Extracts from Elder Pentreath's email, Mon 4th June 2012

He is doing much better this week! Here are some extracts:

"Ahh what an amazing week I've had! It's been incredible! I want to start by apologising to everyone for the really dreadful e-mail I sent last week! I'm really sorry, it was very negative and I've been so annoyed with myself all week about it! I'm really sorry.  There's no real excuse, buttt I really was feeling sick..?! Feeling like a beast right now though! Walking all day, exercising and slimming down and tanning up guys! Love it here."

He said that after his first really tricky week he had been praying a LOT and sais that "I genuinely felt a new spirit come over me! It's still not easy, obviously, but I'm loving it so much and have seen everything in a totally different way!"

"We spend the WHOLE time outside! When we come to teach people we never go into their houses. They bring their best wooden bench they have, bring it out for us, they wipe it down with anything they have (take their top off and wipe it for example) and we sit down and teach!"

One day last week- "What blessings we received today, one of which was stumbling across 13 Kingdom Builders all sitting together and ready to hear the restored gospel! We taught them all at once, it was really surreal! Elder Esiaba and I sat down and we just had a class of 14-25ish year old guys sitting in front of of us and lapping up everything we taught! It was awesome! =D"

Missionaries are asked to study their scriptures every morning before they begin their missionary work. The study for an hour by themselves, and an hour with their companion. It sounds like loads to me, but he says: "I absolutely LOVE study time! It's literally the best part of the day! Actually, it's not, getting out and teaching is, but I love my personal study hour! I remember reading letters from missionaries who would say 'read your scriptures properly, because on your mission an hour isn't long enough!' I'd kinda laugh and struggle to do 10 minutes a day. I certainly didn't think that one month into my mission I'd ENJOY studying so much! I love it"

And some photos:

Meeting the Mission President and his wife last week (they are responsible for all the missionaries in the area)

On his way to his first area and about to meet his trainer

So sounds like a pretty good week!