Out With a Bang
It has come. The last full week of my mission is here and it
looks like it will be both busy and unpredictable. Emotional too I should
add! I don't even know where to start really. We only taught a few lessons
this week but it looks like we'll be very busy indeed in the days that are to
come! We've been blessed by the Lord a lot this week.
On Tuesday Elder Okamoto and I decided to see a potential
who we hadn't contacted in a few weeks. Her name is Valarie, a very kind woman
who knows a bit about the church. She used to go to another church as
a kid. Now that she has 6 kids, she hasn't been able to go for a long time with
all the business. She still firmly believes in Christ though. We seemed
to see her at the right time because her Father has been in poor health
since just after Christmas. We taught her on Thursday and set our teaching
expectations as well as an invitation to read the Book of Mormon. She accepted
and we'll be seeing her this Tuesday for a follow up.
Another interesting appointment was one we had planned with
a Chinese lady named Jessica. When we came to her house we sat down
and she brought her 2 children into the room, a boy and a girl. They're really
smart kids and though Jessica wasn't sitting in, we taught them a simple
version of the restoration which they seemed to be fascinated with. They are
quite young, but they go to a Christian school in which they read the
bible so our lessons shouldn't be too hard for them to grasp.
Oh, another fun story so there's this Chevron gas
station in down town Poco where a young lady named Zara works. She's a
little older then us. We often stop where she works to get
gas, buy snacks, use the washroom, etc. We're not totally sure
what her ethnic back ground is but we figure she's probably Persian. She
works there often and we usually see her when we stop in. Over
time she's taken notice of us being around and asked us a few
questions about what life is like being a missionary. On one occasion she told us
that she met with missionaries in the past. Next thing we know, the other week
she gave us her number she's willing to start taking the lessons!
These were the 3 biggest miracles we saw this
week. We have a number of other potentials and former investigators that
we'll be working with though beyond this week. The ward members have also
been trying to make one last attempt to make me gain weight before I leave
with a number of dinners this week. We have at least 3
appointments with investigators or members everyday until Saturday! Talk
about going out with a bang! Jessi's family is also coming back from their
vacation soon, so pray that they'll be able to stay in our teaching pool.
And how to I feel over facing the reality that my
mission is ending? Well, its hard to describe. It will certainly not be much
fun having no job or school the day I get home. In terms of people getting
baptized, I do wish I could have been more successful but there is still
hope for those I have taught after my mission I suppose. It isn't about
the numbers after all. I've truly
been amazed with how far the Lord has taken me as I've tried long and hard
to do my best. My relationship with him is stronger then ever. While there
has been many hard moments here in the field, there has been those genuine
moments that outweigh those hardships pretty easily. I'm so pleased that we'll
be able to be so busy while I'm still serving here!
I don't have any information about how my flight to
Edmonton will work yet. There's also a missionary broadcast on the 20th of
January (the day I am supposed to go home) and Elder Okamoto and I
have been assigned by our zone leaders to set up for it so I haven't got
the slightest clue how that will work. It is possible I could be leaving either a day early or a
day late. Don't stress out dear parents, I will let you know! So,
until I sign into this computer one more time, farewell and may god be with you
all!
Elder Maclean Samis
