Glad to Be Back in Manchester...and on Double Decker Buses!

The Kinouchi Family. Bro Kinouchi was the Ward Mission Leader, and this is where we spent most of Christmas day.

Christmas Day!

 

This is "Big Dave", a convert of 4 years and is the door greeter, ward bodyguard, and the first one to bear testimony every fast sunday. I had a great friendship with him...and I have just found out recently that he is engaged! 

This is Bro. Sumner, also a legend.  He helped us out a lot.

Lorna and the one and only Joan Hill!  We taught them together every time we taught Lorna, Sister Hill is an absolute legend.  She is the main reason for Lorna finding the church.

Hello Family!

Woah, what news that is about SUU. It's sad to see it go down in such a way...Well, I don't know where that leaves me. haha... (Note to family: SUU is disbanding its baseball program. The Big Sky--the new conference they are joining-- does not sponsor baseball and they could not find another conference to play in.)

 

Well, on to better news...Maurice was baptised this past weekend! It was a great service, ending with him sharing some thoughts, which was the greatest part. He is such a great man, with such a "real" testimony. He is going to be a great strength to the ward. I don't know if I told you, but he actually referred himself from mormon.org, and was interested in the Law of Chastity.  And after that, hearing about the restoration, and receiving answers to his prayers, he progressed smoothly towards his baptism.

 

This past week I was reunited with my first-born Elder Corbin! I went on an exchange with him in Stockport, which is where he is currently serving. We were able to reminisce about all of the good times in Rhyl about Liam, the ward, and so forth. It was amazing to see the growth that he has had since we last served together. When you see other missionaries like him, you realize just how much growth can be found in a mission.  

 

With spending the week in Stockport is was great to be back on double decker buses again.   I haven't been around them since my first transfer, and with being in a car for the last 4 transfers you miss out on the beauty of bus contacting.

 

This week we had two investigators come to church. Alice is a young mother of two from China, and the other, Franc, is a man from Congo. 

 

Alice was tracted a couple of weeks ago, and reminds me so much of my days in Liverpool.  She has little understanding of Jesus Christ, or anything gospel related. So our first couple of lessons were very basic, with our main commitment being to pray. Well, she kept here commitment and prayed. She may not say it, but we feel that was a big reason why she was so determined to come to church. The only bad thing is that her husband is not supporting her. We are doing our best to try and establish a relationship with him.

 

Franc was a referral from Elder Cunningham and speaks mostly french. He is such a humble man that is seeking for truth in his life. We had a great couple of lessons this week with him regarding the Restoration. By the end of the week he had a great grasp on the principles behind it. That came in large measure from us bringing a french missionary serving in Stockport. Franc has accepted a date for the 4th of Feb.

 

Quote of the week:

"A man is literally what he thinks" --James Allen

 

Love,

 

Elder Eliason

I forgot to tell you...

 

We had a great miracle this week... While we were trying by a less active, we contacted a woman that was just outside her door. She was opening up a gate to the church. We asked her what she was doing and she went on to explain that she was setting up for a bible study. Well, we jumped right in saying that we would love to join. She said as long as it is ok with the Vicar (a clergyman in charge of a chapel). We went and asked and our request was granted. It was a gathering of Catholic and Church of England members about 12 or 13, and they were glad to have us.  

On many occasions it was commented how great it was to see people of different faiths come together to worship. Well, the study was on Acts 8 and 9. One of which talks about the laying on of hands. It was a great oppurtunity to teach the group what we believe, one of sorts being the laying on of hands. Many times they would start asking open questions. One regarding to infant baptism, which one lady asked our opinion, and we were able to tell them what we believe, and why we believe it. 

You could tell they had really warmed up to us. Afterwards we were getting talked to by most of them just asking questions about our missions. It was a great oppurtunity to have QGC'S (Quality Gospel Conversations)!  It was a great miracle to be apart of, and with the relationships we have built, I know that this will go somewhere. We are not finished with this group!  Next week, we are handing out copies of the Book of Mormon...