July 25, 2011

Hey Mom and Dad,

Well it's pretty weird to me that you are flying out today to come over. I hope you guys enjoy Paris and everything. I've heard good things about it. Before I forget I'll let you know that since next week is transfer week this will be my last official pday email. So the next time you hear from me will be at the mission office in Birmingham on Wednesday the 3rd. So you don't have to worry about any of that wifi business to read my emails. It does cost a lot sometimes I've heard. Thank you for the pumpkin for Rosa as well. She's really excited to meet you guys. I was just trying to sort out what day to go visit and everything yesterday and Gerry called and I think we've got it all sussed. So no worries :-) He's really excited to have you guys over and he's already bought food and whatnot as well haha.

I was able to do more work this week luckily but it's nowhere near full speed yet, my ankle is still pretty sore.  President Ogden let us get some bus passes so I can get around easier to appointments and things of that sort. Not too much exciting has happened lately though to be honest. Just finishing up what I came to do to the best of my abilities.
Man that is so sad about the plane crash. I can't believe some of the things that happen. But there is only one thing that I know how to do in these situations and that is pray. A quote comes to mind right now: "If life gets too hard to stand, kneel." These words cannot ring more true. I don't really know what else there is to do in such times. That is the only thing that got me through losing Blake. I'll keep the family in my prayers for sure. But for the record asking if a plane crash will stop me & dad from flying is like asking if a car crash will stop us from driving.
Anyways I better get going now. I love you both and I hope the traveling goes well for you and we'll see you next week.
Love, Brice

July 18, 2011

Hey Mom and Dad,

Well this week has been pretty uneventful, literally. Last week I sprained my ankle pretty bad so I've spent the week in the flat losing my mind. It's getting better though so I should be good to go in a couple of days. You should have seen it, it was the size of a baseball and then the swelling moved into my foot so I looked like I had some serious cankles and now it's all turned purple. I went and visited the hospital to get an x-ray at the encouragement of Sister Ogden and may I reiterate that if President Obama succeeds in socializing our healthcare we are utterly screwed. It's a long story so I'll tell you in person when you get here if you want to hear it but what I have said will suffice for now. I'm just pretty frustrated cuz this is the time I should be sprinting to the finish line and instead I'm crawling. As soon as the swelling goes down enough to put a shoe on I'm getting back out there. We have gotten out a bit when we could get a ride somewhere so we at least were able to make some visits and stuff.

Gerry is pretty excited for you guys to come over. I'm excited to go see him again, and everyone from Redditch. I miss tons of them. It'll be good to go to church there before we come home so I can say my goodbyes and whatnot.

So Israelsen is getting married? Man that's crazy! Cool though I'm happy for him. You'll have to let Spence know when I report cuz it'd be really cool to see him again too. By the way when am I speaking? And if you could find out the topic that would be cool as well. Wow I forgot about Dutch oven potatoes that will be amazing to have them at my dinner. I'm going to have to watch myself when I get back cuz there are so many foods I miss from home that we don't get here and I don't want to plump up again lol.

As far as your scripture study goes, mom, it depends on what you are planning to study next. I always find that just reading through the scriptures and taking notes forces you to pull out ideas initially and then remember them later. If you are going through the New Testament again I would definitely recommend reading Jesus the Christ by Talmage. It helps you to understand everything about the culture and everything to do with the scriptures so it's more clear why Jesus said things the way he did and why things happened how they did. It's really good. I've spent the last week reading alot from there and I've almost finished it again.

It's good that the shop is bus, dad. Business equals paychecks so it's a blessing even if it's stressful at the time right? I really miss the boat as well so we'll have to go out when I get back for sure, then you can try to tip me out of the tube again like the old times haha. Well I'm nearly out of time now so I better get going. I love you both. And it's hard to believe next week you will be in Europe, and for a short time before you head for Paris you'll be within a couple hours drive of Nottingham. Have a good week and a good flight.

Love, Elder Brice Anderson

July 11, 11

Hey Mom and Dad,

This week has gone really well. We had zone conference on Thursday at the Gadfield Elm Chapel and that was all really cool. We visited some of the church history sights again like we did nearly two years ago on my first zone conference. I even had to give my departing testimony. That was pretty weird. It's like it doesn't seem real yet that I'm almost finished but doing the testimony made it a bit more of a reality. When you guys come over I would like to take you out to all of these sights to check them out. There's 3 in particular that are all close together between Worcester and Hereford so it would be easy to visit them. I think you would find it really cool and make sure you have your camera ready. There are some really cool sights especially from one of the hills. I can explain the church history a bit when we're there as well.

Dad, as far as the title for my car goes, you are right I haven't got a clue where to look if it's not in the glove box with the rest of the stuff. I would've thought it would be in with the registration and whatnot in the wallet.

That sounds pretty fun taking Tausha and everyone out on the boat, I miss that alot. I would say that's one of the things I'm looking forward to the most about getting back, aside from having extra time to play golf. It's tough to play much here cuz there's always so much other stuff you have to do on pdays.

So it sounds like you guys are winding things up before you come over. It looks like Mom will have to cut out a bit of Solitaire time to sort the budget haha ;-). Just kidding. 

Before I forget to answer the question about the package yes I did get it and my scriptures are in good working order. 

I'm hoping we can make some time to go to the temple as well when I get finished. Elder Blackwood lives near the London Temple and he said it isn't too far from Heathrow so maybe we can find some time. Also before I forget I was going to ask if it would be possible for you to bring another can of pumpkin for Rosa when you come over. She thought the pumpkin cookies were the "most wonderful thing she's ever tasted" so I had to agree and she asked how to make them and everything. Anyways I better get going now. I love you both. Have a great week.

love, Brice

July 4, 2011

Hey Mom and Dad, this week has been pretty good. We're now teaching China Joey and China Jason so we're really excited for that. I don't know if I told you yet but John is moving in with Joey and  Jason is their neighbor so that will make it really easy to teach them. He's moving in this week so that's pretty cool. They both came to church with John again this week and they seem to be enjoying it so it's really cool. We have to start from the very beginning though cuz Jason asked me this week why we take the bread and water and I explained that it's to remember Jesus and the Atonement and he asked me who Jesus is. So it's a good thing Finding Faith in Christ has a Chinese setting, that'll make our job a bit easier. Man that's pretty crazy about being related to Prince John, well, sort of. He may have been a bit of a turd but hey at least he was famous huh? I can't believe he's in Worcester as well. I've been in the crypt in the Worcester Cathedral. I didn't look at the different dead people but I couldn't have been more than a stone's throw away from him at the most. We'll definitely have to go and take a look. Cathedrals are pretty cool to look at I think. They're all like ridiculously old. There's a pub here in Notts next to the castle that was established in 1180 and it's still open. Crazy huh. Moroni had a better shot at seeing the place open up for the first time than I did.
There isn't too much going on here for the 4th of July sadly. My companion is English and one of the others is German. There's only me and one other American in this area. We'll probably go and have lunch later or something though. I do miss camping and wakeboarding alot. To be honest I just miss swimming, I've debated "falling" into the river once or twice but I thought maybe that's not such a good plan.
So it sounds like someone is moving up the ranks back home huh,dad, lol. Man one more spot and you're head honcho. Just kidding I wouldn't wish that calling on anyone. Come to think of it I wouldn't really wish any calling on anyone. But someone has to do them, and it's always the right person for the job in one way or another. Thank you for the life lesson this week as well. I liked that one alot. Very much applicable.
Thanks for upgrading to the comfy seats on the way home as well, I appreciate that. Trust me the whole trans-Atlantic thing gets a bit old after the 5th or 6th hour. Especially when your legs are long enough to touch the seat in front of you like Mom's ha ha.
Anyways I better get going now. I hope you guys have a good holiday weekend and I love you both.
Love, Brice

June 27, 2011

Hey Mom and Dad how is life this week? Things are going good here. China John brought two friends to church this week, China Jason and China Joey, so we're really happy. They both are really interested, particularly Jason, so we're going to start teaching them now. I guess there has to be someone here in Nottingham for me to find since they are leaving me here so long haha. Lol, I don't think I'll come back with Robin Hood tights but they do sell them so you never know.

Elder Blackwood and I are doing really well. He's way funny so we are always laughing. He's already been added to my list of favorites I've had so far. Well I guess there isn't a so far anymore is there? That's weird. Ya, Gerry's still the man. He's getting the suit all sorted out for me and he's excited to see you guys when you get over here. It'll be funny when you meet him, then you won't be very surprised that he could get them to exchange my shirt. If anyone can convince them to do something it's Gerry.
That's cool that you fed the missionaries this week. I want to feed them when I get back as well. Trust me they are grateful for anything they get that's normal. Especially Papa Murphy's. Blackwood said he loved it when people fed them that when he was in Colorado. I miss it as well. We have Domino's here that's pretty much the same as home but it's expensive especially for missionaries so I've only bought it a few times. It's good for the Guatemalan missionary that is learning English though, he'll pick it up pretty quickly I think. Man the other missionary does have a pretty similar story to mine doesn't he? Losing his brother and getting a Dear John letter, almost word for word in fact but I agree with him that there have blessings because of the trials.
That's crazy about Bishop's wife. How big was the snake that bit her do you know?
I'm cool with having a busy week when I get back. I was wondering if I might be able to make an addition to our backyard in form of a firepit when I get back as well because my body clock will be ridiculously off so what's cooler than sitting outside around a fire at night?
Anyways I better get going now. I love you both and I hope you have a good week.
Love, Elder Brice Anderson

June 23, 2011

Hey Mom and Dad how are things going? Life is good here I'm still in Nottingham so it looks like my mission will end here. I've lost Elder Wang though, he's going home in a few weeks. But the new guy is really cool he's called Elder Blackwood. He's English from Reading and was serving in the Denver North Mission for 8 months but he was having some pretty bad health problems with headaches and stuff and they thought it might be the altitude so he got moved here. It's kinda funny cuz his older brother was our AP here a little over a year ago so everyone already knows who he is. He's a really cool guy though I think we'll get along really well. It was a bit of a weird transfer though. There were 4 of us in this area but the other 3 got moved so I'm the only one who knows where anything is. Gerry came up to transfers though so that was really good to see him again. He got the measurements for my suit as well so we should be good to go. And I wrote a letter to Justin last week but I haven't heard back yet. I don't know what's going on there really.

I'm glad you got my present lol. You should seriously bring your special UK driving glasses (anti-gasp model) over with you though or else you and Dad might be going the rounds. I thought it was quite a clever gift myself ;-) I've started work on Ando's UK Driving Essentials so then I can observe for a while and try to remember what the differences are so you won't have so many surprises when you get here. But don't worry I'll make sure to send it off in time for your trip. When are you leaving to get over here again?
It sounds like you had a pretty busy weekend down in Pleasant Grove and waking up that early to get back to church would make for quite the marathon of a day I would think. I don't know who we're going to have New Year's with now either since Todd & Shelley are moving, but it sounds like things are going good for Conrad and Courtney though. It sounds like July will slim Todd's wallet a bit as well. But that's really cool. Tell them congratulations for me if you get the chance. And I'm up for some wild cow milking at Strawberry Days next year if we're going to do it. I've got wild cow riding in a couple of months with Bedke at the Cassia County Fair as well so that should be good.
It sounds like church was good this week too. I like what you said about tender mercies mom, they are everywhere if we are looking for them. (Although I don't know if not being able to find the solution to Solitaire requires getting that flustered, Mother. Just kidding ;-) But seriously. No really I'm joking, I know it's a stressful time at work right now). I do see tender mercies at work alot here in the mission. Sometimes we are told where to be and what to say and what to do which sorts everything out and we know it wasn't us that came up with it. It's pretty amazing.
To answer your question about whether the church is still sending missionaries to England, no I haven't heard that they only want English ones but they do seem to be sending more and more to missions inside the UK. In fact there are alot of Europeans in general, but I can see why they would want more British missionaries here but I don't see the day that they are the only ones they send. I guess we'll wait and see.
Well sorry this is a bit on the late side but we had a really busy day yesterday with transfers and I didn't have time to email. But I'll be emailing again on Monday. I love you both. Have a good week.
Love, Elder Brice Anderson

June 13, 2011

Hey Mom and Dad how are things going? Life is good here. We're still finding alot. We find alot of people to listen to us but getting the return appointments is the difficult part. But we will truck on. Transfers are next week on the 22nd. Elder Wang goes home halfway through that transfer so he'll probably be getting moved and I'll stay til the end. You never know though. We'll have to see what happens. The time is running away too quickly. I find that the closer it comes the more bittersweet everything seems. I'll probably shed some tears before we leave this place. I've really come to love this land, even through all of the things that are different from home and yet just similar enough to be irritating. I'm going to miss it all when it's gone.

I can't believe how many of my companions and missionaries I worked with are home now. It's crazy. I figured Rapana would gain quite a following haha. Everybody loves that guy. He's the man and that story from Largesse about the drunk girl at the donut shop was hilarious. That sounds like him. Where is he living now anyways do you know?

Thank you for sending those scriptures for me. As long as they are the standard size they should be just fine. I talked to Gerry last night and he said he'd be calling sometime today to talk to you so be expecting that. Also I was going to ask if you could bring a can of pumpkin over when you come,  there's a lady here named Rosa whom I gave some of the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I made to and she loved them and wants to be able to make some. By the way she's going to give us dinner when we come to Notts she told me yesterday so there's something for you to look forward to. I'm scoring us dinner appointments left and right haha.

Man the weather sounds crazy back there. Hopefully the potatoes will be alright. But I'm sure it'll turn back into Idaho soon.

I've learned that as missionaries you have to be very careful because if a set of missionaries does something not so smooth then the members have a bit of a bad taste in their mouth about missionaries in general for a little while even after the offenders are long gone. And if you're the ones that have to clean up the mess it becomes very difficult to win their trust back. Our actions affect alot more than I thought they would. Anyways I better get going now. I love you both. Have a great week!

 Love, Elder Brice Anderson