Sorry it's been so very long since I've written out a proper update! Things have been so busy here, and the time has been flying. I can't believe it's nearly February. Perhaps I'll start with the basics... Swindon is a working town, so basically anyone who wants work gets it.. Which means there lots of foreigners and very little free time. We have met people from so many different nationalities. French Guinean, Goan (a state in india), Brazilian, Polish, Ghanaian, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, etc. I love those people, they make the work so fun. All the foreigners are so humble, they just see things in. A different light. You'd be hard pressed to find a Goan who doesn't believe in God, and if you did, you would see that he's more humble than half the worlds Christians. I have taken a particular liking to the Goan people. I know a bit of their language( Konkani) and it's amazing to see how they smile when you stop them in their native tongue. We are teaching one Goan family consistently, and teach others from time to time. They're all staunch Catholic so they don't receive the message particularly clearly, which is interesting to see. But they are amazing people. There is something like 40,000 Goans in Swindon and most of them live on about 10-20 streets in one area near town. I LOVE going there. Swindon has taught me loads about contacting people on the street and understanding people, and just conversation in general. I really love all the foreigners here, I'm gonna find it hard if I ever go back to a staunchly English city. (Fortunately EBM is the most culturally diverse English mission) I've learn how to say little phrases in Portuguese, Romanian, Nepalese, and Polish... And it's awesome to see how much respect people have for you for simply learning how to say hello in their language. So I keep ranting about the foreigners but yeah, Swindon is definitely my favorite area so far. In Swindon I find myself constantly noting the significance of perspective in happiness and success. Something I have definitely learned out here... Every morning I wake up, I'm not vamping up to fight for success that day. Rather, I'm trying to truly obtain the perspective that is necessary to carry me in the work that day. When your perspective matches with your task, it becomes so simple. I've been learning over and over in Swindon, the power of mentality.
The Book of Mormon is the guide to that mentality. It's like a book of Wisdom, and when I align myself with the spiritual reverberations that are contained through out it... That same spirit permeates in my mind and through my actions all the day long. When we study the book daily, we become living testaments of its truthfulness. Moreover we cannot preach the faith if we do not live it. The rich man knows that he will not remain wealthy, if he does not have a source of continuing income, as expenditures are inevitable. Similarly the wise Christian understands that expenditures of faith are inevitable, and he must increase his spiritual accounts daily. There have been days when we don't have time for morning studies... Those are the only days I've been furious on my mission. I find that it takes quite a lot to be angry personally... But not on the days where I haven't made the effort to obtain a higher perspective. And particularly in this demanding field of labor... I find it impossible to succeed unless I refresh my mind/ spirit daily. But back to Swindon! We are teaching a lot of people! We have been so blessed in finding people so continuously. This last Saturday we tracked into a guy called JD, and he ended up coming to church the next day and bringing his friend. Hopefully we can start teaching him this week. It has been great, we have worked really hard and seen so many blessings! We have many investigators who recognize that they have a testimony, which is amazing.
Our biggest struggle is that people work too much here, so many investigators we can only see on weekend... And many investigators can't make it to church unless they quit their jobs. But nevertheless it is amazing. I have met so many amazing people out here, and am learning so much. I'm loving it. It's so hard, but it's so worth it. I won't go into detail about of the investigators because it would take too long, but we have a few really special people were working with right now. One is a Welsh man who lost his faith over the years of difficulties, it's been amazing to teach him. He came to church yesterday for the first time In many years. That was great to see. The Goan family I spoke of earlier is amazing, we're going to visit them tonight. And the list carries on. But at this point I think it is sufficient to say that the work is going well. Transfers are next week Wednesday, so that will be interesting.
Hope everyone is doing well,
Love you all.
