"Elder McCown, is it dinner time yet?" Yeah, that question gets asked a lot...Actually, I think that has been the question that I have been asked the most for the past 6 months or so...We have literally just been working so hard this past week and I don’t know where the time went. My new companion is from Palau and he is so legit! Came from probably one of the poorest countries in the world, and now speaks near perfect English after only being out in the field for 18 months...yeah he’s awesome!
I would have to say that this week had some ups and downs...not many of our investigators like to pick up their phones...I think that’s one of life’s greatest questions..."If people have phones why dont they pick them up?"...the world may never know.
We did have some awesome miracles though! We dropped by Tyler and he had dropped off the face of the world for the past week and a half. Turns out his phone committed suicide by magically jumping out of his pocket. Long story short, his phone is about as bad as ours now haha!
Best part of the week? That would be Emanuel! It was an interesting lesson. We invited Freyden and Manfred to come a long cause we are trying to get him to go to YSA...Well Freyden had another friend with him, soooo, we took all 3 of them!!! Laid down the law on the Gospel of Jesus Christ...did he accept a baptismal date for October 1st? Yes he did!!! So stoked!
Let’s see, not much else happened...We were able to meet with Wayne as well...Taught him the Plan of Salvation...Went better than I thought it would. One thing that I do love about Wayne though is that he says his concerns right on the spot and he does not do it in a demeaning way...he loves what we talk about and he appreciates it all, and I love it too, because, even if the lesson is not good, he still gives us cookies...
That’s about it though...I have gotten to that point where I think I have this place memorized. Finding streets that I have not knocked are a struggle.
Sure love and miss yall and keep on being so good!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, August 29, 2016
Monday, August 22, 2016
Dying in COQUITLAM
So this week had some ups and downs! So, start with the downs....JACK CAN’T MEET WITH US ANYMORE :( :( XP X'(. Literally the saddest news of my life. He had left for Alberta for a couple weeks and he comes back saying that his family is upset with him for doing this and all that anti jazz that just breaks everything!!! GAH!!! So hard! He is just so good! He called us to let us know and I remember word for word what he said. "I am so sorry, but I do want you to know that I know that you are two good young fellows. And I know what you share is true..."
He is going to take us out to lunch today though and hopefully we can figure something out! So that hurt!
Of course we should always look at the bright side! We were able to meet with this guy named Emanuel...He is legit. Another pair of elders passed him off to us and we actually figured out that he is YSA. He is actually from Nigeria and understood and loved what we had to say! At the end of the lesson he said, "I want to read that book!" Well...sure...that sounds good. He also came to church and hopefully we will be passing him off to YSA next week!
Wayne’s been alright...kind of had to push him a little. Elder Hsu got all fiery with him during the lesson and it was awesome! Just testified hardcore! We also gave him a blessing for his recovery from his surgery! He should be coming to church soon!
Andrew is doing good. We had a lesson at the Howitts with them this past week and he liked it! Almost accepted a baptismal date. What stinks though is that he has a job for the next 2 weeks at the fair here in town so him coming to church is a no go :(...
OH!! Also met this guy named Tyler! The sisters passed us off to him and gave us 15 minutes to get to his place....Well he is so cool! He is like 28, and, long story short, he has seen and done quite a bit...He was crying while we were there and hopefully things will work out for him!
Last, but not least, we got transfer calls.....I’M STAYING!!!! Nothing like dying in COQUITLAM!!! My new companion is Elder Melus and he is so cool! He is this dude from a tiny island off the coast of the Philippines...STOKED??? YES!!!
Elder Hsu is going over to Burnaby and opening up a Chinese area. That’s spitting distance from Coquitlam so I will still see him! Gonna miss him though!
Sure love and miss yall!
Love
Elder McCown
He is going to take us out to lunch today though and hopefully we can figure something out! So that hurt!
Of course we should always look at the bright side! We were able to meet with this guy named Emanuel...He is legit. Another pair of elders passed him off to us and we actually figured out that he is YSA. He is actually from Nigeria and understood and loved what we had to say! At the end of the lesson he said, "I want to read that book!" Well...sure...that sounds good. He also came to church and hopefully we will be passing him off to YSA next week!
Wayne’s been alright...kind of had to push him a little. Elder Hsu got all fiery with him during the lesson and it was awesome! Just testified hardcore! We also gave him a blessing for his recovery from his surgery! He should be coming to church soon!
Andrew is doing good. We had a lesson at the Howitts with them this past week and he liked it! Almost accepted a baptismal date. What stinks though is that he has a job for the next 2 weeks at the fair here in town so him coming to church is a no go :(...
OH!! Also met this guy named Tyler! The sisters passed us off to him and gave us 15 minutes to get to his place....Well he is so cool! He is like 28, and, long story short, he has seen and done quite a bit...He was crying while we were there and hopefully things will work out for him!
Last, but not least, we got transfer calls.....I’M STAYING!!!! Nothing like dying in COQUITLAM!!! My new companion is Elder Melus and he is so cool! He is this dude from a tiny island off the coast of the Philippines...STOKED??? YES!!!
Elder Hsu is going over to Burnaby and opening up a Chinese area. That’s spitting distance from Coquitlam so I will still see him! Gonna miss him though!
Sure love and miss yall!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, August 15, 2016
Sprint My Heart Out
Well this has been an eventful week....OF FINDING!!!! We were not able to meet with any of our investigators this past week so that was pretty hard...Well that is except for Andrew! He is doing great! He even came to church as well! He soaking up everything that we teach him and he said in the middle of priesthood that he is starting to like it here even more! Even though we did not get to teach much we were able to find a lot of people this past week, and hopefully we will be seeing them this week! God has been good regardless though!
A little miracle that we had was when Elder Reynolds and I were on exchanges...It had been a long day and we were walking up and down hills and its about 90 degrees and 70% humidity...so needless to say we were sweating buckets... So, lets just say that this road was our little miracle street! We found this lady named Sheri that is super down to listening to what we have to say. We will be seeing her tomorrow! Also, knocked on this Chinese lady's door...Normally when it’s just two white dudes that don’t speak a lick of Chinese knocking into a door with a Chinese lady freaking because she does not know what we are doing, we normally leave them with a card and play charades to show them that you type it into the computer...Well, this time was different...it was awkward while we were just standing there with me trying to call some Chinese elders, but we were able to get someone on the phone! Well, God turned that into a little miracle! She ended up on being very interested! Wait...gets even better! We passed her over to the Chinese sisters, and they were able to set up an appointment for that Sunday...Well it turned out on being a whole family!!!! Grandma and two parents and a little girl! They told us that the lesson was just so good and that they will be seeing them this week! GAH!!! God is so good!
Someone also gave us fudgesicles when we knocked on her door...So literally the coolest street ever!
We also had an okay/really good zone meeting. Okay because seeing your results on the board and how they compare with other companionships, in my book, is not cool, but whatever. It was so good once we hit the end though! The last 7 minutes were spent watching this super cool video that just hit everyone like a ton of bricks...It was about a black man that was in the Olympics for some event in track and was actually predicted to win the race. However, about halfway through the race, something happened to his leg, whether it was a rupture or a cramp, I do not remember, but he could not put pressure on that one leg. Determined to stick it to the very end he keeps on hobbling, but that’s when a man in the crowd starts running out to the stadium, pushing people out of his way, shoving security to the side, saying, "That’s my son." This father, walking beside his son, who is barely hobbling, wraps his arms around him, and tells him, "You dont have to do this son." But that son does not stop. He keeps on going, he finishes that race regardless of the pain that is felt in his leg. The spirit was so strong and yet lighter than air and many of us were crying after that...One distinct feeling that I remember was my renewed desire to just serve to the very end. Not that I had already committed to sprint my heart out and give every moment I could, but that spiritual renewal and that newfound and heavily bolstered desire is now stuck in me until I die running. Ever since that day, that video has been on replay.
I know that the Savior lives. I know that when it seems like when we are coming to the end of our ropes, that when everything seems hopeless and dark and endless, that when we just keep fighting, that the lesson will be learned, that the dark will be turned to light, and the aspirations for becoming like our Heavenly Father will be attained.
"If for a while, the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart, so it has been with the best of people." Jeffrey R. Holland
Love
Elder McCown
A little miracle that we had was when Elder Reynolds and I were on exchanges...It had been a long day and we were walking up and down hills and its about 90 degrees and 70% humidity...so needless to say we were sweating buckets... So, lets just say that this road was our little miracle street! We found this lady named Sheri that is super down to listening to what we have to say. We will be seeing her tomorrow! Also, knocked on this Chinese lady's door...Normally when it’s just two white dudes that don’t speak a lick of Chinese knocking into a door with a Chinese lady freaking because she does not know what we are doing, we normally leave them with a card and play charades to show them that you type it into the computer...Well, this time was different...it was awkward while we were just standing there with me trying to call some Chinese elders, but we were able to get someone on the phone! Well, God turned that into a little miracle! She ended up on being very interested! Wait...gets even better! We passed her over to the Chinese sisters, and they were able to set up an appointment for that Sunday...Well it turned out on being a whole family!!!! Grandma and two parents and a little girl! They told us that the lesson was just so good and that they will be seeing them this week! GAH!!! God is so good!
Someone also gave us fudgesicles when we knocked on her door...So literally the coolest street ever!
We also had an okay/really good zone meeting. Okay because seeing your results on the board and how they compare with other companionships, in my book, is not cool, but whatever. It was so good once we hit the end though! The last 7 minutes were spent watching this super cool video that just hit everyone like a ton of bricks...It was about a black man that was in the Olympics for some event in track and was actually predicted to win the race. However, about halfway through the race, something happened to his leg, whether it was a rupture or a cramp, I do not remember, but he could not put pressure on that one leg. Determined to stick it to the very end he keeps on hobbling, but that’s when a man in the crowd starts running out to the stadium, pushing people out of his way, shoving security to the side, saying, "That’s my son." This father, walking beside his son, who is barely hobbling, wraps his arms around him, and tells him, "You dont have to do this son." But that son does not stop. He keeps on going, he finishes that race regardless of the pain that is felt in his leg. The spirit was so strong and yet lighter than air and many of us were crying after that...One distinct feeling that I remember was my renewed desire to just serve to the very end. Not that I had already committed to sprint my heart out and give every moment I could, but that spiritual renewal and that newfound and heavily bolstered desire is now stuck in me until I die running. Ever since that day, that video has been on replay.
I know that the Savior lives. I know that when it seems like when we are coming to the end of our ropes, that when everything seems hopeless and dark and endless, that when we just keep fighting, that the lesson will be learned, that the dark will be turned to light, and the aspirations for becoming like our Heavenly Father will be attained.
"If for a while, the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart, so it has been with the best of people." Jeffrey R. Holland
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, August 8, 2016
Members Catching The Fire
SUCH A GOOD WEEK!!! Filled with little miracles here and there which led to us being able to find 6 new investigators this week! Literally a miracle! We worked so hard and are so excited to find where these people will go when we are able to see them in the coming weeks! Just an update on everyone else that we are teaching, more specifically Stew, Andrew, Wayne and Jack!
To first start off, Stew is someone that we were able to only sit down for 30 minutes with. He is a father of 3 boys that has a desire for something better for them and, before we came to his place, he had already read the Resto pamphlet that we had left with him and already wanted a Book of Mormon! He knew already that that was the key upon learning all of that was true! Good questions were given and we were able to answer them very clearly which led to him connecting the dots that he needed to read this great book! We were able to teach a 7 minute Resto and he is excited to learn more! SO EXCITING!!!
Andrew came to church this week! He is someone with a little bit of mental handicaps but his retention is just so good! We watched the Resto video with him this past week and, we tested out his retention and he explained perfectly what happened in the video! What’s even better!? HE SAYS HE KNOWS IT IS ALL TRUE!! The Book of Mormon! That Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet! Everything that we had taught him so far! We also had some great members that were able to pick him up and bring him to church this week! He said it was different and liked it! Also loved the members and we are expecting a baptismal date soon!!!! SO EXCITING!!! Reading is hard for him but he is able to grasp the main concept of the passages we leave with him!
Wayne we were able to meet with this past Saturday. He is progressing in reading the Book of Mormon and plans on taking it on his trip when he leaves for a couple weeks! Every time we go over he says "this just seems to line up more and more with what I believe!" So it is good that he is seeing the correlation! We plan on giving him a blessing this week as well, so that he can first off, witness the priesthood firsthand, as well as come to church this week! It will be a defining moment!
Jack had to go to Alberta again for his sister that is starting to pass away, but we are going to teach him this week! I am just so excited to be able to teach him this week though! He loves the Book of Mormon and loves the pamphlets that we leave behind with him. Last time we were with him we were able to give him the plan of salvation pamphlet and he said that he would read it. And, without a doubt in my mind, I know that he has read it at least once, maybe even more.
So things are going great! The members are catching the fire just a little bit more! Whether that be through mass texts to come out to lessons or them sharing little experiences with us.
Lets see, we were also able to go on exchanges this week! Elder Li and I just hit up those doors and HE ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!! NOT! He thought it was so slow going door to door but we had some AWESOME MIRACLES!!! We dropped by the Sherwood’s and we were able to break out that little puzzle with the Plan of Salvation, (thanks mom :D)! Anyway, she sat at the table before her husband could even come and was able to put it in order for the most part. She literally said the things she had problems with, like the three kingdoms of glory and the spirit world, and before she knew it, after explaining it to her, she ended up on liking what we said! That it makes sense to her! That is until we hit brick wall that she has always had trouble with...Women having the priesthood...and she said right off the bat that she did not like it when we explained how men and women have separate roles and how she had heard that over who knows how many times... Well, we sat there and, long story short, the spirit brought to mind that men needed the priesthood in order to get to heaven and how women don't need to be ordained in the office of the priesthood in order to get to heaven...She literally just stopped right there and said, "That’s interesting...." CONFOUNDED! hahahah! So we are curious on where that goes next time!
All in all, it was great! Lots of fun and hopefully some new people to teach! Sure love and miss yall!!!
Love
Elder McCown
To first start off, Stew is someone that we were able to only sit down for 30 minutes with. He is a father of 3 boys that has a desire for something better for them and, before we came to his place, he had already read the Resto pamphlet that we had left with him and already wanted a Book of Mormon! He knew already that that was the key upon learning all of that was true! Good questions were given and we were able to answer them very clearly which led to him connecting the dots that he needed to read this great book! We were able to teach a 7 minute Resto and he is excited to learn more! SO EXCITING!!!
Andrew came to church this week! He is someone with a little bit of mental handicaps but his retention is just so good! We watched the Resto video with him this past week and, we tested out his retention and he explained perfectly what happened in the video! What’s even better!? HE SAYS HE KNOWS IT IS ALL TRUE!! The Book of Mormon! That Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet! Everything that we had taught him so far! We also had some great members that were able to pick him up and bring him to church this week! He said it was different and liked it! Also loved the members and we are expecting a baptismal date soon!!!! SO EXCITING!!! Reading is hard for him but he is able to grasp the main concept of the passages we leave with him!
Wayne we were able to meet with this past Saturday. He is progressing in reading the Book of Mormon and plans on taking it on his trip when he leaves for a couple weeks! Every time we go over he says "this just seems to line up more and more with what I believe!" So it is good that he is seeing the correlation! We plan on giving him a blessing this week as well, so that he can first off, witness the priesthood firsthand, as well as come to church this week! It will be a defining moment!
Jack had to go to Alberta again for his sister that is starting to pass away, but we are going to teach him this week! I am just so excited to be able to teach him this week though! He loves the Book of Mormon and loves the pamphlets that we leave behind with him. Last time we were with him we were able to give him the plan of salvation pamphlet and he said that he would read it. And, without a doubt in my mind, I know that he has read it at least once, maybe even more.
So things are going great! The members are catching the fire just a little bit more! Whether that be through mass texts to come out to lessons or them sharing little experiences with us.
Lets see, we were also able to go on exchanges this week! Elder Li and I just hit up those doors and HE ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!! NOT! He thought it was so slow going door to door but we had some AWESOME MIRACLES!!! We dropped by the Sherwood’s and we were able to break out that little puzzle with the Plan of Salvation, (thanks mom :D)! Anyway, she sat at the table before her husband could even come and was able to put it in order for the most part. She literally said the things she had problems with, like the three kingdoms of glory and the spirit world, and before she knew it, after explaining it to her, she ended up on liking what we said! That it makes sense to her! That is until we hit brick wall that she has always had trouble with...Women having the priesthood...and she said right off the bat that she did not like it when we explained how men and women have separate roles and how she had heard that over who knows how many times... Well, we sat there and, long story short, the spirit brought to mind that men needed the priesthood in order to get to heaven and how women don't need to be ordained in the office of the priesthood in order to get to heaven...She literally just stopped right there and said, "That’s interesting...." CONFOUNDED! hahahah! So we are curious on where that goes next time!
All in all, it was great! Lots of fun and hopefully some new people to teach! Sure love and miss yall!!!
Love
Elder McCown
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Text Bombing
It was so good to hear from you this past week! And I just can’t wait to tell you about all the miracles we have been seeing!
First off! Just want to tell you about the miracle with Jack! Oh man! Just telling you about it just makes me excited! To start off though, we thought we had lost him. He was not answering his phone and we dropped by his place and his daughter answered saying he wasn’t there, and basically, I thought we had lost our most solid investigator. Wellll, we were moving in between appointments and we had about 5-7 minutes until we were about to go in, and Elder Hsu leans over in the car and tells me to give Jack a call. Well! He answered! Long story short he had made an emergency trip to Alberta. Of course, that’s not the best part of the call...he told us that he had read up to Mosiah 21 in a matter of two weeks! So we set an RA for that Sunday and can I just tell you how great of a lesson it was? To start off he loved the member we brought and he testified perfectly! Before the lesson really began though, I asked him a question, and looking back, I realized how much of an inspired question it was. "What do you think of the Book of Mormon so far?" It was definitely not the answer I was expecting...he replied, "Well, I will tell you something. I have a bible downstairs that I have not read in years. I have been so busy because of my trip to Alberta to see my sister who is losing her memory. But I cannot put the Book of Mormon down. I have this very strong urge to just keep reading it." I was stunned. The spirit was so strong in that lesson. He even told us that he would read the whole Book of Mormon to find out that it is true. I about fell out of my seat. I have never had someone do this before. Someone who is so prepared, someone who would have, and he told us right there as well, that he would have come to church that week, but the only thing holding him back was medical problems that prevented him from coming. God has literally given us a miracle. A sincere 80 year old man that can tell that the Book of Mormon can bring the spirit into his life. It is NEVER too late to change.
Nothing else that the week contained can compare to that miracle. We did see Wayne though. His progression is going great. He has read parts of the Book of Mormon and is excited to jump into 3 Nephi 11 and continue on from there. We also had some great less active lessons. Matthew is doing great! Slowly but surely taking one step at a time to the temple! We were also able to meet with Brian. He literally is going through so much. He is surrounded with, lets just say, some of the worst environment someone could have. He’s handling it alright though. We have been able to see some progression in the members as well. Not necessarily in referrals, but in getting them out to lessons. They even mention in Elders quorum that we keep on "text bombing" them. If that’s the way to get them to do their missionary work then I will do it.
Oh yeah! almost forgot! Bro Sherwood is this super cool guy that just loves feeding the missionaries! Anyway, he and his wife, took us out to a Brazilian BBQ! They kept coming out with skewers of meat and you just tell them how much you want and they will give it to you. All you can eat too! We were so full from that, that we did not even eat dinner that night.
I was not expecting this this week, but someone I taught in Port Alberni, her granddaughter got baptized!!! SO EXCITING!!!
Reflecting on it right now, looking back at all the miracles, makes all that blood, sweat and tears worth it. All the moments of rejection and hardheartedness, seeing the blessings and miracles that come from just being willing to endure them, make it all worth it, and there is no better place I could be, or would rather be.
I sure love and miss all of you though!
Love
Elder McCown
First off! Just want to tell you about the miracle with Jack! Oh man! Just telling you about it just makes me excited! To start off though, we thought we had lost him. He was not answering his phone and we dropped by his place and his daughter answered saying he wasn’t there, and basically, I thought we had lost our most solid investigator. Wellll, we were moving in between appointments and we had about 5-7 minutes until we were about to go in, and Elder Hsu leans over in the car and tells me to give Jack a call. Well! He answered! Long story short he had made an emergency trip to Alberta. Of course, that’s not the best part of the call...he told us that he had read up to Mosiah 21 in a matter of two weeks! So we set an RA for that Sunday and can I just tell you how great of a lesson it was? To start off he loved the member we brought and he testified perfectly! Before the lesson really began though, I asked him a question, and looking back, I realized how much of an inspired question it was. "What do you think of the Book of Mormon so far?" It was definitely not the answer I was expecting...he replied, "Well, I will tell you something. I have a bible downstairs that I have not read in years. I have been so busy because of my trip to Alberta to see my sister who is losing her memory. But I cannot put the Book of Mormon down. I have this very strong urge to just keep reading it." I was stunned. The spirit was so strong in that lesson. He even told us that he would read the whole Book of Mormon to find out that it is true. I about fell out of my seat. I have never had someone do this before. Someone who is so prepared, someone who would have, and he told us right there as well, that he would have come to church that week, but the only thing holding him back was medical problems that prevented him from coming. God has literally given us a miracle. A sincere 80 year old man that can tell that the Book of Mormon can bring the spirit into his life. It is NEVER too late to change.
Nothing else that the week contained can compare to that miracle. We did see Wayne though. His progression is going great. He has read parts of the Book of Mormon and is excited to jump into 3 Nephi 11 and continue on from there. We also had some great less active lessons. Matthew is doing great! Slowly but surely taking one step at a time to the temple! We were also able to meet with Brian. He literally is going through so much. He is surrounded with, lets just say, some of the worst environment someone could have. He’s handling it alright though. We have been able to see some progression in the members as well. Not necessarily in referrals, but in getting them out to lessons. They even mention in Elders quorum that we keep on "text bombing" them. If that’s the way to get them to do their missionary work then I will do it.
Oh yeah! almost forgot! Bro Sherwood is this super cool guy that just loves feeding the missionaries! Anyway, he and his wife, took us out to a Brazilian BBQ! They kept coming out with skewers of meat and you just tell them how much you want and they will give it to you. All you can eat too! We were so full from that, that we did not even eat dinner that night.
I was not expecting this this week, but someone I taught in Port Alberni, her granddaughter got baptized!!! SO EXCITING!!!
Reflecting on it right now, looking back at all the miracles, makes all that blood, sweat and tears worth it. All the moments of rejection and hardheartedness, seeing the blessings and miracles that come from just being willing to endure them, make it all worth it, and there is no better place I could be, or would rather be.
I sure love and miss all of you though!
Love
Elder McCown
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