Well, the pregnancy is over, and after 30 minutes of labor...I had a beautiful baby boy! Haha! So yeah! It’s been awesome! Training is so much fun! It’s even better when he is such a good missionary! I named him Elder Anderson by the way, not that I really had a choice, but yeah! He’s a healthy baby boy!
This was quite a week though. I literally felt like a taxi driver this past week! So, to start off our taxi business we drive to Richmond, which is about a 45 minute drive, to pick up an Elder that had flown in from the north. Drove back and virtually lost all of our time to work because it was a P-Day. Next day, we drove all the way back to Richmond to take the missionary that we picked up to a meeting. And then we drove and saw a couple of people, picked up another missionary, and then drove all the way to Langley to drop off Elder Slack. Drove back, and on the way, picked up another missionary, and drove him to the far side of Richmond so that he could catch a ferry. I may or may not have sped the whole way because we were going to be late for his ferry...Then we drove back, got dinner and had a lesson and then had a meeting.
The following day Elder Hall and I drove all the way to Richmond AGAIN! Picked up Elder Anderson and then drove all the way back. So, now that we are actually back in our area, we could actually go work! Psych! We actually did weekly planning! So yes, weekly planning is when you plan for 3 hours straight nonstop for your following week! Well, I have only been here for 5 weeks, so I just crammed super hardcore for a week... So, now we can get to work!
We went and saw Sunny for Elder Andersons first ever appointment! Haha! Crazy Punjabi! He just cracks me up! Probably freaked him out but that’s about it! Then we taught some Muslim dude named Yaroon. Yeah...he got the hard stuff right from the get go.
Church was good! We met with Gus right after church! He’s getting off of smoking which is good! He’s so awesome!
Well, that’s about it. I drove all week almost. 3 days straight of driving!
God is good no matter what though! No matter how many times I got lost on my way to Richmond, it’s still good! Love you all!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, August 10, 2015
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Expecting New MTC Missionary
So yeah...crazy week... To start off, P-Day was awesome! It was the last P-Day for some elders so we went all out and played basketball and chair soccer for 3 hours! So much fun! Had a blast, as well as probably lost some weight which is awesome!
So, we also went and saw Gus. We have actually been seeing Gus every day, trying to get him to overcome smoking and drinking. So sad. He seems to be trying so hard! GAH! Satan is just so strong sometimes!
Tuesday was fun! We went and saw Sunny! Man! The guy is just so awesome! He loves the Book of Mormon! He reads it all the time without us even asking us to! Talk about a miracle! I have never had that happen before!
Wednesday was so much fun though! We went on exchanges and I was with Elder Erasmus! He is such a stud! Love that guy! John took us to IL Uk Jo which was even better! IL Uk Jo is this Japanese buffet. No, I did not eat the sushi! I already had a terrible experience with that before... but I just loaded on Teriyaki! SO GOOD!
Thursday rolls around and we go on another exchange! I went with Elder Samis which was a lot of fun! Found some awesome people for them to teach which they have been struggling with a little.
The next day was Zone meeting. All the Elders and Sisters that were leaving went up and bore their testimonies. Kind of freaked me out because I only have 14 months until that happens to me...FREAKY!
I would have to say that the freakiest/most nerve racking day of the week was Saturday. To start it off we went and helped someone move for 4 hours. I was so exhausted already, and we just wanted to die because the furniture was so heavy and everything else. Super hot outside too. So, imagine, I am just super tired and we go to a lesson at 6, and it was a GONGSHOW. We were planning on meeting this less active who wants to come back to church, and he is just super awesome about inviting people to hear our message. So, we are super pumped about this because the members aren’t all that excited about missionary work. It turned out on being crazier than we thought. We got questions thrown at us that we didn’t even have time to answer, food was being passed back and forth, and somehow we were able to fit the message of the Restoration in there somehow. So, we walk away from that, and we are just still dead tired, we go out and talk to some more people and that’s about it. We come in for nightly planning, exhausted, and we were just about to finish when we got a call from the mission office. Well, we got transfer news earlier than we were expecting, and, well, I figured out I am pregnant. Yep, I am. So, for those who don’t know the mission lingo, that means that I am going to be training a brand new missionary! Yep, straight out of the MTC. SO, THAT FREAKED ME OUT! Elder Slack is also going to be transferred to another area to follow up train, so we were both a little on edge. Needless to say, neither of us slept that well that night. I don’t even remember what went on Sunday. I was just too exhausted. We were also fasting which didn’t help, and we didn’t even have time to eat dinner the night before, so, I was running on very little steam that day.
So yeah, I’m sitting here, about 9 months pregnant, due in about 2 days...yeah, no big deal... So, great week! I am exhausted, but God is just so good! Thank goodness for the spirit, or else I would not be able to function right now!
I sure love and miss you all!
Love
Elder McCown
So, we also went and saw Gus. We have actually been seeing Gus every day, trying to get him to overcome smoking and drinking. So sad. He seems to be trying so hard! GAH! Satan is just so strong sometimes!
Tuesday was fun! We went and saw Sunny! Man! The guy is just so awesome! He loves the Book of Mormon! He reads it all the time without us even asking us to! Talk about a miracle! I have never had that happen before!
Wednesday was so much fun though! We went on exchanges and I was with Elder Erasmus! He is such a stud! Love that guy! John took us to IL Uk Jo which was even better! IL Uk Jo is this Japanese buffet. No, I did not eat the sushi! I already had a terrible experience with that before... but I just loaded on Teriyaki! SO GOOD!
Thursday rolls around and we go on another exchange! I went with Elder Samis which was a lot of fun! Found some awesome people for them to teach which they have been struggling with a little.
The next day was Zone meeting. All the Elders and Sisters that were leaving went up and bore their testimonies. Kind of freaked me out because I only have 14 months until that happens to me...FREAKY!
I would have to say that the freakiest/most nerve racking day of the week was Saturday. To start it off we went and helped someone move for 4 hours. I was so exhausted already, and we just wanted to die because the furniture was so heavy and everything else. Super hot outside too. So, imagine, I am just super tired and we go to a lesson at 6, and it was a GONGSHOW. We were planning on meeting this less active who wants to come back to church, and he is just super awesome about inviting people to hear our message. So, we are super pumped about this because the members aren’t all that excited about missionary work. It turned out on being crazier than we thought. We got questions thrown at us that we didn’t even have time to answer, food was being passed back and forth, and somehow we were able to fit the message of the Restoration in there somehow. So, we walk away from that, and we are just still dead tired, we go out and talk to some more people and that’s about it. We come in for nightly planning, exhausted, and we were just about to finish when we got a call from the mission office. Well, we got transfer news earlier than we were expecting, and, well, I figured out I am pregnant. Yep, I am. So, for those who don’t know the mission lingo, that means that I am going to be training a brand new missionary! Yep, straight out of the MTC. SO, THAT FREAKED ME OUT! Elder Slack is also going to be transferred to another area to follow up train, so we were both a little on edge. Needless to say, neither of us slept that well that night. I don’t even remember what went on Sunday. I was just too exhausted. We were also fasting which didn’t help, and we didn’t even have time to eat dinner the night before, so, I was running on very little steam that day.
So yeah, I’m sitting here, about 9 months pregnant, due in about 2 days...yeah, no big deal... So, great week! I am exhausted, but God is just so good! Thank goodness for the spirit, or else I would not be able to function right now!
I sure love and miss you all!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, July 27, 2015
God is just so Good
So this was an awesome week! To start off we had dinner at the Rosales! They are just so awesome! They always know when we are hungry! She made such good pasta and we had family home evening with them as well as this family that lives in Delta! Super yummy though! She made the best cheesecake! WAY YUMMO!!!
So, not much happened Tuesday. We went and met with a couple people and taught them about the gospel. Ya know, missionary stuff. Anyway! Wednesday rolls around and we are scrambling to district meeting because we had a lesson beforehand. Long story short though, it was a gong show. Yes a gong show. One of the Elders was giving training, and realized that he had studied for the wrong thing. Another Elder didn’t get to prepare for his training because they were missing the DVD which had the training on it. So, needless to say, the meeting wasn’t as spiritual as it could be.
So right after district meeting, we went on exchanges and Elder Lawlor came with me to our area. Was super fun! Elder Lawlor is such a goof! We worked hard though and got to talk to some pretty cool people!
I would have to say that the best day of the week though was Friday! I GOT TO GO ON EXCHANGES WITH THE SPANISH ELDERS! So that was so much fun! I got to try out my white boy Spanish, and man! IT’S TERRIBLE! But by the end of the exchange, I learned how to pray a little bit in Spanish! It’s so much fun though! I hope that I get transferred to Spanish work! I could be in Spanish work for the rest of my mission, and not do anything else, and I would be SO happy! So yeah! We went and taught a couple lessons in Spanish! That was crazy! I tried reading from the Book of Mormon in Spanish but, I’m pretty sure that no one could understand me.
There was an awesome miracle though! So, earlier in the week we had helped this lady and old guy move. Well, of course nothing works out according to schedule, so the truck had showed up 30 minutes late. So, of course, that means that we start 30 minutes late, and we had an appointment in 30 minutes to get to. So we flat out sprint to the elevator, running stuff back and forth to the truck and back and then all the way back up to get more stuff. Well, we were just about to leave because we had cleaned out the apartment of all furniture, and the old dude said there was more stuff to get at the basement. We roll our eyes a little cause we knew that we were going to be late, and we literally book it to the basement and unload all the crap down there into the truck and we showed up to the appointment a little late. So why do I tell you all this? So, we were teaching this guy named Juan. He is used to rich lifestyle and loves to spend money, however he doesn’t have any because he lost his job. He however wants to take us out to dinner but we only have 30 minutes. He starts driving and we follow and we notice that he is taking us to this nice fancy restaurant. It’s called Boston Pizza. Anyway, Elder Woolf tells him no, and that we only have 30 minutes to eat. So, we go across the street to Wendy's and guess who is there? The old dude and the lady we helped move! So when we got up in line, the old guy comes up and tells us that he is going to pay for us because we helped them move! So that was an awesome miracle because the guy that wanted to take us out is already in debt! GOD IS JUST SO GOOD!
Church was awesome too! Valentino and Gus came as well! What’s even better is that we were able to hit standards this week! It was so much fun! So yeah! Miracle never cease! God is just so good! I have been learning so much and I am so happy that I am able to serve here!
Love you guys so much and I hope you have fun in Mexico!
Love
Elder McCown
So, not much happened Tuesday. We went and met with a couple people and taught them about the gospel. Ya know, missionary stuff. Anyway! Wednesday rolls around and we are scrambling to district meeting because we had a lesson beforehand. Long story short though, it was a gong show. Yes a gong show. One of the Elders was giving training, and realized that he had studied for the wrong thing. Another Elder didn’t get to prepare for his training because they were missing the DVD which had the training on it. So, needless to say, the meeting wasn’t as spiritual as it could be.
So right after district meeting, we went on exchanges and Elder Lawlor came with me to our area. Was super fun! Elder Lawlor is such a goof! We worked hard though and got to talk to some pretty cool people!
I would have to say that the best day of the week though was Friday! I GOT TO GO ON EXCHANGES WITH THE SPANISH ELDERS! So that was so much fun! I got to try out my white boy Spanish, and man! IT’S TERRIBLE! But by the end of the exchange, I learned how to pray a little bit in Spanish! It’s so much fun though! I hope that I get transferred to Spanish work! I could be in Spanish work for the rest of my mission, and not do anything else, and I would be SO happy! So yeah! We went and taught a couple lessons in Spanish! That was crazy! I tried reading from the Book of Mormon in Spanish but, I’m pretty sure that no one could understand me.
There was an awesome miracle though! So, earlier in the week we had helped this lady and old guy move. Well, of course nothing works out according to schedule, so the truck had showed up 30 minutes late. So, of course, that means that we start 30 minutes late, and we had an appointment in 30 minutes to get to. So we flat out sprint to the elevator, running stuff back and forth to the truck and back and then all the way back up to get more stuff. Well, we were just about to leave because we had cleaned out the apartment of all furniture, and the old dude said there was more stuff to get at the basement. We roll our eyes a little cause we knew that we were going to be late, and we literally book it to the basement and unload all the crap down there into the truck and we showed up to the appointment a little late. So why do I tell you all this? So, we were teaching this guy named Juan. He is used to rich lifestyle and loves to spend money, however he doesn’t have any because he lost his job. He however wants to take us out to dinner but we only have 30 minutes. He starts driving and we follow and we notice that he is taking us to this nice fancy restaurant. It’s called Boston Pizza. Anyway, Elder Woolf tells him no, and that we only have 30 minutes to eat. So, we go across the street to Wendy's and guess who is there? The old dude and the lady we helped move! So when we got up in line, the old guy comes up and tells us that he is going to pay for us because we helped them move! So that was an awesome miracle because the guy that wanted to take us out is already in debt! GOD IS JUST SO GOOD!
Church was awesome too! Valentino and Gus came as well! What’s even better is that we were able to hit standards this week! It was so much fun! So yeah! Miracle never cease! God is just so good! I have been learning so much and I am so happy that I am able to serve here!
Love you guys so much and I hope you have fun in Mexico!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, July 20, 2015
TEXX Burger
So, this week was pretty eventful! We have been teaching a TON lately! Monday, was fun. I don’t remember what happened but it was still fun...man, I am getting old...my memory is basically useless. Anyway! I remember playing chair soccer...again...still fun though!
Tuesday we walked around, and talked to people, A LOT of people! We got to see Sunny which was awesome! This guy is so weird sometimes but he loves the Book of Mormon, so no complaints!
Wednesday rolled around and we had district meeting, and man, I had a lot of improv to do. So, I had to assign some other people to give trainings on the Sabbath day, and of course, there really isn’t much to the Sabbath day. A couple scriptures here and there. Well, the other people who trained took all the scriptures I had and all the references as well, and thank goodness for the spirit, otherwise I would have no idea what to say or what to do. So, that was fun.
Thursday rolled around and we had weekly planning. This is when we plan for a full week of things to do in 3 hours. Of course, we are already scraping by to finish it all off, and I get a call from one of the Elders saying that his companion is not feeling well, right in the middle of weekly planning. So, needless to say, we may or may not be scrambling to plan for the rest of the week! Anyway, crazy miracle! That night, we were knocking doors and we come to this one house, and we don’t even get to knock on the door, and this guy comes out, asks if we are missionaries, and we of course have this dumb look on our face and say "YES!" cause that rarely happens. Anyway, we find out his name is Jerry and he tells us to come back the following night! Crazy eh?
So, Friday was fun! We went and did service at the soup kitchen! We washed windows and stuff, and unloaded this giant U-Haul full of food! I don’t know where they are going to put it all though! After that, a member took us to get milkshakes! Man, these milkshakes were the best! Apparently this place called White Spot is famous for its milkshakes...and I found out why! After that, we went and taught this guy named Roody. He’s pretty cool! Just wants to study with us for the time being but is very truth seeking!
We then floored it over to our miracle named Jerry! He’s pretty cool! Went over the restoration with him and he just sat there quietly. It was kind of a weird lesson. He was either soaking it in, or just dozing off. Don’t know what to think yet!
Saturday...oh boy...Saturday was by far the hottest day so far! It has been getting so hot and humid here! We walked everywhere, knocked doors and met with a couple random people, but that’s about it. Then we went with the Spanish Elders to this place called TEXX burger. So... Elder Hall and I made the dumbest decision...we tried the Super Texx Burger Challenge. Literally...this burger was bigger than my face...and what’s even worse, is that they brought out this huge bag of fries, and the challenge is that if you eat it all in less than 30 minutes, you get it all for free. So, before all this happened, Elder Hall and I are just getting super pumped. It wasn’t until they brought it out that we realized how big the dang thing was. So, they start the timer and we just go to town on the fries. If you eat the fries last, you literally kill yourself because it’s so starchy. Anyway, took us like 12 minutes to down all the fries. Next thing I know, I am on the burger, and, I’m about an 1/8 way through the burger and I just tap out right then and there...We were so full...I just wanted to die after eating all of that food.
So yeah, the next day I fasted for some odd reason...Sunday was awesome though! Valentino, this Fijian dude that we have been teaching lately who just loves god and such, came to church! We also had Gus there, as well as a couple less actives! God is just so good! The best part was the Valentino loved sacrament meeting! He loved the speakers and everything that went on! He was even crying while one of the speakers was talking about the atonement and Jesus Christs suffering. SO GOOD!
It was such a good week though! We were able to hit standards again, which was awesome! God is just so good though! I sure love and miss ALL of you and hope for the best for every single one of you!
Love ya tons
Elder McCown
Tuesday we walked around, and talked to people, A LOT of people! We got to see Sunny which was awesome! This guy is so weird sometimes but he loves the Book of Mormon, so no complaints!
Wednesday rolled around and we had district meeting, and man, I had a lot of improv to do. So, I had to assign some other people to give trainings on the Sabbath day, and of course, there really isn’t much to the Sabbath day. A couple scriptures here and there. Well, the other people who trained took all the scriptures I had and all the references as well, and thank goodness for the spirit, otherwise I would have no idea what to say or what to do. So, that was fun.
Thursday rolled around and we had weekly planning. This is when we plan for a full week of things to do in 3 hours. Of course, we are already scraping by to finish it all off, and I get a call from one of the Elders saying that his companion is not feeling well, right in the middle of weekly planning. So, needless to say, we may or may not be scrambling to plan for the rest of the week! Anyway, crazy miracle! That night, we were knocking doors and we come to this one house, and we don’t even get to knock on the door, and this guy comes out, asks if we are missionaries, and we of course have this dumb look on our face and say "YES!" cause that rarely happens. Anyway, we find out his name is Jerry and he tells us to come back the following night! Crazy eh?
So, Friday was fun! We went and did service at the soup kitchen! We washed windows and stuff, and unloaded this giant U-Haul full of food! I don’t know where they are going to put it all though! After that, a member took us to get milkshakes! Man, these milkshakes were the best! Apparently this place called White Spot is famous for its milkshakes...and I found out why! After that, we went and taught this guy named Roody. He’s pretty cool! Just wants to study with us for the time being but is very truth seeking!
We then floored it over to our miracle named Jerry! He’s pretty cool! Went over the restoration with him and he just sat there quietly. It was kind of a weird lesson. He was either soaking it in, or just dozing off. Don’t know what to think yet!
Saturday...oh boy...Saturday was by far the hottest day so far! It has been getting so hot and humid here! We walked everywhere, knocked doors and met with a couple random people, but that’s about it. Then we went with the Spanish Elders to this place called TEXX burger. So... Elder Hall and I made the dumbest decision...we tried the Super Texx Burger Challenge. Literally...this burger was bigger than my face...and what’s even worse, is that they brought out this huge bag of fries, and the challenge is that if you eat it all in less than 30 minutes, you get it all for free. So, before all this happened, Elder Hall and I are just getting super pumped. It wasn’t until they brought it out that we realized how big the dang thing was. So, they start the timer and we just go to town on the fries. If you eat the fries last, you literally kill yourself because it’s so starchy. Anyway, took us like 12 minutes to down all the fries. Next thing I know, I am on the burger, and, I’m about an 1/8 way through the burger and I just tap out right then and there...We were so full...I just wanted to die after eating all of that food.
So yeah, the next day I fasted for some odd reason...Sunday was awesome though! Valentino, this Fijian dude that we have been teaching lately who just loves god and such, came to church! We also had Gus there, as well as a couple less actives! God is just so good! The best part was the Valentino loved sacrament meeting! He loved the speakers and everything that went on! He was even crying while one of the speakers was talking about the atonement and Jesus Christs suffering. SO GOOD!
It was such a good week though! We were able to hit standards again, which was awesome! God is just so good though! I sure love and miss ALL of you and hope for the best for every single one of you!
Love ya tons
Elder McCown
Monday, July 13, 2015
Game Over
So a little over two weeks in Surrey and nothing has gotten past the usual threats, cussing out, and other numerous things. But is so much fun here! It’s crazy how fast time flies though...I am struggling right now to even remember what even happened this past week...I just know it was AWESOME!
So Monday was fun! We normally just do chair soccer and stuff, but we had to get a haircut which was an adventure in itself. We decide to go to this barber shop. Turns out it is run by Punjabis. AND NONE OF THEM SPEAK ENGLISH!!! That is honestly the hardest part! None of them can communicate with us! And I don’t speak Punjabi!
So, back to the haircut...we go in and tell them what we want. Next thing ya know me and Elder Slack walk out of there with the haircuts we weren’t expecting....and they were AWESOME!! I bet you were thinking that I would have said that they were terrible, but NOPE!!! I was surprised on how good they did! Wasn’t what we asked for, and we may or may not look a little faddish, which isn’t the most approved thing to do on a mission, but hey, it was borderline, and super good! So, that was fun!
So Tuesday rolled around. It was hot...yes it gets hot here in the great white north... We went and saw Gus which was good. We watched the Lords errand which is all about Thomas S. Monson. Such a good video on what he’s all about!
Poor John though. So just to let you know, there is this awesome soon to be missionary in our ward, and he literally walked around with us for a couple hours dropping by potentials and talking to people which was pretty sweet. He's going to be such a prepared missionary!
Wednesday was hot too... We got to go to the Soup kitchen again though! No...There weren’t any fights so you don’t have to worry mom... It’s crazy seeing all the needs of these people though. Us missionaries don’t have much, but these people have nothing... Wednesday had to be the worst night of sleep we ever had though. We were tired, hot and thirsty so at like 5pm we went and got this Mountain Dew Kickstart slurpee. Bad idea. I swear that thing had caffeine injections like no other! We were up until 1 am because of that dang thing! So, I think that slurpee did me in, and what didn’t help was that I was feeling sick too. I didn’t "Game over". For all you missionaries who know what that means, you know what I had. For all of those who don’t, go ask a missionary and they will tell you...
So, that was quite an adventure. What was even worse was that we had Zone Conference. Basically a 7 hour meeting with President and all the while I had that "game over" feeling. Not good! Super spiritual though! I got to consecrate oil too! Nothing much happened in between then and Sunday. I felt better that was about it....
Sunday was awesome though! We got to go to the Rosales family for dinner! They had flatas which were super yummy! They also have a pet parrot which is pretty cool! Best part of that day though was when we went and saw Sunny. Sunny is another Punjabi, he is so cool and he actually speaks English! Long story short, a lot has happened to him too. He has come out of his depression though since the first time we met him, and he has been able to cut down on his smoking and has been reading the book of Mormon! It has been so cool seeing how him reading the book of Mormon has changed his life! He has literally seen the blessings of reading the Book of Mormon! He has gotten some good job interviews, he has gotten his car back, and he keeps directing that all towards the Book of Mormon which is so awesome!
So yeah! Honestly one of the best weeks on the whole mission! It honestly is so much fun being on the mission! God is just so good! And the Book of Mormon blesses people’s lives! It truly does! I have seen it affect my life, and I have seen it change Sunny's life which is so awesome! God is SO GOOD!
Love ya
Elder McCown
So Monday was fun! We normally just do chair soccer and stuff, but we had to get a haircut which was an adventure in itself. We decide to go to this barber shop. Turns out it is run by Punjabis. AND NONE OF THEM SPEAK ENGLISH!!! That is honestly the hardest part! None of them can communicate with us! And I don’t speak Punjabi!
So, back to the haircut...we go in and tell them what we want. Next thing ya know me and Elder Slack walk out of there with the haircuts we weren’t expecting....and they were AWESOME!! I bet you were thinking that I would have said that they were terrible, but NOPE!!! I was surprised on how good they did! Wasn’t what we asked for, and we may or may not look a little faddish, which isn’t the most approved thing to do on a mission, but hey, it was borderline, and super good! So, that was fun!
So Tuesday rolled around. It was hot...yes it gets hot here in the great white north... We went and saw Gus which was good. We watched the Lords errand which is all about Thomas S. Monson. Such a good video on what he’s all about!
Poor John though. So just to let you know, there is this awesome soon to be missionary in our ward, and he literally walked around with us for a couple hours dropping by potentials and talking to people which was pretty sweet. He's going to be such a prepared missionary!
Wednesday was hot too... We got to go to the Soup kitchen again though! No...There weren’t any fights so you don’t have to worry mom... It’s crazy seeing all the needs of these people though. Us missionaries don’t have much, but these people have nothing... Wednesday had to be the worst night of sleep we ever had though. We were tired, hot and thirsty so at like 5pm we went and got this Mountain Dew Kickstart slurpee. Bad idea. I swear that thing had caffeine injections like no other! We were up until 1 am because of that dang thing! So, I think that slurpee did me in, and what didn’t help was that I was feeling sick too. I didn’t "Game over". For all you missionaries who know what that means, you know what I had. For all of those who don’t, go ask a missionary and they will tell you...
So, that was quite an adventure. What was even worse was that we had Zone Conference. Basically a 7 hour meeting with President and all the while I had that "game over" feeling. Not good! Super spiritual though! I got to consecrate oil too! Nothing much happened in between then and Sunday. I felt better that was about it....
Sunday was awesome though! We got to go to the Rosales family for dinner! They had flatas which were super yummy! They also have a pet parrot which is pretty cool! Best part of that day though was when we went and saw Sunny. Sunny is another Punjabi, he is so cool and he actually speaks English! Long story short, a lot has happened to him too. He has come out of his depression though since the first time we met him, and he has been able to cut down on his smoking and has been reading the book of Mormon! It has been so cool seeing how him reading the book of Mormon has changed his life! He has literally seen the blessings of reading the Book of Mormon! He has gotten some good job interviews, he has gotten his car back, and he keeps directing that all towards the Book of Mormon which is so awesome!
So yeah! Honestly one of the best weeks on the whole mission! It honestly is so much fun being on the mission! God is just so good! And the Book of Mormon blesses people’s lives! It truly does! I have seen it affect my life, and I have seen it change Sunny's life which is so awesome! God is SO GOOD!
Love ya
Elder McCown
Monday, July 6, 2015
Miracles Never Cease
So this has been such a crazy week! So, to start off, the reason why only had like an hour to email this past week was because one of the missionaries had gotten sick while we were emailing, and he was not doing good at all. Just shivering like no other. So I took him home while the other elders finished up emailing. So later on that day, we played chair soccer which was SO much fun!
So, we were able to start off the week really good! Tuesday we taught quite a few lessons. One of them was Gus. He’s been struggling super hard core with smoking and stuff. So we want to help him as much as we can right? SO we decided that we were all going to fast for him this coming Sunday and that he will set a baptismal date after the fast! SO AWESOME!! So we quickly scrambled to a couple other lessons. The evening was literally chock full of teaching people which was awesome! We taught this guy named Sunny. He’s a Punjabi and he wants help to quit smoking and drinking and stuff! He also loves the Book of Mormon which is awesome! Cool guy though!
Next we scrambled all the way down to Surrey Central and met with this guy named Roody. The guy is just super open to what we want to hear which is awesome! Haven't had any of those on my mission until I came to Surrey which is SO cool! Then we scrambled over to see Janett. She’s super cool. Her son got baptized not too long ago, and it’s crazy because she didn't even believe in God in the first place! Now she has been taught everything, has read the Book of Mormon, and wants to move on to the Doctrine and Covenants as well as the Pearl of Great Price. Crazy eh? So that was Tuesday.
Wednesday we visited this guy named Mike. He’s a less active but is wanting to come back to church. I then had my first District meeting as a district leader. It wasn’t too bad. The assistants were there so they were able to help me realize what I had done wrong.
Later that day we met with this kid named Dillon. Talk about crazy life, and he’s only 15! We were knocking doors the other day, and Elder Toleman was with us because one of his two companions was sick, so we were able to at least take one with us. Anyway, Elder Toleman has the greatest faith! He pointed out a house that we would have completely missed if he had not pointed it out. So that’s when we met Dillon. And Dillon has gone through a ton of stuff, but he wants to get to know God more, and he wants to quit smoking! Crazy how he’s going through all of this and he wants to set aside time to talk to us! So cool! So after the meeting we met with him and we literally talked about Job the whole entire time. He kept asking why so many bad things happen. We all pulled it back to Job though, who had gone through so much more. We also helped him realize that he is so much stronger because of his trials.
Thursday was a bit of a crazy day. More lessons! We went and met with this guy named Mike. Really relaxed dude. Really nice though. Wants to quit smoking, drinking, and wants to come to church! So cool! Talked about Baptism a lot and he said that he would read and pray about it. He also has been looking for a job recently. And guess what! We have the employment services building at our church building! What a miracle eh?
Friday morning we did exchanges with the zone leaders. I went with Elder Hall to Delta! Man! We saw some pretty awesome miracles! We went and visited this lady named Alanna! She is such a miracle! When the missionaries had talked to her before, just previously she had been wondering which church she should go to. About an hour passed by and she met Elder Hall, and set a baptismal date right then and there! So cool! So we showed up at the return appointment and we talked all about the Plan of Salvation. Her Uncle had just passed away, so she said that God had sent us to her, because the Plan of Salvation talks all about life after death! What was even cooler was that she kept talking about how what we were teaching was handed down from her Grandfather by mouth. SO COOL!
After that, we ran to Home Depot cause Elder Hall had to use the washroom, so we hang out around there and start talking to people. I for some reason felt the urge to go to the gardening area. We had been looking for someone for the sisters to teach, so I thought that that made complete sense. So, as we were in there, I started casually talking to this one old lady. I kept asking about flowers to keep a conversation going, and she talked about how her husband had just passed away. I was just about to break out about what we believe in, when her daughter came up. Turns out her daughter had almost been baptized back in Fiji! So she knows the missionaries very well! We invited her to come to church and her mother and her both said yes so we gave them our address!
Saturday we exchanged back. We met with this guy named Neeraj who was pretty cool. He is just super open to hearing what other people have to say, and we will be handing him off to the Delta Elders soon. We also met with Sunny and Mike again.
Sunday rolled around, and I have to say, that this was like, the longest day on the mission so far. I was SO hungry! Time slows down like crazy when you are hungry. Anyway, we met with this guy named Valentino. He’s pretty cool. Really fired up about the Bible and stuff. Talked the whole entire time too. After a couple hours of walking around and knocking on doors in the heat, we got to go have dinner at Brother Smith’s house. They are honestly so cool! This has been the only member visit we have been able to get besides the Bishop!
So yeah! Crazy awesome week! We have been so busy! But it has been so much fun! Sure love and miss all of you! God is so good! AND MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!!
Love
Elder McCown
So, we were able to start off the week really good! Tuesday we taught quite a few lessons. One of them was Gus. He’s been struggling super hard core with smoking and stuff. So we want to help him as much as we can right? SO we decided that we were all going to fast for him this coming Sunday and that he will set a baptismal date after the fast! SO AWESOME!! So we quickly scrambled to a couple other lessons. The evening was literally chock full of teaching people which was awesome! We taught this guy named Sunny. He’s a Punjabi and he wants help to quit smoking and drinking and stuff! He also loves the Book of Mormon which is awesome! Cool guy though!
Next we scrambled all the way down to Surrey Central and met with this guy named Roody. The guy is just super open to what we want to hear which is awesome! Haven't had any of those on my mission until I came to Surrey which is SO cool! Then we scrambled over to see Janett. She’s super cool. Her son got baptized not too long ago, and it’s crazy because she didn't even believe in God in the first place! Now she has been taught everything, has read the Book of Mormon, and wants to move on to the Doctrine and Covenants as well as the Pearl of Great Price. Crazy eh? So that was Tuesday.
Wednesday we visited this guy named Mike. He’s a less active but is wanting to come back to church. I then had my first District meeting as a district leader. It wasn’t too bad. The assistants were there so they were able to help me realize what I had done wrong.
Later that day we met with this kid named Dillon. Talk about crazy life, and he’s only 15! We were knocking doors the other day, and Elder Toleman was with us because one of his two companions was sick, so we were able to at least take one with us. Anyway, Elder Toleman has the greatest faith! He pointed out a house that we would have completely missed if he had not pointed it out. So that’s when we met Dillon. And Dillon has gone through a ton of stuff, but he wants to get to know God more, and he wants to quit smoking! Crazy how he’s going through all of this and he wants to set aside time to talk to us! So cool! So after the meeting we met with him and we literally talked about Job the whole entire time. He kept asking why so many bad things happen. We all pulled it back to Job though, who had gone through so much more. We also helped him realize that he is so much stronger because of his trials.
Thursday was a bit of a crazy day. More lessons! We went and met with this guy named Mike. Really relaxed dude. Really nice though. Wants to quit smoking, drinking, and wants to come to church! So cool! Talked about Baptism a lot and he said that he would read and pray about it. He also has been looking for a job recently. And guess what! We have the employment services building at our church building! What a miracle eh?
Friday morning we did exchanges with the zone leaders. I went with Elder Hall to Delta! Man! We saw some pretty awesome miracles! We went and visited this lady named Alanna! She is such a miracle! When the missionaries had talked to her before, just previously she had been wondering which church she should go to. About an hour passed by and she met Elder Hall, and set a baptismal date right then and there! So cool! So we showed up at the return appointment and we talked all about the Plan of Salvation. Her Uncle had just passed away, so she said that God had sent us to her, because the Plan of Salvation talks all about life after death! What was even cooler was that she kept talking about how what we were teaching was handed down from her Grandfather by mouth. SO COOL!
After that, we ran to Home Depot cause Elder Hall had to use the washroom, so we hang out around there and start talking to people. I for some reason felt the urge to go to the gardening area. We had been looking for someone for the sisters to teach, so I thought that that made complete sense. So, as we were in there, I started casually talking to this one old lady. I kept asking about flowers to keep a conversation going, and she talked about how her husband had just passed away. I was just about to break out about what we believe in, when her daughter came up. Turns out her daughter had almost been baptized back in Fiji! So she knows the missionaries very well! We invited her to come to church and her mother and her both said yes so we gave them our address!
Saturday we exchanged back. We met with this guy named Neeraj who was pretty cool. He is just super open to hearing what other people have to say, and we will be handing him off to the Delta Elders soon. We also met with Sunny and Mike again.
Sunday rolled around, and I have to say, that this was like, the longest day on the mission so far. I was SO hungry! Time slows down like crazy when you are hungry. Anyway, we met with this guy named Valentino. He’s pretty cool. Really fired up about the Bible and stuff. Talked the whole entire time too. After a couple hours of walking around and knocking on doors in the heat, we got to go have dinner at Brother Smith’s house. They are honestly so cool! This has been the only member visit we have been able to get besides the Bishop!
So yeah! Crazy awesome week! We have been so busy! But it has been so much fun! Sure love and miss all of you! God is so good! AND MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, June 29, 2015
Hit Standards
So! This has honestly been one of the best weeks ever! SURREY IS THE COOLEST PLACE EVER!!! So, to kickstart the first day with Elder Slack, we literally drove EVERYWHERE... We had to drive Elders everywhere because one of the zone leaders was puking and stuff....yeah, not good...anyway! After driving everywhere, we managed to squeeze in a lesson at the very tail end of the day... So.... Thursday was fun...weekly planning....kind of rough considering that we really don’t know the area that well....Friday was HOT! man, we were sweating so much! My farmers tan is getting even better!!
Saturday has to be the best day ever though! We had so many lessons Saturday! We even had stake conference that night and we got to see President Burt which is always exciting! So, I take that back, Sunday was the best day! So, Sunday morning, we get a call from some elders in Langley, saying that there is this investigator from White Horse that just moved to Surrey, and that he was wanting to come to church! So, it’s like 9am, and stake conference starts in about an hour. So, we call him, figure out his name is Ram, and we somehow were able to get a ride for this guy to come to church! Man, that was fun! It was so hard for us to be able to get a ride for church... such a struggle for some reason...anyway....we got him to church, and we didn’t get to meet him until after the meeting. Turns out, he is the coolest guy ever! He was excited that he was able to make it to church, and that he was already talking about how he was going to get to church the following week! Crazy eh? Tell me about it...it gets even better...so we set up an appointment for that night and we meet him at Subway. Music is going on in the background and so many distractions, but still, it was such a good lesson! Turns out that he had been with the missionaries up in White Horse for quite a while, and that he wanted to move down to be able to go to school. We pulled out the pamphlets that we had and he immediately recognized the restoration pamphlet! So we went over that with him, and he said that he already knew that all of that was true, and that the Book of Mormon was true which was so cool! SO! We then start talking about baptism, and he said that he wanted to get baptized, but before, he had just wanted to make sure that it was true! So, we set a date for him on July 19th! So cool! We will be handing him off to the Langley YSA Elders though :(...Kind of sad to give up though...He’s so cool!
So yea, Surrey is full of miracles though! Dad, you are so right...it’s in the most evil of places that people are looking for the light the most...SO TRUE!! I haven’t had as much success in this area as in other areas!
So the coolest thing though, is that we hit standards too which is my first time! What’s even better is that we hit standards in a total of 4 days because Monday-Wednesday was full of driving/packing/P-Day...
So, to hit standards, we have to do 4 of 5 of these things: Teach 8 member present lessons, have 2 baptismal dates, have 2 people come to church, get 4 new investigators, or have 140 quality gospel conversations. And guess what?!?! Ram made it all possible! By coming to church and having a lesson that night, he made is possible for us to hit standards in 4 days!! SO AWESOME!!
So yeah, we also went to the soup kitchen this past week...we volunteer once a week...There was almost a fight while we were there....I may or may not have wanted it to actually happen... but it got broken up....We also got 3 tubs of ice cream out of it! YUMMY!!!
Another investigator that is so flippin solid is Gus! Man, this guy was found by the sisters and he is so dedicated to coming to church and is so determined to be baptized! He has been trying to quit smoking, and when we met with him, I felt the spirit which brought to mind to ask him to set a date to quit smoking, and to start with baby steps, and that he should prayerfully ponder a day to quit, and that we would give him a blessing that night when we would go to scripture study class. So, we met up later that night and the spirit was so strong. Before we gave the blessing, he told us, that before we had even brought it up, that he had been praying about a day to quit smoking. The day that came to mind was July 1st! Soon after, we gave him a blessing, and the spirit was so powerful as we were in the little tiny room. So powerful. After giving him the blessing, I saw him crying, and straightway, I gave him a hug. He is such a humble man. He tries so hard, and he is so strong!
So this honestly has to be one of the most successful weeks of my mission! It’s been so awesome! I love Surrey and I feel really confident that being here is where I am meant to be...I even felt that before I got here which was awesome!!!
I sure love and miss all of you! I may live in the heart of Whalley, which is probably one of the most scary places in the mission, and I may or may not have to bar my door every night, but I love it here!
Love you guys so much!
Love
Elder McCown
Saturday has to be the best day ever though! We had so many lessons Saturday! We even had stake conference that night and we got to see President Burt which is always exciting! So, I take that back, Sunday was the best day! So, Sunday morning, we get a call from some elders in Langley, saying that there is this investigator from White Horse that just moved to Surrey, and that he was wanting to come to church! So, it’s like 9am, and stake conference starts in about an hour. So, we call him, figure out his name is Ram, and we somehow were able to get a ride for this guy to come to church! Man, that was fun! It was so hard for us to be able to get a ride for church... such a struggle for some reason...anyway....we got him to church, and we didn’t get to meet him until after the meeting. Turns out, he is the coolest guy ever! He was excited that he was able to make it to church, and that he was already talking about how he was going to get to church the following week! Crazy eh? Tell me about it...it gets even better...so we set up an appointment for that night and we meet him at Subway. Music is going on in the background and so many distractions, but still, it was such a good lesson! Turns out that he had been with the missionaries up in White Horse for quite a while, and that he wanted to move down to be able to go to school. We pulled out the pamphlets that we had and he immediately recognized the restoration pamphlet! So we went over that with him, and he said that he already knew that all of that was true, and that the Book of Mormon was true which was so cool! SO! We then start talking about baptism, and he said that he wanted to get baptized, but before, he had just wanted to make sure that it was true! So, we set a date for him on July 19th! So cool! We will be handing him off to the Langley YSA Elders though :(...Kind of sad to give up though...He’s so cool!
So yea, Surrey is full of miracles though! Dad, you are so right...it’s in the most evil of places that people are looking for the light the most...SO TRUE!! I haven’t had as much success in this area as in other areas!
So the coolest thing though, is that we hit standards too which is my first time! What’s even better is that we hit standards in a total of 4 days because Monday-Wednesday was full of driving/packing/P-Day...
So, to hit standards, we have to do 4 of 5 of these things: Teach 8 member present lessons, have 2 baptismal dates, have 2 people come to church, get 4 new investigators, or have 140 quality gospel conversations. And guess what?!?! Ram made it all possible! By coming to church and having a lesson that night, he made is possible for us to hit standards in 4 days!! SO AWESOME!!
So yeah, we also went to the soup kitchen this past week...we volunteer once a week...There was almost a fight while we were there....I may or may not have wanted it to actually happen... but it got broken up....We also got 3 tubs of ice cream out of it! YUMMY!!!
Another investigator that is so flippin solid is Gus! Man, this guy was found by the sisters and he is so dedicated to coming to church and is so determined to be baptized! He has been trying to quit smoking, and when we met with him, I felt the spirit which brought to mind to ask him to set a date to quit smoking, and to start with baby steps, and that he should prayerfully ponder a day to quit, and that we would give him a blessing that night when we would go to scripture study class. So, we met up later that night and the spirit was so strong. Before we gave the blessing, he told us, that before we had even brought it up, that he had been praying about a day to quit smoking. The day that came to mind was July 1st! Soon after, we gave him a blessing, and the spirit was so powerful as we were in the little tiny room. So powerful. After giving him the blessing, I saw him crying, and straightway, I gave him a hug. He is such a humble man. He tries so hard, and he is so strong!
So this honestly has to be one of the most successful weeks of my mission! It’s been so awesome! I love Surrey and I feel really confident that being here is where I am meant to be...I even felt that before I got here which was awesome!!!
I sure love and miss all of you! I may live in the heart of Whalley, which is probably one of the most scary places in the mission, and I may or may not have to bar my door every night, but I love it here!
Love you guys so much!
Love
Elder McCown
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