13 Months?!

Hello dear friends and family,

It definitely doesn't feel like the end of October! Part of it might be the continued warm(at least by English standards) weather or the fact that Halloween is still largely seen as a pagan and heathen tradition over here and not a lot of people celebrate but either way the fact that it will be November next week is crazy.

Elder Chrimes and I were very busy this week! On Tuesday we exchanged with other Elders in the district and I was able to go into their area. Working in a different area made the time go by really quickly and the rest of the week Elder Chrimes and I had a lot of appointments which filled our days and made them fly by. I'm happy that I get to serve another transfer with Elder Chrimes! Seeing the growth that he has made over the last 7 weeks has been awesome to see and inspires me to continue striving to change as well.

I know I've said it 100 times but I love serving in Croydon so much! There are a lot of dodgey things that happen in some parts of Croydon but it is such a cool place as well. The amount of different cultures and nationalities is amazing and it's fun to learn more about the parts of the world the people we talk to everyday are from. In terms of people within the mission and missionaries serving the England London South mission is one of the most diverse in the world. It always keeps us on our toes! It's a lot different than the visions of top hats and tea time(though they do love their tea) that I expected!

On Saturday Elder Chrimes and I had an experience that helped me to understand deeper the urgency of the work we are doing. We were walking on the street after an appointment fell through and we started talking to an older English lady named Rebekah. At first she seemed a little scared or just confused that we were talking to her but as she saw "Jesus Christ" on our badges she relaxed and started to talk about her own faith. She told us "17 years ago you never would have found a more godless person than me." and explained to us the change and joy that has come into her life since she's learned more about the Savior. The most interesting part was that she talked about some of the doctrine of her church and that she believes that God will establish His kingdom on the earth again before the Savior comes again. As soon as I opened my mouth I felt the Spirit strongly confirm to us and to her the promise we made to her as we explained that we are representatives of the Lord and that we are sharing that exact message, that the restoration of the Kingdom has happened and that she can enjoy the blessings of it right now. She accepted a Book of Mormon and told us that she would treasure it and study it with interest and the desire to know if it is true. We said a prayer with her on the street and as we finished she was noticeably holding back tears and said "Thank you, God bless you,". She texted us a few minutes later thanking us for the time we shared and wants to see us again soon!

I will never be able to deny the unique and powerful feeling of the Holy Ghost in my life, and especially on my mission. It is by that feeling that a midst confusion, misunderstanding, and darkness that I have felt peace and direction. That isn't unique to me or anyone, but is a blessing that Heavenly Father wants for all of His children. Being a missionary has helped me to live in a way that the Spirit can always be present and it is the standard I want to live the rest of my live by, to do nothing that will hinder or offend the Spirit in my life. Thank goodness for repentance for I am infinitely imperfect, but I will always keep trying and I expect you to as well! :)

Love you all!

Elder Draney