transfers

So moves is this week and I'm staying in Crowthorn but my companion is moving to Croydon! I didn't realize how short a transfer is. I'm a little unsure about how well I'll be able to lead the area but it will be a good learning experience. I really wasn't expecting Elder Moulin to move. That was a big surprise to both of us. I hope he likes Croydon. I'll have to tell him to say hi for me to a bunch of people over there. My new companion will be Elder Brown from Montana.

This week has been pretty good. We are finally starting to have some service projects. Now that I think of it the weather is probably the reason. It's finally nice enough out for the members to want to do some work and they're not shy to ask for some help. I think the members are starting to trust us more witch is good because we can start to work with them more.

We got to teach with a guy named Matt. He seems pretty nice. Unfortunately his mum was there and all she wanted to do was bible bash. We tried to keep it to the lesson but she kept asking questions and wouldn't listen to our answers. It sort of ruined the lesson. But he still listened and seemed interested. We'll try to meet with him again and see how much he got out of it.

Questions: (from home)

1. Have you driven any of the cars that have the steering on the opposite side?
2. Who is your favorite member in the Crowthorn ward, what are they like and what makes them your favorite?
3. What is the best missionary tool, approach or most productive method?
4. If you could tell all the people in South England 1 thing, if there was a way to broadcast so all would hear, what would you broadcast?

Answers: (from Elder Fisher)

1. No I have not driven at all. I haven't been in a vehicle area yet.

2. I don't have a favorite member.

3. The members are the best approach in missionary work when they are involved. It's important for the investigators to have member support. And people will tend to be more willing to hear the gospel from a friend than from a stranger in a suit.

4.That's a hard question. I have no idea. But I'm running out of time so I'll talk to you next week. 

looking for food

Hello everyone!

Nice to hear that it's finally warming up over there. It's been really nice over here the last couple of days. The sun is finally shining and it's nice and warm.

 My feet have been sore from all the walking I've been doing. It just means I'm getting stronger (hopefully).

(we told him that our Sunday tradition at home here has been soup Sunday.) I haven't had soup in a while. We always have rice or pasta. Every day.

This week has been better. We actually found a few people we are going to teach. We're trying to set more appointments wit them and hopefully start teaching them. The main problem with most people seems to be that their too busy. But we have been doing all we can and have met some nice people so hopefully they can find some time for us. We have also been organizing the aria book and trying to contact lots of former's and potentials. The aria book really needed to be reorganized and updated. We also finished the missionary bulletin board. It looks really nice. We have pictures of the missionaries in the ward with information about them, as well as pictures of the missionaries from the ward, the ward mission plan, and the dinner list. Hopefully we get more dinner appointments now. Elder Moulin and I have been doing good. I think the weather helps. My feet still hurt; I think it's time for new shoes.

(another side note, Brandon has also been asking mom for some simple, cheap and yummy recipes. so if anyone wants to write do send a recipe with it.) 

Hello again

Hello once again Family and Friends!

I am not enjoying the weather this week because I spend most of my time in it but I'm glad I don't have to deal with the weather you'r having over there! I often wonder how missionaries can do anything over there.

Very sad to hear about Owen. Must have been bad roads from what I hear about the weather over there. I didn't really know him too well but it really is too bad to hear about that.

We are having a hard time finding people to teach. There are not a lot of people to stop in this aria and allot of them are not stopping to talk to us The ones who are don't want to meet up again. We've had one return appointment but it didn't fall through. I think Elder Moulin is getting a little stressed about it. We have been looking for some less actives and were able to meet with some of them. We are starting to work a bit more with the members though. 

I got some good news from Elder Caruso: 

"Valentim was baptized on Saturday 1 March. He came late (so he's changed but not too much!). 

It was a great service. He is really converted."

He sent me a picture from the baptism. I'll be sure to send it your way.

Keep me updated on Mattew Chatterton's call. You can just give Brother Cook the letter I wrote at Christmas. Good to hear from you all as usual.

-Elder Fisher

First time sick

Sorry to hear about the weather. It still hasn't snowed yet here in England. There has been a lot of rain but the past few days have been quite nice. I've been a bit sick and had to take an afternoon off but I'm much better now. Keep up the missionary work! I've got an e-mail from elder Caruso and it sounds like Valentim might be getting baptized on Saturday! This is what he put in the e-mail:

"We gave him a blessing last Thursday and he stopped smoking, drinking coffee and all the other crap. It's amazing. You know Mark Ridgeway? He was at a DA [dinner appointment] with Mama Vega the other day and we took Valentim. Well, Valentim taught Mark. He bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. He was on a roll. He's getting baptized Sat at 4 pm. Probably Bruno will baptize him."

That's a miracle because we've also had a hard time getting him to church. Good to hear about Brittany. I can't wait to hear where she's going! 

Floods, Wind, and Missionary Work!!

There is some flooding going on around but our area is not affecting our area really. It has been quite windy though. We had one really windy night. There were some trees fallen over here and there but nothing too crazy. My new area is really nice. There are lots of nice neighborhoods and it's not so crowded. I have some pictures I can send you. The members here seem nice. They don't seem too exited about missionary work but some of them are good at being involved. We are trying to work more with the members. I don't think I have a favorite member. I think if we work with the members more we can get them more motivated and also gain their trust. We are working on a missionary board with info about the missionaries and we're going to try to improve the dinner list and put a bunch of other things on this missionary board. Hopefully this will motivate the members more. We're also trying to plan more ward activities for the members to invite their friends too. Good job teaching Mike! Here are some pictures from this week.
 I found a new function on my camera...

 A very English photo.

 My companion Elder Moulin

The only tree to fall in the whole parking lot and it fell on the only vehicle parked there



We've been getting creative with our frozen pizza

First Transfer

The Lord of the Rings Transfer?
The names of all the places that Elder Fisher was transferred to all sound like they came out of the movie, Lord of the Rings". 
Like this: "Riders of Rowhan ride hard to the aid of Brandon of Crowthorne, King of Birkshire. Ride hard through the Bracknell forest with haste."

Crowthorne is a large village in the Bracknell Forest district of Birkshire. It has a population of 6,711.

The county of Berkshire is one of the oldest in England. It may date bake from the 840's, the probable period of the unification of "Sunningum"

Berkshire has been the scene of many hot battles throughout history.

Two  attractions withing the county of Berkshire are Windsor Great Park and Windsor Castle. Look the area up sometime on the internet and read more.

Now word from Elder fisher:
So now I am in Crowthorn. It is a lovely place. It's not quite so crowded like Croydon was. It's very different from Croydon. I like it so far but it's been hard to adjust. I've been in Croydon for so long and I know it so well. I feel very lost in this new aria. But eventually I'll get used to it.

 My new address is 4 St Francis Close, Crowthorne, Berkshire, England  RG45 6DF.

 There aren't very many buses here so we walk everywhere we go. It takes just over an hour to walk to church. My feet hurt. 

My new companion is French. He seems pretty cool so far. He's almost done his mission. I think he has just over two and a half months left. We get along pretty good.

 There aren't a lot of people we are teaching here so we have been mostly just street contacting and knocking so far. I'll tell you more about the aria next week. 

First Transfer ?

Things are going well and I am still loving my mission. First of all, moves is this week and I am finally moving to a new aria. I don't know where yet but I'll find out later today. No more Croydon. It's going to be weird to leave because I've grown so familiar with Croydon. I'll let you know where I am next week. Elder Nielson (our district leader) is going home this week. We had burritos at a Mexican restaurant together as a district before he leaves. Elder Caruso is becoming the new district leader for this aria and he'll be training his new companion. 

I love hearing from you guys and I'm glad you're all doing good.

I will now send you some pictures.

Some more photos. The first one with the buss is not from the church. It's from the creators of "South Park". It's an advertisement for the "Book of Mormon Musical".