Teaching in Toronto

Hello, Got Transfer news last night, I am leaving Sarnia. I am going to a place called Don Valley West, its about 10 miles North of downtown Toronto. I am staying a district leader and whitewashing the area (with Elder Tetauru) and replacing sister missionaries. I will still be driving a car so no bus experience yet. I am sad to be leaving Sarnia but I'm looking forward to the next stage of my mission. I'm a little nervous because this is my first time whitewashing an area but I'm very excited to go to the big city! Our area is being whitewashed as well, Elder Martin and I are being replaced by sisters! I was so surprised, but I think the sisters will do a lot of good things for this area. Elder Martin is going to be serving with the other Elder Johnson in this mission (from Ohio) in the Niagara falls area called St. David's. Today we are busy cleaning everything up and making notes for the new sisters coming in. For that reason I have very little time for t...

Hi, We had 2 very cool service opportunities with non-members this week. On Thursday we had a planned activity at 11 a.m. to help a guy move a king size bed set from his basement to his upstairs along with a big cabinet. Thursday came and at about 8:30 in the morning we got a phone call from an unknown number. We answered and he said his name was Britain. He said he had just arrived in Petrolia (a small town about 30 mins away) and needed help unloading his Uhaul to his new house. He said he contacted us a few weeks ago about it (through our kijiji ad). We forgot about it because he didn't set a date or time. Despite the confusion we said we could help him and left right away. Apparently he loaded the big Uhaul the day before and had driven all night and now was unloading it. He and his wife really needed the help and we were happy to be there. It felt really good to just help them. By the time we finished and drove back it was about time to help the other guy named Kieth at 11...

Hello, We transitioned from flip phones to smart phones this week. Unfortunately for me, my phone has not been delivered yet so I have to wait a little longer. And unfortunately for Elder Martin, the software on his phone is glitchy and he can't get into it so he has to get the software re-installed by a Samsung specialist. Unfortunately for us, we are the only companionship in the mission without a working smart phone right now. Hopefully the specialist gets it fixed today so we can get on with things. We've just been using our old flip phone and it works fine for now. In my email last week I talked about a lady we found by knocking on her door.  Her name is Michelle, we had our first sit down lesson with her yesterday and it went very well. She has a catholic background but didn't stick with the religion (big surprise there, no offense to the Catholic church). She accepted the message of the restoration (she understood the apostasy and the need for priesthood auth...

Hi, We found a really nice lady this week through tracting. She really liked the Restoration message and we answered her many questions. She's married and in her 30's. She is just a really cool person so I'm excited to keep meeting with her. Elder Martin and I have been pushing ourselves to talk to more people recently. We set a weekly goal to give out a certain number of Book of Mormon's. Having the goal in mind has motivated me to get out and talk to people when I don't feel like it--it's a feeling I get a lot unfortunately. I've noticed there is always opposition before and after we do something important for Christ.  Getting up Sunday morning and going to church has never been difficult for me; however, living what I learned at church is a little more difficult. I've learned that the adversary is relentless at "following-up" with me shortly after I have a spiritual experience. Satan will do anything in his power to make me lose t...

Hallo! (German hello) It's been a slow week. We weren't able to meet with the 2 investigators we found last week. They've been busy. It got cold again as well so that didn't help. I really enjoyed the messages that were shared at Pres. Monson's funeral service by his daughter and President Nelson, Uchtdorf, and Eyring. I enjoyed listening to the Motab sing Pres. Monson's favorite songs, and hearing the opening and closing prayers offered by Elders Ballard and Holland which is something you won't see at a General Conference session.  Recently, Elder Martin and I have been sharing the message of the Restoration of the Gospel quite often. We wanted to teach in a way so that kids would enjoy it and remember it. Thought, inspiration, and Lego collided bringing forth what I call the "Lego Restoration Lesson".  It basically goes like this: We teach all of the points of the Restoration lesson very simply. When we teach about the life of Jes...

Hello! Ontario has been suffering a cold spell recently, apparently it has been one for the record books. Sarnia didn't get hit that bad, for 12 days it fluctuated between -7 to -18 Celcius (20 - 0 Fahrenheit). Keep in mind a -15 windchill with humidity feels like -30, it goes right to the bone. Thanks goes to my brother and mom for ensuring I brought with me a good winter coat on my mission! I heard Northern Ontario dropped down to -50 Celius which is insane, I'm glad I served up North during the summer. We haven't spent much time outside recently, but that will change. Today it's snowing but it's back up to 0 degrees celcius; although it looks like winter, it feels like spring. This week we found a new investigator through our kijiji ad offering Free Bibles, we'll call Jamie. She emailed us and said she wanted her daughter and herself to feel closer to God. Jamie's friend suggested that she get a King James version of the bible. She eventually ende...