September 28, 2015

After only 6 weeks in Dublin, Mason is headed back to Scotland - here is the e-mail we got today with the details. 

Hey so first off the reason there wasn't much info about moves on Facebook is because the APs sent out a text telling everyone not to tell members where they are getting moved to so they can't put it on Facebook. (Usually we find out about transfers as soon as the missionaries get moves calls because the church members in the mission post it on the mission Facebook page. I told Mason there wasn't a lot of news about moves on the Facebook page so I guess that is why!) But me and Elder Kinville are moving! I was really surprised to hear that. I'm whitewashing into the Montrose Ward in Scotland; I might see Pres. Brown (his first mission president) since that ward is in his stake. My new companion is going to be Elder Kemp. We were companions for a day when Elder Carter went home and I had to go back and pack to leave Inverness. He is cool, and I am kinda happy to be going back to Scotland. But it will be crazy since we are whitewashing into an area so we are going to need to figure out everything when we get there. It’s going to be crazy this next week or two.

But as for this week, Tuesday, after district meeting we went on exchanges, and I was up here with Elder Stoker. We went and saw a recent convert from one of the past sets of missionaries, then it was lots of finding and we were able to talk to some pretty cool people.

Wednesday we did our weekly planning a day early after exchanging back. We did go to Pizza Hut one last time. Then we went to the church to prepare a presentation about the church we were going to give at Trinity College. That took up the rest of the day.

Thursday all I can really remember is that we worked out with Marcin which was really fun. He had us do the Zuu test which you need to pass to become a Zuu instructor and we did fairly well. It's ten minutes of non-stop workouts and every minute you have to do a certain amount and then switch to the next workout even if you haven't finished the other one.

Friday we had Reynaldo come and follow us around all day which was pretty fun. He bought us KFC for lunch. We taught a lesson with him to a guy named Ozzy - a Brazilian born again. It went pretty well. He just has a lot of questions and things that need to get cleared up. Then we went and did some finding in St. Stephens Green but we were told by one of the officers there that we can't approach people in the park and that was our prime finding place. So after that me and Elder Kinville went and got gelato at this one really good place in City Centre.

Saturday we had to do some more work on the presentation in the morning. Then in the afternoon we did a zone blitz in Dublin just outside our area which was crazy. So one of the reasons it was so crazy was right as we were setting up, a protest for abortion came right down the other side of the street. Also a bunch of crazy people. We couldn't stay for too long cause we had a lesson to teach with a Brazilian girl, Nubia. But we came back just as it ended, and some of us went out for dinner. We went to this one American diner called Eddie Rockets which is really good.

Sunday after church nothing much really happened other then we went and saw Marcin and had a lesson with his family which was pretty good we mainly talked about family with him. Then we went back to the flat and played Disney monopoly as we were waiting for moves call.

Then so far today, we went and saw Marcin at 6:30 this morning which was really good. He was sad to hear that we are both leaving.

So the rest of the week will be taken up with packing and getting to my new area. 

Love and miss you guys.


This is a picture Mason sent from their last Pizza Hut buffet - I am guessing these are supposed to be their "sad" faces that Pizza Hut is closing!

Mason is moving to Montrose, Scotland. It is about 60 miles north (and a little east) of Edinburgh and it is right on the east coast of Scotland. Wikipedia says Montrose is a "coastal resort town" and it actually sounds a little like his first area in Ayr - just on the other side of Scotland.

This is a picture of Montrose (thanks to Google images) - 

And here is my Google street view picture of the church in Montrose

September 21, 2015

Mason e-mailed later than usual today, but we finally did hear from him - here is his e-mail . . . 

Sorry I'm emailing so late - we worked out with Marcin this morning and the library closes from 1-2 pm. 

This week was pretty good it was a bit slow on the teaching side. But on Tuesday Elders MacFarlane (district leader) and his companion Elder Stoker came up and blitzed our area after district meeting which was a lot of fun. We mainly did some finding, but at night we had some real fun. We made fajitas and oreo milkshakes and played around it was great. 

Wednesday morning we had to get up at 5:15 because the sisters had to go to a meeting in Scotland so we took their car for the day. We mainly took the car so we could get my bike fixed. The Elder who was here before me messed up my bike so we needed to take it to get it fixed so that was most of the day. Then we had dinner with the Harrnos family - they are really cool. The husband is German and the wife is from Utah, and Syd would love their two little boys they are really funny. Then we had to go to the airport because the sisters were back and we got a bus back to the flat. 

Thursday we did go to Pizza Hut and we will be able to go one last time this week. Then we got a call from the bike shop saying my bike was already done so we borrowed the car from the sisters again to pick it up. We got caught in major traffic so that was our day done. Dublin traffic is the worst!!!

Friday not much really happened on Friday or Saturday other then seeing Marcin Saturday morning. 

Sunday after church we went to Reynaldo's for dinner with the sisters then we taught Marcin and his family which was really cool. His kids needed to go to bed for school today so it was a short lesson but still really good. 

So that was our week. It is crazy that moves call is on Sunday this move has gone by so fast. I don't know what will happen with move but Elder Kinville has been here for six months so he most likely will be getting moved but we will see. 

Love and miss you. 

Mason didn't send any pictures but I "stole" this picture from his companion's blog from this week - thank you Kinvilles!! These are the 4 elders in their district.

September 14, 2015

We are now officially in the second half of Mason's mission - his year mark has come and gone!  Here is the e-mail we got today with a few pictures of his "hump" day . . . 

It's weird that its now the second half of my mission. This week not to much happened, it was a bit of a slow week so we didn't see too many people. But we did see Daniel, the metaphysics guy, and we took Michael the crazy one with us. We called it Michael vs. Daniel and the first lesson we had with them this week in the first ten minutes of the lesson we talked about crystals, abortion, feminist poetry, and Nostradamus. So that was fun. That was pretty much the highlight of this week. It's always interesting to see Daniel cause he talks about his Metaphysics and it sounds like the most complicated live action role play ever. We saw Marcin twice this week the second time he didn't have a lot of time so we just went crazy fast and hard it was awesome. If you want to see what we do with Marcin look up "zuu" on Youtube. 

On Sunday I had to give a 15 minute talk but I ended up only giving a bit less then five minutes because Sister Solum took 20 minutes and then the stake president was there and wanted to give a few remarks so that was kinda nice. 

I got your package on Thursday during studies thanks so much I love the picture book it's so cool. But on Thursday we got some bad news - Pizza Hut is closing on the 27th of the month so Elder Kinville is depressed. 

Friday we didn't do a whole lot for my hump day we did burn a white shirt which I have a video of. There were some shirts that other missionaries had left behind so I just burned one of those instead of one of mine. Then that night we got some pizza from a place called Apaches Pizza so that was pretty fun. 

Then on Saturday the zone leaders came for a surprise blitz of the area. I went with Elder Barton (one of the other Elders from Cottonwood) so that was great - we just talked about home and when we were in Ayr district together. So this has been a pretty good week over all. Love and miss you guys so much.

These are pictures before and after the white shirt burning and at the end of the pictures there is a link to a video of the shirt burning.

Video of the white shirt burning

I am having trouble playing the video from this link - hopefully it works but if it doesn't I will try and get it fixed . . .

September 7, 2015

It is hard to believe but it was one year ago this week - this Thursday, September 10 - that Mason left on his mission. I wasn't sure this day would ever come - but we have all survived and we are so proud of him and how well he is doing!!  He is keeping super busy in Dublin - here is the e-mail we got today!!

Sorry I'm emailing later (he e-mailed about 4 hours later than usual) the reason why is because I needed to get my GARDA card which is a year long visa for the Republic of Ireland. Elder Barton called us last night and picked us up so we spent the night at his flat then we got up at 5 a.m. this morning, and we got a few more elders who needed to get their cards. They dropped me and two others off at the GARDA station at 6:30 and after waiting forever we got our cards at 11:20 so it was a lot of waiting. Then we all went out to lunch at Burger King which is better over here than in the states. 

So I'll just give you the highlights from this week. Tuesday we worked out with Marcin; other than that we really didn't do much that I remember.

Wednesday we had all Ireland which was really cool. All the missionaries in Ireland got together for a conference so that took up the whole day.  

Thursday I went on exchanges with a greeny missionary in Bray, we taught a born-again who brought his guitar and just wanted to sing Christian Rock the whole time. But we were able to get a lesson going when the branch president showed up. It wasn't the best lesson cause he kinda wanted to bash with us. They said they will give him one more chance to see if they will keep meeting with him. 

Friday we exchanged back then did weekly planing; and had dinner with Reynaldo and that's pretty much all I remember.

Saturday we had a lesson with Daniel, the one who is into metaphysics. We watched Prophet of the Restoration with him and did a bit about church history so that was pretty good. But he likes going into the deep stuff so we are thinking next time we see him we will go over the book of Abraham and Moses. Then we had a lesson with a guy named Ozzy who is pretty cool. A member from the states came with us named Eric who is super cool. The lesson went really well, we went over the plan of salvation and he had a lot of questions so we were only able to cover about a third of it. The sisters had a baptism that night so we went to that. It was really good but took a few tries to get it right, his arm wasn't going all the way down, but it all worked out. Then Reynaldo took us to an all you can eat Chinese place which was pretty good. Syd would have liked it cause the chicken was very good!

Sunday after church we had dinner with Reynaldo and the sisters. Then we went and taught Marcin and his kids, before the zone leaders picked us up. So that was our crazy week. The weeks seem to be going by faster and faster its crazy. Love and miss you. 


Mason didn't send any pictures today, but I sent a Facebook message to his companion's mom and when she replied she said she had some pictures and she sent them to us - so here they are! 

Mason and his companion, Elder Kinville

Dinner with Reynaldo

The 4 Elders in their district

August 31, 2015

This is the e-mail we got from Mason today . . .

Hey Mom - This week has been pretty good and crazy. Elder Kinville is awesome he is so cool, and yes we will be going to Pizza Hut every Thursday for weekly planing.

So this week on Tuesday we had district meeting but we all met at the stake center with a bunch of other teams and the senior couple made us all lunch so we all got to hang out with each other for lunch. After, I went on exchanges with the district leader Elder MacFarlane, who is really cool - I've known him for a while. He was sick so we had to stay in the flat almost the whole day, but it was raining really hard so it wasn't too bad.

Wednesday we went and visited a member who is interesting to say the least. But we realized we will not be visiting him again (I asked Mason why they wouldn't be visiting him again and he said they think he is probably schizophrenic). Then we saw our investigator Daniel, the one who is really into metaphysics, and that ended up being about two hours cause he just talks. That finished up the day. 

Thursday after weekly planing we met with another investigator named Nubea from Brazil. Then we went and had dinner at a members house; his name is Reynaldo from the Philippines. For dinner he gave us each a whole chicken which was pretty awesome. 

Friday we did some service at a members house and then we went and met another investigator named Marcin, he is from Poland and is a personal trainer so we work out with him. It is pretty crazy what he has us do but it is also fun. Then we just GQed (street contacting) the rest of the day and had dinner. 

Saturday we had breakfast at Reynaldo's then went to work out with Marcin again which was even more intense than the day before. Then after dinner we went and met with another investigator named Damien who is just really cool and fun to chat with. 

Sunday after church we went and visited a member who just got out of the hospital really quick. Then we went to a members house, Bro. Neilson from the states, for dinner then we went and had a lesson with Marcin and his family that went really well.

So that was my crazy week of running around Dublin. Love and miss you guys. 

I got Mason's Dublin address last week and I have been trying to find it on Google maps but it took me a while to finally find it - so here is a picture of his flat (I sent this picture to him and he told me that yes this is the building where he lives).

August 24, 2015

Mason made it safely to Dublin this last week and is now in his new area - here is the e-mail we got today . . .

 

So to start off, on Monday I saw the members of Inverness I could and said good bye to them it has been the hardest ward to leave by far! But we have a place to stay when we visit Scotland after I am home. The Martin-Thiers said we can stay with them, so you will need to become friends with the mom, Louise. 

So how traveling went was we had to leave Inverness by 2 on Tuesday to get to Aberdeen by 5. Then we got on a train to Edinburgh. There where plenty of other missionaries with me, including Elder Penmen (I asked him if he knew Elder Penman because he is a friend of Bryn's new roommate at Utah State). I met him my first transfer he was trained by my mission Grandpa so he is my mission Uncle. But once we got to Edinburgh we got picked up and taken to the Chinatown flat where we stayed the night with about 15 other missionaries - it was packed. Then we got up got on a bus to Strenrear, that was about 3 hours, and then the ferry was about another 3 hours, then we got on another bus in Belfast for 3 hours, then we got off at the Dublin bus station. Elder Barton (one of the other missionaries that went to Cottonwood) was there. Then I met my new companion Elder Kinville who is really cool. We get along really well. Then we got to the flat and that was the day. 

Thursday we went to Pizza Hut and weekly planned. They have a buffet so we go and eat there while we weekly plan it's pretty sweet. Then we went and taught one of the sisters' investigators named Robin. 

Friday we went by a guy who got confirmed yesterday just to see how he was doing and if he would be there on Sunday. Then we went and met with another investigator named Marcin. He is from Poland and he is a personal trainer so we worked out with him and I threw up. So that was fun and I am still sore. Then we saw another investigator named Daniel who is interesting. He studies metaphysics and he believes he is, what he calls, a level one indigo child which means he was reincarnated for a special purpose. Then he said we are also level one indigo children . . .so that's fun. 

Saturday we saw some more investigators. There are to many to write about, but it was a busy day. 

Sunday we had church then after we went to a dinner appointment with a member from the states who is pretty cool. His name is Brother Nielson. The ward seems pretty cool from the people I met and talked to. 

So that was this week. So far I'm not a big fan of Dublin. But Inverness ruined me for sites. When we where at Bro. Nielson's one of the sisters told us to look at the great view - he lives in a flat in a big tall building, and it was just city everywhere. I'm not much a fan of that view but things are going pretty good so far. Love and miss you guys. 

These are some pictures he sent with some of the ward members in Inverness - 

 

August 17, 2015

We got a short e-mail from Mason today. I don't think he was in much of a mood to write a long message. They had moves calls last night and Mason was planning on staying in Inverness because his companion is going home this week. But, apparently the new mission president made a lot of changes and in several places he put two new missionaries instead of leaving one missionary in the area with just a new companion. So Mason is headed to Dublin, Ireland, and he is not super happy about it today - I don't think he was at all prepared for a transfer so it was a bit of a shock. But, he hasn't wanted to leave any area he has been in once he gets there and gets to know the ward members, so I am sure it will be the same in Ireland. I have already sent a couple messages back and forth with someone in the new ward where he will be serving and she said they are excited to meet him and that they take good care of their missionaries which has been the case in every ward Mason has been in so I am not too worried that when it comes time for him to leave this area he won't want to leave there either. So here is the e-mail we got . . . 

This moves call freaking sucks! I wanted to stay in Inverness longer!!! Yea but I'm hoping I come back to Scotland fairly quickly. I will be getting my moves plans later on so right now I don't know how I'm getting there other then the ferry over. My new companion is Elder Kinville he just got done being trained and I'm going to be senior companion, and I don't even know how to spell the name of my new area. But right now I'm with Elder Kemp and we just drove back up to Inverness to get my stuff all packed up. (They were in Aberdeen when they got the moves call because Mason's companion was leaving for Edinburgh to get ready to come home this week.) 

This week we really didn't do much but going to see members for Elder Carter to say good-bye. On Friday they had a surprise going away party for Elder Carter, but one of the young men ruined it by texting us and saying he wouldn't be able to come. But this week was really fun getting to see everyone but we will be spending today and tomorrow going and saying good-bye to every one. We have a car right now so it will be pretty easy to get around.

That's about it for this week not much else. I am just shocked at moves call but Elder Barton (one of the other missionaries that went to Cottonwood) will be my new zone leader that's about the one bonus about this. Love and miss you guys. 

I woke up early and e-mailed back and forth with him for a while. I got the map of the mission that we have and sent him the names of the wards in Dublin and he said he will be in the Terenure ward right in Dublin. He said there is a sister missionary going to Dublin that he thinks he will be traveling with and he said they will probably meet up with other missionaries and ride the ferry together. He will probably start heading to Ireland sometime on Wednesday, but he said sometimes it can take a day or two to get there.

I have included a couple of pictures. The first picture is one that someone in the Inverness ward posted on Facebook. The other picture is a picture of the building of the ward where is going in Dublin.