I Thought That Was a Sport?

I'm in Rugby. Apparently this is where Rugby was invented. That's the legend, anyway. Rugby is just a bit east of Coventry. Its also pretty close to Northampton (which is in the London mission), so I can tell people that I used to live in Northampton... Massachusetts. My companion now is a awesome kid named Elder Eldredge, who actually came out the same time as me, so that's nice. We're going to do some powerful teaching by the spirit once we have people to teach. 

One cool thing is a few of my good friends from the MTC who I hadn't seen in quite a long time are serving in Coventry, so I'll get to see them when we go there for meetings! That's pretty cool -because they are pretty cool. Funny enough in the last ward I was serving in I was the oldest missionary, but now I am the youngest one serving in the ward. The ward here seems pretty awesome so I am excited to get the missionary work going here. I must admit I was sad to leave Wales, but England is pretty dang awesome too. I miss the Watkins family already, but I'll certainly write this afternoon. 

Our ward mission leader is really awesome so we're going to be working on how to get all the members to be really excited about doing missionary work. At church on Sunday I met this super cool 18 year old kid. He said, "You should just get up there and tell everyone to bring one friend. I reckon you could double the size of the ward." That's easier said than done, but miracles will certainly happen as we have faith and work hard. I'm excited for it. There are so many absolutely amazing people out there that God has prepared to receive the message of the Restored Gospel. As it says in the scriptures, "For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory." (Alma 13:24). I'm excited to meet these people. 

Have an amazing week everyone, 

Love, 

Elder Poulsen

Burry Port Miracle

I'm going to share with you one really amazing cool miracle we had this week. 

A few months ago we met this guy sitting outside a pub and so we gave him a leaflet. He runs and lives above a cafe in Burry Port. It’s hard to catch him in because you have to go right before he closes up so he isn't busy but after he closes up you can't get to him. We were able to see him about a month ago. He enjoyed pondering on the leaflet (I think it was Plan of Salvation we gave him first--we have three main leaflets corresponding with the three first missionary lessons--The Restoration, Plan of Salvation, The Gospel of Jesus Christ) and so we gave him two more. For the last month we hadn't been able to see him. Saturday probably marked the fifth or sixth time that we were actually in Burry Port at the right time but just weren't able to go say ‘hi’ to him because we had appointments or were talking to other people or whatever. Later in the evening, Saturday, we came out of an appointment back here in Llanelli and we were getting our bikes. A man was walking past. Then, recognizing us, he started to walk towards us. "Do you remember me? from Burry Port?" He asked. And I knew who it was--it was Lee, the cafe man. He proceeded to tell us about how much he enjoyed reading all the leaflets. He has them on his windowsill so he sees them every morning when he gets up. Reading them has changed his view about life. He told us about how he is now much more conscious of how the ‘him’ of the past can stay in the past and he can become a new person. He thinks more of the consequences of his actions. He even (and he said this was unlike him) asked his ex (who he had a son with) to forgive him for the person he used to be and he said it has really made a difference in their relationship, made it a lot less strained. 

This takes me back to the first few times I handed out leaflets and Book of Mormons about 8 months ago. I expected everyone to come back from reading these things with a changed view of life, because of the amazing life changing doctrine in them. Unfortunately, not many people have an open enough heart for that to happen--but for Lee it did. The point is, God is a God of miracles--in this case both in how we were able to come back into contact with Lee and how the Spirit has touched his heart. 

An update on the W----s: They are awesome - so awesome! Alex passed the sacrament in church again yesterday. I just hope and pray that his quorum will take good care of him and in 5 or six years he'll end up with some nametags that say "Elder W-----." Fran is still struggling with the word of wisdom a lot, but she loves coming to church, praying, and reading from the Book of Mormon. She had a blessing yesterday, and it stated that as she calls upon God to help her in her efforts to keep the Word of Wisdom, He will help her. And when she does keep the Word of Wisdom, her other health problems will begin to be sorted out as well. How fantastic!

Unfortunately, I probably won't be around to see all of this-we'll get the transfer call in a few hours now and I have some good reasons to believe I'll be leaving. Where will I be emailing from next week? Probably only God and President Rasmussen know at this point -haha. 

I hope you all have a fantastic week and remember that God is a God of Miracles. 

Love, 

Elder Seth Poulsen

Man!!! This Week Was Pretty Awesome!

This week was pretty awesome. We had 12 lessons, which might be the most I've ever had a week thus far on my mission. But this week we are going to have even more! And we're going to have like 5 people on a baptismal date by the end of the week too...hopefully. Missionary work is great. 

This week was Elder Thurgood's week, as part of the 12 week program, to lead all planning and teaching situations for the week. That was a bit hard for me. I think it led to me being a bit lazy too, because I had to let him do a lot of stuff I normally would have done. That probably could have been avoided, but unfortunately I'm not perfect...yet. But that's okay. I am recommitted to work super hard and have an amazing week this coming week. Especially because it could be my last full week in Llanelli and with my boy Elder Thurgood, with transfers being next week. It’s going to be amazing!

Let me tell you about one guy we were able to meet last week and start teaching. Actually Elder Thurgood and Elder Steflik met him on exchange when I was out of my area. Elder Steflik is one of the other Elders here in Llanelli (there are four of us now) and he has been here the whole time I have been here. He's pretty awesome--really friendly and everyone like him (reminds me of my brother Connor in some ways). He's just been baptizing people like crazy. But last Tuesday he and Elder Thurgood met this real nice guy named David. David has pretty much no religious background or belief or anything but he invited them in because it was cold and he's nice, even though he's had a rough life. We were able to go back and see him again Saturday ("you won't convert me though" he said to my companion over the phone). As we shared with him some of the basic truths of the Gospel (repentance and forgiveness, the power of prayer) you could see something stirring within him--a desire to learn more about the great happiness that can come from learning more about these truths. I could see more than just what was in front of me. I saw a man who was ready to change, a man who in a few years could be part of an Elders quorum presidency or something. It was quite fantastic. We'll have a chance to go see him again tonight. 

Another cool thing was Alex sharing his testimony in sacrament meeting yesterday. It wasn't much of a testimony, mostly just stories about how he met us and stuff. But you could tell, when he was talking about when we came over and began to teach them, that he knew that the things we have shared with his family are true and have and will continue to bless their lives like nothing else. 

I hope you all have an amazing week and keep working hard at whatever good things you are doing. 

Love, 

Elder Seth Poulsen

Goodness

God is good, so good. My Jamaican friends back in Gloucester used to love saying that (I'm sure they still do, as a matter of fact). It’s so true, He is so good. 

Today was actually beautiful weather, so my companion and I cycled up to a reservoir a bit north of town and went for a nice walk through the woods around it. It was awesome - totally beautiful! We saw some people jumping in the river to go kayaking and I wished I could hop on with them. That's okay though. 

Sometimes on Mondays I sit down to email and wonder what I have done in the last week. It’s not because I've done nothing. Every single day we do our best to spend every moment of our time giving the most efficient, effective service we can to God and His children (although we are very very far from perfect). It could be just because time is flying by and everything is blurring together. When people ask me how long I have been on my mission I have to pause and think a second before stammering out "almost 8 months now." Has it been that long? It’s really 1/3 over already. I can't waste a minute, it’s going by too fast. It makes me feel so bad for any time I may have had a bad day and missed an opportunity to talk to someone I should have or anything like that. 

All 4 elders in the ward spoke in sacrament meeting yesterday--that was fun. I talked about how awesome the Book of Mormon is, using some of the same elements as I did in my farewell talk (including my rewriting of the scripture of Nephi killing Laban into modern terms for those of you who remember that). I felt that I was able to really connect with the congregation, and bring the Spirit into the room as I shared my feelings with them. The Spirit is awesome. 

Yesterday Alex was ordained a deacon by a member of our bishopric, then his deacons quorum president taught him how to pass the sacrament so that he could do it in sacrament meeting. He did. What an amazing kid. I'm so glad we ran into him on the street 3 months ago. Looking back on my time here in Llanelli, especially my first transfer here with Elder Gull, we spent so much time talking to people, teaching people, serving people, who did not progress at all or who did so very little before stopping. But without doing all that work we never would have had Alex and his family. His mum should be baptized soon, but she still needs to overcome her obstacles of drinking and smoking and overall poor health. But with the Lord's help, she can do it. God is so good. 

After church I had the opportunity to give a blessing to a member of our ward who was feeling ill. The Spirit of God came upon me and some things came out of my mouth that I never would have expected. Part of the counsel given in the blessing, however, was that the things that were revealed should be kept very sacred, and only shared if guided by the Holy Spirit to do so. 

I am so glad that I was able to be a worthy vessel of the Lord in passing His blessing on to one of His children. Very few people will ever hear about this blessing, but I am confident that because I acted by the spirit, I did exactly as God would have had me do in that situation, making what was done just as amazing as any of the miracles in the scriptures. My point is not to boast, but to let you know that you can do it too! You don't even have to hold the Priesthood. The requirements for exercising the power of the priesthood and for having the right to being guided by the Spirit are pretty much the same anyway. But know that when you follow what the Spirit tells you to do in serving others, you are acting for God in ministering to His children. And that is pretty amazing. So don't waste any time--go follow the spirit in serving others. Its the way to be happy. 

Love,

Elder Seth Poulsen

Missionary Work is Awesome

1. I found Rivendell! Its in my Area! This is actually part of our map that's totally in the middle of nowhere. The Rivendell name is probably referring to the name of a farm or a house or something. Unfortunately I'll probably never make it out there, because its like a 40 minute drive away. Yes, our area is quite large.

2. This is my companion with a mini Christmas tree that was in our flat. Its actually supposed to be about 6 feet tall but he took out the bottom segment because it looked really lame. 

3. This is my friend Alex. He's really awesome. I baptised him a few weeks ago. This Sunday he will probably be ordained a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood and will be able to pass the sacrament with the help and teaching of his friend Matthew, the deacon's quorum president. To me, that's pretty exciting. We're going to be teaching Alex all the new member lessons after church and after youth activities so Matthew can be there with him. 

My companion made me get extra sleep a few days this week because I was still sick. I don't really like doing that. But now I am better! God takes care of His servants. We have met some cool people this week. Like most weeks, but we are still struggling to have new investigators. 

On Wednesday we had Zone Conference (loads of missionaries in one building)!  Its a bit crazy but it was cool because I got to see some past companions and friends. Also we had a general authority Timothy Dyches there. He taught us some cool stuff about how to plan better and use time effectively. And his wife showed us how to fold index cards into mini missionary shirts so that we can leave people cool notes that look like us! We might need to go buy like 100 index cards now so we can do that. 

Well, I'm trying to love people more and more as I continue to study Charity and seek to be like Christ by being loving to people in every word, thought, and action. You can try to do that too, if you want. Its a good way to be happy, if that's what you're after. 

Love, 

Elder Poulsen

This Week Was a Lovely Week

This week was a lovely week. Missionary work as usual. Elder Thurgood is still awesome and is learning so much (and so am I!). He will certainly be ready to stand on his own by the end of the transfer, as he probably would be able to by now anyway.

The proper welsh weather is beginning to set in...Lots of rain. I heard it will be like this for a while, then it will get too cold to rain, then it may snow. This winter will be a fun one, for sure.

My personal studies as of late have included reading The Book of Mormon each day and marking every part that helps me learn about Charity and Love, the pure love of Christ. This involves lots of red pencil and writing with a pencil my thoughts in the margins and cross-referencing, etc. It also has, with the persistence of doing it every day for about two months now, helped me begin to see a change in myself for the better. It has been a really cool experience.

Something that has really surprised me is the many things that we can learn about being loving towards others, not just from the example of the prophets and others, but by the example that God sets for us by the way that He deals with His children. A great example is Mosiah 24:14. It is a beautiful verse, leading up to the final statement, "I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions." Do we do this? Do we visit and help our friends and neighbors in their time of afflictions? We should follow God's example and do so. And we will find so much joy and happiness as we do.

Have an excellent week, full of service and love,

Love,

Elder Seth Poulsen

Alex's Baptism

1. This is me at the top of the tower of Pembroke Castle. Look it up online or something. It really was quite awesome. 

2. A member of the ward had this cake made for us. Its pretty cool, if you couldn't tell. 

3. so the other day I was riding my bike and I heard a metal snapping noise. When I stopped, my back wheel had gone all super loose, like was shaking around. So I unscrewed it and found that the two pieces of the axle (that's when you think "isn't the axle only supposed to be one piece") pulled out easily from either side. Apparently it decided to snap in half. Bummer. Its sort of fixed now, but still needs some more work...maintaining a bike that you ride all day every day can be costly. 

4. On Halloween we had to be in at 6 for our own safety. So I figured out how to do missionary work from our flat: bake cookies for people! There were quite tasty. 

5. This is Alex. I baptized him. 

6. This is Alex and Mammy and Rhiannon and Elder Thurgood and I. 

7. This is a really attractive picture of me on a train. 

8. And a pretty awesome picture of me on a castle. 

So a few months ago I met this awesome kid named Alex Watkins and he introduced me to his mom and sister. Now Alex is a member of the church. Hopefully the rest of his family will be soon as well. This has been a bit of an odd weekend because I have been really sick and had to rest a lot (which if you know me at all you know that drives me absolutely crazy) but we had the great joys of seeing Alex baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a twelve year old kid he was able to pray and gain a testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and this is His church once again restored to the earth. He was also able to pray and receive the revelation from God that he should keep the Sabbath day Holy instead of playing rugby on Sunday. On Saturday night at his baptism one of his friends (there was a row of about six of them there) asked him about the rugby game the next day and he told him without pause for thought that he wouldn't be there because he would be at church. Most kids that have been coming to church their whole lives struggle with this, but due to his great spiritual sensitivity, he was able to find his answer. 

Alex was confirmed a member of the church by our ward mission leader, Brother Phillips. His blessing stated that he would receive the priesthood and serve a mission. It was an amazing and powerful experience. I nearly shed tears. Hopefully Alex's mum Fran will be baptized by the end of this month. His sister still claims to be atheist, even though we have seen her feel the spirit about five times now. We just really really want them to be all together in the church as a family, so that they can all strengthen and uplift one another, instead of Alex having to stand on his own in a sense. My other baptisms so far have seemed to be closed off by a sense of finality and completion afterward. I don't think it will come until we have seen the whole family enter the waters of baptism. 

God is so good, he works mighty miracles every day. Just look for them, and you will see them. Most frequently they will come when you follow the promptings of the Spirit. So do it. Have a wonderful week and I love you all.

Love, 

Elder Seth Poulsen