My Mission has come to an end.....

Well this is it! I will be home Wednesday! I can't believe that my mission has come to an end! It still doesn't feel real, it probably won't feel real until I have been home for a few days! :)

We have a lot to do so I will keep this short! When I get home and have ample time on a computer I will have to write a nice mission wrap up! :)

Thank you all for all of your love and support while I have been serving my mission! This has been the most incredible experience and I am sad that it is coming to an end, but I am excited to see what other adventures are ahead of me! :)

My mission has truly changed my life and I will be forever grateful for it! 

Thank you all for everything! 

SEE YOU WEDNESDAY! :)

P-day at the Waterfalls

With Elder Palmer

Our Whole Group

With Elder Itthi

Minh's baptism celebration!‏

With Sister Taylor

The Last District Meeting‏

Gloria, baby Valerie, Dureeta, and Rachel

The Altimirano Fam!‏

The ladies we volunteer with at Kerr Street Ministries

Our last coordination meeting with the Lowachees‏

I am going to miss this lake!‏

I found my Prince‏ ;)

Going to miss Joe -  A LOT‏

Delores and I!‏

The Gernon Family and Minh - They live across the street from Minh and are a big part of how he even knew about the church and wanted to listen to us

With Sister Gernon‏

Sister Grace - Wonderful woman from Nigeria who is temporarily living in the ward

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! :)

The Beginning of the End,,,,,,

Well today marks the start of my last transfer! It seems pretty crazy and mostly doesn't even feel real! 

On Da Lake

We did not get a transfer call last night so it looks like Sister Mendenhall and I will both be finishing our missions here in Oakville! 

Some things came up and so we had to move Joe's baptisms a few weeks, but he is looking forward to it and is excited. From the looks of it as of right now we should have at least 2 baptisms this transfer! :) Such a good way to finish off my mission.

This week was fun... I sent a lot of pictures so I will let them tell the story as we need to leave the library soon! We are going to Hamilton to say bye to the missionaries that go home this week. It is a sad thing that you make all of these new friends and then they just leave. :( I guess things can't last forever!

I hope everyone has a great week! :)

Sister Mendenhall and I at Niagara Falls  - last week's P-day

Tia (a member/friend) and Karly

Good Week - Good Stories

First things first! We are going to Niagra Falls today! Pretty pumped.. the weather has been PERFECT the past few days as well so it should be a really good day. :)

Living on the lake is seriously THE BEST

This week was good! And I have a few good stories!

Friday morning we were looking through some really old records of people who had investigated the church years ago. Most of them said that the people were no longer interested, but we decided to pull out a few so that we would at least have some areas to go to to talk to people. 

The first one we went to drop by was a lady named Jocilyn. We debated about going to knock on her door, but eventually decided to and I am sure glad we did! When we got to the door we knocked on it and I immediately had this impression that we shouldn't ask for Jocilyn but instead we should just "pretend" like we were tracting and that we didn't know who lived there. So we did... and this girl answered.. we told her what we do as missionaries and she let us in! We talked with her and found out that she had been praying to know what direction that she should go in as far as church goes. Her siblings have been studying with a different church and she just didn't feel right about it. So she has been reading the Bible and praying that she would be led in the right direction... and then we knocked on her door. I have always heard stories of missionaries where things like this happen, but I have never really been a part of it so it was pretty amazing to be the answer to someone's prayers. As we got to know their family more I am pretty confident that Jocilyn doesn't live there and must have moved years ago. So I am really glad we looked through those old investigator records that morning and I know that we really were led to her for a reason!

Saturday morning we were out talking with people and we walked by a food truck called "Sammy's Fish and Chips" I had remembered that some of the missionaries last Summer taught the guy who owns the truck so we decided to stop in. There was only one guy standing by the truck and so I asked if he was Sammy. He said that his name was Sam but that he was a different Sammy than the one who owned the truck. We talked to him for a bit and he told us how Sammy has the best fish and chips and that we really needed to try it. We told him that we would come back for lunch and he said that he would treat us to fish and chips.. I didn't think he was serious about "treating" us to fish and chips, but when we came back he did! At first we paid for our food and then he came around about 10 minutes later and he gave us money and then bought us another order of fish and chips! Super nice guy.. He said he comes every Saturday so I am sure we will go back on Saturday and talk with him and then also talk with Sammy some more and see if he would like to meet with missionaries again. 

Joe is still on for his baptism on Sunday! He was able to see a baptism yesterday and he loved it. I asked him if he felt the Spirit and he didn't say yes, but he didn't say no.. but then a few minutes later he said that he just felt really good when he saw the baptism and he said, " I just really could see myself being in the water and I just really want to be there next.  It was a good feeling there with everyone." To which I just had to smile because he did feel the Spirit and slowly he is beginning to recognize what it is. 

Ok.... out of time! We are off to Niagra!  Oh and.... it is transfer time again! Calls will be this Sunday and then I will know where I will be for the rest of my mission! Time is flying! 

More Lake Ontario Pics

It all just seems like a blur.....

I really don't know how to start these things off anymore..... :)

So... hello family and friends! :)

I am now in week 5 of the transfer... it is amazing how fast time is going by! It feels like I just got to Oakville and yet it has been about a month and a lot of good things have happened!

We are still teaching Joe and he is good to go for his baptism on June 1st. He is really excited about it and it is so fun to see him learn and grow and change as he is hearing more of the Gospel. He is such a funny guy and I am so glad we met him that night on the street. Every time we come over to teach Joe he will always give us some chocolate or one time this week we had some watermelon. He has also enjoyed going to Family Home Evenings that are held weekly. He really was so prepared to meet us and I am really excited for his baptism. 

Yesterday was Victoria Day, I am still not quite sure what that means... but what I do know is there were a lot of fireworks... we didn't see any of them because we live in the basement.... but we sure heard them all Sunday night and all last night! :) 

I really wish I could think about more things that happen throughout the week! Honestly by the time preparation day comes it just all seems like a blur!

I really am doing well, though! :) This week I will definitely try to take more pictures! 

I hope everyone has a great week! 

For P-day we went to a little place called, "Little Ray's Reptile Zoo & Nature Centre"  Elder So'o,  Elder Aquino, Sister Green, Sister Herfort (in front), and Sister Mendenhall and I

And there goes another week!

And there goes another week! 

The weather has started to get really nice and it has been so perfect! We have been waking up in the mornings a bit early so we can go running by the lake.. It is SO nice! Never in my life have I ever wanted to live by water like this but.. I think I could love it. :)

So it was Mothers Day and I got to talk to my family which was the best! So good to see them and crazy to think that it won't be too many weeks now before I get to see them in real life. :)

I hope everyone had a happy mothers day and if you get a chance go and look at this website and watch the video... it is probably the cutest thing that I have ever seen! :)www.mormon.org/motherhood

We are still doing a lot of finding here and getting to know the members. It is a lot of work, but it is fun. We are still teaching Joe and he came to church again yesterday. He really loves church and likes learning everything. He is such an awesome guy. He set a baptismal date for June 1st and we are really looking forward to helping him reach that date! :)

Sister Mendenhall and I

I really wish I had more to say but..... that really is about it. haha Looks like these emails home might be a bit short for the last few weeks of my mission life. Oops... :) I will try and do pictures to make up for it! :)

BYEEE :)