The Final Email!

This e-mail was sent on April 6, 2010, but was never received.  Neal retrieved it from his sent mail, and now here it is:

Hey there,

Well by the grace of God I have a bit more time to email you, and on a different day (ask me later). I am not going to write a lot, but I thought that I would take the chance to just write one last blurb and bear my testimony.

As I have reflected back on my whole mission, I am nothing but grateful for the amazing blessings that I have received. I have been watched over, cared for, protected, strengthened, and turned into something and someone that I never thought possible. I know without a doubt that the gospel is true. I have prayed so much, and time after time my knowledge of the truth has been increased. I have felt the love of the Lord so many times, and I am happy because of it. I have felt and followed the still small voice many times, and it has brought nothing but happiness. I know that the Book of Mormon is a true record given to us for our benefit. I have gained a love and knowledge of that book that I know it is going to propel me through the rest of my life. I love the words of the ancient prophets, and I am glad that I have that book in my life. Before I left I told a friend that on my mission I wanted to gain a knowledge of the gospel that would allow me to teach and help people feel the spirit, and I know that I have gained that. I know that the things that I teach people are true. The Plan of Salvation is true, and it is the way that God provided for us to be happy. Nothing brings me greater joy than to know that I will be able to be with you all in the presence of God someday. I am pledging to do my part, and I want you all to be there too. My mission has changed my life, and the more I ponder on it the more happiness I find. I have learned so many things, and experienced so many things, and I hope and pray that I will always remember them. We are going to be having some long talks and we are going to go back in the spirit! I know that the atonement is real and available to all of us. I have felt its power more than once, and I know that the only way to gain happiness and salvation is to repeatedly feel it. Christ suffered for us that we don’t have to, but we have to repent! As I have repented time and time again I feel his love. I know that the scripture is true when it says that as often as we will repent he will forgive. If repentance and the atonement are the only reason that I was able to serve a mission, then what must it take to gain eternal life? I think that 2 Nephi 31:20 has something to do with it. I love the Lord, I love this church and the blessings that it brings. I love the fact that I always have someone to turn to, and to share my burden with. I am grateful that he takes my pain willingly. I know that Christ lives, and I will say to you the same thing that I have said on the street time and time again….. I didn’t have to see him to believe that he is there. I know that he lives because of the influence that he has had in my life. I love life, because I have the hope and the blessings of the gospel. I hope that all of you have felt the joy of my service. I am glad that I have gotten to share all the great bits of these 2 years with you. I thank you for your unwavering support. I expected nothing less to be honest. You have supported me all my life, and I know that that will never stop. I will be eternally thankful for the support that I have received.

I need to get going now, but I am grateful that I got to write this to you today. I love you all, and I am really excited to see you in a week. Everyone is reminding me don’t you worry. I am happy though, and I am working hard. I plan on continuing in that path right to the end!

You may never know how much I love you all, but I want you to know that I do! I have to go now and cry repentance to Blackpool!!!!!

Elder Neal

E-mail from Neal - Received 4/5/10 FINAL E-MAIL!!!!

Hey there family,

Well this is the final time that I will be writing to you before I see you. How crazy is that. I never thought that this day would come, but it has. Time is moving so fast, and it is crazy. This is my last full week, and I know that it is going to fly by. I am excited for all the crazy things that are going to happen in this week. I have always heard about how crazy missionaries are in there last week with the spirit and such, so I will let you know in a few days how it goes for me. I am excited and ready to go. I am working hard and still going strong. I have not slowed down at all I feel. We are still trying to build up the area, and I know that this final week is going to be a good one. We went to the temple today because it is a bank holiday, and it was amazing. Of course I had the thought that the next time that I was there it was going to be with you! That kills me, but I am ok with it. I am glad for the experience that I have had, and I would not trade it for the world. Now is the time to really dig deep though, and I know that I can. I will be in Blackpool tomorrow, and then we have interviews on Wednesday, so I have plenty of things to keep my busy. I am excited!

Conference was amazing! I loved Jeffery R. Holland’s talk and also President Monson’s talk at the Priesthood sessIon. I also liked Elder Chistofferson’s talk, I thought that that was great. I went into conference with a lot of questions, and as always I got my answers. I was asking things mostly about the future and looking for things that will prepare me. I received some great guidance, and I will share it all with you when you are here. I got to watch conference at the Chorley chapel and that was great. I saw a lot of old friends, and it was great. I saw Alan Seed, and a ton of others from Blackburn.

Well I am running out of things to say, mostly because I am going to see you in no time. I think you for all the prayers that you have said for me, and I ask that they continue. I have a long final week ahead of me, and I am going to need the help. I hope that all of you have a good week, and I am excited to see you all soon.

I love you all so much!

Elder Neal (for the last time)

 

E-mail from Neal -- Received 3/29/10

[Editor's Note] Subject Line of E-mail:  Hospital Part II

Hello to one and all!!!!

Before you freak out because of the subject line, I am going to tell you that I am fine, and all is well. In the words of Elder Dittmer “Alles klar.”

Well it sounds like all of you are dealing with some sort of sickness, and I can tell you that you can add me to the list. Although I would say that mine was a bit more than just a cold. Here is the saga……….

I went out and worked all day Tuesday (the day before zone conference), and was feeling great until dinner. As we were walking to the bus station however my stomach started to not feel so good. I just kinda ignored it, and went on my way because we had an appointment. The pain didn’t go away in fact it got worse. If felt just like normal gas pains, which I get occasionally. I instantly ruled out my appendix, so that was a relief, but still a worry.

SIDE STORY: Elder Dittmer had his appendix out a few years ago as well, but a few months after his operation there were some major complications which put him back in the hospital and caused him to have another operation. It was a long ordeal with him, and it was not good at all. This is why I was worried when I started to feel bad.

I ended up going to the appointment but it fell through. By this time however I was in a lot of pain. I was not able to concentrate while talking to people, and my stomach was killing me. We went to a members house who lived close and I crashed on his couch for a bit until I decided that I had to go home. The member and E. Dittmer gave me a blessing, and we went on our way. The pain was not going away at all, and I was heading straight to bed. We got home and I curled up into bed for about 45 min before I had to go the bathroom and throw up. I did that and went back to bed for another 45 min or so until I had to throw up again. That is where all the fun began. For the next 2 hours or so I was in absolute agony. I was throwing up (or at least trying to) every 10 min. after that I never felt any better through out all of that. I actually felt worse. I have never been that sick before in my life. At one point I was sprawled across the bathroom floor screaming because I was in so much pain. May I take this time to remind you now that this was the night before my LAST zone conference, where I had to give my departing testimony. I could not miss this! By this time the other elders were back along with the Elders from the Isle of Man, and here I am dying in the bathroom. Many phone calls were made (president, mission doctor, district, etc) and the call was finally made that we had to go the hospital. I wasn’t too happy about that because being back in the hospital was not my idea of a good night, but I submitted (humility I know). I had no idea how I was going to get there though, cause I could not move. I asked all the elders for another blessing though before we left. Picture this….. one elder dying on the floor of a cold and dark bathroom being surrounded by 5 other elders. An amazing sight I am sure. If you want to know what pure brotherly love looks and feels like, you should have walked into our flat on Tuesday night. Anyways the blessing was said and we slowly made our way out to the car. I am glad that my comp is big and able to carry a lot of weight. He helped me out a lot! I am also glad that the zone leaders have a car. We made it to the hospital and we checked into A&E (ER). I plopped down on a seat and just hunched over and tried to get comfortable. I am not sure what happened next except that I fell asleep and woke up to the nurse calling my name. I stood up and instantly felt much better. I went and saw the first nurse, and she said that everything was fine, but she wanted me to go and see another doctor, so I did. By the time I got to that doctor I felt a whole ton better. I felt as though I had totally wasted their time. I was in and out of the hospital within an hour, and I was in bed asleep at 12:15.

Is God a God of miracles? I submit that he is. He knew that I had to be at the zone conference. He honoured my faith and the faith of the amazing Elders around me that night, and I was able to be healed by the power of the priesthood. The blessing that E. Dittmer gave me said that I would be able to go to Zone Conference, and I made it there. The blessing that E. Rowley gave me commanded my body to be healed, and a hour later I was. The priesthood has amazing power, we must never forget that! I am so grateful that I have a loving heavenly father, that always honours the faith of his children! I am perfectly fine again, and I have been since Thursday! I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me. The atonement was on my mind many times that night.

Zone Conference was great. It was very sad to realise that it was the last time that I would be standing up in front of all my missionary friends. It was the last time that I would be directing the special musical item as well. We sang “Abide with me tis’ evn’ tide” and it was amazing. I am really going to miss doing those musical numbers. People always ask me where I come up with the things that we do for those songs, and how do I get it to sound good. I always say to things….. There are great singers in the mission, and my parents taught me well! President and Sister Bullock always compliment me on them. I am sure that they will mention something to you in the mission home. It hit me this time though as I was singing the song that that was going to be the last one. It was a double hit when I had to give my departing testimony right afterwards. It was a sad day, but a good one as well. I got to see some of my great mission friends as usual, and we all had a laugh. I was hoping that Elder Nielsen was going to be there, but he is still out in Wales somewhere I think. I am really hoping that I will get to see him before I go. I think of the three comps that are still in the mission that I love the most, and I think of Elder Nielsen, Lloyd, Llaguno, and Dittmer! They are great men, and I know that you will get to meet them someday! My time is running short, but I know that our friendships will last forever.

We are continuing to plug along. The clocks moved up on Saturday for us and so the nights are no longer dark as early. That is really nice for tracting. We are still in the finding mode, but what can you do. I think that Satan is just trying to pull us down because at the same time that we have no investigators, no one seems to want to listen to us, I get sick, and I am going home soon. It is time to put all the attributes that I have learned on my mission to the test and “concur the enemy of all righteousness.” I know that I can, and I have my big German enforcer to help me! We will do it!

Today we are going to Blackpool for a district activity so we are way excited about that. We were going to plan football on the beach, but I don’t think that the weather is going to allow that. We have been praying though. Next week is a bank holiday, but we are still planning on emailing. There is an internet café that is open so we will use that. It will probably be a short one, but it is the last one so there won’t be too much to tell. I can just fill you in when I see you. We are also going to be going to the temple next week. I couldn’t really think of a better way to spend my last p-day and E. Griffeth agreed. I am really excited. That is going to give me the strength that I need to push through the final week. I am grateful for this time that I have had. I am looking forward to conference next week. I have really grown a great love for conference on my mission. This is going to be E. Dittmer’s first conference so I am hoping that he will enjoy it as much as me!

 Know that I am healthy and safe, and I am working hard. Satan can try all he wants, but he is not going to slow me down. I have a labour to perform and I am not done until I am done. I love you all so much, and I am looking forward to seeing you very soon! Time moves too fast. I was reading in Jacob today and in verse 26 of chapter 7 he agrees with me…. Go read it!

I Love you all So much…..

Elder Neal

E-mail from Neal - Received 3/22/10

Hello everyone,

Well the second hand is clicking away. The hourglass is down to its final grains, and here I am still plugging away. Each day seems to move quicker than the last, and each event seems to come faster than the one before. We have Zone Conference this week… my last, and I will have to give my departing testimony….. I am not excited. I will get to see a lot of the members of my MTC group one last time before we go to the mission home together…. I am not excited. Things are going way too fast. I am excited to get home, but I am not excited to say goodbye, and to leave this beautiful place. To answer your questions; [Editor's Note:  Mom asked him: 1. Would you ever have been where you are now without your mission experience?  2. Will the rest of your life be better because of your mission experience?]  I would not be anywhere right now if it weren’t for my mission experience. I would hope that I would be active in the church, but I couldn’t even guarantee that! I would not know half of the things that I know, and I would not be able to do half of the things that I do. I know that this experience is going to help me in every single phase of my life from here on out! I have full faith that when I get home the blessings from my service are going to pour out upon me. I know that friendships are going to be tighter, talents are going to be more polished and cultivated, opportunities are going to be rampant, and happiness is going to be everywhere! I can put all that down to the amazing experience that I have gained on my mission! I guess that really answers the other question as well. I know that every aspect of my life is going to be better when I get back. Shauna told me today that Chris already has my schedule ready for May. How on earth could someone that I knew for 3 months miss me that much for 2 years with out that being a blessing from God!!!! I know that I am going to be abundantly blessed not only for my sacrifice, but for my service. I think that I am going to find that when I get home it is not going to feel like a sacrifice, it is going to feel like the greatest experience of all time! I have no regrets. I give all the glory to my loving Heavenly Father. He knows what is best for me, even when I think that I know better. I was talking to a missionary the other day about my Drum Corps experience, and that really caused me to reflect on just how wise Heavenly Father is. He loves us, and he gives us things in life to make us better. My mission has been tough at times, but it has prepared me to build up his kingdom in the future. I don’t know how, but I know that I will be able to participate “mightily” as it says in my patriarchal blessing. I could continue, but I will stop there. Think of more questions like that, and ask me them while we are driving around England, or when we have time at nights to talk. I know that I will probably make dad cry (as I am sure that this already has ha ha ha), but this is the truth, and this is honestly how I feel!

Ok so this week has been a good one. I was on two exchanges this week, and that was great. I was able to go to South Ribble and then stay in Preston with another missionary. We saw a really cool miracle on Saturday though. We were out street contacting before we traveled back to Blackpool to exchange, and we went through Avenham Park ( I will take you there for sure). This is the park where the first baptisms took place. As we were walking we saw this main sitting in a pavilion nice and dry and out of the rain. We went up and spoke to him, and we ended up teaching him right there. It was amazing teaching someone the restoration and challenging him to baptism right in the spot where the first baptisms took place in England. I felt really good about that, but it gets better. As we were teaching a man walked by and said “well hi Elders” in a very obvious Utah accent. He was on business in London and he decided to come up to Preston for the day to see the sights and go to the temple. Think about this from his perspective. He comes to see where the church and missionary effort really all began, and what does he see….. 2 missionaries teaching a man on a bench. The church is so true, that is all that I have to say. That same member came to church yesterday, and I got to talk to him a bit! I love these amazing experiences that we have. What made it even more amazing is that in 3 weeks I will be able to show you that pavilion!

Well I hope that you have enjoyed this letter. I had better get going. P-days don’t last forever. I hope that you have a great week. Keep studying. I am at Jacob 4, so I am flying along. I love you all, and I am so grateful for all the amazing support that I get from each of you! I am excited to see you very soon. I only have 2 more times to email!!!!!!!

See you soon!!!

Elder Neal

E-mail from Neal - Received 3/15/10

Hey there,

Well it has only been three days or so, so there is not much to report except for some cool things that have happened this week end. Nothing super amazing, but still quite cool. I have really been focusing on listening to the promptings that I am receiving and amazing things have been coming from it. Just on Saturday we had a couple to appointments fall through and so we had some time to find. I felt prompted that we should go to a certain spot that is close to the bus station, so we did. We started to talk to everyone as we usually do, and we soon talked to a man that was really solid. We are going to be seeing him this next Saturday, and I am really excited to see him. Good things are happening and I am staying happy, and working hard, so things are good. I am so grateful for the things that I have learned on my mission thus far, and I know that the learning is not going to stop. I still have about 4 weeks left, and they are going to be amazing. I am planning on doing my best all the time. I have decided as well that even if I don’t feel like working, it is not fair for E. Dittmer to have to work alone, so I am going to work for him if nothing else! He is great, and yes you are right when you say that I have had great companions. I am already planning on a making a trip over to Utah and Idaho in August to see E. Nielson and Weekes, and maybe a few others!!! Of course me and E. Lloyd are going to have a big party when he gets back! (Elder Lloyd is from Broomfield)

Well as I said it has been a short week so that’s about all that I have to share. I am going to be going on 2 exchanges this week. One to South Ribble and then one to Blackpool. That is going to make the week fly! I will talk to you all next week, and hopefully I will have some great things to share!!!

I love you all,

Elder Neal

E-mail from Neal - Received 3/10/10

Hello to one and all!!!!

Well this week has come and gone faster than anything! Actually this transfer has come and gone faster than anything! I am honestly scared as to how fast these next 5 weeks are going to go. They always say that the end goes faster than anything else, but with it being a 5 week transfer on top of that, I am going to wake up tomorrow and it is going to the be 14^th!!!! GAH!!!!!!! I am excited for what is coming, but I never thought that it would come this fast! I am honestly scared. Nevertheless (good scriptural word) I am calm and collected, especially after going to the temple today. The peace that I felt today while I was in the Celestial room was very helpful. I know that all will be well, and that everything is going to go just as it should. I am still allowed to be scared, but I know that everything will be just fine. The temple was amazing today though. The sun was shining; the big stained glass window in the celestial room just explodes with color when the light hits it! I am really excited for you to see it. I have decided that we should start each day with a temple session if possible. We will have to see how that works out, but it would be very nice!

I guess to answer the question that you might have…. Yes I am staying in Preston, and so is Elder Dittmer. We are very excited! He has been one of my most favourite companions! We have another 5 weeks together, and then who knows. The zone leaders are also staying the same. So I will be with Elder Rowley and Elder Griffeth for the next 5 weeks as well. We are going to be working really hard, and finding some great people! I am really excited, and I am happy that I got to start off the transfer with a great visit to the temple! I am hopefully going to get to go once more before you get here, because there is a bank holiday on my last p-day. We will see. I love this place! We were in the temple with the South-Ribble Elders and the Lancaster Sisters today. Only one companionship changed in my district, and that was Blackpool. 

So we had some bad news this past week. Our main investigator David dropped us. We was supposed to get baptized on the 27^th, but that is no more. What we think happened is that he got scared. He was given a gospel principals book at church, and I think that he read into that and hit the commandments. If you find them on your own, you have to be really prepared to live them. It is much better to be taught them. It is really sad, cause he was really great, but I guess all we can do is pray for him now. He wanted to give us back all of the books and stuff that we gave him, but I refused to take the Book of Mormon back. I testified of it, and I challenged him very boldly to continue to read and to pray about it, and then to contact us when he wants to continue. I know that he had felt the spirit as he prayed, and I am was not going to let him forget that! I have a good feeling that he will be baptized sometime. I don’t think that it will be in my time, but I think that he will eventually! Sad day, but what can you do. Its not the first time that I have had something like this…. At least it isn’t a repeat of Sean from Manchester!

Other than that my week was really good. We got some training at interviews about our area books. We started working on cleaning ours up, and we found some good people to try by. One of them is named Hii, and he is from Malaysia. We went and tried by, and he let us in. He was taught about 2 years ago, and he was really good. He had just gotten back from Malaysia the day before after being gone for 3 months, so I think that we chose the right day to go and see him. He was really cool. We also got into the door of a Romanian man the other night as well. I thought that I was serving a mission in England, but I guess I should probably think again. He was good as well, but he was a Greek Orthodox man. Nothing like Camelia. We are going to be seeing him tomorrow, and so we will find out then how solid he is! The work is really going well though, and I am excited about what is coming in the next 5 weeks!

I really don’t have too much else to say. I have decided that my goal for this last 5 weeks is constancy. I don’t want to turn into something that I am not for the last 6 weeks, just cause I am going home. I do not want to make up for the things that I have not done either. I simply do not want to die. I want to endure to the end, and the only way that I can do that is by being consistent. I know that I can do it, and I am asking for your continued prayer and support. I want to finish strong so that I feel happy about the sacrifice that I have offered. I know that the way that I can be truly happy is by pushing consistently to the end. I really can’t speak too soon, but I think that you will notice a big change in who I am now. My mission has changed me because I have let it! This mission has not been easy at any time, but I am so grateful for that! It has turned me into something that I am happy about being. As I was sitting in the flat yesterday listening to one of my favourite mission songs, I was reflecting about how much I am going to miss this time. It is going to be hard to get back to “normal,” if in fact I ever do. I have decided that I am going to stay super busy when I get home. I am probably going to go straight into work so that my body doesn’t slow down. I want to stay at the level that I am at now, and I know that I can only through my own effort. I am going get off this subject now, cause I still have a night of work ahead of me!

Well I think that I am going to get going. I love you all, and I am so grateful for the amazing things that you do for me! Keep studying! I am leaning so much from the things that I am studying in the Book of Mormon, and I know that that will only continue throughout my life. I had a really cool thought as I was in the temple today too that I will have to share with you in a few weeks!

I love you all!

Elder Neal

E-mail from Neal - Received 3/1/10

Happy March!!!!

Well we walked out of our flat this morning to beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine! March is here, and unlike Colorado I think that we are going to be getting more and more sun. I am expecting lots of rain, but that’s just England for you. I am missing the snow for sure, but I can tell that spring is right around the corner, and that is one of my favourite seasons. Spring in England is amazing, so I am really glad that you are going to see it! Hmmmmm where to start…. OH YES!!

Ok so about this week. It has been a slower one. We had interviews and training this week. It is amazing how fast things come and go. It is March already and that is my final full month. That did not make me very happy when I heard that, but I will live. I was on exchanges in Blackpool again this week, and was really fun. They are teaching some really amazing people, and they are all progressing so well towards baptism! I like going to Blackpool, because there is always and adventure to be had. Other than that the week has been about normal. We have been working really hard and for the first time on my mission tracting quite regularly. I really don’t find it that effective so I usually try to find another activity to do, but I have learned that sometimes you really just have to do what you have to do, and that is tract. It’s good though, I am starting to enjoy it, I guess. Street contacting is still my favourite way to find people.  

Nicky and Yumi are doing alright. Yumi has been really busy and so she is not ready for baptism, and Nicky promised her that she would wait. That is the problem that we are dealing with at the moment, and it is not fun. We are praying a lot to find out what we need to do, and are hoping to get some answers soon. We have another investigator though named David that has really taken off. We found him a few weeks ago, and the first appointment fell through. We stopped by a little later, and set up a new appointment, and that one went through. We taught him once and when we came back for the 2^nd lesson he told us that he had read and prayed, and that he felt that everything that we said was true! I love it when people are humble enough to accept our invitations. He is now dated for the 27^th of March! He came to church yesterday and he really liked it. I love it when things go right like this. We are seeing him again tonight and we are going to be finishing the Plan of Salvation! I am excited. I will keep you updated with his progress.

Study this week has been really good. I just read 2 Nephi 4 over the past two days. I really love that chapter. There was one sentence in particular that stuck out to me, and it was during Nephi’s prayer. He says this….

“Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?”

Of all the things that one could wish for in the world, he asks for this. I think that you can really tell where his priorities are. Nephi knew exactly what was most important in life. It wasn’t money, cars, fame, friends, or power, it was returning to live with God, and we do that by avoiding sin.

Mormon says this…..

“for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God.”

I know that Nephi understood that, and he wanted, no he needed help to accomplish that task. This wish of course would not cancel his agency, but it would in fact help him return to live with God. You said it right mom, the scriptures are the way to be happy and to find peace. Reading them is a good start, but I would have not noticed that if I would have just read the verse. I found that through study. Through opening my eyes I found some great truth. The Book of Mormon is full of it, and I am so grateful that I can learn more from it everyday. It is true! Keep studying it!!!!!

Ok well just in closing, yes transfers are next week, and I am 98% sure that I am staying, and I am 85% sure that Elder Dittmer is staying with me. We will be emailing on Wednesday if that is the case and we will be going to the Temple. I am excited for that. Yes I do have a new Email address, but everything is transferred over. Just keep replying to my emails, and all will be well. The new system is really nice. And last I am assuming that you liked my idea about the camera card since you said nothing.

I hope that this week is a good one for you. I will be going on exchanges on Tuesday, but I am staying in Preston this time. Good luck with the baptisms on Saturday, that is going to be very exciting. Baptizing families is so great. I will always remember when Dave and Cavan Smith got baptized on the same night…. SO COOL!!!

I love you all so much!

Elder Neal