On Monday
we checked out the Gloucester Cathedral. It was SWEET! I don't have any
pictures because you have to pay to be allowed to take pictures. But I will go
back again sometime before I leave Gloucester and I will get pics. They
had a pipe organ there that looked sweet. Apparently they use it for midnight
mass at Christmas time, but I'm never going to get to go to that. Bummer.
Also, Gloucester Cathedral is where a lot of Harry Potter (the first two
movies I believe) was filmed. So I got to see the corridors of Hogwarts,
including the one where the blood writing was on the wall in the second one
(don't worry, they didn't actually write on the wall of the cathedral), the
classroom where Hermione figures out how to make a feather float, and the
courtyard they use for some of the scenes. Pretty cool. The cathedral has tons
of beautiful stained glass everywhere as well (including a small rendition of a
baptismal font with oxen underneath it...interesting).
I still
think its really cool that I am in England. And that everybody has really
cool accents. I still have these moments where I think to myself, "I'm a
missionary...this is so cool" or "whoa, I'm in England." I
used to always visualize the United States when I was trying to figure out east
and west in my head. The other day I realized that now I visualize the UK in my
head instead.
I had an
amazing experience on Friday. Well, that's nothing new. I have amazing
experiences every day, and never enough time to write them all down. But I had
an extra amazing experience on Friday. I was in Cheltenham for the day because
there was a practice for a missionary choir fireside. My companion was singing
in it. They didn't let me in because they gave the older missionaries priority.
So I'll get to do it eventually. Anyway, while he was practicing I got to go
out with a few other missionaries in Cheltenham. We visited a man named Kevin
who is begining the process of reentering society. I say reentering society
because he has been in prison for the last 18 years (he told me that he isn't
allowed in Gloucester anymore because all of his armed robberies were here).
But in the last few years, he has had "a mighty change of heart." A
member of the Church visited the prison where he was to do some missionary work,
and Kevin was very accepting to the message. He began to read the Book of
Mormon and other scriptures. He was one of the nicest people I have ever met
and the whole time that we were with him, he was talking about all of the good
that he wants to do. He said he feels bad for all the time that he has
lost. He is volunteering for a number of charities and has begun giving
motivational speeches to help other people to overcome the same addictions that
he had in the past. Unfortunately, he has seven life sentances of parol
(normally people on parol can't be baptized, but he will be able to since its
for life--its already been approved from up top). The world will never look at
him as a clean man again. But I know that his Savior Jesus Christ does. Because
he certainly is a changed man. Meeting him was an amazing example to me of the
power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change lives. The Lord Jesus Christ
wants to forgive us, and wants us to use his Atonement to change ourselves, to
become the amazing people that He knows that we can become. Are we, each and
every one of us, using the Atonement in our lives as much as Kevin is? We
should be. Before we left, he offered a beautiful prayer. I shed a few tears,
but wiped them up before the prayer was over.
Yesterday
a man named Steve who we have talked to a few times before let us in because he
had a few minutes to talk. He showed us his nice back garden and his chickens.
I told him that at home we have not only chickens, but llamas as well! I was
able to bear simple, but powerful testimony to him, a man who has never
believed in God (though I think he has the desire to believe) that I know that
God is there for me, loves me, and helps me in my life. What a great blessing
for me to be able to have the opportunity to share that testimony.
Love,
Elder
Poulsen
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