St. Andrew's Day

A note from Mom:  Even though Elder Penman is not currently serving in Scotland, it seemed appropriate to post information about St. Andrew's Day, which is a national holiday in Scotland.

St. Andrew's Day is the feast day of Saint Andrew. It is celebrated on the 30th of November.

Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Cyprus, Scotland, Greece, Romania, Russia,
Ukraine, Bulgaria, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, San Andres Island, Colombia and Saint Andrew, Barbados.

St. Andrew's Day (Scots: Saunt Andra's Day, Scottish Gaelic: Là Naomh Anndrais) is Scotland's official national day. In 2006, the Scottish Parliament designated St Andrew's Day as an official bank holiday. It is also a national holiday in Romania (since 2015).

In Scotland, and many countries with Scottish connections, St Andrew's Day is marked with a celebration of Scottish culture with traditional Scottish food, music and dance. In Scotland the day is also seen as the start of a season of Scottish winter festivals encompassing St Andrew's Day, Hogmanay and Burns Night. In Edinburgh, there is a week of celebrations, concentrating on musical entertainment and traditional ceilidh dancing. A ceilidh is a social event with couples dancing in circles or sets (groups of six or eight people). In Glasgow city centre, a large shindig, or party, with traditional music and a ceilidh are held. In Dumfries, songs are performed in the Burn's night tradition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Andrew%27s_Day

My friends at church

This week was slow. We had to clean out a flat and close it down. So that took a lot of our time.

   We taught our Chinese friend named X__. We invited him to church after he expressed he wants to know truth. He said no and we were moved by the spirit to be bold.... Bolder than I have ever been with someone. We threw down how if he wants to get something he needs to give something. We were bold with sacrifice. The Spirit was so strong. You could taste it in the air
. We than invited him again and he said yes. The next day it was pouring rain and X__ rode his bike 45 min in the down pouring rain to come to church. It was amazing. 

   At church we had X__, K____ and his family. It was amazing to see so many of our friends and Elder Parkinson and Elder Wilson's friends as well. 

   For all of you who want to serve missions and will serve missions. Master Preach my Gospel. That will prepare you more than anything else as you study and live it!! I promise you this as a representative of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That goes for you members as well who are trying to be better at sharing the Gospel. 

   This week I have felt how near our Father in Heaven really is. The more I indulge in the scriptures and preach my gospel the thinner the veil is. The presence of the Father is different from the Spirit. I am gaining such an amazing relationship with Our Father. Who is very real and very knowable. He has a body of flesh and bones. If he were to stand before you He would look as a perfected man, you would look at Him and it would be just like seeing your family after a long time. I know God lives and loves me. This is my testimony.  

Love 

Elder Andrew Penman

My Favorite Scripture

 Ether 12:37

And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore,thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.

Too many surprises!

Elder Penman, Ned, Jaqueline, Elder Mulville after Jaque's confirmation

So many blessings happened this week. We saw Jacqueline got baptized!!! We got to speak with Elder M. Russell Ballard and shake his hands!

A page from Elder Penman's missionary planner
with recent contacts (information blurred out)

   We started the week off by GQing in the 3 C degree rain. It was so fun!! Elder Mulville and I had a blast and talked to so many people. We are working with faith and a full-hearted belief that Gods will, will be done,  and when you work with faith and that full-hearted belief, days go by fast and
they are so much fun!!!!
 
   We were able to see the fruits from exercising our our faith in the last few days of our week. We had a 2 1/2 hour meeting with Elder Ballard. Wow! That was incredible. He taught a doctrine I had never thought about. He said it is harder for a spirit to repent than a soul on earth. He also said the addictions we carry in ourselves here will be with us when we are resurrected, that is why it is so important to repent in this life. When he shook our hands he told us that we have the best generation of teachers the church has ever seen. That man ordained of God is incredible!!!

Elder Penman and Jacque at her confirmation

Elder Mulville selfie with Elder Penman
and Jacque

   Jaque was baptized while we were in Dublin! It was amazing. It was so amazing when she personally invited Elder Mulville and I to be part of her confirmation! Talk about PURE JOY!! Ned, her boyfriend was telling us that they will be getting sealed in the temple in Brigham City Utah, in April 2017. So I will get to go to the temple when the do their temple work and get sealed!!!!!!! That will be a great day!

   We are still teaching the Czech couple. They are not understanding everything but they are progressing slowly. The Romanian family is doing well. We are teaching so many people its unreal!!!

  I know very clearly that Apostles with the same authority Peter, John, Mark, Luke and the rest of the original Apostles had. I have seen and met two of them in person and their actions tell it all! The church is true.

Elder Penman

Doctrine and Covenants Section 123: 17 "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

Some type of pastry.  Looks like an apple made to
look like a rose on the top

Teaching, Teaching, and Blessings

 

Saying goodbye to Elders Beckstrand and Stanley on Moves Day
Elders Parkinson, Beckstrand, Stanley, Penman

Elder Beckstrand is going to Kirkcaldy Scotland to train a new missionary

 This week I had to move all the missionaries in my zone around and Elder Beckstrand left before it got crazy. So it was only me answering all their calls and making sure they knew exactly what was up. It was exciting.

Elder Penman & Elder Mulville--new companions!  

    Elder Mulville is so chill. He is literally a Surfer Dude. We work so hard together and waste no time I love it. He does missionary work just like me. We get a long great. He is only a convert for 2 years. It is pretty amazing to be with a convert. His testimony is very unique.

    We taught a deaf household of people. It's a member's son and all of his friends. They are the humblest people on the face of the earth! One of them knew ASL so I could sign and understand just a little of what he was saying. We also had a member who translated what we taught to them. We got to watch him sign the prayer and one of the other people interpreted it. I have never felt the Spirit so strong from an investigators prayer. It was so meek, so humble, and so moving. He spoke of Elder Mulville and I to God so appreciative and so highly. We Taught The Romanian family English and Skyped with the Romanian missionaries. K___ is looking forward to being baptized! We taught an Asian man named Y__. He was on his bike with headphones on the street and stopped because he felt like he needed to and looked to see me waving at him. We taught the Restoration and he felt the Spirit and wants to be baptized on December 12th. I don't think I have ever taught so much on my mission.  Its so fun though.

   On Sunday a man from Iran walked into the church building. He used to live in Iran and he ran away because he found out that the Book of Mormon was true. He had police and government people after him, to kill him so he ran away in the back of a lorry to get away from the people trying to kill him. So on Sunday he walked 2 hours across Belfast to make it to the church building. He told us he was living in a hostel but was sick of it because all the drinks they had were Coffee and Tea... And he felt bad breaking the word of wisdom.

   I testify that the Lords work is hastening. I know that He has prepared his Children to be gathered into the barns of the last harvest. His work will move forward whether we are a part of it or not. So let us join our wonderful Father in Heaven's work. In Jacob 5, the Lord teaches us about how it is his work and not ours, we need to align our will with his.

Jacob 5 teaches the Allegory of the Olive Tree
Artwork by Miriam Escofet

  I invite all of you to study Jacob 5 with the question "What is my role in the work of the Lord?"  I promise you that you will have the spirit rest upon you and teach you exactly what you need to know..... If you have a sincerity to act.
  I invite all of you to study

Elder Penman

Elders Parkinson and Stanley

Elder Parkinson

"GQ all day, every day here"

Elder Mulville

Moves Call #11 I think

Elders Ward, Forbush, and Penman at Ulster Hall for Stake Conference

Well We got moves call. Elder Beckstrand is going to be leaving Belfast and going to train in Kirkaldy! He is so lucky he gets to train. I will be getting a new companion named Elder Mulville, he is from California! I'm so excited to serve with him. He trained in the same group as when I picked up Elder Forbush. You'll never guess. Elder Perkes is coming into Belfast!!! I'm so excited. But my other son Elder Forbush is off to the Shetland Isles! 

E Beckstrand teaching at MLC

Trying to get the group together at MLC

Elder Beckstrand has been using Elder Penman's camera for selfies

This week we taught a lot! We taught the Romanian family. K____ and A____ came to our stake conference at the Ulster Hall! It was awesome. We are teaching a Czech Couple named A____ and A____. We Skyped with Elder Novotney and he helped explain things in Czech. We are teaching a new friend named J_______. We also had the born again minister at Bishop Moffet's house, he is kicking pretty hard... we may have to stop teaching him. We are teaching someone who was in the UDA during the Troubles and it took him for ever to get out, he got out this past week. That's basically like teaching someone in the Italian Mafia! It was crazy... He has so many crazy stories!!  We are teaching so much it's unbelievable!!! I Love it here in Belfast.

   Today we sent a bunch of missionaries going home accross on the ferry. It so weird. Elder Wells is in this group and when I came out he was only at 7 months on his mission... Now he is going home in 1 1/2 days. The time has gone by quicker then I can even comprehend. Elder Lorimer always would say, Kolob standard time! It is the best even the hardest times breeze by! I love being a missionary soooooooo much! Sorry for the short email. we are planning how people are going to move through the mission.

The Holywood Road Four--Beckstrand, Parkinson, Stanley, Penman

The Flat must have gotten egged.  

More evidence of the egging.  

Elder Penman

Up Down Touch the Ground

Hello. We got to see J____ confirmed this week! It was awesome!! We also had MLC!

We were teaching a man from Brunei about the Godhead and about the role of the Holy Ghost. He felt the Spirit, so we proceed onto the Restoration. He felt the Spirit through the whole thing. At one point there were a bunch of distractions so we told him its going to be hard to feel the Spirit. We told him about the First Vision and he said "I am so focused, I can feel it, I can feel the Spirit!" We invited him to be baptized and he agreed. We felt prompted to tell him that he will have people and other sources say he didn't feel it.  The next morning we get a text saying "I'm a Bible believing Christian."  It was a bummer! 

We Skyped the Romanian missionaries in with the new Romanian family. They told us that they are so prepared. they are looking for new jobs so they can come to the church. The other Romanians watched "Why the Church?" in Romanian. They loved it. They just don't get the need for the Restoration. 

I almost got punched today on the motorway. We stopped at the toll road and it was only Euros and we had pounds.  The man behind us started yelling at us so I asked him if we could trade for Euro and he said more F-words than any other human I have ever heard. He started getting out of the car saying, "We can do this right now," in a thick Dublin accent. I ran over to the desk and traded for Euro and sped away.

Sorry for the short email. We had a long meeting. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is sooooo true! I know it!

Mosiah 3:19

Elder Penman