Glooooooooooooooooria!

Hutchins, Wang foo (mtc group), Maurer

A really bad photo of our district lunch with Elder Tan (AP) to my right

Greetings,

How are you?

​​This week has been great, very busy, very tiring but great. Some tender mercies of the Lord have been granted unto us as we have seen so many miracles come to pass. Every time someone accepts to learn more about the Gospel is a fulfillment of the Lords promise to his servants that 'I will go before your face' and that 'I will soften the hearts of the people'. The Doctrine and Covenants has become such a great source of strength for me on my mission. The language in which the Lord address's his people in this book carries with it a unique spiritual power which I feel every time I read from the text. What stands out to me the most is the attention the Lord gives to 'the One', many times, whole sections are devoted to the council and care of one individual, whether it be answers to prayers or rebuke, the invitation to repent and 'Come unto Christ' is always present - 'Nevertheless, as many times as my children shall repent I shall forgive them'. The restoration of the Gospel is an absolute fact, I know this because of Spiritual confirmation gained through studying, praying and applying the words of eternal life found in the modern day scriptures we have. So many times when investigators have concerns; doctrinal, cultural or administrative they are resolved by an appeal to the standard works of the Church. Feasting on the words of Christ brings light our souls, they reveal truth to our hearts and show our minds the way to the Kingdom of our Father in Heaven. 

Our two young friend Malachi and Elijah turned 9 this week and are preparing for their baptisms this week. They absolutely love 'TMNT' and so it is very easy for us to get along due to our common love of play fighting and exploring the land of make believe! They are such great kids though, when they pray you can feel their trust in that prayer being heard and answered. The great thing about their journey to baptism though has been the activation of their Mother. Since coming to the ward she has struggled to integrate and feel comfortable, but now that the focus is on her helping her sons to receive their first ordinance, it has sparked a flame and she is so focussed on leading a gospel centred home. She has also had some difficult things happen to her recently which has spurred the ward to gather around, bear her burdens, comfort and support her which has been so inspired. It 's been hard to see the world treat her so badly, but the wards response has affected me forever. Please pray for the boys and Nicola.

Last night we performed at the Hyde Park Christmas devotional, it was a lovely service - some really great acts, first presidency address's, media presentations and then us, the mission choir. It was great too see people from my birthplace London North, I am so blessed to have met so many great people on my mission. I sang a solo aswell 'In the Bleak Mid Winter', I still get so nervous, but after the first few notes I begin to enjoy it now. After the Christmas truce video, which I might add is ruined by the Sainsbury logo occupying the screen at the end, Me and Elder Adriano started ' Silent Night ', he sang in German and I in English, I don't think it blended that well but hey ho! 

Anyway, great things are happening in the Watford Zone and in the England London Mission, I am excited for Christmas, I love this time of year.

I love you all,

Hugs and Handshakes

Elder Nolan

Breakfast Buffet this morning!