SYMONDS YAT

Hi Guys.  Well, this has been a really long and uneventful week.    It wasn't hard and wasn't awful, but it just dragged on!

Elder Dodds and I do lots of finding because our teaching pool is pretty small right now and sometimes it's great but other times it's not so great!  I may have already put this in a past email, but the people here just can't be bothered to answer the door once the sun goes down.  On Saturday we tracked this massive street and we were coming up to the end of it.  At one of the doors this dude was so mad!  "Why are you out here so late at night knocking on my door?!  Get back to your church or wherever you go!"  Well we looked at the time as we walked away and it was 6:30 PM!  I may be in an English speaking country but whoa buddy it is different!

Today we went to a little park in the Forest called Symonds Yat Rock.  It is a cool little viewpoint and was really beautiful.  Sadly though it was a pretty rainy day (surprise!) so the sky was quite gloomy.  There were also a few trails through the Forest so we went on one of them hoping to see some of the wild boar, but sadly no luck.

I hope everyone has a solid week!  Love y'all!

-Elder Lott

View from the top of the hill at Symonds Yat

Another photo from the top of Symonds Yat

\

If I don't look happy it's because it was raining on my face

I'M COMING FOR YOU UPS!!!

Hello!  This was an exciting week if there ever was one!

On Tuesday we had a legendary day.  We were tracting and this dude named Andrew let us in and it was super cool!  We taught him the Restoration and he committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon.  It was a great lesson.  We are going back tomorrow!  That's only like the second or third time that has happened because most people can't be bothered when they see us on the doorstep.

Elder Dodds and I were feeling pretty good,  but of course we can't have that for too long!  We were walking back to the car and the sidewalks are super narrow here and so are the roads so cars are passing you like 1 or 2 feet away and it's proper dodgy.  Anyway, I was walking next to Elder Dodds on the side closest to the road when SMACK!!  I feel something hit my arm and see a UPS truck fly by!  Turns out the numptee hit me with his mirror and it actually hurt quite a bit, to be honest.  He pulled off down the road and started walking toward us so I waved to him and gave him a thumbs up and off he went to deliver his packages.  It was wild.

Aside from that, nothing too crazy  happened that I remember.  We have a new Zone Leader, Elder Willis, and we were on exchanges this week and he's really cool.  Elder Dodds and I went to visit Goodrich Castle today but it was semi-closed so we could only walk around the outside, which was pretty lame, but that's the way it goes, I guess.

Keep being cool and doing cool things!  Love y'all!

-Elder Lott

He got a chance to make his Birthday Cake

we sent him

Soooooo close!

Elder Dodds is awesome!

Good ol' Goodrich Castle

The view from good ol' Goodrich!

Heck yeah!

NEW COMP!!  SAME AREA!!

Woohoo! Another week come and gone here in the EBM!!  As always it was full of thrilling and exciting things and as usual I can't really remember much of what happened so I'll give you what I can!

Let's see.  Transfers were this week.  Here you send off your comp at the train station and wait for your new one.  I waited for 5 hours at the Abergavenny Train Station for my  new comp.  I watched Mormon messages, ate at the cafe and spoke to the cafe owner for awhile but it was a pretty long, boring wait.  They used to have everybody meet at the mission home from what I hear, but sadly not anymore. 

Elder Dodds got here and he is a total legend!  Straight out of Panguich, Utah and he is quite an experienced lad, having 18 months in the mission.  He's through the mid-mission slump thing some people get and is looking to finish on a high note so he's motivated to get stuff done which is great.  He's the second country boy I've gotten in a row!  But yeah he's stud and a good missionary so it's an all around great time.

I've stayed in the Forest and I am so happy about that.  I love it here.  It is beautiful and the people are great!  Especially when they aren't mad at us!

Also, I'm driving which is totally sic man!  The trip from the train station back to the flat was a little more exciting than I would have liked but we are safe and sound.  It took some getting used to being on the opposite side of the road and having the majority of the car being to my left rather than my right and all, but we have persevered and gotten used to it!  The flow of driving here is different and the roads are incredibly narrow, which takes some adjustment, especially when you pass a lorry at 45 mph with like 2 feet between you and him.  There's not much room for error, but I'm getting used to it.  The roads here are quite dodgy sometimes though, so that can be fun.  Also there are loads of roundabouts but I actually quite like them now.  If everybody knows what they're doing they work out great!

Mom, I do remember the viewing for President Hinckley but only very vaguely.  That was quite a long time ago!  The thing I remember the most is that he had a huge ring with a black stone on it.  President Monson will be missed, he was an outstanding Prophet.  President Nelson will be also.  And now I can say I know the Prophet's grandson!  I went to school with him at Butler and Brighton.

Hey, I'm also 19 now!  That's pretty crazy.  Thanks so much to everybody who emailed me and I want y'all to know that I love all of you!  I've come to know some real legends in my life and you guys are all such great people!

I'm so jealous of everyone going to Cancun.  I would love some sunshine but I've turned into a vampire since getting here and would probably melt if I got hit by some direct rays.  haha!  I feel so white and pasty!

I also have a quick spiritual thought!

In D&C 9:8 it says,

8.  But behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you  must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

If we pray to Heavenly Father he will answer our questions.  He has promised multiple times throughout the scriptures that He will do so and He always keeps His promises!  As missionaries a lot of what we do is challenge people to ask if what we teach them is true and I've seen people receive answers to those questions.  It is an incredible way to feel the love Heavenly Father has for us!  I know that He really does answer our prayers because He has answered mine and I know He will do the same for all of you guys.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Cheers!

-Elder Lott

Facials with Elder Staheli

With his new companion, Elder Dodds

A Birthday cake with a big candle!

A totally awesome Spider-Man bobble head!

GUESS WHO'S DRIVING!!! 🚗🚗🚗

Hello my dudes!  My 2nd transfer ends tomorrow which is pretty crazy!  That means I am being follow up trained this transfer and then after that I'm not a greenie no mo!  The sad thing about this transfer though is that Elder Staheli is leaving the Forest and going to the Newcastle area in Whales.  It's sad to see him go, he has been a good companion.  My new comp's name is Elder Dodds and he is from Panguitch, Utah, but other than that I don't know anything about him so I'll let y'all know next week.  He doesn't have a license he can use though because he has been here for more than a year and hasn't gotten a UK license so guess who is behind the wheel now!  The one and only Elder Lott!  On the other side of the road and everything!

Something else that was cool this week is that Elder Staheli and I left the mission boundaries!  Don't worry though, we had permission.  We had to drive from the Forest to Yate and crossed the Bristol Bridge to get there.  Something I never thought I'd do!  The Bristol Bridge goes over the River Severn, which outlets into the ocean, and it was pretty cool.  

Also I had my first good burger since leaving the States today!  It was a restaurant called The Beefy Boys and they were named the 2nd best burger in the world in 2014 at a competition in Vegas.  It was so good!  I went with my favorite, the bbq bacon cheeseburger.  England is weird though so everybody was eating their burgers and fries with forks and knives.  So, in true American fashion I did what the English would rather me not, and I ate it all with my hands, the way it was meant to be eaten!

I hope everybody has a great week and that the New Year resolutions are going well!  Love you all!  Cheers!

-Elder Lott

At The Beefy Boys with Elder Johnson, my ZL

For you, Mom

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy New Year everybody!  An exciting time to be sure.  I hope you all have some stellar resolutions.  Also, shout out to my fantastic family!  It was great talking to them last week!  Also, guess what!?!?  My sister Marissa got married 2 days ago!  That's awesome!  Congrats Riss!!!!

It's been a solid week as always.  Let's get this started!

On Christmas day as we were leaving the flat to go Skype/have dinner at the Branch President's house we had some excitement!  We left our flat, shut the door, and then exited the building and shut the door and walked down the stairs.  I was on my way to the car when I heard Elder Staheli say, "Elder, I don't have the keys", which, you know is just a small issue because both doors lock as they shut.  So, here we are, wondering what the heck to do!  Can't get into the car or the flat as the keys are on the same ring.  Our flat is on the bottom floor though and some of the windows are street-level so we start checking to see if there are any unlocked windows that are easy to get to.  No luck. Seeing no other option we decided to try one of our other windows that is like 13 feet up the building.  Elder Staheli tries to jump up and grab the grate around the window but can't jump high enough so I boost him up and guess what?  The window is locked!  Just our luck, right?  Well, he decided to stay up there and mess around with the window while I'm looking around in the car park for something we can slide in between the panes to release the lock. I'm tossing up scraps of cardboard, wood, zip ties, you name it!  I even found an aux cord.  This goes on for a solid 35 minutes, we're praying hard, and then I hear something slide!  Elder Staheli popped off part of the lock and boom!  We're in!  A Christmas miracle was truly worked that day!

We taught a man named Jed this week.  He recently  moved in with his mother who has been on and off in her attendance at church but has been a baptized member for around 15 years.  During those 15 years he has come to love going to church.  When we first met him at church he said that being around members of the church makes him happy and that he finds a joy at our church that he hasn't found anywhere else but hasn't become a member because he gets hung up on the feeling that he doesn't have great enough faith.  For our first lesson we really focused on how we feel the Spirit and that the joy he feels at church is the Spirit testifying to him that this is the place he should be.  It was the most Spirit-driven lesson I've been in so far and it was incredible.  I just want to bear my testimony to you all that this church is true and that the happiness it brings is so full and lasting!

It has been a pretty low key week aside from that.  We have been limited in some of our proselyting efforts because of the holidays which has slowed the work slightly but all is well!  Have a super cool week everybody!  I hope the New Year treat you all very well!  Cheers!

-Elder Lott

Professional Burglars! 🕵️‍♂️