We sent Thomas a package shortly after he left the US. We finally got word on March 22 that he received it. We packed it full of goodies including Easter treats and a scarf I had knitted using yarn made of a blend of llama and silk fibers. For those who don't know, Thomas is a llama nut. He even took a stuffed llama with him on his mission to stand sentry over his door! I'm currently knitting his llama a little blue scarf made from alpaca fiber. LOL
Greetings from England,
I got the package in the mail last Tuesday. I was really excited when I saw everything that was in there, I wasn't expecting that much. It should definitely last a while, even with other missionaries taking a lot of it (but I've hidden the Gardettos from everyone). One thing that would be awesome to send in the future is some good American peanut butter- Nobody eats that over here! I was looking around in this big grocery store just after I emailed you last Monday and all they had was some weird brand of peanut butter I've never heard of and, to be honest, it tastes terrible. I was very surprised that no one eats peanut butter over here, it's practically one of the things I lived off of in the US. Other than that, I can't think of anything else that you could send. The package was wonderful. Thank you so much for sending it!
Oh wait, one of our Zone Leaders wanted me to get beef jerky for him. He's from England and he's only ever had beef jerky once in his life, and he loved it. So if you could send some beef jerky that's something I think I could share with everyone over here.
So as far as the mission goes, it's been a lot of knocking and street contacting. Hours and hours of it. We have a few investigator's we're working with, but over the past week most of them have been out of town for one reason or another, and so we've been out of luck trying to find more people to teach. The people here are generally very solid in their own religions, which is sad because if they could only realize the impact that our message would have on their lives, I feel like they would be some of the strongest members of the Church I've ever seen. When we do find someone who will listen to us, it's an amazing experience though. You can truly see their countenance changing as we teach them and they really understand the meaning of life, and living. My favorite lesson to teach is the Plan of Salvation, which other missionaries think is strange because they all like teaching about The Restoration. But the Plan of Salvation means a lot to me personally, and as much as I love Joseph Smith and what he did for us, I just love the true measure of the plan that our Heavenly Father laid out for us even more. I can feel the Spirit really strong when I am able to testify of the truthfullness of that plan, and how important it is that we live our lives in a way that allows us to return to live with God, and see all the people that we have lost, and know that we followed the right path to our best ability.
Lately I've been reading out of 3 Nephi a lot, and every time I read over a passage again and again, it seems to gain more meaning, and not just meaning, but feeling somehow. I can almost feel the immense joy that the people must have felt when they realized the Christ had indeed appeared to them, that He had indeed sacrificed Himself for them. Without doubt, my favourite part of the entire Book of Mormon is when Christ is about to leave the Nephites to return to Heavenly Father, but then He looks upon the multitude and sees that they wish Him to stay but a little longer, and is so moved by their love for Him that He says He is filled with compassion towards them, and then proceeds to heal their sick and afflicted. Just that one little part though, where they don't say anything at all; it's just the look in their eyes, which I'm sure are full of tears, when they realize that Christ is going to leave them, and they want him to stay just a bit longer, just a little longer...
Boy, getting emotional in an email is not Kosher. Don't worry! I am very happy in what I am doing. I know it's what the Lord wants and even if it's a little tough sometimes, the change that I can make in people's lives makes all the difference in the world.
Well it looks like it's time to go, we are meeting as a larger group of missionaries at the local Newcastle chapel to play some football (soccer) or something like that. I wish you all luck, in whatver new things are going on over there, and hopefully by this time next week I have something a little but more than knocking all day to report!
Love,
Elder Alsop
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