09.01.13

Me and Elder Akebrand. He is our AP and he is from Sweden. He awesome, but he goes home in 2 weeks.

 

 

I forgot to bring my planner today and it had the list of things I was going to write about. So, unfortunately, this email may or may not suck to read. 

Last Monday, we saw a great miracle. We have been focusing on teaching part member families, and there is a girl name K in the ward who just got married. Her husbands name is Fraiser and he is not a member, but has been taught absolutely everything about the gospel by missionaries and through church attendance for years. We were eating dinner at their house last week, and it turns out her other sister, Mia, also came along with her non member boyfriend. THEN, one of their non member friends randomly showed up from Aberdeen. So, we taught them all. They had tons of really crazy questions that only college kids would worry about, and Fraiser pretty much answered them all on his own. I don't know why he isn't baptised cause he is pretty solid. We are excited to meet with them again this week. 

On Wednesday, we tracted out a whole street, and didn't have any success. On our way back to the car, a woman started knocking on her window and beckoning us over. We went to her door, and she said she read the card we left there and really felt like she should come find us. It's such a huge miracle, because the first time we went by, she didn't even answer the door. The card we left was a family history card, so she talked to us about that for a bit, then she said, "I'm actually not really that interested in family history to be honest, but I'm looking for a new church to join because I don't agree with the things in mine." So, we told her to go talk to her local Pastor and he might be able to help her. .  .Ha! Not really. We were so excited and taught her what we could before she had to go. Then, yesterday, we taught her again. She is soo soo solid. All of her questions are golden and she is very prepared. She is excited to bring her 11 year old son to church next week. This is the miracle we have been praying for. 

In other news, I bought some new brown shoes last week cause we are officially allowed to wear them. But, then I sold them to my companion because I realized I don't have any trousers that would match brown. I still need some new shoes pretty bad though. Does anyone want to donate to the get Elder Goodwin new shoes fund? It's called my bank account. hahahahah

Well, sadly, I can't really remember what else I was going to write and I'm feeling pretty rushed. I love you all! Stay strong and stay loyal. 

Elder Goodwin

08.26.13

It's been a week full of kilts and bagpipes.

On Saturday, we were doing our usual zone city finding activity from 2 - 4. A couple of the Elders stopped this guy who was wearing a kilt and carrying some bagpipes and he told them he was about to do some street performing with it. So, they weren't thinking at all and told him that he could set up right next to us. They must have forgotten that bagpipes are about as loud as jet engines! Maybe not quite that loud, but they are pretty loud. So, he happily accepted and when he started playing it startled the rest of us and we all just stood there wondering why the heck this guy was playing his bagpipes right next to us. We had to shout for people to hear us and people thought we were strange. haha! It was a classic example of what most Americans think it's like to do missionary work in Scotland. That story was for you Granny! Cause you love bagpipes and you want me to learn to play them. haha. I think everyone has been playing them lately cause they know it was Granny's birthday recently.

We had our investigator, Brian, come to the family history centre again last week. He loves it! It's such a good tool for us to use in missionary work. Then later on in the week, he came to a Johnny Lingo ward activity and had a fun time there as well. He was so excited that he showed up for church on Sunday with his best clothes. And by his best clothes I mean a whole kilt outfit. It was pretty epic. I still need to get a kilt one of these days. I will look like a native in it with my red hair. ha!

Speaking of kilts, I learned how to make scripture covers out of tartan material. You can just go to any kilt store and they sell the tartan scraps really cheap. It's really nice for making book covers and stuff. So if any of you want a tartan scripture cover let me know and I will see what I can do. Just put in the request and then add $100 to my bank account. .... hahah. 

A sister missionary in the zone had to go home for health reasons today. That is always really sad. She's been really sick and the doctors don't know what it is, so she has to go home to recover. Her and her companion have both been crying a lot. Sister missionaries can't be beat. They know why they are here and they work hard. 

We have some real miracles with our focus to improve member relationships. We've been able to get appointments with members who haven't let missionaries come around for years and years. We also got appointments with some really solid part member families. We are all so excited for the week. 

Not much else to report on. The son (Elder Wahlquist) is still doing good and going strong. He will become a missionary man in no time. I still suck at soccer. Which is actually called football. P Day rules! I love you all!

Elder Goodwin

08.19.13

Alright here's the story about the fridge. And when I say the Fridge I mean William Parry from the Chicago Bears.

During City Finding last week, some members from another town happened to be in Glasgow, so they came up and started talking to us, Then after awhile we managed to get a cheeky lunch appointment with them, which was awesome. They are called the McKenzie's. Anyway, Brother McKenzie was telling us about how he was on the rugby team for his city about 20 years ago. Which means he was quite good. One day, they were having their normal practice and they all saw Jake the Snake Roberts walking his dog by their field. (Crazy WWF Wrestler) They all recognized him and started talking to him, and then Jake told them he had a few friends over with him and he was wondering if they would like to have a scrimmage. They happily agreed. . and then William Parry showed up. haha! Apparently William parry and Jake the Snake Roberts are pretty good friends. So the game started and Brother McKenzie said that he tried to tackle the Fridge, but got completely flattened. He said that nobody could even slow him down. So they put 17 of their best players on the field and they still couldn't stop him. he was just running with people on his shoulders and hanging off his legs! haha and now he loves the Bears. So that's the Fridge story for the day. 

It's been really fun having a trainee around again. Trainee's always make sure that things get done right and keep us on track. Haha. They have such a good fire when they come out. They also do hilarious things all the time. Last week, Elder Wahlquist and I went into our flat complex and he forgot which flat we live in, so he stopped at the wrong level (the right level in his mind) Then, he put the key in the wrong door and was turning it and trying really hard to get in to someone elses door. He must have thought the key was broken or something. I just stood behind him chuckling and then after awhile I was like "Hey we should probably go up to our flat now." hahaha. The lady who lived in the flat came out and started yelling WHOS TRYING TO GET IN MY DOOR! haha. He was so embarrassed, but we both couldn't stop laughing about it throughout the day. I like to let people figure things out on their own sometimes. 

We also got up at 5:30 to play some basketball for morning exercise last week. I have become notoriously known for my dislike of mornings on my mission. I ALWAYS get up on time, but I'm rarely happy until like 10. haha! I'm still working on that. But, basketball was way fun. Elder Wahlquist was soo tired the rest of the day though. If I didn't know him, I probably would've thought he was high sometimes. Haha! 

We have a solid new investigator named James. He likes boxing and and he's like 25. We have really been focusing on teaching him about prayer so that he can find out if God is real and he feels like he's been getting answers. We are also very focused on getting into all of the members homes so that we can progress through member work instead of solely finding all the time. Member referrals is where the solid kingdom builders usually come from, so we really want to get everyone on our side. 

I still suck at soccer. Don't think I will ever be good. haha. I can always get the ball from someone, but then I suck at kicking it, so I will work on that. The members LOVE having us there though. We've been able to build much better relationships with many of them. 

I love you all! Thanks for all your support and love. 

Elder Goodwin

08.12.13

 

Oh ya, I forgot to tell you something last week. Every Zone Leader companionship in the mission will be training a new missionary together because there are soo many new missionaries. Pretty crazy stuff So, I am now serving in a trio with Elder Andrus and our son is named Elder Wahlquist. He's been here for 5 days now. 

Serving in a trio is awesome. We already had to establish who is going to be the mother and who is going to be the father of Elder Wahlquist, because we can't be raising him in a 2 father home. We decided that I am the father. haha. It's pretty hard to stay focused in a trio though because everything is way more funny when there's another person around. We're all loving life right now. 

Elder Andrus and Elder Wahlquist are both from Utah and they are both WAY skinny and small. So I just look like some massive freak of nature most of the time. ha! Some people ask if I am Elder Wahlquists father. ERR. I will attach a picture of us all so you can see what I'm talking about. Elder Wahlquist is a really good missionary already. Every since the age change, all the missionaries have been coming out with a much more solid understanding of missionary work, PMG and the scriptures. 

We had to go out and buy a new wardrobe and mattress because our flat wasn't meant to have 3 people in it, but we are making it work. The rooms are pretty dang packed now though. It's a good thing they are both small or we would be struggling ha. 

We have been doing tons of finding lately and we have found loads of potential investigators. Next week many of those will turn into new investigators, so that will be a very welcome fresh teaching pool. 

So, that's the way the cookie crumbles this week. I love you all! 

Elder Goodwin

08.05.13

 

 

 

If you were wondering if Natasha got baptized on Saturday I have an answer for you. YOU BETTER BELIEVE SHE DID!! Here's how it went. 

So, to start out, I again have to say that Natasha is the best investigator I've ever taught. The whole time teaching her, she never had a single concern come up. We feel like we would just show up and teach her a lesson that she had already known about through her own research and then when we would invite her to live something or pray about something, she would readily accept. She received very clear answers to every one of her prayers, which is amazing in itself. She is extremely talented in many different things, but gets embarrassed whenever we bring up those things because she is soo humble. Ballet is her favorite thing, but she's also been in some different tv shows and movies. She is very shy, and she is one of the most kind people I have ever met. 

So, on Friday, we finally found out what she wanted on the program for her baptism. She had already asked me to play the piano, so I thought that I wouldn't have to do anything else, but then I was really taken back and surprised when she asked me to baptize her as well. The last baptism I did was in a river, and it was pretty hectic, so when I found out I was going to be doing another one I got pretty dang nervous. I even made other missionaries practice with me. Ha! I was mostly nervous because she is terrified of water, so I really wanted to do it right the first time. 

So, Saturday morning rolled around and after our Saturday morning Stake Football game, we went to the church and started filling up the font. While it was filling up, I was practicing the piano so that I would be able to play the hymns she chose. Luckily they were pretty easy. Oh my Father and Families can be together forever. Elder Topp and the Springboig Elders made some nice programs and set up the chairs. Since Natasha lives at the ballet school in Oban, they (her and her friends and family) had to drive a couple hours to get here. Traffic was pretty bad, so they were like 30 minutes late to the baptism. When she got there we could tell that she was VERY nervous about it. She tried to act casual, but she was shaking a little bit. So, after some really good talks, the Spirit was soo strong and it was time to do the baptism. I went into the font and reached out my hand to help her in, but she started getting scared and she was crying really quietly. I told her that she would never regret this for the rest of her life and some other things, and then she came down. She was shaking the whole time, but it went very well and she was soo happy when she came out of the water. I've never heard someone  a more sincere thank you than the one she said to me. I am soo humbled to be a part of sacred things like this. Later on, she was telling us all how clean she feels. Let's just say, baptizing someone in a font is far better than baptizing someone in a cold river with drop offs and bad currents. 

Family is the most important thing to her, and it's obvious that she learned many of her great values from her family. Her Mom and Sister both came for the baptism and confirmation. Her Mom lives in Falkirk and her Sister came down from Oxford. By the way, her sister has the best grades in Oxford because she is literally a genius. Anyway, they were both crying during the baptism and really felt the Spirit. I think they are also so prepared for the Gospel. 

Her family took us out to eat at a really nice Italian restaurant after the baptism, which was really nice. 

Elder Topp did a great job confirming her on Sunday. The Spirit was really strong again. She was so happy that all she has to do is sit there for the confirmation and not go near any water. So when she walked in the building on Sunday, I said, "You know that you have to sit in a huge pool of water while they confirm you right?" hahah. She had the funniest look come across her face until I told her I was joking.   

In other news, Elder Topp is moving to Edinburgh ZL and I am staying here. I will be getting a companion named Elder Andrus who has been serving as a Zone Leader 2 moves longer than me. I think we will get a long really well. 

I love you all and hope you are loving your lives! My testimony has again been strengthened this past week! Stay strong and be loyal to those you love. 

Elder Goodwin

07.29.13

Natasha passed her baptismal interview yesterday and is so excited to baptised this Saturday. It's unreal how prepared she really is. I feel like we didn't really have to do anything because she already knows about everything we teach her before the lessons. AND she already believes that everything is true because she receives such specific and clear answers to her prayers. She must be living right because she is sooo in tune with the Spirit. We are soo excited for the baptism though. She asked me to play the piano and she thinks it's hilarious because I messed up so bad at the last baptism she saw. ha! She we will be such a loyal member and kingdom builder. 

We've really been focusing our finding efforts in some posh neighbourhoods because our Bishop and Ward  Mission Leader feel that there are many prepared people there. People who are very well off are usually not very interested in religion, because I guess only the sick need a doctor. So, obviously to tract in these posh neighbourhoods we've had to use some different approaches. We found out that almost everyone will talk to us about Family History, and we recently got some nice new family history cards, so it works out nicely. We also found people very receptive when we just tell them that we are out in the community looking for ways to help out and then ask them if they know of any opportunities. Then after a bit of conversation they decide they like us and then they will talk about other stuff as well. Pretty good!

We had an all of Scotland conference last Thursday and we were blessed to have Elder Teixeira (member of the 70 and area President) and his wife there to speak to us. He pretty much kindly rebuked us and told us that the missionary work needs change. His focus of the talk was about changing enough so that your investigators or friends will want to change as well. It was really good and I think a lot of missionaries will improve from it. We learned from another general authority a few months ago, that a good meeting should make everyone feel rebuked, but in a way where they want to do better. That's definitely what he did. Ha! 

Last Saturday, we got invited to Saturday morning football. All the people in the stake who want to get together at a really nice football pitch and play a game. There were about 20 people there, and I'm pretty sure that I've never played a game of soccer on a full sized field in my life. For some reason, everyone seemed to think that I was going to be an unstoppable goalie or something, and they were sorely disappointed when the game started. Haha. I can stop the ball, but then I have no idea where to kick it or how to throw it or anything. So they kicked me out after a bit and then put me on defence. Yet again, I had no idea what to do or who to guard. They were all yelling plays and things to do and they probably thought I was a fool. I felt like I was back to the good 'ol days of little kids soccer when I played for the Green Leprachauns and got my thumb stuck in the goal net while I was supposed to be playing goalie. It wasn't actually that bad, but I'm definitely going to practice up on my soccer skills. haha It was pretty humbling to be the one who has no idea how to play. It's a way good finding activity though. I think we are going to have some huge successes from it. 

So, ya I don't have much more time to write. Not too much else happened. We are having a baptism on Saturday and I suck at soccer. That's pretty much the point of this email. And I love you all! 

07.22.13

Enchiladas that I made.

Seagulls aim their poo.

Shed that I painted and Sister Adam trying to take my apple out of my hand.

Well, not too much to report, but here it is. 

I went on a pretty fun exchange with a missionary from China. Elder Luo. He is hilarious and acts like a classic chinese person. He say's "sick!" to describe everything - good or bad -  because he heard his American companions say it a lot. ha He actually has pretty good English though. 

A guy from our ward was on Holiday in Utah and Vegas the last couple weeks and he said it was roasting over there. He kept telling everyone that he got to shoot guns and ride quad bikes (fourwheelers) and all the other stuff you only do in America. Everyone was amazed haha. 

We decided to treat Sister M out for a dinner because she always feeds us so much. We called and asked her what her favourite food is and she told us sweet 'n sour chicken so we took her out to a Chinese buffet in city centre. We paid for the whole thing. Haha She was lovin life. She is a legend of the Scotland/Ireland Mission. 

Sister Adam is another funny old lady in the ward, and we usually do some service for her every couple weeks. Last week, we went to her house and I painted her shed while everyone else did some gardening. It was way fun cause it was a really sunny/warm day. She is soo small. ha I will send a picture. 

We taught a less active girl in McDonalds again because that's the only place she wants to meet. We kept telling her we were going to stand up on the table and pray like Elijah. Ha She gets soo bugged by it and tells us that there are other people in there she knows. Then, when we were leaving, we sang Onward Christian Soldiers really loud as we drove away. ha!

Natasha is still planning on getting baptised on the 3rd. She didn't get to come down to Glasgow for church yesterday, because the guy who takes her had to stay in Oban for some dance school stuff. She went to church in Oban though so it's all good. We will probably end up teaching her over skype this week.  Not a lot of things happened in our area this week because we went on a few exchanges and that took loads of time. 

Well, I'm making things short today cause we are going to go out and look at suits. I heard there is a place where you can buy a good European tailored suit for £30 and my suits are just about done for. I bought a couple slim fit shirts last week as well cause all my shirts are too big around the neck now. Slim fit European shirts rule. They are classic missionary attire over here. 

I love you all! Have a good week! 

Elder Goodwin