Happy New Year everyone! 2020! 

Last night was the first time in my life that I've been awakened to the sound of exploding fireworks at midnight... it kind of startled me if I'm being honest, but it's all good! 

This past week Elder Kozma and I met with one of our friends from Romania. He is such an awesome guy! I love him so much! He is so humble, and he really knows Jesus. 

We've been really pushing ourselves this past week to find more people to teach, and we've been blessed with some success. We have some lessons tomorrow with a few new friends. So we're excited for that! 

I've been pretty addicted to this song called "Baptism" by Kenny Chesney. I was a big Kenny Chesney fan back home, and so being able to listen to this gospel song of his is a blessing! But most importantly, I like the message that the song shares. The song is obviously talking about being baptized.  The chorus of the song goes like this, "Down with the old man, up with the new. Raised to walk in the way of light and truth. I didn't see no angels, just a few saints on the shore. But I felt like a newborn baby, cradled up in the arms of the Lord." It reminds me what it was like being baptized and why I want to help someone else have that experience as well. Kenny Chesney just has to sing about everything that makes me emotional.  First, it was "The Boys of Fall"; and now, it's "Baptism". I love it though! 

I also heard a quote this past week that I really liked and wanted to share. The quote says, "The purpose of the Gospel is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted." I've definitely seen the truthfulness of this quote in my life on both sides. During my lowest lows, I've definitely been comforted. And I don't think I could have made it this far on my mission without divine help and guidance. But also, there have been times in my life where I've not been living the way I should or just simply needed to be taught a lesson. And the Lord has corrected me in one way or another. I'm really grateful for that comfort and also the afflictions, because I've needed both. 

It's hard to believe that this year is already over! But I'm excited for what this next full year in the mission has in store. I hope you all are ready to attack this new year! It's a new chapter. Make the most of it! Love you all!

Elder Wray

Hello everyone! 

I hope you all had a merry Christmas! This past week was great! We got to celebrate Christmas, and I hit my five-month mark! We had a very Christmas-themed Zone Conference, which was awesome! Our wise Mission President helped us understand the story of the birth of Christ a little bit better. Each zone also performed a humorous skit which was entertaining! My zone did a remake of the "Safety Zone" which is a video program that you watch in the MTC to learn how to be a safe missionary. I thought we did pretty good! It was funny! 

We spent Christmas at the Dean's house. They are a really great family in our ward. They fed us lunch and then we visited all of their children and grandchildren who are all also in our ward. It was really fun to be with them! 

This morning I was listening to General Conference talks while I was getting ready.  A talk came on by Elder Holland, called "Behold Thy Mother". I wasn't really planning on getting teary-eyed that early in the morning, but thanks to Elder Holland, I did. So if anyone wants to hear a talk that will make you cry, that's the one! He said that, "no love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child." I definitely agree with that! 

Anyways, other than that, Elder Kozma and I are still working to find people who want the gospel in their lives. It's not easy, but sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven! I know that the greatest things in my life have come because of my own sacrifice or someone else's sacrifice. So it's definitely worth it and we just have to stay faithful! 

I also want to say thank you to everyone who sent me Christmas cards and emails. It means a lot! Love you all! Merry Christmas!

Elder Wray

Pics:

One day this past week we were out street contacting and it started pouring rain, and nobody wanted to stop and talk to us (You can't really blame them when it's raining that hard). So we decided to go tracting instead, but we didn't have any success at all. So when it was time to head back home I was feeling slightly down, but then we walked past this park, and I saw two kids throwing a football. I don't think I've seen anyone playing football in the UK since I've been here, so I was so happy to see that! It made my day! So of course I had to go throw a couple passes to them. They were both from Romania, and they are Raiders fans. They're definitely some studs! 

Elder Kozma and I probably had too much fun decorating our Christmas tree!

Hey mates! 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas time! I had the chance to speak in Sacrament meeting yesterday. I talked about what gifts we can give the savior this year for Christmas. I thought of three things we could give him. We can serve others, remember him, and give ourselves to him. These are 3 things that I am going to try to focus on this Christmas! 

It's so weird to think that this will be my first Christmas away from home. I was reading an ensign article by Elder Holland and he shared a message for those people who would not be home for Christmas. He wrote about his first Christmas away from home. Funny enough, his first Christmas away from home is very similar to my first Christmas away from home. He talked about how he was in England on his mission. He had only been on his mission for a few months and he had just been assigned to be a senior companion for the first time. They didn't know what to do other than knock doors all December long. He wrote that he had never experienced so many rainy days in his life. And on the day of Christmas, he and his companion were out knocking on doors in the pouring rain. The cool part of the story is that he looks back on that Christmas as his most favorite Christmas, because it's when he really felt what Christmas is all about. 

Even though I'm away from my family for Christmas, I'm sure this Christmas will be most memorable for me. I'm really grateful to be serving the Savior, especially at this time. I hope everyone has a great Christmas!

Elder Wray

Pics:

1. This is Charlestown. It's really cool! Apparently they used this place to film part of Pirates of the Caribbean.

2. This guy who used to be in our ward in St. Austell moved to Bogota, Colombia to be a head school teacher there. He and his family came back to visit for Christmas, and they gave us this caramel dessert called Arequipe. It was really good! His ward is in Elder Balmforth's mission, so I told him to keep an eye out for him.

3. Hang loose!

4. Elder Kozma is a legend!

Hey everyone! 

This past week was great! We had interviews with our mission president on Friday. It's kind of funny, because we traveled about three hours by train and two hours by car to get to the chapel in Bristol to have a 10 minute interview. But it was totally worth it! President Hughes is probably one of the most Christ-like person I know. He makes everyone feel so loved and comfortable and he always has so many great insights. 

We've been teaching two really solid people. They are progressing fast, and I'm excited to see what the future holds for them! 

I heard about the tragedy that happened to the Hansen family after Thanksgiving. My heart and prayers go out to them. I know that family had such an impact on so many lives. Thankfully, we have a knowledge that they are okay and that they will be able to see their loved ones again. 

President Nelson in a general conference talk said, "Death separates the spirit and the body [which] are the soul of man.” (D&C 88:15.) That separation evokes pangs of sorrow and shock among those left behind. The hurt is real. Only its intensity varies. Some doors are heavier than others. The sense of tragedy may be related to age. Generally the younger the victim, the greater the grief. Yet even when the elderly or infirm have been afforded merciful relief, their loved ones are rarely ready to let go. The only length of life that seems to satisfy the longings of the human heart is life everlasting." 

Thankfully because of Jesus Christ we have the hope of everlasting life with our loved ones. He's the only one who gives us that hope and who can give us the strength to keep going during difficult times. I'm so grateful for that knowledge. I hope you all have a great week and are able to celebrate Christ during this Christmas season! Love you all!

Elder Wray

Pics:

1.  Cute little ponies!

2.  Fowey!

3.  Plymouth!

4.  Barnstaple train station.

5.  Elder Kozma and I on the train.

Hello everyone! 

Another week has gone by! It's crazy to think that the year is almost over! This past week was a good one! Elder Kozma and I did some work in Newquay, on Tuesday and Wednesday. We were able to make a couple of new friends. 

For our lunch break we bought a meal deal from Tesco and then watched people surf on the North coast while we ate our lunch. Elder Kozma was tempted to get his wet suit on and join them... just kidding. Surfing looks really fun though! 

I hope everyone back home had a fantastic Thanksgiving. It's a great time to reflect on what we have to be grateful for. My Mom was telling me that we can basically help retrain our brain to be happier and focus more on good if we just think of three things that we are grateful for every day. I am grateful for Jesus Christ and the example that he set for all of us to strive to follow. 

We have two friends we are teaching right now who are progressing pretty fast! They came to church and absolutely loved it! I'm excited to keep teaching them! Also, Costin, who is a returning member, came to church again with his family. He is so cool! I love that guy! 

We have also been really trying to push the "Light the World" campaign that the church does. It really is amazing and will help us remember the true meaning of Christmas. I invite you all to take part in it this year! 

I learned in one of my studies this week that in order to develop Christlike love for others we need to serve, sacrifice, and give on behalf of others. It can definitely be hard to do sometimes though! But it's definitely worth it.  There is nothing that is more rewarding and worthwhile than trying to share Christ's love with others. 

Have a great week everyone!

Elder Wray

*Sister Etches is the funniest lady ever! She is 95 years old but still has so much energy. And she has the coolest Scottish accent!

*I went on an exchange with Elder Chou. He is from Taiwan. There is only one other missionary in my district who is from America. Our mission has a lot of diversity when it comes to missionaries which I really like!

*Elder Kozma and I in Newquay

*The coast in Newquay

*Here's some fishing excuses for my Grandpa Mathews, Uncle Gavin, cousin Haden, and Step-dad Trevor for the next time they go fishing.

*Cool cave

*Be Happy:)

This past week was great! We met with a returning member. He is so cool! He's from Romania, but he's basically just traveled around Europe his whole life, and he had a lot of great stories to tell us. He came to church on Sunday with his family, and he loved it! He was telling us about how important friendship and good relationships are in life, and it is so true! Good relationships will make us so much happier in life! This guy is already one of my best friends! I love him! 

On Wednesday, we tried to find some inactive members in our area. We knocked on this one inactive member's door. She opened the door, and she was like "I don't know how you guys always find me." It was really funny! Thanks to Area Book we can find just about anyone. 

We had exchanges with the zone leaders this past week as well. Our zone leaders are so awesome! Elder Rogers is from New Zealand, and he was a stud rugby player back home. And Elder Menezes is from São Paulo, Brazil. He has the most American accent ever and he didn't even know English before his mission. I was companions with Elder Menezes for the day. We taught two lessons which was exciting! The second lesson was pretty awkward, because it was in a cafe with this girl who is about 19 years old, and then she brought her friend with her as well.  So it kind of had a double date vibe, which made me a bit uncomfortable. But Elder Menezes said that missionary work is often awkward which is so true. But you learn to deal with it. 

Yesterday, Elder Kozma and I taught this lady we met last week. She is so amazing! She is probably in her 50s, and she was telling us about her son who passed away. She said that she believes God took him to stop the suffering he was going through and that now he is an angel. She has such a positive and spiritual outlook on life. It's so admirable. But she said she already believes everything we taught her and she said that she knows that we met for a reason. She said meeting us felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders and that she feels so peaceful and joyful. During the lesson she kept saying that she had goosebumps and that she felt so good. Feeling the spirit is just feeling peace, love, and joy, and I know that's what she was feeling. I'm really excited and hopeful to keep teaching her. 

The gospel really does give people what they are missing in their lives. It helps us have even more happiness in this life. And it's okay to question things. I do all the time, but if you are patient, the answers will come. Have a great week everyone!

Elder Wray

Elder Kozma and I out on the grind!

This boy in our ward got baptized on his 8th birthday on Friday! It was awesome!

I hate these spiders!

Elder Menezes and I on exchanges!

It's been raining so much, but to be honest, I kind of like the rain now. It helps me to become more resilient. It's like a challenge! I love it!

Roll tide!

This is a harbour town called Mevgissey. It's pretty cool!

Hello everyone! 

I know that not everyone who reads my emails has the same faith as me or is religious, but I just wanted to ask everyone a question.   I get asked this question literally every single day. The question is, "If there is a God, then why does he allow bad things to happen to people?" Since I get asked this question just about as often as I get asked if I'm an American, I decided that I am going to make a list of responses for that question. If anyone has any thoughts, I would love to hear them. I have found a lot of answers to this question in The Book of Mormon. From The Book of Mormon, we learn that the purpose of life is to have joy and to prepare ourselves to meet our maker. We learn in 2 Nephi 2, that it is impossible for us to experience joy unless we also know what pain and sorrow feels like. In life, we are all subject to diseases and suffering; But we are all promised a perfect immortal body in the next life because of Jesus Christ. We also cannot grow and become better unless we face opposition. Sometimes we have to be beaten down so that we can grow stronger. I think if we understand why we came to Earth in the first place and realize that through the Atonement of Christ everything wrong in this life will be fixed in the next life, it will help us understand better. Helping people to understand that is definitely easier said than done though. 

A belief in God is becoming less and less a part of England's culture. I really admire the members of the church here though because their faith is so strong. But, it is because it has to be. The way they live and the things they believe aren't really normal in their culture and they have to constantly withstand the pressures of their society. I've heard people say that people are a product of their environment. And I think that can be true a lot of the times; but it still doesn't change our ability to choose and make decisions for ourselves. For example, many professional athletes grew up in drug and crime ridden communities but they chose to pursue sports rather than the lifestyles around them. So I know that if we want to we can all still have faith in God and his plan for us, even if people around us don't. 

This past week has been really good! We had zone conference, which was great! President Hughes talked a lot about how important using The Book of Mormon is in missionary work. Elder Kozma and I have made some new friends which is exciting! We talked to one of our friends on the phone the other night.  She basically just broke down and shared all of her problems with us. People in this world really are suffering. I think we all are in some way or another. But it's our job to help each other out and pick each other up. That is the whole reason why I'm still out here on my mission. We can ask ourselves why God is allowing bad things to happen, or we can tell ourselves that he sent us here to change it and help others. 

One thing that I have tried to do on my mission is pretend like every single day is my last day on Earth. This helps me to not take things for granted and to find joy in the little things. And to be honest, we never really know when our last day will be. I like thinking about the lyrics to one of my favorite songs that I listened to back home. It says, "Sometimes I lay under the moon and thank god I'm breathin, and I pray don't take me soon, cause I am here for a reason." Sometimes we just have to thank God that we are still breathing.

Elder Wray

*People ask Elder Kozma and I if we are brothers. What do you all think?

*We went on a walk with a great member of our ward today. It was a lot of fun!

*I thought I'd share a few church memes with you all! Don't laugh too hard.

Hello family and friends! 

This past week has been amazing! I left the Washford area on Tuesday and drove to Yate to drop off my trainer, Elder Cribbs. It was my first experience driving in England, which was pretty stressful especially when I drove through Bristol and Birmingham. But I'm still alive and the car is still in one piece, so that's all that matters. 

On Tuesday night I stayed the night in Bristol with some other Elders. Then on Wednesday Elder Larsen and I drove to Birmingham to pick up our trainees. My trainee's name is Elder Kozma, and he is from Hungary! He is awesome! He talks just like Ivan Drago from Rocky IV. 

After I picked him up, we had a 5-hour train ride all the way down to St. Austell, which is on the very opposite side of the mission. St. Austell is incredible though! This is one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen! We definitely got spoiled this transfer! 

On Friday we did service for some members. We helped them cut down some bamboo and trees. It was pretty fun! On Saturday we went to a town called Newquay to proselyte. Newquay is so awesome! It has so many beautiful beaches and it's basically just a surfing town. There were lots of people surfing which was so cool! 

While we were in Newquay, this guy in a van stopped in the middle of the road, which caused a traffic jam, and he rolled down his window and asked us if we went to church. We said yes, of course. Then he pulled over and we went to talk with him. He has such a strong belief in Jesus Christ! He kept telling us that we were following the right path. He is from Romania, and he is a delivery driver for Amazon. He said he works literally 24/7.  Hopefully we can have some lessons with him over the phone, because he is so prepared! He kept telling us that his sins are dragging him down but baptism would give him a clean slate. 

I remember reading a talk that said that our sins and mistakes are the biggest burdens that we'll all have to face in life. I would say that is probably true! But Jesus Christ will take those burdens from us if we will let him. 

Anyways, have a great week everyone! Love y'all!

Elder Wray