Called to Serve...South London Style

November 18, 2013

Hi Mum!

We have seen small miracles this week in Portishead. Certainly finding is the key focus of all our efforts. We have had to talk to everyone! But because of this, we were able to meet a young man named Lewis on the street and have a good lesson with him. Upon scheduling to meet him this last Sunday, we parted ways until then. The miracle was on Saturday. Apparently Lewis is the friend of another street contact named James. Lewis had told James that he had met two American religious guys and was meeting them on Sunday, and James was interested. In his words, "he likes to keep an open mind". So James called us up, asked if he could join on Sunday, and was present for our first lesson. We brought along a member (Brother Harvey) and it seemed as though James was more interested than Lewis! He asked more and more questions, then said he would need to read the Book of Mormon before he could make any conclusions. This gift from God offset most of my disappointment in the long hours of knocking. Elder Gunnell is a good companion to have. We just have to do our shopping separate; we have different tastes! He's from a farm in northern Utah and has been out for 6 months now.

Portishead is a beautiful seaside town growing at a breakneck pace! It must be the fastest growing town in England. We live in a very nice flat on the marina (I'll send photos) and still walk and bus everywhere. It is like a suburb of Bristol. I'm currently in a Mac store in Bristol. What a place!

It's terrible to hear what has happened in the Philippines. People at church were talking about it. The ward we attend is the Weston-Super-Mare 1st Ward (there are 2). It has a little problem with unity but isn't as bad as Brighton haha. I'm getting to know everyone's names now. Also, I've been keeping in contact with the investigator Blake and recent convert family the Aka's. I've got to keep them going!

I've got my British Driver's license now! You should have seen the look on my trainer's face (Elder Ormsby) when I drove up in Staines for transfers. He was astonished (in a good way)!

Ok for Christmas if you send anything over $40 it will go through customs and will have a %20 charge added on my side. Just declare it under $40!

Love you!

Elder Cooper

The coast on Portishead with Wales in the background.