You will NEVER BELIEVE!! On the move again!

Elder Penman at Perth member Aimee Grant's house
sitting in her little girl Lilli's chair

So we got Moves Call last night. I am moving.... This is Crazy! I'm going back to Belfast City!! I will be whitewashing into Holywood Belfast with my new companion Elder Beckstrand. He is a zone leader so that will be super fun. I will get to go down to Omagh for exchanges! I can-nae wait! I love it. 

Even better-- my trainee Elder Perkes is going to be the new District Leader in Perth ... and a trainer after only being out 3 months. It's so funny, but he honestly is so good. It was a surprise but he easily can do it! 

We were able to start teaching 5 new people this week. We had one day we taught from 11-9:30. I bet that's how some missions are every day. We had a day where we didn't have time to eat so we brought a grocery bag with bread, peanut butter and jelly, and ate it on a curb before a lesson. It was awesome! Things here are taking off. We will have to cancel a lot of appointments due to moving and Elder Perkes going to new mission leadership council and to pick up his trainee, but it will be ok. 

Young Joseph Smith illustration by Walter Rane

We started teaching a 17 year old girl. We were teaching her the Holy Ghost principle and she was saying she had felt the Spirit before and as we taught her about the First Vision [of Joseph Smith] she had a certain change and we asked what she was feeling and she said a stronger feeling than the last time felt the Spirit. 

We had a man in a wheel chair we are teaching, he came to church and enjoyed it. He read the Book of Mormon and said he had the Spirit, like we had taught him, tell him in his heart that it was true. It was a major blessing. What a great week to end such a short time in Perth. 

I truly have learned a lot from helping the people in the district. It has been amazing for the sole fact that you can truly learn how to help people with the pure love of Christ! I have never had so much love and compassion for missionaries that I've served around. I hope I will have the same feelings for the zone as I have had for the district! But it took a lot of prayer with my whole soul, which feels weird but it's amazing! Just like we are instructed in Moroni 7:42-48: 

Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope. And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart. If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity. And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

I love all of you and God Loves You. 

Elder Penman

Reaction to Elder Penman's parents' emails this week about getting transferred AGAIN: 

To Mom:  Uhh I'm pretty shocked. 2 six week areas! That's crazy and now I'm going to whitewash into an area with my new companion Elder Beckstrand. He's a great singer! I honestly thought I would be a junior companion my whole mission. I hate leadership... because I know I can be so much better and it makes me feel inadequate sometimes. Now I have to lead a huge zone by example. And 10 of them are brand new missionaries! So I will take care of a lot of missionaries. It will be a learning and growing experience! I will walk forward with faith guided by the Spirit!  Remember leadership doesn't mean I'm a good missionary or a bad missionary it means I need to learn something!

To Dad: Elder de Vries [the AP and one of Elder Penman's trainers] called me the "Missionary Doctor." I honestly think most of the areas I've been in is to strengthen my comp and the missionaries around me. I don't think there has been a single area where "The Golden Investigator" needed me. I think I'm here to learn to minister to everyone as the Savior does... Not to baptize or to teach the most people but to grow... I'm not saying those things are bad or that I don't want them. I just want to lose my self in the work-- if God wants me to be a trainer I will do it because I know I will learn and grow to become a better disciple and become like Him. If he wants me to be a district or zone leader I will do it for the same reason... Even though I dislike paper work and using time to do leader stuff instead of teaching and finding. It will be fun to whitewash in and start from completely nothing. Supposedly there are 10 trainees in the zone so we will have to take care of them. I will get to fly on the plane to Edinburgh a lot! It will be weird! I honestly don't feel adequate to be a leader, to be an example to the elders and sisters!

Dundee Zone August 2015

Dundee Zone August 2015--(APs are the "selfie master" and "photo bomber" I think)