Tuesday, November 16, 2021
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
Friday, October 29, 2021
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.
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
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