Ireland's Call

Sorry it’s been awhile since I've made one of these big emails! So much has happened in the last couple of weeks! I'll cover as much as I can.

Things got interesting on New Year’s Day when I got a Call from President saying that he had to move some people around in the middle of the transfer, and that he needed me in the Republic of Ireland. It’s a small town right in the middle of the country called Mullingar.

Traveling there was a nightmare to say the least. I was supposed to leave Monday at 4:00AM, but we couldn't figure out how to get into the bus station to save our lives and ended up missing our bus. So for all of Monday and Tuesday I was in a trio with Elder Parsons and my replacement Elder Oxspring (He was my MTC Comp.) We finally got a another bus Wednesday morning that took me down to Glasgow, then to my sweet town of Stranraer, where I caught the long ferry ride over to Belfast Ireland. The Ferry was definitely the best part of it all! It was all fancy! I just sat outside and enjoyed the scenery and sunset.

The ferry docked at Belfast, and we caught another bus to Dublin. We finally arrived there at 9:30PM and spent the night with some other missionaries. I also got to meet my new companion Elder Schmidt (Son of Jon Schmidt.)  Elder Schmidt  is a champion!  I've only spent a few days with him and we are already way close. We have loads in common! I think we are going to have a really good transfer together.  

Thursday morning we caught the train to our area (Mullingar.) We’ve been working really hard!! The Branch seems cool; I'm in a biking area so that’s nice too! I need to get back into shape.... It’s possible I could finish my mission here. We'll see!

Elder Schmidt and I are determined to get this area on fire and to baptize this transfer; I know we can do it with God’s help! Ireland is so different from Scotland. I am back to not understanding a word anyone is saying, and trying my best to get to know the area and Irish lingo! I also found out that the Irish are just as crazy as the Scottish. I’ve had a lot of wild experience here already! But that will be a story for another time. 

             

There have been so many big changes for me, but with change come new starts and new opportunities. I'm excited to see what this new chapter has in store for me. I know that God will lead the way and guide our every step as we learn to humble ourselves, and rely on Him.

I love you all, and am so grateful for your thoughts and prayers!

Love, Elder Cluster

Christmas, Boxing Day, and Skyping!

This Christmas was a special one. It started with a wonderful church service. We had the sacrament, and then moved to the cultural hall where the primary put on an incredible nativity! A big shout out to the kid who played the part of the donkey, he was in character!

Later on we went to a German member’s home where we had a traditional German Christmas dinner. It was interesting... It consisted of red cabbage, dumplings, and some meat stuff I couldn't pronounce to save my life!

But I’ve gotta say, the absolute best part of it all was Skyping my family... That hour we spent together was the best present I could have gotten!

The rest of the night was spent playing risk with the other missionaries in Aberdeen and enjoying the warm weather (12 Degrees C.)

I know this is short, but I want you to know that my Redeemer lives and He was born for you, and for me. 

Love, Elder Brycen Cluster

What can I give Him?

This week has been filled with many up and downs, however the heights of the highs always make up for the low of the lows, and I know I am right where my Heavenly Father needs me. The zone has been struggling for a couple of weeks now along with my own area. When the work is going slow I always feel very physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained, however these always seem to be the times I learn the most about myself and my Heavenly Father. I have felt so much love from my Heavenly Father, and realized the love my Heavenly Father has for others. He is the reason I will sacrifice to bring eternal truths to His children. A great blessing we had this week was being able to teach a couple of investigators, whom we haven't been able to get in contact with for weeks. I felt the Holy Ghost when I was with them very strongly and can’t wait to get to see where this journey of the Gospel will take them! Another exciting part of the week was moves call last night; Looks like it'll be a Christmas in Aberdeen for me! My companion Elder Corcoran is off to my home of Paisley and I'll be getting the chance to train a new Zone Leader Elder Parsons from England.   

 This Christmas season let’s do something special to show our love for our Savior. #LightTheWorld 

In the Bleak Midwinter

By  Rossetti Christina

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.

In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,

Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;

Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,

The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,

Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;

But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,

Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

It seems appropriate that giving and receiving gifts is a centre part of Christmas. After all, we are celebrating the matchless gift of God’s Son, the Saviour, Jesus Christ. Of course, our gifts to each other will never compare to this gift, but I believe that the joy of giving and receiving gifts can turn our hearts towards the “gift of God”. The precious gift of God’s Son invites each of us to “find peace in this world, and Eternal life in the world to come”. (D/C 59:23). Peace may seem elusive in a world where conflict and division are intensifying. But that peace is exactly what our loving Father and His Son have offered to each of us, if we will only receive it.

                                                                                                                                          

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

I am so very grateful for each of you and for all of your love and support. I love you! 

A Week of Exchanges

This week has been jam packed with great missionary experiences and loads of
opportunities to learn from so many amazing missionaries!

Elder Corcoran and I were on exchanges nearly every day this last week! Monday and Tuesday we where with Seaton, (I was with Elder Copeland) For P-day. I celebrated my "six month to sexy" with a deep fried mars bar. It was a heart attack waiting to happen, but tasted like a little slice of heaven!! 

    

   

We also had an intense game of bowling with one of our investigators. Wednesday I was with a fine Greeny name Elder La Ferve, he is one of the most genuine guys I've ever met! We spent the day talking to lots of drunks on the street. In fact I just met up with one of the guys we me that day, he'll be an awesome new investigator!    

Thursday was a blessing. I went on an exchange with the Inverness Elders, Elder Powell was my man for the day. What a lad!! We had a great time together and we were able to set up a lot of great return appointments! But even better, we taught a homeless man on the street, and set him up with a baptismal date. We will see where that goes, I have faith in him! Friday we spent with Peterhead, I was with Elder Forward from Wales. The best part of our exchange was when we got to help out with the Ward "Santa Float" Basically they made the back of a truck look like Santa’s sleigh,then they pumped it up with Christmas music, and sent us out dressed as elves collecting money for Motor Neurons Disease!

   

Saturday was legend; I had some really good mac and cheese! And Sunday I spend with Elder Guymon while my companion and his comp traveled down to Edinburgh to pick up our brand new Hyundai.

That’s it in the nut shell. Never forget to learn from the Angels that surround you every day!!
    

Love, Elder Brycen Cluster
PS. Remember to #LightTheWorld

Aberdreamin'

It’s been a very cold and rather frustrating week here in Aberdeen. All in all it was still jam packed with blessings. I might have not been able to stuff my face with Turkey, but my heart was still filled with Thanksgiving!

Monday was a pretty exciting P-day, we went mini golfing with all the other missionaries in Aberdeen. It was pretty intense, I started out strong but still ended up getting in last place (Just wanted to make the other missionaries feel better) #TookOneForTheTeam I still felt like the winner when I found an American quarter on the ground! It was a good laugh watching all the American missionaries pass it around with wide eyes like we had just struck gold! Something exciting in Aberdeen has been the Christmas market. They've got it all in the Christmas market! A Christmas tree maze, rides, food stands and more food stands, and of course, a ridiculous amount of drinking.

Something that's not very exciting about Aberdeen is that I found out it that it is the most atheist city in the UK. Money makes pride, pride teaches us to forget God. But don't worry; we'll put the real spirit of Christmas in them this year! On American Thanksgiving I had a classic Scottish meal (Neeps and Taties) with a member who apparently can’t stand Americans... that was awkward. But we made up for it on Saturday when some members and the missionaries all got together and had a good plate of Turkey, Mash, and some apple pie! What a blessing! However I'd have to say that the biggest and best blessing I recognized this week was one of my investigators in Starnraer, Emma was baptized on Saturday. I originally taught Emma, and was supposed to baptize her while I was in Stranraer, but a lot of family issues suddenly popped up. However with much prayer and continued dedication from the other missionaries serving in Stranraer, she has now entered the waters of baptism nearly a year and a half later.

I am so thankful for the plan that God has for each of us. I am so thankful that he can help us to see the bigger picture, even when things don't seem to be going right. I'm so very thankful for my family; they are incredible and have always been the greatest blessing in my life. I am thankful for my friends, for genuine people whom I can learn, laugh, and grow with. And most of all I am thankful for the my Savoir, Redeemer, and Friend Jesus Christ who made an atoning sacrifice for me that I may live with my family Forever. I know He loves us and is always with us.                                                                  

I have only just a minute,

Only sixty seconds in it.

Forced upon me, can't refuse it.

Didn't seek it, didn't choose it.

But it's up to me to use it,

I must suffer if I lose it,

Give account if I abuse it.

Just a tiny little minute,

But eternity is in it.

(Anonymous)

Love, Elder Brycen Cluster

Way Up North

Hello everyone! Long time no see! I'll start by apologizing for not being able to email the past couple of weeks. In all honesty it's probably been the craziest two weeks of my life, but I feel like I've said that a lot since I've been on my mission. I know these emails aren't what they used to be, but let me try to at least get you back on to speed on the basics!

Here is a little piece of an email I was working on two weeks ago before I ran out of time on the computers:

 It was another blessed week in the Scotland Ireland mission. Today is the day before the big moves, which means that as a zone leader today is the day that we get to sit in front of a computer for hours figuring out how to get missionaries across Scotland and Ireland from point  A to point B. Planes, Trains, Trams, Busses, and Ferries galore! Like normal we are a bit pressed for time, so let's focus on some of the miracles and main highlight again! 

On P-day we had Halloween. Halloween is a little less exciting here in Scotland, but Elder Thomson and I made the most of it, and had some good fun with the Easton girls telling Spooky Ghost stories! I also got talked into following the Scottish tradition of chowing down and candy apple. When I had just about finished it, I came across an extra crunchy bite. Soon after I found out that it was the glue that had held together the permanent retainer behind my bottom teeth... Two days later I found myself in a sketchy dentist’s office in Irvine. Let me tell ya, dentists are not held to the same quality as they are back home. They led me into a dark room all by myself where there were two young girls that looked like they should still be in High School. Needles to say, I was flippin out the whole time! My prayers were answered, and I made it out safe to be reunited with my companion.... Oh and my face is fixed so that’s cool too! November 5th was Guy Fawkes Bonfire Night, for safety President had all the missionaries in their flats early, but I was still lucky enough to be able to watch fireworks and lots of crazy drunks through my flat window! What a blessing! 

What I didn't get to mention while I was writing this email was the amazing experience our new investigator’s family had while they were in sacrament on Sunday. It was Fast and Testimony meeting, and our investigator Charlene's little boy Lee got up and said "I just want you all to know that God loves you, and if you enjoy this church I hope you come back, because I know I certainly will." What a complete champ! Now fast forward a couple weeks and they were just baptized on Saturday. I was so sad not to be there, but as long as you get there in the end it doesn't really matter right? Such a blessing!

Last week (My first week in Edinburgh) is all a bit of a blur. As most of you have probably already heard, I was in an accident. I went to Inverness to do a baptismal interview… To get there you have to go through the Highlands, and it was snowing pretty badly. We were on our way back and got into a terrible car accident. I won't get into the details, but let’s just say my companion and I shouldn't have walked away without any serious injuries. I know with out of doubt we were protected that night. What a miracle!! Thank you all for your prayers.

 Apart from that it’s just been extremely dark and cold! The Sun sets at about 3:50pm, and there is always about an inch of frost over everything! I am getting used to the Granite City of Aberdeen. It’s crazy to be in such a big place, not to mention the accents are way different. And I thought the Paisley accents were hard to understand! Give it some time and I know I will love it though. This will be a special place to spend Christmas.

I love and miss you all so much!! Eat lots of turkey for me!

Love, Elder Brycen Cluster

Three Beautiful Baptisms

Looking over this past week it was one of the busiest of my mission, teaching a total of 22 lessons and traveling all over the West Coast of Scotland. However, as I pondered over the events of this week I came to the realization that none of these things really matter compared to the miracle of conversion that has taken place in the hearts of our friends Andrea Easton, Elizabeth Easton, And Sian Bigham, and the great blessing we had to be able to witness them coming unto Christ through Baptism and Confirmation this weekend. I would like to start by saying that I know that God will always provide a way for us to fulfill our purpose. No matter where we are in our lives, God is there, and he is waiting and wanting to reach out and help each one of us.

The Lord also prepared Sian Bigham. It was a cold cloudy day, and everything seemed perfectly normal. I was on exchanges with my good friend Elder Flynn talking to good people on the streets of Irvine. We had a full day of finding and were starting to get hungry. We had a Subway staring us down enticing us with the amazing smell of a meatball subs. We resisted the heavy temptations and decided to find one last potential before giving in. A couple minutes later, there she was. We tried to stop her but all we got was "I'm in a rush, but I’ll be coming back through this way in 20 minutes and will talk to you then" Elder Flynn and I look at each other, "That  was close enough right?" So we ran into subway and enjoyed one of the best sandwiches of my life. However, I was only half way done my foot long and I see Sian walk past. With my subway in hand we ran out the door and grabbed her attention. We took a seat on the nearest bench and after saying a spirit packed prayer, we drove straight into the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I wish you could have seen this girl's face light up when we talked about baptism! We gave her a calendar marked with a goal of baptism for October 29th. She then went away on holiday for a week and a half. We kept her in our prayers, and really prayed that she would keep in contact and meet back up with us when she returned. I was so relieved to teach her for the Second time in the chapel of our ward. When I asked to see her baptismal calendar I was shocked to see each day they had passed neatly crossed off, and "THE BIG DAY" under baptism on the 29th. From there she diligently came to church every week, and it wasn't long after that, that I met her in the baptismal fount. Sian moved only months ago from Leads England to Irvine looking for a new life, and then found herself Born Again.

  

I would like to thank each one of you for keeping these amazing people in your prayers. I know your prayers make such a difference. Miracles continue and the Lord always provides.

Love,

Elder Brycen Cluster