Elder Coleman Thompson: 2 Weeks Ago (I was in Mexico so I didn't post!!)

This week was absolutely crazy, but also probably the best week of my
entire life. I'm just gonna jump right into it.

Tuesday was transfer day. I spent some time last weekend sorting out
all of the logistics for travel for all the missionaries coming in and
leaving the zone, and organising with the other Zone leaders around
the mission what would happen. Then on Tuesday morning we got to the
train station at 6:45 AM, and I was there sending missionaries on
their way and making sure they all caught the right trains, and then
greeting missionaries as they came in and sending them back to their
areas until about 12:30 when my companion Elder Nielsen arrived. It
was so crazy actually. I had like 3 phones and sets of keys on me and
I kept having to call and rearrange things and it was crazy but really
fun, and everybody got where way needed to go eventually - so it was
all good!

On Wednesday morning we moved district meetings to be early, like
8:15, because afterwards we brought the whole zone to do a service
project in a big park in Gateshead called Saltwell Park. Everybody
loved it and the work we did was really appreciated! It's fun to be
able to organise things like that - and it was really great for the
whole Zone to be able to come together like that. It was nice. I'll
send a picture later.

Also in our zone now there are four new district leaders and Elder
Nielsen is a new Zone Leader, so they had a meeting down in Leeds for
most of the day. So I organised all of their travel information and
sent them all on their way, and I went on exchange with a brand new
missionary named Elder Minnich, who is from Fort Worth Texas.

On Friday we had MLC in Leeds, so we actually left Newcastle at about
7:30 on Thursday and drove down to stay with the Elders there in
Leeds. The next day was MLC and it was actually so good. I feel like
this time I spoke a lot more than last time, probably because I feel a
lot more confident in my calling as a Zone Leader now. It was actually
a really productive meeting, but we found out that we are doing a Zone
training tomorrow morning - so it's a bit of short notice, but it's
gonna be awesome.

Ok also, on Wednesday Elder Nielsen and I went to try by a lad that
had told us to come back, but he wasn't in. The next street over was a
street that I had felt like I'd wanted to knock last week but just
hadn't had the time because of our schedule, so we were like 'perfect'
and we went and knocked that street. We met this guy, an Australian
guy who was here on a research program, and had just moved there with
four housemates 2 days previously. He was not bothered at all, but he
wasn't sure about his housemates, so Elder Nielsen and I wrote our
names and phone number on a card and left it with him for them. We
kept going and didn't think anything of it - actually we didn't even
remember it all day. Then at like 8:30 PM we got a text from this guy
named Alvin, who was the housemate of the Australian guy! Alvin is
from Malaysia and has been studying in this same program. They just
moved here from Holland and he had been going to institute with a
friend of his over there. Last Sunday he decided to go to church for
the first time in Holland and loved it, but then he moved countries
the next day, and then we knocked on his door 2 days later! He was so
excited to meet us and came to church with us on Sunday! He biked all
the way there too (like a 45 minute bus ride). He is really awesome
and we're excited to work with him! Also - tell Brent, this guy is
from Kuching Sarawak, where Brent served his mission! I'll send you a
selfie we took with him and the Stake President.

On Saturday we went and filled the font for a child of record baptism
that was being held in Newcastle for the Alnwick Branch. We met a
bunch of members of that ward which was great.

Then on Saturday as well, we had a bunch of baptismal interviews! Next
Saturday we are having 4 people baptised in Newcastle! 2 of them are
Susan and Sophie, whose doors we knocked on this week. I'm actually
going to send another email about Susan and Sophie, telling their
whole story - so read more about them please, because they are such a
miracle.

We also interviewed a lady called Uzma and her 18 year old daughter
Huma who are getting baptised on Saturday as well. They are both super
prepared and ready. So that was great.

Also on Sunday it was ward Conference and I was asked to sing. So that was good.

This morning we went out to the coast! I went back to Tynemouth and
Cullercoats for the first time in 2 years, and we got some fish and
chips and went and looked at some of the sights! Like the priory and
the pier. It was really cool, it's been a while since I've seen the
ocean! I'll send pictures.

I'll end on the most spiritual highlight of the week, which was the
prayer that Susan wrote and showed to us:

"Dear Lord, Thank you for bringing Elder Thompson and Elder Charman into our life so they could teach us to believe in you again as I stopped after my sister died and now I don't know why. As what we have been taught over the past few weeks has made me believe again, please could you bless them for what they have done for us. Amen"

It made me cry a little. But don't tell Susan. This is why I keep doing missionary work. It actually changes people's lives and can bring them a lot of peace, remembering or gaining a knowledge that their Heavenly Father is really there watching over them. I know that He is there, that He is real, that He watches over all of us, and that He loves us. That's the testimony that I want to share with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.