till i collapse (Week 95, Stourbridge, England, Elder Kelleher and Elder Wilson)

what’s good everyone! transfer calls came in yesterday and ill be ending my mission here in stourbridge with elder kelleher and elder Wilson will join us to make it a trio for half the transfer! trio? the grass is green! it’s gonna be so lit! 

this week was jam packed with things like door knocking, President and sister leppards last zone conference, blessings left and right, and more. it was a swell week. one highlight would have to be last Monday night, we stopped by a potential and he told us to stop by an hour later, so we did and he let us right in. As we sat in his living room his girlfriend walked in and joined all of us. We did a short HTBT and restoration and bam! that’s how you get a super cool young couple to be investigating the only true church of Jesus Christ on the earth!

we were walking in this underground subway thing and started talking to two chav guys. they were more respectful than the typical chav and when we told him that there’s a prophet on the earth today, he looked at us with so much focus, we taught a bit of the restoration to him and he turned to his friend and said in essence “do you recognise the magnitude of what these guys are saying?” It hit me in that moment how incredibly important our message is. i testify that god speaks through prophets in our time, and I would invite you all to listen to what he is saying today.

a good friend of mine who is also in the ending stages of his mission sent a pretty motivating email recently, he talked about how in a race, the last lap is no time to slow down, I can picture Christ as my coach saying to me as I start this last lap of my mission “I GAVE MY ALL TO YOU, NOW GIVE IT YOUR ALL ELDER VARNER!” I’m so incredibly excited to work my absolute hardest til the day I see you all again. 

a scripture that fits this day and also the last twenty two months of my life is Christ’s counsel to each of us: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it”

major happy birthdays to my grandma, my brother Jake, my uncle Jeff, and my sister Halle! I hope you all have a wonderful day. I love each of you! Look unto Christ in every thought, doubt not, fear not ️

Elder Varner

angels to bear us up...and gypsies (Week 94, Stourbridge, England, Elder Odle)

“some of my boys said some people were planning on jumping you two but my boys sorted them for you trust me I got you two”

that’s the text we got from our fourteen year old gyspy friend this past week. what a week. filled with highs and lows and some twists and turns. the first three days of the week were exchange after exchange, it was a blast! i got to spend some time with elder Wilson from Texas and elder chick from australia. we knocked the chav towers. by the way I learned that chav stands for Council House and Violence, so we decided that’d be a good place to knock. the people were more humble there, and every door that didn’t answer got a law of chastity or word of wisdom Leaflet because god knows they need it.

lots of service this week which is great! it’s so nice to serve others because it allows me to forget about myself, and when I do that I’m so much happier!! we taught some good lessons this last week. our most solid friend dropped us and that was kind of hard, but I know we are doing all we can out here, it’s just hard sometimes. 

i had the chance to check out President Nelsons Devotional to the youth and I think it applies to all of us! check it out and take his counsel seriously! treat it as if it came from the mouth of god himself, after all the lord said “whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” 

i also listened to a great talk by sister kearon, she said “Your Father in Heaven loves you, whoever you are, whatever you are struggling with. You are enough. You are enough. He loves you just the way you are, right here, right now, in all your beautiful messiness. But He also loves you enough not to let you stay the way you are right here, right now. He has much bigger plans for you! Don’t listen to the voices in your head--that may have been there from your childhood--that tell you you can’t change, you aren’t good enough, and you will fail yet again. Listen only to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit and “the pleasing word of God … which healeth the wounded soul” that confirm your infinite worth and God’s loving reassurance that you can do it.”

I testify that God is our loving Heavenly Father. He has so much in store for each of us. That catchy phrase, “I am a child of God”, is absolutely true. Let me be clear, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love each of you. No matter what, whether you’ve strayed off the path, or if you don’t even believe in them. I want it recorded in heaven that I testified to the people of England and all of you that I said in the simplest of terms, that God lives, his son Jesus Christ lives, and that their love is unfailing.

a major congrats to all the homies who graduated this past week! and an even bigger happy birthday to my awesome mom! thank you for all that you do, I love you! and I love each of you guys! don’t fredette that!

Elder Varner

we got a runner! (Week 93, Stourbridge, England, Elder Odle)

hey everyone!

thanks for tuning in for another episode across the pond! this week was another fast one and it was pretty good! we are working hard out here and are doing all we can to move forward the work here. 

we taught our friend sxxxhaun again this week. we were waiting for him at the chapel and we got a call from some other missionaries who said they saw this guy running to the chapel. yep, our homie was running to the chapel to meet with us! that’s dedication! sxxxxhaun took some bumps this week, but he’s so close to being fully committed! we showed him the film “how rare a possession” and he LOVED it!

as usual, lots of door knocking. while tracting we met a young man named Bxxxxn. he’s a gypsy who just got out of jail for stabbing someone, I can promise you he’s more safe now than you think. but we had a solid convo with him and got a message from him which pretty much said “I told all my friends about you guys and how sound you are and they are gonna be looking out for you and after you”. So now we have a flippin gang of gypsys that are backing us up, how dope is that?!

other notable events:

• while biking on the canal there was a group of chavs riding towards me and they were headed literally straight at me, and as I moved out of the way one of them did a wheelie and tried to kick me in the face, I dodged it, but it was way too close for comfort
• while talking to an older man on his doorstep he randomly stopped talking, pointed his cain at a cat like a gun and yelled “bang bang!”

other stuff happened as well but that’s all I feel like typing for now. i was reading in the Book of Alma this last week and Mormon rebukes a man named Pahoran not knowing all the situation. pahoran could have taken serious offence but he in essence said “you rebuked me, but it mattereth not”. David Bednar once said “One of the greatest indicators of our own spiritual maturity is revealed in how we respond to the weaknesses, the inexperience, and the potentially offensive actions of others. A thing, an event, or an expression may be offensive, but you and I can choose not to be offended--and to say with Pahoran, “it mattereth not.”’. No one inflicts being offended on to each of us, being offended is a choice, and if we choose it, we are halting our progression. forgive and forget!

i love you all! thanks for being true homies! make it a lit week!

Elder Varner

its lit!! (Week 92, Stourbridge, England, Elder Odle)

this week was nuts! it flew by and it was just a party! honestly I don’t even know where to start. we did loads of service this week, mainly gardening and the stinging nettle got me! that stuff hurts like woah. we taught quite a few lessons throughout the week. the main person we are working with is a YSA named Sxxxhaun. he’s what we’d call a “dry-mormon”. he loves the church, and he soaks everything in like a sponge! he even watches the flippin district! we are working on getting him a testimony of the Book of Mormon and he’s keeping his commitments! 

we met one guy named bxxxill while knocking doors and he was telling us about his bible reading, so we asked him “have you read much about Christ’s visit to the people of the ancient americas?” and he was hooked! he was hyped to get a Book of Mormon! lots of other good touches and things are heating up here! 

we went to harbourne for interviews/district meeting and while walking from lunch to the chapel I ran into a guy named Axxxlex, who I taught for 6 months while I was serving in Wylde Green. it was such a great reunion! we had our last interview with president and sister Leppard. at the end of June we will be getting a new mission president...interviews went great though! oh one of the craziest moments of the week, we were walking with one of our investigators to a place to talk with him and on the 5 minute walk we got bashed three flippin times, it was nuts. 

i just wanted to share some thoughts on missionary work. paul counselled all to “be thou an example of the believers”. each of us has the responsibility to live our lives in a way that others will see Christ in us. Someone once said “preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words”. missionary work is not just for full time missionaries. never forget “every member a missionary!”. make plans today to do your part!

happy Memorial Day! I love you all! Have a lit week! I’m gonna go give the footworks to the homies in chair football!

Elder Varner

wiping the board! (Week 91, Stourbridge, England, Elder Odle)

dang this week was so lit! i can’t believe how fast it went by! this area definitely has its struggles but we are having fun and putting in work! stourbridge has to be the most interesting area I’ve been in, []

we had a few good touches, we are trying to figure out what’s most effective, and we are pulling a los angeles clippers move by wiping the board and starting fresh. the work here is rough but we are doing all we can, this week will be another interesting one. i went out to woodsetton to go on exchange with elder chick, he’s from new zealand and he’s so cool, that was a blast. i wish I had more to tell you all about but to be real, this week was just hitting the grind, hopefully next week I’ll have some more fun stuff to share, but I’ve got a plethora of pictures for you all to enjoy.

a quote I’ve really reflected on lately goes as follows “brothers and sisters, let us do the best we can and try to improve each day. When our imperfections appear, we can keep trying to correct them. We can be more forgiving of flaws in ourselves and among those we love. We can be comforted and forbearing. The Lord taught, “Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now … ; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected.” We need not be dismayed if our earnest efforts toward perfection now seem so arduous and endless. Perfection is pending. It can come in full only after the Resurrection and only through the Lord. It awaits all who love him and keep his commandments.” it’s so easy to beat ourselves up when we make mistakes in our every day lives. making mistakes is part of this mortal journey we are on. as long as we are better today than we were yesterday then we are on the right track. as we rely on the atonement of the saviour Jesus Christ, we will become more Christ like. his grace not only saves us, but changes us.

i love you guys and hope you have a rad week!!

Elder Varner

kick start! (Week 90, Stourbridge, England, Elder Odle)

week 91: kick start!

hey everyone! first off it was so great talking to the fam and josh yesterday, last skype call! also a happy Mother’s Day shoutout to all you awesome moms out there! I’m grateful for having two awesome moms, one of whom is out here constantly with me and to my awesome mom over across the pond who’s done a ton for me!

before jumping into my new area, we stopped by the Leicester tigers rugby stadium and the Leicester city football stadium. while we were visiting the football stadium gift shop I asked one of the workers if they gave tours, to which he said they usually did but not on bank holidays. we got talking and he heard my american accent, and he said to me “well you’ve come a long way, I’ll take you down to the pitch” so he took us down to the flipping field for this top level premier team and it was so sick! got a few pics as well!

with help from angels I made it to Stourbridge with my two heavy bags and my bike, I’m pretty confident I’ll never have to travel with so much again haha. at the Leicester train station I actually met a really cool family visiting from Southern California and they were so nice to me, that was a major tender mercy. we’ve been at it working this last week! stourbridge is a little town on the outskirts of Birmingham, the ward only has about 30 people and to be honest, it’s struggling a lot, a ton of people have gone less active over the past few years because of a controversial bishop, BUT they just called a new bishop and some big plans are being put in action to kick start this dying ward! I’m excited for some of the stuff ahead!

here’s some random stuff:

• we balled out with two random guys and no joke I was just draining three after three after three, it was some of the best shooting I’ve ever done
• we each prayed and picked 10 streets one day and we got 2 in common, we then, after further inferring of the lord, picked one, we knocked one long side and nothing too notable occurred, but when we went back to the other side we ran into an African lady working on her lawn, so we offered her our help and I was on the ground working hard on the garden and elder odle was teaching her about the Book of Mormon, that’s the dream team right there! we will be back again soon

lots of good touches this past week. here’s a thought I’ve shared before but I came across it as I was in Alma 34 this week. President Eyring once said “There is a danger in the word someday when what it means is “not this day.” “Someday I will repent.” “Someday I will forgive him.” “Someday I will speak to my friend about the Church.” “Someday I will start to pay tithing.” “Someday I will return to the temple.” “Someday …” The scriptures make the danger of delay clear. It is that we may discover that we have run out of time. The God who gives us each day as a treasure will require an accounting. We will weep, and He will weep, if we have intended to repent and to serve Him in tomorrows which never came or have dreamt of yesterdays where the opportunity to act was past. This day is a precious gift of God. The thought “Someday I will” can be a thief of the opportunities of time and the blessings of eternity.”

there’s no better time to do something than NOW! now is the time to change, now is the time to tell someone that you love them, now is the time to forgive, to serve, to sacrifice. 

i love you all and hope you have a legen-wait for it-dary, legendary week!

Elder Varner 

goner!!! (Week 89, Stroud, England, Elder Andrulevicus)

in the words of twenty one pilots, I’m a goner. it looks like I’ll be finishing my mission out in stourbridge for my last two transfers! it’s a town near birmingham and I’ll be with elder odle who I’ve only heard great things about so I’m pretty hyped up! i definitely wanna go out with a bang for these last two, i ain’t dead yet! 

wow this was a crazy week. first things first, we went to nottingham for a zone conference and we got...smart phones! its a bit weird having a normal phone again, to be honest I’m faster with texting on the crappy phone haha. it was fun to see some old friends and then after, was what I’ve been waiting for. there’s only one Taco Bell in our mission and its in Nottingham, and of course I couldn’t pass up that opportunity. boy was it good, actually scratch that, it wasn’t just good, it was gold star worthy! 

last pday bishop toogood took us golfing and that was a blast! we played 9 holes of pitch and putt and hit the range! when I got hold of that driver I caught fire again! brad cook and hunter better watch out!

we taught our friend dxxxaz again. he’s so humble and he came to church yesterday and loved it! he’ll be bringing his kids down next week! hopefully I’ll come back for the baptism! #dunk  we got let in a few times this week while knocking doors which is rare, and we taught a fair amount of street lessons. I loved getting to teach a lot this week. we do so much finding out here. but this last week we really taught when we found and found while we taught as preach my gospel puts it!

we met with our panthers fan, Dxxxan, last week as well and we watched a talk by brad wilcox called “His Grace is Sufficient” and it is so so good!! I shared it on Facebook so check it out! Here’s a few of my favorite quotes:

• “Christ’s arrangement [him asking us to follow his commandments] with us is similar to a mom providing music lessons for her child. Mom pays the piano teacher. Because Mom pays the debt in full, she can turn to her child and ask for something. What is it? Practice! Does the child’s practice pay the piano teacher? No. Does the child’s practice repay Mom for paying the piano teacher? No. Practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom’s incredible gift. It is how he takes advantage of the amazing opportunity Mom is giving him to live his life at a higher level. Mom’s joy is found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used--seeing her child improve. And so she continues to call for practice, practice, practice.”
• “There should never be just two options: perfection or giving up. When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time. When we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in our lives. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness”
• Paraphrasing: I have other Christian friends who say to me “you Mormons are trying to earn your way to heaven”, to which I say “no, we aren’t earning heaven, we are learning heaven” and then I ask them a question they might have not thought about “have you been changed by grace?” Latter Day Saints understand not only what we are saved from, but what Christ save us for

That talk is laced with gems! Watch it! 

I’m so grateful for this chance to be a missionary, to be a representative of Jesus Christ. I’m grateful for all He has done for me. By living His gospel and applying the principles found in the Book of Mormon, I’ve found so much peace and happiness. I’m looking forward to what’s going to be a LIT week! I love you all! 

Elder Varner