Dear Family and Friends (specifically Nana+Pappy, David, Patrick, Dad, Mom, Mary Beth, and Lindsey),
So this week was fairly spectacular! I won't mention any names because every time I do something happens. (Literally - I sent a letter to Lindsey about an epic investigator and 3 hours later she called and canceled our appointments.) But things are going really well here. Oh and mom, as for your question about my days (teaching in evenings, but what in the working hours?).... It doesn't matter what time it is honestly :P. The welfare system here is kind of messed up, so 50% of people don't work at all. They just sit around and claim to be looking for work (we call them chaves). So actually almost 1/2 of our teaching appointments occur between 12-3pm. Which wouldn't be bad except that it is really nice to get off the streets in the evenings, and getting members to lessons is difficult as most of the members are employed. But such is life. Oh, this week may be a fairly historic week for me. It may be the first time I/we have to drop an investigator instead of the other way around. Yeah he is a really really rich old guy who really just wants to talk more than to learn and he doesn't really let us teach much, so we may have to drop him and use our time elsewhere which is really sad to me, but he really doesn't want the gospel at all and other people do, so unless something changes it may be bye bye Jared. It is really sad. Oh well. Hey this week is conference! Did you know that we watch the Saturday evening session on Sunday morning here? Yeah, huge time change, but both morning sessions are live so that is nice. :) But it is going to be epic! I never realized before what a great missionary opportunity conference is. It is one thing to tell people that there is a prophet on the earth today, but another entirely to say would you like to hear him speak. But anyway g2g

Love,
Elder William W. Tombs

PS-I was going to look up a rebuking scripture because I still haven't gotten any non-Lindsey post yet but I do realize that post takes 8-days or so to get here, but I am expecting mail :). Seriously, tell everyone to write me! Tell your friends it doesn't even matter if I know them or not, just give them the address and tell them to send a few thoughts. My companion is seriously the most written to Elder in the mission! Every day he has a letter waiting for him! I need to stay competitive also you get alot better stuff with my hand written stuff :) Just saying. So yeah- letters! Tell all of your friends (like literally ALL of them and give them my address :)) Haha... But seriously..
PPS sorry about the Ipod :P I guess I didn't think that through too well :P
William sent his ipod home but it never made it. We received the letter without the ipod and the envelope had a big tear in the side. Someone somewhere got to listen to a whole lot of Mormon tabernacle choir music. :)

9/19/11

Hello everyone, especially Mom, Dad, Patrick, Mary, Nana & Pappy, Tyler, and Lindsey,

So this week was really exiting! I have tons to write but verry little time. But hey, I know you could all write me letters! Like seriously, every day when we come in for lunch, there is this thrill knowing that you might have posted. Lindsey is writing me weekly and that makes me happier than almost anything I can imagine. Nana sent a wonderful photo album (thank you so much by the way - that has really brightened up my flat). And just the other day, my ward mission leader sugested that I carry a photo of my family arround to sort of humanise myself instead of being mr missionary so that helped alot. :)) But they have lives and can't make sure I get a letter every day can they? Haha. But seriously, anyone who writes me will get a letter in return.....with probably much more info than I can email :P. But anyways.... so funny story time. So at zone meetings we always end with a testimony meeting. So I get up to bear my testimony and I have no idea what to say, but I start by saying how wonderful my comp/trainer is because we really are working hard and doing well, and I say, "Elder Montgumery is so awesome" :P "Awesome" is a slang word here and missionaries are not supposed to use it. I realize my mistake and say, "Oh crap."!!!!!! Yeah, g for genious. Crap is actualy like a mild swear word here. SO embarassing but I think I pulled it together after that and we all had a good laugh about it. Definitely not one of my finer moments though.

But anyway g2g,

Love, Elder W. W. Tombs

P.S. Will a man rob Elder Tombs? Yet ye have robbed me. And ye say wherin have we robbed thee? In letters and written notes. Wherefore bring ye all the letters unto the post office that there may be mail in my house saith the Elder, and prove me now hearwith if I will not open unto you the windows of England and pour you out a letter that there shall not be room enough to recieve it.

(Yeah, seriously write me! It costs like 98cents to get a letter here. That is less than a meal at taco bell so tell all your friends.) :)

more pics (2) 9/13/11

more pics 9/13/11

9/13/11

Dear loved ones, (I am not sure if that should be capitalized)

So thank you everyone who wrote me this week (Nana, Pappy [it feels odd not putting an "and" right there], Dad, Mom, David, Aunt Kathy, and Lindsey). Arg!!! Cowboys need to win! But if they do have a terrible season, I am glad I am in England where no one cares :P. Oh and Baptism! (x2) It was amazing! But it took a huge chunk out of our day :P (Kind of an odd thing to be peeved about :P) Oh and I am going to send some pics of what our flat is like over here just because it is WAY nicer than I expected. Oh and guess what?? I cut my own hair! (Twice!) Yeah, my hair was getting way too long so I chopped it off. And then apparently it was still too long :P My hair is extremely short right now as you can see in the picture of Elder Winder and I. That is Elder Winder, he was my best buddy in the MTC. He was soooo odd but really really funny. Ah good times oh speaking of pictures, I think Mary Beth will really enjoy some of his art. (This is my first week to really send pictures so I am sending alot.) Oh and this is my companion in the MTC, Elder Holland (and me looking awkward:P) but funny story about him. He seemed to have a hard time in the MTC remembering that he couldn't flirt with the sisters. (We all made fun of him for that (in a nice brotherly way) but he is off now in the Scotland Ireland Mission. Last week at zone conference (also epic - I have like the greatest zone leaders ever) the letters from the mission office were there and he had written Sister Belleston a letter :P Very funny in my opinion - especially because she is 2 years older than he is. But anyway, here is my new(ish) companion, Elder Montgomery. Oh and Mom you would be so proud of me. I am eating really healthly. (With the exception of members who try to kill us with food.) I have been eating actual fruits and vegetables (veggies mostly when members serve them). But last week I even went so far as to buy a head of (wow I can not spell! the grean leafy salad stuff). Yeah be impressed :) But anyway I just got the 1 min warning so G2G.

Love,

Elder W. W. Tombs

9/5/11

Hey Mom, Dad get on the email bus!

So thank you everyone this week who wrote me. Namely:
Patrick
Tyler
Lindsey
Nana and Pappy

Hey David, Mary, Mom, and Dad don't seem to appear on this list.. Oh right.... that's because they didn't write me! Rebuke! Haha. But ok back to news. So this week was amazing! I have my first baptism this Saturday! Daisy and Fatima passed their interviews this week and Daisy has asked me to give her the Gift of the Holy Ghost! So I guess I am going to have to learn how to do that. But it is alright becaue all of that stuff is in the white handbook so I will live. :) But anyway this week is Daisy and Fatima and two weeks from now is Archie (or Akbar I can't remember what I called him last week)! He is golden! He just needs to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and everything will work out. :) But we brought him one in Farsi this week (he is from Iran did I mention that?) so I think it will happen. :) Oh funny story! So we were waiting for a bus one day and we found that we had like 15 min till it arived. So Elder Montgomery and I decided to knock a few doors. One of the houses actualy just let us in! Like no return apointment thing.... just come on in I would love to hear about God's plan of happiness. It was amazing! But then we got inside and it was a Born Again Christian religious meeting :P. So we sat down and they pretty much interrogated us on our beliefs and one of them told us how Jesus appeared to him and he walked with him and learned for about a year. It was interesting but it got to about 10 min before the next bus came (the next one not the 15 min one from the biggining) and so we asked if we could close with a prayer and this man offered to say it. We missed the bus. He prayed for like 20 min and like the others were all "yes Lord(ing)" in the backround. One guy was even babbleing in tongues. Well time is up I have to get back to work(ish) because it is Pday. Oh, if anyone has any good recipies that would be easy and cheep and delicious I would love to get those. :)
Elder William W. Tombs

8/29/11

Hi Mom & others (+Dad, Patrick, and Lindsey),

So my first area is Gateshead! It is WAY north in the mission. My trainer is Elder Montgomery, and he is way cool (although cool is slang here and I can't use it anymore). We are whitewashing this area. For those who don't know that means that there were no missionaries here and now there are us. The area book is SO unorganized and just a mess! So until church yesterday our only guidelines were a few sticky notes on walls :P But it has been fun. ALOT of tracking and street contacting, but fun. I still haven't taught my first official lesson, but I will on Tuesday! But I have met so many great people here, especially the ward mission leader. He is determined that we will lead the mission! I think with these people and our work we just might! We have tons of less actives in the ward though and we have been focusing on them last week. But I think I have been inside like 5 houses, and three were ward leaders :P. So knocking doors is less than ideal. But now that we have our foot in the door with the members, I think things are really going to pick up :). Oh and our first baptism is next week! Daisy and Fatima were being taught by the Zone leaders (pretty much because Bro. Bell [ward mission leader] made them stop by often to teach because he is just that into his job!). This week I am going to go over the baptismal interview questions with them so fun fun. They are on holiday for now though so that won't be till Thursday. Anyway that is England; see ya next week (oh P-Days are on Mondays here)
Love,
Elder W. Tombs
P.S. Have Mary text Lindsey Hi! :)