Another week has gone by? What the heck?! This is going by really fast!
So this past week was pretty interesting/awesome/slow. This past week we had district meeting here in Port Alberni. The Elders from Courtenay were here for that. They are such awesome Elders though! Elder Shin and Elder Robinson. Elder Shins first name is Thummim. Ya know, like the Urim and Thummim? Crazy eh? Anyway, super awesome Elders! District meeting was awesome though, and we had it at the Housholders Bed and Breakfast because they have a conference room in there! We watched the John Tanner video and talked about the law of consecration and how we should consecrate ourselves the same way, and that we should live it just like he did. Super cool video. The spirit was so strong too!
After District meeting we had taco soup with the Housholders which was way yummo :), and then we did some service for brother Housholder and cleaned up leaves around his property. I have NEVER seen so many leaves in my life! We were there for two hours, (all 4 of us) and we only got about half of it done!
After that, Elder Shin and I went to an appointment that he and Elder Robinson had set up the night previous. That was the most horrendous lesson I have been in. Not because of how the lesson went, but because of the surroundings. It turns out that the place that we went to was about 2 or 3 doors down from our apartment. Turns out, it was a party house with three 18-20 year olds. The place was beyond filthy. The smell was horrible. We have problems in our apartment with smelling marijuana, but this was just BAD. There were beer cans spread out and stacked on the coffee table in front of me. There was a 3 foot bong about 2 feet away for me, and there were pictures of the most disgusting things plastered on the walls. The TV was blaring too and we could barely say anything. Elder Shin is such a great example though. He has been out about 21 months and handled the situation very well. He asked if the TV could be turned off, asked if the images be removed and the Spirit was able to come in, just a little. It was probably one of the coolest lessons that I have been in though, besides all of the disgusting things in the house. They were actually people my age. I felt comfortable with talking to them, and testifying. It turned out on being quite an amazing experience, and I learned a lot. The coolest part of that lesson though was when Renae came in. She came and sat down in the lesson and was at first very quiet. As we gradually got to know her, we realized that she had a true desire to change. All of these kids have been in drugs and alcohol and come from very troubling backgrounds. But when we started to get to know Renae, she started to open up. She wants to have a family. She seems to have a desire to better herself. Elder Shin then asked her to pull up a video (that I haven't seen yet) about New Year’s resolutions and about making changes. We could tell that the Spirit was working on her as she watched it, even though there was a lot of noise going on. It wasn't too long after that, when I challenged them to be baptized, all three of them. The words seemed to flow out of my mouth, and I knew that the Spirit was there. What was so amazing though is that Renae and Jessie said yes! It was quite the experience. Then of course Jessie pulls out a cigarette, which kind of killed the moment, but nonetheless, it was awesome! Sadly, we haven't been able to meet with them since, but, I know that they all felt the Spirit, and if anyone is going to get baptized, it is going to be Renae.
Other than that, things have been going a little slow. We have been trying to find someone who is normal and truth seeking in this town. We have contacted all of the formers and nothing is showing any progress as of late. We did meet with Al and Bev this past week. They are a really nice, really old couple. Bev is a little off of the wall though. I don't know who said it, but someone said something about grizzly bears. She then proceeded to tell us about her experiences with grizzly bears. She told us that when she was 6 years old she was left behind on a field trip and that she saw a grizzly bear. She then told us that she hopped onto the grizzly bear and rode it down the mountain to school...
Personal scripture study has been pretty awesome these past couple of days though, especially today though. This morning, as I was saying my personal prayer, I asked for a question that I could seek the answer to. I decided to study more about the power of the atonement. Such an inspired principle to study. I opened up the topical guide and one of the first few scriptures that I looked up was 2 Nephi 9. One of the scriptures that really hit me was verse 7 which talks about the "infinite atonement". The questions came to mind right then. "What does this actually mean?" "Did he suffer infinitely in a matter of a couple of days?" "If he suffered everything that we are to go through, and we suffer both in body and spirit, then he must have suffered in both body and spirit. If he suffered in both body and spirit, then did he suffer two different infinities of pain?" MY MIND WAS BLOWN. It’s such a cool experience finding out all of these answers for ourselves. We learn so much more as we do it ourselves instead of someone telling us what is true and what is not true. I have lately been cherishing my personal studies even more and I how hard I study parallels with how the rest of my day goes.
We were also able to meet with Marilyn this past week. Yes she is progressing, but ever so slowly. Ugh! Why can’t she just jump in the tank and get dunked already!? We met with Francois earlier in the week. We tried meeting with him on Saturday but it was a no go because one of his friends just died and he was shooken up about it. Didn't come to church either which was a bum.
I have had a lot of fun though! It’s slow! But fun! I sure love and miss all of you though! I can’t believe that Jacob is turning 5 soon! That's crazay!!! Megan! Stay away from boys! Every boy that you even think about dancing with has to email me first and talk to me to see if they are qualified. Jessica tells me everything so ya better watch what you are doing ;).
Well I hope you are all staying safe and I love you all!
Love,
Elder McCown
