Never been so busy in my life! 🏃🏼‍♂️🏃🏾‍♂️ & Dancing through the snow! 🕺🏾🕺🏼

November 27, 2018

Life in Wapiti is awesome! Though it's a little weird. I am a district leader still, so there's that, but also my companion is the zone leader. THE zone leader. Usually there are two, but this area is super crazy, so there's one. So, on top of the busy stuff that I have to do as a District Leader, we are running around all day, every day, because of zone leader stuff to do. I've never been so exhausted! But I've also been having an awesome time here!

I haven't met a lot of the people we're teaching, but we do have a family we're teaching that are all progressing towards baptism! It's a family of eight! Though I've never met them. They had a lesson with them yesterday, but we are on exchanges right now, so I wasn't there.

Crazy miracle though, at church a guy randomly showed up and pretty much said he wants to get baptized! His parents have been meeting with the missionaries recently, and they told him about how they are planning on being baptized and then getting sealed as a family.
So he asked us questions about what being sealed as a family means. We talked for a while, and he pretty much said that he's ready to start his own journey towards baptism. WOO!

One final thought,
My Grandma passed away recently and I'd like to ask you guys to pray for my Grandpa.

Have a good week! Keep yer stick on the ice.


December 4, 2018

Hello family and friends, this is Elder Hill in the Great White North with Elder W.  We just got done with P-Day sports--played some soccer and jumped in the snow a little bit.  It's been a pretty mild winter but it's getting cold now.

Crazy miracles happened this week.  The guy I talked about last week that showed up at church, it turns out that after our meeting with him on Sunday, he started reading the Book of Mormon.  He finished it on last Tuesday!  We met with him that night and have met with him all week.  He came to church again, and he's getting baptized on December 15th!  We are the greatest friends; he is awesome.

The other family we're working with, I've seen them twice but haven't been able to teach them yet.
Elder W: They are awesome.  They asked some really good questions about prophets and why we need them and what they do and how we know who will be the next prophet.  Their teenage kids who were not happy to be there previously opened up and asked a lot of really good questions and were interested in what was going on.  The mom asked about testimonies and why we share testimonies (she was at a testimony meeting) and they are really awesome--I would mistake them for a member family 9 out of 10 times.

They are on date for the 28th of December to be baptized.  It's exciting!

One last thing: I have stumbled upon a Ukeleli and I'm learning to play!  I don't know any Christmas songs, but I have a kazoo.  Merry Christmas y'all!

The Jacket of the Seventh Day & 😄Something new and something old😀

October 16, 2018

Hey guys! I want to let y'all know what happened at transfers!
(By the way, I'm not sick anymore.)
I am still in Lacombe and my companion is Elder B. He's from Utah/New Mexico/Texas. He likes long walks on the beach, cars, and other stuff probably.
I'm out of time now 😆, kind of a bad pattern. I'll work on that.


October 23, 2018

Great stuff this week!

We have a lot of people we're teaching now!
Two of them are both on date for baptism as well!
Good stuff happening, also Elder B doesn't actually like long walks on the beach, apparently...


November 6, 2018

Hello, this is Elder Hill in the Great White North.  I'm here with Elder B and everything is good.  Sorry I didn't post last week; I didn't take my tablet to Red Deer last week, so I couldn't. And it's snowing!  Well, snowing/snowed.  The concrete's wet, that's all that matters.  Everything's white outside; it's actually getting pretty cold.  The president told me that it's probably going to stay cold for the rest of the winter.

We are meeting with a guy who is a Seventh Day Adventist, which pretty much means that they worship on Saturday. They think others are wrong and don't keep the Sabbath Day holy because they say Saturday must be the Sabbath Day.  He's a really awesome guy and we've been meeting with him for a while, and he invited us to one of their sermons/meetings on Saturday.  It was interesting, to say the least.  Not as crazy as when we went to a Pentacostal church in Leduc, but I learned some stuff, and my faith is unshaken.  We had a pretty good lesson after that and he is progressing nicely.

We also have this guy we've been meeting with a lot, almost every day for the last three weeks--gone through all the lessons. He's on date to be baptized December 15th.  Also, someone got baptized last Saturday!  It was this kid who was pretty much already a member and didn't get baptized earlier, so he got baptized later and had to be taught by the missionaries, so that was a really cool experience.

I was going to say I was not sick, since some people had been asking, but I'm actually feeling kind of sick today.  But we're good, teaching lots, being in the cold lots.  Our car ran out of gas on Sunday so we had to walk for a while.  That might be why I'm sick.

Elder L:  I had this old lady read my palm and figure out my greatest fears and told me how to conquer them.  I was like, all right, I feel pretty enlightened!

I love you guys!


November 20, 2018

Hello, Utahan friends!  This is Elder Hill in the Great White North.  I have a pretty good update for you this week.  The transfers are over and I am leaving Lacombe!  It's super depressing that I'm leaving; this place is awesome.  But I'm going to someplace pretty cool.  I'm going to still be a district leader in a place called Wapiti, which is near a place called Grand Prairie.  I haven't looked for it on the map yet.  My companion is going to be Elder K, of all people!  For those that remember, we were in the MTC together.  He's been to Leduc and served there after I did and did exchanges with me there.  It's been a long time since I've seen this guy but I'm really excited.  He's an awesome guy.

This last Saturday we had another baptism!  The fruit of our labors have paid of in Lacombe and two people have been baptized since I've been here!  It's been awesome to see people make that choice to follow Jesus Christ.  These are some of the best experiences I've ever had! 

Elder T and I were meeting with the first person who got baptized.  Some of her family are members but are not active in the Church.  She was choosing to go to Church anyway and finally got to the point where she wanted to be baptized.  Elder T and I were teaching her all the lessons and it's been great.  She got baptized this last week and wanted me to baptize her so I learned how to do that--first time I've done that.  It was a good experience.  I'm really excited for her and for her example to her family.

We're still meeting with some of the same people.  One asked us several "anti" questions about our Church, so I'm not a huge fan of that, but we're hopeful.  But, it's been a good time here in Lacombe and I'm excited to do some work with Elder K in Wapiti. 

Several people emailed me this week about the Holy Ghost and about following the promptings we get.  My brother talked about an awesome video he saw in the MTC and made a good point that if we are confused whether a prompting is from the Holy Ghost or from one's self, think about whether it is a good thing.  If it is a good thing, why wouldn't you do it, even if it isn't a prompting from the Spirit?  It's still something you should do, so don't worry about it.  Do every good thing and seek after those things.

My dad made another interesting comment about how if we don't have the Spirit with us, how are we supposed to know Jesus when He comes?  We've heard about some of the struggles that will be had by even the most faithful who will be deceived by false prophets and false doctrine.  In President Nelson's talk about receiving personal revelation, he said that it's imperative and essential for spiritual survival in the last days. My dad linked those two together and said, if we're supposed to be preparing for the Second Coming of the Savior, if that's the purpose of this Church, we need to have the Spirit with us.  Otherwise, when Christ returns, how are we supposed to receive that revelation of where we need to be and what we are supposed to do at that time?

I appreciate your emails and hope you have a good American Thanksgiving!  Eat a lot of turkey for me, because I'm really sick of turkey after so many Canadian Thanksgivings.  See you next time!

It's beginning to look a lot like 😬 - ☃️🌨🕺

September 18, 2018

Soooo, it snowed! A lot! We had Mission Tour on Thursday and had Elder Brian K. Taylor of the Seventy come, so we had to drive up to Edmonton on Wednesday. In the snow. We were fine on Wednesday, but the next day we had to drive from where we were staying to Mission Tour, and the people of Edmonton do not know how to drive the first few days it snows for some reason. We almost got into 3 car accidents on the way there! Terrifying.
But it was worth it! Elder Taylor pretty much changed the way we think as a mission. He gave some super nice suggestions on things we can do to increase the amount of people we are teaching, and it was awesome!
Because of it all, we have probably 8-10 people we are teaching all of the sudden when before we were only teaching 1-3 people.

Crazy story from the week,
We were out slapping doors here in Lacombe, and an aberration of the 3rd kind opened the door. It had the face of a burly man, but everything else was not so... like... opposite... it had a wig too! There was a skirt and bleh! Be glad that I can't really describe it. Traumatizing I tell you.

And we're out of time! Sorry 'bout that, but here's a nice mushroom picture to make up for it.😁


October 2, 2018

Pretty much all that happened this week was that we are meeting with a lot of people. And the people we meet with have friends and family who also want to meet with us, so they can prove us wrong or something. So good and bad I guess. None of them are too solid right now, but I'll keep y'all updated on what happens with them.

Anyway, the snow is back, and I think it's here to stay for the rest of the year. #boyamiexcited
It's not too cold yet, but we have a good amount of snowman material to play with today since we're not going into Red Deer today.

I don't think my system was quite ready for winter, because I got sick again last week for a few days. But in the spare time that I couldn't go outside I've been reading the Saints book on Gospel Library. It's amazing! It makes church history easy to read and remember. It's also pretty testimony building. 10/10, would totally recommend.

I got to go on exchanges with Elder S this week! That was fun. I was in Red Deer with him and we were suuuper busy. We didn't even have time to talk to crazy people in the park!

Recently I've learned a magic trick that is pretty fun. You find someone with a mirror behind them and have them pick a card out of a deck, but they don't show you it. You then take the card, but keep it facing them. You then look at the mirror to see what the card is, and mess with them until they figure it out 😂
I killed Elder T with it haha. Probably will stop though... It's kinda mean.

This weekend is going to be spectacular! My last General Conference in Canada!
I've heard a lot of rumors from a lot of members about things that are going to be announced. They say if we thought last conference was big, this one will knock our socks off haha. Seriously, I've never heard so many rumors and speculations about Conference in my entire life. If it's all a ruse to keep people awake during conference, then they're doing a good job haha!
Though seriously, it's going to be awesome. Take notes people.

Don't have much else to say. Have fun with your 73°F weather you Utah people. (Its like -1°C here 😄)


October 9, 2018

Sooo, I was sick last week, but I was feeling better after a couple days. Then we had Canadian Thanksgiving yesterday, and we had four suppers! Four! I'm not sure which supper it was, but I woke up this morning with food poisoning! 🤣 that's 3 times since I've been with Elder T! That's gotta be a record!
Though I don't feel great so it's not gonna be a long post.

First, I want to have a shout out for a Bro again who is going to the MTC tomorrow! Hes gonna be the best missionary ever.

Let's talk about Conference! Home centered and Church supported! I think that's awesome! We're teaching a few young men in the ward, and I really think that would be helpful for most families.

I finished reading the Saints book by the way. Awesome book.

I'll finish up with my testimony.

I know the Gospel is true! I know the Book of Mormon is actually a record of Jesus Christ from the prophets in the Americas. "And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?" (Alma 5)

I testify that the Holy Ghost knows everything and we can receive that knowledge from Him.
Figure it out yourself! We have been given the tools! It doesn't depend on worldly knowledge, or intelligence. It depends on our relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.

Alright, I'm sick, so I'm going to end it here. Have a good day!

Holy Smoke!

August 21, 2018

Good stuff happened!   We found a guy named A just walking around downtown Lacombe, and he seemed really interested! So we taught him stuff! We'll probably see him again!

Other than that, the only thing that's happened is that our district got a bit smaller. Sister P went to a different area. (Mid-transfers is what it's called, I guess.)

That's all I have time for, Be most excellent to each other!

August 28, 2018

It's been a fast-slow week you could say. We got bikes from some members, so we got to do a little bit of street contacting around Lacombe.

Also, one thing about Lacombe is that it is like the Utah of Seventh Day Adventists. Which is fine, but when we went out on Saturday to talk to people, we kept running into people who want to "bible bash" with us about seventh day worship. Not a fan. In my experience, "bashing" does literally nothing at all. They usually don't let us talk, and when we do they don't listen to it, so we just escape as soon as possible.

Also, Elder T was sick for a few days, then I got his sickness tenfold and just barely got out of "quarantine".  So not much else has happened.

Oh yeah, the email title is a joke, because British Colombia has been on fire. We've been getting all the smoke over here.

Huh... after writing it all down this week looks pretty depressing... 🤔
Oh well, I still had fun.

September 11, 2018

A lot of things happened.  Transfers happened and we're both staying here.  The only thing that changed is now we are teaching some new people.  A couple with a 2-year-old daughter is super solid and super humble.  The dad is working to be a pastor in the Seventh Day Adventist church, so he's a cool guy.

We've tried to schedule things with other people, but haven't gotten responses, so not a lot else is going on in that department.

We are doing good, Elder T is amazing.  We have a mission tour next week with Elder Brian K. Taylor, a General Authority Seventy, who is coming to the mission this week, so we're going to Edmonton tomorrow.  That's going to be fun because it's supposed to be snowing tomorrow with freezing rain.  I love Canada! 

Shout out to my brother who just had a birthday.  He's 19 and that's super weird.  Love you all, make good choices, wear knee pads.

People Galore; Busier than a pair of jumper cables at a family reunion!⚡

July 31, 2018

Some awesome stuff happened this week. There was this thing going on called Lacombe Days this last weekend. Pretty much it was another event more celebrated than Canada day.  There were a bunch of activities around town, so we decided to walk around and talk to people.  Some stuff happened, but nobody really wanted to talk to us, so we went to a certain sidewalk chalk activity where we drew the Plan of Salvation! It was awesome. We got to talk to a few people along the way too. Also we ended up getting a prize for it... that was weird.

We have an investigator who lives with his kids and grandkids, and the grandkid' s names are all watery names like, Ocean, Wave, Nautical, Pearl! There's just a ton of them too, so it's been fun to go over there. We haven't been able to teach him since I've been here, but we set something up for tonight, so hopefully that happens.

We also have been finding a ton of people to meet with recently. We randomly tracted into one lady who said we could come back, and then we came back and taught her the Plan of Salvation. She had a ton of questions too, so it was awesome!

I love being a District Leader. It's hard, but it's been super fun.

August 8, 2018

So we had zone conference yesterday, and it was an awesome!
Definitely learned a lot about how to be a better missionary. We talked a lot about Faith and how to best utilize our faith in the work we do.

So now that zone conference is over, we are having a huge p-day with everyone in the zone here! All the outlying areas got to sleep overnight, so it's going to be awesome.

Remember last week about the grandpa we were meeting with who has a bunch of grandkids with ocean names? (The smallest one is literally named Captain Tide!) Well his name is B, and we got to finally meet with him! It was pretty sweet. He is being prepared by God as we speak to hear the things we're sharing! He was talking about how are all those ancient Aztec or Mayan ruins must have had people living there with their own history and such, so he was pretty intrigued by our presentation about the Book of Mormon. We're hopefully going to meet with him again this week!

Also a miracle in disguise happened this week.  We had set up an appointment with someone in Lacombe at 6:00 pm one day, so we were excited about that. We were just going through our day, when our Ward Mission Leader texted us about how he got us a dinner at 5:30 that night in a town about 25 mins away from Lacombe. I don't think we figured out the schedule issue until after dinner actually...  Anyway, we got out of dinner and freaked out for a little bit. We tried texting and calling our appointment, but there was no answer, so we decided to go there as fast as possible and bring some chocolate or something to apologize. We didn't have any chocolate though, so we thought to go to a store really close to our appointment and buy some, then we met M! She was doing the checkout and said she had a Mormon friend, so we talked to her and she said we could talk to her about it later!

Also our appointment wasn't home anyway, so there was nothing we had to worry about at all!

August 14, 2018

The interview edition:
Elder T, what are your thoughts on the Lacombe area?
T: It's a really good area, we've been finding a lot of people lately.  We've had a lot of spiritual experiences.  My companion said maybe we should try the puppy dog approach and we found this girl, and she hasn't texted us back yet. That's okay, though.
H: Thank you for that.
T: Now the Settler area--we drive 300 kilometers in a day and show up to a lady's house, where's she's not home.  That's fine.

Elder S from Japan, what do you have to say to the grand old people?
S: Nothing
H: What's your favorite food?
S: I love Mexican food.
H: What's your favorite Mexican food?
S: Sushi.
H: He loves Mexican sushi.  I don't know where you get that, but I want to try it.

We have Sister O.  She is from Hawaii.  Tell us your favorite color.
O: Blue
H: Why?
O: Cause it's like the ocean, and the ocean's pretty cool.
H: She is very Hawaiian.
O: Correct.  And white.
H: Yes, she is white, somehow.

We have Elder F, one of the zone leaders, from El Salvadore.  What is your favorite part about being a zone leader?
F: Good question.
H: Sing us a song, then.
F: (singing in Spanish)

Sister S, if you could baptize anybody in history, who would it be?
S: Jesus Christ.  Just kidding.  I meant, I would have him baptize me.  Wait, hold on.  This is really awkward.  If I could baptized anyone?
V: You can't, you don't have the priesthood.
S: Okay, if I were a male and I could baptize anyone, maybe one of my family members?  I don't like this question.
Other: Donald Trump.
S: Ha, ha, okay, yeah, Donald Trump, that's a good answer.

Sister V:
V: Ha ha, it's come around!
H: Tell us anything.
V: Sometimes I think about the word "enough", and I think about it too long and it doesn't become a word in my mind anymore.  So weird.  Also, isn't it weird that the word "pony" rhymes with "bologna", but bologna is phonetically spelled bo-log-na.
H: I'll remember that for the rest of my life.

Other zone leader, Elder E, tell us, why are we here?
E: We are here because every Tuesday we get a day off, kind of, from 8am to 6pm, and it's probably the worst day of my week because it should be longer, but whatever.  So we're here playing sports with half of our district because everybody else is dumb.
H: But that's okay.  Anything else you want to say?
E: I just want you to know if you are living in the States, be grateful for what you have, because the prime minister here is a lot worse than everyone makes it sound.  Donald Trump is a lot better than everyone else makes him sound.

Sister P, what...
P: Things are going good.  Help the missionaries, we appreciate it, we'll help you in return.  Let us do stuff, let us serve you.
H: Wise words.  Let the missionaries help, we're good at it.

This has been the weekly post, interview edition.

The Sound of Music (in the Park)

July 17, 2018

Here is what is happening for transfers this week! I am going back to the Red Deer zone! In a place called Stettler/Lacombe with an Elder T!
Also I'm a District Leader!

Literally everything that we did not expect to happen.

July 24, 2018

Craaaazy stuff being a District Leader, like wow! I have so much respect for District Leaders now.

So let me tell y'all what went down this last week.

We drove into Edmonton from Slave Lake on Tuesday, which is why I didn't post much. Then we all stayed at random places with other missionaries. The next day was transfers, so we drove to the Temple and I found my new companion Elder T!  Elder T and I are actually technically brothers. Our trainer was Elder J, and he was trained the transfer after J left Leduc, so he's only one transfer younger than me.  He's from Utah, around the valley somewhere close to where I live. He likes long walks on the beach, he races dirt bikes, and that's it.

Our area is actually pretty funny. We live in Lacombe, but with Stettler's area attached our boundaries to all the way to the next province (like a state, but not...) to the east.   Also there is probably about 30 churches in Lacombe. 30! Everyone here is super religious, but every time we talk with someone they tell us exactly which church they go to in Lacombe, and it's always a different church!  I think it's funny.

The first night here we went tracting and heard about this thing called "Music in the Park", which is this thing that happens every Wednesday night in a park in town. There's food trucks, a new band every week, a market inside and outside the building, and the reason we would be there: people! There was so many people! We talked to a bunch of people there, and when the band saw us going around they started playing a Jesus song dedicated to us! Though then they did a song about being best friends with the devil soooo 😂

We don't have a bunch of people that we're meeting with, but we've been finding a bunch of people who are interested. When we meet with them this week I'll write about them, but for now there are too many.

Also! I'm still a District Leader! I had to give a training and everything on Thursday. I was super nervous and unprepared, but everyone said it was really good, so I won't worry too much about it. 

Something that District Leaders do every week is Stewardship calls. Stewardship calls is something that happened every Monday night, and I talk to every companionship in the district, then write down a bunch of information about people in their area. It takes forever! We have a pretty big district, I'd say. We have us, then we have Red Deer 1st Ward Elders, and 1st Ward Sisters, then we got 2nd Ward Zone Leaders, then we got 3rd Ward Sisters. So we have about 10 people total. I went to bed late last night 😴 I am so tired. But it's fine, I've been having a blast in Lacombe so far.


Finally, I wanted to make a huge shout out to my Brotha' Elder Jaden Hill who is going to the Taiwan Taipei Mission! I'm super excited for ya bro! He gets to ride bikes and wear sandals all day in the rain! Gonna be a good time.

I love all you guys! Have a wonderful week! For those in my zone getting my emails (Elder M and Elder C) I'll see ya in Red Deer!

🎶I BLESS THE RAIN DOWN IN AAALLLLBERTAA🎶

June 25, 2018

We cover two areas up here. Slave Lake is one and Athabasca is the other. So, last Friday, we drove for a couple hours and did some work in Athabasca for a few days! We stayed at a member's house around there and it was awesome. 

It rained a bit, but that made it easier to talk to people. Because most people are super nice here.

It was super good. We took a lot of pictures, drank a lot of cream soda, and talked to a lot of really cool people.  Also, Elder W got to go all farmer on us when he found out the members we were staying with lived on a farm, so we took a bunch of farm pictures, mostly.

We also have zone conference this week. We're driving into Edmonton tomorrow and will be there for three days. Also, we are having a mission-wide 5K run right after zone conference on Wednesday, so it's going to be a crazy busy week.😬 Bring it on.

July 3, 2018

We had zone conference! The theme of the conference was "our purpose". We were talking about, well, our purpose, I guess. We also talked a lot about Preach My Gospel, and how they updated it! They made a new version of Preach My Gospel that's on gospel library that we've been reading like crazy. One of the things changed is that it says: 

Preach My Gospel is as much for Church members as it is for the full-time missionaries of the Church. The principles and doctrine taught in this guide are applicable to all members as they seek to build the Lord’s kingdom. Frequent study of this manual will help members better answer gospel questions, learn and teach the doctrine of Christ’s gospel, fulfill their responsibilities as member missionaries, and foster unity with the full-time missionaries.

Read it! It changed my perception of the gospel super fast. It's important.

Zone conference was super weird, though. The Sisters that came out the same time I did are going home at the end of the transfer! That means I've only got like 6-7 months left! That's crazy! We got to hear their departing testimonies at zone conference, and it made me feel super old.

We also had the 5K run/walk afterwards... I'm still alive (reference the "walk" part). 

And now we are in Peace River for a few days on exchanges with our district leader! Yay! 

Oh yeah, also, Canada day was supposed to happen, but the citizens of Slave Lake did not want to celebrate in the rain... so we just wore our most patriotic socks and ties and went tracting with Elder R (my weird nephew) and Elder K ("The bald one").

July 10, 2018

I thought that I've already been through the craziest that Canada has to offer, but my eyes were opened this last week.

We were in Peace River with Elder A (district leader) and Elder C (awesome dude) from Monday night until Thursday afternoon on exchanges. And, since it's a far drive, we all five of us were in one apartment! That was crazy enough, but Peace River is a weird place, so there is more.

We only had 4 beds, but Elder A had a hammock set up somehow, so we switched off who got to use it every night.

The first night was mostly normal, but the second night... the ninja cat arrived.

The hammock needs two things to support it, like two trees or something. But we didn't have any trees in the apartment, so we had one end tied to a door, and the other tied to a post out the window...☺

When I woke up the second morning there was a cat right in front of my face staring at me! Scared the snot out of me. Apparently it had just crawled in and out all night. Didn't really do much, but it was pretty funny.

Also! I am now allergic to cats ever since I went to Innisfail. Not sure if I've mentioned that before...  The third night is what really killed me, though. When the cat came the first time I was in the hammock, so it didn't bother me much, but the third night I was on the ground! When I woke up the next morning I was dying! And the cat was climbing all over me! It was hilarious.

Anyway, we were able to do some awesome things in Peace River while we were there. We did a lot of tracting, did a lot of teaching, and had lots of success! It was awesome!  At the end of it all, Elder A and I were having an exchange review outside the church building. The other Elders were off doing service, I think. 

As we were discussing the last few days, we saw a deer on the hillside right next to us. We thought that was pretty cool, but deer are everywhere, so we didn't pay any mind to it.

Then right when we were finishing up, we saw a younger deer sprinting across the same hillside. We were like "huh, it's probably looking for it's mom or something... I wonder what spooked them this way." At that exact moment, we heard some rustling in the bushes near the deer.
Then we saw a BIG BEAR! AND IT WAS COMING IN OUR DIRECTION!!! 

We got away, but it was an experience I will never forget.

🎶I BLESS THE RAAAAIN DOWN IN SLAAAVE LAAAAKE🎶

June 5, 2018

I'm leaving Leduc! Again... not surprising I guess, but President was saying I could stay there for another 2 or 3 transfers.

My next area is Slave Lake, which is about two and a half hours north of Edmonton! 

My companions are going to be Elder W and Elder R! That's right, another tri-pan! I've been around Elder W a bit, but I don't know much about Elder R. I'm excited, though!

I'm really glad I was able to come back to Leduc. It's been a great experiences to see how things and people have changed, but also how some things stay the same. I've noticed that everything that changed was changed for the better! 

June 12, 2018

So, like, I'm in the best companionship in the mission. Elder W is one of my favorite people. He's from a small town in Idaho called Burley. He is a farmer dude with a bunch of cow stories. He enjoys long walks on the beach, farming, writing poetry, and potatoes (Idaho potatoes). He is also super obedient while having fun, so it's been a great time with him.

He goes home halfway through next transfer, though, so I'll probably "kill him off".

Elder R is also a pretty interesting guy. He's half Canadian, half USA-ian. He's from Ontario, like long walks on the beach, football, driving, and being alone... (his words, not mine, except for the beach part, that was me.)

We're helping him to be the best he can be. 

We don't have anyone we're working with yet, so it's just a bunch of finding for now, but we will find someone this week for y'all.

Also as the subject suggests, it's been raining for three days straight and the town might flood today, so I thought it would be applicable. 

We also got to hear the prophet! It was after transfers, so I wasn't able to see him in person, but he went more in detail about what he said in the youth devotional. It was awesome.

June 19, 2018

Awesome week this week!

So Slave Lake itself didn't flood, but a bunch of roads around it did, so we've been a little stranded, but no heavy damage it seems.

We had a great idea on Thursday. We got some watermelon and some proselytizing supplies and had a watermelon stand! It worked great, too! We talked to a bunch of people and gave away a bunch of stuff. It was awesome.

Don't have a lot more time, but I should say that we do have like three awesome investigators now! 😁 told you we'd find some.

Brainwashed?!?!

May 15, 2018

So Mothers Day happened, and I was just thinking. We have a family in our ward called the Days, and since there is a mother in the family would she be called Mother Day? Would one of her children be called Mother's Day? Hurts my head a bit.

In other news, Skyping was awesome! I only have one more of those before I'm back... Weird.

We have two new investigators as of yesterday! S is one. She is from Quebec and has an awesome French accent. We kind of had a lesson with her yesterday about scriptures, and she seems to want to meet several times a week! She promised to make us cupcakes next time if Elder L made her some real Chinese food.

And we also found K! We tracted into her yesterday and she said that she has some cousins who are Mormon or something. So we taught her about the Restoration and the spirit was super strong. she looked pretty stupefied by the end of it and said we could come back!

Oh yeah, also the Prophet is coming next month. So that's exciting!

May 29, 2018

Last week, Elder L got into a fight with the ground and lost, we went to the temple (awesome, awesome experience), and did a merriment of Tracting!

But this week was actually a pretty weird week. I mean, as a missionary every week is weird, but this one was a special kind of weird.

We decided yesterday to go biking in the park to see if we could find people to talk to there. So we got on our bikes and went around the park.

As we were riding, we were stopped by a drunk lady who wanted to talk/flirt with us. She had a big guy with her who was pretty scary looking, but he was really trying to help us get away from her. It was weird.

Also, we went tracting and knocked on the house of a pastor from another church! That hasn't happened since Innisfail, so I was pretty out of practice dealing with them. It wasn't anything new, he just kept going on and on about how much of a cult we are and that we're all brainwashed. We tried to get away on more than a few occasions, but he was determined to teach us the "truth" according to what he found on the internet.

He said something along the lines of, "I know everything there is to know about your church! I know more about it than you do!" (Not exaggerated.) So we said "Oh so you've read the Book of Mormon?" and he was like "Why would I read such a demonic book?! I haven't any reason to! You poor young men!" 

Let me just tell you guys, anyone who does not read the Book of Mormon has no idea about what we believe. That's a fact. So that means that if WE don't read the Book of Mormon, we have no idea what we believe. As we prayerfully study the scriptures, we will find truth.

Missionaries are recyclable?

May 1, 2018

So I made it back to Leduc, and guess what? Nothing changed! Okay, that's not entirely true, but pretty much! It was awesome to find some stuff that I accidentally left here when I went to Innisfail, some of which haven't moved an inch! 

It's been a good time so far with my two companions Elder L and Elder Z. "Tripans" are awesome.

Elder L is from Taiwan and has great English and has been out on his mission for like 20 months. He says he is also a cat whisperer.

Elder Z is also from Taiwan, but the south part, and he hasn't been out very long at all. He Is Hilarious!

Elder Z was already here, but his other companion was replaced by Elder L and I, and since his English is a work in progress, it's almost like we're "whitewashing" (starting from scratch). So we didn't really have anyone to work with when we first got here, so we went tracting, and seriously, I have never set up this many appointments with people in my entire mission! I mean, only a couple of them have actually happened, but we scheduled an average of about 2 a day! 💥

Crazy stuff folks. Crazy, crazy stuff.

Also, shout-out to my sister and her betrothed who are getting married this Saturday. 🎉

p.s. here are some awesome quotes from members so far:

"So the mission is recycling missionaries now? Good to know the Church is going green." 

- Brother F

(After recovering from a bad car crash this last summer)

"As you can see I can walk again! I'm going to move on to levitation next!"
(In an amazing British accent.)

- Brother T

May 8, 2018

So does anyone remember last year when I helped out with a highway cleanup? Probably not since it was overshadowed by the steak challenge, but I got to do it again this year! We pretty much walked from Calmar to Leduc, then back again. Last year we found a cat skull, but this year we found an entire coyote skeleton! Fun time.

Also! We have the most amazing investigator here. Her name is S, and she is from Korea. She's actually been meeting with missionaries for about 10 years! She is pretty much a member, but she can't be baptized without her husband's approval, and he lives in Korea, so it's hard to talk to him about it.  She has the most faith out of any other person I've ever seen here!

We also got to have dinner with the Ts last week! I missed them a bunch. It's good to be back and hear some of Brother T's "Pearls of Wisdom."

And to top it all off, we were in Edmonton for a day because my companions had a weird meeting they had to go to. So, I was with another companionship for the day. We had a ton of fun. I had Five-Guys (yes it's in Canada!), and we found a lot of weird people, and I destroyed them at chess when we got home! Goood day.

P.s. My sister got married!

Here Comes the Sun, and the Chauffeur of Time!

April 17, 2018

Canada has decided to tease us the past couple of weeks. We get about 1 or 2 days of super nice sunny weather, then we get buckets of snow until you can't even remember what spring felt like. Though seriously, I've never been so ready for summer in my entire life!⛄🔥

On a different note, J and L won't be able to be baptized for a while; it's kind of a complicated situation, but pretty much we have to wait about a month, maybe more, before they can be baptized.

Also E! I guess I didn't really explain too much about him, but pretty much he's from Tanzania, and he's getting his PhD in Mathematics. The assistants were teaching him for a while, and then they discovered he's actually in our area, so we've been teaching him! 

He's awesome, but he hasn't been able to commit to be baptized. But this last lesson we had a plan. We and our Ward mission leader surprised him by taking him to the temple instead of having a normal lesson, and he absolutely loved it! He kept talking about the peace he felt there and the blessings he received just by being on the outside, then started talking about how he wanted to feel the blessings that come from being on the inside! 

We think he will be baptized soon 😁

April 24, 2018

Crazy transfer call a few minutes ago. Apparently I'm going back to LEDUC!

I know right?! What kinda crazy!? 

Seriously though, I'm pretty stoked. I love Leduc and can't wait to see it again.

Also I'm going to have 2 companions, and they are both Mandarin Elders! And also they can't drive! It's going to be amazing!

Also! I had an awesome experience on Wednesday. 

We went to a bible study that was being hosted by an investigator family, and some interesting things happened. 

The "pastor"? (Not sure what he's called) was talking about some things that I personally knew weren't true doctrinally, and I wasn't super happy about that. On one of the occasions that the false doctrine was really bad I decided I couldn't take it anymore, so I said a prayer. In my prayer I asked God what I should do. I wanted to do something, but I didn't know what. I told God that I would do anything he asked, he just needed to tell me what he wanted.

I didn't get an answer until the "teacher"? Dude started talking again, and then I heard the spirit say, "stand up." I was like 😰 what? The spirit said again "stand up, you said you would do anything, so stand up." As you could imagine, I was not super keen on doing that in a large group of people that would probably not appreciate my doctrinal advice. 

In the end I didn't stand up, and the feeling I had was awful. Probably the worst I've felt in my life. I had an opportunity to change someone's life, heck I even prayed for it! But I didn't take it when I came, and I even lied to the God I love. As you could imagine, this was not a good time for me.

But as I was writing this experiences down in my journal, we got a group message from our zone leaders telling us how awesome we all are. I won't get into the details, but what they randomly wrote to us that night was exactly what I needed to hear. And also I had a dream and stuff that I also won't get into for lack of time, but I want to bear my testimony to y'all that there is no such thing as coincidence. Maybe the zone leaders were just feeling creative and wanted to do something fun that they've never done before, but I don't buy that. I did something I would consider horrible, but my Heavenly Father still reached out to me in love. And I will never forget it.

I love you guys! Talk to ya in Leduc!!!

Take off! To the Great White North! Take off! It's a beauty way to go!

March 20, 2018

So Elder R just finished being trained in St. Paul, which is out in the boonies up north somewhere. So I've been able to teach him how to city! It's been great so far; he has an awesome spirit with him. He's from Boise Idaho, he likes to take long walks on the beach, he likes sunsets and slow music, and he actually likes snowboarding, paintballing, and airsoft guns. 

On a different note, we had an awesome experience this last week! The night that Elder R got here we decided to stop by someone Elder S and I found a couple weeks before. When we first found them it was a lady named S who answered the door. She didn't seem super interested, but she said we could come back another time. Then Elder R and I stopped by, and the husband opened the door (don't remember his name). We told him we talked to S a couple weeks before and she said we could come back, then he invited us inside and promptly fed us dinner and dessert! It was crazy! We figured out that they have 7 kids and that they are super religious. They had a lot of questions about what we believe and missionary life, and we actually had the chance to teach them the Plan of Salvation! They even invited us back for tomorrow!!! 

March 27, 2018

Crazy week: houses were knocked on, doors were slammed, and messages were shared. But the best part was probably our lesson with E! He is someone that the Assistants have been teaching for a while, but they recently discovered that he's actually in our area, so we got to work with them this last Saturday! Elder R got to go with one of them to actually teach him, and then I went with an elder who was a past zone leader of mine to go street contacting! It was a ton of fun.

Well, I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to say that I know that my Redeemer lives! He is constantly working to help us, so please be in a place in your lives where you can receive that help.

April 3, 2018

Crazy week! We had the Traveling Elders in our area for about 3 days starting on Thursday, and miracles always happen with those guys around. 

But the coolest part was most definitely General Conference! 

E came with us to a members house (the M's for those who know them) for general conference, and he seemed to really enjoy it! 

I also had an awesome experience with the solemn assembly. 

Right as I was standing up as an elder, I realized that I really didn't know if President Nelson was actually prophet. So I said a super quick prayer and received a strong witness from the spirit that he is! It's crazy how useful prayer is, hey?!

Anyways, I gotta go. Happy Easter!🐇🥚🎉

All Creatures of our God and King

February 20, 2018

Sorry the last few weeks didn't happen as well as I thought they would. I even wrote up a draft for last week before p-day, but it ended up disappearing into the ether or something. So I'll try to make up for it today with an awesome email.

So Elder S and I made friends with a coyote recently. He's the one who has a lair near the church. There's a huge field that we walk through sometimes, and the coyote just kinda tagged a long. I decided to name him Alfonzo. 

We also met an owl on the way back home one night. I think I'll name him Jeremiah after my uncle.

We also had another lesson with J and L! We were teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and decided to try a fun experiment. We had a cup of water and some food coloring. When we were talking about repentance and baptism we put a few drops of food coloring into the water so symbolize sin. And since nobody wants to be the color of fruit punch koolaid, we need repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost to get rid of it. So we then poured some bleach into the cup and watched the sin go away!

It was a fun lesson 😁

March 13, 2018

So... transfers is tomorrow, and I'm staying! But Elder S is not. He is going to Strathcona in Edmonton. And I'm getting a new companion named Elder R.

As an update of what the area is looking like: 

We have had some lessons with the J and L and they are totally ready for baptism! All they need is the baptismal interview and they're on their way! Or at least that's how it should happen. Their father says he wants to do the baptism, but the mom is worried that he's not actually able to do it (due to him being inactive). But we're gonna keep on teaching them until something happens. So expect a baptism soon! 😁

But yeah, that's all that's happened. We've been texting a bunch of old former investigators recently, and it's been kinda humorous, but no appointments out of it.

One thing that President said during interviews was to just not worry about not having lessons. All that needs to be done is doing the work, that's it. If lessons come and people get baptized, then great! But all I have to worry about is getting myself to the next door without slipping on ice. (He didn't actually say all that, but this is my interpretation of what he did say.)

Oh yeah and Pi day is tomorrow! Eat pie. It's one of the only excuses we get to do it.

Read Alma 5 - a Man on a Mission

January 23, 2018

So, I've discovered that WiFi is something that is hard to come by in this area. So if a post doesn't come through one week, sorry!

In other news, we had a cool experience today. We were waiting for a bus with our groceries for a super long time. After looking at the transit app, we discovered that the bus had disappeared into the Aether. So we decided to walk to a different bus station.

On our way there, we saw the bus we were just waiting for stop at the station we were just at; then it drove away as we stared into the sun with tears in our eyes.

So, after waiting for the next bus at a different station for a while, we decided to walk to a different one because the transit app told us to. As we were across the street from the station, the bus showed up, then left. But we choked back our tears and waited there anyway. When, to my surprise, another bus appeared!!!

So we got on and situated ourselves. I was standing there, grateful for warm air, and I was thinking about how weird it was that the buses would be that wonky today, when I felt an impression that we were put on this bus for a reason.

Elder S then noticed a former investigator that was sitting right next to where we were standing.

Miracles happen all the time. Sometimes we just don't realize, but I guess that's why we're told to count our many blessings??

February 6, 2018

Man! It's been a really short year! I don't even know what to say about it, haha. So much has happened just this last week even!

Though the craziest thing that happened had to be when we got a car!!! Nothing in this world is more beautiful than having a car with seat warmers in -30°C.

In other news, there is a lady who is coming back to church after being inactive for a while, and it just so happens that her kids are of age to be baptized! So we've been teaching her kids, John and Leah (pronounced Lia?? (looking at you Lia 😉)) for a while now. They will probably have a baptismal date soon!

And now for something completely different! I have a lot of things to look back on this last year, from having the best trainer ever, to the steak challenge, to the pancake surprise with Elder A, losing my shoes in a river, almost dying on the way to Red Deer with Elder Greer (never forget!), learning how bad English really is with Elder S, teaching the gospel through Dungeons and Dragons (also Elder S (Heavenly Father is the DM of our lives (think about it))), hearing about D from Leduc who got baptized!, learning how not to bash, haha, meeting some of the coolest people in the world (too many to name), tearing up Fort Saskatchewan with Elder A, getting super buff (like Batman), walking through the snow with Elder S, and many, many more things!

It doesn't look like a lot when it's condensed into paragraph form, but it's still a pretty nice list of things if I do say so myself.

It's been a year of change, too. I feel like a completely different person from before I came here, and I hope I've changed even more when I get back.

The Day the Car Stood Still; Merry Boxing Day!

December 19, 2017

So a few interesting things happened that should keep y'all occupied for the duration of this post.
First, I got a speeding ticket! Yay! I thought I was on a different road... and our tiwi didn't tell me... so I ended up going 70 in a 50 zone and the scary Canadian speed radar took my picture.

On a different note, though, we were having lunch with a member yesterday and he was showing us some of his collections. He had a katana, some canes that turn into swords, pictures, and watches that he was showing us. Me, being the weirdo that I am, brought out my watch and started bragging about my $20 Walmart watch. Also Elder A made a joke that I could trade my watch for one of his, so the member I guess took pity on me or something and gave me one of his watches! Elder A and I both refused, but he was persistent and pretty serious. So now I have like an $850 watch!!! Kinda blew both our brains pretty permanently. So uh, Merry Christmas, I guess!

And finally, Christmas is gonna be a happening! Which means that I'm gonna be calling home that day. Kind of excited for that.

December 26, 2017

I want to wish you all a very merry Boxing Day today! (Think black Friday, but more Canada.)
Also Christmas happened! It's crazy to think that the last time I saw my family they were sitting in the exact same spot as when we first Skyped. It's like they haven't moved for 8 months! Crazy.

Though not much else happened. We ate a bunch of food, sang a bunch of songs, and did some altogether merry celebrating. 10/10

January 9, 20018

I'm in Bearspaw! Which is in Edmonton! Which is the city! Which is crazy!
I never really thought I would ever go to the city, but I guess this is where I'm supposed to be.

My new companion's name is Elder S, he's like 6' 6", and this is his third transfer!
Yeah... He kinda towers over me, haha.

Bearspaw is awesome. We don't have a car, but we share bus passes with some other elders, which means that we get to ride the trains! Every day! ????????
It's been awesome so far.

One thing I feel I don't do enough in these posts is share my testimony. So I'm going to do that now.

I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I also know that I was sent to Bearspaw for a very specific reason (maybe a few reasons). I've also already figured out what one of those reasons is.

One thing people in the mission here say a lot is "there is no growth in the comfort zone, and there is no comfort in the growth zone." I testify that that statement is mostly true. There is no growth in the comfort zone. But through prayer and through the Spirit, we can always have comfort.

When we go on the trains we are expected to talk to people. Its our main source of finding here. I've only ever really done tracting, so it was a few fields outside of my comfort zone. And so, being out of the comfort zone, I "grew" I guess you could say. I realized after a couple of days of not talking to people on the train, that if I was going to do this, I would need help from God.

I got that help. But only because I asked for it. And it was awesome! And so I testify to you that prayer works. I don't know what I'd do without it. I've now talked to quite a few people, and this is probably the most fun I've had finding people on my mission!

And I'll end with a funny story (Or at least I thought it was funny).

We were scraping ice off this guy's driveway, and when we finished he gave us three chocolate banana muffins!

We both ate one waiting for the bus. Then when we got to the bus station, Elder S said I could have the other muffin. We still had the box for the muffins and didn't want to carry it around, so I obliged and we threw the container away. Not one minute later, our bus arrived.

That was a problem. We can't eat on the bus and I'd only taken one bite!

So we made our way towards the bus and I was trying to elegantly cram the muffin into my face (I have better manners now, Mom!), and I realized that I didn't have enough time before we entered the bus. I don't know how or why I did this, but right before I entered the bus, my panicked gut reaction was to shove the rest of it in my pocket! Which I instantly regretted. Nice pants + banana chocolate chunk muffin = ??

Don't know why I thought it was funny. But I thought it was. Thanks for letting me waste your time!

I may or may not be getting fat, and, Attack of the Santa Clones! *true story*

November 28, 2017

We got to go to the temple today (??)! Also we had a lesson with T that went pretty good.
And last but not least, we made food on Thanksgiving! (It was actually the day after, but, whatever). I made a salad, and Elder A did the rest.

December 5, 2017

So I don't really think I'm getting fat, I mean it's never happened before, but I have never been given so many unhealthy sugary foods!!! If there was ever a time to get fat, it would be here.

On another note, it's been a busy week. We pretty much just did service for people all week! It was pretty crazy. Although, this week is a little calmer so we should have some time to do some hardcore tracting!!! We've been dropping a lot of people recently, so we've got to find some more people to teach.

We also watched the Christmas devotional with T! I thought it was awesome! Especially President Uchtdorf's talk. I'm not sure how T felt about it, though. It's hard for her to open up, it seems.

December 12, 2017

Quite a bit happened this week, actually. We did a bunch of tracting, found a bunch of awesome potentials, dropped a bunch of people, got attacked by Santa Clones, and just had an all around great week! Also it's like 8°C today! I'm not sure what that is Fahrenheit, but it's much warmer than it has been!

We found one guy who was really awesome and his name was M. We shared the Christmas video with him and talked about service, then he gave us some water bottles and (Arabian) chocolate wafers! So, he totally lit our world yesterday.

We've been meeting with a bunch of people recently, but all we've really done is service because of how their health is. We even baked some bread for one lady. Though I'm afraid that T pretty much dropped us. We're gonna try talking to her one more time to see what's up today, probably.

And now for the Santa Clones! (Save it till the end so you gotta read the whole thing to find it.)
So, we were tracting at the end of the day, one time, and there was quite a bit of snow on the ground. We were at the last house, standing there, waiting for someone to answer, when suddenly a bunch of blow up Santa people started growing from the snow! One was riding a motorcycle, another had a surf board, and all of them were glowing! One of them was even hiding on the porch right behind us! They were playing creepy Christmas tunes and jiggling around like the creepy Santa Clones they are! Nobody answered the door, so we promptly escaped from the nightmare.

Attack of "The Narwhal!" and Promised Blessings

November 13, 2017

We have a mission tour with an area seventy tomorrow.

So, I figured out how to spell my companion's name, he is Elder A. He is like another brother, haha. We have too much fun together.

But we've also been getting some fun work done here. when I first got here we got a referral for a lady named T! She's been our main focus. We had one lesson with her on Friday and she was looking for a lot of peace and comfort in her life, so we had a good lesson with her. We went through a little bit of the Plan of Salvation, and it seems her only concern is that her beliefs don't quite match up with ours. We're going to have another lesson with her tonight, and we have some really good fellowshipping being done!

Also, for those of you that know her, Sister D is in our area! For those who don't know her, she is the housing coordinator for the mission, and she's awesome! Though, if there was ever a time in my life that I would get fat, it's here... people are feeding us like crazy! We didn't even need to go shopping today because of the amount of food we still have left!

I almost forgot to explain the subject line haha. Pretty much we were playing basket ball with some members here and I had a hockey stick. The basket ball game turned into dodge ball in the dark (my fault) which then turned into hide and seek (not my fault.) And the hockey stick at some point was dubbed "The Narwhal". Weirdest. P-day. Ever!

November 21, 2017

Elder Schwitzer of the Seventy was here on Tuesday, and I learned some pretty cool stuff. There was a lot talked about, but what stuck out to me the most was repentance. More specifically: true repentance is conversion. It's been pretty cool to see people in the scriptures who have gone through this principal and have done some amazing things--Jonah and the big ol' fish thing for example. After the trial of his faith, he received a witness and repented. He then went on to do some really cool stuff! If he wouldn't have had that conversion experience, it makes me wonder if he would have had as much success in the vineyard.

On another note, we had a lesson with T! And what a lesson it was.

We were going to go through the restoration with her a bit, but the lesson turned into us talking about faith and beliefs, mainly on how if we exercise our faith, then we will be able to turn our beliefs into knowledge.

Also, at one point during the lesson I felt super strongly that I should promise her a blessing that she would find the help she needs as she reads the Book of Mormon. Which was a huge surprise for me! I was super nervous, but the feeling was so strong that I did eventually do it.

It's amazing what the Holy Ghost does to our lessons. We were just gonna talk about priesthood and stuff, but nope! This really is The Lord's work, and he's not just going to watch us from afar in his cozy lawn chair under his umbrella. It's like what it says in Jacob chapter 5:16--"And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard, and also the servant, went down into the vineyard to labor."
And labor we did!

The lesson with Tammy went really well. Also, for those who've inquired, Elder A is from Toronto! But before that, he was in the Philippines for a while, so he likes to make us Filipino food. It's nice to have someone in the house who can cook again!

Adventure in the Great White North: Preaching love and peace with other well dressed guys

October 24, 2017

We had some pretty fun stuff happen this week!

First of all, we went tracting in the most unpredictable town in our area (Bowden (it's south!)) and we met a guy named J. J is a self proclaimed all mighty healer and a prophet! he was a pretty chill guy, so we talked with him for a bit, apparently he can just go around touching people and healing them like Jesus did, but he decides to just chill at home all day instead of actually doing that... in Bowden... in a trailer park... so, yeah...

We also met another guy in Innisfail who was pretty excitable. He kept spouting off false doctrine and contradicting himself. We didn't even really need to say anything, though. I think he noticed the inconsistencies after a few minutes and stopped talking, so we shook his hand and left him to think about it. That was a fun experience.

On a different note, a member had us over for dinner right on the edge of Pine Lake, which is where his house is even! When we got there he told us that dinner wasn't ready yet and that we could take some fishing poles into the backyard for a bit and go fishing till dinner was ready! So we did that! Didn't catch anything, but we had a lot of fun pulling seaweed out of the lake!

On a more spiritual note, We had the traveling Elders here again recently, and the main thing we focused on was helping members do missionary work, so we practiced teaching each other before actually going to a lesson with a member family. When we were practicing, though, we had to make up situations that could possibly be something that a member would say, and the crazy part is that the members actually were in those exact situations! The exact situation we practiced was the exact situation the members were in!!! It's crazy how accurate the practice was! It just goes to show how much this is Heavenly Father's work as well. He gave us the inspiration to help the members find ways to share the gospel with their friends in Texas that they're meeting with in Costa Rica in a few weeks!!!

The gospel is true, folks. I'm super happy to be here in a place where I can focus on helping people receive the restored gospel. I mean, who wouldn't want to be able to see miracles like this on a regular basis (granted they're not always this extreme.)

November 7, 2017

This last week was super interesting! We helped out with a food drive, it snowed, my eyelashes were iced over, and we had a double feature on exchanges with the Three Hills elders.

So yeah... it snowed! And it's pretty cold. (Jaden, if you're reading this then it's raining boiling water every day and I love it.)

On the subject of exchanges! I was in Three Hills for 2 days, and Elder B was in Innisfail. The Three Hills elders just switched between us two during the experience. The first day (Thursday afternoon - Friday afternoon) I was with Elder S in Three Hills, and it was cold! It was fun, though; we pretty much just froze to death for a while, but we did get some work done as we walked around the unplowed streets of Three Hills. The second day (Friday afternoon - Saturday afternoon),  Elder W and I also froze to death, but we also locked ourselves out of the house for a bit. We found some nice neighbors who let us in until the landlord came to open the door. So, I guess it's a good finding opportunity to get stuck outside in the snow when it's super dark outside! Noted!

Also transfers are a happenin'! And I'm getting booted out of Innisfail! And I'm going to a place called Fort Saskatchewan with an elder who has a name I don't know how to spell! But it'll be fun! I have a good track record for having awesome areas.
Lastly, this next transfer is going to be 8 weeks instead of 6 because of Christmas stuff, I guess.

I'm gonna miss Innisfail, but I'm looking forward to continue being outlying!

General Conference! WOO! Push Along to Zone Conference!

October 3, 2017

Snow is here!!! It's not bad yet, and it's probably going to melt before the week is over, but it's here, and it's cold (Jaden if you're reading, it's not cold, summer is here for the second time in a row, and I most certainly did not buy new gloves today.(Mom if you're reading, I did buy new gloves today, just thought I'd let you know.))

But the most exciting part was most definitely General Conference!!!
It was pretty awesome. I used to not care that much, but since I came on my mission I've been super hyped to watch it, and I can't wait for them to put it on Gospel Library so I can read what I missed. Though C wasn't able to make it, we will still probably show it to her sometime, maybe print some talks out for her or something. I wish we would've had some investigators with us, but to no avail. One of these days we're going to have an investigator at church.
I did have a question coming into conference--I should write down the answer, haha.

The other exciting part is Elder B! He's awesome. His family lives in Southern Utah somewhere, but he was actually living in South Jordan a little bit before his mission. He's been a member for almost 3 years now, and he is super diligent. It's been fun to be around a guy who has English as a first language, haha. We haven't been doing a lot of teaching recently, but we should be able to teach together effectively. He is super hard working; he got in the apartment and we instantly started on a deep clean of the place. so our apartment looks really awesome now, haha.

October 10, 2017

It's been a pretty solid week of straight up tracting! And we've just about tracted all of Innisfail, haha. We did have a few lessons with some random pastors we found, but the best lesson we had was probably with C--she's doing awesome! Though it seems like every time church is coming up she literally can't come, but she's been doing all she can to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, so it's just a matter of time!

On the subject of the weather! Its actually been pretty warm in the afternoons recently, though it sounds like we're gonna to get a bunch of snow soon. They call this place the "Snow Belt"--apparently they get more snow here than they do in Calgary or Red Deer (which is a little bit north of us) and everyone seems to have some snow horror stories, haha. I'm excited for winter for some reason.

October 17, 2017

We had Zone Conference! We talked a lot about member missionary work and how we can help members to do it. It made me think a little bit about how much missionary work I did back home... so about nothing... which I think isn't that uncommon; but if it was more common, then we would definitely have more success with investigators. 

 

President Gordon B. Hinckley taught: “So many of us look upon missionary work as simply tracting. Everyone who is familiar with this work knows there is a better way. That way is through the members of the Church. Whenever there is a member who introduces an investigator, there is an immediate support system. The member bears testimony of the truth of the work. He is anxious for the happiness of his investigator friend. He becomes excited as that friend makes progress in learning the gospel.

So we've been tracting a lot, and not much has come of it... but with this I think we could easily help strengthen members and help people learn about the gospel--two birds with one stone, you could say. 

Also, every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a missionary! Just because not all of you are in the field doesn't mean that you can't still feel the same joy of sharing the Gospel. I'd like to invite all of you to think of ways you can be more involved in sharing the happiness we all enjoy with others. 

Proud Supporter of Crime

September 19, 2017

We had the chili cook off and C came! We've been working with C a lot recently and she is progressing soooo much! She asked for a priesthood blessing for something that she felt only God could fix, and lo and behold her faith made her whole! She is awesome to work with; she said she's gonna come to church this next week and then she's probably gonna be baptized! She already has an awesome testimony and is super excited to continue to learn. 

On the subject of other investigators:

We dropped pretty much everyone else 🤷🏼‍♂️

We're going to try again with N and A in a month or so, and everyone else just kinda fell off the face of the planet. But! We found an awesome family in Springbrook who are now investigators! The mother and the daughter have some awesome potential; we taught them the restoration and the daughter was super excited. Apparently their family had been going to a bunch of different churches because their oldest daughter has a lot of questions and nobody seems to know the answers, so she asked us how she can know if God exists, so we said she should ask God if He exists. She paused for a second then looked at her Mom and was like "I've been wondering that for SO long!" So yeah, we're excited about them.

It's been super awesome here. Next week is transfers and we're thinking Elder S is gonna be booted out to Yellowknife or something. Though if its me that's being transferred, then it will probably be outlying again, unless they want me to be able to do street contacting, haha.

September 26, 2017

It's been a pretty average week, I suppose; we went tracting, stopped by some people, taught some lessons, almost got eaten by spiders, etc...

Though C didn't come to church last time because she was busy, she is most definitely going to be at the church for General Conference!!! Both days!!! Also she said that she feels God is pulling her towards baptism, so she's just doing super great.

Also transfer calls happened, and Elder S is going to Edmonton! And I'm staying here 😁 which is awesome. My new companion will be Elder B; he's also from Utah, and I met him up in Edmonton before. I don't know a ton about him, but he's a hard worker from what I've seen and heard, so it should be awesome. I'm just really happy I get to stay here for a bit longer; I'm not done with these people, haha.

I can't think of anything else super interesting, but since conference is coming up, I'd like to invite y'all to go into it with a question you want answered. It's a great time to receive the answers to questions, and it works awesomely, so do it.

I can't wait for winter to come destroy all the spiders 😁

P.S. I probably should explain the subject line, and maybe even the spider thing... so I'm gonna do that.

On the windows of some houses there are stickers that say different stuff like "security"or something, but we have found a lot recently that say "Proud supporter of CRIME" on them. It's like a neighborhood watch program or something, but the word choice makes my day every time.

Also spiders are in season this time of year, it seems. We tracted one house that had somewhat of a spider issue on the outside, and I didn't realize it until it was almost too late. So Elder S stopped at the steps and watched me walk straight into the scene from Harry Potter 2 with all the spiders surrounding me, slowly coming down to eat me. I don't think I've ever felt more uncomfortable in my life. 🕸🕸🕷😨🕷🕸🕸