Monday, November 23, 2015
Zone Conference
So this past week was zone conference! Basically was just the best thing ever! So, we packed our bags and took a nice long drive to Prince George after volunteering at the food bank! I think I have had goldfish and a coke for at least 3 meals this week haha! So we left Tuesday and got there later that evening and stayed the night with Elder Zieler, Elder Ortiz, Elder Nixon and Elder Dean. Crazy eh? I have not seen so many Elders in such a long time!
So Wednesday morning, the zone leaders, the district leaders, and the sister training leaders all had a meeting with President and Sister Burt and Elder Teh, so I got to go! Elder Teh is so funny! So that was awesome! Got to take some awesome notes and right after that we shot into zone conference! Basically just the most spiritual blast I could think of! I was so tired after though cause I had been sitting for about 6 hours. After that we drove to Vanderhoof and stayed the night and we were finally back in our area Thursday, got to talk to people, had a couple dogs almost bite me again, no big deal...
It was crazy though! We were out knocking this trailer park and we knocked into this guy that had NEVER met missionaries before...we just kind of stood there for a second. You can only imagine because the town has about 3000 people in it, and Burns Lake has had missionaries for a LONG time. So that freaked us out, and he probably thought that we were weird, but we got his number and was just like the coolest guy ever!
Sunday was awesome! Got to watch the temple dedication, and right after that, after just getting spiritually pumped we took a ferry to the Southside and just started looking for people to teach! Of course, whenever we go looking for someone to teach, I think that the Lord has sense of humor. IT’S ALWAYS THE LAST PERSON! So, we came up to this house and Elder Westergard somehow got us in there, and we were just able to teach the plan of salvation right on the spot! I have to admit, it did not seem like they were interested, but once we got on the topic of families, the moms eyes just seemed to light up! So, we had an awesome lesson and were able to commit them to pray about baptism, and see them next week!
It was such a good week though! God has been so good to us! Finding someone to teach makes it even better! I love you guys!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, November 16, 2015
I skinned a cow
So another crazy week went by! I would have to say the best part of the week was this past Saturday though! We were planning to figure out what to do and we got a call from Brother Orr asking us for some help. Well, haha! He asked us if we could help him skin a cow! I was so stoked! Man! I just wish we were there for when they shot thing! By the time we got there though, it was all strung up hanging upside down, just draining blood while we were skinning it! It was so cool! The thing reaked though...we were getting up all in it and blood was just everywhere and my boots are still matted in it. I probably smell like it too. But! We were able to cut the thing open right after and the guts were just all over the place! So that was quite the experience!
Nothing was too exciting this week though. Went tracking in snow which was super new. If I do my math right it was about 15 degrees! And this is just the start of it! I just wonder what it is going to be like in about a month! CRAZY! It honestly is so much fun here though! The members are awesome! The Raasvelds took us all the way to Prince George for a zone meeting which was awesome! Saved us about 300 kilometers! Thank goodness too!
Sure love and miss you guys though! My feet may be freezing right now, and maybe even the rest of my body as well, but God is just so good!
Love
Elder McCown
Nothing was too exciting this week though. Went tracking in snow which was super new. If I do my math right it was about 15 degrees! And this is just the start of it! I just wonder what it is going to be like in about a month! CRAZY! It honestly is so much fun here though! The members are awesome! The Raasvelds took us all the way to Prince George for a zone meeting which was awesome! Saved us about 300 kilometers! Thank goodness too!
Sure love and miss you guys though! My feet may be freezing right now, and maybe even the rest of my body as well, but God is just so good!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, November 9, 2015
Butchered Cow
So this week was crazy awesome! SO! We honestly have one of the best branch Presidents ever! Monday night we were able to drop by a couple people with him and he was just so good with going along with the schedule because basically our plans fell through! So we were out doing drop bys and we were able to drop by these super cool families! One of them was Richard and his wife and his son Silas. So, one of the hardest things to do in my opinion on a mission is to break the friend barrier, so we broke that that night and outright asked them if they wanted to learn more about eternal families! And they were so down for it! Could not meet for the rest of the week, or make it to church either but we will be meeting them this coming Thursday hopefully!
We were also able to see this single mom named Roberta! She has three sons and she really wants them to come to church and to actually have her sons have a belief in God. So we are going to be seeing them tomorrow night hopefully! I am so excited! We were also able to spend the night on the Southside this week. THAT WAS FUN!
So Burns Lake is basically made up of two places, north side and south side, and it is basically divided by this giant lake that has a ferry running from south to north side. So, we hopped on that ferry and were able to go meet with this couple, AND WE WERE ABLE TO BUTCHER A COW! Well, we actually watched them but it was crazy seeing where my steak comes from! He told us that he shoots the cow in the head and then slits it throat and lets it drain which is crazy! Then they cut the head off and pull it up by a forklift, basically holding it by its legs upside down. Then they cut it open and clean it and send it to the butcher! So that was cool! Then we traveled all over the south side because there are just rolling hills for days, and we were even able to spend the night at a members house which was pretty cool!
Sunday was awesome too! We were out on the south side all day and we got to meet another member! He is super cool and we talked and got to know him. He literally just needs to come to church! What’s so cool though is that the members that we brought with us were just inviting him to everything that they could think of that was going on for the next month!
We then took the ferry over with the branch president’s son and were able to get some drop bys in with some people, see a less active and we also got to see our ward mission leader that night as well! Hopefully we will be getting a volleyball night set up though! We are running out of daylight and it gets dark by about 4:30 pm which makes things interesting. Not many people are happy when we knock on their door at night time. Really hard to make it work but we have been trying to come up with ideas!
I love it up here though! Even though it is 20 degrees sometimes, which does not even include wind chill, and it is barely the beginning of winter to say in the least, it’s still awesome! God is just so good to us and he loves everyone no matter what!
Love you guys so much!
Love
Elder McCown
We were also able to see this single mom named Roberta! She has three sons and she really wants them to come to church and to actually have her sons have a belief in God. So we are going to be seeing them tomorrow night hopefully! I am so excited! We were also able to spend the night on the Southside this week. THAT WAS FUN!
So Burns Lake is basically made up of two places, north side and south side, and it is basically divided by this giant lake that has a ferry running from south to north side. So, we hopped on that ferry and were able to go meet with this couple, AND WE WERE ABLE TO BUTCHER A COW! Well, we actually watched them but it was crazy seeing where my steak comes from! He told us that he shoots the cow in the head and then slits it throat and lets it drain which is crazy! Then they cut the head off and pull it up by a forklift, basically holding it by its legs upside down. Then they cut it open and clean it and send it to the butcher! So that was cool! Then we traveled all over the south side because there are just rolling hills for days, and we were even able to spend the night at a members house which was pretty cool!
Sunday was awesome too! We were out on the south side all day and we got to meet another member! He is super cool and we talked and got to know him. He literally just needs to come to church! What’s so cool though is that the members that we brought with us were just inviting him to everything that they could think of that was going on for the next month!
We then took the ferry over with the branch president’s son and were able to get some drop bys in with some people, see a less active and we also got to see our ward mission leader that night as well! Hopefully we will be getting a volleyball night set up though! We are running out of daylight and it gets dark by about 4:30 pm which makes things interesting. Not many people are happy when we knock on their door at night time. Really hard to make it work but we have been trying to come up with ideas!
I love it up here though! Even though it is 20 degrees sometimes, which does not even include wind chill, and it is barely the beginning of winter to say in the least, it’s still awesome! God is just so good to us and he loves everyone no matter what!
Love you guys so much!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, November 2, 2015
Barking Dogs
Wow! So this week has been a bit crazy! Starting off Monday went on this super cool hike around this lake. Basically it’s in our backyard so, that makes it even cooler! Tuesday rolls around and we are headed out to Vanderhoof! We went on exchanges and I was with Elder Belnap! He is such a stud! We knocked doors all day, talked to whoever is on the street, and found some people for them to teach! We also got to split some firewood for someone. It’s kind of funny though. Here we are all bundled up in jackets and scarfs, gloves, etc, you name it, and this guy in short shorts and a t-shirt answers the door. Gotta love your typical Canadian lol.
Wednesday was awesome! Was my first district meeting up here in the north, and it was so spiritual! I loved it! Shortly after we went on exchanges with the zone leaders! AND GUESS WHO MY ZONE LEADER IS!? ELDER ZIELER!! I actually got to see one of my old companions! I went with Elder Ortiz though! He is this crazy Philipino! Made some miracles happen though! We were knocking doors and we got let in on the first door! Kind of crazy! He is so scared of dogs though! There are quite a few native reserves in town and it seems that every native has a dog. We walk down the street and every dog just starts barking like crazy, and they come so close!
So, I finally get to be with my companion and we went to the Southside on Friday! We got members to drive us everywhere and we got to do quite a bit of service! It was gorgeous heading out there though! Rolling hill after rolling hill! And there are just a ton of lakes in between! Loved it out there! We helped the Williams move the wood stove which weighs like a ton. After that we helped our ward mission leader on his farm! That was cool! We helped him get some posts in the ground! He had this crane that he was renting and he rigged it up with what the road workers use to flatten the ground! He then welded a pipe onto it so it held the post in place, and next thing you know, the ground is shaking within a 5 foot radius.
Sunday was awesome! We got to meet with this guy named Wilfred. He is pretty cool. Was a little tired though so we will be seeing him some other time. We were so hungry though. It was fast Sunday and I was just dying. We had french toast though and IT WAS SO GOOD! Never had a better meal!
The week has been great though! Sure love ya!
Love
Elder McCown
Wednesday was awesome! Was my first district meeting up here in the north, and it was so spiritual! I loved it! Shortly after we went on exchanges with the zone leaders! AND GUESS WHO MY ZONE LEADER IS!? ELDER ZIELER!! I actually got to see one of my old companions! I went with Elder Ortiz though! He is this crazy Philipino! Made some miracles happen though! We were knocking doors and we got let in on the first door! Kind of crazy! He is so scared of dogs though! There are quite a few native reserves in town and it seems that every native has a dog. We walk down the street and every dog just starts barking like crazy, and they come so close!
So, I finally get to be with my companion and we went to the Southside on Friday! We got members to drive us everywhere and we got to do quite a bit of service! It was gorgeous heading out there though! Rolling hill after rolling hill! And there are just a ton of lakes in between! Loved it out there! We helped the Williams move the wood stove which weighs like a ton. After that we helped our ward mission leader on his farm! That was cool! We helped him get some posts in the ground! He had this crane that he was renting and he rigged it up with what the road workers use to flatten the ground! He then welded a pipe onto it so it held the post in place, and next thing you know, the ground is shaking within a 5 foot radius.
Sunday was awesome! We got to meet with this guy named Wilfred. He is pretty cool. Was a little tired though so we will be seeing him some other time. We were so hungry though. It was fast Sunday and I was just dying. We had french toast though and IT WAS SO GOOD! Never had a better meal!
The week has been great though! Sure love ya!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, October 26, 2015
Rolling Hills
Sooo, I am cold...I literally have never been so cold in my life! Just kidding it’s not too bad! Not yet at least! This place is known for getting overnight dumps of snow all the time. FREAKY! Besides that, for those who don’t know, I am serving in an area that has about 3000 people, with miles upon miles in between most of the people out here! Tracting is fun. Rolling hill after rolling hill. I swear there is not a spot of flat ground here...
I love it though! Sure every door has been knocked on 500 times in that past 20 years but that doesn’t worry me! I’m just worried whether I will be able to get out the door or not in the next couple months. I have heard that they have had overnight snow dumps of about 5 feet give or take, and it is not uncommon for it to be -40 degrees here either. So, needless to say, I feel like I am going to be carrying a shovel around this area. I heard that in years past missionaries would just go door to door all day shoveling snow off of peoples driveways.
My last area is so different from Burns Lake though. In Surrey there were thousands of people to talk to, and a lot of them had not talked to the missionaries before. Whereas in Burns Lake, everyone recognizes the missionaries, and they all know our purpose.
So, needless to say I have probably tracted out a good percentage of the town. It’s awesome though looking at how many members there are here! Out of the 3000 here in Burns Lake, there are about 70 members that attend regularly! Crazy eh?? So awesome!
Our week has been interesting though. Everyone that we had been teaching has either had babies or getting sick! I sure love the place though! Too much fun!
Love you guys so much!
Love
Elder McCown
I love it though! Sure every door has been knocked on 500 times in that past 20 years but that doesn’t worry me! I’m just worried whether I will be able to get out the door or not in the next couple months. I have heard that they have had overnight snow dumps of about 5 feet give or take, and it is not uncommon for it to be -40 degrees here either. So, needless to say, I feel like I am going to be carrying a shovel around this area. I heard that in years past missionaries would just go door to door all day shoveling snow off of peoples driveways.
My last area is so different from Burns Lake though. In Surrey there were thousands of people to talk to, and a lot of them had not talked to the missionaries before. Whereas in Burns Lake, everyone recognizes the missionaries, and they all know our purpose.
So, needless to say I have probably tracted out a good percentage of the town. It’s awesome though looking at how many members there are here! Out of the 3000 here in Burns Lake, there are about 70 members that attend regularly! Crazy eh?? So awesome!
Our week has been interesting though. Everyone that we had been teaching has either had babies or getting sick! I sure love the place though! Too much fun!
Love you guys so much!
Love
Elder McCown
Monday, October 19, 2015
-40 degrees
So, I knew it! I just knew it! I am literally going to freeze my butt off...I am getting transferred to Burns lake! So, Burns Lake....it’s cold...coldest place in the mission! From what I have heard, it gets down to -40 degrees...nothing an Arizona boy CAN handle! My new companion is Elder Westerguard, and I have absolutely no clue who he is by the way!
Well, besides the bitter freezing cold news, we had an awesome week! So, Yemi is honestly the coolest guy ever! He just moved from Nigeria a month ago, is looking for a job, and taking care of his family all at the same time! If I were to be in that situation, I would be freaking out! That is so much stress going on all at the same time! But, we have been able to help him get started with his job searching through the employment center and he is just so happy! Anyway, I called him up one night. When we had met him we had given him a restoration pamphlet! Well, turns out that he had been going through it a couple times and he wants us to be able to teach it to him! He also called us this past Saturday saying that he will be coming to church! That never happens!
We were also able to teach Harry this week! He is so cool! Taught the word of wisdom and he said he would also come to church!
It was such a good week though! A lot of tracking, a lot of it! It was awesome though!
Pretty sad saying goodbye to Surrey though! I am literally going to freeze though! This is going to be fun!
Love you all though!
Love Elder McCown
Well, besides the bitter freezing cold news, we had an awesome week! So, Yemi is honestly the coolest guy ever! He just moved from Nigeria a month ago, is looking for a job, and taking care of his family all at the same time! If I were to be in that situation, I would be freaking out! That is so much stress going on all at the same time! But, we have been able to help him get started with his job searching through the employment center and he is just so happy! Anyway, I called him up one night. When we had met him we had given him a restoration pamphlet! Well, turns out that he had been going through it a couple times and he wants us to be able to teach it to him! He also called us this past Saturday saying that he will be coming to church! That never happens!
We were also able to teach Harry this week! He is so cool! Taught the word of wisdom and he said he would also come to church!
It was such a good week though! A lot of tracking, a lot of it! It was awesome though!
Pretty sad saying goodbye to Surrey though! I am literally going to freeze though! This is going to be fun!
Love you all though!
Love Elder McCown
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Weekly Planning
So, this week...we...haha...it was crazy...
To basically just start it all off, we will start with weekly planning. Weekly planning is by far one of the most grueling, most tiring and most mind numbing things when I first started out. I absolutely disliked it with a passion. We had to plan for a whole week, planning in something for each hour, with back up plans to each of them for 3 hours. I have gotten used to it though, kind of. This week was a little different though. So, the struggle we have had is getting our investigators to church.
So! WE HAVE SEEN SOME AWESOME MIRACLES! We did quite a few drop-bys yesterday and we have talked to EVERYONE! Our goal is to just talk to everyone that we see on site, even if it means yelling at them! We have found some awesome people to teach because of it!
Well, other than that, it has been raining like crazy! The rainiest day thought was when it was park the car day. Everyone in the mission literally parks their car for a whole day and we just go out and walk everywhere. We walked for about 8 hours in the rain which was crazy!
Everything is going good though! I think I will get transferred this week! Can only imagine where I will be going! Hate it and love it all at the same time! Love you guys though!
Love
Elder McCown
To basically just start it all off, we will start with weekly planning. Weekly planning is by far one of the most grueling, most tiring and most mind numbing things when I first started out. I absolutely disliked it with a passion. We had to plan for a whole week, planning in something for each hour, with back up plans to each of them for 3 hours. I have gotten used to it though, kind of. This week was a little different though. So, the struggle we have had is getting our investigators to church.
So! WE HAVE SEEN SOME AWESOME MIRACLES! We did quite a few drop-bys yesterday and we have talked to EVERYONE! Our goal is to just talk to everyone that we see on site, even if it means yelling at them! We have found some awesome people to teach because of it!
Well, other than that, it has been raining like crazy! The rainiest day thought was when it was park the car day. Everyone in the mission literally parks their car for a whole day and we just go out and walk everywhere. We walked for about 8 hours in the rain which was crazy!
Everything is going good though! I think I will get transferred this week! Can only imagine where I will be going! Hate it and love it all at the same time! Love you guys though!
Love
Elder McCown
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