Man the time flies sometimes! It's so crazy to think that it is already the middle of December!
The Temple was amazing! Like I mentioned last week we went to the London Temple with a few of the other Zones from around the mission last Tuesday and did an endowment session together. We woke up at 4 AM to make sure we could get to the train on-time and still ended up running to make it to the platform before it left! We took the train from Christchurch and switched trains in Clapham Junction in the middle of London, which is the busiest train station in all of England. We then took another train to the temple area and got picked up there and drove to the temple. It was so fun to see other missionaries I hadn't seen since the MTC and be around so many other wonderful people. The temple grounds are gorgeous and there are a lot of cool areas to take pictures(yes I took some).
Afterward we all had lunch with President and Sister Millar and sang some hymns and carols together. When we left to get on our train back we saw that it had been delayed and was slotted to come over an hour later so 30 or so missionaries sang carols in the train station until the train came. We got to Clapham again and had 45 minutes til our train so Elder Poulino and I, along with about 8 other missionaries, hurried out of the station to see London a bit and get some food. We then hurried back to get on our train which was so packed that all of us had to stand for most of our journey back. We got back to our flat at 9:30, just in time for daily planning! It was a really fun day.
Sadly we weren't able to extend a date to Bob because his meeting with the Bishop was pushed until sometime this week and he doesn't want to commit until the bishop councils with him about how he will pay tithing. He is really eager and has a strong desire to do what the Lord wants him to do and I am confident that he will enter the waters of baptism soon.
The other sad part is that he is our only investigator that we see on a regular basis or is progressing. We spend the majority of our time contacting and trying our hardest to find new investigators. It's hard work but I know it is the Lord's work. I listened to a talk/compilation called "Missionary work and the Atonement" which mostly consists of Elder Holland talking to mission presidents. He spoke about why missionary work is often so difficult, because it was never meant to be easy. Salvation and gaining Eternal Life was never supposed to be easy. For a while I wondered why so many people were wasting there time on this earth if the Plan of Salvation is perfect but I understand a lot more that it is such a wonderful blessing and privilege to gain all that our Father has that many will fall short. All of us have equal chance and opportunity to follow with as much exactness as possible the words and teachings of the Savior but many will still choose to follow other paths. It's hard when it seems like everyone we talk to is too caught up in worldly pleasures to change their hearts and desires to follow the Father of their spirits' and His Only Begotten. But there are those that are searching and willing to change and follow Him, we just need to work as hard as we can and trust that the Lord will guide them to us or us to them.
Thank you much for the Christmas package! I really needed the pants and gloves that you sent, and I promise to leave the stocking un-touched until Christmas! I can't promise anything about the Oreos though... Elder Poulino is grateful for his little stocking as well!
I love all of you more than I could ever express with words. Your prayers carry me everyday.
Elder Draney
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