London is amazing!
So, as I promised last week, here is the update on my transfer to London. Where to start... well we live in an area called Hampstead in north London (we live in between the Belsize Park and Hampstead tube station on Northern line). Hampstead is a really nice and semi-quiet place in London, especially compared to where I lived in Wembley Central this time last year. Our area covers most of North London and parts of Central London as well (like Kings Cross St. Pancras, where platform 9 3/4 is from Harry Potter). Right in the middle of our area is Camden Town, which is known for its street shopping and somewhat grungy charm. I love it. We ride the bus and tube everywhere and is a nice change from driving for 18 months of my mission. It gives me more time to do things like write the Monday blog post!
Our ward is the London North ward in the Hyde Park stake. After church for the first time yesterday, I realised that most of the ward is actually Americans! Honestly it's weird hearing American accents everywhere in church. The ward is similar size to Witham ward, and in fact the chapel looks exactly the same as Witham. We also have members from Brazil, Nigeria, Ghana, Iran, and so on. It's a very international ward to match a very international place.
My companion, Elder Umba, is from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and is from the same mission my friend Bryton is serving in right now. His native language is French, and as I am writing this he is talking on the phone in French. He already has a degree in Architecture and Civil Engineering.
With the change in area came a change in assignment as well. I am no longer a zone leader, but my companion and I are the tech elders for the mission (this shouldn't surprise anyone that knows me). My responsibility now is over the technology used in the mission and we give trainings on the correct usage of tablets, Facebook, etc... we also do a monthly newsletter for the mission called Truth Will Prevail. I will also finally have a chance to finalise changes to the Google Sheets database that I built in December. Having some time to spend in the office is quite fun as well. It is fun to see missionaries coming and going from the office. We only go in once or twice a week with the workload that we have right now.
For me, the best thing about this transfer is the big change I get to experience. It is a totally different area with different dynamics and I love the opportunity to learn new things here. I am having so much fun and this transfer is going to be great!
Well, today is the day that I have a month left. One last month to go hard!
Cheers!
Elder Spencer Ammermon
England London Mission
64-68 Princes Gate, Exhibition Road
South Kensington
London
England SW7 2PA
Picture is of Hampstead Heath and helping a neighbor
