October 27, 2014 - 2nd Area: Clearbrook (Abbotsford)

Changing Colours

 

 

It's getting cold here in Clearbrook. The rain has been getting heavier and the sun is coming out less often. The trees are changing colour quickly and the temperature is dropping. Winter is definitely on the way. 

On Tuesday we went to teach Devin at Briana's house again. We taught him Lesson 3 and the Law of Chastity and he has no issues with either one. He's indeed very well prepared and it seems as if there's not much that can stop him from being baptized. He was in Kelowna this Sunday visiting some friends though, so he wasn't at church yesterday. He also went with Briana to the church laurel priest conferece so I'm sure that was a great social opportunity for him. 

As far as bad news go, Les and his family are pulling the plug. Elder Lamb and I tried to set a time to meet with them but they replied to our text message saying that while they appreciated what we were doing, they were ok with where they were at. Tough break. :(

Even so our finding has been decent. We tracted into a lady named Lori who talked to us for a few minutes before letting us in to teach her for a while. She has a couple of young kids and her 15 year old daughter sat in listening to us. We'll be seeing Lori again tomorrow. 

Thursday morning we drove out to the May's place to help them prepare some veggies for the laurel priest conference. The sisters were helping out too and everyone agreed that it would have taken forever for the Mays to do it by themselves, even with one set of missionaries. Thats a lot of of potatoes and broccoli! Later that evening Elder Lamb and I decided to take a walk around the Sikh temple to check out the big De-Wali celebration that was going on there. I'm not sure what the holiday is for, but its a big festive day for the Sikh followers and there was a whole lot of fireworks going off around the place. 

That's all this week. Love you all and talk to you next Monday. Happy Halloween!

Elder Maclean Samis     

October 20, 2014 - 2nd Area: Clearbrook (Abbotsford)

The Miracles of Fellowship

First off neither Elder Lamb or I have been transferred. Second, we are finally seeing a lot of success in our area! Tuesday we had found a family of 3 who seem to be quite interested. They are Les, Christie, and their 11 year old daughter Quinn. We'll be seeing them on Tuesday. We found another investigator named Zara who is a young single mother from the Philippines but we decided to pass her on to the Aldergrove Sisters. 

About a few weeks ago, the Abbotsford 3rd sisters passed a huge miracle to us named Deven. He's 18 and has been attending church for the past few weeks with his cousin, Briana who has been a member of the church for about a year. We've already taught him twice this week in Briana's home and he's progressing very quickly, so much so that we set a baptismal date for November 15th! :) The first lesson he seemed a bit shy but by the second he really opened up thanks to Elder Lamb's great social skills. He is eager to keep learning. He came to church yesterday and we'll be meeting with him and Briana this Tuesday. We're all really excited for him and it looks probable that he will become my first convert baptism!  

Among some other more cool experiences I had was eating dinner with the Palfrey family on Thursday. Brother Palfrey loves music. He's a really talented singer and acoustic guitar player who in 2010 recorded his own album with 6 songs on it called "Vancouver Rain". He even went on tours around south-western Canada for bit and was fairly successful! He says within the next little while he's going to record another. He gave Elder Lamb and I each a copy of his album and signed the back of it.        

Yesterday we went over to Brother Noftle's to give him a priesthood blessing. He's been sick all week and couldn't come to church. We also taught Curtis and tried to get him to go without coffee for a week, he said he would try it next week.

That's the main highlights for this week. It's been raining on and off really hard throughout the week. It feels a little dreary but thank heavens it hasn't been snowing. Don't miss snow in October in the slightest. Love all of you and have a great week!

Elder Maclean Samis 

 

 

Here are a few pictures Elder Samis sent.  The first is him and his companion Elder Lamb, the next is his district in Clearbrook, and last, a picture he took of Mount Baker.  I guess you can get a pretty good view of Mount Baker from Clearbrook!

 

 

October 13, 2014 - 2nd Area: Clearbrook (Abbotsford)

A Transfer of Thanksgiving

As yet another transfer closes, the Thanksgiving weekend has arrived. It's been a lot more chilly as winter gets closer. Sadly, not much has occurred in the following up of our investigators.   

I went on a couple of exchanges this week, the first of the two was in Chilliwack on Tuesday. I got to drive for about the 3rd time in my mission which was nice. Elder Koanohi and I taught a lesson with our ward mission leader, Brother Olson. The lady we taught is Christina. She is from Sudan and has 3 kids, one of them is 19 and is named Akol. It was a difficult lesson to teach with the 2 younger kids running all over the place and making noise but in the end, she said we could come back on Sunday. We couldn't see her on Sunday in the end since she was going to her cousins' house for Thanksgiving dinner. 

There was a zone meeting on Wednesday in which it was made official that working with the members became the number one priority. Rather then just sharing a quick spiritual thought, we will from now on teach a principle from one of the 5 lessons. 

Thursday I went on the other exchange, this time with Elder Davis. We knocked on a lot of doors that day and for the first time I got a taste of what knocking doors is like in the Bible Belt of the lower mainland. There were a lot of people that weren't very happy to see us. The day ended on a high note though when we went over to the Noftles' home for dinner. That family just makes my day!

Friday we helped a family move into the word named the Bambas. They are from the Philippines and used to be in the ward a few years ago. 

Sunday evening we went to the Hara family's home for Thanksgiving dinner. They had a few less active relatives visiting from Kelowna.   

Not too worried about getting moved. It's very likely we will both be staying. Well since it's thanksgiving, I suppose I should make a list of what I am thankful for. I am thankful for my family and for all they have done in helping me prepare for this mission and the rest of my life. I am also thankful for my mission president, my companion, and the members of the Abbotsford 2nd ward. I am thankful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and am proud to serve as one of the Lord's missionaries. Enjoy the rest of the long weekend! 

Elder Maclean Samis   

 

 

October 6, 2014 - 2nd Area: Clearbrook (Abbotsford)

A Wonderful Conference

It's been a slow week here at the Brook. We weren't able to meet with too many of our investigators this week. We saw Charles last night and he's having thoughts about being baptized. The other appointments we set with people seemed to flake out on us. Lots going on in peoples lives I guess. The temple trip on Tuesday was a nice experience. It's also been a bit more relaxing with general conference sessions to go to throughout the weekend. It's the closest thing a missionary will get to a relaxing day outside of p day. The weather has continued to cooperate so there are many blessings to count despite the hard luck with our new friends.

I've spent too much cash over the past week. There were a lot of office supplies to buy and we had to eat out a lot with all the traveling. On Wednesday we went to Karl's Junior which turned out to be a good place to go. Expensive and bad for you, but still really tasty! :) After that Elder M and I drove out to Chilliwack for an exchange. We knocked on a lot of doors and visited a couple of families. We ate dinner with the S family. They're an awesome family with 3 daughters and a son. When I told them that I had served in Nanaimo, they broke into conversation about how they lived there a few years ago and asked me if I knew this family and that. It was an awesome visit! 

It was Brother N. birthday on Saturday night so we dropped by his place real quick to give him a card that Elder Lamb made. You have to see it to believe how funny it was! I'll be sure to take a picture of it (if I can remember) the next time we go to visit the N family.     

Really other then what I've mentioned above there isn't too much to say except general conference was excellent! I loved Jeffery R Holland's talk about caring for the poor. Elder Christofferson's talk about keeping your standards far from the world's really spoke to me as well. David A Bednar's talk to those who are not members of the church was easily my favorite of the Sunday sessions. I would recommend it to anyone who is unfamiliar with what the church teaches. It'll be very helpful and help them understand what a missionaries purpose is. 

Well that's all for now. Here's hoping that this week will be more productive for us. Enjoy the fall everybody!

Elder Maclean Samis