An I Pad single to the glory of God...

                   

                                         

                                         

Hey everyone!

How are you doing?

So it's moves again - I am leaving. President has called me to be his
assistant. Crikey bobs. We had a meeting with him last week where he
said I would be merging the Colchester and Cambridge zones together
with elder Adriano and continue serving as a zone leader, so when he
called yesterday I wasn't expecting what he would say. I am excited to
serve and work in this role though. My companion is the one and only
Elder David. Round two baby! What's also cool is that the Britannia
ward boundary covers all of central London, so will be technically
leaving the mission weekly! I have loved cambridge with Elder Whitby
and it has been a sacred time for me. he has helped me to reach a new
level of consecration and self mastery which I will be forever
grateful for.

This week has been incredible. It began with a mission wide conference
in London in which we were taught by President Patrick Kearon and
Elder Nielsen both of the first quorum of the seventy. They came to
train us on the use of iPads - however the meeting panned out very
differently to what I expected. I assumed we would be bored stiff with
tutorials on how to use these modern day seer stones but of course the
Lords servants new better than that. They sincerely expressed how much
they loved us - Elder Kearon has such a wonderful manner and really
created a comfortable environment for us to learn in.

The iPads themselves are... Flipping mint! We have used them in pretty
much every lesson since we them and they have done nothing but enhance
the teaching and learning experience. It also feels good to have
technology back in my life. This was a main focus of our conference,
the brethren understand the future of the church is in the hands of
the current missionary force. Frankly, many missionaries developed bad
habits when using technology back home - whether it be gaming, social
networking or pornography. This introduction of iPads is massively
focussed on preventing the widespread relapse that happens when
missionaries return home and are bombarded with temptations of the
past. This is the time to learn good habits and set a standard of
online behaviour that will bless each of us and our current and future
families. Elder Nielsen shared with us the response of the first
presidency when they were asked about the potential pitfalls of such
an initiative, they said 'We trust the missionaries'. How powerful is
that? I was really moved by it and it inspired me to have an 'iPad
single to the Glory of God'.

I love you all

Hugs and handshakes


Elder Nolan

Ps. Aisha went to the temple this weekend and really enjoyed herself.

Pps. My new p day is Saturday so feel free to email me before then!

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IPads

Hey everyone! 

This week was brilliant, Aisha was baptised and confirmed and it was such a lovely experience. She is really a wonderful person, full of faith and meekness. She has overcome so many fears and obstacles to get to this point. She used to come to sacrament with her hood up and keep to herself. Yesterday she walked in in a bright yellow cardigan, and her hair gave way to her beaming face! She was really glowing! 

The Zone is doing really well, we are improving. We also had a conference call with President this weekend and it seems iPads are now entering the mission. We are having a conference with Elder Kearon this month to receive our training on using them. I am excited for it, they will be really handy. 

Well, not much time today! I am happy, well and feeling very blessed. 

I love you all,

Hugs and Handshakes

Elder Nolan

                              Elder Nolan, Aisha and Elder Whitby

Motives Make a Man

Good Morning! 

How are you doing?

I am doing well; Whitby and I had a great week and we have seen so much progress in our area. Our Kuwaiti student friend had her baptismal interview on friday and she passed with flying colours. She is doing great and is preparing for baptism on saturday. We had interviews last week and after we taught her with President Jordan, I probably learnt more than she did! He really guided her and helped her to understand the passage we were reading. She had been struggling to understand the Book of Mormon but after that lesson she felt confident and excited to keep reading. Since then, most of our lessons have just been going through a verse or two, it really is the best way to teach someone. 

We did the same thing we a Family we have been meeting with last night. The mother is a returning member and the children are on the verge of baptism. We talked about 2 Nephi 32 'Behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do', the Spirit poured into the room and we asked some great questions. We felt confident that we should extend a baptismal goal to the Father, who has previously never accepted one. We did it and he indeed accepted! The oldest daughter also accepted the same date, 24th May. All because we 'feasted upon the words of Christ' together. I love it. 

So, this Sunday I was asked to give a talk and it went pretty well - I was the opener for the Bishop and then a member of the Stake Presidency. I really enjoyed preparing and giving this talk so I wanted to share it with you: 

'When you are assigned to give a talk about yourself, almost instinctively your curiosity of how interesting others perceive you to be begins to cultivate thoughts in the mind and ultimately alters the way you feel about the answer to the question 'How long do I have to speak?' - Seemingly I have 8 minutes to interest you, so here goes.' 

'Paul says, 'When I was a child I spake as a child, but when I became a man I put away childish things', - I, like many other missionaries find this a difficult verse to 'liken' unto myself. When I was a child my Grandfather would rehearse unto me from his own mind a series of Bedtime stories. The central character being called 'Superman Toby', a young, Mancunian apprentice to Superman himself. He has been assigned stewardship over a small village to which he felt great allegiance and responsibility for. Frequently he would report to his Master and receive instruction, training and guidance on how to better fulfill his role. Daily he would meet and council with close members of his 'Gang', namely 'Isaac and Lucy', cousins of his and interestingly real-life cousins of mine also. They would gather with the rest of his gang in a tree house situated in the middle of an idyllic village green. Here, they would plan and organise their collective activities in the area - also never failing to report on the movements of Toby's arch enemies; The Three Boys. Names were never attributed to these detached teenage devils. They were always causing trouble and stifling the progress of Toby and his friends. Whether it be sabotaging service projects, playing unfairly in intergang sports matches, making a mockery of the good kids, stealing their bicycles and even pushing little unsuspecting girls into the deep end of the swimming baths. They were bad news, but somehow Toby's attitude towards them was never vengeful and from the way my Grandfather described their relationship it was apparent that Toby earnestly hoped for them to change.'

'During the year of hearing these brilliant stories I got to know Toby quite well; He was kind, honest, brave, a leader, he protected those weaker than himself, he was wise - as wise as a 10 year old boy could be, he somehow never gave up hope, never became discouraged and he always remembered who he was. My wonderful Mother would always, without fail say to me 'Remember who you are', it took a while for me to comprehend what she really meant.'

'I looked up to Superman Toby, he was everything I wanted to be. He served those around him, he lead them, taught them and many times carried them and it was all because of the love and respect he had for his Master. A missionary can come on a mission for many different reasons; it can be out of expectation, a sense of duty, a feeling of rightness or the result of a budding testimony. In a recent conversation with a friend we determined that the question asked should not be 'Why did you come out?' it has to be 'why did you stay?', or 'Why, despite how hard it has been do you still do what you do?. President Jordan said to us in a recent meeting ' Expectation to serve will only get you so far,a sense of duty will get you further, but Love will take you as far as you need to go'. Elder Dallin H . Oaks of the twelve said, 'The Greatest Missionaries, always act out of Love'.  My Grandfather continuously taught me 'Don't just seek to do your best, seek to do what is required' - I was often left puzzled at this statement, but from my time as a missionary, serving in London North, Maldon, Norwich, Watford and now lovely Cambridge I have to understand better what he meant.'

'Perfect Love casteth out all fear' 'Again and again I have seen Love for the Saviour of the world, propel not just me but legions of Missionaries to serve and do more than they ever thought was possible. They chargedfar past their percievd best to fulfill what the Lord required of them. This is the miracle of the Mission. Christ taught 'Without me you can do nothing', therefor the opposite is also true - With me, you can do anything.' 

'I know that my Grandfather was not teaching me how to be a Superhero, he was teaching me how to be a disciple and how to serve as a missionary. My Master is far greater than Superman,  it's Jesus Christ. I love the words of Ammon, when he speak on behalf of many missionaries 'I know that I am nothing; as to my own strength I am weak, therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things.' I bear testimony that this is true, that He lives and that he is more closely involved in this work than we can ever comprehend. He has established His Church, He is my Saviour, My redeemer and our God. His love for us and our love for him will always enable us to serve to the capacity salvation requires of us.' 

'There are some missionaries who come out for the 'wrong reasons', I invite you to stay for the right ones. If we got baptised into this Church for the wrong reasons, then stay for the right ones. If we accepted a calling for the wrong reasons, then now is the time to serve for the right ones. And even if we (missionaries worry about this) got married for the wrong reasons, then again, stay for the right ones. I know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ, repentance is real and free to all. This Church has within in it some of the greatest people in the world who every day serve and do things beyond their mortal capacity. I know this to be true, In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.' 

I love you all, 

have a great week

Hugs and Handshakes,

Elder Nolan 

Project Cambridge

Hey there!

So I have moved to Cambridge, have you ever been? Cambridge itself is amazing: The most receptive place I have ever worked, its full of healthy inquisitive minds and just a general atmosphere of open mindedness that I haven't seen anywhere else. I am loving it so far.

My new Companion is a good man - Elder Whitby. We were in the same MTC district 18 
months ago and now we are serving together! He is from Kentucky and has now lost most of his a

​ccent, it rears its ugly head now and again and it flippin' kills me. He told me that his household is home to 12 shotguns, 14 rifles and 'only' 9 hand guns his parents produce their own bullets. So if youre wondering whether I will be visiting him after my mission, the answer is yes, undoubtedly yes. 

So, the move from Watford was the right thing. The last month in Watford was one of the hardest of my mission, but I definitely learnt more lessons than any other. The biggest lesson learnt falls under the umbrella of gratitude and specifically this - If you are not grateful for the blessings you currently have, why would the Lord see fit to bless you with more?  - I was expecting blessings whilst neglecting appreciate the ones I had already received. I decided to make a real effort at being more grateful. This came mostly through prayer. Since I have begun focusing the majority of my prayer on giving thanks, I have felt a massive increase in the Spirit I feel whilst I pray, I have felt happier, My faith has increased, My relationship with God is stronger and my missionary work has become more sincere. I am so grateful for my time in Watford, for the members, the people I taught but mostly for the lessons the Lord helped me to learn. These lessons will affect me for the rest of my life. As President Uchtdorf says 'Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands independent of our current situation? In other words, I’m suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful inour circumstances—whatever they may be.' Amen brother. 

The Cambridge zone is only made up of 7 companionship's - Watford had 13, so I feel like a district leader again. Its great though and I am really excited for the transfer.We have a zone Goal of 6 baptisms and we are very much focused on hitting it! We are working with so many great people throughout the zone and in our area. We are teaching a young student from Kuwait and she is progressing really well. We are helping her to understand how to receive answers from God - there is a little language barrier but we have some great ideas on what to do. After speaking with a member, it became clear that the Ward itself is in need of new families, so our prayers and finding efforts are very much focused on achieving that. I feel like the best missionary I have ever been and just want to sink my teeth deep into this great city. 

I am a very happy missionary right now. I feel blessed and grateful to be serving in this zone. I sent a message to President the other day thanking him for always sending me to the right place. I don't know how he gets it right every time but he does. 'Well, the Holy Ghost does and He is with Him' 

I love you all,

Hugs and Handshakes

Elder Nolan

This is me and the Zucca family, they are from Chile and are some of my favorites!