Good day to all ya'll from an internet cafe in the heart of Dublin!
This week has been a jolly. Last Sunday (Not yesterday but the week before. I totally forgot to mention it in my last email) we went to a chap at St. Luke's hospital who's a member but is recovering from some surgery. To me, he looks and sounds a bit like Professor Slughorn from Harry Potter. The potion teacher, y'know. Anywho, that's neat.
Went on a double exchange. On Tuesday, when I emailed last, I was exchanging with the Dublin Zone Leaders and on Friday I exchanged with the Elders down in Bray. I was left in charge of the area and led Elder Beveridge and I fearlessly through the streets of Dublin. However, only having been in the area for two weeks and not having ever set foot where we were going I fearlessly led us through a torrential down pour of rain lost for a good hour or two before we got our bearings and stumbled home to eat a warm dinner. It was great, to say the least.
On Thursday, we had Zone Interview Training. Now that was a blast. The entire zone got together and had this pow-wow and talked about the exciting stuff. The exciting stuff includes things like teaching points, helps, role playing, lunch, meeting other Elders, and all that fun Jazz. It went well.
Now, let me tell you about Saturday. We had an extraordinary set of events that hit one right after the other, the later ones never would have happened if the first didn't. To start off, we unexchanged and returned to the flat. Due to training, lunch, and other tib-bits, we ended up leaving the flat at about 16:00. We went straight way to St. Stephen's Green, a park, to survey find. After an hour or so, we ran into this lady who told us "sorry, I'm Catholic" to which we immediately and cheerfully responded "Perfect! That's actually our first question!" Noticing that she was trapped, she ended up subjecting herself to our survey. When we were mostly through, she told us that she wasn't really a practising Catholic, but had struggles in her life. We leaped into action and left her with several resources to read over and ponder about.
After that, we went off and said a quick prayer of gratitude for meeting her and took a minute to examine the beautiful scenery. As we did, two sisters approached us and started a conversation. They were members in a neighbouring ward and we had a lovely little chat. Afterwards, we decided to get up and head to the heart of the city to find us food. As we walked, we ran into a potential investigator and quickly learned that we could meet with him sooner than we had planned. That was swell and jolly. After leaving, we went to a food establishment only to discover that it was closed. We turned around and headed for a Subway instead.
While waiting for a cross walk to turn, a gentleman approached us and asked us how he could get in contact with an Elder he met in Brazil. He was not a member, but he was taught by Elders for a bit. We explained that Facebook would be the best option and we asked him if he would be interested in taking a quick English class. Fun fact: we can teach English. Funner fact: the Church has a cheeky way of teaching English to non-members. It starts off with basic talk, like about family, locations, the usual. But by the fourth lesson, it talks about language used in religion. The fifth one is flat out a lesson from Preach My Gospel on prayer. So we could be doing that in the future.
We parted ways, got Subway, then ran into yet another member. He had just recently moved into the Terenure Ward and offered to help us with joint teaches. That was a jolly blast. We then walked to Grafton Street and took off down a side road when another gent, this one was a wee bit drunk, shouted out to us "I knows you two! Yous' Jehovahs!" We explained that we were not, but he was a confused fellow. He then kindly offered to buy us a pint, but we kindly rejected. I said we had a health code that we lived by. He seemed shocked, pointed a large finger at me, and said "Yous don't drink, yous don't smoke, yous don't mess with other ladies. Your missus is gonna love you." he then pointed to Elder Oldham, "And him." After a pause, he clarified that my missus was not going to love both of us, but simply me. We laughed and went on our way. That was Saturday. The end.
Sunday I gave a talk on recieving and strengthening a testimony of light and truth. A member in the congregation, a jolly chap from the Philippines, approached and started to talk art. He was a student working on a degree in animation. We chatted, talked, had a good time. After we parted, Elder Oldham noted how I've been the only missionary/member to fellowship with him in that way. Art, it's swell.
This morning, I woke up at 4:00 to get my Garda card so I can live in Ireland. That was about it. In an hour or so, I'll be off getting kababtised and receiving the Holy Coke. More on that event next week.
Sunday was also Mother's Day in the States which meant I chatted with my family! That was a swell time, let me tell you. Enjoyed chatting and seeing everyone.
Attached are two pictures! My camera does not want to connect to the computer, so I'll just send the pictures from Zone Interview Training. Merry Monday!
Have a great week! Don't be afraid to share your testimonies, as your testimony is only grown when you share it and totally invites the Spirit.
God Speed
Elder Kinville
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