April 22, 2013

Y'alright Mum!

That's what they say.  They don't usually say Hi, or hey, they say Y'alright.  It's not a question.  It sort of is.  But usually you say it more as a statement.

Everything is going okay over here!  I'm learning a lot, and I'm glad that I made computer wallpaper.

I just sent an email to Ange, and I put an average day in my life in hers. So I'm just going to copy and paste. Here it is:

England is great! The people are always sad and grumpy. But the members are fun, and they feed us a lot of food.  A typical day for me is waking up at 630, praying, then eating breakfast in my grey hoodie and grey shorts, and it's almost always a huge bowl of frosted flakes.  Then, when Elder Lewis gets out of the shower, he comments on how much of a zombie I am in the mornings, then I take a shower, and get ready.  Then I usually play a bit of piano, get dressed in my proscelyting gear.  (Sunday shoes, socks, and trousers, a white shirt and tie, and when I leave, a black rain coat, and my backpack)
Then I pray, do a personal study where I'm currently reading the Doctrine and Covenants (which is sooo cool.) Then prayer with Elder Lewis, and comp study, which begins by reading three pages of the white bible, then we talk about what we learned in personal study, then we plan out our day.  then we do my training, which is like watching the district and reading scriptures and talking about them, and we finish that at about 11:00.  We pray before we leave. Then we go out and try to do some finding, or visit a less active or something, and we're back at about noon for lunch for an hour.  Then at one, we're back out, after a prayer, teaching investigators, finding, visiting people and whatever we have to do for the day.  Then back to the flat around six to eat dinner, or we go to a member's house for dinner.  Usually a member's house.  then we give them a spiritual thought, and usually have an appointment to get to at like 7:30.  We teach or whatever, then head back to the flat.  We're supposed to be back at 9:00, and we've only been late once.  then since elder lewis is DL, he does call ins, where he talks to each team in the district about their days, and then reports all of it to the zone leader.  Meanwhile, I write in my journal, play piano, plan the next day, and update the areabook.  Then, I pray for usually like ten or fifteen minutes. Get in bed, and then I'm out.  I sleep so hard here.  Then I wake up and do it again.

Yeah. Piano. I guess I can still read music.. and we have a keyboard in the flat. So. Yeah. Piano. Gross. But maybe I'll get good at it.  Anything can be done, through the Lord.

I've definitely caught on to the language, and I find myself using it more and more the longer I'm here.  Which hasn't been long.  But it has.  The best way to describe is that the days go by like weeks and the weeks go by like days.  On wednesday, I'll have officially been out for four weeks.  How crazy is that? I feel like it was yesterday that you were dropping me off on the curb, but also I think about everything that's happened since, and that's a lot of stuff.

Tamworth is a little city near Coventry, kind of.  It's a twenty minute train ride to the mission home, and a fifteen minute ride to Birmingham. Look North East of Birmingham.  I think that's where you'll find me.

I'm glad you hung out with Ange! I bet that was way fun!  You should keep doing that. For maybe.. Like, two years?  That'd be nice.  Then I'll come home and take her off your hands.

I definitely feel bad for everyone still at the MTC.  The field is much, much better.  I love it out here.

I think I figured out pictures too.  but I'm going to send them to you on a different message, because it might be hard.

Also, I bought an external hard drive so that I could store all the pictures from you guys and all my pictures somewhere.  I hope you don't mind.  It'll be useful for like the next million years.. so I don't think you'll care.

Anyways, the mission is hard.  Nobody wants anything to do with the gospel.  but we're going to find some one awesome to teach really soon, I just know it.  I think the Lord is just giving us a trial.

But hey, we've got Sue, and she's hopefully going to be baptized (possibly by me, Elder Lewis wants me to do it) on June 8th.  Happy birthday to me! and Sue. Her birthday is the 11th.  So i hope with all my heart she's still ready then, cause she's had a few other baptismal dates. But I have a feeling this is the one.  She's going to do it.  We also visit a few less active people, and some, well, long time investigators named Alec and Karen.  They're awesome and they're humor makes me feel like I'm home.  But they have this massive dog.  I'm going to take a picture of it tomorrow and send it to you.  But it's a great dane, and it's 17 stones.  which is like 250 lbs? 17x17lbs I think.  something like that.  either way, you'll see a picture of Charles.  Ha. Charles.  He's humongous. 

But I should go if I want to figure out the pictures. I love you!

Elder Smart

PS.  You should be getting some mail from me.  It's just some stuff that I want to save, I think.  Just throw it in the UK box. Thanks Mum.