Hey, it's only Tuesday!

Yay! Yay! I love Mondays. Nothing like p-day to help you love Mondays! P-Day is the one day a week Calvin has to write letters, do laundry, and to take care of other "household stuff" that he doesn't have time for during the rest of the week. On to the email!

Hey Momm!!!
So, It was great to get your email, but I have no idea whats going on, because you left all that room for everyone else to write, and NO ONE WROTE MEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (except dad) [I did fill him in briefly on the activities of the week, but I left the details for the involved family members to share, like the school play and youth activities. See, I was told that my emails were too long for him to read, and then have time to respond, in the hour he gets on the computer, so I made my email shorter this week.]

Anyways, So this week was pretty good, we had exchanges with the zone leaders, and that was fun. I found out a lot about myself this week. I'm not quite sure what to make of it. So the exchanges with the zone leaders was fun, we found a lot of potentials, but we had to wait until THIS WEEK to find out if they have any real potential. 

    So, the verdict has arrived, I am staying in Chicoutimi!!!! I'm really happy about that! I love this area, and we have found tons of people who are really cool! It's such a shame, because the movies, or the stories from other missionaries never quite grasp the real feeling of being a missionary. Yes, there are those humerous stories, but really what is the best about missions are the people. Before my mission, I didnt think i would enjoy the mission at all, because the things we do are not really all that exciting. What makes a mission so fun and awesome, are the people that you find, and teach, and talk to. That's what makes it the best. 

    Speaking of awesome people, we found another new investigator!! He is 16, soon to be 17. He's really cool. He likes to work out, and God and religion are important things for him! That's pretty rare. so he was one of the many miracles this week. We have been teaching and talking to a lot of young people because we have found knocking around a cegep is really effective. ahh.... cegep. Especially in this nice weather, people are just out and want to talk to you! 

    Hmm... [the couple we're working with] are super awesome as usual, but they have a few things seperating them from baptism. We've tried to get them to commit, but they aren't quite ready yet. We think it's time for drastic measures; playing warhammer with [the husband] on mondays. Oh darn. I really hope I can stay i contact with them after my mission. Hey momm, have you been studying your French lately? Because I'm planning to skype with some people back here, and since we want to come back and visit ( we do, right?) It would be great if we could have two people who spoke French up here. I realized how funny that would be if we came back , and I understood everything, and you all just had blank stares. But I definately want to keep in contact with the people up here! Awesome investigators like [the couple we're working with]. 

   I'm kinda worrying about all this because this week I had a scary dream that I came home and did......... nothing. I did absolutely nothing. nothing changed, I had the same old habits. I lost my French. It was scary. So I kinda took that as incentive, (and maybe a warning) to not "go back to my old nets"when I get home. that's kinda been my preoccupation this week. 

    Soo I love you all! I hope all is going well for you! Hey, how do mondays usually go at home? like do you all just kinda take turns to read my letter, or do you read it out loud, or what? 

    Sophie! I'm sooooo proud you got to level 4 on Galaga all by your self! That's stinkin inpressive! I was not expecting that. 

    Love!

CALVIN

I wasn't finished yet!

I added the photo to the previous blog and for some reason I couldn't add the rest of Calvin's mails underneath the photo. So here are the other emails! You didn't think I would leave you with just one email and a photo when I was catching you up to this week did you?

8 April, 2013 [this is the email I missed because our email was down]

Hey Momm!!!

So this week was NUTS! We left our area Tuesday morning , and then we went ALL the way to Rimouski, through Quebec City (the barge to take our truck isn't open, so we had to go ALLL the way down, and back up again!) it was crazy. [If you google map Chicoutimi, Quebec Canada to Rimouski under "driving directions" you'll see the two possible routes; one with the ferry and the other one driving to Quebec City. Either way it takes over 5 hours, though the driving one is 523 km and the ferry one is 272 km.] But we had a great time in Rimouski. It has THE MOST gorgeous sunsets I have ever seen! The Elders in Rimouski were super happy to have exchanges, too. They haven't seen other missionaries for a month. After that, we went down to Quebec City again to have our Zone Conference on Friday, and our interviews with President and Sister Cannon. That's how you got my picture. I told Sister Cannon you will miss her. After my interview with President Cannon, Sister Cannon handed me a piece of paper with messages on it from  all my companions, I was sooo sad because that meant this was our last interview! So, after that we came back to Chicoutimi and had a lesson/ Dinner appointment with a Colombian investigator. It was sooo cool because it was a dinner appointment with an investigator! He made some really good porc [that's the French spelling! Yay! He's learning the language!] stuff with peas and lentils [wait, PEAS AND LENTILS?! He NEVER eats anything I make with lentils! and who in my family BESIDES ME likes peas??], and other stuff with good quebecqoui mashed potatoes! It was great, then we shared a quick message and left to get to our next appointment. I really enjoyed conference! We got to watch 3 out of the 5 sessions in English. The Branch has it set up in a really cool way, we have the Chapel for French, and the Relief Society room for English, and then the Primary Room for Spanish (for some of the members who do speak spanish) It was a really cool way to have conference, people walking in and out of different rooms to watch the sessions. A member from Texas (his is a cool story) brought his iPad, and watched conference in English on his iPad, and sat on the comfy chairs in the foyer. It was a really fun conference. I learned LOTS, and we got a lot done as far as missionary work, as well. I liked President Uchtdorf's talk about how the light of the gospel, and Jesus Christ can and will fight off the darkness in our lives. That was a great talk. President Nelson is going to become the ""slogan apostle" if he keeps going like this! I already was cranking out a few designs based on "Catch the wave". Anyways, not tooo tooo much happened for me this week, because most of it was spent DRIVING! 

  I'm so glad to hear everything that's going on at home.  Oh, I did get my package, and I LOVED IT!!! I was a bit thrown off when I read ""Pillow case and cardboard toys"" on the package, but when I opened it, I was SO HAPPY! I almost have the Tardis fully constructed. and I've used the pillowcase. and all the letters are super great!!!! I'm so grateful for all of  them, and to all the people who wrote me. 

I cant wait to see the rats, the cats [um, Calvin, we still only have one cat], and Miranda's sculptures! When will you send me pictures?!?!?!? And Grandpa sang a duet!!!???!!! I'm floored! [Miranda and a friend are doing a duet for NYSSMA. Grandma Pettengill is accompanying them. They practiced over Spring Break with Grandma and Grandpa came along. Miranda's chorus teacher wanted to see how they were progressing, so she met us at the practice too. After Miranda and her friend were done singing, Grandpa and Miranda's chorus teacher sang the duet. Miranda and her friend were very impressed.]

  I love you all, and I hope you have a great week!

Love

Calvin

[I had written Calvin a brief email on the 8th "just wondering where you are because I haven't heard from you yet today" and I got this in return to that email, again, a week late]

'I cant tell you where I am, or what I'm doing it's a secret area of the mission and a special assignment from the Mission President, please write. 

 

 15 April, 2013

Hey Momm

Sorry you couldn't get my email last week! I'm sorry! It's been such a crazy time up here! We had splits with Alma this week, So that was fun. We had a lot of fun with those. It was a lot of fun to spend the day out in Jonquiere, next to the Cegep. That was a lot of fun. 

  I believe I've run  into the same problem a lot of missionaries run into when they have nothing to right about home. Like, we do basically the same thing each week, so our emails wend up being like "Well, we knocked........ and....... knocked........and taught a lesson, and........ knocked........" Because that's what we do! I might just end up telling you, 'I cant tell you where I am, or what I'm doing it's a secret area of the mission and a special assignment from the Mission President, please write. " Or, "It's all a communist plo--". 

  Anyways, I've decided to try and find the best things that happened this week. it's easy because my companion had a super awesome idea that he got from his companion which was that each day we write a miracle that happened, and we write down something we learned.  SO 

TUES our miracle was some awesome lessons we had with some people. One was with a less active who has bought a house so she can move out of her BF's house, and then during the lesson she began to bear testimony about all that is going on in her life, and how the Gospel is helping her through all of it, and then how she is trying to teach her Bf about the Law of Tithing, and her testimony of tithing, it was all super cool

WED We got a referral while knocking, and we went knocking near a cegep. Cegep is THE COOLEST thing on the planet. It's basically College. I LOVE IT!!!
THURS  The Lesson with [investigators. They are always SUPER cool! This time [a member] came, and she did a fantastic job as a member, as usual. It was so funny, as we were walking out of there, she said "I like them!" In English, and we had a whole conversation in English. She went to the Carlesbad California mission.

FRI I learned it's better to express your feelings than to hide them.

SAT Another investigator, came to the Brunch de Printemps, and he  helped out by serving the oranges, and he had a huge smile on his face, like he was enjoying it. So that was awesome, because he got to introduce himself to all the members. GENIUS!!

SUN  I learned to write down what you feel in sunday meetings, because quand vous ecrivez vos sentiments, vous avez un treasure grand, et vous pouvez retourner a lui jour apres jour, apres jour. (yes my french grammar is horrible) [when you write your thoughts you have a treasure and you can return to them day after day after day - and my French isn't too fabulous after 22 years either]

I'm so glad to hear that everyone is doing so well. Chantal: Yes I would love to get a letter from you. PLZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love you!

Sophie:I RRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE you!!!!

Miranda: You Emailed me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Momm: Keep going! Life is awesome!

Dad: We have a lot to talk about when i get home!! Can't wait to do the first huge late night art/ life discussion over some oil paint and a few cans of Coke! [A side note about the painting and the cans of Coke: a few weeks ago, Miranda (who is discovering the joys of art, and who is fairly talented in three- dimensional art) was "doing art" with Todd and was very upset that they didn't have any Coke. Todd had to go to the store and get some Coke, so they could "do art" together and drink Coke just like Todd and Calvin did. These family traditions are IMPORTANT!! Even something as simple as drinking Coke is an important detail!]

LOVE YOU ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Calvin

22 April, 2013

Momm

So, this week was exciting. I got into 2 car accidents. [I've been dreading this kind of email] While backing up, the front of the truck hit a pole, widening the crack that was there from the LAST accident (which i think I forgot to tell you about) [Um, YES YOU DID FORGET TO TELL ME ABOUT IT!!] and then i SMASHED someone's back bumper. I put the car in drive instead of reverse. I really hate it when things like that happen, especially twice in one week. Other than that it was a good week. We had an awesome lesson with [an investigator], with a member, which was pretty cool. He has the most potential to get baptized right now. And our lesson with [an investigator couple] was awesome, because they had read in the Book of Mormon! So, we spent that lesson answering questions. Things are looking really good in Chicoutimi. This week, however, [the husband] might be leaving for a week long work trip,. which is basically him trekking through the woods, looking for security or observation cameras so they can fix them. it's a pretty cool job, and I think that would be a cool job for me to have. So then  we had an exchange with Alma, which was really fun, it was [another Elder's] birthday! Oh, earlier this week we knocked on this door mardi, [Tuesday] and this girl opened the door, and just behind her was a small table with a piece of paper and some brushes on it! I asked what she was doing, and she was preparing for an exhibition in a few weeks! So we talked about art for a bit, then we talked to her about the restoration, and when we showed her a Book of Mormon, she got super excited, and walked back into her room, and brought out another Book of Mormon, that a friend on a french/ english service trip gave to her!!! She also mentioned about how she had been asking herself some deep questions, and how she prays at times like that, for guidance, and things like that. Then she invited us in to show us some more of her paintings, which were all spiritual in nature, about the spirit world, and stuff like that. So she is a potential right now. 

Anyways, i have to go, I LOVE YOU ALLL!!!!!!!!!!
I love you

keep doing amazing things!

Keep at it!

Love

Calvin

 [Now you're all caught up.]

Yay! Another Post!

Excuses, excuses, blah blah blah - thought that'd be faster than reading through all the reasons why I haven't kept this up for 3 weeks. On to the good stuff! Here's Calvin!

1 April, 2013

Momm,

YOU GOT RATS!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! [Yes, we got rats. Miranda got a job at school and can pay for her own rats now, so we got rats. They are adorable. Aoife (pronounced ee fa) and Sun (pronounced soon)] I cant wait to see them. I had a weird experience this week. I was thinking about it, and I was like "I just want to do missionary work. I just want to knock." I think that that will go away after a bit of time, but it was an interesting feeling. So, dreams have been on my mind a lot lately, because one of the members we ate with yesterday is an expert in Psychology, and dreams are her passion. So I was trying to remember all my weird dreams, so I could tell her about them and see from a psychologist standpoint what they mean. She would probably tell me things that I already know. So then what else happened this week? Hmmmmm. well, we had an amazing miracle with this guy. I met him on splits, a month ago, and I said, ok, lets go pass bye him. He lives really close to our house. So, we went by and woke him up. He hadn't been there every other time we had stopped by, so I was a bit surprised, we asked if we could have a lesson. He said, "Not right now, I would like to finish sleeping."so we scheduled for 4:00 that afternoon. We go back, and as we begin talking, and sharing our message, his story begins to unfold. You see, [he] was always a beleiver, and he said that as he prays, he has always felt like he was heard. But the night before, he was talking with some friends who didn't believe, and they started asking him lots of questions, and he left that conversation beginning to doubt his faith. But when we showed up at his door, he took that as a sign that there is a God. The second lesson we had with him on Thursday, and we almost left with him committed to baptism!!!!!!!!!! He asked us "Could you guys baptize me?" We were like "Yes I think we could!" But when we tried to commit him to a date, he said "well, I'll have to see, I want to be sure this is true first."Then he began asking questions about what being baptized would entail, etc. We were bouncing off the walls we were so excited! The member we brought was a big help to us as well! She just got back from her mission. So, this was all really exciting. Then, we find out one of the members invited a non-member to go shopping with her, and they spent 6 hours together! and they talked about the church. It was super cool!!! We were excited because that is what member missionary work is! Just being friends with people. Having parties, doing fun things with them! Anyways, Oh, we also found some really cool potentials at a Cegep. Cegep is the step before college (Universite), but after high school. Then one of our investigators cooked us some food from Colombia! It was super good!  Oh, one day we were knocking around a cegep, and we found this apartment building that had a chalkboard on it, so we drew out the Plan of Salvation, and wrote "want to know more? Call (our number) " It was funny. 

 So that was my week. Momm, YOU CANNOT DO POUTINE WITHOUT CHEESE CURDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT WEBSITE LIES!!!! IT'S A FILTHY, HORRIBLE LIE!!!!!! I love poutine beaucoup! Cést ban bon. When we come up here, you shall see..... :)  [the girls and I had tried poutine with steak fries, a horrible brown sauce that I made - it was REALLY salty - and shredded cheese since I can't find fresh cheese curds in the grocery stores around here. I finally found some semi-fresh curds in a specialty shop in Greene, but I'm still looking for the "squeaky" cheese curds.]

 I hope you all are doing well!!

Love you!
Get lots of Rats!

Faites attention de les Quebeqoui avec an dreapeu de Quebec sur un grand camillon! [hmm, maybe this was the accident he forgot to tell me about? Until this week - 4/22 - when he mentioned another accident in passing as he was describing the two accidents he had last week?]

Je t'aime!

Bye-bye-le!

Calvin

This is the photo we got from Sister Cannon on April 5th. Good thing too because somehow our email was down on the 8th, so I didn't get any email from Calvin that day. That was a hard week!!!