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

Hey everyone! 

This was my last week here in the Washford area. I'm really going to miss this area and the people I've met! I definitely won't forget about the people I've been able to teach and the sweet members in our branch. It's been a great experience for me, and I'm so thankful for it! Im also really thankful for my trainer, Elder Cribbs. He has made these past two transfers really fun! And he's helped me to grow so much! 

I've been assigned to serve as a district leader in St. Austell, which is in the very southwestern part of England. I'm super excited to learn and grow as a missionary and as a person. 

I've been a bit stressed thinking about the responsibilities that I'm going to have, but one scripture that I really like is Philippians 4:13 which says "I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me". 

I'm thankful to have that knowledge that I have a God to turn to when I know that my own abilities aren't enough. I'm sure we all have times in our lives when we feel inadequate, worthless, hopeless, or just confused; but striving to follow Jesus Christ will make all the difference. 

I will find out who my trainee is this Wednesday! I'm super excited to meet him! Love you all! Have an amazing week, and don't let one day pass you by!

Elder Wray