Author: admin

Sorry for no week 14. I accidentally sent it without writing. 

Has zone conference this week. I played the flute for a musical number. Come come ye Saints. I flubbed a note. Embarrassing, but such is life. 

Have been averaging 22,000 steps a day for the past two weeks. Roughly 10 miles a day. Had some good lessons, spoke with some crackheads. Did alot of service this week too. Stained a deck, peeled wallpaper from a room. Had some goated meal appointments with the members as well.

Shoutouts:

Ruth and Jose Chiza – made us BBQ on Sunday. Pork belly, burgers, sausages, prawns, chicken legs. They are amazing people

Sam and Jeradine Frost, made cookies and a good meal after our service at their place

Mike Peel- for picking up one of our friends for church. 

Pontefract Sisters – for learning a musical number in 2 days for zone conference

Heron foods – cheap drinks 😉

Oh yea zone conference was great, talked about member relations and PMG.

I have still been working my way through Doctrine and Covenants, not done yet. But there are some banger chapters I have gone through. 

Doctrine and Covenants 88

Amazing chapter. Lots of doctrine within

Verse 40:  “For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own; justice continueth its course and claimeth its own; judgment goeth before the face of him who sitteth upon the throne and governeth and executeth all things.”

This one is cool because it also tells why many Latter-Day Saints are encouraged to pursue education and learning. Because the secrets of the universe and Gods. And he has laid them out for us to uncover, and discover the wonder of his creation. 

I love you all! And remember to pray! God hears and sees every one of you.

Elder Berky

Hey yall! Transfer week was amazing

Said goodbye to Elder Olds, 🙁   so bittersweet.

Elder Koceja is amazing, he plays guitar as well, and is very good. From Mesa, Arizona. Very fit and “locked in” (except for P-day lol) He loves sweets, within moderation haha. 

The first day, of new companion, we did some service for a new member. who had a very overgrown backyard. like 3 feet tall grass, it was so fun to mow haha. Actually found 2 bumblebee nests inside the grass, so we had to leave a patch undisturbed. The next day we also did more service, for a member who has been going through some things, but he is cool. painted a patch of his fence, it was very warm. Found a cool guy from Zimbabwe in town centre who was very cool. Did mucho walking for the next couple days. The most we did was 30,500 steps (14.4 miles) on the hottest day of the week. 94 degress in freedom units, with like 40% humidity. So it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. But I did get a little well done. The collared shirt tan line goes crazy. 

It is getting late, I love you all! Excited for this next transfer. Pray for rain in Utah!

Regards, 

Elder Berky

Sorry I didn’t give yall a week 11. Not that much crazy stuff happened. Just England being England. One of the sisters baptisms got cancelled because she got sick. Still can’t find our friend James. Ian is ghosting me. Had exchange with zone leaders. It was chill. Walked alot. Bought a flute. 

Oh yeah. Bought a flute. I dont wanna learn guitar, because every elder does that. And I don’t want to pack around a guitar everywhere, its big. Flute small. And my aunt is a professional flute player. Also big tough guy playing a flute is funny. And if you know me, I’m down for that. 

Also I need to soundproof the closet under the stairs so I can practice. Because the only time I can is 9 to 10 pm. And the neighbor’s no likey that. But the door doesn’t latch to I need to figure that out. But that is what I love. Fixing problems. 

Transfers. 

I am staying in pontefract. Elder Olds is going to Sheffield to be a district leader. My new companion, I will meet tommorow. But everything I have heard about him is chill. So it will be good. 

Highlights 

Got a fresh haircut today. Looking sleek. 

Elder Olds broke his chair this morning

Flute purchase

Elder Olds driving test

Getting yelled at

Car show last week (forgor pictures, sowwy)

Tub leaking

Spiritual thought

D&C 42 : 40

Thou shalt not be proud in thy heart; let all thy garments be plain, and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own hands.

I love you all! And Jesus does too. 

-Elder Berky

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9QsVXWnMXFVcH8AV6

Wow, 10 weeks is crazy. 

This week wasnt too crazy. Though we did have Zone conference. It was awesome. One thing we talked about that I like, is knowing God. He knows us perfectly, because He created us. One other thing I liked, increase your intellegence. It is what sets us apart from other beings. But also brings us closer to God. 

One of our breakout sessions was about mornings… It was fun to hear peoples inputs on the reason why they are important, and how to use our time wisely. “Joy cometh in the morning!” and “What you do between 6:30 and 10 am will make or break your mission”. Which are all very true. I have been alot better at my workouts, but I can still improve. 

One thing I need to find is a foam roller haha. My legs are very stiff from walking. But stretching will suffice for now. I got a step tracker from my Mom on amazon, that has been fun to use. we average about 13,000 steps a day. Or roughly 5.75 miles. Which is decent. 

Highlights:

Zone conference

Getting called a heretic by a couch potato

Free cinnamon rolls and sourdough from local bakery. @23rd street food co. On FB and Ig

Nan for sunday dinner roast, and service.

Once again, England isnt real. But I will get down to the bottom of this mystery island and preach the gospel to all its inhabitants. Inviting them to follow Christ and repent. 

I wish each and everyone of you a tiding of great joy. And I hope you can be more like Christ, be kind to those who dispise you, but let not evil, nor contention reside within you. For the day you let contention rule among you, corruption hath overtaken ye. And Corruption can only be clensed through Jesus Christ and the fire of the Holy Spirit. 

I love you all!

And Jesus does too!

-Elder Berky

(Cottage cheese maxer)

Also here are the pictures of the couches, I forgot to include them last week. But peep the google photos for updates. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9QsVXWnMXFVcH8AV6

Twas an Interesting week. 

Highlights,

Elder Gilber devotional!

Free couches sidequest

Traveling all day just for my companion to fail his driving test (lol)

People yelling at us from cars

Goated member meal appointments

Cool people on the bus

New Friend at church!

Non Highlights

Friends not responding

Appointments falling through

Heat (it wasnt fatal, just uncomfortable) Not as bad as South Carolina last year!

Having to leave church early, (even if it was to travel to see Elder Gilbert)

The Devotional with Elder Gilbert was really good. He talked quite a bit about PMG. Preach my Gospel is very good and key to being a successful missionary. Also about exact obedience will bring miracles. Which I would be enthused to see and receive. He also mentioned how lucky we are to serve a mission. Whenever I would say how lucky I am, my Mom’s reminder pops into my head. It isnt luck, its blessings! So how blessed am I that I am here serving. Elder Gilbert also talked alot about the spirit, how it is our most useful tool on a mission. The gift of recieving revelation through the spirit is the greatest gift. Also to pray, write down your thoughts and feelings, follow up on them. And we have the most important message to share. So share it!

Some other thoughts I had during the devotional from other speakers are as follows; 

We (Elders) have 700+ hours of studying throughout our mission. How much can we learn, and how much can we grow in those 700+ hours. Which really did put into perspective how amazing this time is to learn the most important things in life. 

Another thing I wrote down, we work for peace, no matter how difficult. Which reaffimed my studies of Moroni, how he fought for peace, and liberty. And we must do just that. It is different nowadays compared to how Moroni did it. Much more complicated, but we fight a spirtual warfare, guiding others to Christ. 

Other Quests

We also got 2 couches for our flat. One day we were walking to our bus stop from our house and passed by two, 2 seater couches in front of someones house, stacked on top of each other. We made a mental note of it and continued our day. Later, after we had done some knocking in our area, we were about to make our way to our meal appointment. The sisters texted us and told us that our appointment got pushed back a little bit. So we had about 40 minutes until then. I looked at Elder Olds, raised eyebrow. He looked back, raised his. “Couch?” “mmhmm”. Queue Gravity Falls episode when dipper clones himself and gives himself ideas. “Yeaaaa. Yeeeeaaaa” (if you know you know)

So we made our way over to the house, about 2 streets from ours. and knocked on the door. After a little bit, the window opened on the second floor and an African guy stuck his head out the window. We asked him if he was getting rid of the couches. He said yes. We asked if we could have them. He was confused at first, i guess reluctant at why two dapper dressed men wanted the couches he threw out. But told us sure. 

So we said thanks, and Elder Olds carried one of the couches by himself, while i took a load of cushions. After dropping of the first couch, we got the second one. Then took off the covers from the pillows and pads, as they smelled harshly of B.O. Washed the covers. And even the bottom coushins I brought up to the bathtub, soaked them with hot soapy water, and massaged/punched and squished them to work the soap through them. Then stuffed them in the washer, and put it on spin to get the majority of the water out. Now they are drying and we will put it all back together soon.

The couch itself still has odor to it, but I had bought sanitizing spray and fabreeze. so a couple good soakings in that will suffice haha. I will attach picture of couches. See google photos for a video of me and my companion carrying one of them back. 

That is a majority of the goodies last week. This upcoming week we have zone conference, so that will be fun. But thank you all, I appreciate you, and just know…

The Book is Blue

The Gospel is True

Jesus, Loves, YOU!!

– Elder Berky

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9QsVXWnMXFVcH8AV6

Good day my fellows, my chaps, my aquaintances, dare I say… Lads?

Anyway, It has been a pretty good week. It has absolutely flown by. I have a strong feeling that it will continue to do so for the next 2 years. But I am fine with that. 

Highlights

Moved into our flat finally. (No more tiny AirB&B)

Watched the Chosen on the TV in our AirB&B before we left. (Should have done it earlier)

Aquired a furnishing for our flat. (alledgedly)

Bought military equipment off of facebook marketplace (a backpack and mission satchel)

Have real cooking equipment now (I made salsa)

Goated meal appointments (even if we had to travel an hour and a half by bus)

Visiting Nan again, she is awesome. (see attached video)

SHOUTOUTS

ALDI – sourdough, tools and hotwheels.

M&S – $1.75 two foot long baguette.

One of the Sisters friends, for making us a roast on Saturday. 

Vodaphone for killing my sim card

I also gave a talk on Sunday because bishop asked on Saturday, so I talked about God’s love for us. And how we can keep Him in our hearts. It was pretty great. We also brought our homie James to Church on Sunday. We picked him up from his house. As we were getting there, Elder Olds was checking the bus route, and it got cancelled. So we sent a text into one of the ward chats, and got a member to come pick us up, which was clutch. James had a good time at church, he stepped out a couple times to rip a fat one off of his vape though. We shall teach him the word of wisdom this week haha. After church we tried to go to a friends house for a lesson, but our bus got cancelled. (there was a marathon going on on Sunday, so bus routes were cooked) So we went back to the chapel and tried to call them, but they said they had just left for work. Bruh. We need to just keep going haha. 

Flat move in was on Wednesday. It was fun. The office Elder dropped us off at district council while they set up a bunch of stuff. then we got lunch in town, and they drove us back. I can’t wait till I have a car. Busses are buns. The Flat is great. But empty. Need couch. its fine though. I really just care about the kitchen, and its amazing. A gas stove, good cooking utensils, and even spices. Shoutout to Elder Olds, because he was the housing coordinater before he trained me, and put together a flat furnishings list with links to amazon items. He chose well. See video on my google photos album for flat tour. 

Pday was chill. We have meal appointments every night this week, so didnt need to buy any dinner items, even though we have stuff for it. so I will be eating a great breakfast this week. Consisting of greek yogurt, cottage cheese and berries, and some granola. 

I need to (for a lack of better terms) “lock in” 

For many reasons. But it can be challenging to do so. England loves carbs, and protein is expensive. Plus every meal appointment they feed us dessert. Because that is common in England. But alas, God gives his hardest battles to his strongest warriors. If that battle be English food, so be it. But to defeat your enemy you must know your enemy – sun kist, art of sugar.

One benefit of England dietary practices, is that vegetables are common, and cheap, as well as nearly all soda is Zero sugar. So that is pretty chill. So we have some good things here. I just need to remember my training from ARMY fat camp haha. Good thing I brought my journal with me. 

I have been studying alot of PMG (Preach My Gospel) latetly, because our mission President says “Preach My Gospel should be in your DNA” and he is correct. So I have been studying it alot more. I really think that not only missionaries should read it, but everyone. It is a great resource to learn our gospel principles, not only surface level. But it does a great job at providing scriptures for us to study to deepen our understanding. So I encourage you all to read some PMG. 

Other than that. I am doing absolutly fantastic. I have been getting some updates about James at Basic in Fort Sill. He is having a blast there. It is fun to hear some of the things the Drill Sargeants do to mess with the trainees. And other updates from family are amazing. 

I love you all! Jesus does too!

Elder Berky

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9QsVXWnMXFVcH8AV6

I will call it week 6. Just because it was the last week of the transfer. Good news, I am staying in Pontefract, as is my trainer. And we got our move in date for our actual flat. The 15th. So finally we will have a real place to live. AirB&B is small. 

Lots of great things this week. 

A new friend, alcoholic, but very motivated to get back on track.

Lots of lessons with friends

Baked cookies

Did yard work/service for Nan. (Old British lady/member, gave me a temu watch)

Ate Five Guys. The burber place. (Mucho dinero$$$ never again)

Knocked for like 4 hours on Saturday.

New family at church.

Sang a song with the Sisters in our wardshare

New segment (copying from my buddy Elder Pricer)

SHOUTOUTS

Batesons Bakery – fire pastries and sammiches. Plus it’s cheap

Turkish barber, for the skin fade while listening to some guy groaning/singing in a Arabic. Good cut though

Hemmingway’s. Member family. Goated meal, and funny.

Robertson’s. Member family. Yummy meal. And they are going to Utah in August. They might be at the West Jordan Demo Derby. 

Squashies – Egland candy. Like a fluffy airhead. Or a stiff marshmallow. But yummy, and cheap

Traeger BBQ seasoning rub i brought from home

Alright, downsides.

James didn’t come to church. Bruh. So we have to push his baptism back. 

Some canceled lessons

Like 4 people said they were coming to church, then didn’t. 

All is well. Good things to come. There will be a cool thing happening soon. Elder Gilbert will be showing up and giving a mission devotion for the Leeds and Manchester Missions. So that will be sick. Been reading more D&C. Lots about sending people on missions and other stuffs. But revelation is real. And Jesus loves you. 

“This is true”

Elder Berky

GREETINGS, LIFE FORMS OF THE CHOSEN

It was an amazing week. On Teusday we put our boy James on date for baptism! 

Other than that, it was pretty great. Had an exchange with the Zone Leaders. My trainer went to Middlesburough. And I stayed. We went finding and knocking. The Zone leader said he has never done any knocking before. Because he has always been in an area with a very active public finding place. But there isn’t much here. A couple busy streets, but the flow of people fluctuates from busy to nothing pretty frequently. But I learned alot from him. Like getting people to talk and think about what they belive. While we may not be putting them in our area book. Hopefully they can remember that moment, and begin to think deeper about life, and their personal beliefs. 

Had some great meal appointments this week too. Got a proper taste (or lack thereof) of some classic British food. It honestly wasn’t bad. Just bland. But sometimes life itself can be bland. So we must rejoice in all things. 

Been reading some more D&C this week. It is really interesting to see that it is where we get much of the churches organizational routines and guidelines. I didn’t know that it went that far back. 

Didn’t end up having any of our friends at church. James for some reason didn’t show up. But he doesn’t have a phone either,  so yea. I think next week we will just pick him up and travel with him. Because he is on our way there as well. But all is well. He is a great guy. Oh also when we were walking to our meal appointment on Sunday I got a call from one of the online refferals I had texted. And bro was having it rough. Clearly was drunk. Said he is an alcoholic and has been sick stuck in bed for a week. And wants to come to church. Talked with him awhile and we’re going to meet him Monday evening, but he said to come tommorow. So we shall see how that goes. But I hope he turns his life around. 

Didn’t do much for P day. Got a haircut. Grocery shopping. Played cards with the Sisters in our ward share. Went to Five Guys for dinner. Then tried visiting some of our interested friends. But no luck. All is well. Got some good walking in at least

Transfers are next week. Hopefully we will have a flat by then. We are still in the AirB&B. It’s small, but doable.

I love you all! God does too! Be a light unto others and remember that everyone is going through something, whether they make it known or not. Assume the best from people. Even if they are rude, they probably are just sad. 

The Book is Blue, the Gospel is true!

ELDER BURR OF KEYYS