S.E.M. Podcast - Scotland, Edinburgh Mission

Brent Littlefield served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from June of 2004 through June of 2006. While serving, Brent found joy in the subtleties that came from hearing bagpipes, attending the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and not understanding the words out of people's mouths as his sign that he was there to serve the people in Scotland. He loved serving in the Orkney Islands and shares his exper...

Yulia Corca served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from November of 2008 through December of 2009. Yulia decided to serve a mission only 18 months after she converted to the church in Romania. She was a bit worried to inform her parents of her decision to serve, and she also was dreading the idea of serving in the UK due to the weather. Yulia came into the mission at a time when expectations of...

Colby Hawkins served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from November of 2004 through November of 2006. Colby shares his memories of full-flat forts, retrofitting a Vauxhall Meriva into a snow plow, learning to play the guitar, playing basketball with the Chinese investigators, and sleeping in a car when locked out of their flat. He also shares his incredible stories of converts to the church, lea...

Alexandra Berry served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from September of 2007 through April of 2009. Alex shares how her mother became a convert to the church as a single mother, and how the missionaries impacted their lives. In Scotland, she experienced miracles of many people joining the church during her mission. Alex helped a lot of people as the spirit guided her to make decisions as she w...

Devin Fisher served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from January of 2005 through January of 2007. Devin shares his experiences of starting in the Govan/Pollack area and how his mission was much nicer after his first area. He shared how their first flat was a literal tip and took multiple days to clean. Devin loved the people he served in Scotland and how they continually made him feel at home....

Jason Howard served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from November of 2004 through November of 2006. Jason experienced some highs and lows from his time in Scotland. His companions were great for him and he loved the work. Jason shares how much he loved being around other missionaries and how that helped him through the tough times of Scotland missionary work. He loved the Military Tattoo and vi...

Rebecca McLean served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from July of 2004 through July of 2005. Despite health challenges from a young age, Rebecca decided to serve a mission and had miracles happen to allow her the opportunity to serve in Scotland. She found that her largest challenge on her mission was places at the top of hills or flats on the top floor, of which she experienced a lot. Rebecca...

Preston Kelly served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from July of 2006 through July of 2008. Preston shares how much he learned on his mission, and how it shaped his life. The more memorable moments from his mission he shared included a bout with IBS, his pure disdain for Hammer Time, and how his struggles shaped his future for the better. Preston currently lives in Wendall, Idaho, with his wif...

Ben Tomlinson served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from December of 2005 through December of 2007. Ben shares how he overcame a delay in going on his mission due to an ask to lose some weight, but he made it into the mission a few months after. He shares how he found joy with his fellow missionaries that helped him through the challenges, including sand dune jumping, many sleepovers, and othe...

Caleb Loveless served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from May of 2002 through May of 2004. Caleb shares with us how much he loved serving in Scotland and has visited often since serving there. He proposed to his wife in Scotland and they may move there in the future. Caleb talks about his companions who snored, pronounced "Squirrel" in a funny way, and talking about the mission song parodies w...

Roy Peckham served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from November of 2006 through November of 2008. Roy tells the story of how he arrived in the MTC with his California surfer haircut, shares stories about his wonderful companions, and the challenges he endured throughout the mission. He also shares his experiences with "Hammer-Time" and his own perspective of how that had an impact on the missi...

Julie Cahoon served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from July of 2003 through December of 2004. Julie shared her journey of getting on a mission and once there experiencing mighty miracles. She was lead to people, places, and even a lost glasses lens through the power of the spirit. Julie handled her mission with poise despite many challenges. She loved those she served with and the people of S...

Matt Fischer served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from July of 2004 through July of 2006. Matt shares how an ankle injury sustained in the MTC had an impact early in his mission, but he found ways to cope with it. He loved the time he spent with other missionaries and her shares fun times fishing the ocean to talk to people in Thurso, having the highest gas bill in the mission in Glenrothes,...

Devin Goodwin served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from May of 2006 through May of 2008. Devin shares his journey where alcoholism overtook his life. By a miracle and a major injury that had him in a coma, Devin woke up and his desire for alcohol was removed from his mind. He loved his mission and his companions, and shares his favorite memories with us. Devin currently lives in Highland, Uta...

Denis Grinevicius served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from November of 2001 through November of 2003. Denis comes on the podcast and shares his love of the work as a convert to the church. He had experiences that brought joy to him and his companions and many miracles while serving in Scotland. Denis currently lives in Vilnuis, Lithuania with hi wife and their 3 children. Recorded September...

Jeff Marble served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from January of 2002 through January of 2004. Jeff comes on the podcast and shares his unique experiences, including getting separated from his companions on the first day in Glasgow, a ceiling collapsing in a flat in Dundee, and talking about the multiple flat clean outs that were complete tips. Jeff currently lives in Claremore, Oklahoma, wit...

Chad Piersky served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from November of 2001 through November of 2003. Chad new before his mission that he would serve in a place foreign that ended in "land", so his call was no surprise. He shares about his memories of companions playing pranks on him, learning how missionaries were received in Scotland (in Glasgow), and learning to agree to disagree with companio...

Jack and Zack have had a wonderful time in the midst of this podcast. One consistent things we have heard from those we have reached out to, there are those that aren't comfortable coming on the podcast due to their current circumstances. We want to let everyone know that this is a platform where you can comfortably share what you feel and have dealt with. Those that have come on have found ou...

Brady Casaday served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from May of 2006 through May of 2008. Brady boldly went into the mission field secretly wearing an intense back brace after a snowboarding injury. He told no one about it because he didn't want to delay his mission. Brady experienced many adventures in Scotland, including getting robbed in Glasgow, living in the Leith flat with only a bathtub...

Adam Rollo served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from November of 2003 through November of 2005. Adam shares his top rated showers, his experience teaching his greenie about "Cornflakes", and falling asleep in a warm house after a dinner appointment. He talks further about his experience with a member visiting Utah and talking about how much Utahn's pray for "moisture". Adam currently lives in...

David Richards served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from May of 2002 through May of 2004. During his time in Scotland, David survived the Huntly floods, Hamilton's acid rain, and breaking ribs to baptize an investigator (on accident of course). David shares about his love of sharing the gospel and loved his companions. David currently lives in Exeter, England, and he has published his thesis...

Chad VanLueven served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from January of 2002 through January of 2004. Chad was over-the-moon excited to go to Scotland after a fun year of basketball his final year of high school. He had many fun adventures in Scotland, including participating in the Greenock Branch's Road Show and playing the role of Mingin' the dwarf, mouthing off to a group of NEDs that they co...

Joel Turvey served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from September of 2002 through September of 2004. Joel comes on the podcast and shares fun stories of destroying the oil pan of a brand new Corsa, trying to resolved the Johnstone flat wasp nest, and deciding if he was allowed to swim when being shoved into Loch Doon. He also shares how President Vriens completely changed the course of his futu...

Christopher McClure served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from June of 2004 through June of 2006. During his time in Scotland, Chris was determined to each chocolate for every meal. He became known as "Elder Chocolate" and gained a few stone whist serving. Chris shares all his funny stories, including poisoning and shooting multiple companions (squirt bottles and bb guns). He was an incredible...

Paul Christensen served in the Scotland, Edinburgh Mission from June of 2004 through June of 2006. Paul comes on the podcast and does an incredible job of helping us see the faces of the S.E.M. through photos he compiled. He is incredibly humble about his time as a missionary and gives much appreciation to his companions and the missionaries he served around in his districts and zones for helping...