A Week in Aberdeen

THE SIM SQUAD Heading to Aberdeen this week

Elder Penman at Dunnottar Castle

We spent the whole week, Monday to Sunday in Aberdeen. It was so fun. 

We stopped at some sweet castle called Dunnottar Castle.  It's pretty Legendary.  

I really enjoyed being up in Aberdeen. We worked our tails off this week, which resulted in some incredible miracles. 

  One miracle that had happened was we drew the picture of the Plan of Salvation on the street and taught people about it. A man came up and started being contentious. He started arguing with me. I just sat there and took it. Then the spirit of discernment overcame me and I could tell what the man's struggles were and my awareness  sharpened. He got a little bit more aggressive and the Still Small Voice told me to testify with boldness, so I did. I can't tell you exactly what I said but the sum up is I, through the name of Jesus Christ, testified of the Living Jesus Christ and how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has has the fullness of the Gospel. The mood changed and he calmed down and took our number and left. That night he called apologized and asked to meet up. So the Aberdeen Elders met with him today after we left. I truly love the Power and Authority that comes in and through the Holy Spirit.

  This week I really have never been hit with so much anti or bad comments against the Church. I have never had to rely on the Witness that I received when I was 16 as much as I did this week. I testify in the name of Jesus Of Nazareth that I know that Our Father in Heaven is real, and He loves us. I know that in reality, that He and  his Son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove, in upstate New York.  

   I will let you know where I will be all this week on Sunday!(:

-Elder Penman

(More pictures of the SIM SQUAD--Kinda looks like Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine for "The Gang) 

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About Dunnottar Castle:
Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope"[1]) is a ruinedmedieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been fortified in the Early Middle Ages. Dunnottar has played a prominent role in the history of Scotland through to the 18th-century Jacobite risings because of its strategic location and defensive strength. Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. The property of the Keiths from the 14th century, and the seat of the Earl Marischal, Dunnottar declined after the last Earl forfeited his titles by taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715. The castle was restored in the 20th century and is now open to the public.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunnottar_Castle

Information about Aberdeen Scotland

Aberdeen

 (This post is for historical purposes only)

Mercat Cross and Castlegate

Information about Aberdeen Scotland from Wikipedia:

The Aberdeen area has seen human settlement for at least 8,000 years. The city began as two separate burghs: Old Aberdeen at the mouth of the river Don; and New Aberdeen, a fishing and trading settlement, where the Denburn waterway entered the river Dee estuary. The earliest charter was granted by William the Lion in 1179 and confirmed the corporate rights granted by David I. In 1319, the Great Charter of Robert the Bruce transformed Aberdeen into a property-owning and financially independent community. Granted with it was the nearby Forest of Stocket, whose income formed the basis for the city's Common Good Fund which still benefits Aberdonians. During the Wars of Scottish Independence, Aberdeen was under English rule, so Robert the Bruce laid siege to Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308, followed by the massacring of the English garrison and the retaking of Aberdeen for the townspeople. The city was burned by Edward III of England in 1336, but was rebuilt and extended, and called New Aberdeen. The city was strongly fortified to prevent attacks by neighbouring lords, but the gates were removed by 1770.

The Powis gate Old Aberdeen

During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1644–1647 the city was plundered by both sides. In 1644, it was taken and ransacked by Royalist troops after the Battle of Aberdeen and two years later it was stormed by a Royalist force under the command of Marquis of Huntly. In 1647 an outbreak of bubonic plague killed a quarter of the population. In the 18th century, a new Town Hall was built and the first social services appeared with the Infirmary at Woolmanhill in 1742 and the Lunatic Asylum in 1779. The council began major road improvements at the end of the 18th century with the main thoroughfares of George Street, King Street and Union Street all completed at the beginning of the 19th century.

Main article: Etymology of Aberdeen

Though Brittonic was spoken in Southern Scotland (part of yr Hen Ogledd) up to medieval times, as evidenced (for example) by the poem Y Gododdin, Aberdeen was in Pictish territory and became Gaelic-speaking at some time in the medieval period. Old Aberdeen is the approximate location of Aberdon, the first settlement of Aberdeen; this literally means "the mouth of the Don". The Celtic word aber means "river mouth", as in modern Welsh (Aberystwyth, Aberdare, Aberbeeg etc.).The Gaelic name is Obar Dheathain (variation: Obairreadhain) (obar presumably being a loan from the earlier Pictish; the Gaelic term is "inbhir"), and in Latin, the Romans referred to the river as Devana. Mediaeval (or ecclesiastical) Latin has it as Aberdonia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberdeen 

What is the SIM Squad???

"SIM Squad"  Elders Gates (England), Elder Liao (Provo, UT), Elder Penman,
Elder Perkins (Las Vegas), Elder Harman (California)
with the President David O. McKay Stone in the mission office garden
(See story below)

Hey everybody! So my day to email is Sunday nights. Our schedule has changed a lot. So I am working in a group of 5 missionaries. I have 4 companions at one time. It's pretty crazy. We are going to travel around the Scotland/Ireland mission. This week we were in Edinburgh working all day everyday. I love Edinburgh City. It's so old!! I would tell you where we are going next, but we will find out tomorrow morning, so it will be a surprise next week. 

Our Ride--The SIM Squad Mobile (Elders Harman & Gates)

  So my companions are Elder Perkins from Las Vegas, Elder Gates from England, Elder Harman from California, Elder Liao from Provo... He speak Chinese, it's sweet.  It is kind of weird at first because we are all so different. We get along pretty well though.

   I'm not going to lie--going out and talking to people on the street all day long is pretty hard,  but I love it so much. One of the many miracles of the week was: First thing in the morning, I waved down a garbage truck because no one was around, I talked to 3 men in the truck, none of them were interested but I had a good talk. The last person I talked to that day was a security man.... He said, "Hey, I met you this morning at my first job... I am was the Rubbish man." We had an amazing talk-- so spiritual and he was a lot more interested than earlier after watching the #BecauseHeLives Video on MormonChannel.org. We ended up setting up an appointment for this coming week. It was amazing. We had so many experiences of people just being overcome by the Holy Spirit. Some people were so confounded by the Spirit, their very beings began to shake. It was incredible.

  There isn't much else to share. It was very much the same... But so fun!!! I honestly love this assignment so much. I know that this will test my faith more than anything I have done before on my mission. I will have to rely purely on the Grace  of Jesus Christ. 

   Again I have to tell you how much I love being a missionary. I love testifying all day every day of God's Truth!! I know that He, Our Father lives, I know that His son Jesus Christ Leads this church, the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the only TRUE and LIVING church on the Earth, it continues to live on and will live on forever. I testify of all of this in Jesus Christ's name.

Elder Penman

Rebecca Cunningham Parr (from Paisley, which was Elder Penman's first area in August 2014), is now living in Edinburgh.  She was excited to spot Elder Penman at church today and sent Mom a picture of them together.  Thanks Rebecca!!  

David O. McKay as a missionary in
Scotland 1898

President David O. McKay

Stirling, Scotland, 1898, David O. McKay: “I was homesick and a little discouraged on this day.  As we were coming back into town, I saw an unfinished dwelling, over the front door of which was a stone on which there was a carving. That was most unusual, so I said to Elder Johnston, ‘I’m going to see what that is.’ I was half way up the graveled walk when there came to my eyesight a striking motto as follows, carved in stone:  “ ‘Whate’er Thou Art, Act Well Thy Part.’  I said to myself, or the Spirit within me, you are here as a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. That afternoon, I accepted the message given to me on that stone, and from that moment we tried to do our part as missionaries in Scotland” 

Don't Worry About Nothing

Well, we got our moves call. I am leaving Clonsilla Ward in Dublin Ireland and I'm going.... I actually don't know where I am going yet. 

I was told on Sunday night to pack and head to the mission home. So...I have an assignment but not exactly sure yet. I think I will be told tonight what it is exactly. 

Off to the Mission Office in Edinburgh for a special assignment

So I am a little nervous but as the Subject says in grrrreeeaat English... hahaha

Don't worry about nothing.

haha. That's the code I live by.

  

Elder Moller and I had an amazing week last week. We taught so many wonderful people. We taught a lady a 15 minute lesson and she was overcome by the Spirit so she invited us back the next day. The next time we taught her. She felt it again. She was having a few troubles so we gave her a blessing of comfort and counsel.  Wow the priesthood is great. 

Preston Agho got baptized. He asked me to baptize him. I feel very blessed. It was the first time I had ever baptized anyone outside of the temple.

Elder Moller, Preston, and Elder Penman on Preston's baptism day

Well, I have no time! I love my mission here in Scotland and Ireland. I love the work I do! 

Elder Penman

Mom and Dad go to Elder Penman's Missionary Reunion

(Historical post by Mom)There is an association called the Scotland Ireland Missionary Association that hosts a fireside and reunion once a year.  That event was held this past Friday, April 1 in the Olympus Stake Center building.  President Alan Brown and Sister Sylvia Brown, Elder Penman's first mission Presidents (from August 2014-July 2015) were here from Fife Scotland.  The fireside started out with the Wasatch Pipe Band playing Scotland the Brave.  There is such power in hearing the pipes and drums and seeing the players in traditional Scottish attire.  Here's what I wrote Elder Penman this week about our experience:  Sister Brown spoke about how much they loved the missionaries in the mission.  She talked about how the mission replicated the David O McKay stone and put it out in the garden of the mission office/home.  She talked about the missionary choirs (of which Elder Penman participated at Christmas 2014 in Northern Ireland)  they organized and how many doors and friendships that established.  She talked about her new calling as a historian for the church in Scotland and how she is wanting to collect missionary journals and stories from all eras of service.  President Brown spoke about how marrying all 5 foot of wonderful Sister Brown was the smartest decision he ever made.  He talked about how obedience by you missionaries brought fruit to the work and that you were all wonderful missionaries.  He talked about how the missionary age changes made their mission explode....they went from like 130 missionaries to 220 missionaries in a few months.  They had 19 sisters training to expand the numbers to 44, and some sisters were training 2 sister missionary greenies at a time.  He said it was a wise change from the Lord and that he could see the Lord's hand in the growth of the church and missionary force.  He spoke about weekly emails from missionaries and told us a few sweet funny stories.  He said he talked to Pres Donaldson just before they left for the US and that Pres Donaldson told him that convert baptisms were up 47 percent from this time last year.  That's awesome!  He closed with how his mission has made him more committed to the gospel, made his prayers and repentance more meaningful, and his relationship with the Savior.  What a lovely couple.  I can see why you loved them so much.  He was hugging all of the former missionaries.  There were probably about 70 young return missionaries and several of the senior couples there.  Both of them have such beautiful Scottish accents.  

Conference and Priesthood

 First off, I didn't have time to tell you about the miracle that happened while I was in the hospital (a few weeks ago in Belfast). Recently I have realized my time as a missionary is coming towards an end. I have had many friends tell me that it is so sad not to be able to wear your missionary name tag anymore. So as I was in the hospital; I decided I wanted to wear my name badge around. Every Doctor, Nurse and all other patients would ask about it and start up a conversation about why I was wearing it, or what exactly I did as a missionary. It was amazing. They came to me. A particular lady nurse had walked back and forward through the patients' bedrooms until she came into my area. She stopped stared at the badge and said, "Oh, you're The LDS Church," with a big smile. I asked when she came in contact with the church. Her reply shocked me. I am a member of 20 years. I was baptized in London in 1995. When she moved over to Northern Ireland she had lost contact. So we exchanged numbers and I gave her number to the nearest Elders to her. It was amazing.  I was actually studying from the Book of Mormon and shared some of my study with her. The Spirit was so strong and she teared up. I love being a missionary!!   

 

We are teaching a lot. Preston is getting Baptized next week. (:

  

General Conference was amazing!! We had a friend and her 7 year old child at one of the sessions and a YSA member at another. They loved it. By far the best sessions I have watched on my mission. It was so bold, loving and spiritual. They testified of families and parents, Temples, Doctrines of Christ, and so much doctrine!! My favorite 2 talks were Henry B. Erying's first talk, in the Saturday Morning session, and David A. Bednar's talk, on Saturday Evening. 

President Eyring taught us so much on how we can receive revelation and on the importance of sincere prayer. He taught that a lot of the revelation we receive and the revelation they speak depends on our faith and diligent prayers while they speak, then he sealed it up with a power house testimony! 

Elder Bednar taught us the doctrines of Christ and focused very much on three key things to help us "Retain A Remission Of Our Sins" 
1.) Baptism  2.) Receiving the Gift Of The Holy Ghost  3.)Sacrament. All three are essential for repentance and retaining that cleanliness we may have once had or will have. I love how he smashes that if we live these three ordinances, we will be able to kneel at the feet of our God and be without spot. 

You all should know that I know that WE are nothing, we are worthless, we are insignificant in comparison to God... But we are of so much worth, because all of us as individuals have had a price paid for us that is infinite. We are children of our Living Father who abodes in Heaven. That makes us worth more than this world can give, more than any substance we can see and touch around us. We are of divine heritage.  I know this is true. That is why we all can repent.

For those who read this and say " That is great, but it is not for me..." This is for you. You can repent. Nothing you have done is out of the reach of our Savior. He is all powerful, all knowing, and every where. So cry out with a sincere heart and faith on the Lamb of God who is mighty to save and cleanse. Forgive yourself and become submissive, humble, patient, charitable, and willing to submit to the Lords command (Mosiah 3:19). I testify this is true by the authority which the Holy Spirit has given me and in Jesus Christ's name.

Elder Penman