Is He Proud of Me

So this has been quite a week! Just working hard and just giving our all has brought some miracles into our paths and judging from our results and just how much we feel better about ourselves from experiences we had together, has just made this past week so good!

We were able to teach a decent amount. Appointments seem to have fallen through on a more regular basis as I have gotten here, but I have recognized it is more of following the spirit and separating the "wheat from the tares". That has just come into my mind so much as I have been here and we have been working just so diligently, even though we are so imperfect. We have had a lot of fun and the time just keeps on moving too fast.

One of tender mercies I learned this past week was a lesson that our ward mission leader taught us. Having had a mildly stressful day, with a possibility of the one of our two investigators we have not wanting to take the lessons really put us on edge. As we contemplated what to do we talked with our ward mission leader as well as the bishop and wanted to get a fast going this coming Sunday for missionary work. As we told them of our idea, our ward mission leader could tell that there was something that was up. As we headed back from the lesson we had that night, we got back to his house and he really uplifted us and encouraged us to just keep going. We noticed that we had gotten a little too down on the appointments falling through and, even though we were being exactly obedient, giving up time whenever we possibly could, we were expecting results. That and we kept on comparing ourselves to the "Standards of excellence". So basically we were just beating ourselves up. Well he said something that rang just so true. He told us to pray and ask heavenly father if he is proud of me. I almost started tearing up. We had just been too busy giving our all and we neglected to ask Him if he was proud of us.

It was so good to see all of you though! That skype call seemed to only last 5 minutes! It was so crazy seeing all of you growing up!

I sure love and miss all of you! God is great and people are crazy!

Love

Elder McCown

Silver Lining

So crazy week up here in Coquitlam! We have been just hitting a grind up here and we have been just working so hard!  Just a low down of the week...tracting, sweating, a little bit more tracting and sweating some more, all with the same scratched up name badge that I have worn for just short of two years. No matter how many times I get yelled at, no matter how many times I get cussed out, belittled or pushed around, the name of Jesus Christ makes it all worth it.  Besides that crazy low down we saw some awesome miracles this past week!

We were able to do quite a bit of less active work. These people are literally gold mines! They know people that obviously aren’t affiliated with the most beautiful thing ever put on earth! So we have been dropping by every once and a while and they let us in because they still love missionaries! So we hit up that less active work and things have been picking up over here!

One of the coolest miracles was Moyra! She is so awesome! She is living with this less active and they just have the cutest little family! Long story short, her ties with her family as well as her church were broken because of issues in the family. Well that just pushed her away from them and towards us! Needless to say God works miracles! I was so close to crying in that lesson though! I just remember one specific moment where the spirit just took over. We were about 10 minutes in and we were just setting expectations, basically giving a nut shell story on what we do, when the distinct impression told me to just testify of families. I dont remember what I said, but she just started tearing up, and how she was sad that her family did not have the same. This little family is going places, and by that I mean of course the temple! She felt the spirit so strong in that lesson and we are teaching them tonight!

We are also teaching this guy named Terry! He is such an honest and very solemn and quite man. Really unhappy with his church and things are just falling apart at the seams with him at church as well as at work. We were able to teach him the Restoration and the spirit just hit me like a brick wall. Not just some two foot pretty brick wall but a very big, thick brick wall. But it was so good! We are also meeting with him tonight as well!

One of the best parts of the week was when we were dropping off a member and his parents place after a failed lesson. Being sad that it did not go through, as well as the multiple others that did not go through this past week, I just got frustrated. Elder Vanatta was looking at the back up plans we had and he looked at me and just knew something was wrong. He started rattling off ideas and one of them was just to say a prayer. "Well duh! That’s always a good idea," I thought to myself. Well, in answer to that prayer, I received this impression, "Go back to the Tolman family, they know someone." Well at least something along that line. So we acted on it, got out of car and talked to them for a little bit. After relaying that experience to them, the spirit brought to mind someone that he should invite to the next ward activity! That and they invited us over for dinner that evening! Double win!

So, even though it was a hard week with many hardships, disappointments, as well as a lot of sweating, we were able to see a lot of miracles! Even when it is just so tough, when you feel that you are just lost in the dark, there is always a silver lining.


Sure love and miss you all!

Love

Elder McCown

Coquitlam

So, it honestly has been quite a week! I honestly freaked out when I came back to the lower mainland! After 6 months of literally none to very small street contacting, I got tossed back into bus loops and people just walking everywhere! I felt like such a greenie all over again but its alright now!

To be honest Coquitlam has nothing much really going on when I got here. Some past missionaries left the place with nothing much. Fortunately Elder Vanatta and his previous companion were able to come in and whitewash it and try and revamp the whole attitude of the area. Not much has been happening but we are so ready to kick butt in this area!

Everything is going great though! Elder Vanatta is from good ole AZ. Gonna hit it up after the mission cause he is only in Scottsdale! We have a lot in common which is kind of crazy!  More than anything, I am just excited to set this area on fire! We have just been praying so hard and we have learning so much from just the past week!

I sure love and miss you all! Just know that God is good and people are crazy!

Love you!

Hasta la bye bye Kelowna :(

So crazy awesome week! Saw a TON of miracles! Met this guy named Ashquiza...pretty cool guy. Besides meeting Ashquiza we did see some other awesome miracles! Went out and just worked our tails off and that farmers tan is settin in real good.  We were able to teach Jerry this week! After hashing out a time with the bishop and the ward mission leader and him we were finally able to set a date that satisfied everybody! So he is gettin tized on April 28th! So stoked!  Brenda (the lady who likes to sing) came to church as well!

So coolest miracle! Last week we were out walking in the southern part of our area and we ran into this cool YSA dude named Dylan. We have been texting him off and on for the past week and were not able to see him until this past week! Turns out he is the most solid guy ever! We were able to pass him off to YSA and I went with Elder Ushio to do service. Literally the most truth seeking guy ever! He came to our ward because he was busy during the time YSA meets and he absolutely loved it! He was lingering around talking to people and he is so ready to hear the gospel! While we were at church he told us about all his travels around the world, and then started talking about his dad who he lost about 2 years ago. After church we got a text from him and he said "Thanks for the invite, I owe you one" and we just had such a good conversation texting back and forth after! He said "It feels good already!" God is just so good! Love this guy to death and I barely know him! I am just so amazed at what the gospel does and how it can just cause you to love people, to see them for who they really are!

So of course all these miracles start happening and we get transfer calls:'(. Literally the saddest day of my life! We have been working so hard and have been able to meet so many people who are ready to hear the gospel! I just sat in my bed that night, not wanting to leave, and that is when I said one of the most sincere prayers I had ever said in my life, to just know if Coquitlam is where I needed to be. Well...God always answers prayers and even though it is not how we want it, or more importantly, when we want it, he still gives it to us.

I am so grateful for the gospel, for its power to bring a greater love, and to also mend that love when it is separated! I am so ready for Coquitlam and am just ready to tear it up with my new companion Elder Vanatta!

Love you all and God bless ya!

Love

Elder McCown

The Spirit Testifies

Man so this was a crazy/super hard week! Literally so good though! JERRY IS GETTING BAPTIZED ON APRIL 20th! Just one of the coolest old guys I know! He is so funny and loves the gospel! He has been wanting this for quite a while!

Besides that, it was still a great week! Had an awesome lesson with Brent! Happiest guy I know and we were able to set a date with him for May 7th! He has such big heart and loves what we have been teaching him! Literally love the guy to death!

Rob has been doing awesome as well! We had such a good lesson and the spirit testified that this church was true right in that lesson! I mean he knew it was true already but it was awesome! Elder Weingarth and I were kind of going into that lesson with a very vague plan on what to teach because he has been taught everything already. Well, we talked about baptism and the spirit told me to commit him to look at his calendar, and pick out 3 dates that he finds right for him, and then to ask heavenly father which day is his. So we left that lesson, feeling like the lesson went great and Elder Weingarth just start freaking out and said "That’s the exact same commitment that I thought of too!" The spirit testifies...

So that was awesome! Much of the rest of the week was walking, running into some awesome people, as well as getting a crazy farmers tan... God has been so good though even though Sunday was a grind. We were fasting and it was so hot. Just completely dehydrated and everything...can’t wait to see the miracles that come out of it though!

Sure love and miss all of you!

Just know to do your best, and God will do the rest!

Love

Elder McCown

The Spirt of God

So another week and Kelowna and things are going nuts here!  I honestly don’t remember what really happened this week though...things are just moving too fast for me to remember anymore...

I guess to start it off is the best miracle! We were chillin at general conference and not many people showed up which was pretty sad :(. Well, the 2nd to last session ends and a member comes up and introduces us to this couple that he invited. Turns out that husband has been a less active for a very long time, and the wife is not a member, but loved general conference! We talked for about an hour after, jumping from temples, to the Book of Mormon back to Word of Wisdom. IT WAS NUTS! We were so excited! We were able to drop by later that night and they let us right in! Literally just a miracle! She practically flipped out when we told her about the LDS Library app! She started scrolling through the hymns, picked a random one and got so excited, she connected it to the TV and blared "The Spirit of God"! So yeah...we belted out to it too. Literally got the coolest divine intervention right after singing all 4 verses, and told her to go to "Joseph Smiths first Prayer". Literally the spirit came in like a ton of bricks and we were able to hop right into the restoration and teach about the Book of Mormon! God is just so good! I had never had that happen! She was so excited and wanted to come to church the following week!

I was also able to go on exchanges with Elder Tan! Literally so good! Hit it up like old times! Brought back so many memories of Brookswood! He freaked me out though. He told me that the day we were on exchanges that it was exactly a year ago when we first met. Literally almost passed out! I feel so old and I have exactly 6 months and 1 day left!

But things have been going great! God has just been so good! People have been popping up out of the woodworks and the miracles never stop!

Sure love and miss yall!

Love

Elder McCown

Singing?

That’s another week gone by...which is just nuts!  So this week was just chock full of miracles! Best ones yet!  We were able to teach this guy named Brent! Literally the coolest native guy ever! We had called him up last week and he is just so solid! He believed in God when he was younger, and then rejected him for about 10 years, got into some things, and just recently was able to get out of some them! Well, all but one...he knows drinking and smoking is wrong and has been able to conquer both of them except for some slight drinking. The one hole he can’t get out of though, is that hole with God. Of course, THATS WHEN WE COME IN!!! He loves and believes everything we teach him! The week before we talked about baptism and set that expectation with him. Well he thought about it and yesterday we were able to teach him the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and he just soaked it up like a sponge! Literally just ate it up! Most sincere guy ever, and has noticed the impact it has had on his life so far! After teaching him the lesson he found that baptism was the way and said he would "meditate on it". SO GOOD! He just so awesome!

We were also able to teach this guy named Allen too. So we leave behind stuff all the time, and something that we left behind with him the first time we met him was a pamphlet. Well, apparently he went to the back of the pamphlet and answered the questions in the back and said that "it all just makes sense!"

We have also been able to just see a ton of miracles all around us!  We were invited over by sister Bonion and she is the sweetest lady ever! SHE COOKS SO MUCH FOOD TOO! She invited us as well as the Carullos and we just got stuffed! Every time, before something could disappear on my plate, she would ask "Elder, you have no more (rice, adobo, pizza, beans, etc.)" and before I could say anything, she would put another helping on my plate! Literally so full! Then, to top it off, she gave us fried banana and ice cream...so good!

Other than that things have been just going great up here! The Sisters had a baptism as well and all the missionaries that were there got to sing...and that is just a scary thought in itself...

And guess what?!? My companion (Elder Ushio) is famous! He played the bass for his band back in Japan and also wrote the lyrics to the songs that his band now sings. His bands name is My First Story and they are just starting up. Pretty cool eh? My comps famous....
Sure love and miss yall!

Love

Elder McCown