Week 24 - Hello to Everyone!

Yet another week has seemed to fly by! It was another full and busy week, but it did finish with a little load of frustration. We have been really seeing great progress with our investigators and less-actives...unfortunately the progress really seems to stop when we aren't there with them. We didn't have one investigator at church this week--so frustrating! Especially after they say they will be there and they know they need to be there..yada yada yada...I guess that is just how it goes though. I really just wish they would act on what they know to be true! So many of them remain on that cusp of breakthrough. It is definitely something we are working hard at helping them get over. Keep us in your prayers of how we can accomplish such a task! 

Saturday had a little bit of a different flavor though this week. We got over to a member's house at 7:30 in the morning, had breakfast, then actually helped them pour footings for an addition to their house! I am really adding to my arsenal of home improvement knowledge out here! It was actually a lot of fun though. After that we then helped him move like 60 bee boxes that he runs in the summer as a bee keeper, then ripped out some concrete slabs that were about 10'x5'.. it was a good time! It was nice to be able to really do some hands on work for a change! Something you get to miss after 6 months! Something else that happened was when we went to our supper appointment that night, we just went in our service clothes because we were already 20 minutes outside of town, and really didn't have time to go change. Well we got there and they needed part of their roof fixed. We decided well hey why not go up there and fix it! so We got the ladder out, that didn't reach, so we decided to redneck it and put the ladder in the back of the pickup and get up there, that didn't reach either! But in the process we got the truck stuck in the mud! So in order to get it out, we brought over the feller buncher, a huge piece of logging equipment, and pulled the truck out! Then after that we just climbed up that and onto the roof! Exciting times up here in Barrhead!! For some reason though I never seem to have my camera on me when anything cool happens. I need to work on that!

We had such an awesome experience teaching Chelsea this week!  We met with Chelsea and brought Sister Wannop with us. Well turns out they actually already knew each other because Sister Wannop actually runs play groups over in Westlock! Well we taught all of Lesson 1-The Restoration and it went so well! We would cover a topic and she would agree entirely with us. Saying yea that makes sense or yea I already believe in something similar. One in particular was about the Restoration itself. We asked, "Do you really think that a Restoration could happen?" She replied saying that yea it really just makes sense. There is no real reason to doubt that. Then we asked, "Do you honestly believe that there are prophets on the earth today?" She also replied saying that it only makes sense if there was prophets in the time of the Bible, we would have them now. The greatest part of it all is she really does believe that a man like Joseph Smith could have been the prophet. She doesn't believe in all of that other nonsense. It's interesting to see that she has such a great understanding of Faith, even though she has never gone to church in her life. She already understands that coming to church is going to be a huge factor in building her testimony. She couldn't come this week though because of her sick kids, she said next week though things should be better! We will have to see what happens!

We also met with the Woodcock family this week, and it went great! They are really starting to soften their hearts to the church. This man hasn't come to church in years, but last week he said that he will come in the next week or two. He will make it, and his wife (a nonmember) said she would come with him. Teaching them this week was actually really cool because we talked about the importance of Joseph Smith, and the reality of the Book of Mormon in our lives. Also talked about how so many things point to that idea that we need the Book of Mormon. They really seemed to agree. It's hard though because she is comfortable in her church with her friends and everything.. she just needs to have a great experience when they do come to our ward!

I gave a talk yesterday in church! That is always a good time! I gave it on Doctrine and Covenants Section 3:3-4. It went well! I really emphasized how we all fall into this trap of thinking we can do this all on our own. How we begin to have things go our way and things start to be successful, then we start to think that God had no part in our progress. We forget all He has done for us, and get centered in on ourselves. We begin to really have this "me" attitude, and fail to realize that we should possess the "we" attitude. And in doing that we can really turn to our Savior for help. His enabling power he gives to each of us is far greater than we could ever know for ourselves. But by utilizing that, we can reach our full potential. That is the nutshell version, hopefully it made sense!

A lesson we have been doing with people lately is found in Alma 5:26.. We emphasize the "Can Ye Feel so Now?" We talk about how we tend to forget the feelings we have when we first join the church, or when we first find a testimony on something in the gospel. Far too often we fail to remember the journey we have taken and we don't seem to appreciate fully all we had to go through to get where we are at now. It is a very interesting question to ask yourself. Something I invite all of you to do. Think back to a time to when you thought you had it all figured out spiritually and where your faith was bulletproof. Then ask yourself, Do I feel so now? If not, fix it. It is quite simple. We need to be as strong as we ever have in this church. The adversary is constantly looking to break us down. The temptations are growing stronger and stronger. Just as our testimonies are built line upon line, precept upon precept, I believe they are destroyed in a very similar manner. 

I hope all is well with everyone back at home! The weather is snowing like crazy again! But apparently we might get some warm weather come the weekend...well that can't come soon enough! Thank you for everything! Love you all!

Love- Elder McFall

This is our latest zone training meeting though! Couple weeks old..

April 29...the weather is awful up here. This is outside the Uwazny's after we did our laundry this morning

Week 23 - Hello Everyone!

I can tell you this much, this week was so busy! We didn't even have time to hardly think! We were bouncing around from appointment to appointment, then from service project to service project. It is a good problem to have, but sometimes you just wanted to just lay down and take a nap! That is not so, so we just kept adding appointments! We had a few mission meetings this week which took up a chunk of time, then all our scheduled service, and then we had all of the service we do for the members. On top of that, there was a funeral for the dear Sister Juba. So yes, I am starting this e-mail on sort of a sad note, well not really though because the great knowledge we have of the Plan of Salvation lets us know she is simply just moving on her path back to our Heavenly Father. It was sad to see her go. She passed away on Monday. The last time we saw her was on Sunday, and I will remember that day. You hate seeing someone go, but it was comforting to know she was no longer in pain, and she could now return to be with her family that has passed. 

The week we had this week was really productive and successful, but it didn't yield great results in regards to "missionary numbers”, which seems to usually be the case. We had dinner with a less-active part member family on Tuesday, and they invited us back, so that is a good sign! They live out in the country, so it was pretty easy to have conversation with them. That country living is something that I am starting to really like! We did have some cancellations with some of our weekly appointments this week as things just came up, but we are on for this week. We still talked to all of the individuals in some way, and things should be on the climb. There isn't really any remarkable progress in regards to our investigators right now. Things with Madi have continued to be going well, and hopefully this week we will be able to see about a baptismal date. 

We had our lesson with the Woodcock's this week too, and it went great! They actually said that they may be at church this next week, which is something that when we first started, never was going to happen. It has been the greatest see the Spirit work on them. It is one of those situations where a lot of misunderstandings and people in the church doing the wrong things that pushed him away, so it has been a hard road back. But we have made so much progress! It has been the greatest! We will be back over there this week, so we will see how that goes!!

We got a new investigator this week! It was funny because right before this I was sitting there mumbling how tracting hasn't really yielded any great results since I have been on my mission. Just before that we had tracted a whole street and not even one real conversation, just denials. We left that road, and while driving I thought of a certain stretch of road that we should knock. We only had a few minutes before we were going to maybe go try a less-active family, but we figured we would knock a few doors. Anyways, we knock the first one on the street--lady just says she is comfortable and likes her church...okay, next door, we knock--nothing. Okay, so we turn around start walking down the driveway and then the owner of the house pulls right in! She is a young mom, with two kids. She gets out of the car and she is happy to see us, we help her take the groceries in and then talked to her for about 45 minutes! We had her describe what type of church she was looking for, and she said everything that our church has to offer! We gave her a Book of Mormon, invited her to read and come to church. She said she would read, and we set up an appt for this Wednesday! She couldn't come to church because she was leaving town, but she said she would probably be there this week! I will inform you if things continue to go well there! 

Other than that, nothing too crazy happened this week! I am loving my mission right now. I am hating the weather though, however that is okay! I hope all is well back with you! You are all in my prayers daily! I'll talk to you soon!

Love, Elder McFall

Week 22 - Hello everyone!

How is everyone doing today?  I can say that I am really enjoying the work right now. We have been real busy with everything that goes on as a missionary, so that is good. Sometimes there aren’t enough hours in the day to get all you wanted to accomplish! It is good though, being busy definitely makes the work so much more enjoyable, as I have said before. No new investigators this week though, just have been working with the same people, or at least trying to work with them. Sometimes trying to get a hold of people can be the hardest thing. It would be better if someone wasn't interested to just say so rather than lead us on. We will keep trying though! 

Nothing is really progressing too much with our investigators right now. Madi is still doing well, and she is participating more and more in the lessons we have. We still meet with them pretty much every week, which has been really good for the whole family. They have all been to church now for like 4 straight Sundays! We had a lot of lessons still this week, just not too many others are moving along like we had hoped! It is too bad, but it really is up to them to make that decision. We can only do so much and present so many points of doctrine before they have to make the decision if they really want what we have to offer or now. Hopefully things will improve over the next week! Always got to stay positive about what happens, no matter what!

We had a really sweet experience this week though with the Woodcock family. He hasn't been to church in years, and his wife isn't a member. Our first meeting with him a few weeks back, he said that it wasn't likely he would ever be back at church. This last week he said that he thinks that he will and would like to come to church, we just need to get his wife to come too! It probably doesn't seem like much in writing and that extremely short version, but to us it has been incredible. We really have seen the change take place in their lives! We can see the Spirit working on them in miraculous ways! It has been such a rewarding experience!

The weather is bipolar up here, just like Utah! Every day seems to be different than what the forecast called for! There is still some snow on the ground, but not too much, only in some places! Which is nice! It's been winter up here for 6 months...it's getting real old! 

I wish I really had more news for you all! I can tell you all this much though. The greatest joys in this life are only attainable through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We truly can unlock this whole new realm of happiness, peace, and joy. Not just in this life, but in the world to come. I hope you all can find yourself in the scriptures. They really are a guide to live. If you don't think you have time, then you are sorely mistaken. Make the time for God in your life. It only makes sense for us to do all we can to show our love and appreciation for all he has done after he has done everything for us.

I love you all very much! I'll talk to you soon!

Love, Elder McFall

Week 21 - Greetings Family & Loved Ones!

I really am starting to run out of subject line phrases..I will have to think more about that today and write some down! How is everyone!? You should all know that I am doing really good. Training has been a blast, and my companion is easily becoming one of my best friends. Missionary work really becomes so much easier when you have a companion that you get along with really well. We have been crazy busy lately though. We hardly have to sit down and think of what we should do the next day in our daily planning sessions because we already have so many things planned. It is nice having it that way though. We have been able to keep working with a lot of the less-actives and investigators as before, while also adding a new investigator this week! She lives in this house with some members. There are like 6 or 7 Philipinos living in this house. She has been here for about a month. Her name is April, she was raised as a Baptist. Our member, Eric, invited her to join us during our supper and lesson. It went well! We gave her a Book of Mormon of her own now, and we will meet with her this week again! 

We were able to teach most all of our investigators this week, or at least get in contact with about all of them. Hopefully this next week we can get lessons with those who we missed last week. It takes a lot of scheduling things to happen, but I know the Lord will make things happen if it is the right time. There is a lot of work to be done in the area. The members I wouldn't say are doing phenomenal about giving referrals and everything right now, but we are still staying busy. Hopefully it will change. Especially with all of the talks in conference about missionary work along with temple marriage, hopefully that sparks some thoughts with members of who they know can benefit from that type of message, and then they take the initiative to spread the gospel. It is something that every single person can and should work towards...how great it is to know we can have eternal families. 

I loved watching conference this weekend! It was the first time for me that I really watched the entire thing. I had so many questions answered. So many insights and personal revelations that I can apply both now and in the future. A few ideas or themes that stuck out to me were; Come unto Christ, The most important missionary work you do is in your own homes, the importance of obedience, and the great importance of Temple Marriage, and really being a disciple of Christ. Yes I know, a lot of those ideas are interrelated, but they each can stand on their own being very important pieces of doctrine and ideas. There were many other things that I found to be very insightful, I could probably go on for days about what I learned in conference this year! Hopefully you all had a similar experience while watching. I know that there are great truths to be found while watching conference. If you didn't have a chance to watch, they should be online shortly! There is still a chance for you! Make a family home evening out of a talk or something! I found that even the talks that you may seem you have heard before, the Holy Ghost can speak to you just the same. It may be a similar idea, but that doesn't mean your life is in the position that can benefit from that now.

The weather up here is still pretty cold. It snowed most of the weekend. Today it is about -6 Celsius when we came into the library to email..hopefully it warms up though. Good news though, we are no longer required to wear our suits everyday now. It is now just to meetings and everything. It is nice to be out of that suit! Sometimes you just get sick of wearing the same thing all the time! 

Some of the experiences and people we have been talking to lately have been really interesting/challenging. People often pose the hardest questions they have to the missionaries it seems like! And let's be honest it's me, and then my greenie companion..do you really think we have all the answers? I can tell you this though, as missionaries we truly do have our mouths filled. We are given in the very moment what we shall say. The Lord never leaves us to fight this battle on our own. We have had people who come to us thinking they can stump us, and at first it seems as though they have. Then before you know it you are talking and relaying information or bearing testimony you did not know you possess. That makes me think of Elder Holland's talk yesterday. We must first acknowledge the knowledge we do possess before you we even begin to admit our inadequacies. How true it is. I know that if we go forth boldly and testify of what we do know to be true, our Savior will make up the rest. Whether it be through the words we speak, or softening the hearts of the listener, he has a hand in all things that we do. 

Hopefully things will progress in the upcoming weeks. I hope that our investigators and less-actives were all able to get the answer they needed from conference. Maybe it will light that fire for some of them and get that ball rolling. Hopefully the weather will warm up so we can continue to find success with tracting and street contacting because people will actually come outside! Keep us in your prayers! 

I love you all!

Love, Elder McFall

Week 20 - Good Day!

Good day!

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend, filled with the spirit of Christ and in remembrance of his great and eternal sacrifice! For me it was obviously different, but fulfilling in a much different way. It truly is a privilege and honor to be able to go around and teach people more about all that our Savior and Redeemer has done for us. And then to invite them to really come to know of the truthfulness for themselves. To add on that, to actually see the change come into their lives--what an experience!! Our Easter was a lot of fun! The Uwazny's ( my new family up here) haha invited us over for the Easter Bunny. We got all sorts of candy there and for me it is just so much fun to see the kids all getting so excited! It's been fun being able to be a part of that family. Definitely ones I will want to keep in touch with when I am home. Then we had church obviously, then we went around to a few different people, had Easter supper with the Uwazny's, and then one more appt, that seems to elude me at the moment that night. Overall it was a good day. Really just another day in the life of a missionary, that is okay though. Pday was postponed this week because the Library was closed for "Easter Monday"..pretty ridiculous. Another excuse for a holiday I guess!

Training has been a blast so far! My companion's name is Elder Winterbottom, from Clearfield, Utah! He is a great guy, super fun to have around! He loves to hunt, fish, and camp, so as you can imagine we get along beautifully! We have a lot in common even above that, so things are joyous. He turns 19 in June I believe it is..So I got one of the young-ins! It makes me feel so much older being a trainer and seeing someone who is so new to the mission. I mean sure I am almost 5 months(which is crazy) but at the same time, it's so much more than what he is at! Life as a trainer is a blast! It's kind of nice being able to actually just do the things I want to do! ha that definitely can be a bad thing though if you get in the way of the spirit! Hopefully that isn't the case though as we are constantly praying to try and find inspiration of what to do and how to fill our schedule. Serving as the senior companion is definitely a responsibility, but I can see how the experiences and situations I have been in prior to this have prepared me for this. We get a lot done! We have been so busy he didn't even have a chance to unpack! Now that is what I am talking about!! We have had some good success stories lately...however not many involve our current investigators. We really only have one investigator that is progressing, but that is something we are working on! Last week while tracting, we actually got about 3 really good potentials, gave a book of Mormon to two of them, and will follow up this week with appts! Hopefully that goes well!

We have also been able to get a hold of a lot of the less-actives in the area lately and been able to have them actually have this desire to change. It's so cool to see them make the choice for themselves. One family we had FHE with last night, has told us that they really have a desire to move towards the temple. What a blessing that will be for them in their family. It will be a process, but I am overjoyed for the opportunity to help them along the way. They are the Oates family. It was good because the dad was telling us how he knows it is up to him. It's all because he is lazy. I talked to them about the temple, something that came to me last week as I was thinking of how to help all the people in the area. They said they really want to and they are going to do all they can do to get there. It will be a process, but so worth it.. he called and said that he will be to watch conference with us with the family on Sunday. He said if they aren't there we can give up on them. He said how much they have been given, and how they need to do their part. Now obviously we would NEVER give up on them, but it's cool to see how he has this change of heart.

A pretty cool thing that happened this last week to was we have a couple new families moving into the ward. One of them, the Gibbert's, are all recent converts, moving from BC. We are actually going to go over to his place Friday, well his mom's place as he is up here alone until he gets his house built and his family comes over in June, and visit even more with him. His mom isn't a member, and he said that she is really being prepared. Hopefully we get the chance to talk more with her too! 

The work is going well right now, things are almost so busy we don't even have time to think! That is how it should be though! We have meetings with almost all of our investigators this week, which will be nice to be able to get back working with all of them after the month long hiatus down in Stony Plain. 

With the weather warming up, talking to people is a bit better. They are much more willing to stand outside and actually talk to you instead of just opening the door enough to say they aren't interested. It allows us to talk to a lot more people, I have seen the change already. Not only that--but people are so much more happy now!! Our investigators are progressing like crazy right now. Really cool things have been happening though in some regards. Our one progressing investigator right now is Madi, the 9 year old girl. They have been at church 3 weeks in a row now! It's great! You can see the change happening in their lives, and it truly is marvelous. We have had some success lately tracting actually, which is rare. I handed out a few copies of the Book of Mormon last week when we were tracting, now it is just hoping that they can turn into something more than just a handout. I'll follow on them all this week probably. We have been able to see some good progress with some less-actives. We are going to go over to try and get a hold of the lady who got back from Belize, hopefully set up an appt this weekend...and truthfully try and get her on a baptismal date. I will update more when things pick up with some other investigators. It's just been really neat to see how I really "don't take the thought beforehand what I shall say, it is meted to me in the very moment" (a slight paraphrase of a D&C verse ha) There was a lady, one of our new 'gators' last week. We were teaching her and I felt guided to what to read, what to say, and ended up leaving her a challenge to read from the Book of Mormon and gave her a copy. It went so well, hopefully things have developed positively. 

Not anything too crazy happened this last week...well it probably did but I can't remember! I will work on that! I am looking forward to conference this weekend though! I am ashamed to say, I think this will be the first general conference that I will watch the whole thing. Rebel child I suppose. But something me and my companion were talking about this morning. I referenced to the scripture in D&C talking about whether it is by the voice of Christ or of his servants (the Prophet) it is the same. Yes I know,  a huge paraphrase, but it really is the truth. We are truthfully hearing the Word of God and hearing his will for each of us...but do we actually realize the opportunity it is? I know I didn’t! But now I do!! Hopefully you all make the time to enjoy and indulge in the words that will be spoken. You will hear what you want to hear as long as you search out the answer. 

I love you all! I'll talk to you soon!

Love, Elder McFall

Me and the comp, Elder Brexton Winterbottom - I cut my own hair, what ya think?

You never thought you would see this---neither did I. 

The mission posterity. Far left-my "brother", Middle- my "father", Me, Right- my "son"

My black-english-pal!

My old tri!