11/28/11

Dear David, Patrick, Nanna and Pappy, Mom, Dad, and Lindsey (and everyone else who may read this blog but for whatever reason doesn't write). Ohh and special thanks to Family for Halloween candy, Nanna and
Pappy for card+$, and Lindsey for written post!

So first off, sending me candy= a bad idea. :P I loved it but it was gone by noon the next day. I have always been a big fan of snacking, but I never buy any snack food so here I am safe, that is... until some comes through the post box. Haha. But anyway, in other news, Thanksgiving isn't much of a holiday over here (at all). But I did have a pie (a meat pie but a pie), ate too much (partially the candies fault), and I got a letter from Lindsey that day (so spent time with family/friends (ish)), so I think I covered all of the Thanksgiving traditions. Also it is getting cold over here. And the sun has completely set and it is dark by around 4:30! It is ridiculous! But for the last few days we have had somewhere to go when the sun sets so it has been pretty nice. :) Oh and here is something about England, lots of people don't open their doors after dark. So knocking doors becomes much less effective. As a funny note though some people yell from the other side "who is it?" and if you answer, "It is the missionaries..." than they will just say to go away, but if you answer "it's Elder Tombs and Elder Bullman" they open up. They ask who is it to make sure that the person at the door is not some serial killer waiting to knife them and steal their stuff and yet saying I am a random stranger whose name you don't recognise works better than, "I am a servant of the Lord sent to offer you eternal salvation." :) I noticed that last night and pointed it out to Elder Bullman and we both had a good laugh but I gots to goes till next week,
Elder W.W. Tombs

11/21/11

Dear Everyone (with special shout outs to Aunt Kathy, Aunt Patty, Patrick, David, Mom, Dad, Nana and Pappy [they wrote last week too - sorry] Elder Bouger [misspelled] and Lindsey for their emails),

Thank y'all so much for the emails this week. I have had quite a bit to read. :) Unfortunately, that gives me less time to write. :P But anyway, so this week has been my first week with my new comp, Elder Bullman. It has been really really fun. We have been working hard and finding many new people to teach (unfortunately few of them look solid at the moment, but such is life). We have been working our tails off though and it has been great. Oh and guess what, they don't celebrate Thanksgiving over here! What's up with that? Haha. Actually there are some funny things that I have noticed. In the North (back home), the civil war is commonly taught as a war over slavery and in the South it is taught as a war over states rights. Well in the States the war for Independence is taught as a great victory and here they don't even acknowledge that they lost! Ha. Anyway see y'all next week.

Many smiles,

Elder W. Tombs

11/15/11

Dear everyone:

Mom, Mary, Patrick, and Lindsey for emails and Lindsey, Jannette, David??, and Shayla for written post! :))

So I got a package from Shayla and David this week, but so far as I can tell... I got a package from Shayla this week. :P Um David, if you want real recognition in these emails you should probably write me. Haha. So in the package was a big pack of candy! And Shayla said to send a picture of us breaking into it :). Yup also in response to Mary's question, I just want a pokemon picture and I wanted to make it a contest. Whoever can send me the best (hand drawn) Poke-Picture, is going to win a pretty nice prize! :) Oh so this email is coming out on Tuesday because yesterday was transfer night! :) I am staying in Gateshead but Elder Montgomery is heading off to Leeds. I am done training! And my step father is going to be Elder Boulman! He was in my district last transfer! He was previously (or is still until tomorrow) in South Shields which is only about 15 min east of Gateshead and he is one of the funniest guys that I have ever met :) I am so exited! But I am going to miss Elder Montgomery :P Honestly, I am just glad I am not the one leaving :) Gateshead is pretty slow right now so far as areas go, but all of the people here are just so wonderful :) I am really hoping to be here when a few of these people get baptised :) But anyway g2g I will get back you y'all next week with how things are going.

Love you all,

Elder Tombs

11/7/11

Good Monday everyone :)

Especially Mom, Dad, Patrick, Mary, Tyler and Lindsey! With special thanks to Lindsey for written post, and specialer thanks to Lindsey for a wonderful package!

So this week was pretty fun. :) We didn't knock on as many doors as we normally have to so that is great :). This Saturday was Bonfire night! For those of you who don't remember what bonfire night is... join the crowd. They set off fireworks and sit around bonfires and don't like it when missionaries knock :P haha. But no we didn't do any knocking once it got to about tea time. We had appointments! So good. :) But most people are doing things on bonfire night so our appointments were with really old less actives. :P But a few of them are looking good to come back to church so that is good. :) Also, my comp got sick yesterday. :( It sounds like what I had a few weeks ago, so I think I am safe, but I do not envy him one bit. So Mary Beth, if you can't draw me a Kadabra then could you send me a Skirtle and a Geodude? in fact maybe I will make this a contest. Whoever can send me the best Poke-picture (hand-drawn) will win an amazing prize. :) But hey, times almost up G2g

Love yous,

Elder W. Tombs

10/31/11

So thank you for all of the Emails this week! (Namely from Patrick, David, Mary, Lindsey, Nana and Pappy, Alex Bauer, and Mom [with a special shout out to Alex and Becca Gifford and Nana+Pappy for written post!])

So this week was pretty fun. We had some big lows and some decent highs; that is missionary work. :) Love it! My trainer and I are getting along really well and it is sad for me to think that in just 2.5 weeks we will be split up. :P But anyway, today is Halloween and I don't have much email time, because we had some funtivities in New Castle (zone P-day by the way). So we got back a bit late and only have a bit to email. Also, my letters this week are lacking :P Sorry, the only one who is getting post back is Lindsey, but what can you do? I will write more next week, promise. :) Oh but here is something fun, I learned how to wrestle a table today. :) Yeah you set out one of those big long tables like at the church and you kneel on top of it and try to get underneath it and back on top (like full circle) without touching the ground. :) It is really fun and I got it on my first try! I felt so proud of myself (especially since I expected to look like a huge fool). :P. But I definitely recommend it. It leaves big red marks on your arms though. So just as a note, on Halloween we still work over here but we are not allowed to do any finding. So we have to have appointments. That made yesterday fun because we didn't learn that info until Saturday night and normally we avoid scheduling lots on Monday because we only have 3 hours as it is... and we don't want to loose any time to travel. But it all worked out and we have people. However, we had to make like a bagillion (misspelled) calls to set them up. :P I would mention names but every time I write about someone they drop us so I will tell you about people after they are dunked. :) Anyway g2g,

Much love,

Elder W. W. Tombs

PS Happy Halloween

PPS make Bug get better for me!

10/24/11

Dear Family, (Props to Mom, David, Patrick, Mandie and Lindsey who emailed me and a special shout out to Lindsey, Mandie (a few weeks ago oops), and the Roberts family!!!!!)

So this week was fairly slow. We had some really big highlights but last time I mentioned those they disappeared. So I will give you epic stories either after people disappear or get baptized. :) haha. Oh and congrats to Mary Beth for her job in the primary program! Anyway, this week has been really cold (or maybe it just seemed so because I had a cold :P). So today I am going in to Newcastle to buy some thermals (oh and if y'all could send the ones that I have back home (if any) on up that would be nice too. :)) And a nice scarf. :) Oh and mom, I already bought my 2ND suit. :) Yup that was weeks and weeks ago. Oh but last P-day we went to the Metrocenter! It is the largest shopping center in all of Europe! (It is probably the size of the El-Paso mall :P) But I got some new shoes. :) I got a pretty nice deal too because I got my new proselyting shoes and some winter boots together so they were only like 55£. Oh, by the way the other pair of shoes that I brought (the ones that Lindsey liked ;)) are still in mint condition. I only wear them to church and zone conferences so hopefully they last a good while. :) Anyway, I gots to get agoin

Love,

Elder W. W. Tombs

11/17/11

Dear family... (specifically: David, Patrick, Mom, Dad, Aunt Donna, Nanna and Pappy, and Lindsey)(with a special shout out to Lindsey, Jannette, Mom and Mary(ish) [just because it was your birthday and that picture of jiggly puff was so legit]) for writing me letter letters!)

So where to start? Well first off missionary work is really picking up here. We have had an extremely blessed week (as those who are expecting more specific letters will know). Oh, also here is a funny story. So while I was on exchange with Elder Clawson (last mon-tues) we taught this one Chinese lady named Sophia (Elder Clawson is a Chinese speaking missionary), and after we finished the lesson (we taught her in the library here because she lives in student housing and they don't like missionaries over there) we were walking away and Elder Clawson mentions how it was a really good lesson and that it was too bad we didn't have time to invite her to be baptized! I had totally forgotten! (Not good, because that is something we have all be asked to do is invite in the first lesson) So I said, "Oh no I forgot!" and then ran back over and extended the invitation! And she accepted! So that just goes to show what kind of blessings obedience brings. :) Yup, but that is my big story for the week. I love you all. See you next week :)

Love,

Elder Tombs

P.S. My shoes are SO thrashed! And those little gaps in the back are where my rock collection comes from. I literally rattle as I walk :P