Week 40, 6/28/16

Hey honeys.  This week was pretty dece as usual.  Nothing too exciting to report unfortunately.  Let's get on to the highlights shall we? 

The main highlight of the week was attending President and Sister Manion's farewell fireside.  It was on Saturday night and us missionaries could only attend if we brought an investigator, recent convert, or less active.  We brought our homie Brandon, a recent convert of a year or so who we teach every week.  I was so glad we got to go!  President and Sister Manion never fail to bring the spirit wherever they go.  I will miss them tons.  I'm excited to meet our new mission president sometime soon (he arrives to the mission sometime this upcoming week), but I really have loved serving under President Manion's leadership.  I have gotten a lot closer to him since coming to the city.  He is a true homie for sure❤️ I also got to see my fellow Slave Lake legends at the fireside (Elders Payne and Hunsaker) and a couple other mission friends, so that was a nice bonus.  Its always good to catch up with them. 

Gonna miss Pres and Sis Manion

Another highlight was playing ball with the crew this week.  We didn't see the older guys playing at all this week but there were some junior high aged kids playing one night  and we went and played with them and answered a lot of their questions about missionary work and the church.  I guess you could say they adopted us into their gang and we are all homies now.  Missionary work via sports is just the best:) 

As for the work in Greenfield, like I said, not a whole lot to talk about still :( we had a good lesson with Zxxx who is still progressing.  He will probably be baptized as soon as some legal issues with his dad get worked out, which apparently won't be for a few months.  All the kids in the family love it when we come over now though, which is pretty opposite from when we started teaching them, so that is nice to see:) We are continuing to find a bunch of people who say they're interested but actually getting to meet with them seems to be impossible.  We also have been finding and teaching a ton of people who we end up having to refer to the YSA missionaries, Mandarin missionaries, Spanish missionaries, tagalog missionaries, or the sisters.  It's actually becoming pretty funny haha.  We are happy we can help in the work of salvation in any way though:) 

There are also a lot of things lining up for the future success, we just have to be patient and pray that they actually go through.  For example: We taught this guy named Victor the restoration on his doorstep and had a discussion about the Book of Mormon a few weeks ago.  At first he was pretty firm about thinking Joseph Smith was "delusional," but we finally convinced him to take a chance on the Book of Mormon and truly see for himself and obtain his knowledge from God.  He agreed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, but insisted that we didn't meet again till he finished it, which he said would be about three months. There is also an eternigator (an investigator who has been investigating for basically an eternity) named Gxxxx who was offended by a priesthood leader and has some issues..... It's a long story haha.  We see him around all the time and talk to him, and he's a great friend to all the members, he just refuses to actually be taught by us.  He finally agreed to set up a time where we can sit down and help him get over his issues, but it's not going to be for at least a few more weeks because he needs time to prepare for it.... Hopefully I'll be reporting good news on that in a couple weeks. 

I just wanted you guys to get a feel for how things have been going for us.  It always seems like things are going to pick up in a few weeks and then a few weeks go by and nothing has happened.  However, I still have faith that there is someone in the Greenfield area who is prepared to hear the message of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Finding that person has been and is quite the challenge, but who doesn't love a good challenge right?  It will just feel more rewarding when we do find them.  Missionary work was never meant to be easy.  I'm glad I get to learn to exercise a little patience, and I know the fruits of our labours will eventually come. I hope you all have a fantastic week.  If you find yourself down in the dumps, grumpy, angry, stinky, gassy, unswaggy, gaining weight, or stressed, just remember that you are children of God and that He and Jesus love you, and that's all that matters:) Love you all!   

Till next week.... party on.   

Weekly Scripture: D and C 31: 3, 13 3 Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation. 13 Be faithful unto the end, and lo, I am with you. These words are not of man nor of men, but of me, even Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, by the will of the Father. Amen.

Week 39, 6/21/16

This Elder is a little stiff, but we love him anyways!

Hey squad.  This week was pretty dece!  Well first things first transfer calls were yesterday and we didn't get a call so things are staying the same here in Greenfield for at least one more transfer. Super excited to see what good work Elder Jenson and I can do for the next 6 weeks. 

Well here is the lowdown of highlights from this week: Wednesday was a bit different, we were in a trio with Elder Wilde all day!  It was a pretty sweet day, we got a ton of work done because we had a car.  We did a lot of good work in the Greenfield area and found two new investigators in the evening!  Hopefully you will hear more about them in the coming weeks. We also did some work in the Rutherford area in the middle of the day.  We visited a returning less active they have been working with who I have also met a couple times. His name is Mando and he is 19, and he is a funny dude.  He recently got a job with a landscaping company and his boots are terrible, and gave him HUGE blisters.  He could barely walk, and Elder Wilde being the fearless and charitable guy he is offered to drain his blisters and cut the skin off for him (Mando couldn't bring himself to do it alone).  So we watched and helped Mando through the procedure haha, it was literally like foot surgery.    Super interesting experience, I never thought I would end up doing that on my mission lol.  It was a great day though! 

Thursday the highlight was our lesson with Zeke, we brought our new ward mission leader with us and it was a great lesson :) I can't even remember anything about Friday other than weekly planning of course.... On the mission days just blend together. Saturday was sweet.  Well actually most the day was pretty lame.... We got kicked out of this one place we tract a lot by a cop.  Somebody called the cops on us lol.... Apparently we "can't solicit on private property owned by this particular company's policy".  Pretty lame... It was fun while it lasted though haha.  There was this group of 5 little black girls following us around to each door speculating about whether or not they would let us in and cheering us on and asking all sorts of questions.  

Just think of all the missionary work we could get done if that was our mission car

After we got kicked out we went back to do some work around our apartment for another hour until 9.  A lot of times around 8 there are a whole bunch of what some might call "hoodlums" or "dope boyz" or "thuggin gangstaz" playing ball on these hoops by our apartment.  I have been wanting to do this for a while, and now the situation was perfect, we had nothing else to do.  There were about 8 playing and the rest were chilling on the side and we went over and started talking to all of them.  It honestly took more courage than anything else on my mission so far, I don't know why haha.  But they are all super chill guys, most of them are around my age.  I talked with a bunch of them about a lot of different things.  A lot about what we do as missionaries though.  Apparently the missionaries last year used to ball with them every so often (that's kind of what I was wanting to do as well!), and they all were totally down with us jumping in and playing when the current game was over.  Unfortunately we didn't get to play that night, but we hopefully will later.  I don't really think Elder Jenson was into the whole thing, but I am super excited to go back!!! They were all really good though.... I don't know if I can quite hold my own against them in proselyting clothes😂 They can all dunk too so if I get viciously posterized I'll let you all know.  I think this could be a great opportunity to share the gospel.  

 I have really been looking for and praying for opportunities like this that are different and not just ordinary missionary work.  Tracting, street contacting, and bus contacting is great (kind of...) but it has been pretty discouraging to deal with the constant rejection we have been getting lately.  I'm hoping this is the answer to my prayers. :) 

Sunday was good.  Shout out to my dad for being the best ever, happy Fathers Day padre!  We got invited to a BBQ a couple families in the ward were having.  I think they just invited us because one of the families they invited couldn't come, so they needed someone to eat all the extra food.... We definitely helped solve that problem:) I probably ate more food there combined than I did the whole rest of the week haha.  The whole day I was having a hard time staying totally focused on the work because I heard game 7 was that night.... CAVS WON THOUGH AND I'M SO HAPPY FOR LEBRON:):):) 

Well those are all the highlights from this week.  This week was full of a lot of unsuccessful finding and rejection.  Here are some of my favorite quotes from some of the people we tried to talk to:    "I hate you guys,"    "I will have a good night, the devil always has a good night,"    "Ohhh my heck you guys are always so annoying,"    Haha I love these Canadians.  Don't get me wrong there are still some exciting things that happened that will hopefully bring fruit in the future!  Things may not be blossoming here at the moment but we will keep soldiering on and things will eventually happen. I know this work is the Lords work and I'm happy to be a part of it! I hope you all have a great week, love you all :)  - Elder B

Weekly Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:7-8 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

                        

                Samples of my gourmet cooking above. My first attempt at eating fried chicken feet below.  - Yum!

                                         

Week 38, 6/14/16

Hey honey bunnies.  This week as usual was another great week for me because it's always a great week when you're fully engaged in the work of the Lord, ya feel? Other than that, though, not a whole lot of crazy things happened this week. 

Meet Elder Dwight

Update on Greenfield:   Our investigators M and her daughter J are going through a rough time and didn't want to meet with us this week because of her stressful situation.  They said to stop by Wednesday so you can bet your bottom dollar we are going to do that.   Our 9 year old investigator Z and his LA family are doing great and Z is totally progressing!  Just no baptismal date for him because he and his mom want to wait until his dad can come to the baptism which might not be for a few months (we aren't sure what the situation is there yet), so right now we are just teaching the lessons in preparation for his baptism at some future time that nobody really knows.   We got a new investigator on Saturday!  He was a potential that we found doing some contacting at the Southgate Mall Transit Centre, he was just waiting for a bus and he looked exactly like Conner Hunt (for those of you who know the big fella), with the bleached Mohawk and all so I went up to him and asked if he knew a Conner Hunt, and of course he didn't but it turns out his name is Conner and he said he would be interested in meeting with us haha.  Man some of the conversation starters I have to come up with are just ridiculous.  

Anyways Elder Sanchez and I were on exchanges on Saturday and we met with him at Southgate mall and taught him the restoration and he wants to keep learning!  He is not the "golden investigator" or anything but he is looking for more guidance and direction in life and he wants to see what religion can offer.  So hopefully I will be writing more about him in the future.  After that we met the APs at the mall and had lunch with them, it was fun they are super cool guys.  It was a great exchange with Elder Sanchez, he is a good dude.   Our ward mission leader is moving soon so we got a new one this week.  We are bummed cuz our previous ward mission leader is the best but we are excited for a new experience too.  

   

This is from a few months ago but we spent a pday at the West Edmonton Mall,
the largest mall in North America.  Oh yeah, its big!!

Well that's basically the rundown here.  We experienced a lot of hardcore rejection this week.  Oh well what can ya do?  In other news I am sick today so that's kinda lame, hopefully I get over it fast. It rained a ton this week again, and there is now enough moisture here for mosquitos to thrive, so we have encountered a lot of mosquitos this week, and I think it's just going to get worse.      

I have testimony that this church is true.  Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.  The Book of Mormon is the word of God.  Thomas S. Monson leads us as a prophet today.  It's all true.  Definitely wouldn't still be out here if I didn't know that.         That's all I really have to say about this week.  Not too eventful but still good.  We are still working hard and results are slowly coming to fruition.  I hope you all have a lovely week.  Thanks for all the support and for the emails!  Love hearing from you guys :)  

Weekly Scripture: Philippians 4:7-8: 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  8 (admonition of Paul) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  

Elder Weston Bonny🇨🇦

Week 37, 6/8/16

Hey friendlies. Well this week went by in more of a blur than usual, and it was a great one, full of little miracles! 

Wednesday I went on exchanges to the Rutherford area with Elder Pouliot and it felt like the longest exchange ever because we were up talking until 3 am, but it was probably the best exchange I have had my whole mission! Elder Pouliot has been out about a year and half and I learned a lot of great things from him, especially with finding. We had a killer day, we found four new investigators and taught a bunch of other people a brief Restoration lesson while tracting. Two of those investigators were totally prepared by the Lord, it was super cool to see! I also saw a Lamborghini and and Audi R8 like 2 minutes apart while I was in Rutherford so that was a tender mercy too:) It was a great day spent with Elder Pouliot, he's a super great dude. 

Sunglasses have been approved for proselying now  :)

Thursday the highlight of the day was probably teaching Zeke, our new 9 year old investigator. His mom is a single mom of 5, and they just moved into the ward not too long ago, and he hasn't been baptized so we are teaching him now! We have another lesson with him tonight and we are planning on getting him on date for baptism on July 16th. On this day I also saw ANOTHER Lamborghini! Two in two days. Wow. Talk about a shower of tender mercies. 

Friday was definitely one of the most different days I have had on my whole mission. In the morning from 8-1 we went with the rest of our district and our zone leaders to do this service that the missionaries in Edmonton have been helping out at all week. The national junior gymnastics competition was being held here in Edmonton this year, and we missionaries volunteered to help with security. So we have been doing shifts of security at this huge gymnastics competition, and our shift was Friday morning. Basically all we did was put on our yellow Mormon volunteer vests and stand at certain areas of the arena where we were placed and make sure nobody had floor access without having their "credentials". Elder Jenson and I were put in the least busy spot in the arena, right on the floor next to the bleachers, so we basically just got to watch a bunch of 14-18 year olds who are crazy good at gymnastics do their thing. It was interesting/very boring at times lol. We got a good lunch afterward though!  After that we did more service helping clean this lady's super gross house... Tons of fun... But she definitely needed the help so it was good! 

Our friend Erwin is now a proud daddy!

Saturday was the baptism for a 9 year old girl the sisters have been teaching, and we were asked to give a companionship presentation/talk thingy at that, and it went decently well. We basically taught the Restoration but focused primarily on priesthood authority through the whole thing. Sunday was so great!! Fast Sunday's always end up being the best days. We had a great lesson in priesthood about "true greatness," we gave a dece lesson on repentance in gospel principles, and fast and testimony meeting was a spiritual powerhouse. The spirit was too strong for me to not get up and share my testimony, so I did, which always makes the day better. 

Monday was also awesome, it was super hot (at least for Canada... I feel so bad for all you homies in Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, etc.) We basically had a finding day, where we did every different form of finding we could think of (tracting, street contacting, bus contacting, transit center contacting, trying to have conversations in stores and hoping they will ask about what we do as missionaries, service tracting, prayer tracting, etc.) and it was amazing how many people we talked to!! We didn't find any legit new investigators but a few really solid potentials and referrals for other areas, and we had some great discussions with a lot of people. Overall it was a super tiring, hot, brutal day of missionary work but the spirit we felt the whole time and the satisfaction when the day was over was so worth it. 

I love being a missionary! Oh and we also had another appointment set up with Mary J and A but it sadly fell through, but we have another one set up for Thursday so hope is still alive! Well that's the rundown for this week! I hope you all had an awesome one as well. Love you all, the church is true!

 Byeeee  - Love Elder B 

Weekly scripture (it's a quote this week): “True greatness [comes from] the thousands of little deeds and tasks of service and sacrifice that constitute the giving, or losing, of one’s life for others and for the Lord.” -President Howard W. Hunter

Week 36, 5/31/16

Sunset pic taken at 10pm

Hey Broskis.  This week was totally awesome!!!   A couple highlights: Thursday evening was pretty eventful, the Slave Lake crew came down to the city because Zone Conference was the next day, and we met up and got some donair poutine just like usual:) It was super good to catch up with them.  

Later that evening we were tracting down in this more ghetto part of the area, and some guy was eyeing down our bikes and grabbed one of them, thankfully we were right there in sight and we started walking over real fast and he dropped it and took off!  Then about 5 minutes later, we were riding out of that place and I was being a hoser and bunny hopping over the speed bumps, and Elder Jenson decided to give it a try, and he totally wiped out and hit his face on the pavement and tore a hole in his pants and everything.  I felt so bad for the guy.... So that put an end to our work that night. 

Friday was absolutely awesome.  We had zone conference, our last zone conference with President and Sister Manion .  I'm going to miss them tons!! President Manion gave a really great training on priesthood keys and really grilled it into our minds that President Pattison will hold the keys when he gets here.  I learned a lot, just like I do every time President Manion says anything.  There was so much more that I loved about zone conference but if I were to write about it this email would be way too long.  Let's just say I walked out of that meeting feeling spiritually higher than a kite.  Also another fun part about zone conference was that I got to see every single one of my past companions haha!  They are all in my stake, it was so fun to talk to them!

All my past comps in one place!

 The main highlight from this week was definitely Sunday evening. Earlier in the day church was dynamite as usual.  V and L (the Fort Mac evacuees/African refugees) came to church so that was nice!  They said the are probably going to be able to go back to Fort Mac this week though so we won't get to teach them, we will for sure refer them to the Fort Mac Elders though.  That night we had supper with the Bishop and his family which was awesome, they are super cool.  Not to mention they gave me three slices of the best apple pie ever with ice cream on top for dessert.  Tender mercies:) At the end of that visit Bishop gave us a super solid referral that we are very excited about, hopefully you will hear about him next week. 

Anyways though, after that we had an appointment set up with one of our potentials named Mary.  We have had a few appointments before and they have fallen through, so we were a little bit skeptical about this one but still trying to have faith.  We invited the elder's quorum president to come with us, and she was there and let us come in and we taught her a great first lesson!  We taught her, her 13 year old daughter J and her babysitter who lives there.  They all committed to come to church and read and pray about the Book of Mormon, and they seem very sincere!  They declined baptism because they "have already been baptized".... Haha we will have to talk more about that later.  We didn't want to ruin all the good we had going in that lesson and plus we had already been there like an hour and 20 minutes.  We are super excited about it though!  We are hoping we can teach her husband too, when he returns from working up in Fort Mac to get everything back up and running. 

Monday we had interviews with President Manion, which were great as usual... once again I'm gonna miss President and Sister Manion so much... I'm excited to get to experience serving under another mission president as well though. Well those are a couple of the highlights from this week!  In between those lovely experiences we were usually either doing yard work for people, walking around in the rain, weekly planning, trying to set up appointments with people, and going to appointments, many that fell through. Basically just the usual.  I really feel like the work in Greenfield is starting to turn a corner, and I'm so excited to see what the next couple weeks will bring.  

I have a testimony that this work is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ; that He lives and directs the work through inspiration from the Holy Ghost.  I have felt the Holy Ghost testify to me of the truthfulness of this gospel and that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live, and that Christ is our Savior and Redeemer.  I can say that with all the confidence of my heart and soul:).  Love you all hope you all have a great first week of summer!   

Check out this dude...Canadians!

Weekly Scripture: Ephesians 5:9: "For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth"

Love - Elder B