So! This has honestly been one of the best weeks ever! SURREY IS THE COOLEST PLACE EVER!!! So, to kickstart the first day with Elder Slack, we literally drove EVERYWHERE... We had to drive Elders everywhere because one of the zone leaders was puking and stuff....yeah, not good...anyway! After driving everywhere, we managed to squeeze in a lesson at the very tail end of the day... So.... Thursday was fun...weekly planning....kind of rough considering that we really don’t know the area that well....Friday was HOT! man, we were sweating so much! My farmers tan is getting even better!!
Saturday has to be the best day ever though! We had so many lessons Saturday! We even had stake conference that night and we got to see President Burt which is always exciting! So, I take that back, Sunday was the best day! So, Sunday morning, we get a call from some elders in Langley, saying that there is this investigator from White Horse that just moved to Surrey, and that he was wanting to come to church! So, it’s like 9am, and stake conference starts in about an hour. So, we call him, figure out his name is Ram, and we somehow were able to get a ride for this guy to come to church! Man, that was fun! It was so hard for us to be able to get a ride for church... such a struggle for some reason...anyway....we got him to church, and we didn’t get to meet him until after the meeting. Turns out, he is the coolest guy ever! He was excited that he was able to make it to church, and that he was already talking about how he was going to get to church the following week! Crazy eh? Tell me about it...it gets even better...so we set up an appointment for that night and we meet him at Subway. Music is going on in the background and so many distractions, but still, it was such a good lesson! Turns out that he had been with the missionaries up in White Horse for quite a while, and that he wanted to move down to be able to go to school. We pulled out the pamphlets that we had and he immediately recognized the restoration pamphlet! So we went over that with him, and he said that he already knew that all of that was true, and that the Book of Mormon was true which was so cool! SO! We then start talking about baptism, and he said that he wanted to get baptized, but before, he had just wanted to make sure that it was true! So, we set a date for him on July 19th! So cool! We will be handing him off to the Langley YSA Elders though :(...Kind of sad to give up though...He’s so cool!
So yea, Surrey is full of miracles though! Dad, you are so right...it’s in the most evil of places that people are looking for the light the most...SO TRUE!! I haven’t had as much success in this area as in other areas!
So the coolest thing though, is that we hit standards too which is my first time! What’s even better is that we hit standards in a total of 4 days because Monday-Wednesday was full of driving/packing/P-Day...
So, to hit standards, we have to do 4 of 5 of these things: Teach 8 member present lessons, have 2 baptismal dates, have 2 people come to church, get 4 new investigators, or have 140 quality gospel conversations. And guess what?!?! Ram made it all possible! By coming to church and having a lesson that night, he made is possible for us to hit standards in 4 days!! SO AWESOME!!
So yeah, we also went to the soup kitchen this past week...we volunteer once a week...There was almost a fight while we were there....I may or may not have wanted it to actually happen... but it got broken up....We also got 3 tubs of ice cream out of it! YUMMY!!!
Another investigator that is so flippin solid is Gus! Man, this guy was found by the sisters and he is so dedicated to coming to church and is so determined to be baptized! He has been trying to quit smoking, and when we met with him, I felt the spirit which brought to mind to ask him to set a date to quit smoking, and to start with baby steps, and that he should prayerfully ponder a day to quit, and that we would give him a blessing that night when we would go to scripture study class. So, we met up later that night and the spirit was so strong. Before we gave the blessing, he told us, that before we had even brought it up, that he had been praying about a day to quit smoking. The day that came to mind was July 1st! Soon after, we gave him a blessing, and the spirit was so powerful as we were in the little tiny room. So powerful. After giving him the blessing, I saw him crying, and straightway, I gave him a hug. He is such a humble man. He tries so hard, and he is so strong!
So this honestly has to be one of the most successful weeks of my mission! It’s been so awesome! I love Surrey and I feel really confident that being here is where I am meant to be...I even felt that before I got here which was awesome!!!
I sure love and miss all of you! I may live in the heart of Whalley, which is probably one of the most scary places in the mission, and I may or may not have to bar my door every night, but I love it here!
Love you guys so much!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, June 29, 2015
Monday, June 22, 2015
Transfer Week
Oh boy, well, isn’t it transfer week....
Well, we got transfer news SUPER early this week! Elder Tan is going to Prince George and is training which is awesome! So excited for him! He seems super nervous though! And, nope! I do NOT get to stay in Brookswood :(. I'M GOING TO SURREY!! I was so excited once I got the news! I am going to hopefully have some crazy stories when I come home! SO EXCITED!!! Maybe I’ll get robbed....that'll be fun!
Anyway! This week was a lot of fun! We didn’t teach as much as we had hoped which was a bummer. So to start off the week though, I twisted my ankle during basketball :/. Such a good start to a week eh? Wasn’t too too bad though! Nothing ibuprofen, ice and more ice and more ibuprofen can’t handle! So Wednesday rolls around. We go on exchanges. Elder Ringer comes out to Brookswood. That was a lot of fun! The best part of that was when we went to the Vadocz family! Such an awesome family in the ward! We shared Free the Birdies with them and they just loved it! Brother Vadocz has some crazy stories though. He served in New York which was sweet!
This past Sunday was probably one of the most eventful days though! We got calls just about as we got up which was crazy! Can’t believe that I am going to Surrey.... anyway.... We were basically rushing from family to family saying goodbye to everyone... I really wish I could have spent more time in Brookswood. 3 months isn’t long enough to get to know people well enough. Probably won’t remember me at all haha! Oh well!
Other than that, I am so stoked for Surrey! My new companion is Elder Slack! He came out with me which is exciting! I’ll be District leader too... Don’t know what to think of that though...
I am so excited for a new area though! I’m going to have so much fun in Surrey!
I sure love and miss you all though!
Love
Well, we got transfer news SUPER early this week! Elder Tan is going to Prince George and is training which is awesome! So excited for him! He seems super nervous though! And, nope! I do NOT get to stay in Brookswood :(. I'M GOING TO SURREY!! I was so excited once I got the news! I am going to hopefully have some crazy stories when I come home! SO EXCITED!!! Maybe I’ll get robbed....that'll be fun!
Anyway! This week was a lot of fun! We didn’t teach as much as we had hoped which was a bummer. So to start off the week though, I twisted my ankle during basketball :/. Such a good start to a week eh? Wasn’t too too bad though! Nothing ibuprofen, ice and more ice and more ibuprofen can’t handle! So Wednesday rolls around. We go on exchanges. Elder Ringer comes out to Brookswood. That was a lot of fun! The best part of that was when we went to the Vadocz family! Such an awesome family in the ward! We shared Free the Birdies with them and they just loved it! Brother Vadocz has some crazy stories though. He served in New York which was sweet!
This past Sunday was probably one of the most eventful days though! We got calls just about as we got up which was crazy! Can’t believe that I am going to Surrey.... anyway.... We were basically rushing from family to family saying goodbye to everyone... I really wish I could have spent more time in Brookswood. 3 months isn’t long enough to get to know people well enough. Probably won’t remember me at all haha! Oh well!
Other than that, I am so stoked for Surrey! My new companion is Elder Slack! He came out with me which is exciting! I’ll be District leader too... Don’t know what to think of that though...
I am so excited for a new area though! I’m going to have so much fun in Surrey!
I sure love and miss you all though!
Love
Monday, June 15, 2015
Gatorade
So this has to be one of the best weeks ever for the time I have served in Brookswood! So many miracles! We have had so many more lessons to teach which is SO AWESOME!!! We have been lacking in lessons sooooo much! Finally! Everything has come into place which is awesome!
So one of the many miracles this past week was this guy named Nick! So we go to this apartment building all the time to help one of the members read because he has some disabilities. Anyway, this member had run into this guy that was interested in the church! We tried throughout the week to contact this guy because we were so excited to be able to teach him. It wasn’t until Thursday that we were actually able to get a hold of him though! So we got Bishop and rushed over and taught Nick. The guy is so open to the gospel! He just soaked everything up and was excited that we were there! Turns out that he is a REALLY good piano player. Like, REALLY GOOD. So we immediately connected which is so important! It’s so hard to teach someone when there is absolutely no connection! We were even able to set a baptismal date for July 5th with him which has to be the best part of it all! The whole almost 3 months that I have been here, we have had absolutely no opportunity to be able to set a baptismal date. Every time we tried, we were shot down!
So that was awesome! Probably the most humbling experience was when we were out on the street and we were talking to this guy in a wheelchair. An appointment had just fallen through, and I can’t remember his name for the life of me, but we had talked to him earlier in the week! Really nice and really high in spirits considering that he had just gotten evicted. So, after we do our little shpeel, we of course ask if there is anything that we can do for him. He asked us jokingly if we could push him to the homeless shelter, because his luggage that he was carrying around with him was painful to carry. So, next thing we know, I am pushing this guy down the street, and Elder Tan is carrying his luggage. As we were walking, we figured out that he is one of the nicest guys ever! He had gone through a lot in his life, and was even asking questions about the gospel along the way. He even said along the way "man, I guess we should say a prayer when we get back eh?" We are always pumped to hear that from someone! So we get to the shelter and he was just so thankful! He said that "this just made my day, thank you so much!" So we talked a little while longer and talked about the gospel, and gave him a Book of Mormon. He was so thankful, and will never forget that! As we were about to leave, I remembered that there was something in my bag. The day previous, I had bought a couple Gatorades. Oddly enough, I had not set the one I had not opened, in the fridge... So, I pulled it out, gave it to him, and he was just as excited as can be! Even though we did not set a return appointment, or get his number or whatever else, I am so grateful that I was able to take part in planting this seed. It also has helped me truly realize how much I have, and how much other people don't, which has helped me come to terms with the fact that I need to share with everyone! Such a tender mercy from the Lord!
Well I sure love and miss you all so much! I am so grateful for every single one of you!
Love you so so much!
Love
Elder McCown
So one of the many miracles this past week was this guy named Nick! So we go to this apartment building all the time to help one of the members read because he has some disabilities. Anyway, this member had run into this guy that was interested in the church! We tried throughout the week to contact this guy because we were so excited to be able to teach him. It wasn’t until Thursday that we were actually able to get a hold of him though! So we got Bishop and rushed over and taught Nick. The guy is so open to the gospel! He just soaked everything up and was excited that we were there! Turns out that he is a REALLY good piano player. Like, REALLY GOOD. So we immediately connected which is so important! It’s so hard to teach someone when there is absolutely no connection! We were even able to set a baptismal date for July 5th with him which has to be the best part of it all! The whole almost 3 months that I have been here, we have had absolutely no opportunity to be able to set a baptismal date. Every time we tried, we were shot down!
So that was awesome! Probably the most humbling experience was when we were out on the street and we were talking to this guy in a wheelchair. An appointment had just fallen through, and I can’t remember his name for the life of me, but we had talked to him earlier in the week! Really nice and really high in spirits considering that he had just gotten evicted. So, after we do our little shpeel, we of course ask if there is anything that we can do for him. He asked us jokingly if we could push him to the homeless shelter, because his luggage that he was carrying around with him was painful to carry. So, next thing we know, I am pushing this guy down the street, and Elder Tan is carrying his luggage. As we were walking, we figured out that he is one of the nicest guys ever! He had gone through a lot in his life, and was even asking questions about the gospel along the way. He even said along the way "man, I guess we should say a prayer when we get back eh?" We are always pumped to hear that from someone! So we get to the shelter and he was just so thankful! He said that "this just made my day, thank you so much!" So we talked a little while longer and talked about the gospel, and gave him a Book of Mormon. He was so thankful, and will never forget that! As we were about to leave, I remembered that there was something in my bag. The day previous, I had bought a couple Gatorades. Oddly enough, I had not set the one I had not opened, in the fridge... So, I pulled it out, gave it to him, and he was just as excited as can be! Even though we did not set a return appointment, or get his number or whatever else, I am so grateful that I was able to take part in planting this seed. It also has helped me truly realize how much I have, and how much other people don't, which has helped me come to terms with the fact that I need to share with everyone! Such a tender mercy from the Lord!
Well I sure love and miss you all so much! I am so grateful for every single one of you!
Love you so so much!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, June 8, 2015
Talking in the Park
So this has been an awesome week! This past week has been so good! We have had multiple lessons which has been a nice change in the area since I first got here. So amazing! I think one of the coolest miracles this past week was Shiane. So last week we were in the park because one of our recent converts invited us to meet him there. So yeah, were all excited because we get to see him and stuff. Anyway, as we were there, he went off for some reason and started talking to some other people he knew. So, we go and talk to random people in the park. One of those people was Terry. She was just relaxing under the shade with her roommate. He had this whole set up for drumming in the park. Anyway, she talks to us for a little bit and said that we could come by the park in the afternoons because she is normally there. So, we haven’t been able to see her since. HOWEVER! God works in some pretty freaking awesome ways! So one of Terry's friends, which turns out to be Shiane, wanted some help. SO GUESS WHAT!!? Terry was a missionary without even knowing it! She gave Shiane our number and she called us up, and we met up at the park with her! Super truth seeking! She even said that she wants to come to church with us! Such an awesome miracle!
We also got to see Richard this past week! It’s such a miracle because this guy is so busy! Works day and night to provide for his family! The coolest part about this visit with Richard though was that right after we were going to leave, he went and got his patriarchal blessing! Only a member for 2 months and he already has the priesthood and already has a patriarchal blessing! This guy is so cool! He is so kind and generous too! So, in Africa (that’s where he is from), they have this very interesting dish called Foo-Foo (I think that is how you spell it). Just imagine a very gummy potato. But that was the yummiest gummy potato ever! Dipped in the soup that his wife made, mmmmm, it was SO GOOD!
Anyway, not much else happened! We just keep working and doing what missionaries do! Sure love and miss all of ya!
Love
Elder McCown
We also got to see Richard this past week! It’s such a miracle because this guy is so busy! Works day and night to provide for his family! The coolest part about this visit with Richard though was that right after we were going to leave, he went and got his patriarchal blessing! Only a member for 2 months and he already has the priesthood and already has a patriarchal blessing! This guy is so cool! He is so kind and generous too! So, in Africa (that’s where he is from), they have this very interesting dish called Foo-Foo (I think that is how you spell it). Just imagine a very gummy potato. But that was the yummiest gummy potato ever! Dipped in the soup that his wife made, mmmmm, it was SO GOOD!
Anyway, not much else happened! We just keep working and doing what missionaries do! Sure love and miss all of ya!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, June 1, 2015
No More Eyelashes
What the heck...I have officially been out 8 months as of yesterday! I can’t believe that! Anyway, this week has to be one of the best weeks ever! This week we had a huge jump in our lessons and everything is going great! So, to start off the week, we had an awesome Pday! We played basketball for a couple hours and it honestly was the funniest thing ever!
After that we went and visited the O'dwyers and that’s about it! Nothing much really happened until this past Thursday! I got a way AWESOME PACKAGE!!! The chocolate covered peanut butter balls were the bomb! I couldn’t stop eating them....I even shared a couple which was shocking to say in the least! Needless to say though....those were all gone within a couple days...
But I have to say, my favorite was the booklet with all the pictures!
Anyway, right after picking up the package and tearing it open gorging myself on the most delicious creation ever, we had to do weekly planning! 3 hours of planning for a whole week is never enough! But we were able to finish it in two hours because we were on the balls of our feet the whole time!
Right after that we had an awesome lesson with this guy named Leaf! This guy is from China and doesn’t consider himself worthy to be baptized! He is so prepared to hear the gospel!
Next thing ya know, we went and did service for this lady named Sheila, that almost got baptized 4-5 times. We did service for a fundraiser for Africa. We were tasked with grilling hot dogs and stuff. Unbeknownst to me though, when we’re hooking up all the valves to the grill, one of the kids turned the grill on high, so propane was leaking out like crazy. Anyway, long story short, I go to light it and a huge flame goes up, and my hand is all burnt, my eyelashes are all burned off, and some of my hair has that singed look. All I was worried about though was my eyebrows, and I am happy to say, that I still have them Haha!
It wasn’t until Saturday that things started getting a little crazy. One of our recent converts wife was getting baptized. However, he didn’t know that he was going to baptize her until 3 am, so needless to say, he was afraid, and he called us saying that he wanted someone else to do it. We just sat there, wondering what the heck we can do. That’s when I can sincerely say, that God spoke directly to me. As I knelt down to pray, a thought came to mind. That thought kept coming back again and again. So we made a couple phone calls and pulled off some awesome crazy miracles! So, you do have to know first that Elder Ringer was the one who baptized our recent convert (Richard). Elder Tan and Elder Ringer had taught him everything and he was golden and ready to be baptized. Anyway, we pulled some strings, called the zone leaders, and next thing we know, I am in Maple Ridge with another elder and Elder Ringer is back in his old area with Elder Tan. They pulled him aside and talked to him and made some miracles happen, and next thing you know, Richard is baptizing his wife! Such a miracle!
Sunday rolls around and it honestly was probably the best day of the week! We had Leaf and his wife at church as well as Sheila! Such an awesome miracle! We then got to bring Leaf and his wife Eva to a baptism and the spirit was so strong! I was praying so hard as we were there that they would feel the spirit! It was so awesome!
Later that day, we went over to the Henry’s and had steak, corn on the cob, and all the fixings for dinner! It was SO GOOD! No dad, nobody cooks as good a steak as you, but, Brother Sulymkas steaks were pretty dang good...
Anyway! This was the best week ever in Brookswood! So many miracles and now we have so much more to do! Love you guys so much!
Love
Elder McCown
After that we went and visited the O'dwyers and that’s about it! Nothing much really happened until this past Thursday! I got a way AWESOME PACKAGE!!! The chocolate covered peanut butter balls were the bomb! I couldn’t stop eating them....I even shared a couple which was shocking to say in the least! Needless to say though....those were all gone within a couple days...
But I have to say, my favorite was the booklet with all the pictures!
Anyway, right after picking up the package and tearing it open gorging myself on the most delicious creation ever, we had to do weekly planning! 3 hours of planning for a whole week is never enough! But we were able to finish it in two hours because we were on the balls of our feet the whole time!
Right after that we had an awesome lesson with this guy named Leaf! This guy is from China and doesn’t consider himself worthy to be baptized! He is so prepared to hear the gospel!
Next thing ya know, we went and did service for this lady named Sheila, that almost got baptized 4-5 times. We did service for a fundraiser for Africa. We were tasked with grilling hot dogs and stuff. Unbeknownst to me though, when we’re hooking up all the valves to the grill, one of the kids turned the grill on high, so propane was leaking out like crazy. Anyway, long story short, I go to light it and a huge flame goes up, and my hand is all burnt, my eyelashes are all burned off, and some of my hair has that singed look. All I was worried about though was my eyebrows, and I am happy to say, that I still have them Haha!
It wasn’t until Saturday that things started getting a little crazy. One of our recent converts wife was getting baptized. However, he didn’t know that he was going to baptize her until 3 am, so needless to say, he was afraid, and he called us saying that he wanted someone else to do it. We just sat there, wondering what the heck we can do. That’s when I can sincerely say, that God spoke directly to me. As I knelt down to pray, a thought came to mind. That thought kept coming back again and again. So we made a couple phone calls and pulled off some awesome crazy miracles! So, you do have to know first that Elder Ringer was the one who baptized our recent convert (Richard). Elder Tan and Elder Ringer had taught him everything and he was golden and ready to be baptized. Anyway, we pulled some strings, called the zone leaders, and next thing we know, I am in Maple Ridge with another elder and Elder Ringer is back in his old area with Elder Tan. They pulled him aside and talked to him and made some miracles happen, and next thing you know, Richard is baptizing his wife! Such a miracle!
Sunday rolls around and it honestly was probably the best day of the week! We had Leaf and his wife at church as well as Sheila! Such an awesome miracle! We then got to bring Leaf and his wife Eva to a baptism and the spirit was so strong! I was praying so hard as we were there that they would feel the spirit! It was so awesome!
Later that day, we went over to the Henry’s and had steak, corn on the cob, and all the fixings for dinner! It was SO GOOD! No dad, nobody cooks as good a steak as you, but, Brother Sulymkas steaks were pretty dang good...
Anyway! This was the best week ever in Brookswood! So many miracles and now we have so much more to do! Love you guys so much!
Love
Elder McCown
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