Week 33: Wow! Sounds like a lot is going on!

Aug 28, 2017

Hey guys,

Well your week sounds like it has been really busy. Probably a little bit more busy than over here in Cumbernauld. So to bring you up to speed on my new companion. His name is Elder Bain. He is from Bountiful, Utah. He has been out for a year and is a huge U of U fan. He is a fantastic missionary though. He works very hard. Which is really great to have in a companion.

Anyway, this week has been good. We were able to visit with John again this week. We taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a very good lesson. He seemed to learn a lot and felt the Spirit. We have also been chapping quite a bit. Which reminds me, there was this one lady who we chapped, her name is Caroline, and we told her who we are as missionaries and the message that we are sharing and she was amazed that as missionaries we go out for two whole years to a foreign country to be missionaries. She then told us that we must miss home and gave us a bag of chocolate biscuits and crisps (biscuits over here are similar to twix bars). She was a very kind lady. She wasn't that interested in our message but told us to come back if we needed anything. ( Don't worry Mom I am not too homesick. Cumbernauld reminds me of northern Minnesota a lot which is kind of close to home.)

It was very cool to hear that you were able to see the solar eclipse. If there was one in Cumbernauld I don't think anyone would notice. Haha.

So I do not really have a new Scottish phrase that I learned this week but the accent is getting easier to understand. Hopefully I'll pick one up next week. However, hardly anyone says 'yes' over here. Almost everyone just says 'aye'.

Well I know you had a few questions for me so I will try to answer them as best I can.

I haven't rode bikes in Scotland yet. Elder Bain and I take a bus or walk everywhere. I did ride bikes in Waterford with Elder Plewe. We would ride them to go to the church or to go chapping somewhere that was a ways away. There are bicycle lanes in the street like the ones back home which is nice. There are some areas that have bikes, like Waterford, but Cumbernauld has a very weird layout. I've heard it is one of the weirdest layouts in the mission. So it isn't as easy to ride bikes here. It's better to walk or take the bus. I will try to get a selfie for next week.

Both Elder Bain and I take turns cooking. There is no junior/senior companionship in the mission. President Donaldson likes having everyone special assignment so each missionary has the same responsibility in the companionship.

A typical p-day consists of us shopping at 8am, emailing, and then going to Glasgow or staying in Cumbernauld. We do not always go to Glasgow but we go there quite a bit because there is not much to do in Cumbernauld.

So in Cumbernauld we get fed anywhere from about one to three dinner appointments a week.

 Well, it has been great reading your emails and getting to email you .

Love,

Elder Calley

I took a picture of this building last p-day from a museum and thought it was interesting but true

Week 32: Staying in Cumbernauld

Hey guys!

So this week was Elder Udy's last week and he went to the mission home last Saturday to say good bye to the mission president and flies home this morning for Texas. I am staying with some elders in Glasgow until I pick up my companion Elder Bain later today. I think he is from Utah but I am not entirely sure. He's a good missionary though and I'm sure we'll get along great.

This week has been very interesting since Elder Udy went home on Saturday. Because he went home on Saturday, I was in Glasgow for church on Sunday which was neat. So I wasn't at church in Cumbernauld but John still came to church. He just came back from a trip to Hungary so we didn't have an opportunity to meet with him this past week but we should be able to this week. The rest of this week has been filled with some more finding and packing. Elder Udy had a lot of stuff to take home so it took some time to pack it all. We also met with Gordon again this week. He still has a few doubts about the church but we're trying to continue to get him to come to church.

So the Scottish word of the week is neds. Ned stands for Non-Educated-Delinquents. It is mainly to describe teenagers who don't know any better. I know it can sound kind of mean but it is a common phrase over here.

 I know you had a few questions for me as well so I'll try to answer them. There isn't really a car that I see the most often. Or maybe I just haven't picked up on it yet. Most of the missionaries that drive here in Scotland drive a car called a mereva. I forget which company makes it but it is either an English or French company. A typical work day for a Scotsman would be from 9-5 or maybe till six. Nothing over here is open 24 hours. Everything is generally closed by six.

So before I came to the library to email because it opens at 10 we went to see a cathedral. Here's a few pictures.

It was great to read your emails this morning. Thank you for your testimonies!

Love,

Elder Calley

Week 31: Last week before moves

Aug 14, 2017

Hey everyone!

This week has been interesting. It has been raining all the time and is pretty dreich today. This week Elder Udy and I went on exchanges last Wednesday. I was with our district leader Elder Baklan. He's a really good missionary that works hard.

We've also been able to visit with Gordon who is an excommunicated member and were able to have a good lesson with him about how to have the Holy Ghost in our lives. He has been saying that he wants to come back to church but will sometimes question himself last minute. However, this week we got him to come to church. We also visited with James Cowie this week. He's a less active who says he wants to start coming back to church. However, he is in his early sixties I think and wasn't able to come to church yesterday because of some health issues. We were not able to visit with John this week because he is away on holiday but will be back by the end of this week. We don't go to members homes too often because the ward is small but we get fed by John about twice a week when we visit with him and maybe one other time by the members. So we get fed quite a bit over here.

This is Elder Udy's last week before he goes home as well. He is looking forward going home to Texas although he is originally from New York. He leaves on Saturday to head to the mission home and I will not pick up my new companion until sometime on Monday, so I might not be able to email you guys until next Tuesday. So as I was reading my emails this morning I saw that Dion, one of Elder Plewe and mine investigators got baptised! I've also heard that his family is now going to church as well.

So one Scottish word I learned this week is "nae bother" which is the Scottish equivalent of no problem.

Anyways, the YM here in Cumbernauld is nonexistent. There aren't any YM here but will be by the end of the year. There are about 5-6 YW though. Usually on P-day we will go to Glasgow but last P-day we went to Airdrie to get together with the other elders in our district, Elder Baklan and Elder Karlsson. We had a barbecue outside the church and played some table tennis afterwards. Every church building in Scotland and most of them in Ireland have a ping pong table. They don't have any basketball hoops though. The number one thing I miss about Ireland is the people. The Irish are pretty polite and are somewhat laid back. Ireland is also called the Emerald Isle because every part of it except the hills is green. However, Scotland has great people as well. They love to crack jokes over here and have a laugh. Scotland is a bit cleaner than Ireland as well. It isn't as green as Ireland but sure rains the same amount. Haha.

Well, I love you guys, hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of summer!

Elder Calley

Oh yeah, by the way Mom I forgot to answer your questions. So I don't think we have bikes in Cumbernauld, so we don't ride them. Elder Plewe and I rode bikes a lot in Waterford though. When I cook I usually make pasta but sometimes I will cook burgers or Scottish pies. Scottish pies are essentially like the chicken pot pies you make except it is filled with ground beef instead of chicken and vegetables. We email from the library because the church only has one computer however, I don't really print of your guys emails because it costs to print here. However, I do read them and look back at them and I do really appreciate your guys emails that you send me each week. By the way I forgot to take pictures this last week. Sorry Mom, I'll take some this week.

 

Week 30: 2nd to last week of the tranfer

Aug 7, 2017

  

Hey guys!

 

It still feels like summer here but summer here is really cool. It gets to about 60 or maybe 65 degrees here during the day. The leaves haven't changed yet but it the rain is always dependable. I can't believe the leaves are already beginning to change.

 

So this week we did a bit of travelling. We went to Edinburgh last Tuesday for Zone Conference. It was really good. On the way back to the bus station, I did see a pair of bagpipers wearing kilts but I didn't have time to take a picture. So I do see them but not very often. More often than not they are playing on the touristy streets. Then on Wednesday we went to Glasgow to have interviews. We have continued to meet with John some more this week. He is progressing slowly. He's started to read his scriptures every night which is good. The rest of this week has been filled with chapping. It's interesting because over here in Cumbernauld there are sections where all the Catholics live and places where all the protestants live. So often times when people say I'm Catholic most of the other people we talk to in the neighborhood will say they are Catholic as well.

 

So here's the Scottish phrase for the week. If someone tells you over here that something is dearer it means that it is more expensive. For example, if "those biscuits are dearer than those biscuits" than they are more expensive. They also don't use the word trash over here. They will always refer to the trash can as a bin.

 

So I don't have many pictures for this week but here is a picture of a large building with the Union jack on it in Edinburgh. There are not many places that have the Union jack out. The Scottish flag is more likely to be flown.

 

 

I almost forgot, yesterday was Elder Udy's birthday so I tried to bake him a cake but failed pretty bad. He got a cake from the McGregor's though. They're a family in the ward. Brother McGregor is in the bishopric. By the way we do have a ward mission leader. He's about five years off his mission. He served in the England London South mission. He's a good mission leader. There are no young men in the ward though but there are young women. I don't know how many though.

 

 

Well it's been great to hear from you guys! Enjoy the nice fall weather!

 

Love you guys,

Elder Calley

 

By the way we mainly take the bus around Cumbernauld and walk. I believe I have seen four people wear a kilt since I've been in Scotland. I will try to take a picture of the next person I see wearing a kilt, if I remember.

Week 29: Wow July is done!

Week 28

July 31, 2017

 

Wow the time is sure flying by here in Cumbernauld! I can't believe how quick this week has gone by. It has been very rainy and cool this week. Elder Udy and I went on exchanges this past Friday with the Elders in Airdrie. I was on exchanges with Elder Baklan. He is an Ukranian Elder that is in my MTC group. Airdrie is different than Cumbernauld. It is smaller but has a town centre to talk with people. Also the ward in Airdrie is supposedly one big clan with one or two families in addition.

 

This past week Elder Udy and I have been continuing to teach John and trying to figure out how we can help him. Yesterday in Church we had a really good lesson in gospel principles about the Holy Ghost. It was really good. There were some really good experiences shared and the Spirit was definitely able to testify there. We later had an opportunity to follow up with John and help him to identify ways the Spirit can teach us and some basic things that we can do to invite the Spirit to testify to us. It is interesting how small things such as reading scriptures everyday, praying, and going to church (we sometimes call that spiritual CPR) can provide us with so much more. We also met with an excommunicated member this week, Gordon. He told us that he had been reading his scriptures this past week and really felt good about what he was reading. He said that he wants to come back to church but was wondering if it was okay. We told him to get in touch with the bishop but that we would love to see him at church and to continue to read the scriptures. It is really amazing to see how the Holy Ghost can testify to us through the small things that we do such as scripture study.

 

Anyways, the Scottish phrase that I picked up this week was dour. Dour (pronounced do-r) essentially means rough around the edges, gloomy, or not feeling good.

 

By the way I did remember to take a picture of the kitchen in our flat. It is also where we do our laundry. Most flats have a combined washer and dryer which is nice. You can't see it in the photo but it is right around the corner.

 

 

By the way, I had haggis for the first time this week at John's house. He served us a Burn's night dinner which is haggis, heaps, and tatties. Heaps are turnips and tatties are potatoes. Haggis is definitely unique. I liked it but it is covered in a lot of spices. The food here in Scotland is similar to the food back home. So for grocery we will sometimes catch the bus or usually John will drive us there if he needs to get groceries as well. So when we take the bus we just bring the bags with us on the bus or put them in the boot of John's car. They sell a lot of similar things but the stores here are not as big as back home and almost everything is sold fresh. For example the milk here only lasts about a week before it goes south because they don't put any preservatives in it. We usually, go shopping at Lidl in Kilsyth. Kilsyth is about a ten minute drive north west of our flat. Lidl is kind of like a Hy-Vee back home. It only sells food but I heard that they opened the first Lidl in the States this past week. Probably didn't build it in Rochester though. Haha.

 

The biggest difference from Ireland to Scotland has been the people (as well as the accent haha). The Scottish can be a little rough at first but are really friendly once you get to know them.

 

Anyways, it has been great to talk to you guys. Thank you so much for your emails. They really make my P-day! Speaking of P-day we will probably go to Glasgow again. There isn't much to do here in Cumbernauld. We mainly go to Glasgow so that Elder Udy can get a few things before he goes home. We also go to look around. The architecture there is really impressive. They have a lot of older buildings but they are neat to see. I'll make sure to take some more pictures.

 

Love,

Elder Calley

 

P.S. We do email from the Cumbernauld library as well.

Week 28: What's it called? Cumbernauld!

Week 28

July 24, 2017

 

Hey everyone!

It's so good to be able to talk to you guys! This week we did a lot of finding. There are tons and tons of houses in Cumbernauld. So there are a countless number of doors to chap. Elder Udy and I had an interesting conversation at one of them. So normally when I am talking to people at the door, I tell them who we are and why we are knocking but I will almost always ask them if there is anything that we can do for them. So we were at this one door and this one guy answered. He looked a little bit younger than you dad and we told him who we were and why we were chapping his door. He was a little hesitant to meet with us and so I asked him if there is anything that we could do for him. He said that he is looking for a wife and wanted to know if we had any advice for him. Elder Udy and I were kind of surprised and didn't really know what to tell him. We ended up telling him that church is a good opportunity to meet new people.

So far in Scotland, I haven't eaten anything too unusual. I've had blood sausage before. It tastes better when you don't know what is in it. Otherwise, roast dinners, are very common along with fish and chips over here. There is a drink called Irn Bru that they have here in Scotland. It is very good! It is more popular than Coca Cola in Scotland. Still haven't tried Haggis yet. Haggis is like a special dish over here and they don't serve it too often except for on Burns night which is in January. Burns night is when they celebrate the poet Robert Burns.

 The rest of the week didn't have anything really new. We are still teaching John. He is very cheeky. We talked about baptism in gospel principles yesterday and so he knows that we aren't going to stop talking with him about it. We are also still meeting with Anthony and Margaret. They weren't able to come to church yesterday because Margaret wasn't feeling well but we saw them this morning and they said they would be coming to church this Sunday.

So for district meeting we meet in Glasgow and we are also allowed to visit Glasgow on P-days. Below is a picture of a statue and apparently they like to put cones on top of it.

I

Oh yeah, by the way, the ward here in Cumbernauld doesn't have many youth. However, the Bishop here, Bishop Greer knows how to play the organ quite well so he plays every week in sacrament meeting.

Anyway, I love you guys. Thank you for your emails they are really great! I'll talk to you guys more next Monday.

Love,

Elder Calley

Darren had asked Kyle a bunch of questions & this is his answers..... 

Yeah so cheeky is similar to being a smart aleck except you do it in joking. Irn Bru is a soda. It is orange in color but tastes kind of like sugary caramel. It tastes different than anything back home. I don't know who the statue was of but I though it was funny that it had  cones on its head. I have seen one person wearing a kilt and playing the bagpipes. There aren't many though. Glasgow is cleaner than Dublin but the people here are a bit more wild. The church is like a two minute walk from our flat which is nice. It's an actual church building as well. I'll have to include a picture of our flat next week.

Love,

Kyle

Week 27: First Week in Cumbernauld

Week 27

July 17, 2017

 

Hey guys!

So Scotland is a little bit different from Ireland. However, it rains here just as much. Haha. It's a lot more hilly over here and you know how when you're doing a Scottish accent and say, "oh yeah laddie" that is quite accurate.

The ward here in Cumbernauld is tiny. In fact it is probably smaller than the branch in Waterford some days. Yesterday at church President and Sister Donaldson came and spoke in sacrament meeting. Both of them talked on missionary work. Sister Donaldson talked about Elder Ballard's previous general conference talk and how we can set goals to share the gospel in our lives. President Donaldson talked more about how as full-time missionaries we can meet a lot of people who are not interested in the gospel but there are a few out there who want and need the gospel in there lives and how members can help by stretching out to the people they know and inviting them to learn more about the Church. He had a phrase that I really liked though. "Doctrine is an eternal truth, packaged for application." I know that was kinda random but I thought that that was a really easy way to explain doctrine to someone. President Donaldson also mentioned that Elder Udy is going home in five weeks and isn't trunky in the slightest. Haha. Elder Udy is like Elder Watson in a few ways. We do our shopping together, and take turns cooking.

Cumbernauld is a smaller town. The town centre here is inside the shopping centre they have here and so we can't GQ there. However, there are tons of houses here and so there are plenty of houses to chap. As far as our investigators go here, we are teaching a guy named Anthony and a guy named John. Anthony is interesting. He likes to come to church but is difficult to teach because he jumps all over the place when we try to teach him. He also smokes but likes meeting with us. John on the other hand is kind of an eternigator. He doesn't have anything that is holding him back from being baptised and comes to church each week but won't commit to a date for baptism. So we'll continue to work with him on that.

So here's your Scottish word for the week. If it is lashing outside then people might say it is pretty dreich outside. Dreich (dreek) basically means dreary.

So fun fact. Apparently President Kennedy at some point in his life, visited the town of New Ross which is just up the river from Waterford. Anyways, they built a statue of President Kennedy and I'm shaking his hand.

Picture of me and Elder Udy. Below is a picture of me on the ferry.

So I know you guys wanted to know how I got to Cumbernauld so let me backtrack a bit. So first, I took a bus to Dublin then a bus to Belfast and from Belfast went to the ferry in Carrickfergus and then took the ferry to Stranraer and from there the AP's picked us up and took us to Glasgow and then I caught a 15 minute bus to Cumbernauld. It took me from 9am to 10pm to get from Dublin to Cumbernauld. I travelled up from Waterford to Dublin earlier because Elder Plewe was leaving.

Love,

Elder Calley