December!

This week was definitely much better than last. Although I was a little bit sick but hey that happens sometimes. Here's the week in review: 

Tuesday (Nov 27): We had a really great day of service with Brother Hobbs. We continued working on his house extensions all day even though it rained on us half the time. They got us lunch and made us dinner as well. For lunch they got us fish and chips which was the first time for me. I was actually able to manage to eat it and it wasn't extremely fishy so not too bad. I've also been pretty sick with a sore throat and Sister Hobbs bough me some medicine. It was actually kinda funny because I lost my voice today so I couldn't really talk at all. But Sister Hobbs is so awesome she really takes care of us and gives us food every week. I love the Hobbs family, they are probably my favorite members I have met on my mission so far. 

Wednesday: In the middle of the night I fell off the bed at like 2am and it was super weird. Haha me and Elder Stoddard were half asleep and just busted up laughing. This morning we had a flat check by one of the senior mission couples in our zone and they brought us a plate of homemade cookies which were absolutely amazing. They said our flat was super clean, one of the best they have seen! (Thanks mom for teaching me to clean). Then they drove us to our district meeting and took part in that as well. Later in the day we taught Mohammed the word of wisdom and he said hat it was the best lesson yet. Tonight we payed basketball with the young men and some non member friends which is always so much fun and we really went all out today. Both me and Elder Stoddard were absolutely shattered (means tired)  at the end of the day, but it was lots of fun. 

Thursday: This morning was extremely windy once again. I have noticed that wind tends to be a real problem living next to the ocean. We had a decent day of talking to people and teaching. We saw Mohammed today and shared some videos with him. He told us that the previous night he had a dream where an angel grabbed his arm and took him to this big beautiful city, and told him that Jesus was waiting for him, then he woke up. So he is pretty much convinced at this point that our teachings are true and he really wants to follow Christ. Man this guy is so great he has truly been a miracle. Also me and Elder Stoddard had a great conversation today just about how we should change our attitudes in order to be better at finding people and this talk really benefited us this week because we found 8 friends to teach when opposed to last week we only found 3. 

Friday: We were blessed with some really good weather today it was super calm and the sun was out all day. We spent a lot of time street contacting and we made a new friend from Portugal. Something that I have learned is that people form England won't stop and talk, but people from other countries will most of the time stop and talk with you. I think that's why Hastings has been difficult for missionary work because most people here are English. We did have a fun day though and then tonight we had tons of bread left over nearing the end of the week so we each cooked up 3 grilled cheese and had a feast. 

The grilled cheese feast tower

Saturday: Wow December already! Today was the first day of Light the World and it was a national service day so we spent the whole day with brother Hobbs once again. man he is so sweet. The weather was not the greatest though, it was very windy and rainy pretty much most of the day. For lunch sister Hobbs made fajitas and tacos and wow they were absolutely delicious I ate sooo much. We enjoyed spending the day working with Brother Hobbs and being with their family. tonight we started our mission wide 24 hour fast from 9pm until 9pm Sunday. Me and Elder Stoddard were making sure we ate plenty and drank a bunch of water like 5 minutes before 9 o clock haha. I had a really great first of December and am looking forward to the great month ahead. 

Sunday: Today was the 24 hour fast and man it was tough. We definitely got tempted a lot today as well. After church they did what they call a munch and mingle where basically there was just a bunch of food and everyone was eating except for us. We just did the mingle without any of the munch but the food all looked so good. Then later today we were out street contacting and a random person had bought us apple pies from McDonald's because they said they admired us out there working in the cold. Like what the heck that would literally never happen on any day except when we were fasting the whole day. Once 9pm hit we raced for the kitchen and stuffed ourselves and we both got a bit of a stomach ache because we ate too much in such a short period of time lol. It sure was difficult to fast for this long but I really benefited from it. I was able to strengthen and learn more about my own personal self mastery. It was a good experience for sure but I wouldn't choose to do it often that's for sure!

Monday (today): We went to stop by Mohammed and see how things were doing and he offered to give us both free haircuts since he is a barber. So he totally hooked us up and he did a really good job! Man benefits of teaching barbers haha. Also we reorganized the kitchen and pantry so now we have tons more space which is so amazing. I think it is weird that I like organizing so much but hey, I think it's a good thing. 

Overall I had a pretty good week and I can't believe it is already December! Wow next time I email it will be 2 months since I came out on my mission. That's unbelievable I feel like its been 3 weeks. This week I was reading a lot from the Book of Mormon in my personal study time and I was really just thinking about how much scriptures really are for our benefit and I love them so much. This week I challenge each of you to find your favorite scripture from the Book of Mormon and text it to a friend or family member that you think could really benefit from it. I promise you that if you do this you will be able to bless not only their life but yours as well! Anyways I appreciate all the love and support. Hope you all enjoy lighting the world this week! 

Elder Orchard

Enjoying a great book and some hot chocolate

A wild fox, there are lots of them in England! 

Our district is us and the sisters. Our zone leaders are the two on the end. And then Elder and Sister Sanders

Questions and Answers:

Were the fish and chips homemade or store bought? I’ve been waiting for you to try them. They were store bought, I would definitely never choose to eat it but now I know I can if I have to.

Will you be needing boots for the winter or will you just wear shoes? I remember you said it doesn’t really snow that much. Nah I will just wear normal shoes. My waterproof shoes that I bought have been really great so far and it won't ever snow more than like 2 inches at the most. 

I am so happy to hear that the Word of Wisdom lesson went well with Mohammed! How often do you teach him in a week? Did he come to church? We teach him about 2 or 3 times a week and yes he came to church again. He didn't have to go out for a smoke break at all and he has gone from smoking 10 cigarettes a day to only 5 within 4 days. 

So cool that he had a dream with an angel talking to him.  That had to hav been a pretty spiritual experience for him and for you when he was telling your about it.  How did he feel about having to quit smoking though?  How has he been doing at not smoking? Yeah it was super awesome. Actually really cool story: Me and Elder Stoddard were nervous about teaching the word of wisdom but after we taught him he told us that it's the best thing that we have taught so far! It is crazy haha this guy is unbelievable. And we taught him on Wednesday he was smoking 10 cigarettes a day and as of yesterday he only smoked 5. He didn't have to leave church at all to smoke yesterday either. He truly is a miracle. 

You mentioned lots of other new friends. How many appointments do you have for this week? We have 3 teaching appointments set up for this week. But most of the time people don't show up for appointments or they just don't have much interest so we will so how things go. 

Something interesting that me and Elder Stoddard have been talking about how the gospel isn't meant for everybody.  As we know everybody will have the opportunity to accept the fullness of the gospel, but not everyone will choose to accept it.  It is a really sad thought but we keep that mind set when we teach a lesson and people just don't seem to understand the importance of it.

How long dos your training last?  I am just not sure if it is 12 weeks for everyone.  In my mission it was just whatever the mission President thought you needed. Training is 12 weeks, so just 2 transfers. 

Is the training a set thing (meaning that you have like a checklist of things that you have to do)? Training isn't really a check list. Basically the only thing special about training is you get an extra hour each day to study preach my gospel as a companionship for the 12 week period. It is actually great because I love studying and learning more.