February 13th—February 19th: All or Nothing

This week has been really pretty boring as far as missionary work goes. We have just been finding all week this week with almost no success. We did meet a man on Saturday that was really nice and was willing to have us come back. That was solid. He was just outside modifying his car while we were tracting and so I got talking to him about his car and what he was doing.  Well, we talked to him for a while about different things and then at the end left him with a Plan of Salvation thing and said we would see him next week. Still really not that interesting but it was pretty much the highlight of the week. 

This week I have been contemplating a lot about the concept of submitting to the will of the Father. It is pretty hard, but also a very simple concept. It is something that I really am seeking to do. I am here on His mission so I might as well be doing it his way. Easier said than done. When I tried it at first, it didn't feel any different but after a few days I just got this feeling—all or nothing. You cannot hold back. I think that is really telling. How often have I tried to do things His way and yet still held back things and said I'll do it your way but... well now I am trying to to it His way and it has made things a bit better this week. It was still a long boring week, but I'm able to get through it because that's what Heavenly Father wants me to do right now. My challenge to all of you is to in your prayers ask Heavenly Father what He wants you to do and then have the faith to carry it out.

Love you all!

Elder Tarbet

Caelitus Mihi Vires

My Strength is from Heaven

February 6th—February 12th: Testifying of the Simple Truths of the Gospel

  This week has been pretty straightforward. There were a few fun bits, so I will just briefly cover them and then try and to better with personal emails. 

   So a lot of people this week have had some interesting questions but 2 of them were great because of the response that we got from them. The first was a lady that was asking, "Why do bad things happen? Where was God when my Mother was dying, my dog died, and my daughter had meningitis, all in the space of 4 months?" The only response that I could think to give was the one that I simply believe—he was there crying with you, he hurt just as bad as you did because he knew that you hurt. She really liked that answer.  She told us that we were the first people that had been able to answer that question.  I thought it was a pretty simple and maybe even a lame answer but she liked it. 

   The next question was fun as well. I don't really understand it though. Another lady asked if this was Heaven or Hell? We just said that this is mortality and then went on to explain the basics of the Plan of Salvation. It was really nice actually. We didn't get a return appointment with her but she was friendly and really happy that we were the only ones that could. Once again, nobody seemed to be able to answer that question.

   This week has been mostly tracting and trying to find new people to teach with little success. The Jehovah's Witnesses are very active in this area and so most of the places around here have been knocked a thousand times over by them so as soon as people see us they either shut of the door or don't open the door and hide. It is frustrating.

   Other exciting news is that we are teaching a lady named Carol who is one of the recent convert's grandma, so that is nice. 

Thats been about the week.

Hope that you are all well!

Elder Tarbet

Caelitus Mihi Vires

My Strength is from Heaven

January 30th—February 5th: Back Again Among the English

Right so I am now back in England!  

  This week has been pretty interesting. I am completely and totally lost though. I have no sense of direction here. I had kind of gotten used to the mountains as being a direction and also I am very used to the ocean as my direction as well but now they are both gone. No more coast for me. Burnley is a good sized collection of town/small cities. They are mostly just housing estates all around.  The flat that we are in is right in the centre of the town and so it makes getting around reasonably easy, which is nice. The Chapel is just a short walk away as well.   

   The ward here is pretty good sized—about 60-70 I would say.  Big difference from good ol' Colwyn haha.  We have an interesting teaching pool at the time being. The ones that I have met have very mixed potential.  We have a man that is dated for baptism but has a few things to fix still. Then the rest of our teaching pool here is mostly trying to convert us to whatever it is that they believe. We had some great chats with Jehovah's Witnesses. They have very different beliefs. I'm not to sure about this area yet, but I'm sure that I will find the reason for me to be here but it's not too obvious yet.  

   Elder Koh is from Spain but was originally born in Singapore. He came out the same time as me and he has been here with Elder Berretta for 6 months and so I am the definite stranger here. He is really, really quiet which is a big switch for me from Elder Cossa who was always quite animated.  Love ya lots!

Elder Tarbet

Caelitus Mihi Vires

My Strength is from Heaven

January 23rd—January 29th: Onward to a New Area and a Date for Emma's Baptism

  Right, so this week is transfers.   I will be going to Burnley to serve with Elder Koh, he came out at the same time as me but was really quiet in the MTC and so I don't know him too well.  The scary thing is that this could easily be my last area. Lucky 7! Companion number 11.
  So this week has been good. We had a lesson with Josh and Christina whilst I was on exchanges with Elder Plaizier from Bountiful, Utah (home sweet home).  It was an interesting lesson. We talked a lot about forgiveness and about the Atonement. That is a topic that I love to talk about.  I could talk about it for ages. It has been just a great and powerful influence in my life. I am so grateful that I've gotten to learn so much about it while I've been here in the UK.
  The big news of the week is that Emma now has a date for baptism. We are super excited for her. She set the goal for the 25th of February. She just has to overcome smoking. We still have a hard time meeting with her regularly but we set up a calendar with her that should hopefully help the new missionaries. She didn't come to church yesterday, which was a let down. All good. She really wants to go through with it all so we are praying for her success.
  Saturday, I went to the doctor's about my migraines.  The doctor explained what it was that creates migraines but he didn't know what is specifically causing mine. He just said that I would need to kinda figure that out.   He said to just avoid caffeine or any kind of stimulants—chocolate, cheese (weird but thats what he said), stuff like that.   He said it could be anything but those are typical.   It will just be a game of dealing with them if they happen.  He said that there are other things that they can do, but for right now with where I'm at he recommended that I just kinda plow on and not mess with any of the other stuff.  The migraine officially ended Saturday afternoon I would say so that made it a beautiful Sunday.

Love ya all and have a great week!
Elder Tarbet

Caelitus Mihi Vires
My Strength is from Heaven

January 16th—January 22nd: A Migraine and A Room Full of Questions

Hello all!

   This week has been pretty boring. I am currently on day 5 of a migraine. It's been a bit better today but the screen is destroying me so this week will be kind of short.
   On Tuesday, we went on exchanges. I went with Elder Jensen. He is so tall (6'7") but is a great missionary. We had a pretty discouraging start but stuck at it and ended up in an incredible set up. We went to help Christina with her lesson for young women's.  We started helping her (Josh was there too) when another of her friends shows up. We had been there maybe 5 minutes at this point, so Josh and Tom get talking while I kind of keep Christina on track so that we can get her through the lesson. It was not too long until Elder Jensen (who is a legend) jumps into Josh's and Tom's conversation and starts teaching the restoration "just so that you understand what we are talking about" and Josh started helping to teach too.  He had a pamphlet and was saying what he believes right along with Elder Jensen. I kept working with Christina on her lesson but was listening out of one ear.  Elder Jensen has only been out for 3 months now but is a great missionary. Then Christina's brother named Alex, who also isn't a member, comes in and is listening and asking questions. Tom then starts asking questions so me and Christina start teaching Tom while Josh and Elder Jensen and Alex are having a lesson about the Book of Mormon and Plan of Salvation. It was incredible! So much goodness going on in one room. Overall, it was a wonderful lesson. Tom left with a Book of Mormon and wants to learn more. Alex really likes us and now comes out and talks with us when we go over there. He almost came to church yesterday. He has trouble sleeping and was finally able to sleep so fair dues.
  That's about the only thing to report from this week. Thursday my head was dying and light felt like a dagger, then Friday my eyes just wouldn't communicate with my brain and my head felt like a drum. Saturday, my head was exploding again and light was the devil. Sunday I was out most of the day, but by evening my head was absolutely killing me. Today we went out, but my head is hurting really, really bad so I'm going to close. Been doing everything I know how to do to help it, but nothing seems to touch it.

Love
Elder Tarbet

Caelitus Mihi Vires
My Strength is from Heaven

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