Elephant in the room.........

Well.... I am just going to go ahead and point out the Elephant in the room and acknowledge the fact that I will be home in 16 days.... yup... just 16! Seems pretty unreal actually! I know it is coming, but it sure doesn't feel like it. It probably won't hit me until I am on the plane headed home... and even then it probably won't feel real.

Anyway... enough of that. :)

So... that past 2 weeks have been really great!

We had our last Zone Conference with President and Sister Scott. They are now home and President and Sister Clayton are our new mission president and his wife. 

President and Sister Clayton

We will be meeting them this Thursday and I am looking forward to that. Zone Conference was good. Since it was my last one I, as well as the rest of the departing missionaries were able to bear our testimonies. Since there are so many of us going home in the next few months we only had about a minute each to share our testimonies. Since day one of getting in the mission field I always thought it would be weird when the day would come that I would bear my testimony at my last Zone conference and now that day has come and gone.. just like that! It was sad to say bye to President and Sister Scott... luckily they don't live too far from me back home so I will be able to see them soon. Mission Presidents are allowed to hug the sisters when a missionary is leaving and since he was leaving we were able to give him a hug and that was great! He really has made such a great impact on my life and I will be forever grateful for President and Sister Scott!

President and Sister Scott

I forgot to mention that for the past few weeks we have been volunteering at a soup kitchen here in Oakville and it is a ton of fun. We usually make sandwiches, bag bread, wash dishes and serve food to the clients who come it. There are a ton of wonderful people who volunteer there and it has been fun to get to know them as well.

Toronto last Monday was also really great! The Big City is a bit different than what I am used to but it was nice to be able to see it. The Skyline there is seriously beautiful! It was fun to be able to visit but... I don't think I will ever be cut out for the big city life! Too many people... and too expensive. There are a ton of Condo's there and one of the advertisements we saw said, "Penthouse condo's starting and $1.5 million" uh.... no thank you. haha Do you know what I could buy for $1.5 million? A whole lot of property and a huge farm house. haha

The work has been going well! We are still just out trying to find people to teach.. it is the never ending story of missionary work! :) Joe is the greatest recent convert ever! We are still working with Minh and he will hopefully be getting baptized soon! :) 

Just looking forwarding to making these next two weeks fun and just really enjoying the time that I have left as a full time missionary! I can't believe that it will be coming to a close so soon but I so thankful that Heavenly Father blessed me with this experience! A mission has been just the thing that I needed in my life and I am so grateful for every single day of it! :)

We taught Joe on the beach after church on Sunday

 

Joe's Baptism

Another really good week! The big thing that happened this week is that Joe got BAPTIZED! :)

Here we are with Joe and Brother and Sister Marjanovich.  They are an awesome couple here.  He would do anything for missionaries.  He is so awesome. 

On Saturday we got together with the Marjanovich's and Joe and played a little review Jeopardy game.. It was a lot of fun! We went through all the questions and I don't think I have ever been more proud than I was sitting there hearing Joe answer all of the questions. He has learned and progressed so much in the past few weeks and it is amazing! He has really worked hard and read from the scriptures a ton so that he can learn all that he can.

Joe's Baptism

The baptism went really well.. There is nothing better than the Spirit that comes at baptismal services. Joe was really happy and you could tell that he was really feeling the Spirit and that he felt really good! So happy for him. He is a wonderful guy and he really is proof that it never is too late to change.. So many people will tell us that they are too old to change, but Joe would have to disagree! :)

We are still teaching Minh and he is SO. AWESOME. The more I get to know him the more I like him. He has a great Spirit and he is willing to do anything to be baptized. He is super sincere and LOVES the Book of Mormon. It is so great to go and talk with him and he will tell us the different stories that he has been reading. He says that it is like a movie and that he just can't put it down.

Sister Zerkle came to Oakville to do our exchanges for this transfer... it was a ton of fun!

With Sister Zerkle

Elder Gibb and I

Tomorrow is the last Zone Conference of my mission and also President and Sister Scott's last Zone Conference. They go home in a few weeks. I am really looking forward to it, but am also pretty sad that everything is coming to an end. :(

My mission has taught me SO much and I still just keep learning everyday. I am starting to get really sad that I am running out of days to teach people the Gospel. Teaching was the part of missionary work that I was most worried about coming out, but I have come to find that it is the part that I love the most and I am really going to miss it.

CN Tower in Toronto

Next week we are going to down town Toronto with our ward mission leader and his wife to see the CN Tower! I am stoked! I was honestly thinking that I would go my whole mission in the "Canada, Toronto Mission" without actually seeing "Toronto" but it looks like that is not the case! 

I probably won't have time to email next week but I will take lots of pictures so the next weeks email should be a good one! :)

Last week before transfers...........

Well it is a nice, crisp -18*C here (-18°C = -0.4°F)  in Kitchener Ontario this morning....... And I can't believe the pictures I am seeing from Morgan, Utah where there is NO snow because... some snow piles we have around here are at least 8 ft high. haha I think this place might thaw out by the time I go home in July... maybe... A Sister can dream! :)

Karly's backyard in Morgan, Utah

Karly's backyard in Kitchener Waterloo

This week is the start to the last week of the transfer... so crazy. This has been a really fun transfer and a lot has happened. We have been so blessed with all of the baptisms that we have had and this past weekend we added to the list of Max, Janet, and Norm when Ethan was baptized on Saturday!!

Ethan is the grandson of Sister Tenny, who was baptized a few years ago. Sister Colvin and I started to get pretty close with Sister Tenny over the months that we have been here and we have also gotten to know Ethan.  Missionaries had taught Ethan before but he never seemed interested and never expressed to us that he was interested so we just let it go and never really talked with him about baptism. When we didn't get transferred this past transfer I really didn't know what I was doing here anymore.. I just felt like I didn't know why God was keeping me here so... I asked. The night that the transfer call didn't come I prayed to ask why I needed to still be in this area. And.. after I said my prayer I was laying in bed trying to sleep and then I got a distinct impression that Ethan was the reason that we were still here. So.. the next day we set up a time where we could go and meet with Ethan. We went and talked with him and when we invited him to be baptized he agreed and he picked the date of March 1st. And the rest was good ever since. We taught him all the lessons again and helped him to prepare for baptism. He is a really sweet kid and I know that his grandma was excited. The baptism went really well. I spoke and Sister Colvin sang. It is just amazing how timing is so important in everything. This whole time Ethan had been developing his Faith in Christ and all he needed was to be invited to act on that. He is a very special kid! 

Ethan and his grandmother

Sad to think that my time may be close to over here in Kitchener Waterloo. I don't want to ever leave. This has become a very sacred place for me... but I know that if I do have to leave I will go wherever I am meant to be! 

Us with Janet's daughter Amanda who we are now teaching

Oh we also had Zone Conference this week, which is always great! We drove to London and were there most of the day. I got to see a lot of people that I haven't seen in a long time.

Sister DeRuvo and I.. I haven't seen sister DeRuvo in about a year now so it was great to see her.. especially considering she goes back to Italy in a week. :(

Sister Tebbs and I 

So yes... things are good here. :) Still living the dream!   (more pics and video below)

Sister Howey a member in the ward‏

Sister Rose Young really is the most incredible woman EVER...

So classy and such a role model for me

Sorry - I can't get this video right side up !

Christmas Came Early

Christmas came early this year in the form of the best week ever!! SO many great things happened... I will number them off so I don't forget to tell everything! :)
 

1. Wednesday we got a text saying that on Saturday Elder Hallstrom of The Presidency of the Seventy would be visiting the mission and we would be lucky enough to attend the meeting!! I was pumped! And then of course I got a bit more pumped when I realized that I would be able to see Sister Tebbs, Elder Palmer, Elder Healey, and Elder Ikeda. haha

Sister Tebbs and Karly

Saturday came and we rode to Etobicoke with two of the other Sisters who serve near us. We got there quite early because they told us multiple times that if we were going to be late, then we just shouldn't come.  And there was no way I was missing this opportunity. :) I got to see everyone before the meeting started, and then Elder Hallstrom and President and Sister Scott came. They started the meeting with us going up and shaking their hands, and then, just before it was my turn, President stopped us and he went to the back of the chapel and brought a man up with him who had just walked in. This man turned out to be Elder Homer who was called to be a member of the Seventy a few months ago. (He used to be the Stake President of the Hamilton Stake.) So then I was able to shake the hands of both a member of the Seventy and a member of the Presidency of the Seventy.... I don't know about you, but I think this is pretty awesome. :) Elder Hallstrom is with the Prophet and the Twelve Apostles daily, so shaking his hand was almost like shaking the Prophets hand. :)

             Elder Homer                     Elder Hallstrom                                            
Both Elder Homer and Elder Hallstrom spoke with us and I was mostly blown away. They both talked a lot about how special the time on our missions is, and that we shouldn't waste a minute of it. Elder Hallstrom also talked a lot about how he sees us not as missionaries, but as future husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, Bishops, and Relief Society Presidents, and that our time on our missions is the best time to build a foundation in our lives that we can build on, so that we can be successful in our futures. And if we are not doing all we can now to be obedient and fulfill our purpose, we need to repent now and do better. It was pretty awesome and I think the Spirit was teaching all of us the things that we need to work on, and his message was definitely an answer to my prayers.

It was also pretty amazing to be in the same room as a man such as that, as he bore to us his Solemn Witness of Jesus Christ and of the message of the Restoration, and the reality of a living Prophet and Apostles today... I am telling you, I could have sat in that room for forever just because of how strong the Spirit was. That really will be an experience I will always remember. It was very special!

2. I found out this week that the woman that Sister Tebbs and I taught 8 months ago, Shelmith, decided to be baptized and was baptized yesterday!!! I was SO excited to hear this. Shelmith was prepared the day we met her, it just needed to be the right timing. I really do now see the importance of "planting the seeds" that can be "harvested" by other missionaries later.

 Shelmith with Brother McMullen who is SO awesome. He is the ward mission leader in the Heart Lake ward, and the sister missionaries serving there also.

3. Speaking of the Harvest... we got our Christmas present from the Mission at Zone Conference on Tuesday and this was also something that I was very excited about. Elder Dewey's dad... (ya know.. the Artist Simon Dewey. :) haha) had made this picture of the Savior and the Toronto skyline and they put it on temple recommend holders for all of us.

4. Now... I can talk about Janet. :) She was found by missionaries in another area and the story of how they found her is pretty amazing. Janet had heard of Mormons years and years ago, but had never really had the opportunity to look into it. She had researched many churches and a couple of months ago had even been baptized into a church, but she said that there was still something missing and that she was looking for more. One day she was praying that she would be led to the Mormon Church and... that very day she was sitting at a bus stop that she normally wouldn't go to at a time that she normally wouldn't be there and guess who walks up?..... Sister Mitchell and Sister Griffin. She immediately tells them,"You are not going to believe this... I have been praying that I would find you." So.... they taught her! And then she moved into our area, and it took us about a month to meet with her and when we did she said that she was loving everything that she had learned so far, and that she knows Joseph Smith is a Prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true.  She was just waiting for an "a-ha" moment to know that she should be baptized.

Which brings us to this weekend! Saturday night Janet came to the Christmas party and loved it, and then she also came to church on Sunday and the Spirit was really working on her. After the blessing of the Sacrament she said, "Wow... there is some power behind that prayer.. I can just FEEL it." (Sidenote: it is my favorite thing when investigators are describing the Spirit and how He works with them.) So the rest of the day went great, and after church Janet was SO excited. She told us that at the Christmas party she thought she "felt" something and she went home happy, but then told herself that she might have just been making that feeling up. Then she said that when she woke up that feeling was gone and that she wanted it back. She said the second  she walked into church on Sunday, she got the feeling again and she knew that this is what she had been missing at all the other churches. Before church that day she didn't know about being baptized, but Janet got her "a-ha" moment during the meeting and she couldn't have been more excited. :) We will be working with her toward baptism which will hopefully happen soon.  So incredible to be a part of her experience in coming to find the WHOLE truth. :)

Well now that you are all probably extremely bored with reading, I guess I can wrap things up! This coming week some pretty exciting things will be happening, as in Wednesday it will have been one year since I received my mission call. Can't believe it has been one whole year! It feels like just yesterday. And also Friday will be my 10 month mark since going into the MTC!

Transfer calls are also this weekend, so I will update all of you with that news on Monday.  I really have no feeling this time as to what will happen. I would like to stay, but in the end God knows where I need to be so I will go wherever! He hasn't let me down so far! :)

A short week, but a really good week!

We went to Zone Conference on Thursday which was a lot of fun. The night before we had 2 other companionship's of Sisters stay in our apartment so that was quite the adventure. Thankfully we had the room, and a member let us borrow their air mattress so between that and the couches, the Sisters had somewhere to sleep.

I'm fairly certain that when you look up the word pathetic in the dictionary there is a picture of our refrigerator........ side note: that salsa actually needs to be thrown out 

We had to leave for Zone Conference early because of traffic, and it was a pain getting to and from Etobicoke. What should have been a 45 min drive took about and hour and a half getting there and 2 hours getting back. Driving near Toronto is kind of a scary thing, I was just grateful that I was driving and not someone else. I like having my life in my own hands in those kinds of situations. haha

A couple of good-looking missionaries from Morgan, Utah
Elder Prochnow and Sister Prescott

Learned a lot at Zone Conference. I got to see Elder Prochnow and some other Sister and Elders that I haven't seen in awhile. As always it was nice to see President and Sister Scott as well as the other couple missionaries. I really believe that part of the reason I was sent to this mission was because of President Scott. I feel like he is the perfect mission president for me and I am so grateful for him and his insights and everything that he shares with us and teaches us.

We have a few new people that we are teaching which is always nice. We are working more with the members and helping them to do their missionary work. We're hoping to help them get excited about sharing the Gospel with their friends and family.

#ToolPicTuesday :)

Basically I love this ward, love this area, and time is flying. Transfers are in two weeks and I can't even believe it!

Hope everyone has a great week!

A Busy Week - *Eh?

Riley sent me a care package
BEST DAY EVER !!

Finally, PDAY!!!! Monday was Labour Day, (yes "Labour" day not "Labor" day) In Canada they add that "U" in there for who knows what reason (I think it is the French influence??) All I know is that the word Color (colour) and Flavor (flavour) and many many more all do that.... That is one thing that I probably won't be bringing home from my Canadian experience. The expression *"eh" and "washroom" instead of bathroom are, however, going to be permanent fixtures in my vocabulary! 

So really, longest week ever! I knew that P-day was going to be moved, but I thought it would have been Tuesday instead of Wednesday. Oh well, life goes on, just grateful I get today to recharge my batteries!

This week was good. We had a Zone Training and then tomorrow will be going to a Zone Conference in Etobicoke (if you say the "k" Canadians will make fun of you, so... silent k??) I am excited because at Zone Conferences we get to learn from President and Sister Scott as well as some of the other leaders in the mission,  AND we get fed and get to see other other missionaries who I don't see all the time. I am pretty sure Elder Prochnow will be at this Zone Conference which will be good. We haven't been able to discuss Morgan, Utah in awhile now!

We did A LOT of finding this week.... and had very little success. Most people are already religious and say that they will NEVER change. It is kind of discouraging, but we just have to keep going! School started back up here so now there are a lot more college students around. It is crazy to think that I have been in Hamilton the entire Summer. I was here before school got out and am still here when school started back up. Time is flying!

The weather has cooled down a bit the past few days. Everyone says that after Labor day it really starts to cool off. That will be nice for a change, and it will just be good to have people back from their family vacations. It is really hard to find people when they are not even here all summer long.

Still learning a ton! Having a few hours to study every morning is the best. If you haven't picked up a Book of Mormon lately you should definitely do so. You are going to like what you see :)

The members here are the best. I am going to miss them A TON when I leave (which I feel like I will probably leave at the end of this transfer, but who really knows!?)

Things are going really great, just can't believe it is already September! Hope everyone likes this blog post a bit more than the last few... I have been a horrible writer lately! I will try and start doing things more focused on something I learned from each week! I will prepare something and let you all know Monday! Have a great couple of days! :)

*  Eh - (pronounced "ey", as in "hey" or "hay") A suffix some Canadians add to the ends of sentences, to ask for a response of agreement or disagreement, similar in meaning to "don't you think" or "right?"(Similar to the word "Huh?" Used in the states.) (eg. "Looks like a storm comin' in, eh?"). It is a way of being polite - to ensure that the other people in the conversation are feeling included. It is also sometimes used with "I know," as in, "Wow, the Calgary Flames really kicked butt tonight!" -"I know, eh?"

Picture Perfect

Just pictures this week  -  it was an Awesome week.  I am going to Niagara Falls and  will write more next Monday !

The part of Hamilton that I wish we could be in always.
Some members live out here and it is beautiful!

This is in front of Becky's house. We helped her clean and fix up her room this week. She is so great

We ripped the carpet up and threw it out the window.
Funniest thing ever!

The squirrels are black around here and this one is dead.
Related... I hit a squirrel on the way to church last Sunday

Elder Sommerfeldt and Elder Marshall. The Assistants to the President. Mat Roundy (From Morgan) trained Elder Marshall. Elder Sommerfeldt goes home at the end of this transfer in two weeks. (They both think I am THE funniest person around. haha People in this mission just love us people from Morgan, Utah)

Elder Vanderstel and Elder Campbell at Zone Conference.
They were in my last zone

I hit rock bottom this week and resorted to eating "Kraft Dinner" Not my proudest moment

Sister Tebbs and I at Zone Conference. It was SO good to see her. The most joyous reunion I've ever had in my life. haha