it that all you got? (Week 75, Leicester, England, Elder Stock)

hey everyone! thank you all for the encouraging emails and all the prayers, each one helped a lot! this week was a lot better, I still felt the same, but overall my attitude was better and we saw some cool stuff happen!

if I had to name the theme for this last week it would be the Book of Mormon. so much about the Book of Mormon this last week. we used it in every aspect of the work we do. when we talked to people at the university, we tried having printed pages of the Book of Mormon and we asked people to highlight every reference to Jesus Christ they could find, when we would tell them what book it was from, they’d be shocked to hear it was the Book of Mormon. I think we gave out over 5 or 6 copies this week which is a lot. I’ll attach a pic of the “experiment” we did. i was asked to give a Training on the Book of Mormon in our district meeting on Friday which was fitting because I finished the Book of Mormon again last Thursday. I’ll talk more about that later.

we had a basketball night at the church and got a decent show up for it. one of the games I was MVP cuz I was literally draining every deep shot I was taking, and I even wrecked someone by blocking their shot. tell coach rose to warm up my spot on next year’s team! haha, we also played football (soccer) on Saturday morning. I’ve never been good with my feet, but I was dominating in our 3v3 game, breaking ankles, and even scored 6 of 10 goals in one game!

we met a lot of cool people this last week, it’s amazing how god just puts us in the right place at the right time. we chose to walk on this place called new walk yesterday afternoon and some random guy called us over and we started talking with him. his name is Rxxyan, super cool guy who started believing in god two weeks ago. we had a real good convo with him and are seeing him again on Tuesday! 

here are some random bits and pieces from the last week:

• Elder stock and I were walking and he said I could punch him as hard as I could, so I gave a 90% punch and some random lady walked past us and said “is that all you’ve got?” so that’s my embarrassing moment of the week
• we were sitting down emailing last Monday inside a mall when some random black guy ran past us screaming “run nibba run” although he used a different middle word
• we sang the australian national song at district meeting for Australia Day, not as good as our national anthem though

There was other stuff that happened but this email is already super long. This week I finished the Book of Mormon. I can say it really is another testament of Jesus Christ. There is NO other book that will bring you closer to Him than the Book of Mormon. Every time I read it I can feel of god’s infinite love, I feel a desire to serve others, and my desire to sin decreases. The reason the Book of Mormon is such a powerful book is because it is the word of god, and it testifies simply and clearly of the way we can live with god again, through his son Jesus Christ. I know it’s true and that it came about the way Jospeh smith said it came about. Any intelligent person can open the Book of Mormon and recognise that a young uneducated farm boy could not have possibly made it up. It is of god or the devil, it is either the word of god or a fraud, there is no middle ground. I testify that it is of god, and I invite each of you to read it, ponder what it has to say, and pray and ask god if it is true. 

I love all of you guys, have a rad week, and don’t fredette-GO EAGLES!!

Elder Varner

#blessed (Week 74, Leicester, England, Elder Stock)

what’s up everyone! i hope you had a good week! this week we got shut down! it was crazy! we took L’s left and right. for the most part, people really weren’t down to talk and I just felt so sick the entire week. definitely one of the harder weeks of my mission but enough of me feeling sorry for myself. we did see some very tender, tender mercies this week #blessed

we got to watch the press conference and announcement of the new first presidency. how great is it that the lord leads his church today? coolest thing ever! we had interviews on Thursday with president and sister Leppard and P-Leppard dropped some wisdom-he is one of the best individuals I’ve ever met!

we spent a lot of time talking to people in town, and while many people were just turning us down, we did talk to a homie from london who is super cool, he was only here in Leicester for a day but he used to meet with missionaries and he asked a few questions about some things missionaries had previously taught him-he was super open to seeing missionaries again, and we sent him on his way with a new book of mormon. we also ran into a few formers and potentials we’ve been trying to contact which are mini miracles. one of our homies named fxxazzie (fuh-zee) came to church yesterday, all 3 hours and he loved it-he said he wants to be a missionary one day like us, such a cool guy, he recently converted to Christianity and the man loves Jesus! we will see him again this week!

today we just hung out in the city, got some Burger King and went to this cool museum that had a really emotional tribute to Ann Frank, it’s been a pretty swell day

i found my new favourite chapter in the Book of Mormon. ether 12 is such a good read. everything about it. it talks of the importance of faith, how we we gain a witness after the trial of our faith, how faith brings to pass miracles, and how god can make our weaknesses become strengths. there are so many gems in that chapter-read it!

one of my all time favourite scriptures is 1 Nephi 1:20. in this part, nephi and his family were facing severe persecution and people even wanted to kill them. despite all this adversity, nephi still managed to look at the good side of things, he said “But behold I nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the lord are over all those whom he hath chosen because of their faith to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance”. im not perfect at it, but I try to look out for the lord’s hand in my life. over all the hard times of my life including this last week, the tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father have lifted me over my challenges. i don’t suspect that things will get much easier any time soon, but I trust that the lord will continue to carry me.

i love you all. go have a lit week. ill try to do the same. look unto Christ in every thought, doubt not, fear not ️

Elder Varner

also here’s a thought to reflect on for the week:

-an agnostic, dislexic, insomniac lies awake at night wondering if there’s a dog

let's get it (Week 73, Leicester, England, Elder Stock)

what is up party people! if you wanna know where the real party is at I’ll tell ya...Leicester baby! Leicester is so flippin LIT! its so nice to be placed in a city centre again. talking to this people was a blast this week and the university is popping as well!

it was sad to leave stroud if I’m being real with you guys, the members there are incredible and it was so sweet serving there. the journey to Leicester via Birmingham was filled with tender mercies left and right, like people helping me switch platforms,  helping me on and off trains, and even getting to hangout with my homie elder Bowen on the train (probably the last time I’ll see him until after the mish). 

I’ll give a bit of a rundown on this place: we are a 2 minutes walk from the city centre which is super nice, we have a lidl and an aldi for food shopping like 2 minutes away. It’s a 15 minutes bike ride to the chapel, but you have to go through mini pxakistan to get there, it’s so sketchy, I’ve seen a few fights about to break out on the way to the church, but I ain’t scared, I go to church. The members are super cool! We ate at a young couple named the sxmiths yesterday and after, Gxeorge came out with us and knocked doors for an hour which was a blast. By the way he served in the Peru Lima mission at the exact same time as my brotha Tyler!

we did a culture Night Activity at the chapel on Saturday night and we had like 5 investigators there, it was so sick! They all loved it-I’ll talk about them more next time! And last random thing that shows how sick this place is...the sports here are legit! Saturday morning we played English football with a bunch of homies and they were dominating us, but last night on the way back to the flat we saw two homies shooting a basketball around so we decided to go up and challenge them to a 2V2. We dominated them, I was on fire, draining deep shots, behind the head layups, just call me Jimmer!

for a bit of an uplifting thought today I wanted to expand on something I say at the end of most of my emails, and that is what the lord once said to the prophet Joseph Smith “Look Unto Me In Every Thought, Doubt Not, Fear Not” (D&C 6:36). No matter what we may be facing or whatever may be going on in the world, if we look to Jesus Christ we can feel peace and joy. I think of Peter’s experience found in Matthew 14: 24-32. The Saviour invited him to walk on the water towards him, and as his focus was on Christ, he was able to walk on water, but as soon as he started focusing on all that was surrounding him, he began to sink. No wonder why the lord tells us to look unto him always. On sundays, many of us promise Him that we will always remember him. By doing so we can find true and lasting happiness. His loving arms are always outstretched. I would invite each of you to try turning to Jesus Christ, and I can promise you that you won’t regret it. 

here’s to another lit week out here! hope you all have a legen-wait for it————DARY, LEGENDARY week! don’t fredette that Elder V loves you guys!

Elder Varner

Leicester on the rise and grind (Week 72, Stroud, Cheltenham, England, Elder Frenkel| transfer to Leicester with Elder Stock)

what’s good guys! sorry only half of you got my weekly email last week, the computers weren’t working but I hope you all had a good New Years! it’s been a busy last week here!

last Monday PJ and Aiden (homies from Wylde green) came down to visit and we went to Gadfield Elm (its the very first Mormon chapel in the world)-pretty cool stuff! No one was there so to get into the building you had to answer church trivia questions to open the door. It was sweet to see pj again as well! He’s been rockin lately-he recently got the melkezidek priesthood and is planning on the temple soon!

Tuesday was district meeting and interviews which were great-I talked a bit about our mantle as missionaries. we did a lot of knocking doors this week and even got let in a few doors. my fav convo we had though was with one [girl] in Gloucester-she isn’t very religious but we just bore so much testimony and we watched her heart soften-it was way cool! 

we went to mlc on friday in birmingham-as a mission we are gonna work a lot on using the Book of Mormon in every aspect of the work. it was a good meeting! not a ton else for the week other than the typical knocking doors and member visits.

I found out last night I’ll be leaving Stroud tomorrow to go to...Leicester City Center! I’ll be follow up Training an elder stock from Utah! I’m stoked! There’s two universities in our area and from everything I’ve heard, it’s gonna be an absolute blast! I’ll miss it here in Stroud though. The ward may have been small, but it was a family, I love this ward and the area in general is beautiful. I also loved all the missionaries I got to serve around here. It’s a bitter sweet departure but as the familiar hymn says “I’ll go where you want me to go”.

It was sad hearing about the death of Thomas S Monson. I know he was truly the lord’s prophet on the earth. I’m so grateful that God still speaks to prophets and apostles today, that the authority to act in god’s name that was here when Christ lived on the earth has been restored. You can know for yourself that god still speaks to prophets and apostles by asking him in prayer. I thank God for the life of president Thomas S. Monson. Here’s some quotes from him that have had a major impact on my life:

• “When you are on the Lord’s errand, you are entitled to His help”
• “My brothers and sisters, there is no tomorrow to remember if we don’t do something today”
• “Whom the Lord calls, He qualifies”
• “Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved”
• “I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish--and in effect save their lives”
• “May we ever be courageous and prepared to stand for what we believe, and if we must stand alone in the process, may we do so courageously, strengthened by the knowledge that in reality we are never alone when we stand with our Father in Heaven”
• “I implore each of us to prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day. As we do so, we will be in a position to hear the voice of the Spirit, to resist temptation, to overcome doubt and fear, and to receive heaven’s help in our lives. I so testify with all my heart in the name of Jesus Christ”

Im definitely nervous for the upcoming week but i think it’s gonna be a great one! I love you all so much. keep me in your prayers this week and have a lit week, I’ll try to do the same. look unto Christ in every thought, doubt not, fear not ️

Elder Varner

and the 2017th year did end in ice (Week 71, Stroud, Cheltenham, England, Elder Frankel)

week 72: and the 2017th year did end in ice. And it came to pass in the commencement of the 2018th year...

happy New Years! where did 2017 go? I can hardly believe how fast the last year has gone by! 2017 was the hardest, most fun, craziest, happiest year of my life! and 2018 is gonna be even better! lots of fun stuff this last week to end off the year!

on Christmas Day we went to the rxxibouets which was a blast! for Christmas dinner we had turkey (with cranberry sauce), stuffing, bacon wrapped sausages, potatoes, and more! it was sooo good! skyping the fam was fun as well! it’s weird because it felt so normal to talk to them and then at the end reality kicks in that missionary life starts back up, it’s hard to describe.

the day after christmas is boxing day which is a shopping/lazy day so we got to shop a bit and went on this cool hike/meal with a family named the Lxxewis’ and their nonmember friends! we did lots of knocking doors and had some good conversations with people, lots of “good touches”, we are struggling to build a good teaching pool here but we have some sweet plans for the upcoming weeks and month so things are looking good here! we have been working really hard on gaining the trust from members of the ward and it’s amazing to see the progress!

there was ice everywhere this week! we were slippin and sliding everywhere. I can’t physically do the splits but there were a few times where I got pretty darn close. We had our district meeting in Cheltenham, and before we ice skated in the car park. that’s how much ice there was, we legit ice skated in the car park. the meeting went good as well, I gave a training on tender mercies, something which I’ve been trying to focus more on lately. 

some of you may have set new years resolutions, maybe one of you has already broken that resolution. setting goals and being accountable for them is so key! elder Ballard once said “Over the years, I have observed that those who accomplish the most in this world are those with a vision for their lives, with goals to keep them focused on their vision and tactical plans for how to achieve them. Knowing where you are going and how you expect to get there can bring meaning, purpose, and accomplishment to life. . . . A goal is a destination or an end, while a plan is the route by which you get there. . . . A key to happiness lies in understanding what destinations truly matter--and then spending our time, effort, and attention on the things that constitute a sure way to arrive there.” I’d encourage you all in this new year to be a little kinder, a little more loving, a little more selfless, and to come closer to Jesus Christ! You won’t regret it!

sending a happy birthday wish to my aunt melissa! hope you guys all have a fun first week of the year! wish I could be playing at the DV classic this new years but I’ll have to fight for the trophy at the end of this year! don’t fredette that Elder V loves all of you! look unto Christ in every thought, doubt not, fear not ️

Elder Varner