So this week has been pretty Epic that is for sure,
In my personal studies I am trying to Ponder more in my studies, which is allowing for more insights to come in my mind. I wanted to share one I really liked.
Ether 6: 5-7
5 And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters,towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.
6 And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.
7 And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.
As I studied this I pondered long on it, and I realized several things from it. One- The lord is guiding our lives and as he is guiding our lives he will provide for us trials, those trials and his direction are necessary for our progression.
Two- If we are " Tight like unto a dish" in all of our things we shall be protected from the adversary, we become tight like unto a dish by hearkening continually to the voice of the Lord in all things.
Three- As we are overcome by the adversary all we need to do is to Seek the Lord and call upon him and he will deliver us from those things.
I want to also share one of my favourite Quotes by Joseph Smith. This Quote has helped me alot thoughout my mission. I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else. … Thus I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty."
So this week was pretty awesome, we saw many people, taught many and shared the gospel with everyone. I want to share a few of the experiences I had.
1. It was my first day leading out my new area and the night before I was praying to know where to go and what to do, As I looked at the map I felt prompted to go to a street. I didn't think anything of it, but then I was on exchange and Elder Fisher and I went to this street, we chapped a few doors noone was in, but then we found a lady from The Phillipines named Emma, she was catholic background but twe talked to her for a while and set up a return appointment, but the real miracle came as we were leaving, we asked her if she knew of anyone who could use the message of the Book Of Mormon, and she said yes, I have a friend 3 doors down, she is very busy though and her name is Joy. So we went down but Joy wasn't in, so we chapped the next house and we met Danny and Lindsay. So this experience was really cool. We started talking to Danny at the door and he said he doesn't believe in religion and all this and was fairly rude. Elder Fisher then said Can I ask you a question and he said No, but the spirit prompted us to continue talking, a minute later his wife came home and he actually invited us into his home. It was neat, He then began to share with us how he doesn't believe in religion as there are many people who profess to be one thing but don't do the things they profess to live, and we found out that his wife had been Jehovah's witness as a child but has left the Jehovah's witness religion, They had many questions for us one of them was, " What age do you do baptism? " and instead of just answering it we turned to the scriptures and shared with them Moroni 8: " 10 Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach—repentance and baptism unto those who are accountableand capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children.
11 And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins.
12 But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God, and a respecter to persons; for how many little children have died without baptism! " and it changed the whole atmosphere of the lesson. Afterwards I felt a prompting from the holy Spirit telling me that I should share with them the experience from the night before as I was praying where to go. So Following the Prompting I did just that and bore testimony that heavenly father knows them both and is reaching out in Love to them through us, Danny thanked us for that and told us it made him feel Good. It was a really powerful experience for us all.
Throughout the week as well we saw many more miracles. I can't write all of them. But I will share one more. So we were going by a friend of ours and she wasn't in but her brother was, He told us she wasn't in and as we were leaving Elder Schmidt asked him if he would be interested in learning, so we taught him right there and he said he would love for us to come back. We focused on the restoration and he talked about prayer. It was so neat to see that as we hearken to the instruction from Preach My gospel that we are greatly blessed.
For my myself it was grand this weekend as well because we had Stake conference, meaning going back to Finglas chapel, It was tons of emotions for me flocking back as that is where I began my mission. I saw many people I haven't seen in a long time and was greatful to have seen them. Our stake conference was a broadcast from Edinburgh where Jeffrey R Holland gave us instruction, He focused his remarks on the Book Of Mormon and the power it contains and what its role is to us and in each of our conversions such an amazing thing. He spoke with Power and Authority from God and The Spirit witnessed the truthfulness of all that he witnessed of. We then had a baptism for little Casey who is 8 and it was a very spiritual experience as well, and everyone in Mullingar rejoiced :)
This week will be exciting, We have All Ireland conference and Next Monday is zone Development so I will be e-mailing on Tuesday. Love you all
I love all of you and I want to add my witness to that of Jeffrey R Holland, that the Book of Mormon is true, and the Prophet Joseph Smith was moved by the holy Ghost to translate it and that it is an accurate account. I bear my solemn witness in the name of Jesus Christ amen.
Until the Work is Done, Love you all
Monday 8 June 2015
June 1, 2015
So this week has been amazing, but Terrible at the same time, it's been happy and sad.
So as you all know I am back in Ireland now, and I am so excited to be back to the stake I started my mission in, This coming Sunday we have Stake conference So I will see alot of my friends again after so long. I am absolutely Over Excited for that.
Sadly with not being in Scotland I won't get to meet Elder Holland this week but Heavenly Father has other plans for me. I love this work and I Have been in Scotland for a full year of transfers so It is exciting to be back in Ireland. So Ireland has changed alot since I was first here.
However this week my studies have been excellent. I am studying in Mormon, and 3rd Nephi and I am really liking it. I am currently focusing in on what it is the Lord wants us to know. And It always scares me when Seeing how wicked the people became 3 hundred years after Christ. It's so terrible, I am greatful for these scriptures though because it helps me be protected of the adversary.
So this Monday was grand, So Because It is a mission tradition and I had many things that needed to be binned, I went out with the Miles (senior couple) and we burned a tie and shirt. :) It was alot of fun. I was so happy to see all of my friends that day and say goodbye, We also went to the Barton family to have dinner, As we were there we were able to see Daniel again, and teach Daniel, Ryan and Natasha's mom, it was really a great experience We had good discussions about God and The role of Joseph Smith and it it was very uplifting and strengthening. As we talked Ryan had many questions from an Atheist point of View, Daniel asked things from a Bhudist Point of View and Natasha's mom talked from a catholic point of view so it was neat to have an interfaith discussion. Before we were going to the Bartons we went to NorthConnel to say Goodbye to Peter, Grace, Adam, Dorothy and Bitey. It was so nice to see the to say goodbye to them. I am going to miss all of you.
We also went to stop by British Heart Foundation and said goodbye to the team. It was sad to have to leave them all but We have built some good relationships, I got to say bye to Hamish, Iain,Lynn, and Margaret Ann. Then Tuesday morning I said goodbye also to Linda as we were out and about.
We got to say goodbye to Carroll as well and she was so nice to us, I am so excited for her as she is over in The States to go through the temple for the first time. I am so excited to hear about her experiences.
I love all of you in Oban,
We also had the chance to be able to say Goodbye to our Friends, Wendy, Katy and Sadie, they had us over for dinner which was nice. :) I am going to miss them.
I have been reflecting on how many people I have met throughout my mission, and I am so greatful for all of you, I love all of you and think you are all amazing, I do hope that you all keep in contact.
It was so nice, I miss Oban a ton, but I know this is where the Lord needs me.
Right before I left I had one last deep fried haggis, I am going to miss that for sure.
We then travelled to Glasgow for the evening and spent the night with Elder Benton and Burch, it was so nice to see Elder Burch again as he was in my group. It was nice to talk and then head off from Scotland. The day of travel was long and tiring, Most of those travelling were us from Glasgow, I did get to see elder Bailey again which was amazing, but other then that most of us were from Glasgow Zone, and was with 2 people who were coming to Ireland for the first time. It was nice travel except
When I was at Europa Bus station in Belfast, I went to move with my baggage and my knee gave out again, So after being laid out for 5- 10 minutes on the ground with baggage all around me, the missionaries on the other side of the station realized I was hurt and came to my rescue. So right now my knee is super Swollen, but it won't stop me.
I then got into Mullingar with my companion, and found out we have a car :( we have it every second week. We started the companionship off with visiting the Murphys we visited and introduced me to them. The next day we did service for a lady and Brother Murphy came with us it was grand. We then did weekly planning and gathered our desires for the area and the companionship.
So my companions name is Norman Schmidt, he is from Germany he is one of two children and Worked in a factory before his mission and wants to be a mechanical engineer as well.
As we were tracting the next day we went by our potentials in an area and heard from none but in departing we met a nice lass named Aoife( Eee-fah) she said she like s to learn and talked about learning more about Jesus Christ she actually decided that she wants to read through the bible this summer as an dditional project, she was really cool, and she believes science and religion work together. I will keep you posted on her but she is amazing, We then met a nice Family.
Michael, Bernadette and Hayleigh invited us into their home and Michael is catholic, as they invited us in for discussion we talked and it was interesting. We then proceeded to inviting them to read the Book of Mormon and Michael told us Hayleigh would read it all and to come back the next day. So on Sunday we came back and she had read Cover to cover the Book of Mormon and we talked about the Restoration, They all shared negative experiences that they had in the Catholic church and especially with hypocrisy, so it was quite interesting, I look forward to seeing what happens to this family. They are great.
At church it was great we had our investigator Clement show up and he enjoyed it we then taught him about the gospel of Jesus Christ and invited him to be baptised and He knows baptism is essential, but We invited him to find out if the book of Mormon is true for if it is it would clear up all his concern. We also had a member of our friends family who has gone away present at church and he said he wants to learn, Our friend Casey is being baptised this week , and another friend Barrys their son is 8 and wants to get baptised so we will begin teaching him as well, The work is progressing and the Lord has a plan, as we were leaving church we got a call from a less active inviting us over for dinner, she is the mother of Casey and they are a lovely family. We shared our favourite scriptures with them and bore testimony. :)
I know the lord has sent me here for a great purpose and I look forward to seeing what happens. I love you all :)
Keep in Touch,
The magic is in the members and in hard work.
I want you all to know that I KNOW WITHOUT ANY DOUBT IN MY HEART THAT THIS CHURCH IS TRUE AND THAT THIS GOSPEL CAN BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY MORE THEN YOU CAN EVEN IMAGINE, I KNOW HOW MUCH IT HAS BLESSED ME AND MY FAMILY AND I KNOW THAT IT WILL BLESS YOU TOO.
My hope is that all of you may be able to feel the Love of our Heavenly Father.
And I leave this in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
Pictures
Some of the people I have worked with
Elder James T Kirk Reece
Scotland/ Ireland Mission
So as you all know I am back in Ireland now, and I am so excited to be back to the stake I started my mission in, This coming Sunday we have Stake conference So I will see alot of my friends again after so long. I am absolutely Over Excited for that.
Sadly with not being in Scotland I won't get to meet Elder Holland this week but Heavenly Father has other plans for me. I love this work and I Have been in Scotland for a full year of transfers so It is exciting to be back in Ireland. So Ireland has changed alot since I was first here.
However this week my studies have been excellent. I am studying in Mormon, and 3rd Nephi and I am really liking it. I am currently focusing in on what it is the Lord wants us to know. And It always scares me when Seeing how wicked the people became 3 hundred years after Christ. It's so terrible, I am greatful for these scriptures though because it helps me be protected of the adversary.
So this Monday was grand, So Because It is a mission tradition and I had many things that needed to be binned, I went out with the Miles (senior couple) and we burned a tie and shirt. :) It was alot of fun. I was so happy to see all of my friends that day and say goodbye, We also went to the Barton family to have dinner, As we were there we were able to see Daniel again, and teach Daniel, Ryan and Natasha's mom, it was really a great experience We had good discussions about God and The role of Joseph Smith and it it was very uplifting and strengthening. As we talked Ryan had many questions from an Atheist point of View, Daniel asked things from a Bhudist Point of View and Natasha's mom talked from a catholic point of view so it was neat to have an interfaith discussion. Before we were going to the Bartons we went to NorthConnel to say Goodbye to Peter, Grace, Adam, Dorothy and Bitey. It was so nice to see the to say goodbye to them. I am going to miss all of you.
We also went to stop by British Heart Foundation and said goodbye to the team. It was sad to have to leave them all but We have built some good relationships, I got to say bye to Hamish, Iain,Lynn, and Margaret Ann. Then Tuesday morning I said goodbye also to Linda as we were out and about.
We got to say goodbye to Carroll as well and she was so nice to us, I am so excited for her as she is over in The States to go through the temple for the first time. I am so excited to hear about her experiences.
I love all of you in Oban,
We also had the chance to be able to say Goodbye to our Friends, Wendy, Katy and Sadie, they had us over for dinner which was nice. :) I am going to miss them.
I have been reflecting on how many people I have met throughout my mission, and I am so greatful for all of you, I love all of you and think you are all amazing, I do hope that you all keep in contact.
It was so nice, I miss Oban a ton, but I know this is where the Lord needs me.
Right before I left I had one last deep fried haggis, I am going to miss that for sure.
We then travelled to Glasgow for the evening and spent the night with Elder Benton and Burch, it was so nice to see Elder Burch again as he was in my group. It was nice to talk and then head off from Scotland. The day of travel was long and tiring, Most of those travelling were us from Glasgow, I did get to see elder Bailey again which was amazing, but other then that most of us were from Glasgow Zone, and was with 2 people who were coming to Ireland for the first time. It was nice travel except
When I was at Europa Bus station in Belfast, I went to move with my baggage and my knee gave out again, So after being laid out for 5- 10 minutes on the ground with baggage all around me, the missionaries on the other side of the station realized I was hurt and came to my rescue. So right now my knee is super Swollen, but it won't stop me.
I then got into Mullingar with my companion, and found out we have a car :( we have it every second week. We started the companionship off with visiting the Murphys we visited and introduced me to them. The next day we did service for a lady and Brother Murphy came with us it was grand. We then did weekly planning and gathered our desires for the area and the companionship.
So my companions name is Norman Schmidt, he is from Germany he is one of two children and Worked in a factory before his mission and wants to be a mechanical engineer as well.
As we were tracting the next day we went by our potentials in an area and heard from none but in departing we met a nice lass named Aoife( Eee-fah) she said she like s to learn and talked about learning more about Jesus Christ she actually decided that she wants to read through the bible this summer as an dditional project, she was really cool, and she believes science and religion work together. I will keep you posted on her but she is amazing, We then met a nice Family.
Michael, Bernadette and Hayleigh invited us into their home and Michael is catholic, as they invited us in for discussion we talked and it was interesting. We then proceeded to inviting them to read the Book of Mormon and Michael told us Hayleigh would read it all and to come back the next day. So on Sunday we came back and she had read Cover to cover the Book of Mormon and we talked about the Restoration, They all shared negative experiences that they had in the Catholic church and especially with hypocrisy, so it was quite interesting, I look forward to seeing what happens to this family. They are great.
At church it was great we had our investigator Clement show up and he enjoyed it we then taught him about the gospel of Jesus Christ and invited him to be baptised and He knows baptism is essential, but We invited him to find out if the book of Mormon is true for if it is it would clear up all his concern. We also had a member of our friends family who has gone away present at church and he said he wants to learn, Our friend Casey is being baptised this week , and another friend Barrys their son is 8 and wants to get baptised so we will begin teaching him as well, The work is progressing and the Lord has a plan, as we were leaving church we got a call from a less active inviting us over for dinner, she is the mother of Casey and they are a lovely family. We shared our favourite scriptures with them and bore testimony. :)
I know the lord has sent me here for a great purpose and I look forward to seeing what happens. I love you all :)
Keep in Touch,
The magic is in the members and in hard work.
I want you all to know that I KNOW WITHOUT ANY DOUBT IN MY HEART THAT THIS CHURCH IS TRUE AND THAT THIS GOSPEL CAN BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY MORE THEN YOU CAN EVEN IMAGINE, I KNOW HOW MUCH IT HAS BLESSED ME AND MY FAMILY AND I KNOW THAT IT WILL BLESS YOU TOO.
My hope is that all of you may be able to feel the Love of our Heavenly Father.
And I leave this in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
Pictures
Some of the people I have worked with
Elder James T Kirk Reece
Scotland/ Ireland Mission
May 25, 2015 - COOL TRANSFER CALLS!!!
Not much time to e-mail so I will e-mail next week however,
I am Going Back to DUBLIN zone :) I will be serving in Mullingar, with a guy named Elder Schmidt He is German and goes home next transfer so again, after him All my companions will be home. :) It is scary to think of.
This week has been great, hope to hear from all of you, love you all.
IRELAND BABY,
After a year in Scotland back to the birthplace of Elder Reece's Mission.
It's scary going back but super exciting.
You are amazing.
Love goes out to everyone.
Elder James T Kirk Reece
Scotland/ Ireland Mission
I am Going Back to DUBLIN zone :) I will be serving in Mullingar, with a guy named Elder Schmidt He is German and goes home next transfer so again, after him All my companions will be home. :) It is scary to think of.
This week has been great, hope to hear from all of you, love you all.
IRELAND BABY,
After a year in Scotland back to the birthplace of Elder Reece's Mission.
It's scary going back but super exciting.
You are amazing.
Love goes out to everyone.
Elder James T Kirk Reece
Scotland/ Ireland Mission
May 18, 2015
This week has been pretty eventful,
First of All we had Zone Interview Training and that was amazing. I love it when We are given such specific instruction, and When We are able to be chastened to become much better as a mission. It is literally my favourite thing. We learnt specifically about The importance of Prayer in Conversion as well as teaching people not lessons, to be able to help those we teach to progress and know the Lord truly Loves them. These are some of the basics we learn as we come to the Missionary Training Centre and I love how our mission is reverting back to the basics, It reminds me when Canada Montreal Mission was doing the same thing before I came out, I went to a zone meeting and the focus of that Meeting was to Get stronger with Planning for people, where they had a role play on Planning effectively for our friends but Also We were each given a laminated version of the back of Preach My Gospel and Instructed to all do 12 weeks again to revert back to the basic principles of missionary work, It was so amazing, And to see that the mission I am in now is reverting back to them as well has been so great for me. As you are out for so long, you lend up getting into ruts abit, doing the same things all the time, but It was amazing to revert back to the basics, as we are called to teach so simply that noone can misunderstand that with which we teach. It really was a testimony builder to me. During Interviews I got to talk to president about several things and Ask for his advice on many, One of these things I was wondering about was How do I correct others if I see them not being obedient. ( I asked this as I thought as being Junior I couldn't really correct them) But I was told We all have the right to correct and help one another, I also learnt abit about the importance of your companions, not only Are you with them to teach but, you need to use your companion for all things, I told of some of my weaknesses and asked for advice to fix them and I was advised to ask my companion for that specific help, I love how in the white handbook it says that " companions support each other in all aspects of the work" I think that is something to always remember as this work is so important and we truly need each other to be able to prosper and Our companions are always around us and if they can help us they can help us know when we are doing something we shouldn't however small it may be.
We also had two exchanges this week, One was with Elder Martin, and the other was with Elder Taylor. Many things happened this week on Monday with Elder Martin, we got to be together since our birthday was the following day, but we saw a nice lady named Tar and taught her about tithing, It was a very powerful lesson as elder Martin and I bore testimony and worked well together, as well as a YSA named Rachel was there and bore her testimony and shared the importance of paying tithing with a real life example from her life, so that was really powerful, We then went Street contacting and tracting, It was fun, While street contacting we met a cool guy, So that was good and he agreed to meet up sometime.
The following day was my Birthday. It was a grand time, We were on exchange with Dumbarton Team, It was a busy day, So Elder Taylor and I went to a place called Luss it is on Loch Lomond, it was a beautiful place, Unfortunately there weren't many people who lived there but many tourists, While there we ran into many Canadians and Americans, we also met two lasses from Edinburgh and invited them to read the Book of Mormon, so they both took one, That was amazing. As we were heading back I got some ice cream as my own little treat , and A duck stole it from me. It was quite funny. We then were bussing back and I lended up losing our phone, AHH!!!!!!! However as we were on the train I went over to this person and asked if she could call our phone and lucky for us she let us and the bus driver had found it, The day was fun and then we had to backtrack and meet up with the bus driver again several hours later , but We got the phone back and we got a new contact. It was a fun day, Then we get back to the flat and Elder Starr and Christensen had gotten some ice cream and put candles in it, I walked into the house and 22 - Taylor Swift was playing, It was funny. They played it only for a minute which was good, Then afterwards we all went to Dumbarton for a guitar night, it was interesting.
We also got to say goodbye to Margaux this week as she is heading back to France after being here for 3 months, which is sad but It's part of life.
While we were chapping doors Friday night, we chapped into a friend of ours that we see in town and her family invited us in, as we were talking to her, her friend, ( who used to meet with us) came in as well and was involved in the discussion, Her daughter came in and was abit shy at first but then loved us after like 10 minutes, and her sons were going out to party but were asking us about our faith as well, It was a great experience to be able to bear testimony so Powerfully and share how we have come to know the truthfulness of all these things. The son was saying he was a catholic, he was baptised but doesn't really beleive then he was asking me about what makes us two different, So I told him. We talked about how We don't drink, or smoke or do drugs and the reason we don't do those things is because We were commanded not to, but Also it was because We prayed about it and found out from the power of the Holy ghost that those things are told to stay away from so that the spirit may teach us. As we left we said a prayer, and our friend Vanessa thanked us for the prayer and told us how much greater she felt after our visit. It was very powerful.
It was a powerful week, We met our friend Ian as well, he is cool, We were doing a bit of tool time to set up appointments and we called him and he told us he could meet in twen minutes, we then proceeded to go to Tescos and we taught him the Restoration, He told us he doesn't believe there is a God, but he doesn't know for sure and he would like to know if there is. He talked with us about how science doesnt explain how twins can have impressions that one of them is hurt even when they live across the world, so He does believe there could be something, and he is very open to learning which is amazing. We will be seeing him again shortly.
The work is picking up in Oban, right in time for moves calls which happen this Sunday, and just so you know, If one of us gets moved this week, We won't have the chance to e-mail next week as it is a bank holiday and the library will be closed and Wednesday would be us moving. So I will try to come on for 5 minutes on the Monday if possible to Announce what is happening but If not, I will talk to you in 2 weeks. Love you All
Thanks for the prayers
I know this church is true, I just want you to know that.
Jesus is the Christ and he does Lead this church, I am his representative and I am greatful to be so.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
My prayers are poured out in memory of you, and I am greatly blessed by all of your prayers as well. Thank you.
Elder James T Kirk Reece
Scotland/ Ireland Mission
First of All we had Zone Interview Training and that was amazing. I love it when We are given such specific instruction, and When We are able to be chastened to become much better as a mission. It is literally my favourite thing. We learnt specifically about The importance of Prayer in Conversion as well as teaching people not lessons, to be able to help those we teach to progress and know the Lord truly Loves them. These are some of the basics we learn as we come to the Missionary Training Centre and I love how our mission is reverting back to the basics, It reminds me when Canada Montreal Mission was doing the same thing before I came out, I went to a zone meeting and the focus of that Meeting was to Get stronger with Planning for people, where they had a role play on Planning effectively for our friends but Also We were each given a laminated version of the back of Preach My Gospel and Instructed to all do 12 weeks again to revert back to the basic principles of missionary work, It was so amazing, And to see that the mission I am in now is reverting back to them as well has been so great for me. As you are out for so long, you lend up getting into ruts abit, doing the same things all the time, but It was amazing to revert back to the basics, as we are called to teach so simply that noone can misunderstand that with which we teach. It really was a testimony builder to me. During Interviews I got to talk to president about several things and Ask for his advice on many, One of these things I was wondering about was How do I correct others if I see them not being obedient. ( I asked this as I thought as being Junior I couldn't really correct them) But I was told We all have the right to correct and help one another, I also learnt abit about the importance of your companions, not only Are you with them to teach but, you need to use your companion for all things, I told of some of my weaknesses and asked for advice to fix them and I was advised to ask my companion for that specific help, I love how in the white handbook it says that " companions support each other in all aspects of the work" I think that is something to always remember as this work is so important and we truly need each other to be able to prosper and Our companions are always around us and if they can help us they can help us know when we are doing something we shouldn't however small it may be.
We also had two exchanges this week, One was with Elder Martin, and the other was with Elder Taylor. Many things happened this week on Monday with Elder Martin, we got to be together since our birthday was the following day, but we saw a nice lady named Tar and taught her about tithing, It was a very powerful lesson as elder Martin and I bore testimony and worked well together, as well as a YSA named Rachel was there and bore her testimony and shared the importance of paying tithing with a real life example from her life, so that was really powerful, We then went Street contacting and tracting, It was fun, While street contacting we met a cool guy, So that was good and he agreed to meet up sometime.
The following day was my Birthday. It was a grand time, We were on exchange with Dumbarton Team, It was a busy day, So Elder Taylor and I went to a place called Luss it is on Loch Lomond, it was a beautiful place, Unfortunately there weren't many people who lived there but many tourists, While there we ran into many Canadians and Americans, we also met two lasses from Edinburgh and invited them to read the Book of Mormon, so they both took one, That was amazing. As we were heading back I got some ice cream as my own little treat , and A duck stole it from me. It was quite funny. We then were bussing back and I lended up losing our phone, AHH!!!!!!! However as we were on the train I went over to this person and asked if she could call our phone and lucky for us she let us and the bus driver had found it, The day was fun and then we had to backtrack and meet up with the bus driver again several hours later , but We got the phone back and we got a new contact. It was a fun day, Then we get back to the flat and Elder Starr and Christensen had gotten some ice cream and put candles in it, I walked into the house and 22 - Taylor Swift was playing, It was funny. They played it only for a minute which was good, Then afterwards we all went to Dumbarton for a guitar night, it was interesting.
We also got to say goodbye to Margaux this week as she is heading back to France after being here for 3 months, which is sad but It's part of life.
While we were chapping doors Friday night, we chapped into a friend of ours that we see in town and her family invited us in, as we were talking to her, her friend, ( who used to meet with us) came in as well and was involved in the discussion, Her daughter came in and was abit shy at first but then loved us after like 10 minutes, and her sons were going out to party but were asking us about our faith as well, It was a great experience to be able to bear testimony so Powerfully and share how we have come to know the truthfulness of all these things. The son was saying he was a catholic, he was baptised but doesn't really beleive then he was asking me about what makes us two different, So I told him. We talked about how We don't drink, or smoke or do drugs and the reason we don't do those things is because We were commanded not to, but Also it was because We prayed about it and found out from the power of the Holy ghost that those things are told to stay away from so that the spirit may teach us. As we left we said a prayer, and our friend Vanessa thanked us for the prayer and told us how much greater she felt after our visit. It was very powerful.
It was a powerful week, We met our friend Ian as well, he is cool, We were doing a bit of tool time to set up appointments and we called him and he told us he could meet in twen minutes, we then proceeded to go to Tescos and we taught him the Restoration, He told us he doesn't believe there is a God, but he doesn't know for sure and he would like to know if there is. He talked with us about how science doesnt explain how twins can have impressions that one of them is hurt even when they live across the world, so He does believe there could be something, and he is very open to learning which is amazing. We will be seeing him again shortly.
The work is picking up in Oban, right in time for moves calls which happen this Sunday, and just so you know, If one of us gets moved this week, We won't have the chance to e-mail next week as it is a bank holiday and the library will be closed and Wednesday would be us moving. So I will try to come on for 5 minutes on the Monday if possible to Announce what is happening but If not, I will talk to you in 2 weeks. Love you All
Thanks for the prayers
I know this church is true, I just want you to know that.
Jesus is the Christ and he does Lead this church, I am his representative and I am greatful to be so.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
My prayers are poured out in memory of you, and I am greatly blessed by all of your prayers as well. Thank you.
Elder James T Kirk Reece
Scotland/ Ireland Mission
 |
| Cool tree. |
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| Restoration of Luss (symbolizing restoration of the gospel) |
May 11, 2015
Hey Family and Friends,
I love all of you,
I don't have too much to write about as I wrote on Wednesday last week, But It is all going good.
Had some great moments. I ll tell you about them.
So me and Elder Starr are getting on well, it's great. We take videos and Have fun. There will be lots to look at when I am home. :P
I have gotten so much on my mission in forms of knowledge and growth.
One cool miracle, We went To Dunbeg to Visit some Friends and We had a great time out there, we chapped many doors and recieved a refferal but then we went out to Our friend to say Hi, and she invited us in to teach her, It was so cool she had many questions about the gospel and fed us too it was amazing, and she was living on her own too so It was hard for her. She did ask us about If she didn't have the chance to marry here would there be a chance after, so that was neat and then as we were texting our friend Anna she said she could meet up
We met up with Anna and she is so awesome, we met her on the train to Taynuilt and have seen her twice, we met up and sat outside on the pier which was beautiful, And taught her the restoration, she said alot of it makes alot of sense. She then told us she tells all her friends about us and Her friend who is a Jehovah's Witness is Having a spiritual Crisis and would like to meet up with us to learn more, so that was amazing, and she said many other of her friends willl want to learn as well, She currently is at Stirling university but is going away for the summer but we will keep in contact with her and everything.
The work is hastening. Interesting thing we had 2 members of our congregation at church this week, It was a slow week. But all is well and Love you all
Not much else to Hear about. I will write more next week as this week we have My birthday, two exchanges and Presidents last zone interview training so it will be amazing.
I love you all
and attached are some pictures of our friends.
Elder James T Kirk Reece
Scotland/ Ireland Mission
I love all of you,
I don't have too much to write about as I wrote on Wednesday last week, But It is all going good.
Had some great moments. I ll tell you about them.
So me and Elder Starr are getting on well, it's great. We take videos and Have fun. There will be lots to look at when I am home. :P
I have gotten so much on my mission in forms of knowledge and growth.
One cool miracle, We went To Dunbeg to Visit some Friends and We had a great time out there, we chapped many doors and recieved a refferal but then we went out to Our friend to say Hi, and she invited us in to teach her, It was so cool she had many questions about the gospel and fed us too it was amazing, and she was living on her own too so It was hard for her. She did ask us about If she didn't have the chance to marry here would there be a chance after, so that was neat and then as we were texting our friend Anna she said she could meet up
We met up with Anna and she is so awesome, we met her on the train to Taynuilt and have seen her twice, we met up and sat outside on the pier which was beautiful, And taught her the restoration, she said alot of it makes alot of sense. She then told us she tells all her friends about us and Her friend who is a Jehovah's Witness is Having a spiritual Crisis and would like to meet up with us to learn more, so that was amazing, and she said many other of her friends willl want to learn as well, She currently is at Stirling university but is going away for the summer but we will keep in contact with her and everything.
The work is hastening. Interesting thing we had 2 members of our congregation at church this week, It was a slow week. But all is well and Love you all
Not much else to Hear about. I will write more next week as this week we have My birthday, two exchanges and Presidents last zone interview training so it will be amazing.
I love you all
and attached are some pictures of our friends.
Elder James T Kirk Reece
Scotland/ Ireland Mission
 |
| The four of us skipping rocks. |
 |
| Deep fried haggis. |
 |
| A cool bird. |
May 6, 2015
So, Hi.........
It's been along week, And I can't remember too much things however there are a few things I recall.
We taught this great man named Daniel, He is awesome he is a choreographer for the Ballet School here that one of the members Owns and He was at dinner as we went to hers. We shared with him, Origins" Video. Mormon message, which shares about Joseph Smith's Story and It shows us a more modern example for all of us to learn from. As we went to present it He asked about Joseph Smith so we taught basically the story of Joseph Smith and shared the First Vision with him, At the beginning of the lesson we asked him if he would be interested in going through the basic lessons to learn about the beliefs we have, and he said I'll think about it but at the end he said I think I would like to learn, and He asked if there would be food, :P It was great, Especially because his friends bore testimony of the gospel in their lives and how its hard but worth it, which was very powerful to see. As we were on our way to see Daniel though we met our friend again on the train, Seriously the Lord is telling us something we have been on the train to Taynuilt twice and met her both times and she doesn't even live near here, she is at school in Stirling, However it was awesome.
Apparently when she was out the Harry Christna church was contacting her and tried to give her abook but she said no. She then said to us " You guys are much cooler," as we talked she began asking some questions so on the train we taught and Testified of the Savior. It was so neat as we invited her to read the book of Mormon and she asked for a copy and She agreed to meet up with us sometime to learn. She is a good friend. Her name is Anna.
We were also in a place called north Connel, and we were going about chapping doors and we ran into our friend again, He invited us into his home and showed us his Garden, It was cool, as we were there he gave us a rhubarb Cream Pot, and pickled ulluco, ( It is a beetroot plant)
They are such a cool family and are our good friends :) We were right about to leave as well and we walked to pick up the kids with him and Brought Bitey with us ( Bitey is a dragon Puppet) He is awesome. As the kids got off the Bus they screamed and Say " Hey it's the Mormons, YAy" They are so cool, we then later continued to do some finding in the area, we went by the airport which was cool, and met a lady on a path. but There was a friend we were looking for and she wasn't in but our friends confirmed for us that she does indeed live there so that was nice. North Connel was fun.
We also went by our Friend Robin, just to see how he was doing, and we aren't sure about him, so we went by he told us he was busy and to come back anytime. Then later in the day we got called by him saying " I'd appreciate it if you don't ever come back" so we at least have closure now.
We got a nice day as well, so we decided to go and clean up rubbish on the beach over in Oban, It was neat I found a Radio Destroyed and in the sand. It's strange the things that wash up on shore in oban. We saw our friend Hammish as well, and he told us we missed a spot, so we invited him to help us we all laughed.
Later on, we found a cool thing. We were walking to these houses right, and we see this sheep and Lamb running down the road, and we don't see anyone nearby, so Elder Starr and I, went to try to corral it, as we were going to try to herd it though we saw the farmer come over on a quad bike to collect him, and it put more into context the scripture that says, what man having 100 sheep if he loses one of them, will leave the ninety and nine and go after that which is lost,
As we were travelling out to Fortwilliam later in the week we saw many of the same instance however those sheep were lost, Along the road, in a ditch and so forth with no sign of the shepherd which truly showed us the importance of the shepherd and gave us a cool experience to understand more our role as The Lord's servants, as missionaries and members to be the shepherd to each other and protect one another from Dangers.
As we were out in the village as well, we were chapping doors, but We had met some nice People, We met one man who wasn't interested and we went to ask him a question , and we said it's not religion related, so he listened and allowed us to go in and use his toilet :p
We later were knocking on a man's door named Ernie. and as we knocked his door he said he wasn't interested, and that he was Church Of Scotland, As we talked he showed us his Car Models and invited us in, after a good discussion and Food and Juice we departed, but as we talked with him, he had told us he doesn't go to church much, and that he has always wondered about why do bad things happen specifically to children, as we talked with him we could sense a true sincerity in his questions and testified to the plan of The Lord. Especially how in Moroni 8 in the Book of mormon it is focused on the fact that young children before the Age of accountability ( which is 8) need not be baptised, as they are considered to be unaccountable. So if an infant or baby pass away they are automatically with God. We testified of this Eternal truth and talked about Eternal Perspective, He told us he likes the word eternal perspective and That we could come back to share this with him and his wife.
Unfortunately when she got home on Monday she told him she wasn't interested in discussing her religion with anyone. But the spirit was there when we were and I know that they will have the chance to ponder upon the words they heard and the spirit they felt when we were there.
We volunteered at British Heart Foundation this week again, and it was neat because one of the men we know from volunteering there his name is Ian and he wants to learn about the View points and beliefs of the church, we had saw him on the street and talked with him and he said it is fascinating, so that was cool, as well as we were officially oriented into the group which was nice as they are our friends and are welcoming to us. What that means is Banter persues :) It's alot of fun. At BHF I am learning to Tag clothes, size them, Reorganize the store, Steam them, Unpack the donation bags.
We had a movie night for the Branch, which was interesting we watched an old movie about the Church and pioneers, from back in the 1940s ( I apologize if any of you are from there, I am not calling you old) But it was interesting, it was black and white and shared the saints journey across the plains and some of the travels. It was interesting. We had fun, We had us, the miles and Danny there so that was nice
We also went to Taynuilt this week to go finding and we met some interesting people, It was nice, it was funny one person we contacted in Taynuilt, we saw again later with her friend in Oban, It's funny when you see the same person in two different places throughout the one day.
Like I said we also went out to Fortwilliam, We were goign to contact all those who had gone to church when the branch was there but with no branch nearby it made it difficult and many stopped going so we went out to see if they would want to have all of us come down to do sacrament meeting and visit once a month sometime, It does make it interesting here as the dynamic is alot different and seeing that many are so far away shows a new dynamic as well.
We met a few that were interested in having us come back so we look forward to seeing how it goes.
OnSunday it was so cool because EVERYONE bore testimony at testimony meeting, even those that don't ever bare testimony so it was very very powerful to be there.
On Monday we had a Bank Holiday which is why we are emailing today, It was a fun day, we went shopping, and that's it really. :P we both found nice suits in a charity shop so it was a blessing for sure. We then had the elders from dumbarton with us which was fun.
I was on exchange with elder Christensen who is a fellow canadian so that was cool, we went chapping doors, and we both were working on listening better and asking more inspired questions.
And Yesterday, Elder Starr and I were doing the same thing, but it was funny, because he told me that when I talk I stroke my chin so as I was talking and asking questions to find out more about the People I went to stroke my chin and I noticed it and bursted out laughing. :P
It was funny, we then met a nice lady named Wendy, she knew missionaries along time ago and welcomed us in, we chatted abit and talked about church and she was nice, Her daughter was christened at Rosslyn Chapel which is pretty cool so we were able to meet her and were invited back.
The work is going good, And in regards to my patience study, my Patience seems to be getting better as I have been constantly applying things and reevaluating, I am definately not patient though but working on it. I hope to one day be but probably won';t master it in this life time, I know with god all things are possible and to increase in anything you need trials to push that thing, so Patience has been fun, and Right now in my studies I am studying all the standard works and Undserstanding more of the full picture. I am learning about being watchful, I am learning about 12 tribes and understanding the Mosaic Law, I am seeing how wquick the Nephites are doing iniquity even right after the Lord saves them, It's incredible, I feel my knowledge is expanding and I am greatful for this chance.
I know the scriptures are the words of Christ and as we adhere to them and Feast upon the words of christ the words of christ will tell us all things that we should do. I know that as we study we gain understanding, and as we gain understanding we gain pure knowledge which then transforms into Godly Wisdom.
I love Trials, they mould us and transform us into doing many things and help us to become that Gold which needs to be refined to be make that way. I love the mormon message about the Refiner's Fire, It shows Medal Rods which get moulded and broken and stretched and in the end it makes a beautiful rose, and that is what our Tribulation do for us
I love all of you and keep you continually in my prayers, hope all is well and I know the Lord is taking care of all of you.
Love you
Happy Mother's Day
Oh and Happy Birthday Elder Jeremy Keith, and Laura Spencer.
Love all of you and remember that if times are hard remember that the Lord is always there for you.
Elder James T Kirk Reece
Scotland/ Ireland Mission
It's been along week, And I can't remember too much things however there are a few things I recall.
We taught this great man named Daniel, He is awesome he is a choreographer for the Ballet School here that one of the members Owns and He was at dinner as we went to hers. We shared with him, Origins" Video. Mormon message, which shares about Joseph Smith's Story and It shows us a more modern example for all of us to learn from. As we went to present it He asked about Joseph Smith so we taught basically the story of Joseph Smith and shared the First Vision with him, At the beginning of the lesson we asked him if he would be interested in going through the basic lessons to learn about the beliefs we have, and he said I'll think about it but at the end he said I think I would like to learn, and He asked if there would be food, :P It was great, Especially because his friends bore testimony of the gospel in their lives and how its hard but worth it, which was very powerful to see. As we were on our way to see Daniel though we met our friend again on the train, Seriously the Lord is telling us something we have been on the train to Taynuilt twice and met her both times and she doesn't even live near here, she is at school in Stirling, However it was awesome.
Apparently when she was out the Harry Christna church was contacting her and tried to give her abook but she said no. She then said to us " You guys are much cooler," as we talked she began asking some questions so on the train we taught and Testified of the Savior. It was so neat as we invited her to read the book of Mormon and she asked for a copy and She agreed to meet up with us sometime to learn. She is a good friend. Her name is Anna.
We were also in a place called north Connel, and we were going about chapping doors and we ran into our friend again, He invited us into his home and showed us his Garden, It was cool, as we were there he gave us a rhubarb Cream Pot, and pickled ulluco, ( It is a beetroot plant)
They are such a cool family and are our good friends :) We were right about to leave as well and we walked to pick up the kids with him and Brought Bitey with us ( Bitey is a dragon Puppet) He is awesome. As the kids got off the Bus they screamed and Say " Hey it's the Mormons, YAy" They are so cool, we then later continued to do some finding in the area, we went by the airport which was cool, and met a lady on a path. but There was a friend we were looking for and she wasn't in but our friends confirmed for us that she does indeed live there so that was nice. North Connel was fun.
We also went by our Friend Robin, just to see how he was doing, and we aren't sure about him, so we went by he told us he was busy and to come back anytime. Then later in the day we got called by him saying " I'd appreciate it if you don't ever come back" so we at least have closure now.
We got a nice day as well, so we decided to go and clean up rubbish on the beach over in Oban, It was neat I found a Radio Destroyed and in the sand. It's strange the things that wash up on shore in oban. We saw our friend Hammish as well, and he told us we missed a spot, so we invited him to help us we all laughed.
Later on, we found a cool thing. We were walking to these houses right, and we see this sheep and Lamb running down the road, and we don't see anyone nearby, so Elder Starr and I, went to try to corral it, as we were going to try to herd it though we saw the farmer come over on a quad bike to collect him, and it put more into context the scripture that says, what man having 100 sheep if he loses one of them, will leave the ninety and nine and go after that which is lost,
As we were travelling out to Fortwilliam later in the week we saw many of the same instance however those sheep were lost, Along the road, in a ditch and so forth with no sign of the shepherd which truly showed us the importance of the shepherd and gave us a cool experience to understand more our role as The Lord's servants, as missionaries and members to be the shepherd to each other and protect one another from Dangers.
As we were out in the village as well, we were chapping doors, but We had met some nice People, We met one man who wasn't interested and we went to ask him a question , and we said it's not religion related, so he listened and allowed us to go in and use his toilet :p
We later were knocking on a man's door named Ernie. and as we knocked his door he said he wasn't interested, and that he was Church Of Scotland, As we talked he showed us his Car Models and invited us in, after a good discussion and Food and Juice we departed, but as we talked with him, he had told us he doesn't go to church much, and that he has always wondered about why do bad things happen specifically to children, as we talked with him we could sense a true sincerity in his questions and testified to the plan of The Lord. Especially how in Moroni 8 in the Book of mormon it is focused on the fact that young children before the Age of accountability ( which is 8) need not be baptised, as they are considered to be unaccountable. So if an infant or baby pass away they are automatically with God. We testified of this Eternal truth and talked about Eternal Perspective, He told us he likes the word eternal perspective and That we could come back to share this with him and his wife.
Unfortunately when she got home on Monday she told him she wasn't interested in discussing her religion with anyone. But the spirit was there when we were and I know that they will have the chance to ponder upon the words they heard and the spirit they felt when we were there.
We volunteered at British Heart Foundation this week again, and it was neat because one of the men we know from volunteering there his name is Ian and he wants to learn about the View points and beliefs of the church, we had saw him on the street and talked with him and he said it is fascinating, so that was cool, as well as we were officially oriented into the group which was nice as they are our friends and are welcoming to us. What that means is Banter persues :) It's alot of fun. At BHF I am learning to Tag clothes, size them, Reorganize the store, Steam them, Unpack the donation bags.
We had a movie night for the Branch, which was interesting we watched an old movie about the Church and pioneers, from back in the 1940s ( I apologize if any of you are from there, I am not calling you old) But it was interesting, it was black and white and shared the saints journey across the plains and some of the travels. It was interesting. We had fun, We had us, the miles and Danny there so that was nice
We also went to Taynuilt this week to go finding and we met some interesting people, It was nice, it was funny one person we contacted in Taynuilt, we saw again later with her friend in Oban, It's funny when you see the same person in two different places throughout the one day.
Like I said we also went out to Fortwilliam, We were goign to contact all those who had gone to church when the branch was there but with no branch nearby it made it difficult and many stopped going so we went out to see if they would want to have all of us come down to do sacrament meeting and visit once a month sometime, It does make it interesting here as the dynamic is alot different and seeing that many are so far away shows a new dynamic as well.
We met a few that were interested in having us come back so we look forward to seeing how it goes.
OnSunday it was so cool because EVERYONE bore testimony at testimony meeting, even those that don't ever bare testimony so it was very very powerful to be there.
On Monday we had a Bank Holiday which is why we are emailing today, It was a fun day, we went shopping, and that's it really. :P we both found nice suits in a charity shop so it was a blessing for sure. We then had the elders from dumbarton with us which was fun.
I was on exchange with elder Christensen who is a fellow canadian so that was cool, we went chapping doors, and we both were working on listening better and asking more inspired questions.
And Yesterday, Elder Starr and I were doing the same thing, but it was funny, because he told me that when I talk I stroke my chin so as I was talking and asking questions to find out more about the People I went to stroke my chin and I noticed it and bursted out laughing. :P
It was funny, we then met a nice lady named Wendy, she knew missionaries along time ago and welcomed us in, we chatted abit and talked about church and she was nice, Her daughter was christened at Rosslyn Chapel which is pretty cool so we were able to meet her and were invited back.
The work is going good, And in regards to my patience study, my Patience seems to be getting better as I have been constantly applying things and reevaluating, I am definately not patient though but working on it. I hope to one day be but probably won';t master it in this life time, I know with god all things are possible and to increase in anything you need trials to push that thing, so Patience has been fun, and Right now in my studies I am studying all the standard works and Undserstanding more of the full picture. I am learning about being watchful, I am learning about 12 tribes and understanding the Mosaic Law, I am seeing how wquick the Nephites are doing iniquity even right after the Lord saves them, It's incredible, I feel my knowledge is expanding and I am greatful for this chance.
I know the scriptures are the words of Christ and as we adhere to them and Feast upon the words of christ the words of christ will tell us all things that we should do. I know that as we study we gain understanding, and as we gain understanding we gain pure knowledge which then transforms into Godly Wisdom.
I love Trials, they mould us and transform us into doing many things and help us to become that Gold which needs to be refined to be make that way. I love the mormon message about the Refiner's Fire, It shows Medal Rods which get moulded and broken and stretched and in the end it makes a beautiful rose, and that is what our Tribulation do for us
I love all of you and keep you continually in my prayers, hope all is well and I know the Lord is taking care of all of you.
Love you
Happy Mother's Day
Oh and Happy Birthday Elder Jeremy Keith, and Laura Spencer.
Love all of you and remember that if times are hard remember that the Lord is always there for you.
Elder James T Kirk Reece
Scotland/ Ireland Mission
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