Teach a Man to Fish

 Elder Hanson and I started the week off ill. He woke up with the flu and I with food poisoning. A good chunk of the ward also got sick at the same time because we all attended the same social event. It took us a few days to get well again. During the worst bit if it, we all went to Cardiff for a zone conference. We would have stayed home if it wasn't for the fact we were leading a training for all the missionaries here in Wales. During the whole conference we both looked like zombies but during the training we definitely had some divine help and it went smoothly.

Two people in the Merthyr Zone were baptized yesterday. Our exchanges fell in such a way we were able to attend both of them. The first was Andrew. He was the first person I have ever interviewed to be baptized. His testimony is solid and he is excited to continue his spiritual journey.

The second was Rickie. His baptism was very well planned. He has a really sweet old grandma named Joyce who has insane amounts of energy. The day after Rickie's baptism she asked to be baptised as well.

I was asked to give a sacrament talk on Saturday because one of the speakers on the following day fell ill. A member once told us every missionary should have a five minute, ten minute, and twenty minute talk ready at all times. I would second that what he said is true.

One topic frequently discussed this week was using the scriptures. Oftentimes, missionaries and members have the urge to answer every question with the torrent of information we have learned from our lifelong experience in the church. That is like giving a man a fish. What we want to do is teach the man to fish, therefore, we have to point them to the doctrine and then they will learn their answer and also learn how to learn. It isn't as easy, but worthwhile pursuits rarely are.

Have a good week!

Elder Desmond Killian

Pic #1 - Andrew heading home after his baptism.

Pic #2 - a box sitting in the clerk's office

Pic #3 - whiteboard finding is when you take a whiteboard out into a really busy public space and have people answer the question writtenon the board. When they inevitably ask why you are doing this, you testify if your purpose and ask about them. We gave out many copies of the book of Mormon and also received alot of phone numbers. I talked to one chap named Stephan but I forgot to get his number. Turned out to he alright because he messaged us. That never happens!

Chestnuts in a Lake

One of the highlights of the week happened just yesterday. Elder Hanson and I parked at Cyfarthfa Castle and walked down to the lake to speak with other walkers we would pass. We stopped near the first young couple we met and they were incredibly kind. After a couple minutes, we realized that they are currently already meeting with the Merthyr 2nd elders.

They live within the geographical area that we cover, but the other elders met them and started teaching them. We have been working closely with them so that when the time comes for us to teach them instead, we will know what they have been taught. This encounter in the park was completely unplanned though. It was a great blessing as the husband, Lee, had read not only 3 Nephi 11, but also 12 & 13. He had some pretty significant questions about it. Elder Hanson did a great job answering them, I spent the whole twenty minutes helping their 4- year old find chestnuts from the nearby tree that he could then chuck into the pond. We found a lot of them together.

Another highlight was the interview I had with President Gallacher. The whole Merthyr Zone has interviews on Tuesday.

We spoke a lot together about the importance of teaching from the scriptures. Many times missionaries can get carried about answering questions and lecturing on hitting every point we know on a subject. Teaching that way doesn't show people how they can find their own answers. We are second witnesses, the first one is the scriptures. We don't want to mix those two up. I look forward to applying that in my teaching better as I move forward.

Have a good week!

Elder Desmond Killian

Pic #1 - almost the entirety of the Merthyr zone, we are a tiny zone in terms of missionaries but a massive zone in terms of area we cover

Pic #2 - district photo from a hike we did last week. It is called the Elidir Trail

Pic #3 - another district photo, I entrusted a stranger with my camera to get that photo and then I took a similar one for him

Everyday a Miracle

 There are a few families here that have been in the church for 3+ generation. Generally though, if I ask a member how long they have been a member, they will have a conversion story to share.

These stories range from incredible to downright miraculous. Some said "from the moment I met the missionaries I knew I would join the church." These week I started wondering where those miracles were at nowadays. An experience from this past week strengthened my testimony that we do still live in a day of miracles.

Elder Hanson and I went to a part of town called Cae'r Wern. There were several people in this neighbourhood who met with elders on the past but didn't continue taking lessons. We were coming by to see if they wanted to resume. The first two didn't open the door, one of them actually locked it right after we knocked. Then we got to Pauline's door.

Pauline had one doorstep conversation with elders in the past but has had no contact since then. When we knocked, she instantly invited us in, even before asking our names. We made sure there was another guy in the house and then followed her into her living room. Pauline has faith like no other. We shared our missionary purpose, told her we had a unique message, and then asked if she would let us share it.

After we finished the First Vision she was crying and said she had goosebumps. She took a copy of the Book of Mormon. When we called back the next day she said she was content her whole life but now she felt like there was something more. We are praying for her now as she starts learning more.

Also, thank you for all of the wonderful birthday wishes!

Have a good week,

Elder Desmond Killian

Pic #1 - my birthday dinner with Graham, brother Valentine, Brother Loveridge, and Elder Hanson. It was a classic roast dinner

Pic #2 - a note we got the other day, could be a miracle in the making, they haven't been home each time we have knocked yet

Pic #3 - pic from last week, that is a place called Morlais

"They Just Need to be Invited".

 I am currently serving in the Merthyr Tydfil 1st Ward. If there is a "1st ward" then you have probably already guessed there to be a "2nd" one. The two wards are really close and as a result, when the Merthyr 2nd Ward held a Summer Féte, we were all invited.

Elder Hanson and myself took the liberty of inviting a few neighborhoods worth of people near the church, all of our friends on Facebook who live in Merthyr, and every other person we passed on the street. In total, we had about 11 friends show up with their families and there were numerous less-active members there as well.

In-between running the game booths, we four elders were taking every opportunity to dart out and talk to the people visiting. While running the games, we also started receiving gifts of ice cream and hot dogs from the kids who kept coming back to play them. One young man, couldn't be older than 12, even came and gave us all hugs and said "thanks for letting us come and play." Him and his family hadn't been to church in a long time.

The most peculiar experience came from a woman I invited off of Facebook. She lived in a valley out of town called Cwm. It is pretty far so I wasn't super hopeful she would be able to make it. She did. Not only her but also her husband and kids and her best friends family too. She then also brought along a baby stroller that had three bearded dragons, a large chameleon, and a few other reptiles I couldn't name if I tried, within it. My first reaction was to start rehearsing how I was going to apologize to the 2nd Ward bishop. Ten minutes later everyone at the party has formed lines around her and are taking turns holding the lizards as their parents take pictures, including the bishops from both wards. 

This event did a lot of good for the church and members here in Merthyr. It wasn't easy to organize and there was a cost, but the positive impact it had was priceless. As a church, we are really good at loving other people, pretty good at sharing things with them, but inviting our friends to come along to activities is where really have room to blossom. This event was easy to invite people to, and now they may be more likely to come to a sacrament meeting. There may be less cotton candy and fun there, but there is a whole lot more eternal happiness and forgiveness.

"People like being included, they just need to be invited."

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/23?lang=eng

Have a good week!

Elder Killian

Pic #1 - the lizard crew at the Summer Féte

Pic #2 - if you squint your eyes and look real close you can see some white dots on a bench on the other side of the lake, those are the Merthyr 2nd elders having an in depth conversation about faith vs works with the local baptist preacher's daughter

Pic #3 - Glenys Bloodworth converted to our faith from Presbyterianism at the age of 80. Because of her upbringing, she was unwilling to mark the scriptures when the bishop invited the ward to read the Book of Mormon and mark every reference to Christ. To accomplish the challenge and prove that she did it, she chose instead to write out the entire book word for word. When the year ended and the challenge was over, she wasn't. She went on to write out the entire New Testament, Old Testament, Doctrine & Covenants, and even Preach My Gospel. At her funeral, Elder Druyon and I had the opportunity to display her books. I don't think her feat has been duplicated in centuries and I doubt it will be soon. For five years she spent 3 or more hours a day transcribing.

"Fellow citizens with the Saints"

 Merthyr is truly a remarkable place.

There is a member hear named Graham who is preparing to enter the temple. To help him prepare we meet twice a week, once for dinner and once for a scripture study. At the dinner he invites Josh and helps us teach him. Josh is getting baptized in October as soon as he turns 18.

During our last scripture study with Graham we all felt the Spirit as we read Alma 31. In particular the prayer Alma prays on behalf of the Zoramites. As we spoke about how valuable we are in God's eyes, we invited Graham to remember his worth when facing temptation.

Come Sunday Graham was glowing. He said he had a tough morning but he knew church was the place to be. On top of that, Josh also came and sat by us and Graham. Finally, we had Leanne, another friend of ours who is getting baptized in November, come up and talk to Graham. Throw into the mix all the ward leaders and stake leaders talking to our friends and you will understand how tight this ward is knit together.

We had a Elder Baxter of the First Quorum of the Seventy speak to us all last night. Aside from ending with some very specific dating advice, he also told us we aren't just teaching the Restoration nowadays. Back on his mission, that is what he did, but back then everyone also had a Bible in their house. These days we are called to testify of the reality of God and Jesus Christ in a post- Christian society. The most effective way to do that is with the Book of Mormon and the Holy Ghost.

Have a great week!

Elder Killian

Pic #1 - volunteering at "Parkrun" everyone came to tell us we were the most excited people and they wanted us back next week. We were also the youngest by at least ten years

Pic #2 - a bunch of coins an elder saved for his whole mission. It equated to about 88 £

Pic #3 - the place we did Parkrun at along the the Taff River

Shoulder to the Wheel

 My driver's license came this week. Officially only took me 8 days from taking my theory, to passing my practical, to getting the hard copy license in the mail.

Elder Hanson and I had many plans in place this week to find people who we could start teaching. Without fail, every plan fell through. The success we had came from a person who referred himself over the internet.

His name is Jonathan and he is 28. His father passed away a few months back. He did alot of research, clear down to Kolob. I was on exchanges when the lesson happened but apparently it was amazing! He has a copy of the Book of Mormon and we will be following up on how reading Alma 32 went on Tuesday.

We set ambitious goals at the beginning of the week and didn't hit them. We did see more miracles than ever before though. I know that God sees the effort we put. A speaker at church yesterday spoke about how when we put our "shoulder to the wheel" it is often the "shoulder" that God cares about strengthening more than the "wheel" He cares about moving. Elder Hanson and I pushed all we could and the wheel didn't move as far as we thought it would, but we learned so much.

Have a great week!

Elder Killian

Pic #1 - Hanson heading into Slater's to buy an Welsh suit for his birthday

Pic #2 - pday today was us eating Welsh cakes in a market

Pic #3 - my license came in the mail, this is how we notified the office

Licensed

 Hello everyone!

I booked my theory test a few weeks back and the date came for me to finally take it on Wednesday. I did my prep though so it wasn't too bad. After passing the theory I then went to book the practical test which consists of 42 minutes of driving with an instructor. The only available dates to take it were the following Friday, or the first week of January 2023. I decided to get it over with and take the Friday one.

So Elder Hanson and I woke up at 6 AM on Friday morning and drove two hours to Cardigan (a little Welsh town on the coast). I passed the test, definitely thanks to the many prayers I said and the blessing I asked for. We then drove another two hours home. It cost us about five hours of driving on a Friday morning before noon, but I am now licensed to drive in the UK and most of Europe too. Just in the nick of time too as my US license expires in September.

Elder Hanson and I set some pretty faithful goals for things we wanted to accomplish this transfer. As we reflected on our progress, we realized we need to find a new person every single day to hit our goal, clear up until the 31st.

We started strong and then Sunday hit and it seemed hopeless. We were booked solid with meetings. We had thirty minutes to knock a couple doors before church but no one answered. Imagine our surprise now when a member comes in with two visitors in tow. He proceeds to give them an incredible tour of the place, clear down to the cleaning closets. We barely got a sentence in before he took them off to see another parts of the building in between sacrament and classes. After church he then finsihed the tour and ended it right in front of us by saying, "and here are the missionaries." We got her and her daughter's number and will be teaching them about the Book of Mormon soon.

Have a good one!

Elder Killian

Pic #1 - service project in 33 degree Celsius weather

Pic # 2 - passed my driving test, messed up my name though so I think they think I am Killian Desmond Lynn 

Pic # 3 - an AP about to go home, I'll see him at BYUI though