Weekly Update #25

  From the last time from Dublin, howdy ya'll! Let's get going.

     The rest of Monday was good! We looked for a hurling stick for Elder Wynder and then had a meal appointment with some members! It was bueno.

     Tuesday, we had a District Meeting and exchange. I went with Elder MacFarlane to Bray where we went and we saw the gent I've always seen in Bray. He was doing well. We taught some good lessons too and it was most excellent. 

     On Wednesday, we weekly planned because Thursday was supposed to be filled with Raynaldo following us around, but that fell through. It was also the last lunch we would have at Pizza Hut, see the sad picture to get the feels.

We then went out and did some finding and preparation for a presentation at Trinity College, Dublin to be held next Monday. That was fun. Power points are fun, too.

     Thursday we went to our Polish friend's house and worked out and had a lovely chat with him after, which turned into a surprise discussion. After, we had lunch, did more power point, did finding, called folks, and had an overall enjoyable Thursday. Mucho bueno.

     Raynaldo was going to follow us around on Thursday, but he changed the day to Friday! On Friday, we had Raynaldo with us to teach a friend, visit Vincent, and do some finding! It was grand. We took selfies too.

Raynaldo is a great member and an excellent resource for teaching. He's the best. Total legend. It was also on Friday that the GARDA asked us not to talk to people in St. Stephen's Green. Welp. That's neat. We decided on walking around the outside of the park to find instead of the inside. 

     Saturday, wasn't in the park nor was it the Fourth of July. We had a Zone blitz on the north side of the Liffey though! That was a blast. We talked to some folks, gave out cards, copies of The Book of Mormon, all that fun Jazz. We also had a lesson with one of our Brazillian friends, which was a good lesson. Our district then went and ate at a restaraunt for dinner. Bueno.

     Sunday was full of anxiety and anticipation. It was moves call that night, and I felt for certain I was going to be sent off somewhere. We went through the day, helped teach a primary class, visited friends, visited our Polish friend too, and arrived back at the flat after taking a selfie with the moon. 

It was then that we got a call, first from our District leader asking for numbers, then from the Assistant to the President. When you get a call from them on moves night, you know at least one person is leaving. Elder Haller first informed us that me and Elder Wynder were going to be seperated, that he was to go somewhere in Dundee Zone, and I was being shipped off to Dalkeith in Edinburgh! Whaaaaat?! Crazy! Been in Dublin for a good six months, now off to Scotland. I am excited and thrilled for what is in store for me out there. I'll be white-washing in, meaning both me and my companion are new to the area. Crazy, for sure. 

     Anywho, that's our week! The next email will be from Scotland! Cheers to you all, I pray you all have a good week and a fabulous time! Work good, live good, be good!

Godspeed

Elder Kinville

Jacob 6:12 "O be wise; what can I say more?"

Weekly Update #24

 To ya'll from Dublin, hey. How's it going? Let's get this thing done.

     Monday was another Monday, like it should be. It was a grand day, plenty of rest and preparation.

     Tuesday we had a district meeting and then Elders MacFarlane and Stoker came up to Terenure for a blitz! It was crazy. We met with Vincent, the personal trainer, GQed, and had a grand time! There be two district selfies and a picture of Elder MacFarlane trying to JW it to Elder Stoker. I feel like talking to them tends to work a bit better. Anywho, it was a grand night. We GQed into a drunk fellow who kissed my hand after I shook hands goodbye with him. Jolly. Jolly.

     The next morning we had to wake up early to obtain the car and use it to get Elder Wynder's bike fixed! It's fixed now, so we be biking everywhere! I also got to drive the car a fair bit. Driving in Ireland is fun. We then dropped off the two elders and started to do some finding. We started to use a survey with family history and we got one potential. That's swell. Very swell. We then had a meal appointment with the Harnoss', which was grand.

     Thursday was the second to last weekly planning day of the transfer and whatnot. It was nice. We then drove back to pick up the repaired bike and dropped it off in City Centre, getting sort of lost on the way. But the Holy Spirit did guide and we found our way. 

     Friday started off well and ended well. We saw Vincent again, talked with our hyper-intelligent friend, and had an appointment fall through. It's never a good week unless an appointment falls through. Then it is a good week. It ended well with pasta and all the joy that comes with it. We then called and GQed a wee bit post pasta.

     Saturday was grand. We saw our Polish friend, had a lovely time with him, shared thoughts, walked a long ways (Elder Wynder didn't want to bike, so we walked), taught a lesson, and was getting ready to go to Raynaldo's when we got a call. Raynaldo called us to let us know that he was cancelling a meal appointment with him that night so he could work due to the fact that he was told that if he didn't work Saturday he would have to work Sunday. We couldn't let Raynaldo break the Sabbath, so we understood and let it happen. We made dinner, but still! RAYNALDO! HE IS SOLID! WHOOOOOO! It was great, fantastic to have him say that.

     Sunday we went to church, taught young men, and traveled around. We had two people at church, a Brazilian friend and our dear metaphysics friend. It was a good time. We went to Raynaldo's for dinner, then went to teach our Polish friend's family. We asked his daughter to say a prayer, and she did and it was great! It was honestly one of the coolest things to have experienced. 

     I enjoyed this week. There was still plenty of learning to be done, and we learned plenty. We worked, worked out, taught, discussed, and had a fun time doing it. Missionary work is tough, don't get me wrong, but it can be loads of fun. Have fun with missionary work. Don't be a robot, be you. You're funner than a robot. 

Godspeed

Elder Kinville

Jacob 6:12 "O be wise; what can I say more?"

Weekly Update #23

  This week was grand. If anything, it was a time of learning and of lessons. Not for our investigators, but for us. Permit me to explain now.

     The rest of Monday was grand. We went shopping only to discover that our reimbursements were not quite in yet. So, we went easy on the groceries. We mainly bought some tortillas and Nutella. 

We had plenty of those this week. We had a grand night and a good chat with the hyper-intelligent chap after. Good way to end Monday.

     Tuesday started off like usual. We went to district meeting and had a blast learning about family history and finding using family history. Anywho, we headed out, visited Vincent, read some of the Book of Mormon, had a short lesson as well with him. We then went into town for one of the greatest lessons I had experienced ever. I've shared information about our metaphysics friend and I believe I shared information about our former-lecturer who is intelligent, but suffers from a hay-wired mind. What happens when you put the two together? In the first five minutes of the lesson you end up talking about crystals, feminist poetry, the writings of Nostradamus, applied theory, quantum physics, and the Book of Abraham. To say the least, our lecturer is a perfect joint-teach for the metaphysics chap. 

     On Wednesday I got my planner back! Turned out I left it at the church on Sunday. Whooo! Life was good. We met with our Polish friend, had a good time, went finding, worked on family history finding, and overall it was a good day. As we were walking back to the flat, we found a hub-cap in our bin. So we cleaned it and put it on the wall. I think it looks good. 

     The goodness was to end. On Thursday, we learned that the local Pizza Hut, who has an excellent buffet in the afternoons, is closing. Much sorrow followed that discovery. But we weekly planned. It was a good planning session, I enjoyed it. We then did some more finding and then went to ward council. That was a blast. 

     Friday, we visited with Vincent again, did a bit more finding, started to get worried because our reimbursements were still not in, and had round two of the metaphysics chap and the lecturer. That lesson was a bit more relaxed and more focused, but it still had interesting plot twists. 

     Saturday we got surprised blitzed by the Zone Leaders! We were finding for the morning, so that's fine. We did some good finding and had a blast scouting out the area near a college. I think it'll be good to find there. We then had one lesson fall through, but we had a wonderful backup plan so we had not need to fear. We then went for a meal appointment and had a lovely time.

     Sunday it rained. Washed everything away. Quite so. Both of our lessons on Sunday dropped and we had a good time walking and GQing into the city. It takes an hour and a half to walk from Dun Drum to Portebello, by the way. It was grand, didn't rain while we walked. We then had the usual Sunday dinner with Raynaldo. It was a good way to close the week. 

     So, one may ask, what does that week have to do about learning for me? It had plenty to do. Patience, temperance, long-suffering, charity, optimism, hope, faith, quick-thinking, and all the rest. Gave me a good opportunity to practice and improve! It was good, for me. I learned what I felt like I needed to learn. Anywho, that was my week. Hopefully ya'll have a grand week! Cheers!

Godspeed

Elder Kinville

Jacob 6:12 "O be wise; what can I say more?"

Weekly Update #22

Well, this is embarrassing. Seems I've sent two emails called "Weekly Update 87". My bad. Maybe it's because 86 was too swell for us. I don't know. Maybe.

     Anywho, cheers from Dublin! This week was great. Almost too great.

     Monday came and went. We traveled around a bit, had a lovely member meal appointment, then returned to the flat. 

     Tuesday we did not have a district meeting because of the All Ireland Conference on Wednesday. Tuesday, we did some finding and some service, like missionaries like to do. That's all I can recall, my planner is currently AWAL. I'll hunt it down. I think we met with our Polish friend and Vincent. It was bueno.

     Wednesday was All Ireland and it was a blast to see President and Sister Donaldson again. We had an enjoyable meeting involving the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the five main points that are taught. My personal favorite is repentance because of Raynaldo. I'll have to tell ya'll about Raynaldo a wee bit later. After the conference, we took a District selfie (The Sisters aren't there, they had to drive away). It was grand.

     Thursday we exchanged and I took Elder MacFarlane to Terenure. He said he wanted to meet with our Polish friend, so I scheduled it in and we met with him. To say the least, I am impressed at where I am physically compared to a soccer player. It's crazy, totally crazy. Elder MacFarlane enjoyed it, too. We then had a kebab, met with the former less active again, got his birth date, then went to the church so Elder MacFarlane could perform a baptismal interview for the Sisters. That was a grand night. We then had fajitas. The fajitas were great! It was like the cherry on top of the sundae. 

     Friday we unexchanged and while waiting for the other Elders, me and Elder MacFarlane went to look at the beach near the Dart station. It was neat. I found a seashell and a glass. 

Elder Wynder then returned and we ran off to Terenure to meet with folks and get work done! We taught a grand lesson, then scheduled a few other lessons for the following days. It's tough to remember things without looking at my planner. 

     Saturday was a grand day. We had an epic joint teach with the metaphysics chap and that went down exceptionally well. I was impressed. We then prepared the font for baptism and went out for yet another epic joint teach! Whaaat? Madness! This one was grand too and we taught the plan of salvation. Lovely lesson. We then boogied back to the church to continue preparations. Raynaldo, that fine gent, arrived and told us "Elders, after the baptism you follow me." We had only dinner planned so we agreed. The baptism was grand. Anywho, we followed Raynaldo and he took us to this excellent Asian buffet! Surprise meal with a member! Took a selfie of that, too. I tried sushi there, it was grand. I don't know why I didn't eat sushi when I lived in Hawaii. Seafood is great. Asian food is great. Raynaldo is incredible!

     Sunday we went to church, taught gospel principles, met with a less-active, then had a meal appointment with Raynaldo. He loves supplying meals to the Elders. He also asks us questions about the gospel! He gets it! It's what Elder Nelson said in his talk linked to here:  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/ask-the-missionaries-they-can-help-you?lang=eng Ask the missionaries! We can help you! He gets it. We then went over and taught our Polish friend and his family. It was a great lessons. The Zone Leaders then stole us so Elder Wynder could get his GARDA card. That leaked over onto today.

     This morning, bright and early, we woke to get the GARDA card. I didn't have to wait, so we went on temporary exchanges while the new Ireland Elders got their cards. It was a nice day, I enjoyed it.

     This week was great. It was full of learning opportunities and other fun stuff. Next week should be great too! I'll tell ya'll all about it! Have a grand week! Cheers!

Godspeed

Elder Kinville

Jacob 6:12 "O be wise; what can I say more?"

Weekly Update #21

 Hey, it's me from Dublin. Here's what's been going on:

     The rest of Monday was grand. We saw a top-notch street performance on Grafton Street and then went home and called most of the world to schedule appointments. We got a fair number scheduled, but a fair number of that fair number fell through in the end. 

     Tuesday was the first district meeting of the transfer, and I met the new Elders in Bray: Elder McFarlane and Elder Stoker. They're great Elders, both from the UK. In a game of chair football, I started to chant "USA" at Elder McFarlane prior to me knowing his origin and him. It was great, he remembered. We then went on exchanges and I took Elder Stoker to Terenure. It was grand. We met with the Polish trainer and with Vincent. Great day, I think.

     On Wednesday, we unexchanged and visited a former less-active member. Elder Oldham and I were responsible for reactivating him, so I figured we could have a pleasant chat with him. The chat certainly was interesting. After, we met with the metaphysics fellow and had a grand lesson on the plan of salvation. It took plenty of time, but it was a lesson. Definitely worth it.

     The next day, Thursday as it is called, we weekly planned and taught a lesson. We then were invited by Raynaldo for dinner, which we were happy to oblige. It was a great time, not a whole lot went on. Elder Wynder enjoys Raynaldo. Words cannot describe it. We then went to Ward Council to finish off the night. 

     Friday we did some service by trimming a garden a bit and then met with our Polish friend again. We visited him several times this week. We then did some good finding and determined we needed to find new placed to find. That is the current quest. 

     The next morning we went to Raynaldo's for a breakfast appointment! He's great, he's definitely my favorite member. The breakfast was grand, too. After, we met with our Polish friend again and had a pretty nice chat with him. After, we read some scriptures with Vincent and had a lovely talk with him. He's doing well since being baptised. I'm impressed by his growth even since I've started to meet with him. We then went home, cooked some great pasta, and visited our hyper-intelligent friend. That was a great conversation and a greater lesson. Lessons with him are the best.

     Sunday was grand. We biked to church, went to church, Elder Wynder taught a great lesson at church, church was neat. We then visited the fellow in the hospital and then went to a member's house for dinner. On the way we passed through a sketchy tunnel. The tunnel doesn't look to bad in the picture, but it was sketchy, trust me. 

I also took a selfie on his balcony with the Irish Sea in the background.

After that, we had the opportunity to teach our Polish friend and his family. We focused on the kids, showing the first animated Book of Mormon cartoon and talking about family and why it was good to be nice to people, especially your siblings. The Spirit was there and I felt like the lesson was a massive success. It's grand. Every day has been grand!

     We tallied our travel time this week, and it was insanely high. Me and Elder Wynder are working on better logistics to cut that time down so we can maximize our effectiveness in finding and teaching. Should be a good week. I'm a fan of what this week has in store. We have an all Ireland Conference tomorrow with President Donaldson and it'll be grand. 

     Anywho, that's this week. Hopefully ya'll are having a great time! Serve well, love well, live well!  

Godspeed

Elder Kinville

Jacob 6:12 "O be wise; what can I say more?"

Weekly Update #20

 Cheers from Dublin! It's crazy to think, first off, that I've been in Dublin for about four and a half months and at the end of this transfer it would've been six months! Madness! Anywho, this week in review.

     The rest of Monday we ran about and said bye to folks because Elder Oldham was leaving. It was a good day.

     Tuesday we got the details of where we were going, where we needed to be, and what we needed to do for the next day. We also ran around and met with our Polish friend and his family, said goodbye, and then continued on to complete the rest of our tasks. In the evening, we had a meal with the Harnoss' who are a great family. They have two top-notch kids. Check out the selfie we took with them. We then ran over to Clondalkin's flat to stay for the night. It was a grand evening.

     Wednesday started off well. We woke up, shuttled everyone to the bus station, then waited for the arrivals to arrive. Watched most of the Bible videos, Mormon messages, and other LDS videos while waiting. They finally arrived and I met Elder Wynder, a top-notch Elder from Salt Lake City. He's done tonnes of drama and acting, so I have no fear for this next transfer. It's going to be a blast.

     Thursday, we jumped into action. We weekly planned and taught a few lessons. My old planner is back at the flat, so I'm using my own memory, which is a bit difficult. Planner's are good, the save lives. Mission amnesia is real, too. True story. I'm sure we taught people.

     Friday started off great by meeting a nice Jewish American! He was grand to chat with as we did some finding around Dundrum. Anywho, we then ran around town teaching people, including Vincent, the fellow who wasn't confirmed and we worked on his garden for a good time and will still be working on his garden for a long time, and we prepared him for his confirmation on Sunday! :D That's an emoticon, I don't use those a lot, but that was my face. Friday was grand, Elder Wynder met with our Polish friend, and the hyper-intellect too. We also chatted with the metaphysics fellow, who apparently says that me and Elder Wynder are level-1 indigo type children... 

     There's some rough spots we need to clear out before he's baptised, but we'll get him there.

     Saturday we continued to run around and teach many people! Seriously, this week we did an insane amount of teaching. Eleven total lessons. Madness. Elder Wynder was impressed. We met with a Brazilian, who we invited to church and she came! We also met with another Brazilian investigator and then had a good dinner with Raynaldo. He's great. An example: while teaching repentance in gospel principles on Sunday, we do this ABCDE steps of repentance. A, acknowledge you've done something wrong; B, be sorry for doing that wrong; C, confess; D, don't do it again; E, endure to the end. He added F, which he said is free. After we endure to the end, we're free. So true. Raynaldo is a boss, a spiritual boss.

     Sunday was good too! We went to church, taught gospel principles, and had a grand time. Vincent also asked me to confirm him in sacrament. This was a highlight of my mission and stands as THE highlight of my mission, thus far. I'm grateful that I was able to perform that ordinance. So grand. We got lost too. Elder Oldham nabbed the map before he left, and while walking to a member's flat, we got lost but somehow we found the building! To say the least, the Holy Spirit did guide. Of that, I am certain. 

     This week is grand, Elder Wynder is grand, Elder Oldham was and is grand. I am so excited to teach, to serve, to be taught, and to invite. It's such an honor to be here and an incredible honor to serve with these great ward members!

       

Godspeed

Elder Kinville

Jacob 6:12 "O be wise; what can I say more?"

Weekly Update #19

 Greetings to ye all from Dublin! Let's get the fun Jazz out of the way.

     This week was grand! Tuesday was a blast. Had the last District meeting of the transfer, had a barbecue, and Elder Oldham crashed on his bike. He's fine, but the bike can't change gears anymore. Just a wee problem. That slowed us down, but we continued to work the rest of the day, finding and whatnot.

     On Wednesday we went over and talked with the garden chap again, helped him out with cleaning a bit of his house. This Sunday, he'll be getting confirmed! Whooo! It's great to be able to see someone come from where he was to the point of getting the Gift of the Holy Ghost. It's magical. Marvelous. Splendid. 

     On Thursday we planned for most of the week then rode out to do some gardening service at another member's house. We do plenty of yard service. Anywho, I went into a shed, saw the swarm and masses of spiders on the ceiling, got a broom, and began the cleansing of the horde. It was nice. I thoroughly enjoyed it. We then went to Raynaldo's flat, had a nice dinner wherein I ate a chili that apparently was not supposed to be eaten alone. It was much less enjoyable than killing masses of spiders, and it was quite uncomfortable. Thankfully, he had plenty of milk to quench the flames. Anyways, that was Thursday.

     Friday, we hiked out and met with two former investigators, chatted with them for a bit, then went over to see another former investigator. He's from Brazil and the overall conversation went very nicely. He tried to bring up points of bashing, but me and Elder Oldham handled it, being collected as a cucumber, and avoided major conflict. We then walked around in the rain, check out the first attached image.

We then met with our hyper intelligent friend and played a lovely round of chess with him. Elder Oldham was quick to be foiled while I managed to last a bit longer and caused him a wee bit of grief. I felt accomplished. I still feel accomplished. I work better in smaller numbers, by the way. And I ate another kebab. They're the best.

     On Saturday we had to finish up weekly planning and then visited our Polish friend. It was a grueling time, but we enjoyed it. We then met with one of our new investigators. Now, I told you I'd tell you a bit about him, so I will. He studies metaphysics. Not like the theories, philosophies, or as a religion, but as a science. He's a pretty sharp cookie and asks fantastic questions. Not only that, but some of the points of the lost sciences of metaphysics relate to the gospel. Well, besides the fact that apparently there was a War of Energies that started Y2K and ended 2012. It's a great time, I enjoy it.

     Sunday was moves day. From the morning it was nervous and a build-up. We went to church, taught gospel principles and young men's, visited the hospital bound chap, then met with an investigator and read the first chapter in the Book of Mormon. Now, moves call can come anytime from 6:00 PM to 10:30 PM. The lesson was at 7, and whenever we got a text, our hearts stopped as did the lesson. Thankfully, it only happened twice as we were leaving and making idle chat. We also saw a young seagull! Here's a picture attached.

     The call came then. After serving for four and a half months with Elder Oldham, we will be parting ways. He'll be going up to Northern Ireland while I'll be leading the area under the direction of my new companion Elder Wynder. I know nothing about him, but apparently he was in the same English class as Elder Oldham in college. That's neat. It's been a blast serving with Elder Oldham. He's a champ. Truly is. And that means I'll have served in Dublin for six months! Whooo! Dublin's grand.

     Today, we visited with our Polish friend, and he invited us to come and teach his family and kids about why families are good, important, how to be nice, etc. That's just great! The workouts have paid off! Whoooo! Plus I've lost a few inches around the waist while doing it. Worth it? Totes. I look forward to working with that family.

     Anywho, that's my fantastic week. Take care, ya'll! Don't do crazy things and make sure to share the gospel with friends.

God Speed

Elder Kinville

Jacob 6:12 "O be wise; what can I say more?"