Εβδομάδα 7!!

Hey Everyone!!!

Well it has been just another week at the MTC. Only three more to go and then I get to hit the streets of GREECE!! I am super excited but also scared because I do not know any Greek. 

So Wednesday this week we got a whole load of new missionaries. Now we are pretty packed here in the Preston MTC. We have about 80 or so people. We have two meal times now so we eat dinner at 4:30. Which in my opinion is way to early but hey that is OK. Wednesday night all the new missionaries had a devotional with President and us Greeks got to go to the temple instead. It was really cool probably one of the best temple trips I have ever had the spirit was just so strong. 

Other than that my week was pretty boring for all you guys. I just went to classes and studied pretty much all day every day. Except I was able to get two or three runs in this week. I am really getting out of shape. I still haven't really gained any weight yet, which is good, but maybe it is just because the food here isn't very good.

For my studies this week I have been focusing on the life of Christ and upon his teachings in the Bible and in 3 Nephi. It has been really cool to learn things everyday. Even if it was something that I already knew or not it was cool. Jesus was such a great example for us all. I wish that we all could be like our Savior because He is perfect and we should strive everyday to become as He is. Because if we try than we will grow closer to our Savior.

Today we went to the temple this morning and it was another good time at the temple. Other than that there was nothing really special that happened. I love you all! Good luck in all of your different endeavors.

Love,

Πρεσβυτερος Χαλβερσον

Playing Footgolf on P-day

Εβδομάδα 6!!

Greece Missionaries

Hey everyone, 

How is everyone? This week has been pretty uneventful in itself. This is probably just going to be a short one this week -sorry everyone. It was all just a week full of normal days of classes and everything. Today and yesterday everyone left the MTC so now it is just us 11 missionaries learning Greek and one Elder from Serbia who is learning some english. So it is pretty empty here right now. Tomorrow we are filling up so it will be pretty busy.

Also I forgot to say last week that Sami Muller came to visit and was staying in the MTC. For those of you who don't know Sami he was a German exchange student in my ward and is one of the nicest kids I have ever met. So it was cool to be able to see him.

We went into Chorley on p-day. I had my first real fish and chips from a little hole in the wall grill in Chorley. The cool thing was that the owner of the shop was Greek and was from Greece. It was so cool to be able to speak some greek with him. I couldn't understand everything that he said but I got the general gist. He was really nice like all of the Greek people are supposedly so that made me super excited.

Σασ αγαπάω,

Πρεσβυτερος Χαλβερσον

Week 5

Hey Everyone!!

Sorry no greek this week the computers got reset so there is no greek keyboard. But it has been another amazing week.

We had the pageant every night until Saturday which was our last day and it was super cool. I kinda miss it but it also gives us half an hour of time at night again so it is all good I guess.

We had a member of the 70, Elder Phillips from London, come and talk to us this week. It was really cool and he talked about how we have no need to fear but we always will be scared and feel inadequate and when we do all we need to do is pray and do what the Lord would have us do.  Being a missionary makes it pretty easy to do what the lord would have me do.

The rest of the week was normal, I got to run quite a bit this week. I had a run with 7 miles. I also get to go my own speed because I just run around a field where everyone is. One day I was running around and there were some boys sitting on a wall by the field and they would cuss me out every time I passed. It made me so sad to see that people had raised their children to swear and hate the church. It also made me glad for the situation that I was able to be raised in. As I kept running they starting shooting rocks at me with a sling shot. They only got me once and it wasn't even bad. I just thought it was kind of funny.

Sunday was great again. We learned about the power of the Holy Ghost all Sunday. One really cool point that the MTC President made was that the Holy Ghost is how we develop our relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ. That is so true. It is really the only way. 

I had so many prayers answered this week and had so much peace come through prayer. Whenever we are in need we just need to get on our knees and God will listen and answer our prayers.

Today we went into Chorley, it was just me and my companion today. As we were walking through the market a guy stopped us and asked us what we taught about. It was really cool. We talked to him about the word of wisdom and also the temple. We got his contact information for the Manchester missionaries because it is against the law for us to teach him. That was too bad but it was just really cool to know that we could be making a big difference in his life.

Always know that the lord will hear and answer your prayers, and that through Jesus Christ we can do all things. I love you all.

Love,

Elder Halverson

Brigham and Brother Peel his teacher

Εβδομάδα 4!!

Hey everybody!

Well it has been another great week at the MTC here in England. We went two straight days without any rain it was crazy my teacher who is from here said that that doesn't ever happened here so that was kinda cool. I have played a lot of soccer already and I realize it is true that people in America generally aren't as good at soccer. But I have been able to hold my own which is cool I guess.

So me and my companion had to move rooms at the beginning of this week because we were getting a lot of knew missionaries so we couldn't have our own room anymore. Now we have 5 people in our room and it actually isn't that bad but it is actually a little fun. I also like how we have some other people to talk to at night because it is cool to get to know all of the different people here. We got a new group of missionaries in on Wednesday and it feels really packed here we are almost to full. Next week President said that we are going over capacity so that will be interesting to see how that goes.

On Thursday Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the twelve came to watch the British pageant. Before the pageant in the afternoon we had a devotional with all of the missionaries from the MTC and from the Manchester mission. There was like 300 missionaries there and it was cool because before the meeting he went and shook everyone's hands and he wouldn't let you pass by unless you told him how you were doing. Or at least he wouldn't let me which was cool because we were told we couldn't talk with him. Then we had a great devotional on how we need to be the best missionaries we can be but not to over extend ourselves, and also to never get discouraged because a mission is meant to be hard, but it just makes it all the more rewarding. 

The rest of the week wasn't to exciting except for the spirit was so strong on Sunday because it was fast Sunday. We had a two hour sacrament meeting because the spirit was so strong with everyone sharing their testimonies. 

Every night this week we went and performed in the pageant. It is always cool because the spirit is always there and it is really amazing. 

One thought that I had this week is that we are all specially chosen children of the Lord. We are here in this place to help with the work in our own special way. You can loose your selfishness in the work, and loose what you want, but never loose who you truly are as a specially chosen child of our Father in Heaven.

Love you all,

Elder Halverson

Brig's District Singing Called to Serve in Greek (Brig said next time he will try to get their heads in the video)

Εβδομάδα 3

Preston MTC

Hey all,

Where the First Missionaries Stayed

Wow this has been such an awesome week. The MTC does get a little repetative doing the same thing over and over again everyday but this week I was able to do a lot of different things which was cool. 

Thursday we as an MTC went on a church history trip of the sites in Preston where the first missionaries of the church served there missions and where thousands were converted to the gospel. It was cool to see all of the different sights and then at the River Ribble where the first converts were baptized we had a race across the bridge because that is what people did to be baptized they race to go first, I have to say that sadly I didn't win but i didn't take last and we can just leave it at that, I would say if it was a mile I would have had more fair of a shot.

The rest of the week was pretty normal except Sunday again was amazing and the place is just filled with the spirit and it really is a special day of peace and rest.

Place the First Missionaries came in England

Then last night we were able to go and to watch the last dress rehersal of the pageant and we also participated and did our part, in the performance the spirit was so strong and it made me excited to get out and serve the people of Greece and bring the good message of the gospel. Then our part for the pageant is at the end and we participate by singing called to serve and a couple of other songs and it is just so awesome because everyone is filled with the spirit so it is cool to see it on the faces of those watching and I am so excited to be able to do it for the next two weeks and hopefully it makes them go by just that much faster. No offense to the MTC but sometimes it does feel a little cramped and I just want to get out.

The River Ribble

Running this week was not as good as the last I seemed to have run everyone out that would run with me and so now when we go they say that I can come but they have to be in front so I don't make them go to fast I will say it is still good to get out but I do really miss running so hopefully tomorrow we will get more runners coming into the MTC so I can find a running buddy. 

Tomorrow all the english speaking missionaries leave and then we get more in than leave so it will feel a little cramped because we go from like 45 missionaries to 75 but than that doesn't compare what happens in another three weeks president Bunker said that the MTC is going to have like 112 missionaries that is going to be like a madhouse but I guess we will just have to see how it goes. 

Αγαπώ,

Πρεσβετερος Χαλβερσον

Preston MTC

Running

Class

Pageant Brig is 2 from center on the right