Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Glen in Cheltenham

Not much to blog about yet, but just wanted to record that I'm sitting just a few miles East of Brett right now. Business has brought me to Cheltenham, England and, coincidentally, very near to where Brett is living. No, I will not be visiting him, but it is fun to see what it's like where he is. Driving on the left is a very disconcerting experience the first time. Roads with no speed limits are also new. I believe I touched 90mph on the way here today which feels pretty weird when your already just a bit freaked out by driving on the left with the stick on the right. Fun times.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Crash!

We received an e-mail from Brett Tuesday telling us that he'd been in a bike crash. He said that a council van (whatever those are) ran him off the road. He's got a bruise on his thigh from the phone in his pocket and both his knees are black and blue. He was coming down a hill at a moderate rate of speed and then the council van came in front of him and pushed him off the road and onto the shoulder, where there was snow. He said he did a "Superman" and flew forwards sliding on his stomach. He said he tore a hole in his new rain jacket - but that he was going to fix it with black duck tape.

He and his companion had a great day Monday. They found six new investigators. They also have an investigator coming to church on Sunday. They also found a family of five who speak Portuguese. Fortunately the mother speaks English, so she's been able to translate for the others.

Brett ends his e-mail by saying: "Well I think that's about it for me. I love you and I'm glad to be where I am at this moment! I love the mission and I love everything about England and Wales. I'm very happy to be here!"

Saturday, January 16, 2010

MAY 5th!!!!!

We just got an e-mail from the Birmingham mission office saying that Brett's release date is May 5th! It is great to finally know when he's coming home. It will make future planning much easier.

In Brett's e-mail this week he said that it has been rather snowy and really rather cold in Merthyr Tydfil! He said that it has been around -4 degrees C on a normal day for the last two weeks. And that it dips down to -8 degrees C with a windchill of -20 degrees C overnight. He said that there is a high pressure system that is stuck over the UK and because of that they are getting their weather from Siberia, which tends to be pretty cold. He said that in the UK it only takes two or three inches to shut down the whole of the UK. He said that everyone thinks it's a huge disaster and that it's going to be the end of the world! But he said that it's really not that bad compared to the NY winters that he remembers from his childhood. He's still riding his bike in the snow to get around! He loves the snow and couldn't be happier that it's there. He said that it makes it feel a little more like home. He did say that he'd skip the snow altogether if it meant that the chavs couldn't through snowballs with rocks in them! But he said that it's all part of the experience!
Brett said that for P-day he was going to sew one of his mittens that has a hole in it, go food shopping, and have a nap. Sounds like an exciting day!

He said that he's starting to feel old in the mission. His companion, Elder Worthington has been out 8 months less than him, and he's starting to feel the distance apart. He said that he's not trunky, but he's having to work harder to fight it off.

He has been in Merthyr Tydfil longer than any of his other areas, and he's having to fight the thinking that says "I've already talked with him 9 times and he's told me to go away in lots of different words I'll never repeat! Why should I stop him again!" He said that at the end of this transfer he will have been in Merthyr for 7 and a half months. And he feels like he has tracted the whole of Merthyr 3 times!

I know how he feels having spent nine months of my mission in the same area.

He said that they're working on building up their teaching pool, and praying to find people to teach.

All in all it sounds like he's doing well.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Brett's back in Merthyr Tydfil

We got an e-mail from Brett telling us that he was going back to Merthyr again for a 5th transfer. It's funny, but it looks like he will have spent his mission in only three areas - Birmingham, Merthyr Tydfil, and where ever they send him to finish up.

Brett said that it had snowed and stopped the travel plans for transfers. The mission president told him that because it was p-day he wanted them to stick close but he told Brett that he could go visit some recent converts in his old areas. He said that he was going to Sheldon to see who he could catch at home. He seemed very excited for the unexpected opportunity to see people dear to him from earlier in his mission.

Brett said that he is getting a new companion named Elder Worthington, who has been out about a year.

Brett got to spend New Year's Eve at President Odgen's house and said he enjoyed it very much.

He said that he had to get off the computer because all of the missionaries who were leaving to go home this transfer got snowed in and their flights got canceled so they all had to e-mail their parents to tell them that they'd be delayed getting home.

It was good to hear where Brett is, and know that things are more settled than they had been for the last little while.