March 4th, 2013 - I have to preface this with the fact that three people we knew died this week. Two were family (Patriarch Yeates was a distant cousin!), and the other one was the mother of one of our friends.
Momm,
Thank you so much for the advice. It helped me out a lot! im so sad to hear that everyone died! I was dreading the day that Patriarch Yeates would die. I miss him a lot. But its ok, because he's probably preaching the Gospel on the other side with Paul, or Mormon, or someone cool like that. Hopefully he's teaching Uncle Kermit! I will miss Uncle Kermit because I never really knew him. But I will see him some day, Please do one of two things for me either1. give me an adress for Aunt Gail, or 2. Tell her that I love and miss her and that I think of her often (which is true, i thought about her this week just out of the blue, while we were knocking, I thought "I wonder what Aunt Gail would say to all these people who are rejecting us" it made me feel better). Tell [our friend whose mother died] that I'm very sorry, and I hope she is doing well! And give her a hug from me.
So, as for what happened this week? [My companion] said goodbye to everyone, We drove to Quebec, then I went on splits with [another elder], which was super awesome. The next day we went to transfers, we went to help the missionaries in St. Foi clean and organize their new appartment, Then went to pick up our new companions!!!!!!!!!!! I drove us out to where we were going to knock, and we got kicked out of an appartment building for the first time! YES! the next day we had zone study, and then we drove back to Chicoutamie, I was almost asleep the whole time, but I made it! I looked back in the truck, and everyone else was asleep, and I was like " ït's just you and me Lord!" so that was fun, the roads werent bad, so that was nice.
Then my companion and I really, all we did was a whole lot of knocking. we went to some areas that I hadnt worked a lot, like La Baie or Jonquiere. Found some potentials, and found this one guy who called us to repentance, to leave the Book of Mormon, and only go with the Bible. That was fun! I always wondered when that would happen to me. I'm feeling like I might want to know the Bible more, not to Bible-bash, but to keep good on President Nelson's promise that the missionaries can help others know the Bible better. So, one really funny story this week was our lesson with [an investigator]. we had invited [a member] to go and see [him] with us. So we were late getting there, because a car was flipped over on the side of the road, so traffic was bad, and when we got there, [the member] wasnt there. so, we exchange the usual pleasentries with [the investigator], and introduce my new companion, when the door opens, and there is [the member]. She says "Sorry I was late", and enters, and 2 other girls walk in the room with her! They were her two sisters, one of them I had never met before, because she had just got back from her mission, like just the day before. This turned out to be and amazing lesson with [the investigator], because we finally got him to understand why he needs to pray to know if the church is true or not! and he did! We didnt have much time to follow up with that, but we will try as soon as we can.
That is really all that happened this week for us, we are SUPEr excited for these upcoming weeks! A lot is going on, and we hope that the work will progress.
I love you all and miss you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!
I hope that you all are doing well, living full lives, and having as much, or more fun than I am!!!!
Love!!!!!!!!
Calvin
Occasionally I will send Calvin a letter dictated to me by Sophie. Here is a typical letter and response:
Sophie,
Occasionally I will send Calvin a letter dictated to me by Sophie. Here is a typical letter and response:
Sophie,
I LOOOOOOOVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love, your big brother,
Calvin
March 11th 2013
Hey Momm!!!!!!!!!!!
I happened to catch Calvin online that day and I wrote this:
Dear Calvin,
Sophie dictated an absolutely adorable email to me and I hit "send" and the blankety-blank &*$#! program quit and lost the email. So let me sum it up: Dear Calvin, thank you VERY VERY much for the
letter you sent me with Spiderman and Shaun the Sheep and the stickers. I LOVED it! And thank you for everything else I've done this week (seeing the zoomobile, going to the zoo when I stayed at
Grandma and Grandpa's house back in December) and thank you for everything.
STUPID PROGRAM THAT QUIT AND ATE THE ORIGINAL EMAIL!!! It really was adorable!
*barbaric yawp!*
Love and hugs and kisses,
Sophie
Mwah! [followed by more kissing noises]
March 11th 2013
Hey Momm!!!!!!!!!!!
so, this week was kinda stressful. I had my first full week of being a senior companion, and as [my former companion] says "the first week you go through hell."So I'm REALLY glad it wasnt as bad as it really was. So, monday we cleaned the appartment, played ping pong, and generally didnt do much too exciting. After that we had a lesson with [an investigator couple], and then had an awesome lesson with a less-active who is working her way back. Super cool. The next day we had NOTHING planned, and the little bit we had planned fell through, so I panicked. We did some area book work, and then passed bye some potentials, which yeilded one new investigator! He is THE steryotipical Quebecquoi. He has a Bedain ben plein ( BIG, round stomache) a crazy accent, the facial features of what I think is a ethnic quebecquoi, a HUGE deep fryer (for LOTS of poutine), and a HUGE nikita. he was pretty open. The zone leaders also called us to say that they were coming over to do splits the next day. So, the next day we drove and hour and a half to meet them, and exchange. I got to split with [my former companion]!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was such a wierd day, because everything he did was so familiar. I spent the day learning even more about missionary work. We had district study, which went ok. Then we went knocking, and did passbyes. then we ate dinner [with a family], who invited [an investigator], their friend, and another one of our investigators. Their family is SUPER into missionary work. Two of their children, are getting ready to go on missions, and they just had a daughter return from her mission, and another son on a mission to France. They are AWESOME!!! then we taught a lady with our branch president and his wife. That was a fun lesson, she talks A LOT so it was hard to keep her on track in the lesson. The next day we knocked, then taught a lady, trying to see if she will still be interested in the message. She said that she would read the Book of Mormon, but in 3 weeks, so we'll call her in about 2-3 weeks. After that, the day got HECTIC, because I planned things WAY too close together. So, we quickly ate at [a member's] house, with President there. Then BOOKED it back to the lesson with [the investigator couple], to which we brought two members. Then we BOOKED it over to our English class with two muslim people. They are SUPEr nice, and the english class is basically talking to them in english. The next day was also kinda crazy. We got stood up at a lesson with a member, then went tracting with that member, met some weird hippie kinda lady, then ate at that members house, then did weekly planning, had a lesson with [an investigator], then had a little more weekly planning, then went to teach a recent convert, Then taught [a man], who basically told us he didnt beleive that we had any authority to say his baptism was not valid. He said we had no authority because we havent studied the scriptures a lot. ( seminary, bible studies, etc.) So we testified that we know that we have been called of God, by a prophet, and then invited him to pray and read the Book of Mormon. The next day we had exchanges with the Elders from Alma. Everything fell though that day as well, so we did a lot of knocking. (we brought a member to one of those appointments that fell through, I felt bad.) Then we taught another less active, Normand. The next day was Church, then off to have another less active, cancel on us, then we went knocking, found a super solid potential, who looked like she was just out of High School, and in Cegep. Then we taught two Muslims, and invited them to read the Book of Mormon, which they accepted. Then we went and had a conversation with a member who is being baptised into the 7th day adventist. So, we basically invited her and her boyfriend to read the book of mormon. [A member] and her mom were both there. I really want to be like that after my misson, helping the missionaries out. Then we basically tracted the whole night.
It was a good full week, and I am SUPER happy, and trying to truly give my all to the Lord in this work. It's awesome!
I love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love
Calvin
P.s. No I havent seen any northern lights,(darn!) It's pretty warm, I'm driving, and yes the truck has a plug for the engine, but we dont use it anymore. LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!CANT WAIT TILL YOU HAVE POUTINE!!!!!! [This was in response to some questions I had]:
So I have a few questions:
Have you seen the Northern lights yet?
Is it any warmer there this week?
Does your truck have a thing you plug in at night to keep the engine warm? You know, a plug out of the front of the truck?
I happened to catch Calvin online that day and I wrote this:
Dear Calvin,
Yay! I LOVE Mondays! It sounds like you are very busy. I'll have to look up the recipe for poutine!
I'm so glad you're keeping busy, and working hard.
Have a great week!
Love,
MoMM
To which he replied:
NO!!!! DONT TRY POUTINE UNTIL YOU COME UP HERE!!!!!!!!!!! naw it really doesnt matter, but the best poutine is up here, but if you make a good poutine sauce, it's not half bad.
I know I've described Poutine before, but I'd recommend you google it on the internet. Poutine is a Canadian dish that consists of basically steak cut french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. Yes, this description is overly simplistic, so I strongly recommend you google it! It sounds yummy! The only problem I have now is our usual grocery store has recently discontinued cheese curds!! AGH!
18th March, 2013 - I think I wrote Calvin a brief note telling him that we had received a letter from President Cannon telling us that he was called to be District Leader, and asking us to support Calvin in this calling. About mid-week, I wrote him a brief note about how happy we are for him with this new calling, and I wrote some "motherly advice" - basically to serve the missionaries he's working with, counsel together with them, and not to get a swollen ego!! I met lots of returned missionaries who bragged about their being district leader or zone leader or assistant to the president, or just had egotistical attitudes about serving in leadership positions, and I vowed that I would teach my son that leadership is all about service, not power. I think the email I sent him is what he's referring to at the beginning of the email. I think! Oh, and I also started my email to him written in a style after the epistles of Paul. I like to get creative sometimes. *grin*
Dear Momm,
You are an amazing person. You know what i need exactly when i need it, and you are willing to follow the spirit. I love you so much and I am glad that you are my mother for time and all eternity. You are an amazing person, and i;m so glad to get your letters (which are written in the MOST creative ways ever) that reassure me of your love! You give me news, you make me laugh, advice, council ,comfort, and love issue from your pen ( computer keyboard) with grace and beauty, rivaling those words of Paul, Shakespear, and Isaiah, and surpassing them all in love. I never once doubted that you loved me, and thought the world of me. I cannot express to you in words how much that means to me how much you mean to me. thank you!!!
Dont worry about the dislexyc brain thing, I am getting that too. I cant think of words, or I use words that dont mean what I want it to mean, or I use french or quebecquoi words instead of english words, my brain feels like a big mess! Sometimes I cant even express what I am thinking, or feeling, and that gets really annoying. Or I'll just randomly say out of the blue what i am thinking, and my companion wont understand at all. Sometimes I wonder if there is something wrong with me, but i know that if I just had time to draw, or paint my feelings out, it might make some semblance of order. Then I wonder if I'm crazy. But that's ok! So dont worry about your mind, we'll just go crazy together!
[Because Chantal will be leaving for college this year, I asked him if there were skills or things I taught him that were helpful to him on his mission.] Let's see... anything i can say i have been exceptionally greatful that you have taught me on my mission..... laundry, how to clean, how to figure things out that I dont know how to do, how to ask for help, how to cook and follow a recipie, how to follow directions, stuff like that. But there are a lort of things you can only learn once you are out of the house. [Isn't that the truth!] The biggest thing is to be able to make mistakes, learn, and be humble without being hurt by that process.
For Miranda's allergy problems, Just get her a super cool lookin' gas mask, and make it neon colors, and cool like that. That way it wont look stupid! I would wear one of those to school if i could, Oh! and paint the biohazard sign on it, and make sure it's a sleek, modern lookin one. Dad knows what I'm talking about, and i'm sure they sell ones like that that work.
You did a sidoku in 4 MINUTES?!?!?!?! WOAH!!!!!!
So, what is going on here? well, we have found 2 new investigators, who are super cool! they are a young couple (not married) and they are just super cool! they are easy to talk to, they are into all the things i am into, and they are super nice! They seem interested in the message, we just need to actually get to teaching them ( we've been focusing on just talking to them, de faire un connaissance-cant think of the phrase in englsh-) [Yay! He's starting to be able to think in French!!! And the phrase means "making a friendship, or being friends with" and I know what he means about it not translating well from French!]
So that's all cool, sorry i havent written much this week, but I put more thought into it, so I hope that makes it awesome!
Love you all sooooooooo much, and i hope your week is amazing!
I miss you!
Love
Calvin
Now I'm all caught up. Phew! I hope you're enjoying hearing from Calvin. It is evident to me that he loves what he's doing, and that he's happy to be there.
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