The Chavs......

Hello there!!

Wow, its already week 7...and my first transfer in the field is almost over. Transfers are next wednesday, but I believe that we will be staying here another 6 weeks. I will let you guys know what happens! But I kinda want to stay. I know that the work will get better once the ward building opens back up and we can finally get people to church! Not being mean or anything, but the people here come up with some rubbish excuses for why they dont try to get to church, but there you are. (I hope you liked my british accent right there...im working on it haha)

So this week has been fun. Wednesday and Thursday we had a zone meeting in Rhiwbina which seemed to take forever! haha It was nice though. We focused on the role of the Holy Ghost in conversion. The Holy Ghost is very very important in the work that we missionaries do. Without it, there would be no conversion. We are merely teachers, or in other words preachers, while the Holy Ghost teaches the individual and testifies that our message is true. One experience that happened this week furthered my testimony of this. For once, somebody held their appointment! We found Darren while tracting. He is a pretty skeptical guy, especially on religion. We gave him a Book of Mormon and committed him to read the introduction and the testimonies of the 3/8 winesses and of Joseph Smith. He asked us question after question while we tried to answer them, not teach him. As I pondered on that night, I realised that a lesson without the Holy Ghost is just an argument, as was our lesson with Darren. If we teach with the Holy Ghost, the lesson will be more like a discussion. We should always strive to have to Holy Ghost as our constant companion because we can teach others by being an example and doing the right always.

One funny thing that happened this week scared the crap put of me (which interestingly enough, crap is a curse word here haha so weird). So first off, they have wannabe gangsters here called chavs. These are kids from the ages of like 12-early 20s who just walka round in large groups and cause havoc. They are stupid though because they are all talk and dont really do anything except dress in sweatsuits haha So anyways...a couple chavs were walking by us as we were talking to this one old fellow. One of them ran up, jumped on my bike and started to ride off. I was about to start chasing him when his friends said that he was only joking. He eventually gave my bike back but my heart was pounding for like 5mins after he left hahahaha I was about to take him down...maybe haha

Quick spiritual though for this week: I read a talked given by Elder Holland in an Ensign yesterday. He talked about the time that the Prophet Joseph Smith spent in Liberty Jail. This moment in his life, other than his martydom, was the worst. Not going into much detail about the conditions he was in or the circumstances the saints and his family were going through, Joseph cried to the Lord for help. He was calmed by the tender voice of the Lord and told that his afflictions would only be but a short season. Elder Holland relates this event to the Saviors life and to our lives. We each will experience a time when we will be in, what Elder Holland calls, a temple-prison. We will all go through hard times. We must remember that the trials we go through are small compared to what Christ went through and the prophets of the church. We must go through trials to learn and gain experience and knowledge; that is the whole purpose of life. Trust in the Lord and in Heavenly Fathers plan. Lean on them when times seem to be tough, He will never forget you. Jesus Christ is our Savior and dearest brother.

I love you all and I hope that this next week will be full of excitement and happiness.

-Elder Jaquish