Where did October go?

Well.... where did October go? I cannot believe it is the end of the month.

This week was the ward Halloween party and it was a lot of fun. They had so many cute games and activities for the kids and there were so many great costumes.

Halloween Party

Spider Race

This is brother Mitchell... and.... I think all the boys need to go to Walmart and get this get up and dress like this on Halloween. I WOULD DIE. haha So really they should do it. They wouldn't even need to wear the fake beards. just borrow some cammo from someone. haha

The same day as the Halloween party we had what they call a "mini mission" So for that Saturday morning Sister Colvin and I had two youth with us and we were able to take them out and do some missionary work.

Mini Mission 

The girls that were with us were so cute and they were more brave about sharing the Gospel than I was even in the first 6 weeks of my mission. I was really so impressed by them. We visited a few different members and tried to have as many appointments as possible because it was snowing that morning. It was a good day for me because it helped me to remember why I am here doing missionary work. Sometimes all days just seem to be the same and so we can get in a rut, but this bit of a change really helped me to see what a special spirit there is that surrounds us when we are doing missionary work.

On Sunday was our big singing moment in Sacrament. I was nervous but we had practiced a ton and it turned out really well. Sister Colvin has helped me practice with my singing and I was actually pretty confident to get up there. We sang the song "Army of Helaman" and I think the ward liked it. So that was a highlight of my week! Singing in sacrament meeting was something that I wanted to do while I was on my mission so I can now cross that off the bucket list. :)

It got cold this week and I had to bust out my winter coat. Not really looking forward to the freezing cold weather and it getting dark early, but I guess that is all part of the process. It couldn't be summer  forever! :)

I should have never taken the advice of not wearing the fur thing last winter because... this has been saving the day! haha

This week marks Week 6 of this transfer which is the last week. Transfer calls will come on Sunday and I don't have any sort of feeling as to what will happen. So with that I will be ending my 6th transfer which means half way! So... this Sunday will be "hump day" (If i come home in 12 transfers, which would be in time to make it back to school, which is what I am planning on.) So... feel free to celebrate hump day with me!

Sewing at Sue's

Turns out I miss sewing!

 Will have to get back into that when I get home

This is funny because Ephraim is the tribe that I am from...
haha Mormon jokes!

Cooler weather and pretty pictures

Well I can honestly say not much has happened in the 4 days since I last wrote. Other than it felt like a lot longer than 4 days so... that is weird. Oh well.. :)

ummm.... it got cold this week! We left our apartment one morning and it was not raining and not too cold and then 5 minutes later it was pouring and freezing! We were not prepared for the weather so we froze for a good 4 hours... man I love never having a car. :) haha 

We still have no one to teach... lame. We are working on it and it is going to work out soon I hope!

Here are some pictures! Hopefully the next 7 days will be a little more exciting than the last 4! 

Hannah Boettinger and I.. she leaves on a mission
 for Albania next week

We did a little photo shoot yesterday...
the lighting was too good to pass up!

My jumping skills and Sister Colvin's picture skills
combined for this !

Canadian Thanksgiving, Victoria Park, Fun times on the Bus

Well I made it a week and a half without a pday! :) Didn't think I could do it, but here I am!

Sister Colvin and Karly

Canadian Thanksgiving was great! We planned our day out because we knew not a lot of people would be around.. We did some service for a single sister in the ward, had pie with a recent convert, and then later in the evening we had dinner with a family that is actually from Utah! Now, for some more details about the day.... 

We took the bus to go have pie and on the way we ran into a man that we had contacted the other day. Now we found out this man is from Germany and he was in Kitchener for Oktoberfest. (From what I understand Oktoberfest must happen in Germany and then they do it here too because this city actually used to be called Berlin. From what I saw of Oktoberfest it basically just looks like 2 weekends that give everyone an excuse to drink excessively and wear German hats.... oh well.. who am I to judge? haha)

So back to this man... he sat near us on the bus and he was looking at us and he saw me yawn and he goes, "you must be tired, you look tired" (this was not the last time that I would be told I looked tired that day... looks like I need to get more sleep) And then he for some reason pulls out his camera and takes a picture of me! I was just like, "uh....???" Anyway... he says that he takes a lot of pictures so he doesn't forget what he did that day. haha And then he told us that he would be heading back to Germany the next day... So.... now aren't we all grateful that a picture of me is with some random man in Hindenburg, Germany?
 

 

Pie was next and it was so wonderful!

Then for dinner we ate with some members that are from Utah. They live out in the Country in this HUGE farm house that they rent. It is so pretty. Dinner was really good and I felt like I was home! We had ham (which is my absolute favorite) and THE best sweet potatoes I have had in my entire life. I am going to need to get the recipe. It was fun to have Thanksgiving at a different time of the year and I am grateful we had such wonderful people to spend the day with.

Oh and here is just another random, pointless story.... The other day we rode the bus down to the terminal so that we could meet the Elders and get the car. They were a little behind schedule so we sat in Victoria Park for a bit waiting for them.

Victoria Park

More in Victoria Park

 And as we waited this man came up to us.. he said his name is Hector and that he is from Honduras and he even said that he was a member of the church. Anyway... I think Hector must have been taking advantage of the drinking part of Oktoberfest, because he then proceeded to tell us how beautiful we were and at one point he told me I was, and I quote, "one hot pepper." Needless to say we were outta there real quickly. I am telling you... never a dull moment around here. Especially when you are on the buses. haha 

On a more serious note... we are still working on finding people to teach. It can be hard.. but we just keep working at it, the blessings will come eventually!  Oh and here is a video that we shared with a member this week and I LOVED it so I wanted to share it with all of you! 

I wish I could think of more things that happened this week, but... I am at a loss. I cannot believe that it is already week 4 of this transfer. It is going to be over so so soon. It is starting to get colder, which is ok, but can kind of be a pain when we are walking around in it for hours. 

Anyway.. I think that is about it for today. Now that it is already Wednesday it will seem like Monday is going to come around SO fast.

OH... I almost forget to mention that the Bishopric asked us to sing in sacrament meeting next week... I guess no one told them that I don't sing... oh well... guess I will be able to check singing in sacrament meeting off my bucket list! I will let you all know how it goes. :)

This is the last covered bridge left in Ontario. It is called the "Kissing Bridge" it is out in Mennonite Country. (that is something interesting about this area.. there are a lot of Mennonites) 

Loving Tim Horton's

General Conference - All good !

Elder Healey, Elder Ikeda, Hermana Sandall, Hermana Reid, Me and Sister Colvin
Meeting to watch General Conference

Well another week has come to pass here in the Canada, Toronto Mission! I hope everyone watched conference! And well if you didn't... thank goodness for repentance and the internet ;)  A few of my favorites that I would suggest watching. Edward Dube's talk from the Saturday morning session. Elder Holland's from the Saturday afternoon session and President Eyring threw down in the Sunday Morning Session. All good, but those were some of my favorites. I wish I had my notes so I could share with all of you some insights but... oh well. I am just thankful that we have a Prophet of God on the earth today as well as his Apostles and other great leaders in the church who are so inspired and speak to us about the things that we need to hear. The Spirit was continually testifying to me throughout the whole conference that this is all SO true. We are lead by a Prophet of God and this is Christ's Restored Church... it's pretty incredible, eh? We better tell everyone. ;) 

Elder Ikeda and Elder Healey

Saturday morning the Norells, from my last area, came and took Sister Colvin and I out to brunch and then watched the Saturday morning session with us. I just love them! Brother Norell had to be in Kitchener that morning anyway, so it worked out perfectly. Barb brought me veggie straws from Costco, and it was just so good to see them. Made my day! :) It is crazy how you can meet people and then 4 months later they feel like family. I can't imagine having never met some of the people that I have met so far on my mission.

Sunglasses that Sister Norell gave me
I LOVE THEM !

So.... other than conference, nothing too exciting happened. The leaves are starting to change so you better believe that we are always on the hunt for leaves that we can press. They have become my favorite book marks and little treasures to send to people.

I went on an exchange this week with a Sister that is from Idaho but went to Utah State as well. Turns out she lived in the apartment building next to me and she knows people that I met my freshman year. The world is seriously so small... especially in mission life. It seems like I am always running into people who know people I know.

Well I think that is about it for this week. At the bottom of the post are some random pictures of my apartment.  I will have to be better about taking pictures this week. We are going to be on the finding grind this week. A lot of our investigators, we have had to drop, so looking forward to getting creative with that.

Also... let's talk about how P-day isn't until Wednesday next week.... talk about forever. Thanks for nothing Canadian Thanksgiving.... just kidding. :) My full intentions are to celebrate two Thanksgivings this year.... and then every year for the rest of my life... ;) Now if only we could find someone to feed us.. haha

Have a great week and a half, and have a happy Canadian Thanksgiving all you Canadians out there! Heck... if you are American you might as well celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving Monday on my behalf! :)

p.s. Sunday is my 8th month mark!

Bottom bunk  #wazzup

My desk

The living room we never go into
(above and below)

Our kitchen