could work on improving my area and growing the church in Bray and I was very thankful for that!
After Zone Conference, we headed back to Bray and we did some GQing by the seafront and on a road that is just off the main street. Afterwards, we headed home for some dinner and some wind down time. Then we headed to bed.
THURSDAY- was good. We did our weekly planning and then we had some lunch. Then we did some finding pretty much all day until we had our English class, which nobody showed up to, so we did some more finding and went home for dinner. Thursday was definitely the low point of our week. But still good!
FRIDAY- was also just finding. I don't really know what else to say. We talked to a ton of people and also knocked on a ton of doors. There were quite a few people in town because of Easter this weekend, so that was great. But for the most part, Friday was a blur.
SATURDAY- was nice. We went and set up the chairs and did the progress record first thing in the morning since we had a pretty booked evening. We did that really quick and then we went out and GQed the main street. Then we had some delicious lunch. Afterwards, we made some paper eggs to put in the hymn books for the Branch on Easter. We wrote little spiritual messages on the back and then added the church's new hashtag, #Hallelujah. It was pretty fun to make those, then we went and visited with 'J.Mc.' We showed him the Hallelujah video and then a Mormon Message about God's constant shower of blessings on us. It was a pretty good lesson. I really felt the spirit when the Mormon Message was playing. It is really a good one! Especially since the only thing the sky does over here is rain!!
After that, we headed down to the new investigator appointment that we had scheduled but her husband hadn't arrived home yet, so we just shared some spiritual thoughts on the doorstep and we set up a return appointment to come back and teach her more. It is very exciting! Especially right before Easter! Bray might be seeing a "Resurrection" of it's own! I hope so! And then after the doorstep lesson, we headed home and had our dinner and then we went to bed.
SUNDAY- was really good. Church was the best part of the day. We had so many people at church! We had 2 investigators and we were able to re-establish contact with the one when she came to church. It was really good! Also, we had some less active members as well! Things at church were just great! I also spoke in Sacrament Meeting. I spoke on the Atonement of Jesus Christ as taught by the Book of Mormon Prophets, as well as the Nephite Easter. I had never thought of 3rd Nephi 11 as the Nephite Easter before and it shined a whole new light on the chapter for me! I would encourage you all to read that chapter and put yourself in the position of the people and really think what that was like! I was a really amazing thing that happened! Ack, it was just so good!
Then after church, we went and did some more area book finding to clean it up a little bit and see if we could call anyone and wish them a Happy Easter. Afterwards, we headed over to the Bunda's house and had some lasagna! It was awesome! Then we taught Mathoni. He is a typical 7 year old, but he is learning! Then we headed home and went to bed.
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| On the cliffs of Bray at Sunset |
Well, that was the week! It was really good!! Things are starting to look up here in Bray! And I am getting excited! The season is changing and what better time to change ourselves and celebrate this time of New Life!! This Gospel is True!! Love you all!!
Till the Work is Done.
-Elder Mickelsen
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