Week 35: "We were in meetings this whole week and we missed summer" Elder Burton

Wow this week has flown by and I can't believe that the week is gone but here we go.

Last Wednesday we actually didn't go to the museum but instead had a picnic with cinnamon rolls because it was a fantastic day outside. Thursday was zone conference! In this mission we just have a massive missionary pow wow every 6 weeks and this was my first time going to the one that happens out here in the eastern part of the mission. Its weird because our missiom president goes home in 9 weeks, which mean the mission changes in 9 weeks and that means that I'll be in a new mission! It was weird to think about how fast time has gone. Elder Burton and I hit our 8 month mark on Monday. I can't believe I'm 1/3 of the way done with my mission. It feels like I've been put here for just a month but it also feels like it's been my whole life. My sense of time and it's passing has become massively distorted. Oh well. But, in honour of hitting the one third mark, I thought I'd only write 1/3 of the email I normally write. Bye!

Just kidding. Here's the rest. Saturday was just a great missionary day. A crazy thing happened. We were waiting for the bus and it was in front of this random shop. So we're just there, minding our business when this guy comes of the shop and we had an exchange that went like this: 
 "you're a long way from home arent ya?" 

"it depends on what you call home." 

"Well you're far from your state then."

"Fair enough, but what state?"

"Utah"

"NOPE"

"oh"

And then we had a good talk about how he's from Bulgaria, we're from Idaho and Virginia, and how he had a Mormon roommate who tried to get him to stop smoking but failed. And then we got his number! Hopefully we'll see him soon! #pray4danthebulgarian (you have to rhyme when you say it)

On Sunday we put together a musical number, practised it, and are going to perform it in sacrament meeting this week! Side note: the children's song "love is spoken here" is really good when you sing it Broadway style. Syster Nilsson will probably appreciate this more than others (excluding Sarah, Alexis, and Sister De bry). Also I guess we've gained the trust of the members here because they all left while we were practising and assumed we'd lock up? We totally did but it was a little weird. Missionary life. 

Monday was absolutely awesome! We are trying to find new people to teach and by praying and asking God where to go and who to talk to, we found three! It was a great experience for me that reminded me that God hears and answers prayers, especially prayers that align with His will. Also Monday was absolutely fantastic because we got invited to go support a recent convert who was baptised right when I got to Oxford. He was giving a speech on his masters work in psychiatry. It was so intellectually stimulating and it rekindled a passion I have for academia and specifically research. So I know that I'm not going to be only a writer and I'm not going to be only a scientist, but I'm still not sure exactly what I want to do with my life but I'm getting there slowly. And I've got time. 

Finally I'll share a ridiculous story from yesterday. We were walking down the Oxford high street when someone approaches us and says "Elders!" We look and it's none other than Peter Fagg, the famous British church historian who gave me a history tour about 7.5 months ago up in Preston. He said "do you have five minutes?" Of course we had five minutes. He then took us down this little alley way and introduced us to his tour group of 70 people, almost exclusively Mormons from Utah. I felt so much motherly love from all these people I've never met as they thanked me for my service and shared how they had sons serving missions. And with a few sentences exchanged, they were gone as soon as they came. It was awesome. I didn't believe elder Rhee when he said this kind of thing would happen but there you have it. Elder Rhee eat your heart out. 

British Word of the week: it's chucking it down - raining really hard

British food of the week: jelly donuts - the only marginally good donut the British have produced. Doesn't beat Krispy kreme but hey you take what we can get. 

Companion Comic: *Elder Burton* "we all know the 90's didn't actually end until 2004"

Scripture of the Week: 3 Nephi 19:24


I love you all loads and I'm so grateful for the support you give me. I'm loving my life right now. I'm in a beautiful place, sharing what I love with people everyday. I'm finding myself. I'm finding God. I'm finding happiness. I love it. 

Enjoy this week!

Elder McKinley 

Friends old and new, the city I love, and assorted 
Elder Finnegan McKinley
England London South Mission (for now...)  




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