New Area, New Companion, New Work

So this has been a great week.  I am loving the work here in Mandarin Bonnie Doon!  I have a great companion, Elder Saumweber, who is a great missionary and a great guy.  He's done a lot of good work here, and I am so happy to be a part of it now.  I've met two of our three progressing investigators, and there are two potential investigators that other missionaries told us about this week.  The work here is really progressing. I am so glad to be a part of the Lord's work and to see the miracles that come from him.  This week I've also been reflecting on the distant future.  Sending off Elder Brown forces me to think a bit about the end of my own mission.  Something that's still a ways off, but coming all too soon.  But it helps me to realize that although I have so much farther to go to become the missionary I want to be, I can get there, with the help of Jesus Christ.  I am so thankful for my Lord, Savior and Redeemer.  He loves us so much, and I am so grateful for his Atonement and I am so glad for the chance to share this with other people.  I love you all and want you to know that I believe in this work.  I believe in this Church, and I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the one true path to eternal happiness and an eternal life with God.  Hope you all are having a good week!

Transfer Meeting week of July 13

Transfers - My Luck Could Only Hold Out So Long

So I'll explain the title line.  Yesterday was the morning of transfer calls.  I have stayed in the North Stake, my first area, for 9 months.  I have grown to love this area.  To love the people and experiences that I have faced here.  But it is time to move. I have been asked to move to the Bonnie Doon Stake, in the East of Edmonton.  Which I am super stoked for!  Bonnie Doon covers the university, and has the most young Chinese people, who are generally more receptive than the older families that live in the North.  I will be serving with Elder Saumweber, who just finished his training.  I am super stoked for the chance to serve with him.

This week has been Elder Brown's last week in the mission.  It gives him, and me, a chance to reflect on missions, life, and the brevity of it all. It makes me appreciate the time I have here, and renews my desire to work hard, to fulfill the purpose that I came here for.  Because, even though I know when the mission day of reckoning should be, it comes faster than I know it.  I am so grateful for the chance to serve the Lord in Edmonton.  I love you all and hope you are doing well!

Independence Day and Our Lady Queen of Peace

So this week's email is pretty short. Last week, Elder Brown was in Jasper, so we moved our emails back to Thursday.  So not much has happened since then.  Friday, we helped with a youth leadership camp that took place on a ranch at the edge of Edmonton (It was called Our Lady Queen of Peace Ranch). It was a great time. We built good relationships with those involved and helped strengthen our relationship with ASSIST, a great community services center based here in Edmonton.  It was lots of fun, and I am super glad we got to help/participate. 

Saturday was July 4th!  Not much happened here. Sister McRitchie, an awesome member in this area invited us over for breakfast, and fed us red, white, and blue pancakes.  They were delicious!  It was a great was to start off a Happy America day.  After that,  we did nothing else that was America.  We did lots of yard work with Spanish people.  That was fun.  Its always a great time when we can get out of a dress shirt and into a pair of jeans. I always feel much more relaxed anyways.

Sunday was spent fasting and praying... Most of it at least.  We went to the YSA ward, and then came home and studied until dinner, when someone had invited us over. That was great.  And then we went to go say goodbye to some people in Elder Brown's old area. It's that time of the transfer. He's about to go home, only 9 days left!  Its been great serving with him, and I am so grateful for all the things he's taught me and I have been able to learn from him. I'm glad to have his example.

Another person I am grateful for is my Lord and Savior Jesus. Through his infinite mercy I am continually striving to be a better person than I was before.  I am so grateful for the chance I have to know Christ in a personal way, and for the strength that this gives me.  And I am grateful for the chance to share this with those around me in Edmonton Canada.  

Love you all and miss you!

Ps. Some pictures from service with ASSIST. 

The Week of Garage Sales

So this has been a good week.  Lots of fun, lots of work.  As a district leader, I went on two exchanges, which was a bit weird for me.  So I spent a day serving as a Spanish Elder, and a day serving as an English Elder!  Both were fun, and very different from Chinese.  I met some great people who are well on their way to baptism!  It was awesome!  I had such a good time serving with Elder Andino and Elder Nemeth.  And then, on Friday, when I got back with my companions we spent some good time finding people through garage sales. Its interesting to find stuff, and its a good conversation starter with people. I loved it.  I think its a great way to find people.

We also volunteered at a job fair yesterday. There are so many neat people there. I've met very smart people and those who are really looking to accomplish something. And it was tons of fun.

This week, while fun, still hasn't been easy. Before I came on my mission, I expected things to be easy and nice. That's never the case. Things here are hard. But they are worth it.  They are worth the fight. You meet great people, you grow in the gospel, and you become a better person. I know I have, and I know that is through the power of the gospel.

I had an exchange with Elder Liu. That's how it ended up.

iPads! And Sorry About Last Week!

Its been a crazy couple weeks!  I'm back serving with Elder Brown, and we've been moving apartments, and changing things around, and this week we got iPads.  Its pretty crazy. They are super useful and lots of fun.  Sometimes, a little too much fun, but we are doing pretty good with them.  We've had lots of weird people we've run into, including a Communist Missionary who wants to make a video with us...  Its been some pretty interesting times.  Well, I'm sorry its brief, but I do have some pictures this week, so hopefully that makes up for it!  Love you all!

Chinatown in Edmonton

Elder Ethington, Elder Bergeson, and Elder Brown

Still in the True North Strong and Free

So this is the week of transfers.  And I have news.  I am moving.  Apartments.  I'm still in the Edmonton North, but I will have two new, I guess new, companions.  Elder Bergeson will come here, and Elder Brown will return to the North for his final transfer.  It was good to get this news. I am excited to serve with Elder Bergeson and Brown again, and I am very happy to still be in the North Stake. I love it here. I have met so many good people and had so many good uplifting experiences with those people.  I love my time her and I am grateful for my chance to serve here.  I look forward to upping the work with my new companions.  It has been slow recently, but I know Elder Bergeson is a good worker and has good ideas.  I am excited to see how things progress.  Other then that, it will be my first time packing, which will definitely be a weird process.  Although, I don't know where we are going yet, so its still in the air.  Its going to be a fun week.  Anyway, love you all!  Miss you!