Happy Easter! It's been one of the more interesting weeks on
my mission. On Monday as part of Elder Briscoe's farewell, him and I played a
few games of croquet with the Knowles family. I won the first and my companion
won the other 2. It was far more fun than I anticipated and the kids loved it!.
Elder Briscoe was taken down to Nanaimo Tuesday night and we
stayed in the north apartment for the night. The zone leaders were busy driving
Elders (including Elder Briscoe) to and from the ferry terminal to get them
with their new companions all day long. On top of that, Elder Heiner didn't get
to Nanaimo on his ferry until 7:45 pm. as a result, they decided to place me
with Elder Whited who is serving in Powell River. I spent much of that
afternoon visiting old friends. I visited Brother Marshall, and then Bruce who
I'm very pleased to report is fully active in the church! :) He seems a lot
happier being a member then while we were teaching him.
Lastly I visited Sasha who had us over for dinner!
It was such a great reunion. She had a few of her friends from Taiwan over.
It's moments like these as a missionary that make you forget about all the
negative experiences you go through. It's all totally worth it. Sasha told me
that I had changed a lot since I began my mission. That I've become more
confident and not bulged-eyed whenever I'm spoken to. The change has been a
product of my mission, something that
I will forever be grateful for.
The trip back to Campbell River the next morning once I was
placed with Elder Heiner was troublesome. We didn't have much issue coming back
until we got a call from Elder Haskins, our new district leader and Elder
Whited's new companion. They told us that Elder Whited had left a couple things
in our car so we had to drop them off in Courtney so that they could come and
get them before getting on the ferry back to Powell River. It should be noted
that I was driving on this trip, and even using the map it was very difficult
to know how to get back on Highway 19 once we started making an attempt to
leave. We went through a few logging roads before finally calling the Courtney
Elders for directions. Getting back into Courtney off the old roads was a little
hairy! After that we got home still in one peace but also exhausted from all the
worry and the driving. The fact that we had our weekly planning right after
sitting for all those hours wasn't too fun either.
Our teach pool isn't bare but everyone of our investigators
is on hold. Not one of them went to conference at the church and we haven't
heard from Amanda at all since our first meeting with her. Britaini has been
wanting to meet with us but she's been busy moving. We asked if we could help
but as a lot of people answer, she said that she was fine. She says that
she'll be available Wednesday. While we were in Nanaimo, we called Mary to see
if there was a time we could see her before General Conference but she couldn't
make it. Candis never showed up either, despite telling us over the phone that
she would come a day earlier... Between conference and our traveling, we had
next to no lessons.
And what can I say about Elder Heiner? He's been great! He
loves everybody and is one heck of an athlete. He loves sports, especially
football and he's a fitness freak! Very strong for his size. He claims he's 5'7
which is what I measured myself at before my mission. This indicates that I'm
getting taller because I'm clearly a little taller than him! Mwahahaha! For the
first time since I was like 15, I'm actually growing!
Easter weekend has been pleasant. General Conference was
good though I'm a little disappointed that there were a few who apposed the
sustaining of President Monson and the apostles. It's apparently been the first
time that has happened since 1980. I also admit that while eternal marriage and
families is a good topic to emphasize, it's something you don't get overly
excited about hearing as a missionary. Hearing President Tilleman's name announced as a member of the seventy was very cool! He was my mission president long enough to know that it's a position I could see him
in one day. Not much of a surprise really.
Sunday night we had Easter dinner with the Knowles family.
We had a bit of a scary experience the other night. We had finished working in
a certain area that was a short distance from home. The only way to get through
it was through trails through a grove of trees. It was close to 9:00 pm and we
had to go back home in the dark. The trail wasn't lit by any
source of light but the moon. About half way home we heard a low rumbling
growl! Frightened
by this, we turned around and went the other way! Nothing followed us, but
there was no way we were going back in there. Fortunately, we got a ride home
from Brother Emery who took us the long way home. The result of all this? A story to tell long after the mission!
Thus begins my 11th transfer in the Canada, Vancouver
Mission. I'm still alive and well. Now comes the task of continuing to work
with Elder Heiner to find and teach more people. I hope you've had a wonderful
spring break and Easter. May we continue to reflect on the life, death, and
resurrection of the savior. Till next Monday, goodbye and enjoy the first full
week of April!
Elder Maclean Samis
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