New Year Goals

Hiya 

  Hope you had a great Christmas. We had a lovely time with some of the members. We had an amazing dinner and got to play games on Christmas. We were also able to watch movies on certain days. We watched the Emperors New Groove, and Ice Age. It was really fun to get to know these people more. We now have so much chocolate and candy from all the gifts and members. I hope everyone had a great Christmas as well. We were blessed to be a part of the second baptism in Galway. I am very excited to see this branch growing. We have some big goals set for 2016 and are going to keep working at them. We are currently teaching some great people who are progressing perfectly. I am so excited for the new year and hope everyone has some good goals and resolutions in mind. 2016 is going to be the best year ever!

Elder Scholz

Party in Galway!

Hello to all!

 We just had our first moves call and all four of us are staying here in Galway. This place is the promised land and I am happy to stay here. We had an amazing Christmas party with the branch. We had a couple of investigators show up which was a great way to introduce them to the branch. We had dinner and sang songs for Christmas. I am really excited for this next transfer in Galway. We are teaching some great people right now. We are planning to find a bunch more. We are all having fun and getting along well. We are very excited for Christmas, and I am trying to figure out the calling situation. We are probably going to call from our favorite members home. New missionaries were transferred in, so I am no longer the newest missionary. We are very lucky to be serving the people here in Galway. I hope you are as excited for this Christmas time as I am! We get to watch G rated movies on a few days, so we are very excited for that. I know that it is going to be great time of the year. We are staying warm and dry most of the time, but it is only going to get colder and darker for a bit. I am excited for the new year and the new adventure ahead.

-Elder Scholz

Partied out "bruh"

 

With members in Galway

Branch Christmas Party

 

Primary Program Quartet

Hey Everyone,

  I have been pretty busy lately with a lot of different and exciting things to prepare for the rest of this month. We have another all Ireland Conference in Dublin on Wednesday. We are also preparing for our moves call on Sunday. The Primary program is on Sunday and there are only 4 kids in the primary and the oldest is 7 years old. Then the next Sunday is the Christmas sacrament meeting. We are getting in the Christmas spirit and using the cards to spread the Christmas spirit as well. We are getting very excited for the end of the year and are really having a great time here in Galway. I am really getting to know the people of the branch. They are all so great! I hope everyone is having a great December and I am looking forward to calling home!

Elder Scholz

Christmas Initiative

Hello People,

   I am really excited for this upcoming month! I am firstly excited for Christmas! We have been doing some Christmas shopping earlier today and are really going all out! I am really excited for Christmas because we have just started the Christmas Initiative, that is the new stuff that the Church has released for us to use to tell about the meaning of Christmas. We get new cards to give out and there is new videos on the website for everybody to check out. I am starting to get to know the members of the branch a lot better, and they are all so amazing and kind. In such a small branch we get to be around each other a lot so there is no room for any bad feelings. I spoke for the second time yesterday and I had the opportunity to be one of two speakers for sacrament meeting.

    Here in Galway we are working hard and playing hard and we are having fun. Sorry my time is short today but I am still alive and wanted you all to know that. 

 



Ugly Christmas Sweater!



It does a body good

 

University in Galway



 



My New Best Friends

Hello People,

   I am starting to get into the groove of things. I am starting to get to know my way around town. It is fun to get to know some of the regulars in town. There is the pigeon-man who can control the birds with his mind. He is very nice, but a little scary. There are also some street performers who are also friendly to chat with. Sometimes there is a group of born-agains that hate us and yell at us, but it is always fun to walk by them. Galway is home to the largest festival in Ireland. It is the Christmas market and it is open already. Its is very beautiful with all the lights and the rides. We are going tonight for P-Day. The past few days we have had great weather, but it has been cold. In the morning before we bike out I feel like i'm going biking in Antarctica with all of our jackets and stuff. On Saturday we had an all Ireland missionary conference. All the missionaries currently serving in Ireland met in Dublin to hear Elder Ballard speak! We got to shake his hand and speak to him. We listened to him speak to us and we got to ask him questions. It was an amazing experience. We are teaching an investigator who is progressing towards baptism. This small light of success is definitely motivating us to work even harder. 

   I'm starting to get used to all the small things in our flat. The water heater is working, so we can now do laundry correctly. The place that I study is probably my favorite part. I have a view of the city and a couple of houses. The house down the hill has a few cows that roam around the yard. They are now my best friends. I saw this small cafe that for some reason I really thought was unique. I hope everyone is doing great and having a great holiday season!

Elder Scholz

Kai's Café!

 

New Best Friends

Even the graffiti is pretty

 

Luck 'O The Irish!

 Hey Everyone!

I am in the Galway Ireland area and it is beautiful here. It is very cold and rainy and we bike everywhere, which is hard but it is fun. We are in a four man flat and we are having a good time. Elder Oxspring(AZ) and Elder Carmichael(England) are companions and they are the zone leaders. My companion is Elder Williams from Idaho. He is pretty quiet and a little shy when it comes to talking to people. All three of the other elders were in the MTC together so they are all pretty close already. We just went grocery shopping earlier and that was pretty fun and different. I have to exchange my british pounds of to Euros. So I am now on my third currency since I have been out. We spend most of our time GQing or Golden Questioning. Thats when we go to the downtown area which we call shop street, and just contact people. We talk to a lot of students, tourists, and drunk people. There are a couple big colleges around here so we meet a lot of foreigners (mostly brazilian) who are studying English.

     We went to church yesterday and it is in the top floor of a small office building. It was a big change from the normal ward. There was 28 people attending including the 6 missionaries. I was asked to introduce myself to the branch then give a 5 minute talk on the Book of Mormon. The branch president gave me this assignment right when we walked in the door. The other 2 missionaries are the Reimers. They are a senior companionship who will sometimes feed us and give us rides. 

    I am emailing you in a small internet "cafe" with 4 computers and a lot of weird smells and drunk people. My companion told me to be nice to the owner or else he might raise the prices of the internet use. I will try sending pictures but you guys should google galway and look at images of shop street, the university, spanish arch, and the canal. These are the places we GQ.

 

Thanks for your prayers and support!  I'll keep you updated on my time here in beautiful Ireland.

 

 

 

Mission Home in Edinburgh, Scotland

What eer thou art, act well thy part

                                                                                            
  What eer thou art, act well thy part

D&C 123:17

Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.

 

Dear Sister Rizzo,
 

On 11 Nov 2015, we welcomed Elder Kai Scholz to the Scotland/Ireland Mission.  He arrived safely from the Missionary Training Centre and we are excited to have him in our mission.  I interviewed him and felt his spirit and desire to serve our Heavenly Father.  One of our very best missionaries, Elder Taylor Williams, has been assigned to be his trainer.

 

Dear Family,

Your son will be departing the England Missionary Training Centre on Wednesday morning, 11^th Nov.  We want you to know how much we have enjoyed having him with us. 

 

Elder Scholz is a fine young man and we are grateful for the opportunity we have had to work with him on a daily basis.  He is well-prepared for his mission and he continues each day to grow spiritually.  He is developing good teaching skills and is excited about the work.  He is ready for full time service in the Scotland/Ireland Mission.

 

We love this young man and are grateful to you for all you have done to prepare him for this wonderful time in his life.  Your love and continued support are important to his success.   Letters are always greatly anticipated and appreciated.  Please address all future mail to:

 

Scotland/Ireland Mission

51 Spylaw Road

Edinburgh

Scotland EH10 5BP

United Kingdom

 

May you and your family be blessed as he continues to serve our Heavenly Father.

 

Sincerely,

 

President & Sister Preston

England Missionary Training Centre

 

 

 

Jet lagged but loving it!

Hello everyone!

I am so excited to tell you about my past week! I will start with my companion. His name is Elder Jones. He is from Wales and has the coolest accent I have ever heard. I am in a room with him and Elder Hillin from Texas, and Elder Faulconer from Utah. We all have a blast in our room. Our district is the Jacob district and we have some interesting Elders in there. There is Elder Gomez Torio from Spain, Elder Falcu from Hungry, and Elder Wilson from South Africa. We are all having an amazing time learning and teaching. We have been doing role play lessons which are going great and are also pretty stressful. We just got back from the Preston Temple. It is a beautiful temple and it was a great session. My companion and I are great friends and it will kind of stink to leave the Mtc. In one of our lessons we were teaching our teacher who was playing a 16 year old kid who likes Glee. It was hard to keep a straight face because he was trying to sound young and was saying a bunch of British slang that I didnt understand. Elder Jones ended up laughing until he was purple, even though we werent supposed to be out of character. Sorry for the randomness of this email, im just typing what pops into my head. The first couple of days were very hard. The schedule was long and fairly tedious and I had bad jet lag, but when Sunday came around I was able to calm down and remember what I am here for. I am having a great time at the MTC and will try to figure out how to attach pictures. 

PS. I think Elder Jones looks like Tanner a little.

How Missionary Work Can Change Your Life

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President Thomas S. Monson, “Come, All Ye Sons of God,” Liahona, May 2013

“Missionary work is an identifying feature of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Always has it been; ever shall it be. As the Prophet Joseph Smith declared, 'After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel.' ”

Elder Neil L. Andersen, “It’s a Miracle,” Liahona, May 2013

“If you’re not a full-time missionary with a missionary badge pinned on your coat, now is the time to paint one on your heart—painted, as Paul said, 'not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.' ...
“Our desire to share the gospel takes all of us to our knees, and it should, because we need the Lord’s help.”

Elder Russell M. Nelson, “Catch the Wave,” Liahona, May 2013

“Together, members and missionaries invite all to learn of God, of Jesus Christ, and of His gospel. Each inquiring individual should seek earnestly and pray fervently for the assurance that these things are true. The truth will be manifest by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “A Word for the Hesitant Missionary,” Liahona, Feb. 2013

“My dear friends, today there are more ways than ever for us to open our mouths and share with others the joyful news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a way for everyone—even the hesitant missionary—to participate in this great work.
“ 'Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work' (D&C 4:3).”

Elder Clayton M. Christensen, “Seven Lessons on Sharing the Gospel,” Ensign, Feb. 2005

“The ability to share the gospel isn’t a 'gift' that has been given to only a few Latter-day Saints and denied to the rest. We have concluded from our own experiences and from watching others that finding people for the missionaries to teach can be easy and natural for all of us—if we go about it the Lord’s way.”

President Ezra Taft Benson, “Keys to Successful Member-Missionary Work,” Ensign, Sept. 1990

“Our work will be light and easy to bear if we will depend on the Lord and work.
“Don’t worry about being successful. We are going to be successful—there is no doubt about it. The Lord has sent us to earth at the time of harvest. He does not expect us to fail. He has called no one to this work to fail. He expects us to succeed.”

Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work (D&C 4:3)

Kai left the comforts of home this morning at 5:30 am, headed to the missionary training center in Manchester, England.  He took two suitcases, an over the shoulder bag, wearing a nice dark suit and a big smile.  We sent him off with a prayer, hugs, some tears, and excitement as Jeff loaded his minimal belongings into the truck and we watched them drive off into the darkness of the early morning.  We look forward to hearing from him as he begins his journey as a full-time missionary, serving the people of Scotland and Ireland for the next two years!