04.30.13

So it's been another epic week preaching the word in Ireland.

 

Yesterday we went touring the Connemara National park again. This time with the Wilsons. We all had a blast. We saw a couple castles and some cool loughs and Elder Wilson paid for us all to go see Kylemore Abby. That was the second time I've seen it, but it was still awesome. Even though you can only see like 3 of the rooms in the castle because the nuns still live in the rest of it. Crazy nuns. ha! I will send some pictures of the touring party we had. I finally got to sit on the bridge from the Quiet Man movie!! The Wilson's knew I've been dreaming about it, so they took us out. The bridge is tiny, but it was worth it because john wayne sat on it at some point. They have the picture of him sitting on a sign by the bridge, so I tried to copy his pose, but it was really windy, so I couldn't do it. And I didn't have a paddy cap. I will send the pictures anyway. I was way excited because I've been watching John Wayne movies since I was a wee boy. (Especially with Granny)

 

We had a miracle happen at church. A lady we've been working with named Shannon, couldn't come to church because her 4 year old son has bad anxiety, so we didn't really push the issue. She is sooo solid though. On Sunday, we were standing at the door greeting people, as usual, and all of the sudden she comes strolling in with her son. It was so random and exciting. Her future is definitely very bright.

 

I went on another exchange to Tralee with a missionary named Elder Norup. The one from Denmark. It was really fun and the new Senior couple down there is awesome. They are named the Crabb's. Elder Crabb used to be a barber, so he gave me a haircut, but my hair was too thick and he ended up messing up his trimmer. haha My hair is crazy. Anyway, we got harrassed by a bunch of wasters (rebel teenagers) but ended up having pretty good converersations with them. We were talking to a couple of them who approached us by a funeral home, and out of nowhere they just wheel out this dead guy and stick him in the car. It was pretty creepy but pretty dang funny. The teenagers were freaking out and then we just talked about the Plan of Salvation. Ha!

 

I've been eating so many kebabs lately. But, I've been running to cancel out the unhealthiness. We pretty much use any excuse we can to get a kebab because they are delicious and dodgy. You never know what the heck is in those things but they are soo good. I will take you all to some delicious kebab places someday. You will love them. Most of you will at least.

 

Well, other than that, not too much to report. I got some air jordan shorts via trade from another missionary. I don't know how I pulled it off. I offered him a stained paisley tie and some really old basketball shorts and we made a trade. I'm not sure why I'm sharing this but it was pretty funny. And now I have some nice shorts.

 

I love you all! Read Matthew 5:48 and then read 3 Nephi 12:48. It's pretty cool.

 

Elder Goodwin

04.22.13

Does anyone know why I wrote Dikembe Mutumbo in the subject line? Let me tell you why.

 

One of our investigators, Christian, is from the Congo. We have been teaching him ever since I got here and he is awesome. He is like 6 foot 5 and is just a huge African man. After our lesson last week, we were talking to him about sports, and we asked him if he likes basketball. Most people around here never play basketball, but he said he used to be good. He almost went to America to play when he was younger. He then told us that his cousin is Dikembe Mutumbo. That is pretty dang sick if I do say so myself. We will definitely be balling it up with him in the near future.

 

I don't know if you have all heard about the mormon.org.uk campaign going on here. The broadway play, The Book of Mormon Musical is now in London, and the church has done some very major things. They bought every single square inch of advertising space in the Charing Cross station and put advertising for Mormon.org there. Then they bought advertising space on over 200 buses and did the same. They also put up a video board above the busiest freeway in London. And lots more than that. It's a pretty massive project and they would've had to spend a lot of money to do it. They even bought advertising space in the program for the play. So. people who go to see the play will get a program with advertising for mormon.org.uk. We have been presented a bunch of stuff about how to best utilize this effort as missionaries. We had to go make our own mormon.org profiles and then become familiar with the site. We also have to put links to our profiles on all the cards we get so people can check us out. It's pretty crazy stuff.

 

We have some solid investigators right now. A man name Martin is progressing really well, but he had to go offshore to fix some underwater pipes this week. So, he didn't get to make it to church. He loves the message though, and he is going to take us out to hike some mountains one of these days. He is pretty golden.

 

We had a hilarious lesson with some college kids named Dan and George last Thursday. We've taught them three times and we are becoming pretty good friends. They are hilarious. Anyway, we were teaching them about the Book of Mormon and then George randomly gets up and leaves the room. He comes back with his laptop and says he wants to show us something real quick, and then he showed us a video of his pet snake eating a mouse. It was the most random thing ever. Then we just moved on with the lesson. haha.

 

It has been raining a ton everyday. We were going to go out with the Wilson's and go on a tour of the Connemara national park again, but it's soo windy and rainy today, that they decided not to. The rain doesn't bother me too much, but the wind can get annoying. ha It's not too cold though.

 

Studies are dominant lately because we have been listening to classical music while we study. Like Mozart and stuff. We figure that if it makes babies smarter then it will make us smarter too. haha But, it really does help us concentrate and it's pretty awesome.

 

We went out to Dennis Walkers farm in Westport again on Saturday. It was an awesome day. We worked way hard and it felt good. We were mostly doing landscaping, so we had to dig a couple trenches in his lawn. Then we started building a classic Ireland stone wall. So now I am an expert stone wall builder. Not really, I just used the pick axe and dug the trenches and carried rocks. It was a fun day.

 

Well, that's what the craic is for the week. I cooked some Fajita's and some other delicious things. Things are going good here and I hope they are going good there. I love you all.

 

Elder Goodwin

 

Pictures are of Me and Elder Nordfors out at the farm.

04.15.13



Epic sunset at the Flygares' home.



Walker's Farm

Another awesome week in Galway.

 

The biggest thing was the confirmation of the David family. I confirmed Henri and Elder Nordfors confirmed Hannah and Anna. It was really spiritual and neat. Henri made and recorded a rap for us about the plan of salvation and missionaries. It's pretty dang cool. So now, I have a rap from one of my investigators that I can keep with me all the time. He put it on my flash drive so that we can listen to it whenever. We also had 4 investigators and 9 less active members come to church, which was a huge miracle. Elder Wilson must be doing some good work as the Branch President.

 

On Saturday, we went out to the O'Tooles house and helped Pres.  O'Toole build a bigger chicken coope. It was hilarious and fun. It rained the whole time and it was cold, but it was well worth it. They named one of their chickens after me. They named it Winnie. haha. Then I helped him clip the feathers of the chickens so that they won't fly away. It was a a blast.

 

On Thursday, we had a surprise party for the Flygares because they are moving back to America in a couple weeks. We had so many people show up to support them that haven't been to church in a long time. It was awesome. Activities are the key to reactivations. We ate a bunch of American style hot dogs which was also awesome. I haven't had hot dogs since I was home. These days I'm just such a master chef. Ha! I cooked some mashed potatoes and chicken for us last week and it was delicious. That's the first time I've ever cooked mashed potatoes. I will allow you all to taste of my glorious cooking skills upon my return home someday.

 

We were walking through City Centre the other day, in the middle of a bunch of rain and not having much success, when a family came up to us and said, "Hey it's the missionaries!" With an American accent. That never happens over here so we were pretty mind blown. It was some Americans who are living on a military base in Germany, who are on vacation here in Ireland. They took us to the American Diner in town called Eddie Rocket's and bought us dinner. It was way nice and so unexpected. Their last name is Urton and they are from Murray.

 

That's about it for this week. We are going to help out on Dennis Walkers farm again this week. Hopefully it gets warmer though. It's been raining all the time and there has been a freezing wind blowing in from Russia or something like that, but it's almost gone now. Anyway, last time we went to his farm he had me digging up huge rocks with a pick axe and then we would put the rocks in a wheel barrow and push it up a massive hill. It was exhausting. Every time we would get to the top of the hill, my legs would start to give out. It was way nice to get such a good work out. Me and Elder Nordfors have been running 2 miles most morning so that is helping us stay in shape too.

 

I love you all! Stay strong!

Elder Goodwin

04.08.13

Well, I finally got a baptism on my mission!!!! And it was epic.

 

We baptized the David family last Friday in the river Corrib. The river that runs straight through Galway. We told them to do it in Limerick, but they wanted to do the river. It was so awesome. But, it was sooooo cold. Freezing! I baptized the Mom and the daugher. Anna and Hannah. Elder Nordfors baptised the 17 year old boy. Henri. I was the first out there and we could only go out a few feet before a massive drop off, but it wasn't even waist deep where we had to stand. Anna was so shocked by how cold the water was when I was helping her in. haha she just kept saying really loudly how cold it was. Anyway, I said the prayer and went to baptize her, but she didn't lean back, instead she just like squated down, and kept her hand out of the water on accident. ha So we had to do it again, but got it good the second time. Then Hannah (the daughter) got in the river, but she felt the cold and instantly started crying. She is only 8 so that is what we expected. She was saying she didn't want to go, and I was trying to comfort her and tell her nice stuff, but her Mom was like, "HANNAH! GO OUT THERE!" "DON'T LET HER COME BACK TO SHORE!" ha I was so confused. Eventually we decided to let the older brother go before her. Then she went in and was still crying a bit, but we did it fast. They said they all felt awesome after it, even though it was cold. When I finally got out of the river, my feet and legs were completely numb. hah I tried to put on a flip flop, but I couldn't feel my toes to put it on. I was wearing white socks, but everyone could see straight through the socks how red my feet had gone from the cold. It was awesome. They will be getting confirmed this Sunday in Sacrament. We even had a couple of investigators come to the baptism. Winner and Jude.

 

So, I am pretty dang excited for the Temple In Cedar City! It was so neat to hear the name of my home during General Conference. Straight from President Monson. When does the construction begin? That will be so exciting for everyone to have a temple and it will be a good motivator to make good choices. Ha We will always have a temple to stare at when we are making a choice. I loved conference. Elder Holland gave a powerhouse talk as usual. And one of the Sisters mentioned are mission motto. That stone she was talking about is still in our mission home. All the new missionaries and their trainers get a picture by it. I have 3 pictures by it now.

 

Well, those are pretty much the big things happening here. Not much else has happened. We are planning on going to see some country with the Wilsons on Thursday. It should be fun. We will probably see a bunch of castles and we are planning on going to Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney stone soon. Then I will have the gift of gab. ha!

 

I better share a spiritual thought since it was conference. I found this in my studies today. The only time we can be on neutral ground is before we join the church. Once we join, we can never be neutral again. If we are keeping the baptismal covenant by following Christ then we are living righteously and doing good. If we are not living righteously or doing good, then we are following Satan. There is no neutral ground, there is no in between. Hence, there is no such thing as a fence sitter. We have to choose a side.

 

I love you all! Have a good week.

 

Elder Goodwin

04.02.13

Well ladies, here goes the week.

 

We have 6 African people scheduled to be baptised in April, which is pretty dang amazing. This area is being blessed a ton. One family is named the David's. The son is Henri - he is 17 and is a rapper. He wrote us a rap about the plan of salvation and I always recommend rap to him. He says he is going to write me a rap for one of my favorite scriptures. I still haven't decided what scripture to give him yet, but it's gonna be awesome. He is way good and way spiritual. The Mom's name is Anna. She is amazing because she works all night and goes to school during the day time. AND she takes care of her 3 kids. Sometimes, she doesn't get off work until 6am on Sunday morning, but she still gets the kids ready and comes to church at 11. That is some real commitment. The daughters name is Hannah and she is 9. She has such a genuine and sincere testimony and is always so excited when we go there. They all understand so much. There is also a little boy named David, but he is only 18 months. He mostly just disrupts lessons and what not but he is way cute. They are soo excited to go to the temple someday to be sealed together. They will be getting baptised this Friday in the river Corrib that runs through Galway and out into the Atlantic Ocean. It's going to be so cool. We don't know who they want to baptise them yet, but I bet it will probably be Elder Wilson. I will get some good pictures with them.

 

The other man who is scheduled to be baptised this Saturday is named Ade. He is also an African man, probably about 40 and he is pretty solid. He struggled with smoking in the past, but he says he has overcome that, so that is really good. He is always asking really deep questions, and seems to have a really good understanding of the Gospel. He will be getting baptised this Saturday in Limerick because they have a font.

 

The other 2 who are scheduled for the 27 are named Winner and Jude. They are married- Winner is the woman and Jude is the man. They are so awesome and genuine. They loved it when we taught them about priesthood authority and Jude told us that he wants to be baptised by that correct authority. He is way excited. He has been to church twice now, but she has only been once. It's harder for her, because she can't seem to get away from her pentacostal church ways. Hopefully she will continue to pray and read from the Book of Mormon. They always tell us they can feel the Spirit there, so hopefully they will act on it.

 

So I've had some interesting dining experiences lately. I will tell you why. Last week, when we were teaching some African's they gave us fish stew. (that's what I call it.) They literally just chop the fish (a mackrel) into like 5 chunks (including the head and tail)-without even removing any bones and just throw it into this sauce. Then they make rice and put it on top. As you all know, I hate fish with a passion, so I was dying. The chunks are massive and they have scales all over them and bones all over too. And African people make a TON of food. Seriously, they eat so dang much. It's pretty impressive. I made it through, and then when we came back a few days later, they had made the exact same thing. I nearly broke down in tears, but I kept myself calm and collected and ate it again. 

 

So in other news, Elder Wilson has been called to be the branch president here. I have been teasing him telling him it was gonna be him for awhile now, and it's pretty funny that he really did get called. He and Sister Wilson have been here about the same amount of time as me. He will be an awesome Branch President though. And it will be powerhouse because we already have a really close relationship with him and our Branch mission leader. It will be a very missionary oriented branch.

 

So ya, Galway is tearing it up. We are rapping and baptising and everything in between. It's been really cold, but it's starting to get a bit warmer. The wind is what makes it feel freezing. The weather is completely unpredictable every single day. Besides, the weather changes about every 7 minutes. It's crazy.

 

I love you all!

 

Elder Goodwin

04.01.13

So, here's the deal. I don't have time to email today, but I will be emailing you all tomorrow. I just wanted to send a quick email to Mom and Dad to tell them HAPPY  30th ANNIVERSARY!! Hope you have a good day.

03.25.13

So, it's been am eventful week, and as usual, I will tell you why.

 

The David's baptism for this weekend has been canceled because they didn't come to church and there are just some other things we need to go over with them. We just don't feel like they are ready yet, and we aren't going to baptise anyonen unless we feel that they are truly ready. They are still solid and progressing, we just need to give it a few weeks.

 

We have some really good news though. There is an African man named Ade who has been going to church for months now, and has been taught everything. We tried to meet with him in the past, but he would never answer his phone and he always said he was too busy. We kept trying and we finally had a really good talk with him during church. He told us he had some concerns and had been offended by some past missionaries, but we were able to repair it. He invited us over to continue teaching him last night, which was a miracle in and of itself. Then we had a good lesson with him and it turns out, he already knows that these things are true and he told us he wants to be baptised. He is pretty golden right now. Since he has been taught everything multiple times, he wanted the soonest date possible. Which at this point, will be March 6. So, goes to show, the Lord always provides a way for us. He now wants to meet with us at least every Monday and Wednesday.

 

Last Monday, the branch put together a really good Lu'au at  President Flygares mansion house. It was amazing, especially because we had 9 non-members show up to it. Definitely not what we were expecting. The David's came and Winnder and Jude came and some people brought along their friends. Winner and Jude loved the experience so much that they even came to church yesterday. We will be teaching them again on Wednesday.

 

Being Young Mens President is awesome. I get to do a lot of non missionary type things because of it. And with permission! haha. Our youth are working on a music video that they are going to be showing at a regional youth conference. Regional here, means all of Ireland. North and South. So one of the young women, Ciarrai (Irish name, pronounced Keery) made a pretty cool rap that goes along with the song good feeling. So ya, we got to sit there and listen to the real song a bunch and help them do some rapping. It was awesome.

 

We had an all Ireland Conference last week. That's where all the missionary in Ireland gather in Dublin and someone speaks to us. Elder Kerr, of the area 70 spoke to us and he did a great job. He is really enthusiastic and is pretty crazy. He was funny, but motivational. I will share with you a hilarious quote that he said. "Some our ward mission leaders are on fire, and others need to be set on fire." Ha!

 

So that's what's going on down here in the motherland of redheads. Actually, I think Scotland has more people with red hair. Anyway, I love you all and hope you are all loving life.

 

Elder Goodwin