More Pictures from the Last Few Weeks in Southport

December 28th—January 3rd: New Friends and a New Year's Celebration

This week so far:

Monday—For pday, we went into Liverpool and did some shopping, I bought some football cleats and insoles for my shoes. I haven't completely worn a pair out yet but I have worn a small hole in one and the insoles were destroyed on another but so far they've more or less held up. After we did some shopping we went and saw the Liverpool Cathedral, it is massive! It is so huge, bigger than the Salt Lake Temple for sure. It is just massive. (The organ was ugly though).  That night was drunk night. We taught a couple of drunk people who were quite different. One was adamant that he was a world champion bike racer (he was like 80) and that he didn't drink much. He was totally plastered. The other man was so determined that we couldn't answer his questions that he would ignore us when we tried and then ask the same question again. It was a bit obnoxious but good fun.

Tuesday—We had district meeting and talked about setting goals. We then went to the Browns because Brother Brown had wanted us to come over and help him with something. We got there and he had a small little thing for us to do and then he decided to burn some things he had laying around. So we helped with that which was kind of a pain that we were still in our suits at this point so we ended up with smelly shirts for the rest of the day. The suits themselves got away unscathed. The real reason that Brother Brown wanted us to come over was that he doesn't have the testimony that he wants and he isn't where he wants to be as far as the Church is concerned. He wants to get to the temple, he has been married for 16 years and hasn't gone yet and he really wants to get there this year. We helped him work out some goals and told him we would follow up and make sure he had sat down with his wife to work out the goals with her so she could help.

Wednesday—We had a New Year’s afternoon with Sister Monserott who is a Spanish sister in our ward. She was super kind to invite us over and show us what a Spanish New Year is about. Her son is a total whirlwind. It was a super fun day. She had gotten some Spanish sweets and made some Spanish food for us and was so kind. She shared some of the Spanish traditions with us and we just had a really good time. It was so much fun. Polverones are super tasty. They are like a churro tasting doughy substance which are really good. Until you put 3 in your mouth and try and say something.

Thursday—We went to see Henry that day and had a really, really good chat with him. He is the best!!!  He actually gave us a Chinese zodiac book thing that has traditional art of each of the 12 years. Super pretty and very nice. He gave one to each of us including the fellowshipper that we brought. We talked to him for about 2 hours and just answered questions that he had and tried to help him resolve his issues with the Word of Wisdom. We also talked about fasting which actually was a very new concept to him and he was telling us it was years since he had felt hungry. We then went to the Wilsons for dinner and New Year’s stuff. That was pretty fun, we had a good meal and then played a quiz game and then did sparklers. The sparklers were fun because my camera has a mode for fireworks so it gives you about a 2 second exposure time which is really fun with sparklers. I will have to send you the pictures sometime. You might have to wait for a bit because we don't have computers just iPads so it's a bit more difficult.

Friday—We had the football game. So this game was a lot more intense than the last. We had an additional 10 or so people that came. So this game was a lot less wet and muddy than the last one. The pitch (field) was still destroyed from the previous week but there wasn't any standing water on it  that day. The ground was soft and muddy still but it mostly stayed on the ground and on our shoes. I had gotten cleats for the game but they lost the point about half way through because the mud had totally coated the bottoms and were hiding the spikes hahaha. It was really good fun though and nobody got seriously injured.  My hips was actually really good and it was good to get to move and exercise properly, I've gotten super out of shape. The ground was really soft and so that made it possible to run. I don't think I dare go running  yet. I still have a pretty constant pain in my hip and leg but it seems to be getting better. It has it's ups and downs but overall more ups than downs. That evening we went to the McManus's and had dinner there. They are a super great family, I really like them and they have been very good to me. Aaron (the son) had his friend from the states there that is going to be spending a few months here. He's a ballroom dancer and is actually one of the dancers from the Christmas concert with Alfiè Boe. We ended the night there with our little quartet. That was fun, we had cooked it up about 3 days before, went though it once in our flat before going to their home and it turned out OK. The rest of the day we watched Mormon movies. All of the actors are the same its funny. The RM, Singles Ward, Home Teachers, those kind of movies. The only one I didn't get to see that I really wanted to was the Best Two Years. I've never seen it. Oh well next Christmas. maybe.

Saturday—Nothing too much happened. We went and saw Margaret that evening. She is super hard to understand, she's from Glasgow and has a very thick Scottish accent so it's very difficult. She's really funny though. She was teasing us about how we can't understand her so Elder Ahlström started speaking in Swedish. She listened for a moment. Looks at me. Then flips him off. So funny!

Sunday—Church and the dinner at the Fullwoods. I don't think they sent a picture this week. They had a lot of people in their home this time but they have the home to do it so it's good. That evening we went to the member missionary fireside in Manchester. That was nice, not my favorite one but still good. I had the chance to talk to Elder Nelson after that was really good. He became assistant last transfer but was my Zone Leader in Blackpool. He is a fantastic missionary and a good friend. He found out about my hip at the Christmas party so he was asking me about that and telling me that if I ever need someone to talk to I can always call him. He's fantastic.

So that's about it for the week.

Love you all hope you have a great week!

Elder Tarbet

December 21st—December 27th: Christmas Week

So I was told while on Skype that I'm supposed to write a proper weekly email to y'all so here goes the attempt.

Monday—We had pday which was super super anti-climactic because we went shopping in the morning, got drenched in rain, (I finally broke down and bought an umbrella, my hatred of them was beaten by my hatred of the rain) and then we emailed in our flat for about the rest of the day. After I had emailed you all I took a nap because Elder Ahlström had some letters to write. That evening the appointments that we had all fell through so we just tried to do some finding but nobody was out and it was too late to knock doors.

Tuesday—We went by this fun older lady that joined the church not too long ago and she fixed a pair of my trousers for me haha that was nice, the hem had come out of them so I couldn't really wear them. Later that evening we had dinner with the Wilsons. They are a fantastic family and he is so British it's great. He's an IT person and loves his cars. It was good fun, sometimes I still miss some of the British sarcasm and just feel dense (or offended depending haha).

Wednesday—We had the Christmas party in Manchester South that day so up we were at 6:00 a.m. so that we could catch the train at 7:00 to Manchester. The party was really fun. We had a white elephant exchange and I brought an old guitar that we found in the flat. I ended up with a box of Belgian cookies so that's a pretty dang good trade. (They were smashed to bits so not quite as nice as it sounds) I had a good talk with Elder Nelson who is now one of the Assistants, he was my Zone Leader while I was in Blackpool and I have learned a lot from him. He talked about how the Lord gives us trials but will strengthen us when we humble ourselves. He doesn't take the burden just makes it bearable. He gave me Mosiah 21:1-16 to read. It talks about the Lamanites which can be compared to a reoccurring trial, it's really helpful. At the party, my hip flared up something terrible and I ended up pacing in the back of the room during the end of President Ulrich's closing remarks. It was the only thing I could do to get some small relief. Oh it was so flipping awkward to be just walking around in the back of the chapel overflow but my hip hurt so stinkin bad. All of the muscles in it were cramping up and there were shooting pains going all over my leg and back. Oh it was not fun. After the meeting I talked to Sister Ulrich for a while and that was really really nice. She is an absolutely wonderful lady. She told me some things that she wanted me to do. The first being to call her that night before I was going to bed and she would talk me through a relaxation exercise. That was absolutely beautiful. I fell asleep that night relaxed totally and woke up the next morning feeling rested for the first time in ages.

Thursday—We went to Brother Baker's for a coordination meeting and lunch which was quite nice.  He's a good man, super funny. We went and tried by some of our investigators but didn't catch anyone home. We spend the evening at the Brown’s which was super fun. They have a son who is quite similar to me when I was 14 so that was good fun.  He's got the perfect sarcastic sense of humor but it's good fun.  It was nice to just spend some time with a family and feel like a normal person for a little while.

Friday was Christmas! We went in the morning to Skype with Elder Ahlström's little sister who is in Australia which was pretty cold and boring. We just stood outside the library and used the wifi there so it was super cold. The rest of Christmas we pretty much spent at the McManus's which was way fun. It kinda felt like hanging out at the Tarbet's with Kade and Phil and all them. It was just really fun. I loved getting to talk to you all, and that was the highlight of the day. The time just flew though. I wish I would have been able to talk longer but it was still good.

Saturday—We got up and played football (soccer) with the ward. It's called Dads vs Lads and they do it every year. The Dads always cheat and win but this year the lads won and the missionaries are lads. It was so much fun. It was pouring rain and the field we were playing at was so muddy. We totally destroyed it as well. I'm glad it was muddy though because it made it low impact and so my hip was actually really good. It was good all of Saturday and Sunday and it's just picking back up on Monday today so that's pretty good. Anyway I didn't have any cleats so I was basically ice skating for the amount of control and traction I had. It was super fun. When I get around to using a computer (hopefully next week or so when the library reopens) I will send you some pictures. They are super funny.

That about tells the story of this week.  

Love you all!

Elder Tarbet 

A message from the Fullwood Family

Dear Tarbet Family,

Merry Christmas from Southport England! We just had the missionaries around for Sunday dinner and we enjoyed their company, they are hard working, polite and good mannered. They gave our family a wonderful spiritual thought before they left. We hope you are proud of your son, he is a wonderful missionary.

The Fullwood Family

December 21st: Looking forward to Christmas!

This will be short.  I look forward to talking with you on Christmas.  I like my new area, and my new companion.  We really don’t have anyone to teach right now, and people haven’t been too interested that we have talked to on the street. 

A message from Sister Watts

We received this message from Sister Watts after Logan was transferred out of Crosby to Southport

"I was really disappointed when Elder Tarbet called me to say he was moving to Southport.  He is an amazing missionary and you must be so proud of him.  We got on really well.  Thank you for sacrificing your son for two years."

Sister Shirley Watts

December 14th: Transferred to Southport

I was transferred to Southport this week.  My new companion is Elder Ahlstrom, who is a really good missionary and I can learn a lot from him.  He is super relaxed but hard working and genuine.  He just really enjoys himself and has fun with life.  It’s good.  Before I left Crosby, Maria, our investigator in Crosby, gave me a mug with my name engraved on it which was the best gift ever.

Southport is a very posh area, and has a lot of older people as well.  We will have to work to find places that are worth tracting.  There are two other Elders in this ward, like there was in Crosby.  One of them is Swiss, and the other is from Kaysville.  It will be fun to get to know them too.  Southport is the largest ward I have served in so far.  There is typically 60 to 70 people there on Sunday rather than the 45 to 50 I have had in previous wards.   The chapel has proper benches and is really big for here.  A lovely building. 

The headaches that I had in Crosby are much better, and have gone away for the most part.  My hip continues to really bother me, and I have been going to physical therapy. 

Love you.