England London Mission

England London Mission

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Hello All!

This week we didn’t have too bad of a week.  We have had several lessons with some investigators this week.  Working closely with one who really needs some extra help at this time.   We were also able to do some service for families in the ward.  We have been helping one with some re-decorating jobs. I have really been enjoying that and learning a lot.   Also able to help some members clean out their gardens.  And had some fresh raspberries, the first in over a year.  I really missed them- they were really good.

We have been OMYing in town centre also.  One the members here has an amazing story of how they found the church.  They had been looking for something in life and were going to a specific church every day to pray.  One day they took a different route to get to the church and they ran into 2 LDS missionaries.  Three weeks later one of them was baptized, and we are working with the other one at the current time. Hoping to set up a baptism in the near future.

District Meetings this week were really good.  It was about talking with everyone and accountability. Both things I felt I needed to improve on.   Because me having a one track mind, when the plan says town centre OYMing,  (open your mouth) I go to town center and OYM there-  but I pass so many people on the way that it’s not effective.  This last transfer I have been working on that and it’s been really good.  We have had a lot of success in it.  Because the Lord will put those people in your path, if they are in town centre than it’s harder to spot them out of the 100+ people that you see every 10 minutes. But if you are on the same sidewalk it’s easier to talk with them all and see the ones that the Lord has prepared for us. 

One of your investigators asked for a blessing this week. It was an amazing experience.  At the end she said she really knew that Heavenly Father loved her. But she hadn’t realized he loved her specifically and individually as she had felt with the blessing.   It was a powerful experience.

Today at football we had two investigators come and play with us.  Something that hasn’t happen before.  So it was good to build that friendship with them. 

One of the people I taught in a previous area has now been baptized and doing great in the church.  I haven’t attended a baptism of one of my own investigators yet. They always get baptized when I leave.  Others I have taught previously are also progressing in other areas.

This week I studied a talk about testifying and challenging in missionary work from like 1961.  It was really good.  About how we are to testify and then challenge everyone to be baptized.  If we wait for us to feel comfortable with it, then there is not faith.  But if we challenge early and often then we rely on the Lord to have them prepared.  It talked a lot about how missionaries want the converts to have a knowledge of all things before they feel they are ready.  But really the missionaries themselves didn’t know most of the things until they came on a mission and started to study them.   And sometimes I myself even do this.  Want to make sure it’s all perfect before we baptize them, when really they don’t need to be perfect. They need the desire to be baptized and to know that they are following God and Jesus Christ and that’s all they need.


Thanks for all of the letters and emails, I love them.   Love, Elder Stevenson

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

New Companion

Kind of a slow week with transfers and such.  We played some sports on Tuesday for p-day last week and my companion did some packing as he was leaving on Wednesday. 

All the new missionaries come into the London and get their assignments and companions there.  So the trainers all go there as well.  We had some meetings there as the President interviews all of the new missionaries before deciding which one will be assigned to which trainer.  It was 6:30 that evening before assignments were made. The new missionaries all sing “Called to Serve” and on the second verse the trainers all come in and line the walls of the room.   The President then calls the new missionaries up one by one and announces who their trainer will be. I was assigned my new companion and got some pictures taken.  Then we headed back to our flat.  It was 8:30 before we got home that evening, just in time to do some planning for the coming week.

We had District meeting this week and then went to find my new companion a mission bag.  We had dinner with some of the members this week- which is always really nice. 

We are still using the 12 week training program for new missionaries that was used when I came out. So each day we spend an extra hour doing studying.  That’s a change for me after not having done that for so long.  But it’s important to do, so we do it!  A wonderful opportunity to do more studies.

We did some street contacting, a first for my companion.  Street contacting isn’t that effective when it’s so hot- people don’t want to talk with you, they are just interested in getting out of the heat. Also did some tracting on the way to a referral one afternoon. Tracting has been a little better.  And had some appointments and lessons for the week. One of our investigators bore a really strong testimony this week as we were teaching- that was really neat.  The ward is quite big with several inactives, so we are spending some time in trying to find those people as well as new investigators in our finding. 

Not as many missionaries this week for p-day, so we switched up and played basketball.  The other missionary in our foursome is one that was in my group at the MTC.  It’s been really good.   We have had a lot of talking this last week. 


Thanks to everyone for all that you do!  Love, Elder Stevenson

Friday, July 18, 2014

Changes are happening again!

Hello Everyone!  Things are going good.

We had exchanges this week and were in town centre oyming (opening your mouth) and it was pouring rain.  So we were trying to stay in the shelter and we were at the cross road.  I said I thought we should go this way, so we went that way and there were two people on the whole thing.  One wasn’t at all interested. The other one started to take the survey. As we were asking questions, the person said they knew all about that stuff because they used to be a member.  Come to find out it was one we had been looking for previously that week.   We headed to another appointment in the pouring rain and we were running for the shelter of the bus stop.  It started to slow down for a little bit so we started off again, only to get about 50 yards away and it dropped again!  So we were like whatever- let’s just go and we got sooo wet and drenched.  But it was all for a good cause.



One evening we had a few minutes before a dinner appointment and so we stopped at the bus stop to do a gap.  A gap is what we do in our mission for practice. You do a principle from one of the missionary lessons with a scripture and a question all in two minutes.  So we practice teaching continuously.  It is really amazing and I have seen it work a lot. 

A lot of finding for the week, and a service project for some of the members.  That was really good.

On Monday, the whole mission was able to watch the World Cup finals.  President gave permission to do so, if they were recorded we could watch them on Monday during the day.  So we able to do that and have dinner with a member.  During the dinner came the transfer calls from President.  I will be staying in the same area, but my companion is moving to another place.  President asked me to be a trainer for a brand new missionary. I don’t know even know who he will be.  Going to London for some meetings and meeting him then. I was really shocked.  Excited for the chance, but also nervous about it.  We’ll see how it goes.  One of the other missionaries in our foursome has also been transferred out. 

I have to say that since my mission I have come to understand the importance of family history a whole lot more.   Love, Elder Stevenson



Sunday, July 13, 2014

Pretty Normal Week in England

This week we had the regular football game for p-day.  During the week we had some lessons with the investigators.  We are teaching a young family who just found the church a few months ago, the father knows the Bible very well.  We were able to be have a member help with one of the lessons this week, that one went really well.  

We are using the survey option and worked in town centre for a while this week.  We usually just walk everywhere as it takes us about 20 minutes to walk to town centre and the buses only run every 20-30 minutes.  So it’s as fast to walk as to wait for the bus.   We have been doing a lot of finding in looking for new people to teach.   Still working with some of our other finds as well.  Some are making good progress

We were able to do some service for ward members as well. We are working on the house that we helped to gut out.  We just finished the wall paper. I must say I think we did a pretty good job for not having done it before. 

Zone Conference was in the London this week.  One of the Elders from home area is now in the same Zone as me.   It was about the new missionary things the church is using now.  Like how worldwide they will teach lesson 5 prior to baptism and some other things from the First Presidency. Zone Conference was good.

The schools here don’t have the long summer break- only about a month off.  Then they have bigger breaks during the school year in the fall and spring terms.  So Young Men and Young Women/ Ward activities and such continue through most of the summer.  We did have a little BBQ in our parking lot for the 4th. 


Nothing too big going on this week.  Thanks for everything!  Love, Elder Stevenson