It's The Final Countdown

Hey!  Its the last week!  In one weeks time I will be at home, in Arizona, enjoying the company of friends and family, and the heat.  And the good Mexican food. Lots of things.  Not to say I won't miss it here. But I've missed good Mexican food.  Did I say Mexican food?  I meant family and friends.... Mostly.

Anyway, this week has been great for Elder Sun and I.  We have been working with Joy still, finishing teaching her lessons again to review her commitments to God, as well as preparing for my return. This last weekend we also helped at the Fukinese Association of Alberta, preparing and cleaning for some of the renovations they are planning on making before winter.

We are still planning on having a baptism for my last week here in Edmonton, which is so great. I am so glad I got the chance to get to know and to teach David, he is such an awesome guy.

This week has been a pretty slow week.  With David out of town, we have been doing lots of finding, talking to people on the streets, in their homes, in our churches, and it reminds me how much I love sharing the gospel with these people. I am truly grateful for the time I have had here in Edmonton to share with these people, and I am so blessed in all the things I've learned and the ways I've grown incidental to sharing this amazing blessing with others.  I am so grateful for God and his plan and all the things he does for us.  I know he loves us, each and every one of us, because we are his children and he wants what is best for us, and will help us get there.

Elder Ethington

Heritage Days

Hey All!  How has your week been?  This week has been pretty crazy here in Edmonton.  It's also my second to last week to send out this email!  Crazy!

Well this week, the major event was Heritage Days.  All 8 of the Mandarin speaking missionaries were asked to help volunteer at the Taiwanese pavilion during Heritage Festival.  The Festival is a three day event of each country showcasing arts, foods, and other parts of their own unique culture to help show and celebrate the multi-cultural heritage of Alberta!  It was so much fun to see all the different cultures and backgrounds people come from.  Truly an awesome event!  I spent the majority of my time volunteering for the A/V at the Taiwan tent, helping to make sure performances went smoothly and moving things.  Lots of things.  But it was lots of fun.  I also got to try on a costume.  I didn't dance in it, but some elders did, and it was pretty great.

Other than that, this week has been pretty slow.  David passed his baptismal interview, so he is set to go on August 13th, my last Saturday in Edmonton!  Crazy how fast things go!  But I'm so excited to get home.  Sad to leave, but excited to see family.  Anyway, that's my week!  Hope you are doing well!

PIna Colada

Hello!  How's your week been?  This week has been great for Elder Sun and I.  We had a chance this week to work with David, the spiffy man who came to church again this Sunday.  There we were able to finish the lessons we need to teach with him, and go over the questions for baptism.  He is super prepared to be baptized in the next few weeks, and I am so excited to have this to look forward to as I start on my last three weeks!  Holy Cow, thats so weird to even type out!  Its amazing how fast these two years have gone, and how much has happened.  I am super excited to get home and to see everyone and to be able to share some of the experiences I've had living in the strange foreign land of Alberta, Canada, as well as the miracles I've seen while I've been on the Lord's Errand.  I am so blessed to be here with these people, and I am so grateful for the time I've had to serve them.  I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Lime

7/12/2016

Hello!

This week has been very good here in Edmonton.  I am enjoying my final few weeks!  This week I got a letter with my travel plans, so I now know for sure what my itinerary looks like to get home in August.  Crazy!

This week we were finally able to meet with David again.  He is awesome!  He showed up to church this week, looking spiffy in a suit.  I taught him spiffy, I felt like it was a pretty good word for him to learn.

This week at English Class on Friday, we used the Institute BBQ to give people a chance to talk to native English speakers, and it was great.  The students had a great chance to talk to and interact with many of the YSA members in the area.  Which was a great English practice and a great fellowship builder.

Well, that's been our week here!  I hope you're doing great!

Elder Ethington

This weekend we have seen a few holidays.  We were able to celebrate both Canada Day (July 1st) and the Fourth of July!  Although it was a much smaller celebration for the Fourth, we sang the anthem during our meet the new Mission President and then got really good American burgers afterwards for lunch, we thoroughly enjoyed our American Holiday.

This week has been pretty slow as far as missionary work goes.  We were supposed to meet with David, but he forgot and we weren't able to meet.  And we haven't heard from him since, so we are a little worried.  But hopefully we can talk to him again soon.  We were able to work with Joy's husband this week.  He does a lot of work around his house and his car, so Elder Sun and I went there and tried to help him out.  He was reluctant at first, but eventually let us lend a hand, which was good.

Anyway, that's about our week.  Hope you've had a good Fourth of July!

Elder Ethington

Elder Sun and Elder Ethington on Canada Day

Last Temple P-Day with President and Sister Manion

Summer Storms

Hey!  How's your week going?  This week has been good here in Edmonton.  This Monday we got transfer calls.  I'm entering my last full transfer!  Crazy times!  Elder Sun and I will stay here in Bonnie Doon where we have been doing well and doing good work.  This Sunday, Anneliese went back to China!  Its crazy!  She will get the chance to talk to her dad, and hopefully get his approval for baptism so that when she comes back to Canada, she can receive baptism.  We also met with David this week, who is awesome!  We talked about prophets and priesthood and he understood the significance of a modern-day prophet, a man on Earth who has the authority to say, "Thus saith the Lord."  I am so grateful for the guidance modern day prophets bring into our lives, for all the blessings that God has given us to guide us in a difficult and confusing world.

This week was also Father's Day!  So shout out to all the fathers out there who do so much for those around them. I am grateful for my own father, who has nurtured and guided me on this crazy journey called life.  He has taught me, protected me, laughed with me, and continues to strengthen and support me.  I am so grateful for him and all fathers out there.

Have a good week!  

Elder Ethington

A Week of Dinners

So this week there was a Chinese Holiday, the Dragon Boat Festival.  That night we went and had dinner with a friend who invited all the Mandarin Elders to come.  It was delicious.  The food for this particular festival is rice dumplings, which is rice and some other added bits wrapped in Bamboo leaves and then steamed.  It was very delicious. 

This week we were also able to meet with David.  He is doing so awesome.  When we met with him, I was on exchanges with Elder Roundy, one of my zone leaders here in Bonnie Doon.  We had a great lesson with David, in which we committed him to a goal for baptism!  I am so excited for David and the great progress he is making.  We were also  able to meet with Anneliese, who is headed back to China this coming Sunday.  We will miss her while she's gone, but we will be praying that she can talk to her family and will be able to get baptized when she returns later this summer.

That's been our week!  I hope you're having a good one!

Elder Ethington