MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This week has been pretty sweet!

On Tuesday, we had our Christmas conference.  We got to go to St. Albans (which is a super posh town around 15 minutes from London) it was fun to drive and just see the roads and the country side.  I really love his country. President Stevens and Sister Stevens gave AMAZING uplifting talks to the St. Albans and Northampton Zones (I am in the Northampton Zone). The spirit was so strong, and I learned so much!  Them the Assistants Elder Burgess and Elder Withers (both amazing lads) gave a really good training.  After that President Stevens bore his testimony and sang a song for us... it was incredible.  This man sang in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for a reason!  The spirit was just tangible as he bore his testimony as well.  I feel so lucky to have such a great mission President.  Also, Sister Stevens may be the most Christlike person I've ever met.

Then the serious business was taken care of and the fun began!  We got to wear Christmas Jumpers and to Jumper Olympics!  It was so much fun! Then we did a white elephant gift exchange.  Good times.  It is a really cool thing when you get to gather with other missionaries. When you get to see MTC friends, meet new people, and just feel of people's great personalities!  It was so much fun!

Then, later that day, we taught the Word of Wisdom to David and Laura. It was the first proper Word of Wisdom lesson that I've been a part of, and it was just humbling to see how the Spirit was there, and they accepted to live it.  They are really changing their lives and it is just the best thing to see.  They are getting baptised! We are watching Prophet of the restoration with them, and I am just SO excited for them to see it.  They were having a rough day because they had to go to a funeral, so we stopped by with some gifts for them, with a list of Book of Mormon scriptures for them to read leading up to their baptism.  It meant the world to them, they came to church the next day, and now they are just doing SO good!

Then we had an exchange, met Ian, who is amazing!  He is just loving learning about the gospel! He reads the Book of Mormon for 30 minutes to an hour every day!  He's just a legend!  He watched the Prophet of the restoration and cried like 4 times.  Amazing.

Yah, the work is going great!  I am learning SO much, and I just love being a missionary.

Love you all so much!

See you next week!  And have a Merry Christmas!  Remember to focus on the important things in life!

Elder Draper

Jingle Bells

It's kind of funny, because before my mission I never really appreciated Christmas music.  Man!  It is SO good.  I really gotta hand it to my boy Micheal Bublé... he's got some pipes.  It's the small things that make a big difference.  Okay, now lets get back to the important things.

This week has been pretty interesting.  We had our Zone Meeting, so we got together and had some really amazing trainings on how we can help our friends progress, repent, and eventually enter into a covenant with God.  It was really good.  There are many amazing missionaries in this Zone!  There's a few from my MTC group as well, so it was so much fun seeing them again!

This Christmas season is just so incredible.  A time where we can really focus on what Christ did for us.  My mission President sent out a talk for us to study called "The Wondrous and True story of Christmas" by President Hinckley.  It was amazing.  I encourage all of you to read it.  It is one of the best talks about Christ and his Atonement that I have ever read.

We saw an amazing tender mercy as well.  We went to a lesson with our friend named Wycliff, and when he showed up he brought his friend Liam.  It turns out that Liam was one of the first people that Elder Botta (Zhaun-Paul's companion) taught in this area.  He wasn't ready to make changes in his life 3 months ago, but he is now really excited to learn more and make those changes in his life.  They both came to church yesterday and are working toward baptism in January!

I love being a missionary.  I love the people of England.  I love this time of year when we can focus on what's important in life.  I know that because of Christ death has no sting, and the grave has no victory.  I hope you all have an amazing week!

Love you!
Elder Draper
PS Check out this England fog!

LIGHT the WORLD

Wow!  It's December already?!?!

I love this time of year!  The town Centre put up so many beautiful Christmas lights and trees, and everyone seems to be getting into that Christmas spirit!  It's amazing!  It's great for missionaries because people are more open to talking about Christ.  Transitioning from talking to people about what they are looking forward to this Christmas to talking about the gospel is a pretty smooth transition most of the time.

We are teaching an amazing couple!!  Their names are David and Laura. Laura was taught by the missionaries when she was 7 years old, but when her family got baptized, she couldn't, and never did.  So she is 28 now, and her husband is 45.  They are the cutest couple!  They love Star Wars and Micheal Jackson!  They have really been amazing because they recognize the spirit working in their lives.  They came to church yesterday and loved it! They were looking at the "25Waysin25Days" calendar, and when they saw that today the 5th was to donate blood
David looked so surprised.  We asked him why, and he told us that he's been scheduled to give blood on that day for a few months!!  He doesn't believe in coincidences!  What a miracle!  We are seeing them, and we are going to watch "Prophet of the Restoration" with them!  We are so excited to see them progressing and learning how
to make covenants with God!

We had a pretty crazy experience with a lady we set a return appointment with.  We met her at the Library in Town Centre.  We started to get to know more about her, and she said she was a Jehovahs Witness.  We were talking to her about the Book of Mormon, and she said that Father Jehovah told me to only read one book, and that's the
Bible (or something like that)  When she said that Elder Botta just looked at me and started boldly testifying of the Book of Mormon.  As we both took turns bearing testimony of the Book of Mormon she seemed taken back.  The spirit was there and she didn't know what to do. Then she just stood up and left...  it was such a weird experience,
but pretty funny! Man I love being a missionary!

I hope we spend time this month trying to follow our Savior's example. The 25 Ways is an inspired program put out by the brethren. As we do those simple things leading up to Christmas, we will be able to draw nearer to Christ. We will be able to know him better, uplift others around us, and along the way feel the joy and happiness that comes from serving! Two scriptures come to mind when I think of this.  One is Alma 37:6 "6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."  The things truly are simple, but by doing them are great things brought to pass!  It's a great way to share the gospel as well! The second scripture is Mosiah 17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."  I know that as we serve our fellow men this Christmas season, we serve our God.  Along the way we will be closer to Him and experience so much joy!  Do it!  It's amazing!  Share the video as well, it has an amazing ability to invite the spirit to people's
lives!

I love you guys so much!  I love hearing how you are doing!  Know that I'm having a grand ok' time!

Till next week!

Elder Draper

P.S.  Here are some pictures from last week and this week.  Enjoy!

Thanksgiving in the UK

Hey Guys!   

Hope you marvellous people are having an amazing week so far!!  You'll never guess what I just had here!  Pumpkin pie!  Pumpkin pies are NOT a British thing at all, BUT Sister Powers (who is in a senior couple from America) made a really good pumpkin pie!  (Not as good as yours Mom... don't worry) But still really, really good. Thanksgiving isn't even a thing in this oppressed country.  Anyways, his week has been crazy!  I went on splits with the Zone Leaders and that was SUPER fun.  I went with Elder Lindsey (He is from San Antonio Texas) and we taught 2 lessons, one with Jonny and one with Alvin.  They were both really good lessons!  One was in an old Church of England church, and the other was in the Library over We Chat (which is an app that Chinese people use to communicate with each other)  The Zone Leaders are super fun missionaries to be around!  It was fun to sleep in their flat and do all those fun things that you do on an exchange!  The next day was really fun too!  We started it off with a service project for Sister Andrews.  We pulled weeds in her huge garden and it felt really good to serve the members!  We went to dinner in a Pub!  The food was SO good.  How come there is such amazing food in pubs?  I don't know, but it was my first time in a proper pub, and it was pretty funny!  Then the next day I spent most of the day with Elder Bourne, yes like Jason Bourne.  He's from Canada.  And not a spy.  But that's okay.  My companion had to go to MLC, so we got put together for the day.  It was pretty cool, we went to a hospital and put our names on the list of clergy men to speak to in crisis.  Pretty good idea right?  (It just came from the missionary planner)  

We really have been seeing miracles this week.  We have been able to find and visit some amazing people.  We're teaching one lady named Laura who became inactive when she was 7, but is interested again in the church.  Her and her husband are really funny!  She collects Micheal Jackson stuff, and her husband collects Star Wars stuff.  Needless to say, we get along. We have a Baptism coming up this Saturday for Keerthy.  He is amazing! He is facing so much opposition right before he gets baptised, but his faith is amazing.  His family in India and all his friends are telling him this is the biggest mistake of his life, but he knows it's true.  He is an example to me in faith, and really it sort of feels like he should be teaching me.

I've seen that praying frequently and sincerely has really helped me follow the promptings of the spirit better.  It is SO cool to feel an urge or a prompting and act on it (even if it results in getting cussed out by an angry British person)  I know that the spirit is the key in this amazing work!  Well I think that's about it for this week!  I love you guys so much!   

Have a great week!

All the best!

Elder Draper

Progress!

Oh man!  So many things have happened this week!  I heard some news about an election, and now people in England think Americans are crazy...  I'm sure it will all work out!  We're teaching a really amazing guy!  His name is Timothy!  I found him on the top deck of a double decker bus, so you know he's a cool guy!  He is seriously a
great guy!  He really wants to develop better faith and is willing to work for that faith!  Amazing!  It is SO cool to see the Lord hastening his work here in Northampton!  I am so blessed and humbled to be an instrument in his hand.  I really do love it!  I found a street in Town Centre that is called Drapery!  Take that Y off and it would be cooler, but I still thought it was pretty cool!  Oh, almost forgot, we got to go to London this week for a way cool 3 Weeks training!  President Stevens gave an amazing training on Obedience. Obedience is so important.  The tube in London is insane!!  (That's what they call the subway)  we almost missed a dinner appointment because we were sprinting through the crowded London  underground to catch our train... crazy.  Yah, I'm doing amazing, and I hope you all have a fantastic week!

All the best!

Elder Draper

Tender Mercies

Hey!

This week has been pretty crazy!  Full of all kinds of adventures.
Halloween is pretty oppressed in this country.  It's like a watered
down version of the greatness that takes place in the States.  Just
thought you might want to know that.  Also, best of luck to all of you
back there in the promised land, I know the election isn't the
best-case-scenario, but America will still be the best. Kind of easy
for me to say... being not there and all.

Anyways, this week we got to talk to a ton of people.  We are really
seeing some of our investigators progress and that is amazing.  Seeing
people change their lives, or see things in a new light is really
powerful.  It's definitely not me, it really is the Lords work.  It's
amazing to see how the Lord has prepared his children.  Some people
really have been humbled, so when we share our message of hope and joy
it really means the world to them.  It's amazing.  Kai is one of our
friends and he is slowly coming to know that this is the Lords church
on the Earth today.  It's really been amazing to watch him progress.
We also brought three Chinese University students church with us
yesterday.  They don't believe in God but they said they felt
something during sacrament... You know what that means!  The spirit is
so key in this work. That is what changes and touches people's hearts.

There have been so many tender mercies that I've been able to see.
They happen all around us every day, and we just have to open our eyes
and recognize them.  We have so much to be grateful for.  Not only
counting our blessing (which is great) but also having an attitude of
gratitude, because we really do have so much to to thank our Father in
Heaven for.

It got pretty cold here this last week!  It happened all of the sudden
too, like one day it was lovely then BOOM!  So cold.  I'm not sure how
cold... because 8 degrees Celsius (46 degrees F) doesn't mean much to me yet... I
need Fahrenheit.  Anyways, Love you all!  You are amazing! Remember to
be grateful all the blessings you get!  Have an amazing week!

All the best!

Elder Draper

P.S. I only have one picture... my bad.  It's one of my Zone Leaders
switching name tags with me.  He's great!

Happy Halloween! & Questions Answered

Hey everyone!!

So, before we get into the nitty gritty stuff I just want you all to know that I have had my first authentic Fish n' Chips!  Let me tell you... that stuff holds up to its reputation!  It is however super greasy, and as of right now it sits in my stomach like a bunch of rocks... WORTH IT!!

This week has been AMAZING!!  We have seen miracles and tender mercies all throughout this week!  Elder Botta and I have really been striving to be exactly obedient.  We know that it is through obedience that ALL blessings are predicated.  For example, we got back to our flat around 12 minutes early one night.  Going in wouldn't have been the worst thing.  We could have got a jump on planning and prepared for the next day, but instead we chose to go outside and talk to people until it was really time to get home.  When we were out we stopped this girl named Laura, and we talked with her for a while, and found out she is a catholic, but she feels like there is something she is missing in her relationship with God.  We quickly told her about the Book of Mormon and we are seeing her again this week!  Amazing!  It's only by being obedient that the Lord was able to put her in our path.

England is wicked cool.  I think that I am FINALLY getting used to looking for cars coming on the wrong side of the road!  The buildings are amazing!  They are so old and beautiful.  Most of them are older than the United States of America... The town centre is bustling with people from all over the world.  We've talked to people from Poland, Romania, Latvia, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Italy, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Hong Kong, and tons of other places!!  It's amazing being able to share the gospel with people from all over!

Our Zone is great, and our District is the bomb!!  The Zone Leaders are in our District so we get to do lots of stuff with them!  Elder Parkin from Utah, and Elder Lindsey from Texas, man they are beasts! Our district has set ambitious goals, but we know that all things are possible through the Lord.  This truly is not our work.  It's His. It's amazing that he even involves us and lets us be instruments in his hand... MAN I love being a missionary!!

The shopping here in England is next level... clothes are super cheap, but food is sort of pricey.  The water here is almost unprintable... so English people invented Squash... which is like where you put a little bit of squash in then fill the rest up with water so at least it tastes good!  I got to ride on a double decker bus for the first time!  Top deck of COURSE!!  Felt a little Harry Potter action going on there.

Anyways!!  I love it here.  Serving the people and sharing the gospel has brought SO much joy to my life.  I find that the more I lose myself in the work, the more joy I feel.  It really is Amazing!!

All the best you beautiful beasts!!

Elder Draper


((Note: This is a compilation of Zhaun-Paul's letters he sent in answer to a bunch of questions we sent to him, so he's mostly just answering all the questions we sent him in these following letter snippets...))
I love you guys SO MUCH!  It makes my soul happy to hear that everyone is doing so well back home! If you ever get stressed I know that the scriptures are a source of peace and joy.  A kind of peace that is always available and can overcome all trials.  I've found a new joy in feasting upon the words of Christ.  The sights here are incredible!!  The buildings are so old and beautiful!  The streets are made of cobblestone!  It's amazing!  I bought some English clothes today! The highlight was a really cool wool coat!!  It's so good looking!  I feel like a true Brit in it.  I really am loving it here.  I love you're uplifting letters.  Back home I looked up to people like YouTubers and movie stars... but MAN!  My new hero is Ammon!  Talk about a consecrated missionary!  I hope that I can be that kind of missionary!  Fearless do man, a dedicated servant to the people, and a powerful teacher of the spirit.  

I love you so much!  I'm doing AMAZING over here!  It is really fun living with just a companion!  We get along well and have lots of jokes! Believe it or not I feel like I eat like a king! Not even one Ramen noodle!!  Lots of frosted flakes though!! We have bacon and eggs, sandwiches, and my Italian companion makes some pretty great pasta!  I haven't had Fish n' Chips yet, or a kabaab, so I don't feel like a proper Brit yet.  I'm learning how to cook better, so it's awesome!!  I'm finally starting to look the right way to see if cars are coming!  It's so weird that they drive on the left, and sit on the right!  I keep seeing kids in the passenger seat, but it looks like they're driving and it kinda freaks me out a little bit.  I love it here, and I love sharing the gospel with EVERYONE!!  I went shopping for the first time today!  I bought a coat... a really cool English coat.  I love you so much!

Don't worry about me over here, I am loving losing myself in the work! I find that as my will becomes more in line with His, I am happier and I grow so much faster!  I always stay positive because I know that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, and even when I am rejected, cast out, made fun of, I am standing shoulder to shoulder to someone a lot better than me, who went through a lot more gab I'll ever have to endure!  I seriously love my mission!  I love every second! I love The people, the food, the members, everything.  Now... time to get to those questions!


 ((And his Dad sent him these questions...inquiring minds just want to know!))

1. How many times did you get to go to the temple?
A. I went to the Preston temple 3 times, and it was amazing!  Such a
beautiful temple.  The officiated had and English accent so that was
super cool!!  I did miss going with you though.

2. What activities did you get to do for PE in the MTC?
A. I taught all of the foreigners how to play Ultimate frisbee!  They
thought it was so much fun!!  They even had a really good frisbee
there!!  Also we played LOTS of football (soccer) and some basketball
and volleyball.

3. Did all the missionaries in your district go to your mission?
A. No, 2 went to Birmingham, 5 went to London south, and just me and
my companion went to London.

4. Did you gain any weight in the MTC?
A. I think I lost weight the first week... but then gained around 5
pounds... it's hard to know for sure because they measure it in kilos
over here...

5. Have you bought any clothes?
A. Not until a few hours ago!  I bought some white shirts from NEXT,
and a really warm coat from New Look!  It is a REALLY cool coat!

6. How is cooking going?
A. Cooking is going good!! We get around 150£ just for food and
haircuts and stuff!  So we eat eggs and bacon, frosted flakes, pasta
(cooked by my Italian companion.  But yeah, I'm learning how to cook
and add peppers in me stuff... it's really good!  You guys should send
me some recipes or something!

7. Are you enjoying laundry, cleaning, and all the chores?
A. Actually I am enjoying the chores.  I like the responsibility, and
I am learning habits that will help a TON in life.  I owe a lot of
that to you and Mom, so thank you!  It's all good!

8. Did you ever get a coat?
A. Yes, a really cool black English style coat!

9. Are you in a ward or branch?
A. I'm in a ward!  There is actually a lot of members here!!  2 wards
attend the chapel we go to!!

10. Do you have a ward mission leader?
A. Yes!  His name is Brother Clive.  He is pretty helpful but works a lot.

11. Do you go on splits with the members?
A. I haven't had the chance to go on splits with the members yet,
but I have had lots of member present lessons.

12. How many are in your apartment?
A. Just Elder Botta and I in our Flat.  It is apparently a really
nice flat!  It's got a nice shower and a good kitchen which is
amazing!

14. How much time do you spend contacting?
A. We spend lots of time contacting... they call it finding now.
I've only been tracking for a tiny bit, we like to go down to town
centre and talk to people on the street!  I've found really well that
way and I LOVE talking to people!

15. Are you shy, or outgoing?
A. I don't want to be prideful or anything... but outgoing.

16. How is the language coming, any hangups?
A. Well.. people say I sound like people in the movies.
Trash=rubbish, sidewalk= footpath, sneakers= trainers, sweater=
jumper, so on and so forth.

17. Are you enjoying all the study time you get?
A.  I am enjoying the study time I get!  I don't feel like it's
enough though!  I have so much to learn and study and memorize.

18. What is the neatest thing you have seen so far in Northampton?
A. The neatest thing in Northampton i would say is the buildings.  I
LOVE how old they are.  The churches especially are incredible.

19. How big is your area?
A. I'm not sure exactly how big our area is... but it's huge.  We
walk, bike, and take the bus a LOT!!

20. How many come to church?
A. In our ward... probably around 100ish.

21. Are you over more than one ward?
A. Nope just the Northampton ward!

22. Do you have an IPAD?
A. Yes!  I have an iPad!  We got it when we were in London.  So
we're all good there.  It gets passed from missionary to missionary.

23. Are you hearing and recognizing the spirit?
A. Yes.  It's amazing slowly getting better at recognizing and
following the prompting of the spirit.

A. Also yes, he is very real and very persistent.  He uses ads and
media to try and throw us off. He puts negative thoughts in my head,
and I've been good at recognizing them and getting rid of them.

25. Are your friends writing?
A. Yah! Lots of them write!  It's great!

26. Are you using your sunglasses?
A. Unfortunately... no. In my mission sunglasses are not allowed
while proselytising... oh well.

27. Looks like fall, is it colder there?
A. It was for a few days, but then it randomly got hot again.  Today
was really warm!

28. Is it humid or dry?
A. Humid for sure!

29. Do they all have bad teeth?
A. Lots of them do!  People tell me how perfect my teeth are... it's funny.

30. Do you know how much we all love you?
A. I know how much you guys love me!  I can feel your love and
support from across the pond!


Elder Draper