Week 81

Transfer week...

Elder Klestrup has gone home...
This amazing missionary has played a part in both Elder Peel and Elder Teals lives... 

18 months ago he trained Elder Peel when he first arrived in the mission. 

20 Weeks ago, when Elder Teal was called as an Assistant, Elder Klestrup was his companion
and introduced him to the assignment. 

As is the custom, the three new incoming missionaries, their trainers and the departing Elder were taken up Mars hill together.

 

The three arriving Elder and their training companions

With the excitement of new arrivals comes the sadness of airport departures

Amidst orientation and training meetings. Airport drop offs and pick ups Elder Peel and Teal continue to enjoy the opportunity to teach friends the gospel

"A. is doing really well and will be baptised next Saturday! He passed his interview yesterday and is so excited for the baptism. His whole story shows so much how the gospel changes people's lives, as he has come so far. Also this week he finished reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover which he was really pleased about. I've never had an investigator do that during the teaching process before I don't think! He is doing so well with everything, and is already a fantastic missionary, even inviting people from the street to go to church with him. His relationship with his family is also better than it's ever been, and his son and his wife had a baby this week which they're all very happy about."

 

All our posts (weeks 61-68) with Elder Klestrup can be found HERE

"At the airport it was interesting to think back to my arrival in the mission and how different the mission was then and how different I was then. It also made me think again about how I don't have a whole lot of time left. It's strange to think that in a year or so we'll have been gone 6 months and the mission will just continue to grow and develop in new and exciting ways, and kind of sad that we won't be a part of that. At the same time, I'm grateful that we're here now at such a pivotal time in the mission."

"We went to As house and talked first about tithing and fasting and then afterwards we showed him the video 'The Restoration.' (see below) He really enjoyed it and watched it so intently and then when it had finished he bore testimony about the restoration and told us that everyone needs to know the things that we have been teaching him as they have changed his life so much. He is so excited to be baptised. Every time we have a lesson with him it's a wonderful reminder for me of our purpose as missionaries."




Finally a bit of fun...

  

Week 63 Nafplio Corinth and Mars Hill

This week Elder Klestrup and Elder Teal have been among other things, assisting President and Sister Heder to host  a visiting General Authority of the church. Elder Hamula , who serves as member of the First quorum of the Seventy and was accompanied by his wife and Brother Neilson the Assistant Church Historian. Their visit was part of a tour of church history sites.

Their tour took in Nafplio a coastal town to the south of Corinth, Corinth and Mars Hill. 

As Elder Teal pointed out in his emails, church history predates Joseph Smith. The group visited places the apostle Paul had been

"We were the first stop on a Church History Tour, which are conducted by representatives from the Church History Department twice a year, about the time of General Conference. They'll also be going to Turkey and Albania"

Nafplio

 

  

 

 

 

 Corinth

 

 

Mars Hill

 

There were far too many pictures to include all of them this week. More can be found HERE

Yesterday the saints in Greece and Cyprus watched last last weeks General Conference broadcast

"It was really strange to watch conference and have it be my own voice for some of the talks. You know how when you hear your voice recorded and you don't think it sounds like you? Try it when you're speaking a different language! I kept kind of forgetting it was me talking and then realising again, it was so weird. 

We watched the two Sunday sessions, and I'll read the rest in the conference issue of the Ensign if you'll be able to send it to me? We'll get the Liahona here for the apartment but I'd like to have my own copy."

Other News

"We're at the minute coming up with Standards of Excellence which we will set for the mission, and goals that will stretch us and raise our faith. We'll discuss it in MLC (mission leadership council) on Wednesday"

"Unfortunately we didn't have any lessons this week, between a small teaching pool and having very little time, we weren't able to schedule any lessons."

 There is always time to share the gospel though as this journal extract shows...

"We got up early to get ready but we were running a bit late to meet President and Sister Heder. We went to get fuel for the van and it turned out that it was perfect that we were a bit late as the woman that was working there had met missionaries before and was keen to learn more so gave me her phone number in the 30 seconds it took me to pay for the fuel. It was a great reminder that when you're on the Lords errand and doing your best, you'll always be in the right place at the right time." 

We asked Elder Teal to share his reasons for serving a mission, his reply 

"I think my reasons for serving a mission have developed and gotten deeper as I've been serving. Before, I knew it was my priesthood duty and it was something I really wanted to do, but as I've been here it's become something I'm doing because of my love for the Lord and Heavenly Father. I've realised the happiness and comfort that comes from knowledge of the gospel (and I mean the actual gospel, faith, repentance, baptism, holy ghost, endure to the end, not the general use of the word), and of the Plan of Salvation, are things that most people simply don't have in their lives. I do have them, and I want other people to as well. I've also seen people change their lives for the better, and it's the most fulfilling and meaningful thing I've ever done by far."