Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Week 26 Cont'd. - January 31, 2017

Hey, fam! 

I have nooo clue where to start this email.  AGHHHH!  Maybe that's a good start, haha.  This week was pretty hectic, to say the least. I am going to try my best to go through the days as usual though.  Hopefully it makes decent sense. 

Tuesday:  A pretty normal Tuesday.  We did a lot of finding and taught a few lessons.  We went to dinner with the ZL's as well which was fun!  Nothing crazy, yet.

Wednesday:  A full day of teaching, Always my favourite's!  We just had back-to-back lessons alllll day.  Good fun. :)

Thursday:  Today was the Missionary Broadcast!  It was a two hour broadcast where three members of the Quorum of the Twelve and the Missionary Chair talked about some questions missionaries usually have and about our new schedule!  The new schedule allows us to have some more control of when we want to plan, eat, and study, it's great!  We get to go to bed at 9:30 at night now, instead of 10:30- Whatta blessing!  Afterwards, we taught some people, and had dinner with the Williamsons, such good people. 
 (Some friends Elder Carlisle and Elder Copeland have been teaching for awhile.)

Friday:  SIX MONTHS DOWN!!  WOOOO!  That is crazy!  Can you believe that I am 1/4 down with my mission already!?  It's been an incredible start to my mission, a lot of amazing memories with people that I will always remember in Aberdeen!  
 (Six Months Burning a Tie--"Don't worry, it was a cheap one!")
 
We taught a lot of lessons, had some great finding, and then in the evening headed over to the Stake Center for Burns Supper!   If you don't know who Robert Burns is, you can look him up, but they basically worship the guy here, gave him his own holiday and everything.  It's great.  We had some Haggis and Tatties as they say, and a lot of bagpipe music.  The Elders got to help serve everyone, I took some pics of it!  A lot of fun!!
 
 (The Burns Supper--Honoring Robert Burns.  Robert Burns was a 
Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide.)
 
 (The Elders helped serve at the Burns Supper.)

A Wonderful meal of Haggis and Tattis. 
There can be no Burns night supper without a dish of  traditional Haggis (discarded parts of a sheep) and Tatties (Scottish term for potatoes). 

Saturday:  A lot of lessons, and then in the evening.. MOVES CALL!   Elder Carlisle was told that he would be staying in Aberdeen, and that I would be moving To Belfast Zone- Lisburn Area -with Elder Nelson!  Ah Man I was freaking out!  NORTHERN IRELAND WOOO!  I Started packing right away because they told me I would be leaving Monday morning.

Sunday:  My last Sunday with the Bridge of Don Ward.  Ahhh mann, it was sad.  I love all these people.  They have become my family here in Scotland, and I can't wait to see them again after we tour my mission.  After church, we went over to some of our friends we have been teaching who had a little good-bye lunch for me.  We then went and got Elder Mueller and said goodbye to Elder Forbush who has finished his mission, such a legend!  We just packed for the rest of the evening!

Monday:  We woke up at 4 am.  I said goodbye to all of the Aberdeen Elders.  I am gonna miss them all so much.  I'm going to miss ABERDREAM, as well.  That city has a special place in my heart and I will always remember the hard work we put in there.  I took three buses all around Scotland, then got on the ferry to Northern Ireland, then got picked up by the Zl's here and dropped off at our place.  
 
 (Traveling by bus to Northern Ireland from Aberdeen, Scotland.)
(Then traveling by ferry.)
(Finally meeting his new companion, Elder Nelson from Canada!)
We got in at 4:30 and the flat we have was just barely being used by sisters.  We had a DA as well!  We got to learn a little bit more about this ward and I am pumped!  Everything seems like it's going to be an incredible area! 

So that has been my past week!  Today we are able to email, then we will probably get some groceries, clean our flat some more, and get out and find!  I am excited to work with Elder Nelson!  He is from Canada, has been out for 3 months, and likes to hunt, a lot.  He's slayed like a wolf and a bear and a million other wild beasts!  Should be fun! ;)  This area has so much potential.  I am gonna be honest, I am freaking out.  Getting thrown into a new area with not much experience between the both of us can be scary to think about.  I know though that as we put our trust in the Lord, and work as hard as we can, he will bless us, and we will see MIRACLES!  
This work is the greatest calling anyone can do, and I am loving it!  I pray that this week I can become more familiar with everything, and figure out what's going on a wee bit more haha.  I love you all so much and am continually thankful for the love and support you show me!  Talk to you soon! 🍀😇

Elder Copeland

(If you would like my new address to send me stuff here it is:  40 Belfast Road, Lisburn East, County Antrim ANT, Northern Ireland  BT27 4AS)  

Monday, January 30, 2017

Week 26 - January 29, 2017

Hey, guys! 

I probably won't be able to write you all tomorrow as I am traveling!  I will be leaving Aberdeen at 4 in the morning, hopping on some buses, then getting on the ferry to Belfast!

 (Belfast is the home of the shipbuilding company that built the Titanic and now has a huge museum about it.)
 (It is, also, the home of the Queens University.  Elder Copeland is excited to meet new people who he can share the gospel with, but is sad to leave the many friends he made in Aberdeen, Scotland.)


I will be working into the Lisburn Ward and will be serving with an Elder who just finished being trained named Elder Nelson from Canada!  I hope I get a chance to e-mail tomorrow, but if not, I love you all and will talk to you soon! :)
 (A member put this picture of Elder Copeland and his new companion, Elder Nelson, on Facebook as soon as Elder Copeland arrived in Belfast.)

Elder Copeland

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Week 25 - January 23, 2017

Hiya, guys! 

It was great to hear from you all this week.  I am glad everyone is just pushing through the winter and school!  This week for us was pretty normal.  We had a lot of great lessons with Uni Students and some fun with the other missionaries.  Other then that, nothing crazy. BUT, this coming Sunday will be.... MOVES CALL!   I'm flippen out!  I also hit my 6 MONTHS this week!! AGH!  A pretty big week for me I would say haha!  But anyways, I'll get into my week a little bit now! 

 (Elder Copeland wrote:  "I LOVE the granite city!")

Tuesday: We had another District Cluster meeting.  It was going really well.  We learned a lot about planning and scheduling.  I shared with everyone some of my Gatorade packets so they could have some.  Elder Sheppard from England had never had Gatorade and thought it would be a brilliant idea to just take the jug with the RED Gatorade in it, and drink from it. Well, if you have ever seen any Championship or Superbowl, you know what happened next.  Elder S accidentally spilled this red Gatorade all over his suit and shirt, aghhhhh!  He was a champ about it though, and said if he was going to have it for the first time, there was no better way then to have it like the pros do.  We were all dying haha!  After District meeting, just a few lessons and some GQ'ing for the day. 

Wednesday:  A lot of GQ'ing and a few lessons.  Nothing too big!

Thursday:  We were able to do some service today with the Aberdeen Elders!  We went over to this lady's home and helped her move furniture out of her flat to a moving truck.  She has this massive couch that wasn't fitting through the doors, so we decided to take it through the window haha!  We had two missionaries outside waiting to pretty much catch it and two other ones slowly letting it down.  I am sure that people thought we were probably the craziest people in Scotland.  I don't blame them!  But it worked well!  If you leave the Elders to figure stuff out, their gonna make sure it gets done.. one way or the other haha! Lots of lessons afterwards with Uni students! 
 
 
Friday:  We went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders!  I went with Elder Parsons for the day, and we had the car!  We had like 10 lessons planned for the day, and back and forth they cancelled on us, or didn't answer our calls.  It was pretty frustrating!  But, we were still able to teach a good amount of lessons and an on the spot one!  We had a really good time GQ'ing as well, just having fun with it, making them or us laugh and smile, even if they didn't want to talk, we still had a great time. That is the kind of "Finding" I love to do.  If you are positive and have a mindset and the faith that you WILL find prepared people, God will bless you for it and let you receive miracles!  A really good day.  I love that kid to death :)

Saturday: Back to Elder C and I.  We just had a bunch of lessons and a Flat Inspection from a senior couple!  They rated our flat 5/5 on Cleanliness :D  We were quite proud of it haha.  Last time they came over, it was nottt so clean to say it nicely.  Our lessons went well though and had a few people commit to coming to church!  We also went over to the ZL's in the evening who had a baptism!  Two of our friends, Alice and Hannah, came along with us!

Sunday: Such a wonderful Sabbath Day! We had three of our friends (Summer, Tswai, and Alice) come to church with us, and it was great!  We had some really power house speakers and lessons, and ah man, I was really just feeling the Spirit and love for the Bridge of Don Ward!  I am so thankful for the Saviour and what he did for me Personally, by suffering for my mistakes and sins, then dying so that one day I may live again with my own family!  A really great day, one of my favorite Sundays of my mission! 

So that was my week the best that I can remember, all in all a good one!  Nothing too crazy like I said, but I was still able to see the Lord's hand in our work and how blessed we are as we keep working hard!   
 
We have a busy schedule already lined up for this week ahead, and I am PUMPED for Moves Call!  I feel like I am leaving, but who knows, the ZLs like to tease me and say I'm staying here, we will see!  I know that wherever I go, with whomever I serve, is exactly where God wants me, and that there is someone out there ready to receive the message of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ!  Keep crackin on everyone, and I will talk to you soon!

Love- Elder Cope 😇

Monday, January 16, 2017

Week 24 - January 16, 2017

Hiya, guys! 

Another week down already?  Flip!  Time is picking up even more, it's crazy!  This week was one of the fastest on my mission!  Nothing too exciting even happened, I guess you just get into the mode of being a missionary and working all day, every day, and that happens!  But I will go through my week the best that I can remember now! 

 (We went to Dunnottar Castle again today haha.  It was quite muddy, but good!)









































Tuesday:  We had a District Cluster Meeting!  Which was just a few more missionaries then normal, it was good!  We talked a lot about obedience and continuing to follow the rules our Mission President has given us and the blessings we are given as we do that!  We then had a few lessons with some of Uni students back from Holiday.  We were going over to a dinner appointment in the evening when we got a call from the ZL's.  Another E move was taking place in our Zone and then Elder Parsons asked me to go up with him to get the missionary. They picked me up and we headed off, we went all the way up to THURSO!  It was like a 5 hour drive.  By the time we got there it was almost midnight.  We got to sleep for 3 hours, then got back into the car and headed back to Aberdeen!   AHH, it was brutal.  Elder Parsons and I had some good talks though.  It was fun! 

Wednesday:  I was exhausted from driving all through the night, but we had some lessons with investigators and just GQ'd a lot.

Thursday:  We had another great day of lessons with students, and in the evening we had our Ward Coordination, we got a new Ward Mission Leader, and lets just say he is a pretty intense guy haha.  But it was a good day! 

Friday:  Today was super busy!  We taught a ton of people, even a former investigator who has an ex-boyfriend who was ex-communicated and ah man, she was saying demons were all over her house and that their were all these voices in her head.. Long story short, we got out of there as quickly as possible, no more letting her call us!  ANOTHER E move happened, and some more people in the Zone got moved!  FLIP!  Half the Zone has been moved around before the transfer is over--it's crazy!   But, Elder Carlisle and I are still here haha, until the end of the transfer at least! 

Saturday:  Another day full of lessons!  The Zone Leaders found some people in our area, so we went on a few splits.  It's good to teach with other Elders and see how they do things. It helps me learn and grow and become a better teacher!  Always room for improvement!

Sunday:  A pretty good Sabbath!  Brother Wark called me in the morning and asked me to give a talk, haha, again.  So I got up and just kind of winged a talk on Obedience since I had no preparation.  I talked about Nephi and how he was an incredible example of obedience by doing what his father asked him to do and what the Lord asked him to do!  We had two investigators at church, which was great!  We were hoping for six to be with us, but that is okay!  The two that came are a man named Thunwa from Thailand and Summer from Finland!  Summer was a little bored, since she is a big fan of happy clappy churchs, but Thunwa loved it!  He was running around taking photos of everything, and ah man, I love the little guy.  He is over here studying English, but he loves Star-Wars and we have been teaching him all week!  We had a lesson with him after church with Harry who was just baptized and it was great!  We watched the "Restoration" and then showed him the baptismal font.  He committed to be baptized on the 28th of January--a day before moves call!  YES!  We have a lot to teach him in this time but I am so excited for him!!

A great week of WORK!  I love being able to work hard and see the miracles God has for us and the blessings I have been able to receive!  I challenge you all to really think about all that our Father in Heaven does for us and then thank him for it this week!  I love you all and will talk to you soon! 
Elder Copeland

Monday, January 9, 2017

Week 23 - January 9, 2017

How's it going? 

I am glad you all had a great week.  Seems like not too much has changed--which is good! The same for me.  This week was good to get back into the rhythm of things and just work hard!  Nothing huge happened, but we are working to help people enter the waters of baptism by the end of the month! 




Tuesday:  Had another weird half P-Day Half Work-Day thing.  Just GQ'D all day trying to find some new people to teach, not a lot of success.  Harry (the Sisters' investigator) had his baptismal interview! 

Wednesday:  A lot of finding and some more lessons!  A Normal day finally! 

Thursday:  Another day of lessons and finding! 

Friday:  Another day of lessons and finding! 

Saturday:  Another day of lessons and finding, AND, we had Harry's Baptism!  It was a really great time!  We were able to bring one of our investigators along too.  He enjoyed it and said he was feeling the Spirit!  Hopefully he can get baptized by the end of the month.

Sunday:  Sadly, none of our investigators came to church with us.  That was lame, BUT, it was a fast and testimony meeting and ah man, the Spirit was so powerful.  Seeing all of these people I have built friendships with and taught over the last 5 months was incredible.  I was trying not to cry.  I just was filled with a lot of love and gratitude for my Aberdeen Family :)

All in All a solid week, just gotta keep finding people who are prepared and help them learn more!  I know it wasn't anything too crazy and I am sorry I don't have a ton of time, but the work is good!  Three weeks left in this transfer, then off to who knows where!  I love my mission, and I love these people, the church is true! :)  Have a good week everyone. <3
 
Elder Copeland

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Week 22 - January 2, 2017

Hiya, guys! 

Happy 2017!!  Can you believe I will spend this entire year on a mission?  That blows my mind haha, I am pumped!  This week was a tough one, we had no motivation to get out.  It was pretty hard, and we had an interesting weekend, but we still tried our best!

Wednesday:  We had no lessons planned, everyone is out of town or with their families.  We GQ'd pretty much the entire day with not much success.  But the work goes on!

Thursday:  A pretty good day!  We met with a lot of RC/LA members and talked to them about the importance of starting 2017 off coming closer to God by coming to church!  We went on a little exchange with the Aberdeen Elders, too.  They passed off a Chinese investigator to us named Meng.  She is cool, just doesn't seem to care to much about finding out if God is real.




(Click on the link above to see a 60 second video about Jesus Christ.)

Friday:  Another long day of GQ'ing, with no success, all good though!

Saturday:  This is where things got all wacky again.  We had half a day where we met with some RC's, then we had the entire night off!  We all went over to the Stake Center and played basketball and football.  It was a lot of fun!

Sunday:  We slept over at the Zone Leaders' flat and stayed up the entire night and watched more movies!  We all pitched in 2 £ and bought "Finding Dory, Too."  I loved it! There was a bunch of fireworks that went off in the city and we had a great view of them all. Sadly, I forgot my camera, but it was a really good time!  We then went to Church for only 40 minutes, literally no one was there.  They had no buses running either.  We didn't manage to get any investigators there, bummer.  After church, we went over to some members for lunch, then back over to the ZL's for board games, movies, food, and more fun!  Later in the night, the Zls got a call and so did the Aberdeen Elders.  Long story short, A LOT of missionaries got emergency moves all over the mission.  Elder C our ZL is leaving and so is Elder G from Aberdeen.  They are both going to Ireland and we are getting two other missionaries here! 

Monday:  We got all of Monday off, too.  The Elders leaving packed, and we all watched some more movies and played games.  We had a huge sports night in the Stake Center with a bunch of RCs and Investigators at night.  It was well good!  After that, we called it a night

So that was my week sort of condensed and sort of making sense.  Kind of hard to explain everything.  Elder Carlise and I are still here and we got 4 weeks left in this transfer to find some prepared people and help them enter into the waters of baptism!  It was nice to relax a lot and catch up on rest, but it felt weird, and I really just wanted to work.  So this week, we are going to be working extra hard to make our goals happen.  


I love you guys so much and hope you all had a great New Years!  2017 is going to be a great year, and I can't wait to see all of the miracles and blessings the Lord will provide for me!  It was great to relax, but it's time to get back to work!  Talk to you soon!

Elder Copeland