Derry, Part 5

Well, good news: all of the packages you sent have arrived! (I assume that's all of them). They are all waiting under the stairs until Christmas. Which is gonna be a difficult wait. But hey, what are you gonna do? I'll tell you what I'm gonna do: open 1 on Christmas EVE! HAHAHAAH!

I will skype you at 3:00PM MY TIME! So send me your skype details and I'll get some stuff worked out on my end, and if we need to we'll fine tune things over email beforehand. It'll only be for about an hour. That's all I've got right now. 

Michael isn't talking to us anymore. He looked a lot into anti-mormon conspiracies, so I'm not surprised. I think he thought we were free masons.  

I know you'll have your own opinion, so is it Book of Mormons or Books of Mormon? Because I would say--if I was being totally proper--copies of the Book of Mormon, but usually I just get lazy and say Book of Mormons. 

How have you been lately Dad? I hope your esophagus hasn't been causing you too much ache. 

My watch is solar powered, right? Because I think it ran out of battery again. And if it is solar powered, it's tough out of luck, because we ain't getting any sun over here. 

Did you know I've met a plurality--more  than one--people who strongly believe that the earth is flat. It's like a puppy swallowing a hand grenade: it's absolutely horrifying, but you just can't look away. 

This painting is hanging up in our flat.

Oh, and send me some good christmas pictures that I can print and put in my album

Seeyoulaterloveyoubye!

Pictures!

Giant's Causeway

Derry, Part 4

I received a package in the mail on Friday, and did not consider at the time that I ought not to have opened it. So for the past few days, I have been enjoying the long-johns you sent. When the other packages arrive however, I shall be appropriately prudent. Don't worry about addresses, it looks like we won't be moving for a while. We were considering it because of the state that the flat was in at the time, but now the heating and lights and everything are fixed, so we likely won't be moving at all, especially with the flat being in such a prime location. We are very close to the city center. 

I want you to know that your prayers for me and Elder Price have been very much appreciated, and that they have been answered. Yesterday on Sunday was the Belfast Stake Conference, which was broadcasted on account of the recent snow (which freaks the Irish out, because they never have snow). Right after the broadcast, a man came to the church and tied his dog up outside. He had a brief conversation with the bishop, and then the bishop ushered him into the bishop's office, and told us to go and talk with him. His name is Michael, and he had just decided recently that he was fed up with the Catholic church and was looking for a church that had more solid beliefs and practices. He saw the sign on the building, and said to us: ''The sign was clear; 'the Church of Jesus Christ,' so I decided to come in and see what yous were all about.'' We met with him later that day at the church and gave him a tour. We taught him about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the prophet Joseph Smith, modern day prophets, and the Book of Mormon. He did not accept everything strait away, but he made it very clear that he was open to it, and that he was going to take the steps to find out the truth for himself. He told us he was going to read the entire Book of Mormon and then pray to God regarding it. And he is currently scheduled to be baptized on the 30th of this month. 

It is unseasonably white here. I wish we had a sexy truck like that to power through it. Of course, there's nothing really to power through. There's barely any snow, but even with so little snow, the Irish just don't know what to do. It's actually pretty funny. 

We had our all-Ireland conference on Friday. The drive to Dublin was pretty long. We had a little bit of instruction of course, and then we did reenactments of scenes from the Book of Mormon, just for the heck of it. Then President Donaldson came in and started throwing fake snowballs at us, and we had a huge fake-snowball fight in the gym. We had a fairly nice turkey dinner, with all the fixin's: stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, and vegetables. It was great. Then we watched Moana. It almost becomes a bit exhausting to sit through a full-length movie.

That sounds like Tierney is having quite the time. I was able to speak with the Dundalk sisters recently. I was worried the Romanian family wasn't going to be very receptive to them, since Sorin (the dad) has said before how he doesn't really like the idea of female preachers, but apparently they love the sisters. In fact, Sorin wants one of the sisters to marry his oldest son Abraham. He's gonna get a wedding gift and everything. Unfortunately, they've only been able to meet with Jude once, and not in a few weeks since. And even worse is that for whatever reason, Alicia is no longer investigating or working towards baptism. That was very unhappy news. 

Well, that's me. Doing really well. Yous have a great week.

Seeyoulaterloveyoubye

Derry, Part 3

1. We haven't moved yet. The lease expires in January. We are looking for a new place still. 

2. Do you still have any of the emails about mailing and packages? Because I'm sure that was specified in one of those. Or check the call packet. You have that, right? 

3. [Boots? Shoe size?] I might get them myself, except I don't trust myself with buying quality boots. So I guess I'd just have you pick them out. I'm size 11, except actually size 9 in dress shoe sizes. That's what I know. 

4. [What for Christmas?] Canadian maple syrup? Other than that, no. 

5. [Where on Christmas?] Moves call is on the 16th. So if we aren't moved out of Derry, there is a member who's house we can spend Christmas day at. 

6. [I don't know either] I don't know

7. [How's the video call going to go?] I haven't had really anything told to me about video calls yet

They'll probably start telling us things about video calls on Friday. That's our all Ireland Conference. And while I know that Alicia and Jude haven't been baptized yet, I don't know how they are doing. I'm gonna find the Dundalk sisters at the all Ireland conference and ask them about it. Oh, and about Buffalo Rider, there is a Russian elder in the district who thinks that movie is hilarious. I figured that since it is an old western movie, maybe you had seen it. OOO! O holy night is a challenge to sing. But I believe in you! 

It's really just my black shoes that have worn so bad. My brown shoes are still doing great. There is absolutely nobody to teach. And nobody wants to talk to us. And there have been so many people telling us that we're wasting our time, and that we aren't wanted, and blah blah. But I'll admit, it's been getting to me. We have no new investigators, and I haven't been able to contribute one bit to this year's mission wide goal of 450 baptisms. And the year is almost up. And I think we're only at, like, 373. It really gets difficult to keep spirits up. It has definitely felt like a lot of going through the motions this week. 

It hasn't been all negative though! Since this is such a ''religious'' country, they really go all out for Christmas. And that's been pretty cool. And this P-day, we're truckin' down to Giant's Causeway! WOOHOO! Finally. We've been trying to go for weeks, but crap just kept coming up. 

That seems to be all I've got. For now. Keep on keeping me updated. I hope y'all get better soon, and don't spread your disgusting germs too much. And don't worry about sending long emails, because I've got plenty of time to email. 

Love, Elder Lybbert

Pictures!

View of Belfast

Christmas lights in Derry

Derry, Part 2

Oh my heavens west virginia! I drool over the thought of venison burgers, venison jerky, and venison steaks! I've been wanting to go hunting, let me tell you. Which is weird, 'cause I likely wouldn't have before (at least, not as much), but now I really do! 

i dunno why we don't get bikes! Bikes at least; usually, our area being so big, we'd have a car, but the mission has had to be more careful about where they place cars now, since apparently the first presidency has been cracking down on that. We don't have any solid investigators yet. Apparently before I came, there were a few, but they've all sort of dropped off the radar. Yeah, if there's a clear difference between here and Dundalk, it's that people like talking to us even less. Religious groups have obviously caused a lot of problems here, so another one is a little much for some people, even though it's the only right one. They just don't seem to get that. Also, while the branch in Dundalk wasn't the most helpful with missionary work, the Foyle ward is a bit worse. They really don't like working with us. They like us working with them to do ward stuff, but they don't like doing missionary stuff. I don't know the bishop's name (shame on me) but he's a South African fellow, and he's really weird. We have new pass along cards with the #lighttheworld on it. There's lots of Christmas lights set up all over Derry and Belfast and Coleraine. 

It's been a very busy week. We had three days of exchanges in Belfast and Coleraine. It was good, but nothing moved forward in Derry at all, being that we are the only missionaries in the area. Also, the heating in the flat broke while we were away, so it has been froken freazing! A kind member donated a small electric heater to us for the time being. It has been so cold here though. It has snowed once, and hailed a few times. That coat I have is terrific. I bought a beanie, and some new trousers, because one pair has tragically torn. I've gained about eight pounds, so when I hopped a fence a few weeks ago...well, it was too much for my poor trousers to handle. If it's okay, I'm gonna see if I can get some thick socks pretty soon, and maybe order some thermal underwear as well. 

If there is any mail to be sent, you might consider just sending it to the mission home for the time being, because we might be changing flats soon. The one we are in right now is breaking down constantly. YOU DIDN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION! Have you watched an old movie called Buffalo Rider? AND WHY WILL NOBODY TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT MY COUSIN IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS!?!?!?!? 

Anywhoseph. See y'all soon! Love you bye! 

Derry (Londonderry), Part 1

A certain man passed by us the other day as we were coming back from visiting a member. He asked us for directions, and then noticed our badges. He identified us as missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and then walked away as he announced to us: ''I'm church of Ireland.'' So remember family, the Irish have their church, the church of Ireland, and it is run by the Irish. Roman Catholics have their church, and it is run by Rome. Protestants have their church, and it is run by protesters. Catholics have their church, and it is run by...Cathool. We are the church of Jesus Christ; we are run by the Master. I've come to rejoice in that fact. I've come to love and rejoice in my Rabbanah; my great and powerful king. It's been a spiritually charged week; we got 4 new investigators. One of them already dropped, but still! 

Elder Riley Price is from Mesa Arizona. He's a cool guy too, he used to do a lot of cool (albeit typical) Arizona stuff back home, like mountain climbing and dune riding! 

*gasp* Nooo! Not wholsale sports! What a suckfest. At least you got a consolation; three deer ain't bad at all. The Lord has blessed your storage with meat! YEAH! 

I can't tell how soon I'll need boots. I should be good for the rest of November/December, but I'm walking holes in my shoes. We walk everywhere; no car. The Derry area is actually pretty far reaching, over to Donegal, but we stay in the city. Our flat is pretty much right in the city center, so it's really good. Our address is 25 Fountain street, I hope you can get a postal code from that. 

Seeyoulaterloveyoubye!

By the way, have you ever seen a really old movie called Buffalo Rider?

Dundalk, Finale

[Last week there was no letter for "everyone". Just individual ones.  Elder Lybbert was feeling pretty homesick and had to work out some issues. This week was Cody getting back up on the horse!] 

I'm excited for what's to come! I have a chance now, in a new area, to be a way better missionary. My new area is Derry (Londonderry) in Northern Ireland (Belfast Zone). My companion is the district leader Elder Price. I don't know a whole lot about him yet. Elder Milburn has gone to Limerick, and Dundalk is getting Sisters. Which is gonna be cool. I never actually saw any baptisms in Dundalk, which was not very good, but big whoop. What the diddlewhopper. Obladi-oblada. Hakunamatata. Gabba-gabba-hey! 

Wanna hear a funny story? Every transfer (6 month period of service) I eat a whole, raw onion. I don't know why! It's just a stupid tradition. It leaves my breath in poor condition, and my...other functions...function even worse! But I do it anyways. This last time I ate an onion, it was way bigger and way juicier than usual! It hurt so much to eat it! But I did it. I ate the whole dagnab thing. The next morning I realised--and I don't even know how--the onion had, like, burned off my tastebuds. My tongue was smooth. And also very sensitive. Later that day for lunch we got some mexican food for lunch. I got a bowl with lime and cilantro rice, black beans, chorizo sausage, EXTRA chorizo sausage, jalapeno peppers, spicy salsa, sour cream and cheese. It's sooo good! It's what I always get. Only I had forgotten that I couldn't taste at all! So when I started eating it, I was just disappointed. I discovered something else though. I couldn't taste all my delicious food, but I could still somehow feel all of the spicyness of the chorizo, peppers, and salsa. And my mouth was 3x as sensitive as before. So it was thrice as hot (very painful) with none of the flavour. Needless to say, I didn't even finish it. But I didn't want to throw it away; it was almost 10 euros! So I was just holding it while we were contacting. Then there was this lady who (looked Romanian) came up to me trying to sell a magazine, because she needed money to buy food. I told her I had no money to give her, but I had food! So I gave her my expensive, delicious, and very spicy burrito bowl! 

That's all I got. This time. I love you all, but you're gonna have to wait 'til 2019 for me to come home again. Ask the Bishop to send me some advice about Derry (Londonderry). 

Love y'all! 

Dundalk, Part 16

Thank you all for the videos! I won't be replying to some of you individually, but I enjoyed seeing your beautiful faces and hearing your voices! Laura, where's your video? Justin, what did you name your pet snake? Here are some ideas:

(Male): Reginald, Auschwitz, Wesker, Imbicolen, Otis, Elder Christiansen, or Mr. Bond

(Female): Excella, Vanderwitz, Mikayla, Clever-Girl, or Bluebell McFarghelstine

I drive still. It's a bit funny how many times I've almost gotten us killed on the road. I hate driving in Ireland. In Canada, it's pretty good; traffic is mild, roads are wide, people are courteous. Not here. People are vicious savages on wheels, roads are more narrow than a common bike-path, and traffic is like eating a bad batch of sour crout--it's going nowhere, fast. 

Anyways, about my english companion...he's english. What else can I say? There: character profile done. I'm kidding. He's really cool. He's funny. And he's a really good cook. He's been out on his mission for 16 months, so he's experienced. He has eight siblings, and he is the 2nd youngest. 

Alicia is always great to talk to. Things are not getting any easier with her family, so she's thinking she might just go ahead and be baptized anyway. She's a piece of fried gold. Jude, on the other hand, didn't show up to his own baptism. For the second time in a row. LAME! and disappointing. and also, kinda funny. We totally miscalculated his readiness, so we're taking a step back and reteaching him a few things. 

Dad, that was an awesome song! I wish I had a guitar. We're not allowed guitars though. 

Well, the last few attempts at pumpkin pie were so depressing (they tasted as bad as they looked) that I had decided to give up. But then Aunt Suzanne sent me a new recipe, so I said ''screw it'' and made another one. It was much better, and actually tasted pretty good! I wish it was denser, but whatever. 

Tell me about my cousin in the Marshall islands! How is she? How much longer until her homecoming? How do you spell her name? I've been meaning to ask about her for a while, but never remember to. 

By the way, I'm totally the favorite missionary in the ward! Scotland/Ireland, son! I be international up in here! I guess technically he is too, but come on! It's me we're talking about. You know that froking Bishop Pierson hasn't emailed me once, even though I've sent to him a bunch? His daughter is also no good at emailing. What is with the world? No matter. Dad's beard makes him look like a forester. 

SeeY'ALLlaterloveyoubye! 

Dundalk, Part 15

The hurricane was nothing. It was less than nothing. Actually, I hear in Belfast and Limerick it was a little bit wetter and some teams stayed in, but in Dublin zone it was just a little windy. We were all out proselyting just as usual. Honestly, the Irish are just a little overdramatic about these kinds of things. In Scotland, nothing happened at all; it was sunny. There was more than one fatalities because of falling trees, but I believe that was in Cork. We gathered some leaves around the stake centre, but other than that, there's been no clean up effort. At least not in Dublin zone. I didn't hear anything about vandalism, but I wouldn't be surprised. It wouldn't be the first time. Apparently it's been set on fire a few times. I've also heard nothing regarding mission changes. I suppose that might all happen at once when President and Sister Donaldson are done, but that's not gonna be until June. 

Dundalk, Part 14

Oh me goodness! I was so very happy to get letters from Jtown and Lawrence-Oliviay! I love y'all right back. Let me give my younger siblings some advice based on what I feel I've learned so far: I know that it's difficult to love or even like people, but it is possible and it is also far more worth it to put in the effort and be someone's friend than to be a lone lonely loner. I've come to love many people on my mission so far (Jude, Alicia, Elders Scholz and Anderson, every member of the Dundalk branch, etc.) even though it is sometimes pretty difficult. 

I apologize, but you won't get any pictures this week of the awful pumpkin pie we made. I'm in Dublin, and I left my camera in Dundalk. And once again, I am without an official companion. Elder Anderson had to go home. I'm not at liberty to know why. He will be missed though, he was a really good companion, and he was a boon to Dundalk for his short time here. I might be a few days without an official companion until President Donaldson decides what to do. 

Don't speak to me about cupcakes or cookies OR ECLAIRS (Jenna). We made 3 pumpkin pies, and each was somehow worse than the last, and made a huge mess. All I wanted was a good pumpkin pie, but they don't friggen make them! I just want some nice home cooking. Don't cry for me though, because for my birthday we got an XL pizza from Apache's called "The Big Buffalo!"

I'm very glad for Rebecca and Eric! I hope they choose a name that will be insanely, unbelievably great, like Balthazar, or Tim. But on the other hand, I was very sad to hear about Darol; that story made Elder Wright (zone leader) very sad. And the fact that I forgot about thanksgiving made me...mad. 

Oh yeah, and there have still been no baptisms. Still just impending. Tell Justin I love his dragon, and his Halloween costume looks hot! but it ain't Halloween yet! We ain't supposed to go out proselyting on Halloween, so I'm not sure what we'll do. Stupid Halloween. It's not even a holiday! Where do we get off celebrating it? 

And thank you everyone so much for the birthday wishes!

Anyways, love y'all! 

Dundalk, Part 13

Dad asked:

Alright! Today is another details day for you to fill us in!

1. Did the baptisms go? If so, give us details.

2. Did you do the driving around then in Dublin? How was that? 

3. How is Elder Anderson? 

4. How long has he been out? 

5. Does he come from a large family?

6. How did he serve in the military? 

7. When is the next transfer? Because it might be odd for you two to be companions for just four or five weeks if it's coming that soon. 

8. Are you getting along well with him?

9. Any new people we should pray for? We're still praying that Alicia's mother will have her heart softened. 

10. How's your back? I wish I could fix it for you. Hopefully if it's still bothersome the video I sent will help. 

11. Are you getting enough sleep? Enough to eat? Some exercise?

12. Did a goodly number of your members watch conference?

Cody's letter:

1. Nope. Still working on it. 

2. Yup. We got lost as butt. 

3. He's great. 

4. Little over a year.

5. No, pretty medium.

6. He didn't serve yet. His family is military though. 

7. Should be mid November. 

8. We're getting along swimmingly. 

9. No, unfortunately not. We're trying though. 

10. My back is doing much better. No pain. 

11. Yes yes and yes. 

12. I hope so. We watched some with Jude. I texted Alicia about it, but she never said anything. She probably did, because she's good friends with a strong member family. 

I forgot about thanksgiving. Me and Elder Anderson are gonna try to make a pumpkin pie! You can't just buy a pumpkin pie around here, which is quite lame. You can't hardly find any kind of pie at all actually! They sell pumpkins though, so we'll figure it out. 

How's Mackie doing? Still chewing the crap out of stuff? I miss him, strangely enough. I miss my actual family more of course. Whenever I come to the email screen, I guess I'm a little disappointed because I feel like not a lot of people really care that I'm gone. But I actually don't care, because the people that actually care about me (my fam-damly) still remember me and email me. Love yous. 

I feel a little bit sad. Not too sad, but a little bit. I feel like we did good work this week, but also like we have nothing to show for it now. No new investigators, no baptisms, nothing. *heavy sigh*

Did anyone end up watching the new Transformers movie? Was it any good? 

I wish I had more to say, but that's pretty much it. It sounds like there's a lot of cool things happening at home. Tell my lovely Aunt that I still get and read all of the letters she sends, and they give me a lot of comfort. And I've kept them all too! 

Bye bye

Dundalk, Part 12

We had decided with Alicia that in order to hopefully preserve her relationship with her mother (her mother has been a real pill) she should wait just a little bit to be baptized. She doesn't want to wait too long, and she still has a strong desire, but that's what's happening with her. Jude was all set to be baptized this last Friday by yours truly, but his kids got sick and he had to stay home to take care of them. So we're gonna try again this weekend. Poor Elder Scholz didn't get to see either of them baptized. 

Elder Scholz left to go to Scotland early Saturday morning, and this morning he left for home. All day Saturday and Sunday I've been hanging out in Dublin with different pairs of Elders, driving people around because I have a car and a licence. Sunday was really nice though, because we hung out at the church all day, with members, investigators, and other missionaries, watching conference sessions in the chapel and getting snacks in the kitchen in between. We watched both morning sessions live (5:00PM-7:00PM, our time), we caught the priesthood session at 10AM Sunday morning, the Saturday afternoon session at 1PM, and I have yet to watch the concluding session. I thought it was awesome how boldly and plainly everyone was speaking this conference. They are not pulling their punches any, and I respect the heck out of it. One of the talks I picked out to review was John C. Pingree, among many others. I've never taken so many notes before at anything. Conference, I found out, is way too short nowadays, despite being the same amount of time. Did you notice that Zwick told the same stories in Conference as he did in the Fort Macleod Stake Conference? 

Anyways, so I'm still just waiting here. My new companion, Elder Anderson, should be here by this evening. I know he's from Missouri, he's been out for a little over a year, and he used to be in the navy. Sounds like a fun fellow. And yes, we will be staying in good ol' Dundalk. We will see Jude and Alicia baptized yet. 

I'd love to hear from my younger siblings as well by the way. 

Love y'all!

Dundalk, Part 11

"Mmmm, half a shekel for honey with bugs." - Silus, the honey merchant (title of the email. :-D)

Well, we have yet to see how the baptisms will go. They both still need to have their interviews (Jude will have his today) but we've been a little concerned for both of them. I might baptize Jude, but a member will baptize Alicia (her good friend's Dad). Keep praying for them to make it! They're so close! 

I think we will be watching the morning sessions of Conference live, and the other ones later. In fact, me and Elder Scholz will be doing a lot of travelling and switching around on Saturday and Sunday, so I'm not sure if we'll catch any of it live. I don't know who my next companion is or even if I'll be staying in Dundalk (though I probably will be). 

I think this p-day we'll be going back to Castle Roche with a few other missionaries. 

Oh the temple! My family, how I wish I could go to the temple. It was so nice to have it there right by the MTC, but there is no temple in Scotland or Ireland. I miss it. 

I've been able to print some of the pictures you've sent me. It seems like I ask for pictures or something in all my emails, but could I have another? I just wanted to show this guy in my ward the picture of me and that deer I hunted. He's a hunter. 

We've had little to no success lately with street contacting, so we're doing a lot more door-to-door chapping lately. It's kinda fun--it's like what I always imagined missionarying to be like. Still no immediate success though. 

I think y'all's prayers are working, for me at least. Because I haven't run away with my tail between my legs. I feel like I haven't really done anything right before: I skipped half of highschool and barely graduated (I didn't deserve to graduate), I quit football before I even played a game, I didn't finish seminary, I never magnified any of the callings I had...fear creeps in occasionally that I will likewise fail at my mission. It helps to know where I come from, and who I am. A link in a long line of beloved, faithful Lybbert men. Not to mention the son of a supreme heavenly being. 

Love y'all! Talk to yous later! 

Pictures!

I think this might be "Hannibal the Spider", or at least a cousin. :-)

Typical Cody. But NOT funny! Okay, maybe a little....

Dundalk, Part 10

Title of Cody's Email: The Irish Say Cooker instead of Oven! (CEW-ker)

My week isn't so full of things to report. I'm looking forward to not this but next week, because we should be baptising two people: Alicia and Jude. Have I mentioned Jude? He's great. He's African. 

You know what would be awesome to get from home? My home journal. That little brown book I got. It was in that blue crate with all my old stuff in it that was in my room. I thought that would be kinda cool to have, if you felt like sending it my way. Say, what became of my old room and stuff? 

So what do we call Dallin #3? Oh wait, I know already: Newton. Oh, by the way, I didn't know River wasn't baptised. I thought for certain she had been. Oh well. I'll bet her sister being on a mission contributed to that one. Has she returned yet? How is she? How do you spell her name? because that's why I'm avoiding writing it. 

We went to the Newgrange monument last week. I took some pictures, but I forgot my camera, so you'll have to wait for pictures. Probably just until later today though. It was...okay. Ireland's natural beauty is much more impressive than it's round caves. 

Anyways, I must away. If we don't clean the flat now, it'll never get done. Just like the last few weeks...

TTFN; Ta Ta For Now!

"I made a cover for the animated book of mormon stories we got." 

Dundalk, Part 9

Not great, but good week. We got our hands on some digital copies of the animated Book of Mormon stories, and we burnt it onto a disc. It's funny. But some of them are actually pretty good. I like reading it better though. I'm going through the Book of Mormon for the second time now, and I'm trying also to get through the Old and New Testament. I'm currently in Leviticus. It's gonna be a long journey through those books. 

I'm getting the urge to do things I wouldn't normally get the urge to do. I want to ride a horse, I want to watch Hulk (2003), I want to dance with a girl, I want to walk around in the snow...it's not even that time of year, but I already know I'm gonna miss the snow. And by the way, we are certainly not praying for rain over here. 

Alicia is doing fine. Her family doesn't like at all that she is being baptised, but she's getting through it. She has gone on a trip, and will be back in a few weeks, at which point she wants to be baptised ASAP. We are keeping in contact with her via text to make sure she gets there. Nothing has really changed in our teaching pool yet. 

My watch ran out of battery, and I went to a few different jewellers to get it fixed. But it's good now. And that would be the 10 euro charge as of late. 

It's pretty hard to not think about going home, and that's a lot because everyone is talking to Elder Scholz about going home ALL THE TIME! He's doing good. He gets me up and makes me go to the gym every morning. By the way, we found out that we aren't supposed to join gyms. Too many scantily clad women. So at the end of the month, we find other ways to exercise. Any ideas? 

Love y'all! Be good! I'm not coming home this year!

Dundalk, Part 8

Vern's questions:

1. How much longer does Elder Scholz have before going home?

2. How far away does President Nesbitt live? 

3. How often and how far do you have to travel for District and Zone Meeting? 

4. How is Alicia coming along? Has she set a date?

5. Does someone have to be to church early to setup chairs for Sacrament or is there permanent seating? 

6. Are there separate rooms for auxillary meetings like Primary and Sunday School? 

7. How many youth are regular attendees?

8. Who are some of the families who are strong in your Branch? 

9. Do you still have the money for your bike or did you turn that in to President Donaldson and the Mission Office?

10. How many kms are you going each month on average? 

11. Do you guys get to use a tablet as a teaching tool?

12. Do you use a cell phone or a house phone?

13. Can you text locally to help in your communications? 

14. How far away are the next closest missionaries?

15. How do you feel your personal teaching skills are coming along?

16. How often do you get to sit down and teach or do you spend a ton of time just trying to find people?

17. There must be a lot of work to do just trying to reactivate people who are already members, is that true?

18. Do you have to report every night to your District Leader? Or is Elder Scholz the District Leader?

Cody's answers:

1. He goes home October 2nd, which is actually almost a month early, which isn't uncommon for non-European missionaries

2. About a half hour away in Newry, across the border in Northern Ireland

3. To Dublin, which is about 50 minutes away. It stinks, because it's a toll road and we need to spend 2 euro there and back each time. Better than paying for buses or trains though. Every Tuesday

4. Yes, she is getting Baptised on the 30th of this month, and she is very excited

5. The chairs are always set up

6. There is a primary room, nursery, young men's, young women's, and relief society room

7. There is about 5, but one of them (Isaac) usually goes to primary

8. The Gunapalas are an absolute Godsend. They were in Clonsilla ward, but were requested to move to the Dundalk branch for a bit to help it grow, lest it closes. And they've been terrific! They brought us Alicia, they feed us and give us groceries all the time, and they are terrific home teachers and magnify their callings to a great extent. There's also a family what just came back from vacation who look like they're gonna be a boon. Also, a Nigerian mom (recent convert) and her 4 primary age daughters just moved in, and they are very keen

9. Yeah, the mission office has my money now. I just don't have a bike. I have a car though!

10. I dunny ken (I don't know)

11. Nope

12. We have two cell phones, one with an Irish number and one with a UK number. Both phones are crap

13. Yes

14. Dublin...?

15. Yes, though very slowly

16. We get to teach pretty much every day, but we do spend a lot of time finding. But I am butt at finding

17. Yup. For as many who are really great and strong, there are those who are either lazy or going through a tough time

18. We report every night by call or text to Elder Pelham

You're a nut ball. Another horse already? You keep them at Grandpa's place, yeah? 

We might be going to Dublin today. Then again, we might just be doing dishes. This week was kind of a drag. I could have worked a lot harder, especially when it comes to finding. But like I said, I am currently butt at finding. Dad, Tamara, Dallin O, did you do a lot of finding? On the street? For hours? HOW!?!? 

I've thought about coming home a few times. Sometimes you really get down, ya know? I've figured: ''I could live a good life, still be a good member, still believe what I believe.'' But alas, it isn't true. If I truly did believe what was taught me by the Book of Mormon, the prophets and apostles of today, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint, and my parents--and I truly do believe them--then I would stay. And so I will. 

Good on you all for being so stand up. Let me know how school goes! Remember to remind my sisters that they are the most beautiful people ever. Love you mom! Love you dad! and the rest too.

Pictures!

Dundalk, Part 7

The week in review:

We got a month membership for 30 euro. It's gonna be sweet. I think. I'm so so sore. No need to boast about your cream puffs though. You'll need to send apologies to Aunt Suzanne for me; I've very much been enjoying her letters, but haven't yet got the time to send her one. I'm very much looking forward to the one from Amanda as well. And I shan't be getting deported, so we're good. 

I'm sorry that my hometown is changing so much. Kinda. 

Nothing planned for p-day yet. 

Thank you dad for your testimony. Make sure y'all give a listen to ''Safety for the Soul'' by Elder Holland. Just if you want your mind blown. 

Yes, you're right, the progress of Isaac and Elizabeth is slow, nigh invisible, and maybe even a little backwards. But Alicia is awesome. I wish we had ten like her. 

Love y'all! Proud of Laura!

Pictures from Elder Lybbert

This is Elizabeth (Lizzie)

This is Isaac

This is their younger brother, Manasseh, who "who scares the devil out of me," he says.

And here are Cody's pictures from their trip to Trim Castle:

 

Dundalk, Part 6

My family! So, about Elizabeth and Isaac, there hasn't been a lot of notable change in their situation. We're still trying to get them to church. Elizabeth has been booked into the branch temple trip in November, so that's pretty good. Isaac...may take a little more time, but that's what we're trying for right now; just trying to endure with him for a little bit until we can do something significant. We're trying to get their 15 year old brother Abraham baptized too, and we think that might help them as well. 

We just finished a transfer by the way. But me and Elder Scholz will still be in Dundalk for the next transfer as well, which is a surprise to no one. But a pleasant non-surprise. Did I mention that this is Elder Scholz's last transfer before he goes home to California?

There was a branch barbecue on Friday, which we brought a few investigators to, and a bunch of active and less active members showed up too! And the food was delicious. And we brought all of the leftovers home, which is totally super because we have no money for grocery shopping right now. But now we have more than enough to get through the week, especially since the members love to feed us and then send us home with gift bags of food. Gotta love the Irish. Sadly, many of the people at the bbq did not come to church. But Abraham did!

On Sunday, we met a sweet and lovely young woman named Alicia. She's friends with a member, and goes to institute and YSA things with her all the time, but this was her first time at church. We met with her afterwards at the member's house. Me and Elder Scholz had been discussing beforehand that we wanted to invite her to be baptized for as soon as possible because she would be leaving on a trip soon for a few weeks. Before we even brought it up to her, she was telling us that she wanted to be baptized and confirmed ASAP so she could have the holy ghost with her on her trip! It was sooo awesome, and it was a doubtless miracle! 

You need to [send me any digital pictures in the best quality possible in order for me to be able to get good quality prints from them. Thanks.] 

I got me an electric razor, and it works quite nicely!

We are looking at a few different places to get a gym membership. We are leaning towards the one with a free month. 

Love you lots everybody! 

Dundalk, Part 5

Trim Castle

(These aren't Cody's pictures. We unfortunately couldn't retrieve the one he sent a second time so I took some off the internet, but his looked similar to the one below.)

Holy cats in a blender! That is an awesome hauce! It's probably one of the best hauces ever! Is Mackie jealous? And hey, Magic is a pretty cool name. Much better than Li'l Bandit or Elder Christiansen. And Koji. I will call his name Magic: the magic Hauce! 

I'm serious you guys, don't give Mackie away! And don't let Magic eat him. 

Okay guys, you ready? Here you go: pray for Elizabeth and Isaac. Remember that Romanian family I was telling you about? the Covaciu family? (that's how you actually spell their name I figured out) Elizabeth is the oldest daughter, 13 years old, and she runs the household. Her dad is a pious idiot who won't learn English or finances, so she does all their taxes and such, her older brother is never home, her mom always goes out with her friends, leaving poor Lizzie to clean the house and watch the other CRAZY children. She's overwhelmed, but wants to learn more; she wants to go to the temple. Isaac is her younger brother; 12 years old. He's smaller than Olivia, and pretty fragile, and very bipolar. One minute he's sweet and helpful and listens, and with no transition he's angry and cussing and flipping everyone off and fighting with his younger siblings (who are all bigger than he is). And then, also with no transition, he'll go right back to being calm and sweet. And he's not faking it either. His parents are absolutely no help; they kinda consider poor Isaac a lost cause. He and Elizabeth are baptised, and Isaac wants to be a deacon, but the mom is not interested in helping and the dad is openly against the church. I'm not certain why he allowed them to be baptised in the first place. We're not sure what to do. 

Oh my heavens, that's a brutal albeit very funny story about Justin and Olivia. I remember when Dallin and Tamara thwacked Amanda in the face with an exercise band and bruised her right across the eyes. She looked like the Lone Ranger. I remember when Jenna cut off Amanda's finger in the door. I remember when we buried Amanda alive and she nearly died. Sorry about your head Olivia, I hope you get better soon. And Justin, I know how bad it feels when you hurt your younger sibling, who you know you should be protecting, but it's fine, just learn from it and be more careful next time. 

The castle was called Trim Castle. It was pretty cool. I'll send some pictures hopefully later today. This p-day, we have to get my GARDA card, lest I get deported. It's a Republic of Ireland thing. So not as exciting. 

We have not been exercising. Even a little. We feel bad. This is the last week in the transfer, and we will both likely be staying in Dundalk, and if we do we're going to get a gym membership. 

We have not a lot of money right now, so we've really had to be more careful about our spending habits. It's not easy though; we make regular trips to Dublin for district meetings and exchanges, and the toll costs us 2 euro, there and back.

Guys, I had stuff during the week that I wanted to say, but now I don't remember, so just...ya know. Keep emailing me; I love you!