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