Week 28 Advice for the New School Year / 31 Aug

Dear Family,

First of all, for some reason, my camera has connected to the computer but doesn't show any pictures existing on it for some reason. I'll have to look into why that's happening before I can send pictures. That's disappointing. There's quite a few pictures I would like to send.

This week has been a busy week. Elder Perkins and I have been working a lot out of the area book, much like in areas before. We've been contacting former investigators in a lot of villages surrounding Newton Aycliffe. Sometimes we don't get a very good response but mostly people have been very nice about it. It's easier to just give them a call on the phone, if they ever gave the missionaries a number. We just tell them we're the new missionaries in the area and ask them if they would like to have missionaries over again. We should be seeing a few of them in the coming weeks.

There is a miracle story that took place just before I came into the Newton Aycliffe area. Elder Perkins and Elder Schneider had been teaching this man named Stuart that loved the missionaries and was being taught all the lessons. They gave him a baptismal date and he accepted it. Just the next night he had a dream where he saw himself being baptized. The next night, he had the same dream again, and he decided to tell the missionaries about it. Apparently he had met missionaries down where he lived before, in Harrogate, and had been taught by them, but due to a car accident Stuart really didn't remember much about them. He asked Elder Perkins and Elder Schneider if they might be able to check and see if he had already been baptized. They got all his information and sent it into the mission office, and it came back saying that, yes, he had been baptized in Harrogate almost 14 years ago, but because of the accident he couldn't even remember it ever happening. Ever since then, he's been coming to church every week and continuing the missionary lessons so that he can learn everything again. He's still a little confused because he just doesn't remember anything, but he is definitely a miracle. He's accepted all the commitments, right now he is just working on stopping smoking, and he's doing very well. I just couldn't believe that story when I heard it. One interesting fact they realized later - the day that Stuart had that dream was the 14th anniversary of him being baptized.

That's an amazing story to me. It's getting colder in England, starting to chill down and sneak into winter again. Pretty soon I'll have to put on a coat and gloves again. A less-active member gave me some nice, warm slippers because they didn't fit him, so that will definitely be appreciated later on this year and well into the next. The English skies are so weird sometimes. You look up and there's this patch of incredibly dark clouds that looks very threatening, but all around it is blue skies and sunshine. The wind here is incredible. Everyone in England has been saying the wind has been increasing and getting worse this year than its ever been. You only have to look up and see all these clouds speeding by to realize how windy it really is. I wonder if its made the news at all.

Well I hope to hear from you next week, and hear that everything is still going good. Say thanks to Conner for helping out with the music and I also wish everyone good luck in school this year. Don't take people's lunch money. That's bad.

Love,

Elder Alsop

Week 27 Just Finished the First Quarter / 23 Aug

Dear Family,

First of all, the exciting news: I can now send pictures again through email! Of course, today I completely spaced bringing my USB cord along with me so I can't send any today but I will be sure to bring it next week. Printing and sending pictures costs a lot here so I'm definitely excited that I can just do it through email.

Newton Aycliffe is a fun little town. Everyone in the town itself knows missionaries and all about the church. The only time that anyone ever stops to talk to us is when they have just moved in, and they still don't know who we are. Elder Perkins and I have decided to (of course) clean out the area book because it is an absolute mess, and visit everyone in there who is willing to hear our message still. After that, we will be traveling a lot to the outskirts of our area, to places like Bishop Auckland and Spennymoor where missionaries have been too lazy in the past to go. Apparently Elder Perkins and Elder Schneider (who I just replaced) made a trip out to Bishop Auckland just before I came in, and they had a lot of success finding new people to teach, so we're excited about that.

Elder Perkins is from Tennessee, and he is a lot of fun to be around. He's a little more relaxed than some companions I've had, which is sometimes a good thing and sometimes not. However, is he most definitely a really hard worker and I'm looking forward to the next transfer. He does talk quite a bit about what he's going to do when he gets home though, and so I'm glad that it's me stuck with him and not some other missionary who's super homesick, because it's hard for some missionaries to be with other missionaries who are going home soon. Doesn't bother me though, I just laugh when he tells about all the pranks he's planning to pull on the missionaries in his area when he gets back.

I can't believe Wal-Mart is finished though. That sure was fast. It'll be old news by the time I get back, just like everything else that's going on now. How is the stake center coming along?

I've got a question for you - have you heard of Jane Reaper? She is the daughter of the McKartles (at least I think that is their name). You know, the Patriarch in our ward that died just before I left. Well apparently she was in the Newton Aycliffe ward for about 3 years, but then she left to go back to the States when she heard that her father was not doing well. I don't even know if she's still in Oregon, but if you know where she is somehow, you should let her know where I am right now. That'll be exciting news for her, I think. She might know a Sister Orchard.

I'm not sure when you're sending the care package that Dad mentioned, but just so you know, the last package was pretty much perfect and I wouldn't change anything. Except for all the gum. I have enough gum now to last me for about a year. I don't know if Mom can get some ink refills for the pens she sent me, but if that is possible that would be great. Ink refills are usually cheaper than buying the pens themselves, if they even exist.

I hit my 6-month mark just last Thursday, and apparently you're supposed to burn a tie after 6 months. I don't know if I mentioned that at all before. So I might just burn one of the ugly English ties that I picked up in my last area, if I do I'll try to send you a video or something, or at least a few pictures. Elder Perkins insists on it happening.

Well, the ward here is great, the work looks like it's moving forward a bit more, and next week I will absolutely send some pictures of Beverly and maybe Newton Aycliffe.

Love,

Elder Alsop

Week 26 Heading for Newton Aycliffe / 17 Aug

Dear Family,

It is indeed hard to believe that my mission is a quarter of the way through. It's been pretty much no time at all. I do have some pretty fun news: Elder Reeves, my current companion, is training a new missionary in Beverly. This has never happened before in Beverly, so it's a pretty big thing. Usually new missionaries are trained where the work might be a little bit easier, or where things are going especially good, and right now that seems to be Beverly. Plus, Elder Reeves has only been out for 6 months, just like me. He was just as suprised as I was when he got the call to train a new missionary.

As for me, I am getting transferred to a place called Newton Aycliffe. I don't know anything about it, of course, but I do know that my new companion's name is Elder Perkins, and he has been out for 22 1/2 months, meaning he is going home next transfer. In missionary lingo, I would be 'killing him off'. What that also means is that I will be getting another companion that next transfer. 6 transfers and 6 companions. That is very unusual for a missionary to have so many companions this early, but hey, the change is nice sometimes.

Also, there have been some changes in policies from President Lindley. For one thing, side parts are no longer required, but most of the missionaries are very determined on keeping them in, including me. Believe it or not, having a side part really helps my hair not go all crazy, especially when it rains. Hard to explain exactly why that is. Another thing that was changed-- the music policy!! President Lindley has taken things back to the white handbook, and we are allowed to listen to whatever falls under inspirational and uplifting music. So I do have a request - If possible, I would like to get a rechargeable mp3 player with all the gospel music you can fit on it. Also, there are a few songs by different bands out of the old music I used to listen to that I would like to have as well. Brandon has that mp3 player full of music, and I was wondering if you could just copy and paste all the music he has onto another mp3 player (along with all the church music) and send it to me. I considered just telling you what songs to put on by what bands, but the ones that I feel qualify as inspirational and uplifting are few and far between and I'm not even sure what they're all called anymore. It'll be more deleting than anything else, I'm afraid :) but it wouldn't be as time-consuming as you going through every single song I have on there. Just let me know if that's possible to do.

I was going to print out all the photos today but I want to see what Newton Aycliffe is like on computers and see if I can just start sending them through email again.

One of the big things I've started doing is going through the Book of Mormon with a student manual I purchased through the missionary store. So far I'm on 1 Nephi 2, so wish me luck with that. Progress is slow but there are some amazing insights and quotes by General Authorities in there, and going through it with a fine-tooth comb is so much more satisfying than simply skimming through to the 'important parts'.

Wish me luck on my new area. Transfers is tomorrow and I still have some packing to do, and some farewells to say.

Love,

Elder Alsop

Week 25 The Beverley Times / 9 Aug

Dear Family,

Since Mom is at Girl Scout Camp, I'm sending the same email to both of your email accounts just in case.

This week, a lot happened. First of all, there is this family called the Van Den Dungen Billies that came from Arizona a few years back on business, pretty much exactly what our family went through in Israel. They were heavily involved in the church. The father, Ricky Van Den Dungen Billy, served as the bishop of the Beverly ward and then as President of the Hull Stake. Sister VDDB (just to abbreviate) served as a seminary teacher, and they also have 4 children (all YM/YW age) who all played prominent roles in the church over here. Just this last Saturday there was a big send-off as they headed back to America, and they flew out just yesterday morning. They knew I lived in Oregon and I was telling them that if they ever head out to Oregon, they should visit my family, and they agreed. Around Thanksgiving they are heading for a trip along the West Coast, and I think they would like to meet you. You would love them for sure. They pretty much have the same age family and everything. Anyways I gave them the home phone number and told them if they were headed up past Oregon they should drop in for a visit. I also told them I would be sure to tell my family first :) So basically, if you get a phone call from them around November sometime, it's my fault. They are a great family though, and they were an incredible help to the missionaries.

Yesterday we had 3 investigators at church, which is a huge thing for the Beverly ward. One of them was a former investigator that we contacted and invited to church. Her name is Anna and she's been to church a few times before, but she fell off the face of the earth a year or so ago, but she loved church and she was quick to come back and get to meet everyone again. Plus we had Maria, who has been going through some hard times but wants to be baptized this Saturday, and also a man named Michael who was scheduled for baptism before and has been taught all the missionary lessons but didn't feel the time was right. He is coming to church regularly, sometimes in Halifax and sometimes in Beverly, depending on where he is for the weekend. He should be here next week though, and he is being fellowshipped wonderfully by the ward members. The work seems to be taking off in Beverly continuously.

On the other hand, we've had more bike troubles so we've had to start walking everywhere, which of course takes longer but we have a chance to talk to more people, and our days are getting busier and busier. It's weird because I feel like I should be exhausted, but I've always got some extra energy somewhere in there to talk to just one more person.

I'm excited about the tree house you're making. I'm sure it will be pretty much a guest house by the time I get back. And yes, I do miss Rudy. You hardly ever see any golden retrievers in England. Just Staffies. Staffies are ugly but they are the most attention-seeking dogs I have ever known. They'll do anything just to get a little pat on the head, and if you ever start petting them, they just won't leave you alone after that. It's funny because they look like ferocious dogs, but they wouldn't hurt anyone. Almost makes me want to get one when I go home, if they weren't so incredibly ugly.

On a side note, I was wondering if I might be able to get the address of the Tigard Fred Meyers, and maybe the Cornelius one too. I promised that I would send a letter occasionaly just to keep them up to date, and I feel bad for not writing one yet, but I'm sure they would like to hear from me. Plus, it might help me keep my foot in the door for a job when I get back. Who knows?

My prediction was correct though: It's Zone P-day today, and we're going down to Hull to have some sort of barbecue at the Bishop's home. We've got to be there by one o'clock. I personally don't much want to go, but there are a couple missionaries going home in our zone, in just a couple weeks. Hard to believe it's transfers again next week. You'll know in my next email whether or not anything happens to me.

Take care, everyone.

Love,

Elder Alsop

Week 24 A Busy Week / 2 Aug

Dear Family,

It's been another busy week in the missionary field. Lately we've been looking around for a new flat to live in, as the one in Beverly is just a tiny little room in a non-member's house. We're not sure how missionaries even ended up there in the first place, it's certainly not up to missionary standards. The real estate market is a little slim in Beverly though; it's really the place that everyone in Hull wants to live in. Once a new flat is available it's taken fairly quickly. It's a work in progress, but both Elder Reeves and I really want to get out of our tiny little room.

Our investigator who was supposed to be baptised yesterday wasn't able to set up an appointment with the Zone Leaders to be interviewed, and she also wasn't able to make it to church, so it looks like it's been pushed back to next week, which is okay. It might even be pushed back more if Maria doesn't feel ready, we'll just have to see how it goes.

I wish I had more time to write a letter today. We are meeting up in Hull to go do something with the missionaries there, not sure what yet. They usually don't even know what they're doing until the very last second. I haven't been able to print out the pictures yet, most of my funds were in reimbursements which hadn't come through. However, it's the beginning of the month again, so we get more funds now, and my reimbursements have probably been deposited as well so I'll get to working on sending some pictures home as soon as I can. Next week, I hear it's going to be a Zone P-Day though, so I honestly have no idea when I'm going to be able to do that. I thought P-Days were supposed to be more relaxing than the rest of the week, but they're not really.

Alright, we've got to be off. Our train leaves at 10:37 I believe. We'll see how much time I get next week -

-Elder Alsop

Week 23 An Amusing Kebab Story / 26 Jul

Dear Family,

I'll just start off by mentioning some of the things that I tend to eat a lot in England. First of all, pretty much every meal that involves potatoes is swimming in a thin gravy sauce. There's something that the English call "hotpot" which, if you look it up, usually consists of meat mince, roasted potatoes, and various vegetables, all covered in gravy. That's the most common thing I eat. Crumpets I have eaten many times. They are delicious. Probably the closest thing I can compare them to is a very soft, very thick English muffin. They have many holes throughout them, so that if you spread them with jam or butter, it goes down inside and just helps with the flavour. If you can find any of them in America you might want to try some, they are really good.

Also, there are chippies everywhere. Basically just Fish&Chip shops. There are takeaway places everywhere that sell everything from pizzas, to burgers, to fried chicken, to kebabs.

Now let me explain what kebabs are. First of all, they are gross. Second of all, they're pretty much shwarma from Israel, except they only give you a wimpy little pita bread. The meat itself is called "donner" and comes from many animals. I think they just mould it around one of those poles that rotates around slowly so that it all gets cooked. The only thing is, nobody buys kebabs, so the meat sticks are always dry and look like they've been there for days.

When a new missionary comes into the field, it is tradition for his trainer to "kebabtise" him. This ensures that the new missionary will not make the mistake of ordering a kebab again. I certainly won't.

Down to business now. We have two investigators scheduled for baptism. Unfortunately, only one of them (Maria) was able to make it to church yesterday, but they are both looking good for their dates. One of them might be baptised this very Sunday if she feels ready. You'll find out next week what happens :)

Maria loves having the missionaries over. We repaired her bike so she doesn't have to walk around Beverly anymore. We have had plenty of experience with bike fixing. She also suffers from a form of depression, so she is always happy to see the missionaries any whoever else we bring along. We practically had to drag her to church on Sunday because she wasn't feeling up to it. Once we promised she would feel better at church, she finally agreed to come, and that promise was fulfilled and she told us afterwards how grateful she was for the missionaries forcing her to come. She's funny that way.

By the way, all of this happening is Beverly is something no one expected. Beverly hasn't been doing anything for such a long time and it's gained a reputation. Having two scheduled investigators is a miracle and it's really motivating our entire zone. The Hull zone itself has a bit of a reputation of being a hard zone for missionary work. It's the smallest zone in the mission, having only 7 sets of elders, and no sister missionaries, despite its immense proselyting area. We really are being blessed right now.

It's almost August, that's crazy. All the kids are out of school now for 6 weeks, so it should be a fun time for heckles from the chav kids. More next week.

Love,

Elder Alsop

Week 22 A New (ish) Bike / 19 Jul

Thomas refers to Brandon, and what happened to him. Brandon was stung near the church building by a wasp from a large nest just outside the door while walking out to retrieve his scriptures from the car. One of the wasps hitched a ride on his suit coat into the chapel and began stinging him repeatedly. He was stung 3 times on the face and twice on the hand. They announced in church for anyone that might have some Benadryl, which of course someone had. We got him some, but inevitably it made him fall asleep, so we had to take him home.

Dear Family,

It was great hearing from everyone. So sorry to hear about what happened to Brandon! I hope he's doing okay now, poor guy. I remember getting stung by a bee back in Provo when we were living in a quad. Dad might remember it. I was probably about 4 years old or so. An older girl was looking after me but then I was close to a flower bush and I got stung by a bumblebee and the stinger stayed in my arm until I went back up the stairs into the apartment and Dad took it out. Or there was that other time when Mom and I were walking to school and a bee somehow got stuck in her sandal and stung her, and I walked the rest of the way to school by myself. I don't really like bees or wasps very much. Luckily, it's getting a little too cold for them over here so I don't see them as much anymore.

Despite the colder weather that seems to be heading in, it continues to be very muggy. It reminds of the way that Israel was, when the air just pushes in from around you and makes you sweaty even when you're freezing. It's the weirdest thing in the world. Also, the wind has really been picking up, it's starting to cause some problems while biking. Somehow, no matter what direction we're headed, the wind seems to be blowing right in our faces.

We also had some more bike fun. We got a semi-new bike as, as the other one was trashed, and we've been using a member's bike ever since. There was a nice bike in a second-hand shop which they had restored to an apparently perfect condition. The bishop of the ward insisted that the missionaries simply pick a bike and the ward would pay for it, so we brought him out with us to buy that bike. That very same night, we were riding the newer bike to a tea appointment when the left pedal started going all wobbly, and then fell right off! We stopped and took a look at it. Turns out there was a nut that wasn't properly screwed on, hidden under a little plastic cap. We wheeled the bike to our tea appointment and attached the pedal back on, this time making sure that nut was secure, and we haven't had any problems since. I should have taken pictures, but the memory will have to suffice. It's a really nice bike though. I'm letting Elder Reeves ride it around, since his muscles are still aching from getting used to biking everywhere.

An incredible miracle happened this week. There was this lady named Maria Hardy who I may have talked about before. Elder Jacobson met her at the beginning of June, and we knocked into her house by accident (or was it an accident?) just a few weeks later. Elder Reeves and I tried by her house just this last week again, and we got in and taught her the entire first lesson, scheduled her for baptism, and then invited her to a Stake activity in Hull that Friday. She came to the stake activity and loved it and was wonderfully fellowshipped. We gave her a chapel tour with a member on Saturday, and she was still excited for her baptism and excited to go to church the next day. Unfortunately, due to health problems she wasn't able to make it to church yesterday, but she sent us a text saying she was sorry and to ring her later that day, so we did, and set up another appointment to see her this Tuesday. She loves having the missionaries over and has even referred some of her friends to us to teach, who became new investigators. Maria really is an amazing person and is certainly the miracle we've been praying for.

Let Alisa know I'm really excited about her mission call! It's hard to believe that in 4 months all the friends I had back home at church will be on missions all at once. It must be a very good experience for the ward to have right, to get them excited about missionary work. Let me know if there's anything I can maybe say in a letter to the ward to help them along in the work.

I just realized that I absolutely need the chocolate chip cookies recipe from Dad. Those cookies are definitely make-able, even on a missionary budget.

Love,

Elder Alsop