Well!
It's been another great week up in the North! It's like 3 degrees outside right now, and after the past couple weeks it's feeling really warm! As far as winter clothes go, I actually found a pair of boots up here, left up in the house up here from previous missionaries. They aren't too warm, but they are doing the job, so no complaints! If I stay up in the North, I might need to get my hands on some winter gloves, but that's about it. In January, the members say that when you walk outside, you have to break yourself into the air. If you just take a big breath outside at -40 it feels like you got stabbed in the lungs. Oh the things to be excited for! :)
Transfer calls are today! Everybody is assuming that I am leaving... we'll have to see. I might be, I might not be! It would be a good note to end on if I was leaving, but Burns Lake is a great place to be, and so I certainly wouldn't mind staying. Elder Epperson predicts that I am going to go somewhere in the lower mainland. I think I would be going to Nanaimo on the island. Wherever you are, in this mission in the winter, you have to pick between always freezing or always getting soaked! It will also be really exciting to see where Amelia is going! I figure that with all of the friends that I have putting in papers, somebody is going to be sent to BC! There are already 3 people from Sky View up here, but the more the merrier!
Sounds like life at home is pretty good! Hopefully grandpa got some screamin' deals on some bulls and that everything at the ranch is doing well. We have a former investigator family that we are going to drop by to hear the results of the election. They are kind of biased against Romney and just tell us dumb things that he has done, but it's a good excuse to go and teach them. It will be quite interesting to hear the results of the election. Americans driving through town always tell us that one of "your people" is running for President in "our country" and want to know if we have heard of Romney before. As a missionary I know that Romney's running has already created a tremendous amount of interest in the church, and so as far as his purpose, he may have already fulfilled it. I guess we'll find out later this week.
The work is still carrying on in Burns Lake! Even though this town is small, I am still learning more about it. For example, yesterday, I found out that there is a 10th Avenue. It's pretty much a dirt driveway with no houses on it, behind the youth center on the Reserve, but after almost 4 and a half months of thinking that Burns Lake only had 9 avenues, it was kind of a shock. The next baptism for Burns Lake will probably happen at the end of November, if we can work out some family situations. Brooklyn Johnson is a very smart 9 year old who really wants to be baptized. Her dad, Ray, is a less active Catholic with a really, really, really angsty mom. Ray says that he is more scared of his mom than the Lord. He knows the church is true, but he is too scared to rock the boat by letting his kids or himself be baptized. One time I tracted into his mom with Elder Neher. She's pretty beastly, but I think that eternal salvation would be worth it. We're going to do what we can, but it is an interesting challenge.
This week we had a lot of miracles working with less active members. We finally managed to drop by one less-active family when the wife, who is pretty cold towards missionaries, wasn't home. We were talking with the dad and he was saying that his testimony is stronger now than it was when he was active because "he's felt the difference" between having peace versus contention in his home, and how hard it is for him to pay his bills since he has stopped paying tithing. He gave us the numbers of his 17 and 20 year old kids living in Prince George, and we referred them to the sister missionaries there, and they are now becoming active, which is a miracle. We are going to be working closely with that family. On the reserve, there is one less active woman who has completely apostatized since she hasn't been to church since she was 12, and we felt prompted to visit her. She was really unreceptive to the spirit, and not too interested in meeting with us, but as we were leaving the subject switched to winter tires, and she told us she had a set that she didn't need anymore. One of the families in the branch that is a little less well off had been looking for tires that exact size, and we were able to get the tires for them. It was cool to be able to answer the prayers of a family in the branch. Finally, there is an excommunicated member who has a really solid testimony, but, in short, is currently living in sin and lets Satan make excuses for him. Elder Epperson had some experiences in the past with his dad that really related to him, and as he was talking, this 58 year old "tough guy" just started crying. It was pretty awesome.
I feel really blessed to be up here serving the Lord. I hope all is well at home. Have a great week!
Elder Blotter
It's been another great week up in the North! It's like 3 degrees outside right now, and after the past couple weeks it's feeling really warm! As far as winter clothes go, I actually found a pair of boots up here, left up in the house up here from previous missionaries. They aren't too warm, but they are doing the job, so no complaints! If I stay up in the North, I might need to get my hands on some winter gloves, but that's about it. In January, the members say that when you walk outside, you have to break yourself into the air. If you just take a big breath outside at -40 it feels like you got stabbed in the lungs. Oh the things to be excited for! :)
Transfer calls are today! Everybody is assuming that I am leaving... we'll have to see. I might be, I might not be! It would be a good note to end on if I was leaving, but Burns Lake is a great place to be, and so I certainly wouldn't mind staying. Elder Epperson predicts that I am going to go somewhere in the lower mainland. I think I would be going to Nanaimo on the island. Wherever you are, in this mission in the winter, you have to pick between always freezing or always getting soaked! It will also be really exciting to see where Amelia is going! I figure that with all of the friends that I have putting in papers, somebody is going to be sent to BC! There are already 3 people from Sky View up here, but the more the merrier!
Sounds like life at home is pretty good! Hopefully grandpa got some screamin' deals on some bulls and that everything at the ranch is doing well. We have a former investigator family that we are going to drop by to hear the results of the election. They are kind of biased against Romney and just tell us dumb things that he has done, but it's a good excuse to go and teach them. It will be quite interesting to hear the results of the election. Americans driving through town always tell us that one of "your people" is running for President in "our country" and want to know if we have heard of Romney before. As a missionary I know that Romney's running has already created a tremendous amount of interest in the church, and so as far as his purpose, he may have already fulfilled it. I guess we'll find out later this week.
The work is still carrying on in Burns Lake! Even though this town is small, I am still learning more about it. For example, yesterday, I found out that there is a 10th Avenue. It's pretty much a dirt driveway with no houses on it, behind the youth center on the Reserve, but after almost 4 and a half months of thinking that Burns Lake only had 9 avenues, it was kind of a shock. The next baptism for Burns Lake will probably happen at the end of November, if we can work out some family situations. Brooklyn Johnson is a very smart 9 year old who really wants to be baptized. Her dad, Ray, is a less active Catholic with a really, really, really angsty mom. Ray says that he is more scared of his mom than the Lord. He knows the church is true, but he is too scared to rock the boat by letting his kids or himself be baptized. One time I tracted into his mom with Elder Neher. She's pretty beastly, but I think that eternal salvation would be worth it. We're going to do what we can, but it is an interesting challenge.
This week we had a lot of miracles working with less active members. We finally managed to drop by one less-active family when the wife, who is pretty cold towards missionaries, wasn't home. We were talking with the dad and he was saying that his testimony is stronger now than it was when he was active because "he's felt the difference" between having peace versus contention in his home, and how hard it is for him to pay his bills since he has stopped paying tithing. He gave us the numbers of his 17 and 20 year old kids living in Prince George, and we referred them to the sister missionaries there, and they are now becoming active, which is a miracle. We are going to be working closely with that family. On the reserve, there is one less active woman who has completely apostatized since she hasn't been to church since she was 12, and we felt prompted to visit her. She was really unreceptive to the spirit, and not too interested in meeting with us, but as we were leaving the subject switched to winter tires, and she told us she had a set that she didn't need anymore. One of the families in the branch that is a little less well off had been looking for tires that exact size, and we were able to get the tires for them. It was cool to be able to answer the prayers of a family in the branch. Finally, there is an excommunicated member who has a really solid testimony, but, in short, is currently living in sin and lets Satan make excuses for him. Elder Epperson had some experiences in the past with his dad that really related to him, and as he was talking, this 58 year old "tough guy" just started crying. It was pretty awesome.
I feel really blessed to be up here serving the Lord. I hope all is well at home. Have a great week!
Elder Blotter
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