Christmas!!!

 Merry Christmas Everyone!!

It's nice having preparation day today so I can send this email on the day of Christmas! It has been a great Christmas and my last one as an elder which is sad to think about.

We had a large breakfast with the AP's, Office Elders, and Digital Finding and Teaching Coordinators. We all watched the Christ Child as we ate. It was really neat.

For lunch, President Gallacher invited us and the Chinese Zone Leaders over since we didn't have any members to feed us due to the nature of our callings. It was super amazing. I asked about President Gallacher's Christmases in England as a missionary when he was young so he went and got his old journals and read the entries to us.

The rest of the week has been great as well. Elder Hoopes and I are moving soon to a better flat but we still have a week in Southmead and we are fixing to make it a good one. I had three people we are trying to teach message me over Facebook to wish me a Merry Christmas. That's a miracle because all of them just kind ghosted me weeks ago. One of them is actually Mark, the cop who pulled me over awhile ago. It was cool getting to chat with them over Messenger for a bit.

Enjoy the pictures!

Elder Killian

Pic #1 - dinner with the Gallacher's, those crowns came from the Christmas crackers

Pic #2 - locked out of the mission office on Christmas eve, luckily the office elders came to rescue us

Pic #3 - filming elder hoopes music video, it's posted on Finding Christ in the UK, go watch it

One Week to Christmas

 What a nice week it has been. Back when I first received my call as a Social Media Specialist I just kept thinking, "I can't wait until we get the ball rolling." Well, we are definitely in the thick of it now. So despite having so many meetings to attend and errands to run and different kinds of software to master, I am grateful that the Lord has helped me so far and continues to do so!

We had our Christmas zone conference this past Wedneday. There wasn't alot of training or anything, President Gallacher said it was a time to "unstring the bow" but towards the end he said he hopes we are all ready to get out and see some miracles and push ourselves. Over the course of the conference there were some games, some karaoke, and alot of food. Elder Hoopes and myself also premiered the latest video we made with the help of the young adults in around six different stakes. (https://fb.watch/9ZP3pG7Dug/) 

We then asked every missionary to pull out their phone and share it. It went so well the AP's said they would do the same thing at the next conference tomorrow and we even had some Sisters come up and show us a message thread in which a friend they were teaching said she loved the video and it started a strong conversation!

This coming week we have some big meetings with the area social media leaders over Europe. We also have to get some real big last projects out. We are really going to start prepping for New Years now so we are ready!

Last thing, I noticed in the Book of Jarom that Jarom says "For what could I write more than my fathers have written? For have not they revealed the plan of salvation?" I thought it was a cool verse because first off, it teaches us that the gospel really is simple. We can think about little aspects of it all day, but the core plan is a simple and beautiful one. The second thing I thought was that we should never underestimate what we have to offer, because Jarom said that before we heard King Benjamin's call to action to all his people, or Alma and Almuleks remarkable talk on faith, or a countless number of other inspiring stories we read about. So never be afraid to share! What you have to contribute is necessary!

See ya,

Elder Killian

Pic #1 -  Elder hoopes and I decorating the tree for Christmas zone conference so we could take a break from the computer

Pic #2 - Elder hoopes and I with an extra 30 minutes we decided to spend walking through a cemetery, it was really cool and sobering

Pic #3 - the best curry I have ever eaten.

Strengthening the Stakes

 So I have been a social media specialist for nearly a month now. It has flown by so far, most likely because every day has been so busy and every moment a learning experience.

We have recently started really focusing on helping the ten stakes within our mission develop a stronger social media presence. As we reached out to all the Stake Communications Specialists, we found varying levels of involvement on social media. There is one similarity amongst each stake though, they all really want to start using it to do missionary work. They have the drive to get it done which is easily the most important thing. As a result, we have solid plans on place to help them get where they want to be.

Coming up we have two concerts and a live nativity event we will be broadcasting. Elder Hoopes and myself will be traveling a considerable amount getting it all done. After the holiday season we will slow down on the frequency of posts and focus on getting into a good schedule instead! It has been amazing to hear miracles that missionaries have seen as they use things we post and ads we ran in their efforts.

That's all for now!

Elder Killian

Pic #1 - my first visit to a carvery, it's like an all you can eat buffet, but you buy a plate and can only fill it once so you stack it high. English people know how to make proper roast dinners

Pic #2 - Elder hoopes and I walking around a park while waiting for a bus, we found these trees near a castle in the middle of bristol

Pic #3 - one of the double decker buses, we ride for 45 minutes on one, then get off and change buses, ride another 30 minutes, and we get the office

Office Full of Idaho Elders

 For the majority of my mission, I only really attended three meetings every week. There was church, district council, and then generally an extra one that came up. Now Elder Hoopes and I are averaging about ten a week. Its really cool getting to collaborate with so many different people all over the UK. Also, by necessity, my note taking abilities have dramatically increased.

We started posting on our social media profiles recently. There have actually been posts rolling out everyday! The best video we have whipped out so far is "What I Love About You" on the Finding Christ in the UK page. We posted it in December 1st. I would recommend checking it out, if you like it enough feel free to comment and share it too!

As far as ads go, we made it our goal to get them running and, spoiler alert, we were able to accomplish that. The day we chose to sit down and grind them out was a long one though. We had taken a couple trainings on ads and produced some good images so we felt like we could get it done pretty easy. In theory it was going to be a walk in the park. Sadly, our theory didn't take into account the fact that there are two different business accounts contains 6 different ad accounts between them which were all disabled for some reason. We had to dig for about 30 minutes to uncover all of that and then another 30 minutes of troubleshooting led us to find out there was a substantial charge (90£ or $120) from way back in April that had never been paid. Once that was laid we posted our first few ads and since then they have done incredibly well! Our guy back in Utah who trains us said he never would gave guessed our first ad would have performed so well. We have generated a list of over 60 people who want missionaries to drop of a card with a unique code to download some Christmas choir music. While dropping it off they then have the chance to offer to share a Christmas message and from there they can be taught!

That is all for now!

Thanks!!

Elder Killian

Pic #1 - all of us here in Southmead, minus Elder Palmer, I'll get him in a pic for next week

Pic #2 - our lunch on Friday, we all had like three bread bowls worth of chicken and rice soup I made and they made it crazy hard to stay awake

Pic #3 - all of us office elders, fun fact, we are all from Idaho, Elder Pincock (right in front of me) lives 24 minutes away in Idaho Falls

Two emails, One week

 First off, you are probably wondering why this email is coming on a Saturday rather than a Monday. It started back during one of our technology councils on Thursday. We were informed of some stake events going on that would be ideal for gathering footage for the Facebook pages we now run. I asked how we could be on the loop so we don't miss future events and President Gallacher said we need to start coming into the office every Monday at 2 for the calender meeting with the Stakes. Fast forward to yesterday at another meeting with all the zone leaders and sister-training-leaders. After that meeting we asked President Gallacher if our P-day could be Saturday rather than Monday and he said that would be best. The AP's and office elders also have it today so we aren't completely on our own luckily!

In other news, Elder Hoopes and I are going to move to a newer, nicer flat in January that is MUCH closer to the mission office, within walking distance in fact! Until then we are going to keep bussing a few hours each day. It works out though because we have seen some miracles!

Just yesterday we spent five hours in a meeting, another hour assigning missionaries to create social media content, and then two hours producing a Christmas Ad for our mission to run. We were constantly busy, but it wasn't directly finding and teaching people the gospel. I was having some difficulty excersizing faith that my efforts were a worthwhile use of time. While caught up in those thoughts we missed our stop because we were trying a new route home that requires two busses. By missing that stop we had to wait 45 minutes to catch a different bus. When that bus finally came, a man in front of us called us Elders and gave us fistbumps so we started talking to him. His name is Ricardo and he was taught by Sisters in Spain seven years ago! During that time they taught him all about the church and he frequently attended, he was even the driving force in getting the rest of his family along! After moving to England he lost touch with the sisters and we were the first missionaries he has interacted with since! In the course of that 45 minute bus ride we got to know him really well, we sent selflies over Messenger to the Sisters who taught him and also his cousin who is a member, and also got his contact info and invited him to church! It was a major testimony builder that this is God's work, He knows that we want to help people. I know that no effort is wasted. Success isn't based upon our efforts, but rather on our desires.

It has been a great week and I will start sending all these emails on Saturdays!

Till next week,

Elder Killian

Pic #1 - the chicken and rice soup we made to eat at the office, we literally just packed a cup of rice and can of cream of chicken soup

Pic #2 - the first kebab I have had here, I was told every missionary needs to try one, it was pretty good!

Pic #3 - p-day shopping with the district followed by football

Random photos from Florida and England

 

New Calling as Social Media Specialist

 Elder Ford and I got pulled over last Monday. We were driving at a snails pace on our way home from our dinner appointment. On one front tire we had a donut and the other was slowly leaking air. As we were waving people past us one of the cars just wouldn't pass. We were really confused as to why until they flipped their lights on. Elder Ford pulled over and got out to talk to them immediately while I sat in the car. All the sudden one of the cops comes over and asks me my name. I say, "Elder Killian."

He says, "What?"

I say, "Elder Killian."

He then goes, "Desmond?"

Let me tell you, I was so confused! Turns out he was Mark! A guy I had been teaching over social media for about three weeks! They gave us an escort home and he promised he would call soon. We have a lesson scheduled for this Thursday now!

In other news we have had a real solid week. We finally did some really solid work in the Washford branch only because we had to get the car in to get fixed and were limited to social media work and anything within a 45 minute walk. We literally just got off the phone with President Gallacher and we found out the transfer news!!

Elder Ford got called as a Zone Leader and apparently I am leaving as well! I am staying in the same zone but serving as a mission social media leader. I am only forty minutes from the mission office at a flat in Southmead. Southmead is a really tiny flat with four guys in it. I am really familiar with it because it is the same district I am currently in! This will be my first time being in an area only one transfer so I will miss it, but I think I'm in a walking only area which I have been hoping for!

Our friend Richard came to church again and it sounds like he plans on coming weekly! We have lessons scheduled but the new elders will take over and hopefully put him on date for baptism soon! We also had a cool miracle while we were teaching a lesson over the phone. We were parked in the car. The lesson was going super well when a little kid started trying to open the car door. He was really going wild on the locked door handle! Elder Ford got out and started talking to his family while I kept teaching. We were within sight and sound of one another and one of us was teaching the Restoration lesson while the other got the contact info to come back and teach a family! It was the kind of missionary opportunity we frequently pray for!

Stay well!

Elder Killian

Pic #1 - Elder Ford and I with Cadbury Crunchie mcflurries

Pic #2 - homemade yorkshire pudding I made for our weekly roast

Pic #3 - Elder Ford taking pictures while we were at the minehead beach

Stranded by the Seaside

 Good morning! This week has been full as we participated in back-to-back exchanges and traversed the length of our two areas several times teaching lessons and offering service.

I first exchanged with Elder Griffin where we did service for two older couples. In the first we pulled weeds and cleared thorny vines out of their garden. The second project was an hour away and consisted of mowing a lawn with an electric mower. It more closely compares with a vacuum, in place of wheels it just had a curved plastic lip that glided over the grass. Following the service we taught Carol-Ann. She was baptized a bit ago and wants to start coming back. Her husband, Billy,  isn't a member but enjoys sitting in on the lessons. We asked Carol-Ann to lead us in prayer and ask if the Book of Mormon was true. We invited Billy to kneel with us as well. The Spirit was really strong and they both said they would come to church, we have yet to find out if they did because we attended the Taunton service and they live in the Washford area.

Our church attendance between Taunton and Washford has been very unfairly split this last month in Taunton favor. We went there again this week because our friend Richard wanted to go. We ended up walking a mile and a half with him to the church. He really enjoyed the service and after he left nearly every member in a leadership position came up to us and asked what they could change so that visitors feel more welcome! The members here are really outstanding and we even arranged for Richard to get lifts to and from church every Sunday! Additionally, we Elders are going to start teaching the Gospel Principles class until ward teachers can be called!

My other exchange was with Elder Hill in an area without a car. We ended up footing it nine miles or so for just two lessons that both had to happen that day, but were on opposite ends of town. We slept really well that night!

I appreciate the car we have in our area, but we drive so much that I wouldn't mind serving in a walking area eventually. Speaking of which, we found out that our car has some tire alignment issues and so the front tires are rubbed down to the wire on the inside. I am officially at eleven flat tires now total, two of which I have changed on the mission. Needless to say, we are marooned in Minehead today so we are cleaning, writing letters, and catching up on all our other miscellaneous tasks. For lunch we strolled down to the seaside and got a chippy which we brought back to the flat to munch on. So yeah, the full English experience, haha!

Have a great week!

Elder Desmond Killian

Pic #1 - the "chippy" I had for lunch today

Pic #2 - Elder Hill and myself five minutes from the southmead flat after walking all day

Pic #3 - Elder Griffin manning the "lawn vacuum" 

Mission Field Trip to London!!

 Hey everyone! The past three days I had the opportunity to hear from the apostles each day as they spoke to us missionaries, the youth, and then the entire country! All the talks were amazing! The biggest takeaway I got from it was the importance of having an eternal perspective. They frequently mentioned how missionary service, for members and missionaries alike, is the single most important thing we can do on earth. Elder Cook also went so far as to say that every person I will ever care about will be blessed by my service as a missionary! We had some incredibly powerful meetings and the Spirit was undeniable as the apostles spoke.

In other news, Halloween was cool. Americans really go much harder for it but it still wasn't bad here by any means. Elder Ford and myself ate loads of the chocolate that we have stockpiled and cooked a real nice roast dinner.

We had some pretty poor luck with lessons falling through this week, but we were able to do alot of planned and unplanned service and schedule many upcoming appointments. The people here are really amazing because they will be very honest about whether they are interested or not, so it was odd that so many things fell through! We also went to the Book of Mormon musical for the last showing. It was really great, I got pictures with a few people but only after they took a pamphlet and showed they had some interest. No matter how cold it is, we learned that you have to just be in a white shirt and tie with no jacket or jumper. So many more people talk to you if you do because they think you are an actor!

Have a good one!

Elder Killian

Pic #1 - on top of Brean Down, we hiked it today for P-day and got POURED on, it was way less enjoyable than Florida rain

Pic #2 - on the coach for a three hour ride to London to see the apostles

Pic #3 - us after doing some service on an English estate

Random Pictures in England

 These are some pictures that Elder Killian sent his Mom.  Just a view of some of the places that he has been visiting.

                                 Setting up for the church meeting to start in Desmond's first area!!!

                            This is the kitchen in their flat as the places they live are called in England.

It's How you live Not where

 Of these last seven days, I have only spent three of them in Washford/Taunton, the area I am assigned to. This happened because I started by doing an exchange with the elders in Southmead where I went there and stayed the night with them on Wednesday. Then Thursday evening I went straight from Southmead to Wales because there was a showing of the Book of Mormon musical there that ended around 9:15 PM. For those who don't know, that musical is not one to watch, it does not represent our church well. It is an amazing way to find people though. They watch fake missionaries for an hour or so only to find a dozen real missionaries encircling the entrance to the theater (at a legal distance of course). Not many people get by our army without getting a leaflet or passalong card. Alot of people laugh at us, a couple people swear, and some even ask for pictures. In general though, it is incredibly effective, the play makes people curious!

Because the showing ended so late, we stayed the night in Wales. We had some bad luck with construction so we didn't get to bed until about 12:45 in the morning after some zone leaders met us to open the door to some random flat the mission rents. Following that, I went on exchanges with our zone leaders where I went to Trowbridge to stay Friday night. It was really nice sleeping in my own bed again Saturday night and not having to live out of some bags. I loved all the exchanges though, it was an amazing opportunity to learn from tons of different missionaries and I feel much more prepared to teach the gospel here in England now!

Sorry for the long email, much has happened and the last thing I wanted to mention is that we are going to get to hear from not one, not two, but THREE different apostles this Friday in London. They are bussing our entire mission there for the day to be with the London mission so that President Ballard, Elder Cook, and Elder Holland can speak to us alongside their spouses! We are all incredibly excited and doing all we can to spiritually prepare!!

'til next week!

Elder Killian

Pic #1 - Elder Ford and I carved pumpkins today with the district to celebrate for Halloween

Pic #2 - us waiting outside the Book of Mormon musical in Wales, it was freezing

Pic #3 - tons of pastries we got for free from a bakery because they were a day old. We got about 7 boxes worth that we distribute to members and other families in need in the area. Pastries here are FAR superior to what we have in the states (yes, that is a chocolate covered AND chocolate filled croissant)

Stay Left!!

 Hello everyone!

It is incredible to think I have only been in England for about two weeks! It simultaneously feels much longer yet much shorter at the same time! It has been an interesting challenge adjusting to everything but this week has helped out considerably!

For those who follow me on Facebook, you already know I drove for the first time in England the other day! Let me tell the whole story. My companion, Elder Ford, was born and raised in England. We both got really sick for about three days and are just now coming out of it, but he got it MUCH worse than I did. As a result he signed up to get a COVID test but didn't feel comfortable driving to it. With President Gallacher's permission, I was allowed to drive to it. The testing facility was only 27 miles away but it was an hour drive because of traffic and narrow roads. Elder Ford said I drive really well for an American. It was not easy though, I frequently needed to remind myself what lane to pull into so I didn't mess up, and the amount of near misses was incredible. That is normal here because of how tight ALL of the roads are though. We prayed before leaving as well and those prayers were heard and answered!

We weren't able to teach nearly as many lessons as we wanted to because we didn't want to get anyone else sick, but we did set aside plenty of time to use social media in finding new friends who may be interested. We have gotten more positive responses here than at any other point in my mission which has been cool, it is just difficult making the jump from messaging to doing a video call or meeting in person. We have faith, however, that we will be led to those people who have been diligently searching for the gospel. Finding one person like that makes a thousand rejections easily worth enduring.

Last thing I wanted to note, there is SO much chocolate here! First off, it is all incredibly high quality. Second, it is surprisingly cheap. That is a terribly unhealthy combo which results in members frequently giving us all sorts of chocolate. The food here is much healthier, but the chocolate more abundant so it evens out!

Thanks for all the support!

Elder Killian

Pic #1 - a picture of me stopped at a light while driving, all the lights here are just barely above the ground over the sidewalk

Pic #2 - a narrow path we walked for about half a mile while on exchanges

Pic #3 - pictures at district council

Same Work....Different Place

 It took two flights, three coach rides, and a few hours of driving on narrow roads through the country side but I finally arrived in my new flat in Washford. This area covers two units, the branch in Washford and the ward in Taunton. Back when COVID first hit, the mission shrunk to the point where most areas covered multiple units but now my area is one of the few remaining.

We alternate which building we attend so we went to Washford yesterday. We helped set up Saturday. They rent out a little memorial hall where we helped set up two tables, about 25 chairs, and some simple decorations. The talks and Sunday school lesson were amazing! These people are incredibly devoted and united. I look forward to meeting the ward at Taunton. Our flat is really nice but it has no dryer. Sadly, it would actually be unusual if it did since everyone here air dries their clothes. I will get to experience that for the first time today. Adjusting to using pounds instead dollars has also been fun! I frequently feel like everything is a little less expensive when it really is not.

I am told that the England Birmingham Mission has a rich history of miracles and I have had the opportunity to hear many of them and experience a couple. I have a testimony that God hears our prayers and that he cares about us. It is hard seeing people not care for Him but incredibly rewarding when they accept the message. To find people to teach we generally go contacting on the street but I am trying to see how effective Facebook is as well. So far it has been working well!

I feel as though there is so much I want to mention but I don't have the space or the time! I'll get to it all eventually though!

Love you all!!

Elder Killian

Pic #1 - heading out street contacting, instead of "how are you" people say "you alright mate"

Pic #2 - a cool church we drove by, all the houses have very similar aesthetics

Pic #3 - the key to our flat (apartment), I just thought it looked cool, also, we have heated floors here, great for helping me acclimate slowly

England has Elder Killian now....

 It is official Desmond left on Wednesday, October 6 at 3:00p.m. They had a layover in Atlanta, Georgia and then an 8 hour drive "over the pond" to England and a chance to serve in England.   

We are not sure how long he will be in quarantine since he is vaccinated and was cleared to arrive in England.

These are a few of the pictures that Elder Killian sent to his Mom.....I think the smile on his face says it all!!!

                                                                                    Coming into the airport.

I do not know for sure but I believe these are all missionaries that are being sent into England to serve in the same mission he is in.  There may also be a missionary that is the assistant to the  Mission President.

Possibly London Bridge, Buckingham Palace or just some of the cityscape.