Out of every trial comes a blessing

This is me pretending I like snow

Hello again! 

Well, it's been another crazy week out here in the Maritimes. Life just gets crazier the longer I'm here, so it is just one of those things that I have learned to accept. It was honestly, one of the most interesting weeks I have had out here, and I really hope I'm able to put it into words for you... I hope I can do it justice.

Monday: P-day. We ended up doing a lot for our P-day. We went over to Dartmouth to a little restaurant called Cheese Curds. Anyone want to guess what they serve there? POUTINE! I had some delicious Pulled Pork Poutine, and it was amazing! So good. After our P-day was over, we went and set up for our Family Home Evening, and we waited, and waited, and waited, and nobody actually showed up... So we had correlation with the sisters, and went on with the rest of our night... It was pretty sad. Knocking out here has become pretty miserable at night. We have reached the point where it gets too cold at night, so people wont answer the door. And it's only starting to get cold, so it's going to be a grand winter.

Tuesday: The rain started on Tuesday... We wanted to go out street contacting, but it was too rainy, and cold outside... We still went out, obviously, because that is what we do, but we didn't really talk to anyone... But it was still fun. Going out in the rain is actually really fun. Knocking was great. Even now that it is colder, people have no pity for anyone who subjects themselves to the rain. We had a supper appointment with a really great family, and had a really great gospel discussion with the parents. After supper, we drove to the opposite end of the area (probably about 35-40k away) to an appointment with an investigator. When we got there, they weren't home... They had gone away last minute and had forgotten to let us know... Because it was dark and cold in an unlit area, we couldn't even do any work while we were out there, so we had to come back to Sackville to do what we could to salvage the night here. 

Wednesday: More rain. We made the mistake of going out to the park to do some contacting and make so phone calls... You would think we would learn our lesson about going out in the rain, but nope, we aren't that smart :P. We tried to go contact a former who disappeared of the face of the earth, but we couldn't get a hold of him, so we called his cousin, and she said he didn't want to meet with us anymore, but she would keep trying to convince him. I love members. That evening we went and set up for our Family history class, but the sisters asked us to go visit a less-active man who needed some help, so we didn't actually get to stick around for any of the class. After our visit with the less active, we went back to the church for correlation with the ward mission leader and ward missionaries.

Thursday: We had to do our weekly planning a day early this week because we had Zone Conference. So that took up most of our morning. We spent a good portion of the day inside, making calls, and trying to get some contacts out of the Area Book. We did get an appointment set up with a former investigator (I will tell the rest of that story later), but other than that, it didn't amount to much. We went out knocking, and met a really nice man who talked to us on his front porch for over an hour. After we had talked for a long time, he let us know that he was an atheist, but if he were to ever join a church it would be the mormons, so we are totally going back later to try and talk with him again. We stopped by one of our investigators houses that night, and found out that he had extended his hunting trip for a few more days, and wouldn't be home for a while... But his daughter told us that he told her to let us know that he really wanted to talk to us when he got home... We are hoping that that is a good thing.

Friday: Snow. We had Zone Conference Friday morning from 10:00 am to about 5:00 pm, so it took up most of our day. I had to get there early because I was doing a special musical number with a group of elders, and we had to practice together before we actually performed. We did "Ye Elders of Israel" A Capella, it was pretty great. After Zone Conference, we had to rush out to Mount Uniak for a supper appointment... Never rush in the snow... I learned that... It was probably the most terrifying thing ever. There was no real incident, but there was some sliding on the road, and I learned my lesson. Next time, Elder Hansen drives :P On the way back, I took it nice and slow, and there was no more sliding. We made it back to Sackville in one piece. 



The Missionaries in my area

Saturday: We got a call from the sisters on Saturday morning right before we went out working for the day, asking if we could possibly come to a lesson with them that afternoon. It was the very first lesson that they had had with this new investigator, and he loved it. Everything we said made sense to him, and he just took to it so fast. At the very end of the lesson, we put him on date for Baptism for December 20th (which is 2 days after transfers, so I hope I'll still be here for it!). After the lesson, the sisters passed him off to us because he is a single male with a young son, and it just made more sense for us to be able to stop by and see him whenever we wanted to. I'm so excited for him. Later that afternoon we had a lesson with the former that we found in the area book... That was pretty bad. He didn't actually want to talk about the gospel, he just knew some missionaries when he lived in England and so he lets them come over to his house any time they call. He had some interesting stories, but didn't want anything to do with the church... awkward... After that lesson, we drove out to Windsor for a meeting with an investigator... We got there and talked to him for a while, and he let us know that he wasn't really interested in meeting with us, he just like the company. He was also meeting with the Jehovah Witnesses too because he likes the company. So there's that... We ended up going all the way back to Sackville with nothing to show for our time in Windsor...

Sunday: Another great Sunday. Elder Hansen spoke it church, and I got to watch from the audience, so that was fun. Ward Choir was fun as any ward choir could possibly be -.- and we got to go out and have supper with the Bishop and his family, which is always fun. After Bishop, we came back and had a meeting with a less active, and he is going to start coming to Family Home Evening, so that is a step in the right direction. 

 

So there we are, back to Monday... I got my hair cut today, and that really is about everything I've done so far. 

 

I hope everyone is having an amazing week, Don't get into too much trouble! 

 

Hockey hockey, Moose moose, Maple leaf, Sorry about that, eh?

Elder Nielsen