We are sowing....

Hey Everyone!

Wow triple digits! I can't believe that! Time is going by so fast! Don't worry, I don't normally think about how much (little) time I have left, except there is an Elder in my district who kindly, every time I see him, the first thing he asks is "Are you trunky yet?" Not happy!

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well. This past week has been pretty good.

We had three less-actives and an investigator as church yesterday which was great! We had Ashley and Amelia there which was great, and Ashley's daughter came too, who was our investigator. We just started teaching her this week which was good. She is 9, nearly 10. We thought she was a lot younger. Anyway... sad thing is she is only with Ashley every other weekend so we won't get to teach her much, and we aren't sure how the mum would react if she wanted to be baptised. She seems okay with her coming to church though.

We had a really good teach with Kingston this week too. He asked a lot of great questions which all led onto the next principle we were about to teach. The spirit was there, we could feel it, and he could too. He said he really feels good when we come over. He also said he and Betty have been talking about church and they have decided that they need to come, but this week they weren't able to make it. Hopefully next week.

Apart from that it has been difficult to find new investigators. We seem to be doing all we can, we are out talking to people but no one seems to want to talk to us, or if they do, they don't want to meet with us again. It is hard, but we are still working hard.

Well, I can't think of anything else to share from this week so I shall wrap it up here.

I love you all so much!!

Elder Zach Mitchell

Lord, Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing

This week Elder Mitchell got the letter, the letter that officially tells him his release date. I'll let him tell it.

Hey Everyone!

99 emails from me on the page, 99 emails from meeee! sorry...

So this week has been an interesting week. First of all, I got a scary letter this week.... I got my trunky letter! You know, that letter you get at the end of your mission thanking you for all the hard work you've done... Yeah, I got that! It's okay though, the letter is dated 23rd April 2014, so that means it doesn't exist yet, right?

So investigator wise, we got some sad news this week. We got a text from Tom. He and his girlfriend have broken up, and he wants to take some time to get over it, and work things out, so he doesn't want to meet with us for the time being. He did say though that hopefully we would see us soon, so hopefully we can stay in contact and see him again once things have settled.

Our other investigators, we haven't really been able to see them this week. Kingston and Betty we were going to see them on Saturday but they had something come up. And the main problem with our investigators is that we commit them to come to church, and then they don't come. It is a little frustrating but never mind. Hopefully Sophie and Chris will be coming with their family this sunday though.

We were able to see that couple Ashley and Ameila this week though which was really good. We were meant to have a BBQ with them on Saturday, but their Dad was there so they didn't want to cause any problems. We should be seeing them this week at some point though.

Also something interesting I want to share from church yesterday. In Elder's Quorum the lesson was on sacrament, but the teach spent a lot of time going around the room and asking everyone one question. He simply asked "why are you here at church today?" Of course I was the last one he came to so I had a lot of time to think about it. It was an interesting question, something I would encourage all of you to ask yourselves when you are next at church.

Also, this sunday was one of the AP's last sunday. It was scary for me, because it means now that he is going home, that I am next... but it's okay, I'm not trunky.

Well, I better wrap this up here. I love you all!

Elder Zach Mitchell

ps. Attached is a picture of me with my trunky letter

Sweet is the Peace the Gospel Brings

Hey everyone!!

I hate how big the number of these emails are getting...

So this week has been pretty good. The weather has a least been nicer which is a plus. We have been pretty busy too, working hard trying to find people to teach.

Just to run you through our investigators. Tom is doing great, we haven't been able to see him, but we are still in touch and hopefully we will see him some time this week. He has said again that he really enjoyed church and he wants to come back. We have a few firesides coming up too that we are going to invite him to.

Kingston and Betty we were able to see them again this week. Some bad news, Kingston has lost his job until he can renew his visa. On the plus side, it means he could come to church on sundays for the time being. They weren't able to make it yesterday though.

Seeing Sophie and Chris on Monday went really well. They have 3 kids between the age of 6 and new-born. They are a really cool family and hopefully we will be able to see them again.

Christiana sadly we weren't able to see. We were a little late getting there as correlation took us longer to get back from than we thought it would. Hopefully we can get back in touch with her.

Another cool thing from this week though, there is a member here who owns about 20 owls, and this week he asked us to come over and help do some work on their enclosures which was really fun. It was cool to be up close with such beautiful creatures too. He had a snowy owl which kept looking at me all the time haha. And a barn owl nearly flew right into me once I got into the enclosure, and he also has an Eagle-owl named Zack which I thought was really cool. Zack is really funny too and kept hooting all the time haha.

Well that has pretty much been my week. I just want to end on a funny quote from the teacher of Elder's Quorum yesterday at church: "Going to church on sunday makes you a Christian as much as sitting in a car park makes you a car!"

hope you all have a good week.

Love you all!

Elder Zach Mitchell

Sweet is the work...

Justin Gets Baptised

Elder Tidwell's first baptism

Hey Everyone!!

So first of all I am going to start with some really good news. Remember Justin I was teaching in Woking? He got baptised this weekend. How awesome is that!!! And even better, Elder Tidwell baptised him. Apparently Justin was gutted that I couldn't be there, but I am happy to just know that he got baptised. I'm still counting this as one of mine haha!

So this week has been quite good. We had an amazing Zone Conference which was really good. Elder and Sister Smart were there talking about Family History which was cool, it was good to see them again. They were talking about a new, well... they used the word "program" but that isn't the right name for it. The basically have a goal to get all recent converts to the temple doing work for their ancestors within 60 days of getting baptised. Sounds a good idea to me.

Also, last Monday we had a great teach with Tom at the visitor's centre. The member we were hoping to come along with us couldn't make it, but the member we did get to come with us turned out to be perfect! He has been in the exact same position as Tom when he got baptised so it was really good that they were able to connect to well. And then, Tom was able to make it to church which was great! He had a really great time, and that same member who came to the visitors centre with us on Monday sat by him for the whole thing which was great! He really enjoyed it, and it was a really great testimony meeting too which was great. Tom said he wants to come again which is great.

Apart from that we have been working hard with all of our less-actives and recent converts. They are doing well. Sadly this week we also visited that lady we met a few weeks ago that just wanted to bash with us. First thing she did when we walked in was bring up a load of anti-Mormon stuff which is really annoying but quite sad. Especially because we have been explaining everything to her as simply as we could and she still doesn't get it. She still can't even grasp the fact that the Book of Mormon was written on a completely different continent from the Bible so that is why none of the names or places in the book of Mormon are mentioned in the bible. It is really frustrating, but we did everything we could as she still won't listen to us.

Anyway, to boost the ton of this email back up, we have had a few miracles this week.

First of all there was a couple in Addlestone that Elder Oleson was working with when he was there (he started his mission there). well they moved through to Sutton not long after he left and they haven't been back to church since (problems with family, long story) we met the wife a few weeks ago by another crazy miracle but hadn't been able to get in touch with them since as her phone didn't work. anyway, on friday we got a call from another missionary that they were really close with this week and he gave us their number and told us to stop by. well we were planning to go through to their area anyway, so we called them and we were able to meet the husband and wife it was great! We will hopefully be able to see them more often and help them get back to church.

okay, second miracle, and this one is crazy. So, yesterday, after church we spent some time trying to call investigators and potentials to arrange an appointment. After doing that we get a call from someone called Christiana saying that they just missed a call from us. Elder Oleson checked all the numbers we had called and it didn't match, and we didn't call her. She lives in our area and we got an appointment set up for Saturday. So this is where it gets really crazy. She said she met missionaries in Peckham. Well as we didn't have her number and didn't call her, we called the Peckham elders to see if they just handed over our number to her. so, crazy thing is, we spoke to all three sets of missionaries in Peckham, and none of them remember meeting anyone named Christiana. So we have no idea who called her, and how she got our number. Weird or what? Anyway, we are seeing her on Saturday.

Well, I better wrap this up here.

I love you all

Elder Zach Mitchell

The time is far spent; there is little remaining........

With just over eight weeks left before Elder Mitchell comes home, he is still working hard.

Hey Everyone!!

I hope you are all doing well. This week the weather has been kinder to us which is great! The people on the otherhand, not so much. Still not many people will stop and talk to us, but that's okay, we are still working hard, and still trying our best to talk to as many people as we can.

Me and Elder Oleson both just looked at each other and asked what we did this week. It has gone by so quick!

So I guess I will just run you through our investigators quickly.

Kingston and Betty are good. We had a really great teach with them this week. We taught the Plan of Salvation and it was great, they really enjoyed it and loved learning about it. They were meant to be coming to sacrament meeting though but they didn't show up. So I don't know why, but hopefully we can see them later this week.

Tom is great. We weren't able to see him this week, but later on today we are going to the temple to meet him at the visitor's centre again. He seemed really excited to meet up, and he said this week he is planning to come to church.

We have another investigator who we haven't met yet but have been keeping in touch, her name is Sophie. She has a husband and a few kids I think, but they are hopefully coming to church this week as well.

Oh, something funny that happened this week, after District Meeting, one of the Elders in the district made us pasta, but put two really spicy peppers in it. It wasn't as bad as we thought but it was funny to see everyone's faces haha. It was a Pepe pepper I think it is called.

Well tomorrow we have Zone Conference which should be good. I will get to see Elder MacKay there too which is awesome!

Well, I can't think of anything else to write so I hope you all have a good week.

Love you all!

Elder Zach Mitchell

The final weeks....

With less than 10 weeks to go before Elder Mitchell puts away his name tag for good, he keeps his shoulder to the wheel and keeps working hard.

Hey Everyone!!

This week we have been wondering if we were supposed to build an ark and it was no too late, or what was going on! The wind and the rain has been ridiculous. I'm positive that we haven't got it the worst but it has still been horrible. Thankfully though, this week our heating and hot water got fixed. It was kinda funny, our hot water got fixed, but then we found there was a problem with the shower, so I think Friday I had my first proper shower in Sutton (don't worry, I did still wash, I'm not that gross!) (sorry it that's too much information haha!), so that has been a positive. Otherwise we would have froze!

So apart from that, this week has been really good! This week we got a really cool referral. So we got a call from the sister's in the visitor's centre at the temple, they have been teaching someone that lives in our area. His name is Tom and on thursday we got to go to the temple with a member (Martin Wilson) to meet him. He has been being taught by the visitors centre sisters because he works at gatwick, and the temple is 15 minutes away. But he got in contact with the church because he was dating a member from crawley ward (I think) who is now on a mission and he has started taking the lessons. We had a great teach with him though at the visitor's centre and hopefully we will be meeting with him again on thursday. He is looking really hopeful though. He has been taught since november and he has kept every reading asignment the sisters have given him. We just need to get him to church that is all.

Also this week we got to meet with Kingston and his partner Betty. We taught the restoration again, and Kingston asked some really good questions. It was a really good lesson, and hopefully they took it all in. We just need to get them to church, but Kingston works night shift so he doesn't get back from work until 8am on a sunday which is difficult. We will see what we can do though.

Oh, on saturday we ended up getting into a bible bash with someone. Well we weren't bashing, but they were. It was a little annoying, but quite funny because they didn't know their bible at all. At one point (we started getting into the 12 tribes somehow, we were using Ezekiel 37: to justify us having the book of mormon) and she said that Joseph of Egypt was a descendant of Judah... I probably shouldn't laugh, but we found it funny. We did get an appointment to see her in a few weeks though. I dunno how that will go, and neither of us really want to go, but I feel if we don;t she will feel that she proved us wrong, which she hasn't. So I'll let you know how that goes.

Also, on thursday I got to see Elder Mackay! We all had interviews at the stake centre. It was good to see him again. He is doing great! Still sounds more scottish than me haha!

Well, I can't really think of anything else to share from this week.

I hope you all have a good week!

Love you all!!

Elder Zach Mitchell

Last area?

Hey Everyone!!!

So, before I start of, I have to say, the L key on the computer I'm using doesn't work very well, so if I have spelt something without an L, it is not my fault haha!

Well, I started this week in Woking with my boy, and ended back in London again with a new companion in a new area. It was a little strange, as I honestly felt that Woking would be my last area, and that Addlestone would be my last ward, but it is not to be. I was expecting to stay right up until Monday lunchtime, just before we got moves calls, I just had this weird feeing come over me that told me I was moving. It wasn't what I wanted to happen, but I think it helped me accept the news when it came.

It was difficult to say goodbye to some of the families I had grown to love, you would think by now on my mission I would be used to saying goodbye to people, but it doesn't get any easier.

My new area is great though, minus the flat... I got here to receive the happy news from Elder Oleson that the hot water and heating stopped working the day before I got there... cold showers, yay.... doesn't hep motivate me to get up in the mornings. It is okay though, we are hopefully getting someone in to fix it some time this week. Apart from that though, the area, and flat are great. It is only a small area that we cover of the ward, as the ward has 4 sets of missionaries. The Ap's are in our ward too which is cool.

Me and Elder Oleson are getting on great! He is from Reno Nevada, he has been out for just over 10 months, and he is a great guy. The ward is great too, we have some really great members. Our Ward Mission Leader is great, and knows so much about the scriptures, its crazy. Also, the ward is doing really well, they have had 4 baptisms already this year (hopefully I can help keep that up).

One funny thing I have to mention from Woking though, we met someone special... we met.... "The Lord of the Manor of Glen Coe"... he was in scruffy jeans and a t-shirt but he showed us the certificate that shows he is a lord. It was interesting...

The work here in Sutton though is going good. We just recently had two baptisms a few weeks ago which is so cool. Apart from that we are just trying to buid up the teaching pool again.

We have a guy we are teaching called Ramish, he is from India. We aren't sure how much he is taking in as he just seems to nod along to whatever we say. He is still happy to meet with us though which I guess is a good thing.

We also have a guy called Kingston. This is a guy that the Elders had met a few times but had never been able to arrange a time to meet. And then Wednesday night we met him on the street and he said to come by Friday. Small miracle. Anyway, we saw him on Friday and we taught him the restoration and he seemed really interested. He was asking great questions like how you recognise a true prophet from all the false ones which we explained to him, and he just seemed to get it. We invited him to be baptised but he said he would like some time to study a little bit more, but we are seeing him this week so that is looking good.

Well, I can't think of anything else to say so I will wrap it up here.

I love you all!!

Elder Zach Mitchell