Hull - December 24, 2012

Our week was good! The mission Christmas party was really fun; it was good to see Elder Ball and Humphries again. Our investigators are doing great! A man was recently baptized and confirmed who has been meeting with the missionaries since April.

David is looking really good to be baptized on Friday and Piotr just needs his wife’s permission for him to get baptized. If we can get that by Friday, then it'll happen. Other than that we found a lady from Latvia who speaks Russian and English and we also four other Polish people.

We met a Polish lady on Saturday who was a bit drunk. We tried to teach her, but she was flirting with Elder DeShazer the whole time. We had anticipated ahead of time that she might be a little flirty, so Elder DeShazer brought a picture of his girlfriend and I cut out a random picture of a sister missionary from the Ensign and taped it up to look all nice (so mine was fake). Well, she bought mine (also she thought I was Chinese), but said that Elder DeShazer's wasn't real (which it was really real). Well, we got out of there safely and I don't think we're too keen on going back. Oh, she also invited Elder DeShazer to go to Poland on a trip with her. I think it's good that we teach the gospel in twos and that we’ve got each other's backs. I'm glad we got out of there safely.

I'll see you tomorrow. I'm excited to talk to you.

Love

Starszy Ressler

Hull - December 17, 2012

I'm doing great! There isn't any snow on the ground and the grass is all green. That doesn't mean it isn't cold! I try to wear thermals all the time when I can because they are mostly helpful when we're out finding at night. The thing is though that's half the day as it gets dark around 4:00 pm now. Around 3:00 pm the sun starts to set. Time goes by so fast here on a mission.

I'm excited for Christmas; sounds like it'll be an exciting time for you all. It is for us too. Piotr, David, and Rachel all are planned to be baptized on the 28th. I hope they can all make it. Piotr will be Elder DeShazer’s and my first Polish baptism. So the first baptism by missionaries coming to England assigned to speak Polish. It's really exciting. I think this Polish group will happen and I'm happy to be a part of it. David is really good too; he accepted everything in the gospel. He says he's been looking into Mormonism since he was 12. I'm excited for him and his family is supporting him as well.

We gave Daniel the address in Poland where the branch meets and the time. He said that it's only about an hour and 20 min from his house. Be happy we live so close to a church and a temple. In fact there isn't a temple in Poland, yet. I hope that someday there will be though.

Piotr came to church on Sunday! He and Daniel seemed to get along really well. It was funny, they were talking in Polish and I heard the conversation go something like this, Piotr: “They just come over to my house a lot and talk with me about God.” Daniel: “Me too” It's really good for both of them. In Doctrine and Covenants section 90 verse 11 it talks about how everyone should hear the gospel in their own language. Everyone should be able to understand it in their own language and be able to accept it.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Love you tons,

Starszy Ressler

Hull - December 10, 2012

IT'S REALLY COLD!! But, we survive. I miss the summer. Polish is going great. I talked to a man yesterday, but had pretty much no Idea of what he was saying! He talked really fast. But it's coming.

On Monday Elder DeShazer, Elder Christensen, and I all got food poisoning. We all had a rough night, and I think that effected our week a bit. But we're all feeling a lot better now, except for Elder DeShazer whose kidneys are giving him grief again. We're going to see a doctor today.

So now we're teaching a man who was first contacted by Elder DeShazer and Christensen on the street. They gave him a pamphlet on the Restoration of the Gospel. He read it and it made sense to him. Then about a month or two later, Elder DeShazer and I found him on the street. He said that he read the pamphlet and it made sense to him and he's interested. We went over and taught him on Tuesday. We taught him the first lesson, and he accepted the message and is super excited to be baptized on the 28th of December. He says he doesn't really drink and that he feels that Mormonism is the religion for him; it's the one that makes the most sense to him. In the past he said that from religion he felt it was always negative, like ‘fire and brimstone’, and ‘you are all going to hell’ type of thing. But, he feels we teach with him, instead of to him. I'm really quite impressed with him.

Also, on the 28th of December a Polish man is going to be baptized (the first Polish person by us). I'm really excited for that. He has a firm belief in following the ways of God and has strong faith. Also, he pretty much accepts all the lessons we've taught him.

Our other Polish investigator is doing well, but we haven't taught him this week; and also he didn't come to church due to not feeling so well. But, we're still meeting with him. We have a similar English investigator who is still learning the gospel and I believe he's doing alright too.

On Saturday it was the ward Christmas party. That was good and interesting. I really enjoyed it. Elder and Sister Olsen were Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause. When Elder Cumming saw them in the hall all dressed up, he burst out laughing. It was really cute I thought. English party foods are really interesting...

I've already learned so much on my mission and changed a ton. I've come to realize more of who I am as I try harder to be like my Savior. Through the success I've seen, I can rejoice in the changes people have made and come closer to God. And through the hard times I've seen, I've grown so much.

One of my recent converts just got a calling and also, I think, went to the temple (not inside, just to the lobby; for now).

Everything is going great. I really do feel good, Mom, so don't worry about the food poisoning. It was something we all ate. We're not sure what it was, but it's gone now. Yesterday, we gave a Book of Mormon to a man and then said good-bye and crossed the street. I told Elder DeShazer to walk slow because I was watching him and he was reading it as he walked. He stopped for a while and just read, walked a bit more, then stopped again. I hope he gets into it.

Love you all so much. I hope the family is doing well.

Love,

Starszy Ressler

Hull - December 3, 2012

It is good to hear from you all every week. England is great! Elder DeShazer and I are speaking more Polish. I hope I'm getting better; I feel I am. I understand a lot more of what people say than I used to. Sorry, I haven't been taking too many pictures lately. The thing is I’ve already been in Hull for four months and I feel like I've seen a lot of it. For P-days I can't really travel too much, I can't really go places. I'm supposed to stay in my area for P-days. But, there are a few things to see here in Hull, no castles, really. There's a harbor that is famous for the Humber River and there's a huge bridge that goes across it. I've gone across the bridge once for a P-day; that was neat. There aren't really any castle walls in Hull either, but if I do go visit one, I'll make sure to take pictures.

We're trying to get a group here in Hull. It might be a mixed Chinese and Polish group. We’ll be doing a lot of translating and even blessing the sacrament in Polish; that'll be fun, I think. I'm excited for this week; we've seemed to meet some good people and we're working with some really good people. Daniel is doing well; he not only came to church, but brought his family. I Love that family so much. Daniel has so much faith.

We met a man a few weeks ago that Elder DeShazer and I found, and later he and Elder Humphries taught. They ended up losing contact with him. We recently found him and he is reading the Book of Mormon. He is scheduled to be baptized on the 28th of December. His name is Piotr (Peter). He's really tall, maybe 6 feet 4 inches, and really broad. He's married and his family is living in Poland. Also, we met a Lady who recently moved here to Hull. She is also scheduled to be baptized on the 28th.

Yesterday I had an interesting experience. We were walking to an appointment and Elder DeShazer started talking to this guy. He was a bit drunk and was swearing like crazy and kept saying really discouraging things about how we think we're doing a lot of good out here, but in the end we're doing nothing; how we can share our book all we want, but that it does no good. After a while I could see it was affecting us a bit and I had had enough. I don't think I've been bolder with anyone before in my lifetime. I testified to him that the gospel means everything in the world to me, that it's done everything for me, and I know it'll help everyone who accepts it. I don't even think it was me. It was the Spirit; it was also a testimony to me that I do know this is true. I know that God lives. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it has been given to me, a 19 year old boy, so that I can know its true and so that I can make a difference by sharing it on a mission. The other Elders and I have seen many miracles. We've seen men stop doing drugs, drinking, and smoking. I've seen lives change and differences made. I know that this is God's work and this is the way to make the world better.

I think that I'll get to Skype you on Christmas, so that's exciting.

I love you all so much,

Starszy Ressler