Spring Baptisms and Easter

Another super good week! And finally some warmer weather! We were able to spend a lot of time outside this week talking with people and it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately it is going to get cold again for the next few days... :( but... at least Spring is here! :)

Amanda's Baptism

Amanda was baptized yesterday! It went really well. Her family was able to be there and it was so good to see them all together. The Gospel has really spread fast in their family and they are all so happy. It is wonderful to see. The Relief Society room was packed with members there to support Amanda on her big day. Sister Fragapane and I did a musical number with a few of the other girls in the ward. Amanda bore her testimony after she was baptized and it was SO perfect. I just really am so glad I was able to be a part of all of it. After the baptism Janet was so happy and she came up and hugged me and thanked me. But really I feel like I should be thanking her because knowing them has been such a blessing to me as well. 

From left to right...  Me, Norm (baptized February 16, 2014), Janet (Baptized February 16, 2014), Brother Raynor, Amanda (baptized April 13, 2014), Ben (getting baptized April 20, 2014), Treena (Baptized March 30, 2014), Sister Fragapane. And then Ben and Treena's youngest of 3 little boys is down in the front. :) His baptismal date is set for about 8 years from now. :)

So many wonderful things have come from the missionaries and Janet running into each other at a bus stop 6 months ago! And I am SUPER glad I have been able to be a part of it.

So this is the last week of the transfer already.. this really has been a super fast and fun 5 weeks. I am not even going to try and guess what is going to happen with transfers, but I will probably end up saying bye to all of the members again just in case.. This will be the 3rd time that I will have said bye. haha They probably won't believe me anymore!

Sister Griffin and I on exchanges

We are having the Easter Brunch this Friday so if I am leaving at least I will have this extra day to spend with all of the ward! I am really going to miss everyone  like crazy if I do leave.... but I guess we will all just have to wait and see what happens. :)

In honor of Easter everyone should check out the cool website that the church has up. I really liked the video on this website so... everyone should watch it! It helps us to remember why we celebrate Easter.

http://easter.mormon.org/?cid=HPTU041514694

I hope that everyone has a good week and a Happy Easter! :)

General Conference Recap, and a new investigator !

And.... it's Monday again! 

I hope that everyone enjoyed General Conference! Soooo much to learn and sooo much to take in. I will be looking forward to the Ensign coming out so I can read through everything again. I think the Saturday morning session was my favorite. I can't even remember specifics, but there were a lot of things in that session that really stood out to me! It was so fun to be at the chapel with different members, especially those who are recent converts. Great to see them there soaking it all in for the first time.

With Max at the General Conference broadcast

General Conference was also made really fun by the fact that Michelle and Natalie Julian from Hamilton came to Kitchener to watch a session of it with us. :) They came to the Sunday morning session and then we talked for a little bit after. Michelle brought us cupcakes from the place that she works. It has been so long since I have seen them so it was really fun to see them again. 

Michelle and Natalie Julian from Hamilton came to visit me! They came and watched the first session of conference with us on Sunday and then we talked for a few minutes after and she gave us cupcakes (mine gluten free of course) haha It was soooo good to see them. I already am trying to figure out a time that I can come back post mission and stay with them for a week. I told Michelle that was my plan and she was said, "stay for a week, stay for a month, heck stay forever.. we don't care!" haha

Another really good week. The weather is starting to warm up which makes me happy! Aside from General Conference we had Zone Training, and we also found a new investigator who I am pretty excited about! He has a pretty cool story too. A couple of weeks ago we got a media referral (which basically is that someone got on mormon.org and requested missionary visits and then we get a text on our phone with the information that they gave) We spent a few weeks trying to contact this guy and were able to set up an appointment with him for Saturday between sessions of General Conference. 

We went to his house and he was SO cool. He is from Sudan and he told us a little bit about how he got in touch with the church. He said that years ago he worked with a man named Jordan who was from Utah. He said that on their breaks Jordan would tell him about the Gospel and that he eventually gave him a Book of Mormon. But because their breaks at work were so short they never really got to get into really good conversations but he said what struck him was Jordan's testimony. He said that he had been to so many churches but what he found different is that Mormon's talk about things and say that they "know" them to be true. So Jordan went back to Utah and he never did meet with missionaries or attend church. Until a few months ago when he went back to Sudan to visit his father. He said that he discovered that the Church was in Sudan as well, and he attended a few meetings but he never got to sit down and talk with missionaries about the church. So when he came back to Canada a month ago he got online and looked up how he could meet with missionaries.... and, this is where we come in. :)

The lesson with him was really, really good. It was one of those lessons where everything seems to go perfect. The Spirit was really strong and he understood the things that we were teaching him. He is a very sincere man and I am excited to see how he progresses. As well as his family. We weren't able to meet with his wife yet, but I am hoping we are able to soon. 

Sister Fragapane, Amanda and I in our rainboots

And in other good news... Amanda's baptism is this weekend! Really excited for that! And... other good news.... Treena (Amanda's sister who was baptized last week) well her husband has agreed to be baptized at the end of April... Pretty cool if you ask me. :) So much has come from Janet choosing to listen to the missionaries.. She even said that the other day when she was out teaching with us.... She saw that most people don't actually want to listen to what we have to say so it was great to hear her say, "I am so glad that I listened when missionaries came to talk to me." 

So... life is still good. :) This transfer is quickly coming to an end which I am super bummed about but... such is life.. everything good, and bad, eventually comes to an end! 

Have a great week!

Happy Week :)

Well.... there goes another week already!  Tomorrow is April and today the weather actually feels a bit like Spring! Unfortunately I think it is supposed to get cold again for the rest of the week but... we are going to enjoy this good weather while we can. :)

Snow and it's almost April.... :(‏

This week was another good one, as usual! :) 

Saturday we had the opportunity to go to the Temple. We had to wake up super early and drive there, but it was totally worth it! :) It has been a year since I have been able to go so it was really nice to be back there again. It makes me realize how grateful that I should be to have so many temples around me in Utah. Growing up with it, it seems like the normal thing, but then to be here and see that most people have to travel an hour or so to get to the temple I realize how truly blessed I am to have so many temples so close. And then not being able to go for a year also helps me to see that I need to go often when I get home. I think a lot of people know the temple is there and know that they can go at any time so they put off going.  It is always important to remember to go... even if we feel like we are busy or don't have time. That is one thing that I have learned not being able to go to the temple. :) 

Outside the Temple

     Elder Healey and I‏

           Elder Prochnow and I

Sister Puruganan and I 

We have also been talking A LOT about Family History work in this ward and the ward is getting really excited about finding family names and taking them to the temple so that they can perform those ordinances for their ancestors. Family History work is something that seems to be a big focus of the Church lately... so.... go do some family history, kids! You won't regret it! :)

In front of our Chapel 

Sister Fragapane and I even did the sharing time in Primary yesterday and taught the kids about Family History... It really is for everyone to do, and I think that is pretty exciting.

Saturday night was the General Women's Meeting and we got together with some of the Sisters in the ward and watched it at the chapel.  The meeting was really good... I would suggest watching it if you haven't already. There are some really good musical numbers in it and it is super powerful. The main message that I got out of it is that as sisters in the Gospel... young and old,  we  need to be united in our purpose. They also talked a lot about how age isn't a barrier, and I think I have really come to learn that on my mission. I sit in church here on Sundays and look around and see all of the friends I have made and realize they all are different ages. I feel like I am as good as friends with Sister Young who is in her 80's as I am with Audrey who is 4 years old, as well as all of the other sisters in between. And I love it... I have met so many amazing people who have influenced my life and they are all of different ages and have different stories.  Anyway.. I just thought that was a pretty cool thing that I learned and.... now I am just super pumped for General Conference this weekend. :)

So crazy to think that I was in this area 6 months ago when General Conference came around and now I am here again! :) For what will be the last General Conference that I will have on my mission! Pretty excited for it... after listening to Elder Bednar two weekends ago, the Temple and Women's meeting this past weekend, I am good to go for General Conference which I still claim to think that for missionaries General Conference is like the Super Bowl. haha 

Bishop Pockett shared this quote From Elder Holland with us yesterday at church that he got from the LDS.ORG website....

" If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a personal prophetic epistle just to you.” —Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

And I know that is something that is so true... So... everyone watch General Conference this weekend and listen for those things that will be answers to your specific questions. Conference really is such a great opportunity to learn the things that we need in our lives. :)

Things are great here! Amanda, Janet's daughter, should be getting baptized April 13th and Janet's other daughter Treena was baptized yesterday in another ward. Pretty incredible, and I am so thankful that I am able to be a part of it. :)

I hope that everyone has a great week!   (More pics below )

On our way to Brother and Sister Sellar's house.... Sister Fragapane's first experience with the Mennonites, she was pretty excited. She tried to get a picture of the horse and buggy but she ended up just getting the horse.. still a pretty cool picture

We went to visit Anne with Sara and we thought it would be a good idea to walk through this puddle because we were all wearing rainboots.. well turns out both Sister Fragapane and I have holes in our boots... 

Anne is like 78 I think, and getting an Ipad, so look at the book that she has started to read.. I told her she has to get a Facebook now so that we can keep in touch easier after I get home

At P-day last week

Elder Parker, Sister Mak, Sister Hsuing, Me, Sister Fragapane, Elder Koceja, 
Elder De Wall and Elder Prochnow

We wanted to plan some sort of party and it is happening!
We are going to have an Easter Brunch on Good Friday. We were at the Olsen's making the poster and the invitations and stuff to advertise for it.