Week 15 - Hello Utah

Hello everyone!

Not too much is going on up here in Canada..just same old stuff! Well besides the fact that I got a new companion this last week, Elder Batchuluun. He is from Ulaanbatar Mongolia, and his English is pretty good and he is really awesome. It's tough though. About a year ago he got into an accident with another missionary and got a super bad head injury. Then 3 months ago he got into a car accident, now he gets super bad headaches and can't really function at times. There have been days already where we literally stay in the apartment for hours because he can't function....it is tough. Definitely some of the most lonely times of my mission because he just sleeps. I literally have nobody to talk to, and it is just awful. I study for hours on end... I feel bad for him. We will go to the doctor later on today, he will probably be going home soon though. I like him a ton though! We have a good time together; he is really funny and everything. I've definitely had to lead a lot, especially with taking over the area. It is good though, you definitely learn a lot about yourself when you have to do this. I have enjoyed it so far. Things are pretty slow right now, which kind of stinks, but working to get that to pick up. Our investigators are all sort of stagnant right now, super depressing. We know why though on all of them, it's pretty much out of our control. We will keep teaching and doing everything we can for them. 

This last week I’ve noticed that I am beginning to actually know a lot more about doctrine than I had previously thought. As we have discussions I am finally seeing all my studies come together and being able to answer a wide range of things to help all those that we talk to. It gives me much more confidence in teaching. Teaching with someone different is actually a lot of fun and I like the way that Elder Batchuluun teaches. We have a lot more fun with the teaching, well at least I am having more fun teaching, and I am actually able to be myself more by doing that, thus making it more successful.

I am about out of time for today, we are down in the city for a doctor’s appointment for my comp. Anyways, I hope you have a great week everyone! Keep me in your prayers, and I’ll do the same for all of you no worries!

I love you all!

Love, Elder McFall

Me and my new companion - Elder Batchuluun

A photo of Elder McFall and a friend from back home, Elder Jolly. (What I particularly like about this photo is the locale in which it was shot...two missionaries in the parking lot of a liquor store.)

Week 14 - Hello down in the USA!

Hello!

I do hope you have all had a great week! Also I hope you had a good Valentines and Presidents day! It was a good time I guess, we didn't do anything special though. No fancy dinners with the companion..bummer. To clarify, Family Day in Canada is practically just a made up holiday that even the Canadians don't know why they have it! But it was a good one, got to go out and have some fun with some families, especially with it being on our P-day!

This week was eventful! I went on two exchanges. The first up in Slave Lake with an Elder Mendoza. It was a good experience, serving in a different area with someone new is always kind of fun! The other was up in Athabasca with Elder Skousen. We knocked tons of doors, taught some people all the good stuff. We had a different tracting experience though! We knocked this door in like a lakeside community in the hills, so to begin with it's a little sketchy. Anyways, we knock on the door of this guy and turns out he got out of prison like two weeks prior to us being there. Not only prison but he was in solitary! He was wild, but we had such a good chat with him, I ended up leaving him with a Book of Mormon! who knows what will happen there! It's exciting times as a missionary! It was fun though!

I've got good news!! We have a new investigator!!! oh the joy! She was found in our formers(People who used to investigate the church. I know missionaries have strange lingo sometimes). Anyways, she is a school teacher over in Westlock. We have been trying to get an appt with her for like 2 months then finally we got the chance to sit down with her. But before all that, when we set the time to come back, just with talking to her on her doorstep we were able to figure out the problem that made her quit investigating. This is something that missionaries before us could not quite figure out! But right there we were able to figure out what she needed, and with further study and everything we were able to bring her a lesson that was perfect for her! We have a return appt not until next week just due to her busy schedule with reports coming up but we shall see what happens!!

Okay something else, I will be getting my first new companion tomorrow! Elder Johnson has expired, and now he will go down to Londonderry in the city. I have enjoyed serving with him. I was able to learn a lot from both the things he did do, and things he didn't do. It helped me grow, it helped me I guess step up and realize what needed to be done all the time! Which was good for me! I will be getting Elder Batchuluun who is from Mongolia! He is a good time, I think we should be able to do some good work up here in Barrhead! It'll be different though having my first new comp! Oh the excitement!

Something I have been thinking about a lot is forgiveness lately. So here is the Elder McFall Message. Christ talks about how we must forgive, to be forgiven. The hard part isn't the understanding, it is the application. How many times have each of us been wronged and we did not want to ever forgive for that unspeakable thing we had done to us? Okay now give this a thought, what did Christ truly do while kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane? He took on all we have ever done, all we ever felt, all we ever will feel and do. And with that he gave us the forgiveness that we could not do for ourselves. Through atonement we are able to receive mercy enough to satisfy the Justice of God. We will never be good enough, we constantly sin, but what does the gospel teach? That our sins will be continually forgiven if we have that broken heart and contrite spirit, that is all that is asked. Now to go back, why should it then be so hard for each of us to forgive, when every single day we are asking forgiveness for the things we have done? How is that fair at all? We must strive each day to be Christ like. That covers all aspects of our lives, we cannot pick and choose the points of doctrine or principles we will apply and live in our lives. Hopefully that made sense, if not pray about it and you will understand!

I hope you all are having a wonderful week. You are in my prayers! I love you all!

Love, Elder McFall

Our Zone Group

Week 13 - Happy Valentines

Hello!

How is everyone doing this week? This email will probably be much shorter, I apologize! Just a few things that I thought would  be interesting for me to write to you. This week we went to a funeral for one of our former investigator's husband. Confusing I know. Anyways, when we got a hold of her it was the day after he had passed, and so we ended up going to the service. We were able to witness a different funeral, one I won't forget. Basically they started saying prayers out loud and doing things like that. They actually said the prayer that Christ offered on the Sermon on the Mount to the Father. Here is the funny part, if you look just a few verses prior to that Christ teaches to not say repetitious prayers as the heathens do...and this is exactly what the people did at the funeral! Anyways!!! that is all right, hopefully we will be able to turn this into something good and be able to uplift her!

We had exchanges this week, I was down in the city for the first time really. It was a good experience. Taught good lessons and did other missionary work (tracting, contact formers, etc.) But for lunch we went to the mall. It was the first time I've been to the mall in months! Not only that, it was the first time I have really been around a ton of people! Small town Barrhead is making me crazy! I realized how living here for 3 months has made me adapt to this small town life! 

Things with the ward are moving along. We have worked with so many ward families and they are getting very excited about missionary work! Actively working members are truly the key to success as a missionary. They are so willing to help wherever they can, well usually in words, now we just wait for the action to follow. We don't have any investigators on date for baptism yet, which is a bummer. Every week I can't help but just hope for that Baptism!! We have been so busy lately though, setting a lot of appointments. One we actually set for next sunday is with another former investigator, she has had a powerful experience before with the missionaries. I hope this one will pan out! We stay busy day in and day out though, I have made sure of it. I know that the "fruits of our labors" will come. 

Not too many noteworthy things have been happening lately.. Just typical missionary stuff. Next week is transfers, and we do think that one of us may be leaving. We will see. I've loved serving in Barrhead, I've grown so much. It has set the tone for my mission. I'll always remember the moments and people that are here. Something I would like each of you to do is really ask yourself the question, "Do I know that this Church is true? Do I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God?" They are simple questions that missionaries ask people all the time. But have you ever taken the time to really take that step back and ask yourself? Give it a go. See your testimony grow everyday. If it isn't growing, you are losing it. Gordon B Hinckley gave a similar type of talk, relating it to the muscle in his arm. And how true it is. It isn't something we can just take a day off, we can't afford to just miss that morning prayer and think it is okay. 

I want you to all know that I love you very much! Have a great Valentine's day! Go do something nice for someone on that day. Be a secret admirer to that old lady in the neighborhood or something! You are all in my prayers! I'll talk to you soon!

Love, Elder McFall

p.s. next Monday is what they call Family Day here in Canada so I will be emailing on Tuesday rather than on Monday!

Week 12 - Hello Hello Hello!

I do hope each of you had as an uplifting week as I have!! Hopefully nobody has had as a tiring week though! I'll tell you this much, missionary work doesn't just get easier, in fact it probably gets harder and harder. The harder you work, the happier you are, but the more exhausted and drained you are! What do you do though right? I love doing it!

Our investigators are all progressing like we had hoped. Still nobody on date, we are working on that! We've done a lot of finding trying to find another investigator! Trying to find that "golden gator".. that will just take more time! But we do still have the 4 progressing so that is a good thing. We are working with two people on the Stop Smoking Program. The one guy last week was going to start, but he got cold feet. He started today though! We told him that this was the best thing he could do for his life and family and he just had the desire, hopefully he accomplishes this! The woman we are working with has been trying to quit for like 8 years but no success. She started last week, lasted a day, then gave in. We started it all back up again though yesterday! So far so good, we will see how it goes though! Pretty cool though with her. She talked about how we were the absolute answers to her prayers. She was in a dark place, faith was down, and then we knocked on her door. She has felt the spirit so strong recently with our visits and she knows she needs the gospel back in her life! It's phenomenal!

The ward is progressing so well up here, they are more and more excited about missionary work each week. Yesterday we had a ward fast for missionary work. The testimony meeting we had was one of the most spiritual meetings I think I have ever been up to. It was incredible. I can't hardly describe the feelings that were felt. The ward has changed so much since i've gotten here, I love it. A ward that is willing to work is directly correlated to missionary success, I can testify to you the power in that statement. I know it to be true!

We have been really busy lately. I have made sure of it! No new "gators" this week. :( Which is a bummer! I want a new family to teach so bad!! 

We have done something really awesome that I thought was a good idea. So we go through our area book and we try and find old investigators and see if they want to reinvestigate, or we try and contact more people off the ward list (which is shrinking because of bitter people) or just going to appts.. Well what we do is after the initial task we talk to every single person we see around the street. Also we knock on doors of every one of their neighbors. It's an easy way to have different finding opportunities, which in an outlying area with only 4,500 people living there is a necessity to get creative! I so badly want to find more people to teach! Everyone needs to know of the power and truthfulness of this gospel! It truly has the power to change lives and bring the joy and hope that can help through any situation in life. It's hard knowing so much, loving the gospel so much and having the desire to tell everyone, but nobody wants to listen!

I've been studying a lot in the New Testament, along with my Book of Mormon reading, and the i've loved reading more about the things Christ himself taught. The sermon on the mount is powerful! Something that has made it even better are the bible videos on mormonchannel.org. Now how many of you could say you have actually gone to the site and looked at any of the videos the church has put out? I know they are extra cool to me because that is all the T.v. I get, however they truly are so powerful! Look into it!

Anyways, I hope you have all had a great week! Keep reading and praying! I know that prayers are answered! No matter what the matter may be, Our Heavenly Father is waiting and wanting to help. He knows what we need before we ask for it, we must simply knock. You are all amazing people. Continue to rely on the Atonement of our Savior and Redeemer and I promise you that you will find your joys grow, your love expand, and peace in your soul. Feast upon the words of Christ. Cherish the opportunity it truly is to live in These Latter Days. We are a blessed generation. There are things that each of us need to accomplish. Never take for granted the blessing we each enjoy. Be faithful. Endure to the End. When times are tough, fall to your knees and plead for the strength that can only come through this gospel. I love you all so very much. I'll talk to you all so soon. 

Love, Elder McFall