From Tanks to Dojos

This has been an interesting week.  After Elder Brown and I left emails on Monday, we saw a tank/BTR driving through St. Albert.  And I wondered why St. Albert was such a nice place...  That night, we went to FHE expecting a few investigators to show up.  The activity was a snowball fight, and while we waited, we ended up getting hit and involved in the fight.  It was lots of fun, although an Arizonan stands no chance against Canadians in any fight about snow...  Don't even try it.

Tuesday was also a good day.  We tried to find people on the buses in the morning, with little success.  That evening we went to a dinner that was as far North as Elder Brown has ever gone.  And a daughter in the family was a really good singer, she is actually recording for a song to go on the radio in the next month.

Wednesday Night we went to Joe's Dojo again.  He started teaching us a few nunchuck tricks, that were pretty sweet.  I wasn't too good, but Elder Brown was a bit better.  There is a video that is too big to send on this email, but it exists.  Elder Brown was also bleeding.  A dojo teacher was showing us how we could not hit him. He used Elder Brown's hand to hit Elder Brown's head, but the nail caught and gave him a scratch.   

Other than that, this week has been fairly normal.  The snow is almost all gone, and I love it. I am told the city gets a lot more beautiful after everything turns green in the summer, and I am excited for it.

This week also is the beginning of the Because He Lives Initiative. If you haven't taken a chance to see that video, I strongly recommend it.  It is a great video, and I love the message it shares. I know that Christ's sacrifice, his Atonement, is the single greatest event of history.  It is the one thing that makes everything, our lives, this Earth, everything we have and everything we are, worth it.  Without Christ, we have no way to return to our Father in Heaven.  With him, and following his plan, we can return and join in glory and joy with God and our Elder Brother.  I know this is the true.  I am so glad to be on a mission and to be sharing the message with others.  I love and miss you all!

Elder Ethington

The First Day of Spring...And the Snow's Back

So we thought this week that we had finally gotten rid of the snow.  I can tell you now, that that thought was a lie.  An outright lie.  And it hurt my feelings a little.  Well, it definitely made driving harder.  Thankfully, Elder Brown is now driving, and he has had lots more experience than I ever did.  So there's a load off my plate.  Other than spastic weather this week, life in Mandarin Ed North has been pretty great.  We were able to give a copy of the Book of Mormon to our investigator, Kayla.  We were not however, able to say anything about it because we just barely managed to catch her as she was running to catch her bus after work.  But I went back to see her the next day, while on exchanges, and she said she had read a little, and wanted us to come back to explain more about it and answer some questions.  Super exciting!

We've still been trying to get Elder Brown around to meet more and more of the Chinese members and investigators, and its been busy, but awesome.  There was a baptism we were able to go to in Elder Brown's last area, a girl he had taught for 6 months!  It was such a great experience!  

Well, this has been my week, and I have had such a great time!  I hope everyone is doing awesome!

Elder Ethington

New Companions (3-16-15) Elder T.J. Ethington and Elder Landon Brown from Centerville, UT

Same Area, New Companion

So last Wednesday was Transfer Day.  A day that was a source of relief and a bit of stress for me.  Mostly relief.  Especially as I come to know and appreciate my new companion, Elder Brown, as a missionary and help.  I was a little worried about leading out an area, but it has been super awesome to see how much help Elder Brown is and how much life he will bring.  We are getting along super well, getting some jokes, and having a great time together.  While it has been a slow week for missionary work, most of our investigators are tied up in ESL tests at the moment, Elder Brown and I have been exploring new finding ideas that we've come up with, and are trying to make the most of our time.  I am excited to reach the full potential of our area and to see how the work grows as new people enter and ideas mingle and are refined.  Miss you all!

Elder Ethington

A New Investigator and Jasper

This week has been a great week.  We have a new investigator, Kayla, who works at the mall.  We met her there, and she seems to really like talking to us.  And we taught her about her relationship with God as well as prayer.  She said she tried prayer, and would keep trying, so we are super excited about that.  As well, we are still working with other promising investigators, Archer and Sky, who just moved in together.  We are really excited for the chance of the two being able to help each other as they progress in the Gospel.

The other big thing that happened this week was the trip and Elder Liu, Mathieu Girard, who is a local member, and myself took to Jasper!  It was a great trip.  It was a drive out there, but it was super fun and we did soo much.  We started by tailgating on a glacier, in the middle of windstorm.  It was hard to get the fire to start, but we got it going eventually.  Grilled some burger, first ones I've made on my own, and they turned out really good.  Throw in some Ketchup chips (a Canadian favorite) and some Cherry Dr. Pepper, and it was a fantastic lunch.  Then we went to Athabasca falls, which was beautiful.  The outer layer was frozen, but there was water running underneath, so we got a bit of both ends of things, which was really cool as well.  After we came out, Matt got stuck in an unplowed parking lot, with snow coming up to the door of his new truck.  We waited for the tow truck to come, and when he got there, one cable came out of the truck, and it was a big mess.  Fun though.  After the falls, we went to Maligne Lake, which is beautiful.  I am told it shows up on all Canadian Landscape calendars somewhere, and it was very beautiful even when it was frozen.  I did go walk on the frozen lake, but only after Matt checked the ice around a dock.  After the falls we went to Maligne Canyon.  We walked along the rim, looking to get to the bottom, and I lost a name tag.  There is a picture of it somewhere.  But eventually we just went to the mouth of the canyon, and walked down the river.  There was a drop we came to and went one by one down, and pulled each other back up using... Matt's belt.  And then we came back to town, had dinner in a nice Italian restaurant, and drove home.  It was quite a day, and definitely one of the best days of my mission.  Anyway, I'm running out of time.  I miss you all, and hope you're doing well! 

Matt Girard and Elder Ethington getting ready to grill

The results

Elder Ethington is king of the truck

Athabasca Falls 

Athabasca

6 Months

Ok, I know it technically isn't 6 months yet.  But its tomorrow, so I'm just going to go with it.  Anyway.

So a review of this week.  We had zone conference on Tuesday, which was awesome.  President and Sister Manion gave great trainings on the heart, and family history work.  I really enjoyed that.  And seeing a whole bunch of missionaries, a few of whom will go home at the end of this transfer, which can be just a bit sad.  But they've served well, and they're good people.   The highlight of the conference though was definitely mail.  I've been waiting several weeks for packages and letters to reach me, and I finally got them.  All.  And I got a Cantonese Phrasebook so I can start trying out some of that.  But I am waiting for the new Mandarin Elder to come, because he speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.  If I get to be companions with him, I think it will give me a great chance to learn. 

The other event of this week was Saturday, which was our Social Media Blitz day.  We had people following us all day, taking pictures and posting them on Facebook. It was a great chance for people to see what missionaries in Edmonton do.  And we had great people with us, I loved it and them.  This weekend was also the end of the Month, so lots of people needed help moving in and out of apartments.  It was lots of moving.  But it was fun, and I always love spending time in service clothes.

Now, a review of the last 6 months.  Its been good.  Its gone too quick, its gone too slow.  It was the best of experiences, it was the worst of experiences.  It was fun, it was sad.  Ok.  10th grade English class time is over.  In all honesty, its been a bit of a wild ride.  Times were good, times were bad. There were times I absolutely loved everyone, and days I just wanted to be left alone.  But I do know that these last 6 months have been the best of my life.  I have absolutely loved (at least in hindsight) the time I've spent on my mission.  I will not pretend that it is not a difficult thing.  But it is something that has helped me personally in a way I never knew I needed.  And it was a joy for me to see how much the message of the Gospel can help others.  Its something I felt I've taken for granted, and I am learning how to appreciate it, and the joy it brings.  I want all of you to know that I truly do have a testimony of the Gospel, of a loving Father in Heaven.  He is aware of us, loves us, and wants what is truly the best for us.  I know Christ is our friend.  He knows everyone here on Earth personally and in a way that no other person can.  I know that Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration and was called to bring back Christ's church.  I know the he brought back the Book of Mormon, and that it is a true book.  The one book that can help us most in our life.  I have seen the blessings of this church in my life, and I invite all others to find those blessings in theirs.  They are yours for the taking if you will reach out and grab them.

Morning Study

Elder Liu, Elder Warkentin, Spencer Depeel, Elder Ethington, a member they are moving (?) Elder Gephart

Elder Ethington and the others packing up a kitchen

Hugh and Elder Ethington

Man hug

Elders with Helen and her husband

One of the boxes we sent T.J. because it's winter