Aberystwyth And A Magical Purse

The highlight of this week was going to my most desired location and spending the day with the missionaries there. That place is Aberystwyth, Wales. It is halfway up the west side of Wales and sits in between two large hills. It has a university, and many young people live there. Other than that, it is old folk. The place is just so pretty, though, and one of the furthest areas of the mission to get to. I mean, for just us on Llanelli, we drove for 2 hours to get there, and we are the closest of anyone.

Anyway, we drove the tiny roads that curve and swerve, allowing only one car through at a time, all the while the speed limit is 60 mph. You also must be mindful of a random sheep that might be in the road. So much fun! All you non-English/Welsh folks would enjoy the thrill. I was a passenger, but I couldn't look away for more than a few moments, or I would've gotten sick.

But we made it. Immediately, we turned up at the industrial estate to go to the church, which is currently a rented-out office space. The active membership (with 4 missionaries) is just shy of 20. The reason we were there was to join for institute. The senior couple there had been cooking food every Wednesday night and sharing a spiritual thought with about 5 young adults, most of whom were non-members. Everyone was so friendly, and you can't help but feel like family in such a small congregation.

Afterwards, we went back to the flat and slept, and I absolutely froze. My blanket only covered my thighs, so my feet were so cold. I survived the night, though. The next day was spent doing service for a less active member out on her property. She has bought a pub and remodeled it to be a venue for weddings and the like. So our job was to clean, sand, and polish 50 wooden chairs. That was good fun. Sanding was not easy at all. Also, did you know that once put on a towel and set aside, linseed oil (used for polishing) can spontaneously catch fire? Crazy, huh? So we had to dry the towels on gravel away from anything flammable.

Afterwards, we went to the streets and beach to talk to people. People are friendly here, and it is a pretty area to be. However, most are uni students and don't have time to talk much, although they are open to the ideas of faith and God, or actually have thought about and can explain why they are not, unlike many of the others over here who don't even consider the matter.

We spent the night again because we didn't have the energy to do another 2-hour drive on a road that requires so much concentration.

The next day, we met with a super basher, i.e., someone who is all about proving you wrong. I must say that I appreciate a level of faith in something. However, I have found that almost 90% of the time, the reason others attack our beliefs is because they think we believe something that we actually don't. If people actually just read what the church taught and what I and others (the members) actually do and how we feel about it, I can see many softened hearts. Because he had done this for years, I told him that we would not meet with him again until he gave the Book of Mormon a read from cover to cover. Then, he might actually know what it is about and what we believe. (If you can't tell from this email, it has been a rough day, lol)

The weekend was full of a lot of finding new people with not much success.

Although, I have a crazy story to share.

There is this person who has come to church (she has been coming for months now) who is somehow loaded. In a way that I do not understand, she pulled out £1,000 in cash from her purse and gave it to Elder Johnson to count. Sure enough, it was £1,000. Then she donated it into the offering slip of the church. She does this every week she comes. Apparently, a few weeks ago when she came, she pulled out no less than 6 GRAND all at once from her purse. Must be a magical purse. I could barely contain myself; I could not believe what I was seeing. Anyway, that is life.

I have made a difficult decision that I will no longer be auditioning for the OU drumline. I feel that this is not what God wants for me, and that is rough news to swallow. I will find what he needs me to do instead and trust in him.

Eight more weeks out here, guys. Can you believe it?

Love you all.

Pray for you.

-Elder Berry