Week 72 – Hope on. Journey on.

I figured I would start with some inspiring words in the title of this email.. we will see what I actually come up with for the week though! Okay, actually this week was pretty incredible. Thinking back week to week I can't imagine how we do fit soo many things into our schedules, how we can have so many experiences. Sometimes it gets weird when I sit there and think like am I really having any experiences that I can even remember? Then I realize that is crazy and I just gotta get things put in order.. Big enough intro?

Okay, so we did have the missionary department come up this last week! GUESS WHAT?! No ipads.. or Facebook. We are old school still. Who knows if we will get them though, we do know that it is technically still in testing phases and nobody knows.. the Prophet will have to make that decision after April I believe it is to what they want to do to expand. What did happen though was a large discussion on teaching skills. We are now using our teaching pamphlets in a much better way. We use them mostly for the pictures, well in at least one application, where we can teach the entire 1st lesson in 7 minutes or so and really begin to teach people, not lessons. It is neat to see how we can really begin to help others obtain salvation, rather than discussing information. We do all of this in an effort to help people feel the gift of the gospel. Interesting point is you can feel the power of the Holy Ghost, the power of the Atonement, the power of really the gospel of Jesus Christ, without being a member of the church.. however what we are truly offering is the Gift of each of those above mentioned topics. We are an instrument in bringing Salvation to God's children; we are part of the great and last cause of our Father. We are fulfilling His covenant to gather scattered and lost Israel. The question is, have we truly internalized our missionary purpose? What a meeting I tell you! In the same breath I feel to mention a neat fact. What day did the Angel Moroni appear to the Prophet Joseph and reveal to bring for the Book of Mormon?.. Okay don't think too hard.. Sept. 21. What is September 21? The Fall equinox, or otherwise known as beginning The Harvest Season.. hmm now there is some real crazy coincidences or this is the work of God. 

Oh! And one thing I thought was crazy cool, we are always taught and well okay at least believed that we are told we are called to a certain PLACE for a reason.. but really you are called to a specific PEOPLE. Did you know that some missionaries are called to a mission president rather than to a mission?  Maybe that makes sense. 

We did teach our friend Ulysses this week.. gosh I do love that man. Good lesson where after our training meeting we immediately went forward and applied the principles of using the pamphlet, honestly he was teaching himself. We are, I feel, as missionaries simply enabling others to be taught by the spirit. We are teaching in a way where we ask inspired questions to keep things moving, but they are really just being taught by the spirit at their own pace. It is a beautiful thing people. We taught lesson 1-the Message of the Restoration and ended with asking him to read the Book of Mormon and sincerely pray. We will see him this week. Life is good. 

One note that I feel to share is that this last week on exchanges I had the opportunity to dig back down into the sign language and teach a less-active girl who is really struggling. Interesting how the Lord will place you in a situation long beforehand that will allow you to then down the road be in a position to help someone else come to Christ in a way that no other could.  So grateful for that opportunity.

Well the work is Hastening. General Conference this weekend.. that is pretty much the most exciting thing since hearing that spring was coming. I'll talk to you soon!

Love, Elder McFall

Mission Department of the church - Myself, Brother Radford, Brother Donaldson, Elder Pitts.

Week 71 – Welcome welcome Monday morning

Well well well. The work is going I tell ya, things are happening up North! This week was full of ups and downs, let us start with the down. I guess this is all perspective though eh? So do you all remember our pal Michael? Well to just cut to the chase, he got into some more anti Mormon rubbish, so we are no longer teaching him. We got that text last Monday while going shopping and everything. I think even while we didn't get the desired result, and he is turned off to the church a bit now, we can realize that we did still help someone to our best ability. I think as a missionary you really have to understand the mark of success. You just have to ask yourself, did I do everything I possibly could for this individual? If you can then answer yes, then the Lord is pleased with your work and you can move on knowing you have fulfilled your purpose. With Michael, I can say we did all we could, but we have to respect the way he used his agency.

Okay now let us change gears.. Good news!! We did find a new investigator named Ulysses, pretty cool right?! He is a good man!! We met him just on the street walking between a couple houses we were following up with, he then invited us back a week later and so Saturday we sat down with him and had a great conversation. He is not necessarily looking for a new church, but completely open to hearing our message, reading from the Book of Mormon and so on. Just glad to have found someone who you seem to have a connection with before you really met him. I love those moments where you truly do feel like you are beginning to look at someone just as our Father does. Trust me, that has taken me SOO long to develop, and even then, it isn't with everyone!

Had some real good moments with a missionary here that I had exchanges with.. Elder Jordan Marsh.. He grew up and went to Olympus High. He and I have served very closely together for honestly 10 months or something. Definitely gotten to know him quite well. Making those types of friendships in the mission field is NEVER something I thought I would do.. Who knew right? Life is wild out here I tell ya. There really are just so many good people that if you want you can makes oodles of pals.. life is good people.

Taught Amanda this week with her children.. it went really well. She seems to really have that desire this time around to commit to things and really work towards baptism. We do have a date set for late April, we are doing everything we can to help her and her children reach that point. It is neat to see someone who already sees what the gospel can do just notice what could potentially then happen for her in her life. I am sure we will run across some concerns, we always do, but the desire is there on the surface. We will see her again tonight. The members here in this ward really do everything imaginable for those we work with though. We have been so blessed with some great brothers and sisters who want to be a part of this work.

Well, for all those who don't know, it is my momma's birthday.. so Happy Birthday Mom!!! Everyone better wish her a Happy Birthday!

Still cold up here so enjoy the sun!! Love you all!

Love, Elder McFall

Week 70 - Happy St. Patrick's Day

Even though this isn't the most impressive Holiday.. not sure if Canadians really celebrate it.. it is a good time! How is everyone doing? I can't even begin to tell you how much nicer it is now that the weather is warmer.. yes, still cold to you, but right now things are good! This week was a good one for sure. We have been working what seems to be tirelessly to find people to teach, and this week we have finally had some lessons to teach to some who are searching for truth. I will start with our pal Mark. He is basically at this point just looking to figure out what is different between our church and his church, everything we have taught so far seems to be totally agreeable, mostly because it is all true. This last week we taught him more of the Restoration, but at the beginning it is very common to most of the other real Christian churches, that is if you follow the actual teachings of Christ. His church, which is not really a mainstream church, has a lot of great New Testament points in their church formation and beliefs, not nearly as strayed as others. That brings us one big dilemma.. he loves the bible. We will climb that mountain though.

Okay so we also saw Michael. He is such a good man. We sat down with him and his mate Leslie. They both have really strayed from the knowledge that God loves them and cares for them, due to circumstances in their lives. I could say one of the most rewarding things that we can do as missionaries though is to bear testimony that quite simply God loves them, He is very aware of them, and that we have a Savior who knows them perfectly. I think even if someone doesn't really believe that to begin with, they want to! It just sounds good! We will get there I tell ya. 

Hmm. Okay so Joan, a different new investigator. Well technically an investigator. Taught her this week and it went well! We have been talking to her for quite some time and just recently we have been beginning to teach her. Staunch Catholic.. that is okay though, everyone can repent J. So we have just been doing the same type of thing.. talking about the Restoration, this and that, hopefully she will be praying and will get that answer though! I say hopefully because that is what it takes with anyone and everyone. The way to revelation is always the same.. kinda nice! 

Taught Amanda this week, not sure if I mentioned her or not! We taught her 2x actually.. both were at the church, which is something definitely that makes things special! I would say she is definitely searching this time compared to others.. she has been in contact with the missionaries since '03. We got talking and she brought out some great concerns, things we were able to address, all things seem to be hunky dory now. We just need to get these people on a baptismal date!

Did some real good service for this big women's organization this week. This area just doesn't seem to have a lot of opportunities for service.. people who will be out serving rather than be served. We are working on it though! Good to be out there though with people and just helping out. There are all sorts of just good people I tell you. 

We are still searching for something fun to do! I think we will have to wait for the snow to melt though! All in all life is good! Sorry I am not more exciting for you this week! Stay sweet!

Love, Elder McFall

Week 69 - Good stuff ya'll

Things lately have been full of excitement, mostly because Spring is in the air! Well, Alberta spring at least. We have now risen to the 30-40's, daylight savings, it is like people are living up here again. We are actually beginning to see people outside again, that is a great benefit! It is interesting how you can actually see people want to talk a lot more once the weather changes, their whole demeanor is different. Seasonal depression is a big problem up here, don't worry I take my vitamins and live by Hakuna Matata, but a lot of people up here sit in their homemade house caves and mope around.. no good. You would think sharing a message of "good news" would be quite timely for everyone.. but we are working on 'em! 

This week was super good, we were able to have our zone conference. I got thinking about things and how I have been able to personally develop as I have been in this position to lead out 22 other missionaries. I have begun to realize that we each do have a role to play in helping others begin to recognize the potential that lies within them. We each can reach out and help others begin to see that with the Lord they can accomplish miracles. Pres. Manion introduced a new Standards of Excellence. I will be honest, when this was first introduced to the Leadership Council in the mission about a month or so ago, I thought it was outrageous! We got talking about this, and really it is simply because we lack faith, okay I lacked faith. I wouldn't say I lack so much a desire to be successful, that is all I want! But it was more of putting aside the way I approach problems, and relying on the Lord's wisdom to overcome and bring miracles into what we do. Great things are in store I tell ya. 

Something that I have been pondering this week is that most people of this generation and time are of little faith, and don't really know what it means to rely on the Lord and to trust in His promised blessings. Also, they seem to all believe that the way that God deals with His children has mysteriously changed. What I think is interesting about all of that, is people so often get into the thought pattern that God spoke, not speaks, even today. They will readily accept that more has been revealed in some cases, but when what has been revealed is still incomplete to answer every question they have, they just rant about how things now must be untrue. They disregard everything when something disagrees with their opinion in the slightest degree. I have also been thinking about the impact that I am having on others and how we may not know that true impact until possibly after this life. I have been really racking my brain lately to figure out why on earth I cannot find anyone to consistently teach.. I feel that I do all the right things, really I do, but I don't have people to teach. but the truth is, I don't have any idea of how I have impacted others in their lives.. I have played a role in lives; I have helped others come closer to Christ, possibly even generations to come into the Gospel. I know this whole principle & idea, I guess Satan works on getting me to think otherwise. We should never doubt and discredit the good we have done. I think we humans want to always do more, have the bigger & better accomplishment, rather than focusing on what experiences the Lord has blessed us with and realizing that true success in this life is not measured by outward performances in every instance. 

This last week we decided that with our new friend Michael we were goin to reach out to him in some way.. so we did a real sister missionary move and brought him cookies. Only thing is, we didn't make them and instead got a member to do it!! Then went to another member's place and typed up this nice note, real simple stuff. Then just dropped in and said we were thinking about him and he was in our prayers, real simple stuff. We get a text from him about an hr later telling us how grateful he was and that he now feels that he would love to sit down and talk with us more, that he is really beginning to trust us, which is uncommon. We will be going there tonight, wish us luck! 

Man, this last week we were visiting with a member here named Pete.. what a guy! hah we go over there about 2-3 times a month, we have been working with him for a while. I thought to share a few insights though! So we got talking and it made me get thinking about what I really am looking for in my life.. what I really want to accomplish and how my mission will help me prepare for that time. The thought that came coming back to me over and over again was just how we really just have to be true to who we are, true to what we stand for, and just live your life in a way that reflects your heart and desires. Don't change because of what others are expecting of you, don't change because society seems to go against everything you believe.. quite simply we are blessed for following those paths that lead to eternal life, so why stray? I mean, that doesn't sound so profound, actually very simple, but it just kept coming back to me!

Well, I am sure I could write more.. but this keyboard is stinky (not literally) I just don't like it. So I will talk to you more next week!! Love you all!

 

Love, Elder McFall

Week 68 – Holy Frijoles

You never knew that I knew that much Spanish, did you? This last week has been exciting for a few different reasons, really the Lord is blessing us and allowing us to see that He is really in charge. We have been praying like crazy to find someone to teach. As much as doing personal finding at least 5 hours a day was fun and all, we both wanted to be teaching. This week we ran into a fella named Michael. I actually had talked to him in the past, maybe a month or so ago while doing some tracting near his home, just on the other side of the street. He had pulled up at the time from the store, so we figured we would go ahead and chat with him, he accepted a mormon.org card.. life was neat. This last week we ended up knocking into his door, he was home, and invited us right into his home. He is going through a few different things right now, and because of that he is searching for God and trying to make that connection rather than distance himself like most do. He said he checked out Mormon.org, looked at the videos, and really enjoyed it. Okay for one, I don't know how many of those cards I have given out, probably hundreds, rarely do you find someone who actually goes to the site! Anyways, we got into his home and began to teach him what we offer, got to know him, etc. He says that he is truly interested and wants to learn more. Honestly, it has been the biggest blessing and assurance that although we may not be teaching, this is not a sign that the Lord doesn't trust us, or that our Father in Heaven doesn't trust us with His children. We will have to see how he kinda moves along.. Great guy though. 

Another great moment of the week happened just last night. We had a few minutes before our last appointment of the night and I felt that we should go down into an area that is considerably distant from where we needed to be.. upon pulling into the subdivision I felt to knock a certain stretch of doors, rather than go to a house of a couple we had initially planned for. I have to interject into the story here of how I have felt recently. Because of the super cold weather, simply you just aren't out there and able to talk to people like you would hope.. we have been feeling like we are just not fulfilling our purpose, not doing what the Lord wants us to do.. kinda thinking along the lines that we were losing that trust. Yes, I do demand of myself a very high standard.. ANYWHO, we knock this door and this guy is truly listening to what we have to say. We are talking about the restoration, of God's love, of our Savior. He ends up inviting us in. He is there with two of his friends; they are all in their late 20's, and early 30's. They are all from Burma also. We talk more with everyone and share more about the Restoration, at the end he asks us to pray with him and for him. He started talking about how he felt that we were good, and we represented Jesus Christ. He says he trust in God, and knows that if we can pray for him it would help him with his citizenship test the following day (today). We ended up praying with him and honestly I have never seen such gratitude on someone’s face for simply just praying for them. They wanted to have us back when he gets back from his shift in the oilfields. He wants to hear more. They wouldn't stop thanking us.. What an experience though! The absolute necessity to have the spirit in all that we do has really been something I have grown such a strong testimony of lately. There is no reasonable substitute for the spirit, for any of us. We must be willing to follow the spirit in all phases of our lives.. this is how our Heavenly Father leads us through each day, so long as we desire. 

A scripture that has hit hard this week is in Revelations 3:19-21..  

19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

He is ever going to be drawing us to Him. He is always going to be on the other side of the door, but are we willing to let Him into our lives? We must be willing to sacrifice. We must be willing to put aside our own wants or desires and seek that of our Father's. His will, must become our will. He will correct us, because he loves us. We are promised Eternal life as we follow this pattern, so what really holds us back? Super grateful for this.

Well, I do love you all! I'll talk to you soon!

Love, Elder McFall