Monday, March 11, 2013

"We brought him some canned food and a jug of water, and tried to find somewhere for him to stay."

Hey family!
First off: New Flat! We got the keys and checked it out today. It is super posh.
The address is:
Flat F
2 Hospital Road
Omagh BT79 0AN
Co. Tyrone
N. Ireland
 
So there we go. Send whatever you want to that address. Or the mission home, unless it's a package. Then send it to the new address.
 
So this week was really good! We'll begin at the end. Sunday was amazing. Gertie was finally able to come to church. She is just so amazing. When we asked how she liked the services, she couldn't put it into words. She always tells us that we're her wee angels, and that we are called by God, and given a special gift. If all goes well, she should be baptized on March 30!
Also, Ian came to church as well! He's the one that we visit three times a week at Vera's house. Apparently he hasn't been out for about six months, and that was because the new building was being dedicated. Basically we just called him on Sunday morning to remind him, and encourage him, and made sure someone was there to pick him up. Hopefully he gets into the routine and it becomes habitual to go every week.
Also, Happy Birthday Joey!
Other highlights from the week:
On Tuesday we came across a man named Peter, from Bulgaria. He was sitting on a park bench looking sad, and had a duffel bag next to him. We went over and asked if everything was ok. He started crying, and told us his wife left him and he had no where to stay. We brought him some canned food and a jug of water, and tried to find somewhere for him to stay. 
There were no homeless shelters in Omagh, so we told him to go to the hospital or the police station and they could help him. He didn't seem like he was going to go, so we called the police later on to see if someone could go check on him. We haven't seen him since, so we hope he got help.
Also, one day we were tracting and we met this old guy. He seemed fairly good at first, but then he started rambling about Anti-American stuff. Told us that Americans try to force their ideals on other people. He talked about Vietnam for a while, and seemed to get quite angry. It was very weird. So we gave him a Book of Mormon.
We met this super sweet old lady a few weeks ago, Beth Henderson. Whenever we're in the area, we stop by to at least say hi. Her husband doesn't like us at all. When he opens the door, he just rolls his eyes and goes to get her. Haha.
One day we went to follow up at a guy's house who we met in the street one day. The neighborhood is called Strathroy. It seemed fine at first, but the further we went into the neighborhood, we saw an Irish flag and a street sign with a guy holding a gun painted on it. So I guess it's the I.R.A. neighborhood. Quite the adventure.
We also taught a new investigator named Paul. He is Pramod's friend. He was born in India, but has lived in N. Ireland and England for most of his life. He is super intellectual, philosophical, and spiritual all at the same time. He asks a lot of deep questions.
So overall, it was a great week. We met some other good people, taught a few other good lessons, and walked and drove many miles.
Until next Monday,
Elder Burt

Picture:
This awesome sculpture thing is in Belfast. I call it the Belfast Ball, but I'm not sure what its official name is.