Update from Ryan!

Excerpt from the e-mail from Elder Bos:

"These are pictures of Batman's house! That was the mansion that they used in the third movie! Awesome, right?  

This week has been rather difficult. All of our lessons except for two have fallen through.  Here is something that has been on my mind lately:

Having the right mindset, having a plan and praying for help and guidance to accomplish that plan are everything!

A few days ago we didn't have much planned so we decided to dedicate most of the day to Finding. We left that morning with the mindset that we would find at least 10 people and that we would give out at least 7 Books of Mormon! We were on bikes so we were able to go person to person with ease. We spent hours talking with people, being lectured, and being ignored. I noticed that the harder I worked, the more energy I had. The more effort I put into finding people, the easier it was to talk to them. It was an absolute miracle, and at the end of the day we walked into our flat with 10 potentials and 7 less Books of Mormon. 

I later thought of the Brother of Jared. He needed to somehow provide light in his ships so that they weren't in the dark while crossing the sea. When he asked the Lord for help the Lord responded with another question.  "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?" (Ether 2:23).  In a sense, he is saying, What is your plan and I will help. I love that! The Lord wants us to use our brains!  He gave it to use for a reason, so use it.  Next, the Brother of Jared came up with an idea, one that involved a lot of faith! He collected 16 stones and offered up a prayer: 

Ether 3

2:"O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwells in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee..."

4:"And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit on man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they shall shine forth in darkness..."

5:"Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men." 

My favorite part about this story is the fact that he mentioned his weakness. As humans we sometimes like to consider ourselves indestructible, when in reality, we are all weak, and keep in mind that we all have different weaknesses. One of my many weaknesses was having the courage to approach random strangers. It took a plan, it took faith, and it was asking the Lord to help me to overcome that weakness that is how I was able to leave my flat with the "I WILL" attitude. It has become my goal that even in the hardest of times, I will keep the "I WILL" attitude. Sometimes we feel defeated, sometimes we feel like all is lost, but we have to remember that the Plan of Salvation was designed for everyone to win. 

I love all of you and hope that you all remember the love that our Father in heaven has for each of us, his sons and daughters!"

Here are more photos he sent of his adventures in England. He looks like he's having fun and that he and his companion are both goofballs. ;)

 

Ryan's New Mailing Address

Ryan's new mailing address has been updated on the right side of the blog! Please note that only letters can be mailed to his flat, and all packages should be sent to the mission office address. I know he would love to hear from you all!

Recent Photos

This is definitely my favorite because you can see that sweet smile we miss so much!

He's representing the U of A with another Elder!

Ryan Turned 21 in England

First things first! This was the week of our missionary's birthday, so HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY, RYAN!!

Ryan is out of the MTC and in the field! Here are some excerpts from his most recent letters.

"This week has been a roller coaster. On Saturday we had the MTC exercise for ward members. We did this hoping that members would get more excited about sharing the Gospel with friends and family, but the only people that showed up were those that already do missionary work so we were very disappointed.  

We have been teaching a guy named Jonathan, and he is definitely ready to be baptized! We were planning on teaching him about the Word of Wisdom because we thought that that would be his biggest struggle. We only thought that because we are always asked if we want coffee or tea when we walk into his home. It turns out that he doesn't have an issue with it at all and was just trying to be a good host! I love it! He told us that his testimony is growing word by word, page by page. He'll be baptized February the 15th! The day can't get here fast enough! 

On Thursday we went to see Stanley. The night before he had a really bad fall, and it took him almost 2 hours to crawl to the phone so that he could call for help. It tore us apart to hear his story, and it took everything I had not to cry. He told us that he feels  his time on earth is coming to an end. He then asked for a blessing, and I had the priveldge of giving it to him. I was prompted to bless him with healing and energy. We saw him a few days later, and he had a big smile when he saw us! He is so strong, and I am so blessed to have seen this miracle. Count your many blessing everyone! I can promise you that the Lord loves you and that he will never forget you! 

We were blessed again yesterday with a guy names Brian. He just walked into church and wanted to be taught...THAT RARELY HAPPENS!!! He walked almost an hour just to get to the church. We plan on going to see him this week! We also were able to teach an elderly man names Ken yesterday.  he lives way out in Mickleover so it took a solid hour to walk to his flat. He has bad hearing so I'm not sure if he heard half of the things we said, but the Spirit was there and that's all he needs. I am so blessed to be here. Within two weeks we went from zero to three investigators. 

 We have had so many dinner appointments this week that I feel as if I'm going to explode. We have people from all sorts of places in our ward so we usually get a variety of food. Last night we were fed by the Thompsons. They moved to England a few years ago from Jamaica! They made us chicken and pink rice...delicious!!!"

As you can see, our Ryan is changing lives in England, and he has such a sweet spirit as his guide. We are hoping he had a wonderful birthday and continues to have successes across the pond!