One week down! This past week has been one of the best weeks of my life. But it hasn't been easy. I didn't realize how much I would miss my family and friends, but I've learned that if I work hard and be obedient, I will be able to focus on my purpose as a missionary. 

My companion and the rest of the Elders in my district have become close friends. We've had to overcome some of the same challenges together. It's been really nice to have them as my companions and fellow district members. We have two sisters in our district who are both really awesome. They say that they are like our actual older sisters which is true. And we all agreed that we have the coolest sister missionaries in our district. But I did realize how valuable it is to have both Elders and Sister missionaries because we both have different perspectives on things, and it's nice to be able to learn from each other. 

There is an Elder in our district who is from the island of Jersey which is off the coast of France, and it is actually part of my mission. But he has the coolest English accent. And his parents are Portuguese, so he can speak Portuguese too. 

On the second day that I was here it was over 90 degrees I think, and it set the record for the hottest day in the UK ever. But the very next day it rained cats and dogs for two or three days in a row. You never really know when it's going to rain, but when it rains... it pours. We get to play basketball outside which is really fun. We played in the church too where the hoop was about 8 feet, so we got to dunk. And that was fun! 

Sunday was probably one of the most spiritual days of my life. Being in sacrament meeting with a bunch of other missionaries was awesome. And then later on that day we watched a couple devotionals by Jefferey R. Holland. And he sure knows how to motivate me. But after that we watched a movie about Joseph Smith and the restoration, and that increased my testimony so much about Joseph Smith. He went through so much. I honestly think the only person who has been through more pain and suffering is Jesus himself. I never knew until after watching that movie that Joseph Smith almost had to have his leg cut off when he was a young boy because of a disease that he had. And then growing up he was continually persecuted because of the vision that he said he saw. And then he had 5 children die. And then he sealed his testimony with his blood. He gave his life to restoring the true church which is pretty amazing! 

Seeing people driving on the opposite side of the road is so weird... it hurts my head just thinking about driving here. And the accents here are so cool. I love it. The MTC here is pretty small. There are only about 50-60 missionaries here. But I like it because it gives us a chance to get to know everyone. 

I think we get to go to Manchester tomorrow to practice teaching to people in the streets. I'm super excited for that. It'll be nice to do something different and get out of my comfort zone. 

So one of my teachers here said something really cool last night. He's from Italy by the way, and he's an awesome guy. But he said in his Italian accent "There is a stereotype that missions are hard. Missions aren't hard. Missions are just not easy. Some people have to wake up at 4:00 A.M. everyday and work all day long in terrible weather in order to support their families. That is hard." I don't know why, but that just hit me. Someone out there is always doing something harder than you. We got to go to the temple today. It's cool how even when your 6,000 miles away from home you can still feel at home in the temple. But learning about the gospel everyday has honestly been so awesome. I love you all! Have a great week everyone!

Elder Wray

 Dear President Hughes,

I am so excited to be a missionary in the England Birmingham Mission.  Opening my call was a dream come true, and I know that this is where I am supposed to serve.  The majority of my ancestors are from England and Wales.  It is going to be amazing to serve where my family is from.  I loved hearting about you and your family.  Meeting you and the rest of the missionaries is going to be a great experience.

I was born and raised in the State of Idaho, in the United States of America.  I live in a small farming community with a population of about 4,500 people.  I love where I am from.  It is a very close-knit community where everybody knows everybody.  The people here are very friendly and hard-working.  Growing up I have loved to play sports, especially football.  I played quarterback for my high school football team, and it was one of the best experiences of my life.  I was able to learn and grow so much from it.  Our football team had a very intense weight-training coach as well, so I have learned to love lifting weights.  It has also been something that has taught me how to set goals and work hard to achieve them.  I also played basketball and I ran track.

My mother and father are divorced.  My mother is remarried.  I have an older sister named Allysa who is 20-years old, a stepbrother who is the same age as me, a younger brother named Luke who is 13-years old, and a younger half-brother who is 8-years old.  I am going to be baptizing Kellen this weekend.  My family and I love watching sporting events and movies together.  I love to go fishing with my stepdad, brothers, and grandpa.  The past couple of summers we have been fortunate enough to go fishing in Alaska with my grandpa and uncle, which was spectacular.  My dad and I love to ride dirt bikes in the mountains together.  Basically, my family and I love to do anything outdoors.  My family is very excited about my mission call.  Some members of my family are not active in the church, but they are still very supportive of my decision to serve a mission. I am hoping to inspire them in some way.  I cannot wait to be able to share my experiences with my family members.

I am fortunate enough to go to a high school where seminary is available to take as a class.  I have loved it immensely.  It is truly where my testimony of the gospel was gained.  Before high school, I knew that I wanted to serve a mission, but I was not sure if I had enough faith to do it.  But during my first year of seminary, I came to know the truthfulness of the gospel and that I was surely going on a mission.  I am so grateful for my experiences in seminary.  I know that it has prepared me so much for my mission.  One of our seminary teachers also taught a mission prep class before school.  I am very glad that he did because I was able to learn so much about missionary work from him.

I am very grateful for this opportunity to serve.  I hope and pray that I can be a good and worth servant to the Lord.  I want you to know that I am going to work as hard as I possibly can with the Lord's help.  I understand how important this work is.  I do not want to waste any time that has been given to me.  I cannot wait to get to England and join the work!  Thank you for everything.

Sincerely,

Elder Jake Wray