Every little thing, is gonna be alright….

haha I love how you made it sound like you hoped we had one good thing happen this week mom! I re-read my letter I sent from last week though and I guess it did seem like a pretty cruddy week. But good things are happening so don’t worry!

We were contacted by a former investigator this week and she is pretty set on turning her life around and getting baptized! She needs to overcome smoking but she is going to her doctor to get a prescription that helps. We taught her the restoration on Saturday and invited her to be baptized on the 9th of February and she accepted! She was a bit tenative, mainly because she wants to quit smoking, but I have faith that with the friendship of ward members and her conviction to quit that it’s very possible. We often have to explain to people that we invite them to do things like baptism sooner than later because it is Satan who wants us to put things off and never get around to them. She agreed with that and she came to church yesterday! We meet with her on Wednesday and will continue to teach her. She’s had all the lessons but they were about a year ago, so we’re having to refresh things in her mind and strengthen her faith. I’m excited to continue working with her!

Other than that, we were able to have some great success with some less active members and had some come to church. We also may have had an interesting experience last P-Day at the super store…..I feel like it’s one that I should save for when I’m home but I’ll share it any way to lighten things up:) So we were shopping for the week and I had picked up some bread when we first started. The more I thought about it as we got other items I realized that I wouldn’t be able to afford it/ I didn’t want it anymore. So we headed back to where I got the bread and were walking through the fresh produce section when a native american man called me over. He then ushered over my companion. Initially I was thinking that he might want to pay for our food or something….boy was I wrong. He proceeded to tell us in hushed tones how he had been a branch ward mission leader for 4 years and a ward clerk for 2. This was his way of letting us know that he was aware of who we are and that he’s “normal” I guess. So anyways, he continued to tell us how he has this temptation that has come into his life in the form of a younger woman and that he’s been married for 26 years. He elaborated on the whole situation which I won’t go into details about but eventually came to the point that he needed a blessing. Now in both my companion and my mind we were thinking that we would have to tell him that we couldn’t do one right then but could get his address and have the missionaries in his area give him a blessing. He then proceeded to look around and say that he knew that God could hear us anywhere and that he could bless us anywhere. I said “I agree, but it might be against some local by-laws to do that in here”…..He proceeded to insist that we give him a blessing right then and there….At this point I was hoping that my companion would be to stubborn to give in but the man then asked Elder Cook to put his hand on my shoulder. Elder Cook hesitated but the man asked again more aggressively….so Elder Cook put slowly put his hand on my shoulder…at this point I was thinking “oh crap…” but it was too late! I quickly asked the man what his full name was and put my hand on his shoulder. We then stood there in our awkward half circle that we had formed and I gave the man a very quick blessing with the potatoes and carrots and other fresh produce as witnesses…oh yeah, and anyone in the massive store that saw us out in the open clearly visible….We then quickly went through self check out and got the heck out of there! haha Only on the mission….:)

In other news, we went Curling last week! It was so much fun! We’re going this week too! I’m actually pretty good….the old people in all the other lanes were probably pretty bugged judging there facial expressions as they watched and heard us loud ameteurs playing….these old people take their curling seriously here in Canada! Anyways, it’s pretty much a life size game of shuffle board and I always was good at beating Austen on the shuffle board in the locker room:)

I’m happy to hear that everyone is doing well at home! thanks for the updates!

Hello mom!

It sounds like last week was very spiritual and beneficial for many people. I was able to get the talk from Tom and listen to it and I was very touched. He clearly is a man with a sound understanding of the gospel and a very powerful priesthood holder. I can only imagine that the other talks were just as powerful and filled with love and doctrine. I’m so grateful to be surrounded by such great men and examples in the gospel. I hope that I can become as strong as dad and my brothers, cousins, uncles and grandfathers who are such great examples to me. Thank you for sharing the missionary work that has come from this event. I know that the Lord has righteous purposes in how Carson’s life was lived and some of those are being seen already.

So this week was alright. We got dropped by Paul today because his family didn’t support him. But I am thankful for the work that we were able to do with him.

We heard from a fellowshipper today that our investigator Akelio is on the verge of dropping us. She apparently wants to choose her own date for baptism and doesn’t want to feel pressured for a certain day….which is just satan at work. I have faith that she’ll keep progressing but it’s going to be a lot slower than we thought with the language barrier and everything. She also has the 2 month old baby that cries non stop and allows her to have little sleep. So most of her thoughts are logically consumed by her child and the rest of her family. Without a husband in the picture it makes things really hard on her to run the whole house hold. So the timing of things with her are good but bad at the same time. And church got switched from 11 to 9…which is hard for any member of the church to get up for…let alone a single investigator with 4 kids and a new born. Hopefully things will progress again!

We taught a couple the other day and they seemed golden. They are a newly wed young couple who had a religious background and had lots of questions. We taught them about the restoration and……they want physical proof of events in the Book of Mormon in order to believe. We tried to explain that physical proof wouldn’t give them a testimony but that spiritual confirmations are how they would gain that. We left them with the best proof we could think of which included taking the challenge in Alma 32 and praying about it. We’ll see what happens!

Missionary work is going well though! We’re teaching that girl from the University basketball team this week and I have high hopes for her!

Thanks for letting me know how everything is going at home! I love you!

Colbs

…..

It’s tough to find words to respond this week. I am deeply sad to hear about what happened this week. I really don’t know what to say because I know that everyone has to go through their pains and difficulties from it. I will be praying intensly for everyone in the family and don’t know anything else that I can do at this point to help. It is definitely an event that has inspired me to spread the message of the Gospel more aggressively and with more love. I am so grateful for the message of the Gospel and for the reality of a living Savior who is central to our entire existence. I’m so grateful that the Savior and Redeemer of the world has suffered personally for each of our pains and afflictions and knows how to perfectly succor us in our times of need. I am deeply thankful for Christ’s atonement which has had power throughout all time. I know that our Savior is full of love and wants nothing more than for us to be happy in this life. He truly is the only way to be healed from our infirmities that inevitably will happen for our growth. It is so painful to know what has happened and I can’t imagine the inner turmoil that is occurring in everyone back home. I can only say that I know Jesus Christ and his atonement are the perfect steps to regaining peace and comfort in everyone’s lives. There is no greater time to turn to the scriptures and the counsel of prophets both anciently and in modern days. I love all of you and wish the best for Boyd and Nicole and everyone else closely involved. I know that they will see Carson again with a perfect body and with a fulness of joy in the presence of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Hope and peace should be counted on in the upcoming days and months as the Savior is relied on heavily.

My week was okay. Akelio will have to have here baptismal date moved back at least a week because she couldn’t come to church this week and wants to learn more. I have faith that she’ll be ready by the end of next week.

We also met with Paul (schyzophrenic) and he is going to go on a church tour this Thursday which is great. He is really hung up on the idea of tithing right now though and he we also need to teach him word of wisdom…which involves tea that we know he’s drinking. His accountabiltity just with his reliance on the support of his family and the stability he has to have in his daily routine in order to stay physically and mentally stable has caused me to realize that he isn’t self sustained enough to really be FULLY accountable and will have help in the next life. I do think that we can help him and hopefully give him peace in this life and make him available to the blessings of being a member of the church and being baptized.

Tara came to church but is still waiting on the decision of whether or not her boyfriend will step up and marry her…She’ll be baptized it’s just a matter of when. I wish that they wouldn’t postpone the blessings of living all of the commandments and just get married!

It snowed a lot this week and we got to shovel a lot of driveways and make a lot of people happy! I plan on making meat loaf today! haha I know it probably won’t be as good as yours mom but I’m excited at least! My brain drawing a blank for anything else to say.

I love you all so much!

Pics from Canada

Colby has always loved Nickel City and particularly the cheesy toys you can buy with your tickets. So we sent him some of those toys which included the stylish mustache he is sporting in these pictures. (Kinda creepy)

School is back in session…

Hello home front! Good week to be a missionary!….Well kind of…It was still a bit slow this last week because of New Year’s but it was still great! I got your package from the family!!!! haha So great! I did like the little nickel city toys, they were a good time for at least 5 minutes!ha I’ve got the girl with big lips hanging up on the rear view mirror…so it’s safe to say that we’re looking a bit creepy..ha but our zone leaders do have a justin timberlake doll hanging up on their rear view mirror so I think they top us. I love the cologne mom!!! I’ve been looking forward to it for quite a while now. You are the best at choosing good scents. I loved the letters that the family wrote as well. It was just an all around good gift for the new year. I also got a Christmas card from the Boyle family and from David! It was good to see them! You did ask if I need anything…and I know it’s a stretch but a little money in my account would be splendid to stock up on some house hold items and such. If you can’t though then that’s perfectly alright.

So Akelio and her family didnt make it out to church this week and our appointment got canceled with her but it was for a good reason. She had a relative pass away and she had to go to Calgary for it. But I’m sure we’ll meet this week and continue preparing her for baptism!

We had a less active come to church yesterday and continue to see progress in others that we are working with!

We taught Tara again and her boyfriend was there this time. (they need to get married before she can get baptized) We taught the Word of Wisdom and she is living it. She is so golden but they said how they don’t want to rush the commitment of marriage for baptism….which is a bummer but she WILL be baptized in the future. I just dont know if I’ll be around for it:(

I’m also bummed to hear that the Stake Presidency has changed! I thought that I would be coming home and released by President Jackson! That really was an amazing stake presidency but I’m sure that the new group will be just as great.

Thanks for the update on the homelife!

Love you guys