Happenings in England

Jake to Dad:
Lots to tell this week! I got my bike back! I got to eat Haggis and visit a site similar to Stonehenge (except within mission boundaries) I put my hands on the rocks and felt the 'energy'. We had a nice pagan lady for our guide! I missed a train stop and missed Zone Conference! I got absolutely soaked from pouring rain! Its abundantly clear that my coat is not as waterproof as advertised. I also had a good old fashioned American barbecue with an American member in the ward who works at the nearby air force base. Most interesting of all I discovered that the Bishop in Swindon knows you! Remember Elder Brown? While you were serving with Elder Hunt? (Who supposedly is a Stake President now) Youll be getting an email from him in the near future! He says you were a really zany guy and a hard worker. Im not so sure!
Otherwise things are going well! Im getting to know poeple. The area is nice and there are some cool people here. Right off the bat we have a small handful of good poeple to teach, there are a lot of really nice less active members here. We are teaching a less active family who is incredibly enthusiastic about working towards the temple (and feeding us) and their 18 yr old duaghter is going to start taking the missionary lessons tomorrow! We also have dinner with a Chinese girl and her mother that we met last week and came to Church on Sunday! President Rasmussen seems nice but its easy to see that hes fresh and maybe a little intimidated by his calling. The first thing he said to me after I introduce myself was "Come here, I havent had a chance to tell you I love you yet" And then he hugged me. I have my interview with him on friday. I cant wait! I do miss "The Og-Dog" though, he was something special. And now hes back in Arizona!
Ive been having a really good experience with the scriptures lately! Ive been reading the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament (I finished Jesus The Christ a while ago) and Im in the middle of Alma and I just started Numbers (Leviticus is incredibly tedious and Numbers is proving to be similar) As ive been reading though the scriptures have really taken on a new life. Im finding myself comprehending things on a much higher level, rather than simply remembering the story and the major poeple involved. This week I discovered the names of The Sons of Mosiah and one of the two unknown 'brethren' that made up Almas 'posse' I feel like now I grasp the story of the Book of Mormon on an entirely new level. I actually look forward to my personal study every morning and I know how the various books and people fit together! I find it interesting that about 400 years of Nephite history gets a bit glossed over! The sealed portion of the [plates I wonder? The last 3 months of studying and sharing the gospel have done nothing but strengthen both my testimony and knowledge of the Gospel. Just the other day we talked to a trained and educated minister with multiple degrees in theology and had a civil conversation. I thought it was cool that we could match his knowledge and carry an intelligent conversation on the Bible and its history and teachings with him.
Anyways, Im really enjoying it here, theres no place I would rather be! I love you!