Get Behind Me Satan

Hello family and freidns! Had another great week here in Ireland! Loved being able to continue working with our friends here and getting them ready to enter the waters of baptism! 

Monday- We were finally able to go around Waterford and see all the touristy things here, and boy is there a lot here! I got a lot of pictures that I will explain later, but was a really good day to go around and see the sights of Waterford! 

Tuesday- We were able to drive down to Cork for our weekly district meeting. It was a great meeting, and we talked a lot about the importance of being Accountable. This is a huge principle in the mission that I wasn't expecting, but it really does help so much when we're accountable to our leaders and the Lord. After we had a BOMB lunch of stuffed french toast and eggs, provided by the amazing sisters from Tralee. We got back and just did a lot of chapping! We really do a lot of contacting in this mission, and especially in this area. My companion and I are both new to this area, so we are kinda starting from scratch. But we've met some amazing people, and enjoy the work we're doing!

Wednesday- We were able to spend a lot of this day with Brother Ryan. He really is an amazing man. We met with Dion, our 16 year old investigator, and had an amazing lesson on baptism. His dad is still a little hesitant to allow him to be baptised, but we were able to convince him and his mom to talk to him and try to work something out. We then went and visited some of the members here in Waterford, and then were able to have an amazing dinner of Shepard's pie after at the Ryan's home. That night we drove down to Cork to do exchanges that next day there. 

Thursday- We spent all day Thursday in Cork, and I was with Elder Bradley. He's a really awesome guy, and is from Canada actually! We spent the ENTIRE DAY talking to people at the city centre there. I mean we did nothing else the entire day. But hey that's what I wanted to focus on for the exchange, and I really learned a lot from Elder Bradley and got close with him. We saw some interesting things that day as well. I had my first run in with Anthony. Anthony is know throughout the mission as a crazy guy who lives in Cork and always screams at the missionaries when he sees them. So we had a run in with him! And we also came across a Born Again lady preaching in the middle of the city square. We just went up cause we saw a crowd, and when she saw us, she just started ripping on the Mormons. It was wild. And them we saw her again later, and she pointed her little staff at us and yelled, "Get behind me Satan!" (Hence the email title) But outside of that It was just a normal day! ;) 

Friday- We left that morning cause we had to be back in Waterford by 10:30 for a meeting with a new investigator named Jon. Jon is 50, was a catholic, but rarely ever goes to mass now. He is nice, and REALLY likes to talk. It was a struggle keeping the conversation on topic, but it was a good lesson and we're planning on seeing him again! We then hit the streets for the afternoon. That evening we had a meeting with Lisa, our Nigerian investigator. She is so solid, and loves coming to church and learning more about the gospel! We're really excited to continue meeting with her and bring her into the church! 

Saturday- We started off the day by meeting with both of the recent converts from here, Stella and Clair. Both lessons went great, and we're excited to be able to meet Stella's friend Kristen from China sometime this week! We then travled down to a town called New Ross and met with Dion and his mother. We were able to talk more about the baptism, clarify some questions his mother had, and talk about the program and how they want the service to be. They want the service as small as possible, so it's been a struggle trying to get everything worked out. But we should be able to see him get baptised next Tuesday!! We're so excited for him, and now we want to focus on his mother. She has been to all the meetings, and really does enjoy church! So we'll see how it goes with her. We finished off the day with some more finding. It was hard to do that this weekend though cause there was a HUGE festival here. It's called a Spraoi, and I have never seen so many people in one place in my life! It was seriously so crowded and busy, and made it really hard to talk to people. But we sure did try our best haha!

Sunday- What an amazing day!! We were able fast, and as a companionship focused on Dion and his father. The meeting was amazing, and we had Dion, his mom, and Lisa all there again. After the meeting we had a munch and mingle, and it was good to meet with the members! That night we heard the great news that Dion's father really was accepting of the baptism, and wants to attend! So grateful for the miracles we saw that day! 

Well I love you all, and can't wait for another great week here!!