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!  

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Good news! You may now submit your e-mail address to the right to have Ryan's blog updates automatically e-mailed to you!

Word from Ryan

We were thrilled to hear from Ryan yesterday! Here is an excerpt from his e-mail.

"My first meal here was a sandwich that only consisted of bread and meat. I had to go to the salad bar in order to get cheese and lettuce. This definitely isn't America!  haha

I miss all of you guys so much!  This week has been so busy, and I have learned so much!  We were all given an investigator to teach, and our first lesson with her was last Saturday.  It was horrible!  My companion, Elder Boswell from Canada, and I definitely weren't prepared. That night we were taught how to make effective lesson plans and given techniques to use while teaching. I definitely wish that I had that the first time around because our second lesson was amazing! Her name is Natalie, and she has never believed in God but has always hoped that there was one. We focused our entire first lesson on how much God loved her and what she has to do to figure out that he is here. It was so powerful. The Spirit definitely did it's job because the next time we arrived she was beaming and told us that she was reading The Book of Mormon!  That is such an amazing thing to hear as a missionary! This experience has been so great, and I've only just begun! 

The other Elders in my district are so cool! We have people from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, Spain, France, Canada, and Ecuador - so many different parts of the world, and we are all here for the same purpose! And for those of you that don't know our purpose, here it is, "To invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End." 

 I found that the hardest part of my week has been today. We usually have classes and study time from 7:30-9:30 so we're are constantly doing something and don't have time to think about anything else. Today we don't have classes until six. This makes me think of home and everyone that I left behind.

Everything here is so different. Every time I look out my window, I freak out that someone is driving on the wrong side of the road. 

I love and miss all of you!  Have a great week!"

As always, we are so thankful for our sweet Ryan. He has such a love for others and will bless those he encounters on his mission tremendously!

WWWeeee lllllooooovvvveee Eeeelllllddddeeerrrr BBBooooooosssss!!

We heard from our missionary! When he first arrived in England he had some comical keyboard issues, and this what we got from him on the 9th. :)

HHeeyy!!    FFoorr  ssoommee  rreeaassoonn  tthhiiss  kkeeyybbooaarrdd  ddooeess  ddoouubbllee  lleetttteerrss.  ssoooooooooo  ssoorryy  aabboouutt  tthhaatt...    II  hhooppee  aallll  iiss  wweellll  tthheerree!!  II  mmiissss  yyoouu  gguuyyss  ssoo  mmuucchh!!    TThhee  fflliigghhtt  ffrroomm  ttuuccssoonn  ttoo  cchhiiccaaggoo  wwaass  ttoorrttuurree!!    II  ssoommeeoonnee  ggoott  ssttuucckk  rriigghhtt  nneexx  ttoo  aa  ccrryyiinngg  bbaabbyy.    TThhee  fflliigghhtt  ttoo  EEnnggllaanndd  wwaass  ddeellaayyeedd  aanndd  tthhee  fflliigghhtt  iisseellff  ffeell  lliikkee  aa  lliiffeettiimmee.    II  rreeaallllyy  lliikkee  aallll  ooff  tthhee  EEllddeerrss  aanndd  SSiisstteerrss  hhaatt  II  hhaavvee  eennccoouunntteerreedd.    TThheeyy  hhaavvee  ggiivveenn  mmee  tthhiiss  ttiimmee  ttoo  eemmaaiill  yyoouu  gguuyyss  aanndd  lleett  yyoouu  kknnooww  tthhaatt  ii  aarrrriivveedd  ssaaffeellyy.    IItt  iiss  ssoo  bbeeaauuttiiffuull  hheerree  aanndd  II  sswweeaarr  tthhaatt  tthheerree  aarree  sshheeeepp  oonn  eevveerryyootthheerr  ffiieelldd.   OOhh  aanndd  iitt  wwaass  rraaiinniinngg  aa  wweeeeeeeeee  bbiitt  oonn  tthhee  wwaayy  ttoo  tthhee  MMTTCC.    KKeeeepp  mmee  uuppddaatteedd  oonn  eevveerryytthhiinngg  tthhaatt  hhaappppeennss!!    II  lloovvee  aanndd  mmiissss  yyoouu!!

--EEllddeerr  BBooss   

Off he goes!

After a beautiful blessing in which Ryan was set apart as a full time missionary, we bid farewell to our brave Elder Bos this morning. It was extremely difficult to watch him leave, but we are elated and so proud as he embarks on this journey of service. He had a layover today in Chicago and is flying to England as I type this! We will keep all his dear friends and family up to speed on his adventures through this blog as we receive his e-mails. Thank you to everyone who has shown us such unwavering support!