Black Monday

Email - September 30, 2013

Haha I love that Peyton eats eggs on toast! And, Tanner and his date look great!!!! THAT'S MY BOY! 

This last week was pretty good. Elder Mannucci and I went on exchange on Thursday and we stayed in Southampton! And, we ran into an Italian guy and scheduled a lesson with him. I sat there for over an hour and just listened to two Italians talk forever... haha in Italian. I tried to pick up bits and pieces because I could understand a little cause its similar to Spanish. But, wow, that was just quite the experience I guess. Italians are so loud! haha! 

Anyway, a guy from the Winchester ward was baptized! The sisters in our district have been teaching him and I had the opportunity to go to his baptism on Saturday! I've met him a lot at YSA activities and such. And, we've gotten to be pretty good friends so he asked me to come to it! It was so cool! I can't wait till I get to see a baptism of someone that I am teaching! 

As far as B____ goes, he believes and has a testimony. But, his mother that lives in France doesn't want him to be baptized :( and since he's not 18, we need his legal guardian's consent for it. It's disappointing but, oh well. Down the road, maybe he'll get baptized! We're still going to teach him for sure though! 

So Moves are Wednesday, that means transfer calls go out tonight! So, if you're going to send anything this week I'd wait until Wednesday so I know where I will be!!! haha I really really hope that I stay in Southampton! I love it here and there is so much for me to get done next transfer! 

I have started to learn my testimony in Chinese. It is coming along pretty well! I love learning it. It's such a weird language though with all the tones and such. But, I love it!

I can't wait to see what happens tonight! Since today isn't a p-day, it's referred to as Black Monday. It's a long day. But, oh well. We have some appointments today so its ok! Hopefully, the day will go by fast!

Next transfer is Elder Buglass' last transfer! And, so he is getting excited and anxious. 

I definitely will email you guys on Wednesday to let you know where I am!!! Hopefully, still here!!!

I love you guys! and I miss you loads! Thanks for all the letters and such! It means a ton!

Love, Elder Munson

"The one in the middle is Jacob who got baptized on Saturday."

"Pawl is a member who moved here from Poland!  Funny guy!"

"At YSA we learned how to skin and clean fezzants...ha ha!"

 -- a.k.a. pheasants (Dying.  Laughing.) -- 

"Sister Bolinder (Utah) and Sister Nenadavic (Croatia)."

"Found an American store that sells Arizonas.  :)"

My Chinese is getting pretty good. :)

Letter - September 16, 2013

Munson Family!

  Wow!  Today I got to go to Stonehenge!  It was incredible!  The best pile of rocks I've every seen!  For real though.  I LOVED it.  I'm so glad that Dave took us.  He's the best.

  There were so many foreigners there.  It's a popular place for European students to go I guess.

  Oh, and I already emailed you about B____ earlier today, but we saw him again tonight after P Day was over!  And, that was amazing!  He seriously is so in tune withe Spirit, it's crazy.  I can't wait to continue to be his guide through his search for the truth.

  Tomorrow, I will have my first interview with President Millar.  I'm excited to get to know him better. We have Zone training in Portsmouth.  And, I love going there cause I love taking the train!  So, that will be fun!

  Oh yeah, I forgot to say that B____ wants us to come back to meet with him on Wednesday before Young Men's.  Then, he's going to come to Young Men's as well!  I can't wait!

  Thank you guys for all the letters and updates about things back home!  I love getting letters.

  And, that's so cool that mum got baptized on this date too!

  It's so exciting to see how well PG is doing this year!  I'm proud of them!

  I hope I stay in Southampton for a long time.  My Chinese is getting pretty good.  I'm working on being able to bear my testimony in it right now.  I have mastered a simple conversation and a few other phrases.  But, now, my testimony is in the works!  I can't wait!  I've also been learning how to write in the characters as well!  Super hard.

  Anyway, I love and miss you all so much!  But, being a missionary is absolutely the coolest, most rewarding thing I have ever done.  Any, by rewarding, I mean that in a spiritual sense.  But, I'll only be rewarded by serving, and so, I'll keep that up!

  I love you! (in Chinese characters)  I miss you! (in Chinese characters)

Love,
Elder Munson

A Glorious Mishmash

Elder Munson cracks us up!  I love getting his emails every Monday.  It makes Monday my favorite day of the week!  It is sometimes so very apparent he has a lot of things to share, and they all tumble out in randomness.  I just laugh.  This week's email is a prime example.  But, it is a glorious mishmash of lots of things, and it is obvious that, even with all of his various thoughts and sentiments, one thing is constant -- he LOVES being a missionary! 

Email - September 23, 2013

WOW that Lehi game sounds exciting!  Thank you, mum and dad for all the letters and updates!  I love dad's sports updates and the stories and quotes he sends me!  They are great!  And, mum, thanks for the tie and stickers!  Ha ha.  I love stickers.

AND OH MY GOSH!  HOODIE ALLEN COMMENTING ON THAT FB POST!!!  So unreal!  HAHAHAHA.  I LOVE HIM.  :)

Anyway, this week was good!  It is crazy that we are now heading into the last full week of the transfer.  So weird.  Last Monday, we got to go to Stonehenge!  It was incredible.

Then, on Tuesday, we had Zone Training, and I had my first interview with President Millar.  He is awesome!  I am thankful for all the work he does and the love he has for the work.

Over this last week, we met with B____ four times!!!!!!!!  So crazy!!!  He is progressing so well!  We are planning on taking him to a baptism this Saturday so he can see what it is like, and he's excited to go!  I'm so pleased that the Lord has placed him here.

I'm so happy for Keaton and Dani!  They will be great missionaries!

It will be a crazy next week and a half.  I really hope I stay in Southampton.  I'm pretty sure I will, but we will see.

This Saturday we are having a big chapel open house thing where, hopefully, a lot of non-members will show up and be able to learn more about our faith.  It has been a huge ward effort to get it all together, so I'm excited to see how it will turn out!

Oh, yeah and mum, I forgot to answer those other questions last week...

So, about S____, yes, she has been meeting with the missionaries on and off for the last 15 years!!! But, she just hasn't been baptized yet.

I love this work so much!  I have been so amazed at the things I am learning.  My Chinese is getting loads better.  I talked to a Uni student the other day on the street and we talked for a few minutes in Chinese...until she asked how to get to the bus interchange at the university, then I had no idea what she was going on about.  So, I had to ask her to explain that in English.  Ha ha.  But, I love being able to speak it even a little bit!

I miss you and love you all so much!  I hope you had a good week!

I love the Pic My Kid guy.  He's super nice!  Oh, and dad, that is so funny about the girls' tennis team!  Did Russ tell you that's what they said?  Hahaha!  Russ is a nice guy, huh?  I miss his class.

Anyway, have a good week!

Love, Elder Munson

"These are the Young Men from the Southampton Ward!

The one in the blue next to me is B____.  The one above

him is an investigator named T____.  We had just got done playing

basketball and they were jumping all over me.  That's why

my tie is all messy."

"Me and Carol!  She is the funniest lady in the whole world.

We are two peas in a pod.  She loves me.  She is a recent

convert...about 16 months ago."

"They had an American football at Young Mens this week...

I was in heaven!"

A Day Full of Miracles

Email - September 16, 2013

Ah, we had a good week! And, it's good to hear from you guys! Thanks for all the pictures! I'm so excited for Hunter and Brandon.

Anyway! On Wednesday, at District Meeting I taught a part of the lesson and taught all about enduring to the end! Which is easily my favorite scripture topic to study! So, I prepared well for it and I feel that it went well!!

On Thursday, Elder Buglass and I went on exchange with the Zone Leaders! I went to work with Elder George in Romsey. And we had the most incredible day ever. First of all, people in Romsey are so much nicer than people in Southampton. But, we taught 7 lessons in one day. And, only one of them was scheduled. It was insane! But, the biggest miracle happened later in the night! So.. it starts getting dark here now around like half seven. So, we had just taught a lesson with a less active member and washed and cleaned out the Zone Leaders car. So, we started heading back to the flat in Romsey and we were just driving around in circles... and I was so confused about what Elder George was doing... but, I didn't say anything. Then,all of a sudden, he blurted out "Well Lord, I'll take that as my answer," and I was like what the freak are you talking about? haha And, he said that he had been praying in his heart that if there were no parking spaces we would go knock one last road before we went in to have dinner. And, at this point it was like 7:45. And, I was like, "Okay sweet, where are we going?" and, he said he had no idea... hahahaha! So, we just started driving and we passed a road called ALMA road and I said, "Wait wait turn around, we're knocking that road back there." So, we turned around and parked and got out and started on ALMA road from the far left side. The very first door we knocked... a man named J____ opened the door. We told him we were missionaries sharing an important message with everyone and told him all about the Book of Mormon, and it was incredible. He was asking us to meet up with him cause he wanted to know more and he like called Elder George's phone to make sure we gave him the right number and everything. It was so cool. So, we said a prayer with him and left and Elder George and I just looked at each other and just were silent. We said nothing and just got in the car and headed on our way like we both knew in our hearts that that was the last thing the Lord needed us to do before we went back to the flat for dinner. THE LORD FREAKING GUIDED US TO A SPECIFIC DOOR AND PERSON. We both knew it! In the car, we analyzed what had just happened and we were both freaking out, and it was so cool!

By the way, 7 lessons in one day is a record for me... and Elder George who has only 6 months left.. so, it was just a day full of miracles!

An older family on our Ward had a grandson move in with them and he is not a member. He came to church with his grandparents yesterday and we started talking and ended up sitting down with him during Sunday School and taught him the first lesson and he was super interested, and he told us that he wants us to teach him the rest of the lessons. I really, really think that he will be baptized. His grandparents are very active members, so they will play a big part in his conversion. But, I cannot wait to see where it goes! Obviously, hopefully, to the font!

I love you guys so much! and I miss you loads! But, I love being a missionary. The Gospel is so sick.

Love, Elder Munson

 "It was so rainy and windy, I just didn't even bother fixing my umbrella."

"Me and Elder George."

In the words of Hoodie Allen...

Letter

September 3, 2013

Family,

  Hello!  How is everyone?  Yesterday was P Day and it was good.  I forgot to write though!  And, now it's lunch and I just got a package fro you!  (Mum)  Thank you for the scripture reference guides! Those are awesome.  And, the testimony triangle.  And, the letter, of course!

  It's crazy that school is in full swing.  That's good you've all survived it so far though!

  I got a letter today from Coulson Rich and one from Brittany Conner.  So good to hear from them. Brittany is loving SUU and Coulson says he sucks at Spanish and I think he leaves the MTC very soon. Ha ha!

  I think we have two exchanges next week.  One with the Zone Leaders and one with Elder Mannucci. So, that will be good.

  I LOVE being a full time missionary.  It's the greatest thing I've ever done.  It's super hard, but in the words of Hoodie Allen, "I know it's hard, but so is anything that's worth it."  :)  :)  I think those lyrics are spot on.  It's so worth it.  And, I know that.

  I have been called as the Zone "Knight of Salvation."  I'm in charge of studying the Work of Salvation website every week and extending a challenge to the whole Zone every week.  I love it!  I study hard and find meaningful things that can help progress the work in the whole Zone.  It's been a great calling so far!

  I love being a missionary!

  I love you all!

Love,

Elder Munson

Commandments are soooo sick!

Email - September 9, 2013

Ah first of all thank you guys for the letters and everything!! And I got the package and thank you for the flash drive! Unfortunately, this week Stonehenge didn't work out but we are going next Monday! But, I'll still be able to email in the morning before!!!

Ah mum, I was going to answer the questions you had in your letter today in this email! But, I left the letter at the flat on accident! Ah I'm sorry. I'll get them answered! I remember the one about the guy from Ghana. And, no, we never saw him again but we passed his information to the missionaries in Ghana!

We have two exchanges this week, so that will be nice!

I miss you all loads!

On Sunday, the Elders Quorum President, Brother Tootil, walked up and handed me his Windows phone with all the scores from the FBS over the weekend. haha He has done it the last two weeks hahaha I LOVE IT. He is awesome! And mum, no, the things you send me and such do not make me home sick! I love to see what's going on back home!

S____ has had heath problems this last week.. so, we weren't able to see her which is a shame! I hope everything will be alright! We should be seeing her soon!

There was a talk given on Sunday about the commandments! AH! Commandments are soooo sick! It's definitely the cool thing to do to keep them. ;)

It was just a really normal week this last week. Nothing too exciting! We had a dinner appointment everyday besides Monday and Tuesday though!! So, that was very good.  :)

Thanks you guys for all that you do! Grandma and Grandpa send me letters, too, updating me about their lives and I LOVE it!

I love and miss you all!

Love, Elder Munson

Oh, and here are some pictures... 

"...one from the carni that came a couple of weeks ago..."

"...one from the pier this last week..."

 "...and one doing the signature MeKenzey Miles pose."

"Our zone is great... Sister Morgan, (bottom right corner, blonde)

is from Parowan!

I love the mission field!

Letter

August 26, 2013

Dear Family,

  Today was a very fun P Day!  (as you already know from my email)  But, The Best Two Years was seriously SO much fun to watch as a missionary.  The whole district was dying through the whole movie.

  Anyway, this last week was a really just weird week with the first transfer ending and Elder Yu leaving and such.  Elder Ng's new companion, Elder Lam, is from Hong Kong and he's really nice and a really good missionary.  But, it's still not the same as Elder Yu!  Ha ha!  The days really started to seem a lot slower to me after that.  Everything seemed to be going by so fast until the second half of last week.  I don't know if that's because I'm fully adjusted to this life now, or what the heck it could be, but, oh well.

  I am trying to learn as much from Elder Buglass as possible and help him as much as possible as well.

  So, that new investigator, A____, that I emailed about...yeah, he's moving, so that's just great!  Ha! Hopefully, S____ will continue to progress and hopefully some new investigators will come forth.

  I can't believe the end of this week will be September!  Crazy!  I got on a plane to Chicago two months ago today!  Wow.  

  I love the mission field though and all the time we get to study and learn and, especially, all the time we have to find and help others.

  I love and miss you all!  Thank you for everything you do!

Love, 

Elder Munson

3 Fast Sundays Down!

Email - September 2, 2013

On Tuesday, the office Elders called and said they had a referral for us and that we needed to try to go visit her asap. And, so, we texted her and set us an appointment. Her name is N____ and she has been dating a man from another ward in Southern England. So, we talked for a while about what she was expecting to get out of meeting with us. And, she said that she just thinks that it would be good for her to gain her own faith in something! Which is amazing! She was so accepting and open to the message of the Restoration and is so willing to carry on with learning. She went away to Canada for a couple of weeks now but she is planning on meeting with us as soon as she gets back and that will be super exciting.

We also had a Zone/District meeting on Wednesday in Portsmouth. I love our Zone Leaders, Elder Fingerle and Elder George. Both of them are incredible missionaries and super nice guys.

Dave had something come up so we will be headed to Stonehenge next Monday! I am so excited to go there! I have always wanted to go there!!

People here are tough to talk to. They literally look at you like your a freak just by saying hi to them on the streets like that's not normal or something?

But, my Chinese is improving. I can greet and hold a brief conversation with people now. So, hopefully, that will continue to improve. It's such a hard language to learn, but it's fun.

And, I also learned 'I love you' in 2 more languages (Danish & Polish). So, now I know it in 12! haha

I love being a missionary. And, I love the Spirit that I get to feel basically 24/7. It's such an amazing thing to be called to serve others full time! I love it!

Love, Elder Munson

"Oh my.. ok, so this is Elder Day. He is one of the Chinese speakers in this mission. He went to Olympus High School... and guess who he dated for like over 2 years... NIKKI MINOR. That girl that I met in Newport a few years ago. They broke up like right before that spring break!! HAHA so funny. We were both laughing so hard. He is awesome."

"Me and the Zone Leaders. Elder George and Elder Fingerle."

"Look how big this Tri is. We found it in the flat. The print in it is HUGE!"

"Had a water fight at Young Men's and Young Women's...

I was soaked...they ganged up on me."