Hello everybody. I am just gonna go for it because I feel like there was nothing super major this week so yeah:
So the latter parts of last Tuesday were spent wandering oxford taking some artsy pics. That was a blast.
Wednesday we did not have anything major. We talked to a bunch of people and did our normal missionary things and the day came and went. We were able to go to institute, which is like a religious class held by the church where students can learn in a more formal setting about principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We had some really great discussions and it made me miss BYU a bit. @byufriends I look forward to when we can have these profound gospel chats again. and anyone else who wants to join for that matter :-)
Thursday was more of the same. We did see some super cool miracles and we were able to find two really nice people that we are meeting with this week. One of them even confirmed our appointment by email! No one has ever done that for me on my mission so that was kind of a cool moment. I really felt the Lord guide me to these people as we prayed that we would find people who would receive. I know that the Lord is eager to reveal so many things to us, we just have to really try and listen for what He has to say. Also, we had a really amazing lesson with Francis and he is doing so well. He said that what we are teaching him and the plan we taught that God has for us makes the most sense of anything he has ever heard. He is a rockstar.
Friday was an absolute blast, let me tell you. So in the morning, a senior missionary couple, the Wallaces, came up to oxford and joined the senior couple here, the Wells, and us as we closed down one of the missionary flats here in Oxford. We then took the furniture and distributed it to some needy families in the ward. It was so much fun. These four senior missionaries are some of my favourite people and they are all hilarious and just so fun to be around. We ended up spending the entire morning working on these projects and they said thank you by taking us to KFC. The verdict is still out on KFC here but all I know is I could really go for some proper fried chicken right now. Anyways, after we moved everything all around oxford, we came back, quickly changed and met Francis for basketball. As my toe is still bleh, I was very much not planning on playing basketball at all. Long story short, a three on three invitation was issued and they were one short and the look in Elder Man's eyes convinced me to join for a bit. A 6'5" 200+lbs man then proceeded to come down from an attempted shot on my toe. So yeah. Fun times. We then made our way with Francis to the ward picnic and it was a blast. It was just a really fantastic day.
Saturday involved teaching Francis again and it went really well! We also cleaned the chapel and just generally attempted to recover from Friday haha. We also spontaneously helped our neighbour move flats and goodness gracious he has so many books and then he told me it because they charity shops around oxford are loaded with cheap hidden treasures and in that moment my desire to live here as a student grew exponentially.
Yesterday was church. Other than being late because of cancelled buses and our friend not showing up to the lesson we scheduled, it was a pretty great day again. We had an amazing lesson from a member about how we need to step up our game when it comes to ministering. He called everyone to task and I think it was very much needed. He did it in the most loving and powerful way too and it was awesome. We also had dinner at the Petersens who are basically saints. So yeah, good times to be had here in oxford.
British Word of the Week: pootle - to go in a really un-rushed way; we pootled about among the tourists this week
British Food of the Week: egg salad sandwiches - so I need to first say that as a whole, Britain has really weird sandwich combinations like seafood cocktail or "just ham" (it is literally sold in the store as bread with a piece of ham in the middle). however, the most peculiar one to me is egg salad sandwiches. Now this is not inherently British but still, the amount of large gatherings I've attended where these were present is all of them. So yeah, British.
Companion Comic: So on Friday we had a ward picnic and it was an absolute blast...except for the fact that it rained properly for the first time in two months about halfway through the picnic. Elder Man decided to continue playing American football and Frisbee in the rain and he may or may not have gotten utterly completely drenched and woken up feeling sick the next morning...good stuff. This picnic may also have involved me eating about 8 brownies but that is nothing new.
Scripture of the Week: Ether 4:13-15 God knows everything and if we humble ourselves and ask, we can know His will for us.
The final thought I wanted to close with is this: Jesus Christ changes lives. As we meet with people and teach them of the love God has for them and the desire that Jesus Christ has too succour them, I see people change. I see their countenances light up. I see hope fill their eyes. It brings me the greatest joy. Jesus Christ has changed my life. He changes it every day. I love Him so much and I know that He loves you too.
Thank you for the support and love you give me. It means the world. You are all amazing and I hope you week goes better than the last!
Also, in explaining my title, it is the seventh month of the year and I hit my eleventh month mark today. weird. stuff. let. me. tell. you. and there are no slurpees to be had but milkshakes will make a mighty fine substitute. love you all,
Elder Finnegan McKinley
England London Mission
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