Let’s see, what else did we do this week.... We went to Courtenay and did exchanges. I went on exchanges with Elder Robinson. These missionaries are doing really well in the area, and it has truly been prepared by the Lord. They are just constantly teaching and teaching, going from appointment to appointment. Within that one day of me being there, I think we taught about 6 lessons in about a 7 hour period. It was AWESOME! It was so cool though. One of the appointments we went to was this lady named Shayla. First off, Elder Robinson starts throwing pinecones at her sliding glass door to let her know we are here, which I thought was pretty interesting. We got her attention and she came down the stairs to let us in, and she was carrying this red tub. Before we could really say anything she said "I’m sorry, but we won’t be able to meet today, something came up, but I wanted to give you this." That’s when she hands Elder Robinson the red tub which is a coffee container. She continues "I am giving up coffee and I had my last cigarette today. Maybe we can just meet later in the week." I just stood their astounded. I later learn from Elder Robinson that she has apparently been struggling with these things for quite a while, and she just gave it up right then and there. WHAT A MIRACLE!! I have never seen anything like that happen before! SO COOL!
This past Friday was quite an experience. We went to dinner with Roy and Gail (she is a recent convert), and they love the missionaries. They took us to the Timberlodge which is a sushi restaurant... The sushi wasn’t that bad. I could eat the BC roll as well as the California roll. That wasn’t that bad, neither was the lobster. It wasn’t until we got to the really fishy stuff, that I thought I couldn’t get it down. I tired so many different types of raw fish that I honestly had no clue what they were until they told us what it was. I had tuna, eel, salmon, halibut, minto soup, and some other things that I don’t know. Worst one was the clam and scallops though. I couldn’t even chew the clam, and the scallop I could barely get down. I don’t see how this is a delicacy.
Saturday we met with Marilyn. We just read the book of Mormon with her, and talked to her about how she needed to quit cold turkey on the coffee and tea by next week so that she can be qualified to be baptized by the 28th. I sure hope and pray that she will make it!
Sunday was awesome! Francois came to church! He really liked it, which is shocking considering that it was fast and testimony meeting. I even found those kind of a drag before I came out on the mission. It was awesome to have him sit there with us though! That afternoon, the Housholders took us to Ucluelet which was such an awesome experience! The drive there was GORGEOUS. Dad would spend a week just on the drive there. Ucluelet is gorgeous though! I can’t believe that the members out in Ucluelet drive for over an hour through rougher and narrow roads to get to church and back! They are honestly incredible! Anyway, the Andersons have the most gorgeous home! Their front porch looks out to the ocean, and they had an Eagles nest right outside of their house! That night we had dinner with the Andersons, Housholders and the Manttas. Sister Anderson made the best lasagna ever! That meal was incredible! The best part was the dessert. She made peaches and creme dessert, and I could have eaten the whole platter. WAY YUMMO! So we stayed the night there and spent Pday in Ucluelet and visited Tofino. We went on a hike, played football on Longbeach, had lunch on the beach, and spotted 15 eagles. Crazy eh? Such a cool experience, all because of these awesome members! It was so cool, and Elder Zieler and I were so lucky to be able to take part in something like this.
Monday night we met with the Johannessons which was awesome! We really talked about the progress in the area and really wondering what else we could do.
Well I gotta go! Sure love and miss all of you!
Love
Elder McCown
