Christmas Miracle

HOLY GUACOMOLE!!! What a week!

Man, there have been so many awesome miracles this past week and I can’t believe that I was here for all of them! Christmas was a blast! I got to Skype with all of you which was just flat out AMAZING! We weren't even allowed to Skype until a couple days beforehand when President Burt thought it would be a good idea! Such a blessing,  that we have to are able to speak to each other face to face from hundreds of miles away!

Anyway, besides that being the best part of this past week, we have had so much fun! Christmas day consisted of waking and opening all of our little presents which was SO cool! I love my pocket watch!  After that, we went to the Housholder’s and were able to have a magnificent breakfast with them! They have the most delicious scones ever! So yummo! We then went to the Snyder’s home and had lunch with them which was quite delicious. Then we had dinner with the Zikr’s which was so much fun! Such an awesome Christmas!

Besides that, we have had very few lessons with people which has been quite a bummer. We did get some cool Christmas presents though! The Householder’s gave us these sweet Superman and Batman jackets! The Snyder’s gave us some treats. And the Zirks gave us some cool ties as well as a $10 gift card to dollarama (the Canadian dollar tree). We also got to meet with this wonderful couple named Roy and Gail. Super awesome! They own a spice business and their business was booming these past couple of months. In a nutshell, they haven't been able to come to church because of it, she misses coming, and they love the missionaries! So cool! They gave us these sweet Italian ties and matching socks! And we had the most delicious dinner ever! They fed us pork crowned roast with homemade pasta noodles and the most delicious cooked broccoli that I have ever had, AND I DONT EVEN LIKE BROCCOLI!

We did get to meet with Marilyn this past week which was really cool. She is progressing in her reading, very slowly though. Sadly she doesn't come to church which isn't good. She is still really nice though.

Our Christmas miracle came a little late in the month I guess you could say, but nonetheless, it was truly a Christmas miracle. We were knocking on this one street, and the second door we knock on, he lets us in. We start talking, and he ends up on telling us some of his life story, and how he had gotten into drugs when he was younger, how he has recovered from being an alcoholic, and is searching for that religious structure in his life. Never in his life did he let any religious person come into his home, but he said that he could feel it was just right, right when he had opened the door and seeing us standing there. So Elder Zieler and I hop right on with that. We end up on teaching him more than half of the restoration, gave him a book of Mormon, and committed him to baptism on January 24th! He also said that he would want to come to church as well!  WHAT A MIRACLE! It wasn't until more than 45 minutes of being there did we figure out his name which is Donald! What a miracle though! He has truly been prepared, and I can just feel the spirit as strongly as I am writing about it now. He has truly been humbled and seems very willing to learn more.

I think that that was truly the greatest gift that I have ever received! I am so thankful that Heavenly Father trusts Elder Zieler and I with someone who is so prepared! It is truly a humbling yet gratifying experience.

Everything else has been going great though! It was awesome being able to see all of you and I can’t wait to talk to you soon! I got all of your letters today! Haven’t been able to open and read them though because of how busy we are with getting things ready for the week. It was an awesome Pday though! Today is Elder Zielers birthday too! The Householder’s figured that out, and after we were done playing basketball with some of the ward, as well as some less actives and non-members, we went over to their house and had the most delicious meal! We had Spaghetti Chicken! Tastes a lot like chicken alfredo! Then they brought a cake and we sang happy birthday to him. Soon after, we went on a hike to "The Hole in the Wall" with Brother Householder which was so cool! So today has been a great day and I wouldn't want it any other way! I am super pumped to go out and work too! I sure love and miss all of you though and I hope that you all had a great Christmas!

Love,

Elder McCown

Smile...laughter...Miss his cute face...

Elder McCown's first skype.  Went beautifully.  We sure loved hearing his voice, his laugh and loved seeing him smile!  He loves the mission life and is staying busy.

Christmas Skype

So, another super awesome week has gone by in Port Alberni!

There is so much to do and so little time! Elder Zieler and I have been working super hard lately which has been super awesome! Gracie got baptized yesterday which was super awesome! So much of her family was here when it happened and they are all less active, so it was a super awesome spiritual experience for them!

The Christmas season, I have noticed, has had a really good effect on everyone here in Port Alberni. We went on exchanges yesterday and Elder Zieler and Elder Camp had set 5 return appointments! People seem to be much more open to the gospel which is super awesome!

This past week we were not able to meet with Marilyn which was a bummer... I keep wondering what we should do to boost her confidence in the gospel. Many other miracles have been going on though! One of the them in specific was Brother Blelloch who is super inactive. Elder Webb and I had met with him once within in the first 2 weeks of me being out on my mission. We haven't been able to set an appointment with him since, until this past Saturday. I called him up, was able to set an appointment for the following night, and then invited him to church. And guess what?!?!? HE CAME!!! He also stayed for the baptism! Super awesome!

This past week we had District meeting in Courtenay. Super awesome! I was asked to give training on this quote that Hyrum Smith gave. Don't remember what it was but I shared the "I’ll find you my friend" story and they loved it.  Other than that, we have done a lot of inviting this past week. A lot of people are out of town which kind of stinks, but, that's alright.

So Christmas is going to be super awesome! We are going to have breakfast at the Housholders, have lunch at the Snyder’s, and Dinner at the Zirks. It’s going to be a super awesome day! AND GUESS WHAT!?!?! WE GET TO SKYPE HOME NOW!!! I’m so excited to see all of your beautiful faces! I’ll be skyping you at 11am so I hope to see all of you there! Can you also send me your Skype account name? I’ll be calling you from the Housholders home.

I see that you got my package that I sent home! Just sending a little Canadian Flare your way ;). The letter I sent should be coming sometime after that though.

Other than that, everything has been going great! Elder Zieler and I have been working pretty hard and we can’t wait to see all of the Christmas Miracles this coming Thursday! I sure love and miss you all and I can’t wait to see you this coming Thursday!

Love,


Elder McCown

Shine Your Right Shoe

CTR

There were so many miracles this past week though! I have really come to realize how active the ward is in missionary work! We had the Christmas ward social this past Saturday night which was super awesome! There were so many less active people as well as investigators there. The ward is so missionary minded and there were so many people that we did not know there! It was a super awesome evening and the program was super awesome! Not to mention that we had great food which was a bonus! Anyway, super exciting! There is one man in particular that Elder Zieler and I were able to reach out to and this man is named Phil Wallbank. He isn't a member but his wife is, and she is so funny! Such an awesome older couple!  Anyway, we were able to reach out to him and have a great conversation with him about instruments, especially guitars, which I am quite honestly interested in learning, as well as Elder Zieler. So I might be learning how to play the guitar on my mission! Who knows!? Apparently, the conversation seemed to go so great, that Sister Wallbank came up to us and said that she thinks that we are the ones. That honestly made my whole day right there, and I am so happy to say that we have been able to gain one of the members trust. SUPER AWESOME!

So this past week was also full of many miracles! Marilyn has a baptismal date for February 28th! We were on splits that day and I would have to say that Elder Briscoe and Elder Zieler worked miracles at that lesson! SO AWESOME!! We also met with our golden investigator Gracie who is just making awesome progress for being baptized this upcoming Sunday! Super awesome!

One of the many other miracles this past week was actually last night. We were out on foot and I got the impression to go to the Cartlidges. The Cartlidges are an awesome family that I have only met once, and Brother Cartlidge is the only member. Anyway, we were on our way there, and we were talking to people in the meantime. We end up on talking to this lady named Betty who lives on the same street as the Cartlidges. Turns out that she is Brother Cartlidges mother! Super awesome miracle to be able to talk to this awesome older lady! Even though we didn't set a return appointment, or get a number, we had an awesome conversation about the gospel! The Lord definitely works in mysterious ways.

Elder Zieler also had the opportunity to be able to speak in sacrament meeting this past week. Such a good talk on his father’s conversion story! I am so thankful that the missionaries that converted his father were able to do so, because without his father converting, I probably would not have a super awesome companion right now!

Elder Zieler & Elder McCown

Brother Perry, who is from the High Council, came to the Port Alberni ward to speak as well. Brother Perry is one of those awesome missionary minded members that loves to speak. There is one thing in particular that he likes to do though. He likes to shine our right shoe. Now why does he do this? He compares it to how the Lord, he gives us so much, that he can make us SHINE. So our right shoes are very shiny. But then he talks about the other shoe. We need to make our left shoe as shiny as the other. Super awesome missionary minded man! He got us all pumped about missionary work after a good 10 minute talk.


We also had zone conference this past week! Such an awesome spiritual recharge on what we should be doing and how we should be acting around this time of year! The best part about that day though was when we came out of the meeting though, and the Nanaimo ward had set up a huge Christmas feast for us! We were all so hungry! We ate soooooo much food. I also got my packages! So awesome! Everyone was jealous though. I had 9 packages in total! So, everyone was jelly....

So, in a nutshell, there were so many miracles this past week! Every day has been full of awesome missionary opportunities, and we just have to get out there and talk to them!  Super awesome week though, especially with Christmas around the corner. People seem to be more open minded towards hearing about the gospel, and they don't shut their doors as quickly as they did before. I did get told to go jump in the river though for trying to sell religion. Oh well.  Anyway, super awesome week with so many miracles! I hope every week is like this week!

Sure love and miss ya’ll!

Love,

Elder McCown

Super Awesome Miracles

So yet another week has gone by in the mission field! It’s so crazy how time flies!
This week has been pretty slow though. Numerous appointments have been canceled, we didn't have that many new investigators, and I woke up a couple days ago with a cough, headache, and chills :/. However, there are still so many miracles going on!

This past week, Elder Zieler and I went on splits with the Nanaimo elders. Super awesome time! Elder Camp and I stayed in Port Alberni while Elder Zieler went to Nanaimo with Elder Huni. Super awesome time with Elder Camp!  We also met with Marilyn this week who is this super awesome investigator that we have! We have taught her everything but she just won’t commit to baptism quite yet sadly :(. We also met with our GOLDEN investigators parents, the McKean’s. Gracias mom is a less active, and the rest of the family is not members. I admire her so much more considering the lukewarm welcome that we received from her father. She is such a strong 9 year old and she is so awesome to teach, and she has plans to be baptized on December 21st! Super awesome eh?!?!?

Another one of our miracles this past week was when we tracted into this lady named Alesha. I would have to say that she is in her late 20's, and she is super awesome! We have an appointment set to meet with her tomorrow! It was such a super awesome contact though because we said a prayer with her right on her front porch! It was such a cool experience! I have to admit that I kind of opened my eyes during the prayer as Elder Zieler was saying it, and she just had the biggest grin on her face and she was nodding her head as the prayer was said! SUPER AWESOME MIRACLE!

We had a super awesome Sunday as well! Church was super awesome as always! Elder Zieler went and bore one of the most powerful testimonies I had ever heard. He talked about how, through his true desire to figure out if he should serve a mission, was answered, and that he would serve even if it meant that he would not get the football scholarship. It then turns out, that he had a meeting with the coach from the college that he was going to play for. The coach then asked him all of the sudden, if he was Mormon, and if he was going to serve a mission or not. He said yes and then the coach said that they would hold the scholarship for him until he got back! Such an awesome miracle!

We also went to a Christmas concert on Sunday which was super awesome!  It was a string musical, and the director, as well as the drummer, the pianist, and a couple singers were members of the church. They were super awesome and while we were there, it gave us the opportunity to be able to talk about our church with other people! One of the men sitting right next to me was very curiously looking at my badge. Super cool conversation starter!  The rest of the Sunday was super awesome as well! We went over to the Patterson’s for dinner, and by this time of the day, with it being fast Sunday and all, Elder Zieler and I were STARVING!!! They fed us so much! I didn't think that my stomach could take anymore! Of course, Sister Patterson then brings out pumpkin pie topped with ice cream. Super yummo! Super full though!

Things have been super great though! Elder Zieler and I get along super great! He is such a country boy though. I figured out really quickly that he likes Ford trucks. Super awesome missionary though! He is so awesome!  Well I sure miss ya’ll! Seems like you have had a lot of fun the past couple of days though! Sedona is super awesome! So many good memories! Especially that one night where we could not stop laughing for our lives! I’ve had a few Sedona moments on my mission :). Well I sure miss you and love you all!

Love

Elder McCown

Best Birthday Surprise Ever...

Sweating Bullets

HOLY CRAP!!! Another week has gone by?!?!?!?  SOOOOO, today I just realized something....I'VE BEEN AWAY FROM HOME FOR TWO MONTHS!!!  WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!  So yeah, time flies!! So this week was transfer week like I told you last week. So Elder Webb ended up on getting transferred to Surrey. Super cool area with so many people. My new companion is Elder Zieler! He is such an awesome missionary! Elder Zieler is this 6ft 4 country boy who plays bball, baseball, and has a football scholarship to some place in Kansas. Super cool awesome missionary though!

So this week was pretty stressful. Taking on the area since I am the only one who knows it and who our investigators are is pretty hard. But it has gotten a lot easier in the past 2 days. So Tuesday was the first day in Port Alberni with Elder Zieler. It was hard enough getting there. I got lost so much in Nanaimo and we took a nice 2 hour detour up to Campbell river....oops!  So that was pretty embarrassing....

Elder  Zieler & Colton

Wednesday was a SUPER AWESOME day though. We went and contacted a recent referral we had received from the Housholders. We ended up on contacting a super nice couple that told us to come back a week later. On our way back though, we ran into this guy named Steven. Super awesome guy that seemed pretty interested to hear about the gospel! Later that day, we had nothing really going on, so I felt inspired to go down this street that Elder Webb and I had almost fully tracted. Two new families that seemed very interested in the gospel came off of  that street! Crazy thing about that day, all of the sudden, this white stuff started falling from the sky.... IT WAS SNOWING!!!! Anyway, one of them, we ended up on doing service for the next day! He’s super awesome and we have plans to go have dinner with him tonight!

We also met with Gracie who is such a sweet little 9 year old who wants to get baptized! We have a date set for December 20th for her!! It’s so exciting!  Sunday was awesome too! The primary program was going on and we met with a couple nonmembers who were there to see the kids perform! So exciting! The primary kids provided such a good opportunity for us missionaries to meet with people that weren't members! A couple less actives came as well which was SUPER awesome!

Elder Johnston ~ District Leader

Later that night, we met with the Patterson’s for dinner. I ate way too much, but it was soooooo good..... I swear I ate at least 10 pounds of food. Such nice couple.  Later that night, at around 7:30, we decided to park the car at the apartment to go tracting down street since we couldn't find anyone to meet with. We decided to go down 3rd and talk to anyone that we met with, cause, ya know, that's just what missionaries do. Anyway, we were walking for about an hour and we ran into these two guys who were not really interested in the gospel. Anyway, the one guy I was talking to, ended up on giving me this piece of wood with the maple leaf carving for some reason. Pretty cool I guess. After the conversation, we started to walk home. Curfew is at 9 when you aren't teaching and it was 845 when Elder Zieler looked at his watch after the conversation. We were about 1.5 miles away from the apartment.... Next thing you know, everyone who was on one of streets we had to go down to get to our apartment sees two missionaries sprinting to get to their curfew on time. We made it into our apartment at 8:59 pm...We were literally sweating bullets and I don't even remember hitting the pillow last night.  When I woke up this morning my legs were so sore. Haha oh well!

P day was pretty good. We spent most of the day playing pool and that's about it. Nice and relaxing!  So how has everyone been doing?! I sure hope ya’ll don't miss me too much!

I sure love and miss ya’ll!

Love,

Elder McCown

Kangaroo & Emu Burgers

So my week? IT’S BEEN SO AWESOME!!!!

This past week we had about 8 baptisms in our zone which is about a tenth of the whole mission’s baptismal goals! SO AWESOME!! The work is truly hastening!!  The work is tough though. But it is so worth it when you meet those special people who seem very prepared to hear the gospel! One of these people was this guy named Gary. Super awesome native social worker guy. We tracted into him this past Saturday. We walked with him for a couple miles actually. But it was a super awesome way to teach someone! We basically taught him half of the plan of salvation, let him know that god loves us so much that he wants the best for us, and we got a return appointment! It was so awesome!!

We also had district meeting in Courtenay this past week which was awesome! We shared something that was assigned to us and I was assigned Helaman 5 and was asked to talk about Nephi and Lehi. I can’t believe how powerful that chapter is! Within the first 15 verses it states the word remember about 14 times I think. And recently, someone in our ward gave a talk on remembrance and how we can replace the word "remember" with "to be mindful of", so basically Helaman was throwing down on his sons to be really mindful of his teachings. So awesome! We then went to Bamboo Garden, a Chinese smorgasbord place. It wasn’t too bad.

Soon after Bamboo garden, the district leader and his companion came back with us to Port Alberni and did exchanges. Elder Johnston and I went to go see this lady named Florence Michael. She is this wonderful small and sweet native lady. So soft-spoken but so humble. We were heading to the lesson, trying to figure out what to teach her and I had absolutely no idea what to teach her since I just briefly met her at church. It’s always awesome how the Lord works because we figured out about 10 minutes of being there that she was preparing to go to the temple!  Poor Elder Johnston had no idea that I was going to change the lesson right then and there, but I just went with it. And it was the best lesson ever! We had "The Birdies" story with us and a sweet sweet spirit filled the room. Such a good lesson. Exchanges are definitely the best.

This past Friday probably had the best lesson though. We met with this recent convert named Elaine. We decided to talk about temple work again and kept it along the same outline as Florence’s lesson. What a beautiful lesson. I shared "The Birdies" story again once more, and I felt the spirit so strongly as I read it, and she did too. My eyes started to tear up and she was crying a little as well. It’s so amazing how talking about the temple can bring such great emotion. It’s always a spiritual recharge to see these people prepare for the temple and I am ever so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of their conversion.
The rest of the week failed in comparison to the spirit that I felt at that lesson. It was still a good week however. I am really starting to get my Canadian accent though. I say "eh" a lot... I’m starting to say bag like beg... pasta is past-a now...

Other than that things are going pretty good. We have transfer calls tonight. I wonder what is going to happen tonight... Imagining my companion leaving is kind of hard because we have learned to love each other, and I can’t imagine thinking that Port Alberni is going to become more of my responsibility if he does get transferred. But I KNOW that the Lord is there for me constantly no matter how many mistakes I make, and I take great comfort in that. I am coming ever more closer to my Savior each day and I am loving it!

I hope thanksgiving is going to go well! This past week, we got these cheap rolls from the grocery store and had jam in the fridge.... it truly failed in comparison to the homemade lion house dinner rolls and homemade strawberry jam...

Pday was pretty good though... nice and relaxing... we went to this place called Boomerang Cafe.... and guess what.... I HAD A KANGAROO BURGER AND EMU BURGER!!! I think I failed to mention that I like burgers now, partly because Canadian beef is so much better, but I have to say, the Emu burger was a lot better than the kangaroo. Kangaroo was a little gamey. But other than that, we really just relaxed.
I sure hope everything is going great at home and I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder McCown

Charity & Miracles

So, weirdest thing happened this past Saturday... I realized that I have been out in the field for a month! Such a crazy thought! I can’t believe that I have been away from home for about a month and a half now! I have seriously lost all concept of time! This is honestly the weirdest thing ever!

Elder Stock & Elder McCown ~ EFY Friends

This past week has been pretty good though. But it was super slow. A lot of our appointments fell through, and going out and tracting really didn’t have a lot of promise either sadly.  It wasn’t until this past Friday when things started to get a lot better. Friday we did a ton of service for the Householders. They have a big bed and breakfast that needs cleaning up and I don’t think I have ever seen so many leaves in my life! No wonder why the Canadian flag has a maple leaf on it! But that in itself was fun because service is just awesome. It’s by far my favorite thing to do! And not to mention it got us out of our proselyting clothes! We got tacos which is fantastic by the way. Tortillas are super expensive up here! After we had finished service, I realized that we had left the phone in the car and we had a couple voicemails to check. One of them was from one of the stake high council, who was asking if one of us could give a talk because his other speaker had gotten sick. So guess who got to speak in sacrament meeting. Of course that would be me! I knew I was going to end up there somehow! So in total, I only had 30-45 minutes to prepare this talk. Something I chose was charity. I really love this topic! It is something that we all can use a little bit more in our lives! And it is simply stated in Moroni 7:45-48 that we are basically nothing without charity, and that charity is the root of all of our christlike attributes! It’s so true! The christlike attribute section in preach my gospel is truly amazing just to let ya’ll know. I highly suggest studying it if you are seeking to make yourself more like Christ. And who isn’t?!? So the talk went off without a hitch which was awesome!

Elder Webb

There was an awesome miracle that happened on Sunday though. Right before church started, Sister
 Sexton and her granddaughter Gracie came up to us. Before we were able to say anything, she said "Gracie would love to be baptized" I was kind of dumbfounded and I had this dumb look on my face with my jaw dropped. Kind of cool eh? Such amazing miracles!  After sacrament meeting though I was asked if I could play the piano for the kids who were preparing for the primary program. That was awesome even though I messed up terribly ha-ha! It was so funny seeing the guy in charge of teaching the kids to sing (brother Johannesson) jumping up and down and helping them! He was jumping up and down and getting all into the little fun songs like "Do As I’m doing" and "Once There Was A Snowman". He was sweating because he was getting into it so much!

After church we went over to the Bishops house and helped him move a piano. And man! That thing was heavy! This thing was a beasty grand piano! It was so hard to carry even with 8 men crowded around thing carrying it. The wheel even broke on one of the dollies! It was awesome though because
we got fed afterwards. It’s amazing what you will eat when you are starving and how much you will eat. I was never a fan of egg salad sandwiches, but, now I really don’t mind them as a missionary. As a missionary, I think our taste buds are automatically dulled when we are set apart so that we can eat almost anything that the people give us.
After that, we went walking/tracting to our next appointment. It took us an hour to get there on foot, but it was sooooo worth it! We ran into this guy named Daun on our way there! He seemed very interested. We got his number, gave him a Book of Mormon and he seemed excited! The lesson went great, but what was even better, was when we ran into two more people that seemed very interested in the gospel! One of them had actually come up to us, recognized us, and literally asked "what is the difference between Mormons and Jehovah witnesses?" Before we could even say hello. So cool! The other person that was semi interested was this native lady named batina!

The mission is going great so far! Pday has been very relaxing. We went and dropped off our laundry at the householders, and they told us to come back for lunch which is something us missionaries are always excited about! We went out and went thrift shopping for ties! I got around 4 ties needless to say. Then we got all of our groceries and came back to the householders for lunch, and I was very surprised to see what she had made! She made green chili enchiladas again! No I wasn’t as homesick when I was eating them, but they were still awesome!

Yes, it's an orange tie!!

It may have been a rough week, but I have come to realize that the rough weeks, are preparations for the awesome but most of the time sparse moments of exhilarating happiness! I am so happy that I am out here even though it is hard sometimes, or even very hard sometimes. But it is so much fun! I love the ward here and I don’t want to leave! I might be getting a new companion soon. Transfers are next week. That is so weird thinking that I will be here in Port Alberni for 6 weeks next Monday! So weird, but so awesome! I love this work and I know it is so true! I hope everything is going great at home and I love you all!

Love,

Elder McCown

Blackberry Scones & Green Enchiladas

HEY FAMILIA!!!!

So it’s been a great week here in Port Alberni! WE HAD A BAPTISM THIS PAST SUNDAY!!! It was so awesome! My companion got to do the ordinance and I got to give a talk and play the piano during the service!!! SOOOO EXCITING!!!! The boy that got baptized is Isaac Johnson and let me tell you, this kid is crazy awesome and very energetic. Sooooo besides that.... everything has been great!!! Lessons have been awesome! There is this lady named Marilyn that has a baptismal date though! She can’t stop drinking tea though :/. We just keep praying for her though.  The best part of my week besides the baptism of course, was probably when we were at the Housholders. This couple is awesome! They are so supportive and loving towards the missionaries! It was awesome being able to help them out since they have been helping us out before I even got here! I just love doing service! So much fun! Before we got to do service though, we got breakfast, and omg... best BREAKFAST EVER!! She had blackberry scones, crescents with jam, you name it... and it was there. SOOO GOOD! Then we helped Brother Housholder with moving a bunch of wood because they had a huge tree that they needed to get rid of, or else it might have fallen on the bed and breakfast that they own. Elder Webb and I worked for about 1 1/2 hours. They told us that they had lunch ready for us. You can only imagine how grateful we are as missionaries to get one meal, but to get two meals in one day... THATS JUST AWESOME!!!! But, nothing could have prepared me for what they brought out to eat. I actually got a little emotional when they brought out the GREEN CHILI ENCHILADAS!!! It reminded me of home so much!! She did such an awesome job with it and it was literally dripping with cheese!! I savored each flavor cause it reminded of what you made all the time mom! Although... it’s not as good as yours... but it was still pretty awesome. My mouth is kind of drooling right now because it was so good.

But besides that, Port Alberni is still doing awesome. It’s still a giant retirement home though. But the ward is still awesome!! The ward mission leaders help us out so much and definitely go out of their way to help us out!

So we got to spend our Pday with the Elder Camp and Elder Huni. They are our zone leaders and we got to go to Stamp River today. Dad....this place is GORGEOUS!!! The river is just flowing rapidly right now!! So many rapids and the surrounding area is just gorgeous!! SOOOOO AWESOME!!!

That’s awesome that you were able to go down to Mexico though!! I know it is really stressful because every moment of your lives right now is dedicated to worrying about me... but I am glad that you were able to go to Mexico!! I sure love and miss you all though! I’ve been a little homesick this week but not too bad. I guess that Green Chili Enchilada made me a little homesick. But the work is awesome out here! There is so much to learn, so much to do, and so little time! I’ll send some pictures soon!

I LOVE YOU ALL BUNCHES

Love,

Elder McCown

Sour Blasted Cherries & Big Gulps

HEYYYYYYYY FAMILY!!! HOWS A GOING?!?!?

Everything has been going great here in Port Alberni!! I got to go to Nanaimo this past week! Such an awesome place! So much fun! I got paired up with one of my zone leaders! Such an awesome example! Well so much has happened this week! As I said I spent a couple days in Nanaimo! Nanaimo is awesome! SOOOOO much bigger than Port Alberni!!! In Port Alberni we spend most of our day going door to door. In Nanaimo though, you can actually go street contacting! So awesome! Kind of scared for the first time though. The first time we did it, we went to a bus stop next to a mall, so it was pretty busy. Sooo, for the past couple weeks I have been with my companion for nearly every conversation I have had. I think the lord realized I was getting too comfortable with that, and decided to give Elder Camp the revelation to go to the bus stop. Well, as people we only grow when we are out of our comfort zone. So, oh so wise Elder Camp said "you go over here, and I will go over there to talk to people." kind of FREAKY RIGHT?!? To talk to someone about the gospel by myself was kind of freaky at first. I’m pretty sure he thought I was the weirdest person ever but that’s ok lol. I got used to it though! I really learned what works better for me and that the lord really does speak through you! So awesome! AND IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!! I have grown so much just from that experience!!! We then went and got pizza, big gulps and the most delicious candy ever!! SOUR BLASTED CHERRIES!!! sooooo gooooood.... but yeah. We then planned for the following week because we couldn’t be out on Halloween.  Before we went to the bus stop though we were out going door to door. We then decided to go into a mobile home area.  Mobile home areas are AWESOME to go tracting in because they are so close together!  We were going door to door, and this old hobo looking guy opens the door. As missionaries we do our usual shpeel and he cuts us off in the middle of it. He says "I’m a Buddhist!  Get out of here! YOU ARENT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!" he also added a variety of colorful words in there if I might add. As missionaries, we have to be nice with people of course the only thing I could muster was a smile. Thank goodness Elder Camp has some more charity and experience than me and said "have a wonderful day!" next thing we know, as we are knocking on another door, a truck pulls up next to us and told us to get out of the area. Turns out, it was the person in charge of taking care of all the mobile homes. Now I can say that I have been kicked out of a mobile home area! So much fun with Elder Camp! Sunday was awesome too!  We got to go pick up this elderly man at the hospital who can’t walk because of an injury and can’t speak because of a recent stroke. It was awesome to see him there at church! So many miracles have happened this past week! I have learned so much!  Another thing that I learned from Elder Camp this past week was how to help your weaknesses become strong. He told me that he would go to the Christ like attribute section of preach my gospel, pick a subject and study and apply it for a week. I’ve learned so much from that!

Monday was awesome too! We spent the day in Victoria and got to go to zone conference! We got to watch MEET THE MORMONS!!! SOOOOO AWESOME!!! I learned so much from my mission president!  He is so inspired! He and his wife are so loving and awesome! MY favorite part about the movie was the candy bomber. SO AWESOME!!! I ALSO GOT YOUR PACKAGE!!! I AM SOOOOOOO GREEN!!!! AND THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!!! everyone was super jelly!!

SO I have been to Hole in the Wall! and it was awesome! We went to cathedral grove this morning. That was where they filmed part of the Star Wars movie. Dad, I can’t imagine what it would be like for you if you were here right now. You would be running on 5 hour energy drinks for a week straight and I can promise you that you would not be able to capture a fraction of beauty that this place holds. it is so out of this world!

Walmart is where we usually shop and DQ sometimes!  We do laundry at a couples house, they own a bed and breakfast. Members are awesome!  We also got to play volleyball this morning too! Bet ya’ll can’t imagine how happy I was!! So much fun with about 7 other elders there!!
Well hope everything is going great at home! I can’t believe that I have been out a month already! Time flies by soooo fast!! God be with you till we meet again!!

Love

Elder McCown

Knocking Doors

Hi Hi Mommy…

Haha yeah!! I had to get something for the luggage but we get that reimbursed in about a week!!  Things are going great here in Port Alberni! Almost everything is going perfectly, except for me and my companion sadly. It’s kind of hard to work with someone that has lived a completely different lifestyle and has a completely different view on things and I am starting to only get used to the missionary life. ISNT THAT CRAZY!!! I can’t believe I ran into Bro. Riggs, even though I had no idea who he was.  Such a small world.  The mission field has been great though. A little degrading to be knocking on doors all day though and not get any interests, but that’s okay!!  Gotta keep an upbeat attitude right?!?! Sure seems like ya’ll are having a lot of fun!!  I sure miss all of you!!   The best part about this week is that we have someone who has a baptismal date!!!  Her name is M and she is just excited about everything!!  We just have to get her off of tea and get her to two more sacrament meetings and she is golden!!  This has been awesome being able to meet all of these people. Port Alberni is mainly older and retired people. The ward is so small, about 60-70 people.  They are all so nice though. The ward mission leaders work really well with us and help us out whenever they can at lessons.  The days here seem really long, but the weeks are short.  Time goes by so differently on a mission. There is also another lady that we tracted into this past week, and she is awesome!  Her name is M, she is divorced and has three kids, and literally said that she was seeking for some more guidance in her life and that she was looking for other churches! We were so excited.  When we met her and we went and visited her the next day. I have come so much closer to my savior this past week. The trials of patience and weariness have been taxing but with the lord I have managed to be able to get through all of it. P-days are honestly the best days though. It’s so nice to be able to sit down and relax every once and a while and prepare for the rest of the week. I really wish we could go trick or treating this week. Apparently Halloween is a big thing here in Canada. I would probably dress up as a missionary lol. So how has everyone been doing?? I heard Megan made the soccer team which is awesome!!!
Sure miss and love ya’ll a bunches

Love

Elder McCown

Rain...Green...Mexican...

Hi MOM!!!

Elder Webb & Elder Olson & Elder McCown

I am on Vancouver Island!!! I'm in Port Alberni!!! Sooooo pretty!! And SOOOOOO GREEEN!!! I have enjoyed nearly every minute here on the island and the work is great. It just rains every... single.... day..... But I'm good on the coat. One of the previous elders had left a coat behind and I’m just going to hold onto it so I think I will be fine.  My new companion is Elder Webb. He's kind of goofy but really nice.  I have enjoyed learning so much. I' m hungry all the time though!!! It sucks being poor . jkjk.  We are actually doing just fine.  The members apparently will feed us a lot which is good because everything is expensive here on the island. And yeah... dad should be very jealous.... it's sooooo beautiful and green.  There is a place here where they filmed part of the star wars movies.  We haven't been there yet but we plan on going next pday.  So how is everyone been at home?!!? ya'll miss me yet?!? I sure miss you guys.  I have learned a lot about how to not function with any sleep these past couple days.  When you go to sleep... it feels like when you wake up you only took a 20 minutes nap. Thank goodness the Lord is there to get me through the day.  We went to a Mexican restaurant place today.... it shouldn't be considered a Mexican restaurant from my point of view. soooo bland.  Everything is going great!!! My companion is very stressed though, but I think that's why we have been called to be companions.  I kind of balance him out in a way I think.  Well I sure miss ya’ll and hope to hear from you soon!!

Love

Elder McCown

Last MTC Night....The District & Brixton Gardner (#1 Teacher)

This is the last night for Elder McCown in the Provo MTC.  He is so pumped and excited for his new adventure.  He has grown to love his district and is ready for the next step.

Brixton Gardner (awesome teacher) & Elder McCown

The District

Sad to leave Brixton

Heading to the airport

Piano Battle

Hey Mom

Haha! yeah! Dads right! Thats what the MTC is all about! Ive been studying like never before! and guess what.... I CAN CALL WHEN I GET TO THE AIRPORT!!! Ill probably call between 8am and 10 am just to let you know! my schedule in the mtc consists of me getting up, praying, studying, breakfast, praying, studying, lunch, praying, studying, dinner, and guess what!! more praying and studying until 930!! I then have quiet time, study a little more, write in my journal and have zone conference with all the Elders.  That is the best part of the day.  I would have to say that it has become more like story time though because I breakout dads stories and all of the elders love them! Seeing the Elders head out this past week was pretty hard to do because i grew to love them so much! But i have grown to love a new set of Elders and it has kept me focused on the work!! My companion is from sandy, utah and we get a long great.  I have to admit that i end up on dominating most of the conversations in role plays, but he gets in there somehow.  The MTC has been very humbling though.  I have gotten so much closer to my savior and I have learned to love like him. My teaching seems to be getting a lot better.  My knowledge of the gospel has increased exponentially and I cant wait to gain a better testimony. So, funny experience this past week.  I was learning a new hymn for sacrament yesterday, (which i totally screwed up on lol) and as I was practicing, I heard someone in the next room playing the same song as me.  He started playing another song and stopped... And then... all of the sudden... WE BROKE OUT IN A FULL ON PIANO BATTLE!!! It was so much fun and we were playing songs like no other!!! He came in after a couple minutes and we just started talking about songs that we had learned.  So funny lol. I cant wait to get out in the mission field though.  spending all this time studying has made me go a little crazy... like maybe sedona crazy... One of the other sisters is just like you mom!! When we start laughing we just start laughing off of each other! She is so funny!  I sure miss you guys and I love hearing how you are all doing.  Keep me updated and tell everyone that I love them!

Love

Elder McCown

Hey dad!

The life of a missionary has been awesome and exhausting all at the same time! The missionary numbers have grown a lot since you went out.  There are about 88,000 missionaries in the field right now and it is estimated that that there is a statistic for those that are just in the MTC, will baptize will at least baptize 2 people. That adds up to about 10,000 people! SO CRAZY!!!! I cant believe I leave this though!!! I have had moments where getting out and loving is all I can think about!!! I get homesick a little every once and a while though, but I have lost myself in the love for my zone and district, and they are all like a whole new family to me.  I wanted to share an experience with you and the family, but it will be better to tell you when I call you guys from the airport THIS COMING WEDNESDAY!!!! They give us time to make phone calls from the airport before we leave!!! SO EXCITING!! Ill probably call sometime after 8 am and before 10 am just to let you know.  And thank you so much for the stories.  The elders that left this past Monday came up to me after i shared the stories and told me that I have taught them so much because of the stories.  Thank you so much again and because of you, I have been able to touch the lives of many missionaries in my district!! Love you guys and see you in 1 year 11 months and 2 weeks!!!

Love

Elder McCown

Yipeee...1st Letter

Hola Familia!!!!

I sure miss you guys a lot!!! Yeah!!! The talks were great in general conference.  I have never felt the spirit so strongly, I have never been so hungry, I have never been so impatient to get out into the mission field, I have never grown to love a group of men so quickly, and I have NEVER EVER EVER been soooo tired.  The MTC is honestly the most spiritually, physically and mentally draining place on earth!!! BUT IT’S AWESOME!!!! So weird huh?!?!?

So this past Sunday, I felt the spirit like no other.  There was of course general conference and that is already spiritually enlightening, but then we had a devotional by vai sekahema. This guy was a pro football player and served in South Dakota.  His testimony was so enlightening and he reduced our stress immensely because of how funny he was.  It was after that talk that my companion (elder Tillman) and I, listened to a talk by David Bednar.  That talk... Was a slap in the face.... But yet it was so amazing at the same time!!! So weird lol, but anyway, he told us very boldly saying “This mission is not about you. It’s not about your success. It is not about what you want.  Get over yourself and turn outward." Elder Tillman and I just looked at each other in awe after that was said.  He also told us that we need not only have a testimony, but we need to be truly converted to the gospel, and have continual conversion because if we don’t, we will surely fall."  So  powerful...

Soon after (forgot to mention that my companion and I are now zone leaders) we had a devotional as a zone.  And this is when all the men get together and we have a deep spiritual moment.  So what do we do when we have been cooped up in classes all day?! We hug each other... (Hope you understand that joke), but seriously we do hug each other.  One night we were wrestling, the other night we were doing arm wrestles. But not this night.  It was my turn to share a spiritual thought.  And of course being my father’s son, I shared a story.  Man did I bawl like a baby!! I had shared The Bridge, The birdcage and I’ll find you my friend.  There were very few dry eyes last night.  I cannot believe how much I love them. This zone means so much to me and I cannot bear the fact that all of them besides me and my roommates will be leaving tomorrow morning.  Such a sad thought.   But I know that all of them are going to do awesome and that they will serve diligently. I have come so much closer to my savior and I feel that I am truly becoming converted to the gospel.  I have learned to love more than ever. I love you guys and I can’t wait to see you in two years!!!

Love you!!!


Elder McCown