Wow, I can’t believe how fast this week went by! So many awesome miracles as we were here! So this past week we were able to get a couple new investigators which is so exciting considering from where we started after all that we lost! So many miracles! Such a blessing! So one of these miracles we ran into out in the outskirts of our area. We were knocking doors and contacting people who had previously been interested. On our way to contacting one of these people we saw this person at the bus stop. He immediately recognized the name tag as well as the white shirt and tie. Immediately we started talking and he just opened up to us and that he had been reading the Book of Mormon. He also talked to us about how his parents had died in a car accident and that was the kicker for him going into depression, which was pretty sad to see. He even lost all of his teeth because of it which was sad to see as well. Anyway, we talked to him for a little bit longer, and gave him all the pamphlets that we had, all of them talking about the Restoration, The plan of Salvation, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was so happy and he even questioned whether or not it was okay if he could have them or not! It wasn’t until we were about to leave that we figured out his name, which was Kevin. As we were walking away, he was repeatedly saying thank you over and over again. We then started on our way to the man that said that he was interested, and it turns out, it was the same guy that we met at the bus stop! There is a sad part of the story though. This man unfortunately resides in a mental institute. However, we won’t give up on him! We just have to get permission and everything will be settled!
We also met with another person that we knocked on last week! Their names are Jeff and Destiny and they are both foreign exchange students from China which is awesome! They both speak very little english so it was very hard to get our message across. However, Elder Tan speaks their native language, which was so cool! He started speaking Mandarin and the member that was there, as well as myself had no clue what was going on the whole entire time, unless it was spoken in english. Such a cool miracle!
Not much else happened except that I turned 19! Man I am getting old! Anyway! Sister Tusitala had us over for dinner and it was some awesome Tongan food! She is this lady from Samoa and she made a ton of food! As we were at the dinner table, we hear someone coming down the steps. I knew something was up when I saw Brother Leonard coming down those steps. He proceeded to pull out his Ipad and he played me the coolest birthday video ever! Such a surprise! So cool! Later that night we went over to the Henris and had an awesome lesson with them!
P-Day was awesome too! We got everything done and then we went and played basketball with the Willoughby elders which was a lot of fun! This has to be one of the best weeks ever though! I sure miss and love you all so much!
Love
Elder McCown
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Monday, May 11, 2015
Deep Freezer & Mommy's Day
So this week was a REALLY GOOD WEEK! We have had so many miracles here in Brookswood! This past week we met with so many less actives and we were even able to meet with our recent converts in the area as well!
So, probably one of the greatest experience this past week was when were at this less actives home, and we get a text from Richard, saying that he needed help moving a deep freezer. If I had not mentioned before, Richard is a recent convert and is literally the coolest family guy ever. He just moved from Ghana not too long ago and is working his tail off to support his two kids and his wife, who at the same time, is going to nursing school. Long story short, this guy is a dedicated member, was baptized in 3 weeks, loves the gospel so much, and literally runs on 4 hours of sleep during the weekdays! Anyway, he calls us up saying that he needed help moving this deep freezer. We just so happened to be around the corner, so we drive over and see if we can fit it in the car. That doesn’t work. So we sat there thinking for about five minutes because the store was going to close relatively soon. We didn’t know anyone in the ward that had a truck that we could use, especially since it was in the middle of the day. So, we just pick up the deep freezer, and we start carrying it to his house which was about 3/4 of a mile away. So that was fun, carrying it across this street and through little alleys. That thing was so heavy though! My forearms were burning and it was hot out too which didn’t help, so we were all sweating by the time we got to his house. He was so grateful for us to have done that though. I honestly am so thankful for that to happen because I feel that I have genuinely served someone who was in great need. I have done quite a bit of service on my mission, but none of it compares to carrying a deep freezer 3/4 of a mile for someone who genuinely needs it.
Other than that, we had a great week! We knocked into a less active this past week and they let us in right on the spot which was pretty cool!
And of course, there was mother’s day... Fastest 40 minutes on my mission. I honestly don’t know where the time went, but it was so good to see everyone there!
I sure love and miss you all though!
Love
Elder McCown
 |
| Mother's Day ~ 2015 We love our missionary.... |
Monday, May 4, 2015
Sore Muscles
Hello!
So this week has honestly been one of the hardest weeks on my mission. But it was so good! We haven’t had that many people to teach which is a little bit of a bummer but we have been working a lot with less actives and just talking to people which is awesome!
So last night, we had a huge miracle. We had just gotten out of a lesson with one of the members and we were just about to go start knocking doors when the spirit brought to mind a less active family that lived a block away. So we knock on their door and immediately they let us in! That like has never happened before! There have been very few occasions where we have just been let in. Anyway, no one has been able to contact this family for almost a year because they are so busy! And we just got let in like that! So cool!
Let’s see, what else happened this week?
We did a heck a lot of service. We helped Cran clean out more of his stuff. We helped this nonmember clean up his backyard. We also helped these members in the other ward move to their new house. We also got a call from the sisters saying that they met someone on the street that needed help moving. But yeah. I think it was this past Thursday that we did service nonstop from 1-9pm. I was so tired. My muscles are so sore too. But yeah, everything is going good and we have been working a lot with less actives more than anything!
So glad that you guys got my package though! I was wondering when you were going to get it. I was worried that you wouldn’t get it in time!
Well I sure love all of you and hope for the best for every single one of you!
Love
Elder McCown
So this week has honestly been one of the hardest weeks on my mission. But it was so good! We haven’t had that many people to teach which is a little bit of a bummer but we have been working a lot with less actives and just talking to people which is awesome!
So last night, we had a huge miracle. We had just gotten out of a lesson with one of the members and we were just about to go start knocking doors when the spirit brought to mind a less active family that lived a block away. So we knock on their door and immediately they let us in! That like has never happened before! There have been very few occasions where we have just been let in. Anyway, no one has been able to contact this family for almost a year because they are so busy! And we just got let in like that! So cool!
Let’s see, what else happened this week?
We did a heck a lot of service. We helped Cran clean out more of his stuff. We helped this nonmember clean up his backyard. We also helped these members in the other ward move to their new house. We also got a call from the sisters saying that they met someone on the street that needed help moving. But yeah. I think it was this past Thursday that we did service nonstop from 1-9pm. I was so tired. My muscles are so sore too. But yeah, everything is going good and we have been working a lot with less actives more than anything!
So glad that you guys got my package though! I was wondering when you were going to get it. I was worried that you wouldn’t get it in time!
Well I sure love all of you and hope for the best for every single one of you!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, April 27, 2015
26 ft U-Haul
So this has been a fun week. This past week we spent a lot of time doing service. Like A LOT of service. Not just a little. A LOT. It was this past Friday when this man named Cran Campbell moved into our ward. He is from Richmond and is about 70 years old, so he of course needs help moving all of his stuff. So, all this "stuff" filled a whole 26ft U-Haul. The thing was stacked from top to bottom with boxes! And who shows up to help this guy move? Us two and four other people, and we had to go to a lesson we had set up 2 1/2 hours from when we started. We moved so fast unloading this whole U-Haul! And we barely finished in time for our lesson which we had scheduled. The following day, we realized how much stuff this guy had, because he had us over to help clean up the boxes so he can find stuff. Even though we were there 2 hours, I feel like we barely made a dent in the piles upon piles of boxes. The following day, we even spent another 2 hours helping him and I could still barely tell that we made a dent in the pile. Long story short, we are still helping him clean up this coming week as well.
Other than that, this week has been busier than usual. We taught quite a few lessons and things have been picking up a little. We have been trying so many different things, whether it be contacting potentials, formers, you name it. We have really taken to heart the counsel of Elder Bednar. He said in one of his talks that "If you keep doing the same things, you are going to get the same results." So this week, we are going to be spending a lot of time doing member work if we can. Hopefully someone in the ward has someone for us to teach!
Everything has been going great though! I can’t believe that in 5 days I will be out on my mission for 7 months....That’s so weird.... Kind of crazy how time is flying! It’s so much fun but so hard! Let’s see, what else happened? We went and had dinner at the Bodens which was AWESOME! Sister Boden marinated some steaks for us, and it has honestly been the best, best meal I have had yet on my mission! The steaks were so flavorful, she told us that she marinated them for 3 days! SO GOOD! She even had this really tasty stick of unhealthy. Like this stick of unhealthy was SOOO good! Basically what it was is four different types of cheese, all melted together with butter. It was so good over the potatoes! Gosh....I’m gonna get fat....
Anyway, I sure love and miss you guys though!
Love
Elder McCown
Other than that, this week has been busier than usual. We taught quite a few lessons and things have been picking up a little. We have been trying so many different things, whether it be contacting potentials, formers, you name it. We have really taken to heart the counsel of Elder Bednar. He said in one of his talks that "If you keep doing the same things, you are going to get the same results." So this week, we are going to be spending a lot of time doing member work if we can. Hopefully someone in the ward has someone for us to teach!
Everything has been going great though! I can’t believe that in 5 days I will be out on my mission for 7 months....That’s so weird.... Kind of crazy how time is flying! It’s so much fun but so hard! Let’s see, what else happened? We went and had dinner at the Bodens which was AWESOME! Sister Boden marinated some steaks for us, and it has honestly been the best, best meal I have had yet on my mission! The steaks were so flavorful, she told us that she marinated them for 3 days! SO GOOD! She even had this really tasty stick of unhealthy. Like this stick of unhealthy was SOOO good! Basically what it was is four different types of cheese, all melted together with butter. It was so good over the potatoes! Gosh....I’m gonna get fat....
Anyway, I sure love and miss you guys though!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, April 20, 2015
Bus Loops
So yeah, another week went by.... This week has honestly been one of the longest weeks in my whole mission. We only had about 4 lessons this past week and that is about it. It probably has been one of the most inactive weeks ever! However, it was still awesome! We talked to SOOOO MANY PEOPLE!!! there were two consecutive days where we had over 50 gospel conversations with people, and we have gotten about 8 potentials out of it.
One of these potentials is named Albert and Elin. Crazy story about meeting them though. We were walking toward the bus loops talking to everyone we see. There was literally no one we didn’t talk to because we were walking on both sides of the street. We then talk to everyone at the bus loops, and no one was really genuinely interested. We got a couple numbers and such. We started walking back to our apartment, and we were about half way back when I started talking to this one guy, and we ended up on walking all the way back to the bus loops. So then we end up on staying at the bus loops for another hour, talking to everyone we see, and we got some more people to contact. We then decided to start heading back to the apartment. Elder Tan of course then has to use the restroom so we had to wait another little while. We then start heading back and just outside of the apartment is Albert and Elin. He seemed very interested in the gospel as well as his wife and we are going to see him sometime this coming week. He was very interested in the fact that we have a modern day prophet here on the earth today just like the ones of old. It’s crazy how God is willing to provide a way, and he does it in so many different ways, whether it be through the man that I walked with all the way back to the bus loops, or my companions tiny bladder. Who knows? There is always a way!
We have been praying for people to teach so much because we have had no one to teach, God has given us. Now it’s all up to us to act on it!
I sure love and miss you guys!
Love
Elder McCown
One of these potentials is named Albert and Elin. Crazy story about meeting them though. We were walking toward the bus loops talking to everyone we see. There was literally no one we didn’t talk to because we were walking on both sides of the street. We then talk to everyone at the bus loops, and no one was really genuinely interested. We got a couple numbers and such. We started walking back to our apartment, and we were about half way back when I started talking to this one guy, and we ended up on walking all the way back to the bus loops. So then we end up on staying at the bus loops for another hour, talking to everyone we see, and we got some more people to contact. We then decided to start heading back to the apartment. Elder Tan of course then has to use the restroom so we had to wait another little while. We then start heading back and just outside of the apartment is Albert and Elin. He seemed very interested in the gospel as well as his wife and we are going to see him sometime this coming week. He was very interested in the fact that we have a modern day prophet here on the earth today just like the ones of old. It’s crazy how God is willing to provide a way, and he does it in so many different ways, whether it be through the man that I walked with all the way back to the bus loops, or my companions tiny bladder. Who knows? There is always a way!
We have been praying for people to teach so much because we have had no one to teach, God has given us. Now it’s all up to us to act on it!
I sure love and miss you guys!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, April 13, 2015
Social Media Blitz
Crazy how another week went by huh? Anyhow, things are going great here in Brookswood. Nothing out of the usual but things are going great! I finally got to meet the ward which was awesome! Such a huge ward! There were kids everywhere! Lets see, we had zone meeting this past week which was awesome! We showed up like 15 minutes late though because we were rushing from an appointment that we had. After zone meeting we went on splits with our district leader. I went with Elder Ringer and we went and had dinner with this man nicknamed old coot. Anyway, he took us to this place called Boston Pizza, and they apparently had hot wings... They really weren’t that hot to my disappointment.
That night we stayed with Elder Ringer and Elder Jorgenson and talked all night long. Saturday had to be the best day though and that was because of the social media blitz. It was constantly on the go for us and there was no stopping. We started off with Brother Leonard and he did studies with us. Then we went and visited the Baines and the Sanhueza's with Matt Wilson. We then went and did service for the Henris at their Hydrographics shop which was fun! We then played basketball with this recent convert named Jesse, and to end the day off, we visited this guy named Rob who seems pretty interested and wants to know the answers to questions like where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going? So yeah! Pretty awesome! Sunday we had dinner with the Shen's which was awesome! That was the first time I had to shell my shrimp. They had some really good tasting Chinese food though. So this past Sunday I got asked to baptize one of the Sisters investigators. The little girls name is Michelle and I think she is around 9 years old.
Other than that, everything is going great! Sure love and miss all of you!
Love,
Elder McCown
That night we stayed with Elder Ringer and Elder Jorgenson and talked all night long. Saturday had to be the best day though and that was because of the social media blitz. It was constantly on the go for us and there was no stopping. We started off with Brother Leonard and he did studies with us. Then we went and visited the Baines and the Sanhueza's with Matt Wilson. We then went and did service for the Henris at their Hydrographics shop which was fun! We then played basketball with this recent convert named Jesse, and to end the day off, we visited this guy named Rob who seems pretty interested and wants to know the answers to questions like where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going? So yeah! Pretty awesome! Sunday we had dinner with the Shen's which was awesome! That was the first time I had to shell my shrimp. They had some really good tasting Chinese food though. So this past Sunday I got asked to baptize one of the Sisters investigators. The little girls name is Michelle and I think she is around 9 years old.
Other than that, everything is going great! Sure love and miss all of you!
Love,
Elder McCown
Saturday, April 11, 2015
1st Transfer
Hi family!
So, I am in Brookswood right now. Kind of crazy since I have been in Port Alberni the whole entire time. Anyway, this has been a somewhat stressful week. My companion is only 3 months out and we haven't had that many people to teach which has been a bummer! There have been some awesome miracles though. For one I am serving in the ward that is right next to the temple which is awesome! It’s so cool seeing the temple every time I walk out those doors!
General conference was awesome! So many good talks! I really enjoyed one of the quotes that was in the one of the talks. It was actually Nelson Mandela who said it. "A saint is a sinner who keeps on trying". Such a cool quote and I have continually thought about it over the past couple of days.
Another miracle that happened this past week was when we went and met this man named Cordell. This guy needs the gospel so much! We simply testified of the power of the atonement and how it can affect his life for the better and he was starting to tear up. After all was said and done we asked him how he felt, and he said "He felt peace." This guy is so awesome! We are hoping to be able to meet with him this coming week.
My new companion is Elder Tan. He is from Singapore, served in the army, and is 23 years old. So, it’s kind of weird serving here in Brookswood. There are actually people here who are under the age of 70! Kind of crazy! It’s so weird talking to someone my age but at the same time it is so cool because I can relate to them so much better! Well, I am really starting to like the area more and more.
I sure love and miss you guys!
Love
Elder McCown
So, I am in Brookswood right now. Kind of crazy since I have been in Port Alberni the whole entire time. Anyway, this has been a somewhat stressful week. My companion is only 3 months out and we haven't had that many people to teach which has been a bummer! There have been some awesome miracles though. For one I am serving in the ward that is right next to the temple which is awesome! It’s so cool seeing the temple every time I walk out those doors!
General conference was awesome! So many good talks! I really enjoyed one of the quotes that was in the one of the talks. It was actually Nelson Mandela who said it. "A saint is a sinner who keeps on trying". Such a cool quote and I have continually thought about it over the past couple of days.
Another miracle that happened this past week was when we went and met this man named Cordell. This guy needs the gospel so much! We simply testified of the power of the atonement and how it can affect his life for the better and he was starting to tear up. After all was said and done we asked him how he felt, and he said "He felt peace." This guy is so awesome! We are hoping to be able to meet with him this coming week.
My new companion is Elder Tan. He is from Singapore, served in the army, and is 23 years old. So, it’s kind of weird serving here in Brookswood. There are actually people here who are under the age of 70! Kind of crazy! It’s so weird talking to someone my age but at the same time it is so cool because I can relate to them so much better! Well, I am really starting to like the area more and more.
I sure love and miss you guys!
Love
Elder McCown
 |
| Elder McCown & Elder Tan |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)