E N G L A N D (Week 51)

 Well, I doggone made it to England.

Haha but only after a good 1/2 of a week in California. On Wednesday we had Zone Conference and it was very powerful. President and Sister Reeves are amazing and know what is up and that is that. Then I went back to the Apartment and packed my stuff and called Alec for his Birthday. Shoutout to Alec for becoming a man this week haha love you bro. After that, the Assistants came and picked me and 2 other missionaries (who were also going to their original assignments) up. They had a final lesson for the day before we went back to their apartment. At about 8 pm we had a lesson with a member in their YSA ward who was struggling a bit, on the grounds of the Newport Beach Temple. That was quite the experience. We had have 5 us missionaries and another amazing child of God just having a really good Gospel conversation in front of the temple. That will be something I remember for sure! I learned and grew so much from my time in the California Newport Beach Mission with awesome wards and amazing non members as well, also missionaries and President and his wife, and especially with my companions. Biggest of all, I learned from our Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ about their infinite love for me and us all. Very grateful for my experiences and trials in California.

We woke up at 3:45 A.M. to get ready and head for the Airport to be early for my 6:45 A.M. flight to Atlanta. The flight was about 4 hours with only some mild turbulence. When we landed in Atlanta, there was about 3 hours until the flight to London. I decided to get some food at Bobby's Burger Palace, and that was possibly the best decision of the day haha, IT WAS AMAZING! 

After some more fun time in the Airport, I boarded the Plane to England to finish the rest of my mission. That was about an 8 hour flight, and was my first time leaving the country as well as my first time having a meal on a flight. Super Cool. I had this weird Chicken and Potatoes stuff with these other vegetables. It kind of tasted like soap, but it was still food so I still ate it and enjoyed it haha. The best part about the meal was the Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice Cream. Definitely worth it. 

After the plane landed in London it took like 2 hours to go through immigration and customs, so that was special. After that I went and waited for my taxi. The taxi dude found me (Thank Goodness) and I went with him and another missionary, Elder Pincock, to our flat (apartment hah) in Stourbridge! We live outside of Birmingham kind of on the west side and will be in quarantine until Friday. I will be headed to Solihull on Friday which is basically the eastern edge of Birmingham and am stoked to get to work out here! We also have another missionary staying with us for the quarantine, Elder Dayton from Lehi, and it has been fun trying to adjust to the new time zone; Jet Lag is real haha. I have had some extra time to study the scriptures and to pray and have very much enjoyed it. 'Thus we see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon His holy name.' - Helaman 3:27

Love you All :D

P.S. may or may not have burned a shirt for my 1 year mark.