Weekly Update #76

    From the historic land of Dundalk, cheers! Here's what's what!

     Monday was the best. After emailing, we got on our bikes, got soaked by an Irish downpour, and then went to Castle Roche!

That was epic. Had a blast there. After, we got changed and did some chapping to close out the night.

     Tuesday we went to Dublin for District Meeting, had a grand time there, and then we went back to Dundalk, got our bike brakes fixed (may or may not have had no brakes going down a massive hill from Castle Roche) and then did finding to close out the rest of the evening. It was a blast. for lunch, we had this legendary thing called Star Pizza. It's pizza, chips, and a drink for five Euro! Five Euro for a meal! It was grand, let me say.

     Wednesday we got up, went out, and had a lunch with a member from Belfast who came down to visit us! That was incredibly nice. After, we took a bus down to Drogheda and did some finding there. That, as always, was a blast. After, we came back to Dundalk, did some finding and then had kebabs for dinner. Kebabs are the best, ever, of all time.

     Thursday we started off weekly planning and then got picked up by a member to visit some people in some of the smaller towns in our area. In Dundalk's area, we have two cities, one large town, and tons of smaller towns. We went by some of the smaller ones, had a visit with some folks, and then went back in time for a dinner with a member. It was a blessing.

     Friday we started off GQing the town, having a lunch, then heading to Blackrock to do some more finding out there. It was nice. In the evening, we had the opportunity to teach two lessons and meet some new people! That was grand!

     On Saturday, we popped up into Northern Ireland, because our area covers the city of Newry there, and did finding! Always fun, especially there. We had some good conversations and then in the evening met with some of our friends and had a fun lesson with them. BUT, on Saturday morning we were attacked by butterflies in the flat. It was somewhat terrifying, but we lived. So did the butterflies. I was singing the Reading Rainbow theme the whole time. It was grand-like.

     Sunday was good. We went to Church, taught a class there, and then met with another friend, and then did some finding and had a pretty good time. Found an Irish frog. 

That was it, for the most part.

     This week was grand, as hopefully you could tell. I hope all of your weeks were as well! Thank you all, have a grand time and hey, keep being yourselves. Take care, ya'll!

Godspeed

Elder Kinville

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

In the name of progress!

Weekly Update #75

 What an almost rainy morning in Dundalk! This week was pretty grand-like, so it was! Let me break it down for ya'll.

     The rest of Monday was incredible! We met one of our friends on the street right after emailing and by virtue of that, we had a lunch together. It was incredible. Then, we visited this Russian chap who is also swell! Like, it's crazy! After, we had a lesson with another one of our friends, which was incredible and certainly a blessing. It was a fantastic Monday. In the evening, we shopped and that was that. Also, I got a hair cut at Sweeney's Barber Shop. 

Yeah. Freak out. It was fan-flipping-tastic.

     On Tuesday, we rocked and rolled out first off with GQing the town centre a wee bit. After that, we had lunch, did some cleaning, and went to chap some places. After chapping, we visited or tried to visit, with a friend and then did more chapping to conclude the night. Pretty fun, pretty good! And then, we had kebabs.

     Then on Wednesday we had another good period of time! We weekly planned, had lunch, and then did some more chapping. After that, we had a dinner, appointment with a friend, and then we taught a less-active. All of those were grand, let me say. I loved it. Then, we caught the train to Dublin for ZIT the next day.

     Thursday was ZIT Day, which was pretty fun. We had some good instructions, guidelines, and whatnot. Pretty good. On the way back, we missed our first train so we had to wait to catch a later train to get back to Dundalk, but we got there! It was good. Also, this is me and Elder Peacock, our District Leader. He's chill.

     When Friday came we rocked and rolled out with Gqing in town, lunch, and then chapping. Always good with chapping. After that, we had a party almost teaching a lesson, but it didn't happen, so we did more chapping! Fun times, I'd say.

     Saturday was another usual day. We met with our friend in the morning, had a conversation and lesson with him, then we had lunch and of course, did some chapping. It was a week full of knocking doors. After, we had a lesson with some friends, and that was the night. Not a lot happened.

     Yesterday, church was grand. Our Russian friend was there and it was nice. Elder Plewe gave a grand lesson in Priesthood, so it was fun. After, we pretty much knocked on a bunch of doors the rest of the day. However, as we were waiting in town for a friend to show up, we saw three tractors blaze on by. To say the least, I was confused, as was Elder Plewe. It threw us off, but it was grand. Nice tractors.

     And that was this week. It's been good, been nice. I've had a nice time. It was very, very nice. But yeah, week said and done. I'm excited for this week, there's some good times ahead.

     Hey, you all are incredible. Thank you so much. Keep up the good work, being champions, and rocking and rolling in whatever you do! Take care, my friends!

Godspeed

Elder Kinville

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

In the name of progress!

Weekly Update #74

 Goooood morning from Dundalk! Had a decent week, here's the breakdown!

     The rest of Monday was good. We had a good time, did some good things, went pretty good.

     Tuesday, we had some fun. While going to catch the train, I had purchased my ticket and Elder Plewe couldn't buy his. Apparently, the machine doesn't take cards, so we had to run off to get money from an ATM. We did so, but missed our train, but we took a selfie to celebrate! 

We got to our District Meeting, had a good time, then we had an exchange with Elder Peacock and Elder Kiem. Good times there.

     Wednesday, we traveled back, got back to Dundalk, and did some work out there. It was nice. We had some lessons lined up, but they fell through, so we did finding instead. It was pretty nice.

     Thursday, we weekly planned in style. Outside in our back garden.

A lovely time. Anywho, we did that in the morning, did some work in the afternoon, then went out to meet a few folks. We met with them and it was grand, then we had Branch Council, which was great. That was the end of the night.

     Friday we started off GQing town. After seeing some folks, having wee chats, we had lunch, went back out for work, did some work, tried by some former investigators, and then had a lesson in the evening. That was nice and we had juice boxes. I had a guava juice box, which was a total throwback to my Hawaii days.

Loved it.

     Saturday was a special day. We went out to do our usual GQing in the morning. After that, we went out to lunch, had a decent enough lunch (fun fact: never try bacon pasta. It's pasta, but with bacon instead of meat. It sounds like a great idea, but trust me, it doesn't work), and then did some more work. We tried by some more folks, did a bit of finding, and then tried to find where a house was. There were three number 22's on the road, but we think we found the one our friend was at, but she wasn't home, so we did a bit more of knocking. It was nice. In the evening we were invited to another service by a friend and we saw some other people we had talked to on the street there, which was exciting! Pretty fun stuff.

     Sunday we had one of our friends at church, which was good. After church, we had some decent lessons with this one gent. It was a great lesson. After, we did a bit of finding and then it was time to head home, so we did. Good day, good week.

    That was that! Pretty nice, pretty fun, can't complain. Hopefully, you all have a good week. Thanks for the letters and support! I love you all, cheers!

Godspeed

Elder Kinville

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

In the name of progress!

Weekly Update #73

  Top of the morning from Dundalk! Here's a quick weekly update for ya'll!

     This week was grand! For the rest of Monday, we went out and about, did our stuffs, and went down this road we thought would be neat. It was, and we found a grand field! Fun times.

     Tuesday was our first District Meeting of the transfer, and it was fun. We met with our district, which now has sisters which is neat. I haven't had sisters in my district since Terenure, about a year ago. So, that's neat. The rest of Tuesday, we did some finding, and in the evening we met with one of our friends who treated us to some sushi and it was divine! Well worth it and I deeply enjoyed the conversation and thoughts that were shared.

     Wednesday we boogied out to do some more finding and all that fun Jazz. We taught a few lessons here and there, too, and it was a grand day. We found this neat stone altar thing on a riverbed, which is neat. No clue what it means, but it was fun to look at.

     Thursday we weekly planned, did that, and did some finding. It was pleasant. I enjoyed what we did. Nothing really exciting happened, but that's okay.

     Friday we went right out with GQing in the morning. That was fun. We met some incredible people and had some fantastic conversations! In the evening, it was the usual: some finding, a lesson, overall a good time.

     Saturday was a special day. In the morning, this lady approached us and explained how she had met missionaries in Romania and was quick to invite us to visit with her this Friday! Wow! We, of course, agreed. That was a blessing. Then, we did some finding in Blackrock, met some other neat people, and that was the night. We also got this incredible fruit juice drink thing from one of our friends that we meet with. It is sooooo good! F'reals!

     Sunday was incredible, too! We went about, went to church, had a good time there. Then, after lunch, we got a text from one of our friends inviting us to her church services. She had come to one of ours, and we didn't have anything planned, so we agreed. It was an interesting service and gave some interesting insights and perspective on the teachings of Christ. We met some Americans there, too. That's always a plus.

     That was this week! Thank you all for the support and the epicness, keep it up, keep doing good, loving God, and being you! Cheers!

    

Godspeed

Elder Kinville

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

In the name of progress!

Weekly Update #72

     A lovely, wee bit rainy day here in Dundalk, but what else could you ask for? An epic week? Certainly!

     Monday we went about and did a bit of business before catching a train to Dublin to prepare to get Elder Corcran on the ferry to Scotland.

     Tuesday it was an early start to the day. I woke up 4:30 to head out with Elder Jones, our Zone Leader, to drop off some other missionaries. I then spent the rest of the morning with him. Around noon, we swapped who was with who while we waited for our companions to come over from Scotland and I went with Elder Kitchen. We were freed in Dublin City, so I took a detour to Grafton Street and whatnot and checked out some old things. Me and Elder Kitchen got some American beverages, too.

That was grand. Later, our companions came in and me and Elder Plewe were off to Dundalk to begin an epic companionship.

     Wednesday we got right up into the work. We kicked it off with going to town to show Elder Plewe around after taking care of some business that had to be done in the flat. After that, we started GQing, met some neat people, and then were off to the flat for the evening.

     Thursday we had weekly planning. Like always, it was a blast. After, we had lunch and went off to bike into town to met with this fellow when Elder Plewe's bike broke. So, we walked. A fifteen minute bike ride translates to a forty or so minute walk, fun fact. We went over to the fellow's house, seeing some people on the way, and taught an epic lesson. After that, we walked to town to teach this other fellow. That lesson was grand as well! Then, we walked home for dinner.

     Friday we started off with a few miscellaneous things about our flat then off we went to the city. While in the city, we had a lesson to walk to and I found some Blackberries! 

That was great, I loved that. The lesson was great, too. We did a bit of finding in the evening then that was it.

     Saturday morning we did some chapping. After that, we had some finding to do about in the town. Like always, it was good but also took a wee while. After that, we met with a fellow and taught him a lesson about prayer and then it was time to head back. Walking takes a lot of time.

     Sunday was great, like. We went off to church, had a grand time there, then went out to teach a lesson. After that, we did a bit more chapping to close out the night and that was Sunday done and dusted.

     Today has already been good. We have a lesson scheduled and it should be great!

     Hey, you all have a great week! Take care and do good!

Godspeed

Elder Kinville

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

In the name of progress!

Weekly Update #71

 From Dundalk, Ireland, I bring you a weekly update. The mood and tone of this update will be different than perhaps all of the others. So without delay, here's the week:

     Monday was done when I was done emailing. We could not do a whole lot due to Elder Corcran's knee problem.

     Typically on Tuesday we would go to District Meeting, not so on this Tuesday. On the way to District Meeting, I was checking my gears when there was a surprise garbage bin in my way. There was a crash, but I was fine with no injuries. Shortly thereafter, I once again wiped out again, but once again was not injured. You could say I was shaken, not stirred. Because of the timing of that second crash and the recovery thereof, we missed the train to Dublin and so were en route to the church building to call in for District Meeting when there was a third crash. By this point, I was frustrated. However, I still got away with only bruises. The rest of the day was a combination of resting, recovering, and trying to do some work. It was alright.

     Wednesday was about the same as Monday. Not a lot was done, but we got out and did a bit of GQing.

     Now, I could go on to describe the rest of my week, but at this point I would rather not. Now, do not read part of this message before you respond assuming anything. Please read the entirety of these words. I would like to, instead, talk about a question that has crossed the mind of everyone, probably since the age of two: why? A simple, one word question: why? By using it, you can deplete an encyclopedia of resource and still have that question unanswered. Discovering the why of anything is the true challenge, the true goal or task of the true devout of that topic. It was the question why that has pushed our advances in society, our development as people, and it ought to also be what pushes us spiritually.

     There's been plenty of points this week, everyday this week, in fact, where I've asked 'why?' Why am I here? Why am I spending my time trying to talk to people in the streets? Why am I in this Church? Why do I still try? Pressing, deep, and hard questions to answer. But to put it simply, in a single phrase many of you may have heard me say before: 'In the name of progress'. Progression is the why of life.

     Progress is the why of life, the reason why we even exist. If there was no progression, there would be no point, no 'why', no reason for anything. Progression, requires exiting our comfort zones. A friend of mine who's mission farewell I attending talked about it as 'our coffins of comfort' because that's what they are. When we're comfortable, we're not progression. We are not growing, we are not achieving our potential, and we are simply wasting away. To put it in terms of salvation: we are damned when we are in our comfort zones. Progression requires us to exit these zone, strive to endure what there is to endure, learn what there is to learn, and find peace rather than comfort. A deep, lasting peace that I know only the gospel of Jesus Christ brings to people.

     The reason 'why' we do anything is to progress, is to learn, to experience. The reason 'why' anything happens is to give us a chance for us to choose to progress, learn, and gain experience from it that we may have knowledge and thus make it wisdom, or applied knowledge. This is the 'why' of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

     I am grateful to be on my mission. I would rather be nowhere than in Dundalk at this time. I am where I need to be to experience what I need to experience to learn, grow, and progress. Friends, family, loved ones, because everyone who gets this email falls into one or more of those categories, go about this week with a determination to grasp the why. To quote Galaxy Quest: Never give up, never surrender. 

P.S. There was a huge spider in the church. Here's a picture.

Godspeed

Elder Kinville

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

In the name of progress!

Weekly Update #70

Elder Wynder is on his last week. Crazy, crazy, crazy. But in other news, hello and an apology for the lateness and length of this message! We had a bit of a hiccup with our usual place, but I'm on a computer now and sending craic out.

    Monday was grand. We had Boojum's in Dublin and did some teaching in their area to help them out.

     Tuesday was much the same: more Boojum's and more teaching. We traveled back to Dundalk and had to rest Elder Corcran's knee as well. 

     Wednesday was a working day. We taught two lessons with folks and it was pretty good. I enjoyed Wednesday. That was that.

     Thursday we went out and about and did a bit more work. We were limitied in what could be done, but we got some craic out of the way. Overall, a fairly productive day.

     Friday we traveled to Dublin early in the morning to be at an All Ireland Conference. That was grand. After, we had some Boojums and then went back to Dundalk for some more work. We got things done and it was grand.

     Saturday we taught another lesson and kept doing work about town. Yep. Yep.

     Sunday, church was great. We had some good meetings, nice testimonies, and some good classes. After, we were able to teach two more lessons and do a bit more around our flat. It was a good day.

     That was this week. Short on time, so I have to get going. Thank you all so much for the support and prayers, I need them. Have a grand week and keep doing good craic!

Godspeed

Elder Kinville

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