January 18, 2016 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

The End

I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee:

But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. 3 John 1:13-14

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 1 Timothy 4: 7

***

Special thanks to Adele who bought me lunch last Friday and has followed this blog from the beginning. 

Elder Maclean Samis

January 11, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

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   

January 4, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

Frost, Fog, and Snow

 The New Year has arrived. There's not a lot more to say about this week aside from the weather. 3 days ago we had some really thick fog roll from off the coast which lingered for a couple days. It was strange seeing the stuff for such a long period of time. There was no snow during those days but some really thick frost that stuck to everything. It was pretty much a white New Year but not really. The REAL snow came earlier this morning. It was dry enough to stick to the ground. Most of it has melted now.

The weather has been cold and it's 2016. Our teaching pool has basically evaporated over the Holidays. Those who had their hearts softened have turned them hard again. William is still on board and we're seeing him tonight at 7:00 pm. There is the added pressure from my mission president and my other leaders that I need to make these last couple of weeks of my mission count. It will take a lot of faith and a lot of focus. 

One very bright spot was meeting this really cool guy named Rich who the last missionaries in Poco found shortly before my arrival. He's a nice guy with a great family. To boot, he knows a lot about hockey. So much that it's actually scary. He puts my hockey IQ to shame! He's met a lot of the greats of the game too because one of his in laws used to work for the NHL so he has a lot of connections. Anyway, he has a work friend who is LDS and he's heard a few things like about how we aren't supposed to drink coffee and alcohol. We explained why and gave him a pamphlet to read before our next visit.

Do I have any resolutions for 2016? Not really... to go to school? To get a job? To find someone who will be baptized after my mission? I can't say. Hope everyone has had a great start to the year and hasn't fallen to the post Christmas blues. Till next Monday, farewell!

Elder Maclean Samis

December 28, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

Merry Christmas

Good tidings! This is Elder Samis reporting from Poco. Indeed, Christmas is a wonderful time to be a missionary. During these past 2 years, its been really easy to take a break from all the commercialism and focus on Christmas' true meaning. Not much too exciting happened prior to Christmas Eve but when that special night finally came, we enjoyed the company of the B family. They had a number of relatives over, a few of them not members of the church so that was really nice. There was a big turkey dinner and then an hour of opening presents after.

On Christmas day, Elder Okamoto and I decided to knock on a few doors which we had little luck on. Only one person answered when we tried caroling instead of the regular routine at the doors. It was a clever idea, but not enough people answered to make it effective. We got to the W's Skyped our families and ate another turkey dinner. The celebration of the savior's birth continued into the night with singing carols, and concluded with a spiritual thought from the 2 of us.

It was unfortunate that we had only a few lessons this week. Never the less, we were spoiled rotten by the Poco ward members. We had a meal appointment every day last week. We were gifted food and other wonderful surprises! Over the course of the week Sister P, one of the relief society counselors texted us and told us that they were planning to do a New Years hamper for my companion and I and asked us if we had any requested items. We told her that all we needed was a new set of bed sheets and a blanket. On Sunday, these wonderful sisters gave us a little more then what we requested.

(sorry it's side ways). I just about cried when I saw this. It was indeed humbling to receive it. Oh, there's no doubt I would have hugged every sister in the relief society if I could have. :) Let me tell you though, carrying this into our apartment was a workout on the arms.

It makes me a little sad now that Christmas is over. There is still much to do before my mission wraps up in 3 weeks. Mel has been so-so responsive with our texts. She was sick over Christmas and won't be able to see us until after January 1st. I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas. Please pray for me that I will be able to finish strong to the end. I don't doubt that I can, but the extra support would be much loved and appreciated. Also, happy New Year!

Love from,

Elder Maclean Samis 

December 21, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

My Dear friends and family,

Guess what?? Christmas is this friday! Its been a good week despite the seemingly difficult time we're having trying to talk to as many people as possible. I've been thankful for this time of year to serve the final weeks of my mission. Yesterday we had the wonderful experience of being a part of the Poco Ward Choir and sang a few songs the Sunday before Christmas. After church our bishop held a ward get together at his house and we ate lunch there. It was so great to be among so many great and faithful members in that house! The bishops less active son also had a couple of his non-member friends there and we answered a few questions they had about the church.

On Monday night we had a really special lesson with Melanie. During our lesson about the Plan of Salvation she asked us quite unexpectedly, "So if I were to get baptized, would you be there with me?" We aswered with a yes and invited her to be baptized on the 16th of January, 4 days before my departure from the mission field. She has accepted but unfortunately, she hasn't been heard from since then. We hope she didn't fall on any anti. We'll keep on trying to contact her.

The zone meeting on Wednesday was very special and emotional experience for me. As it was my last zone meeting, I bore my testimony about the atonement and how he has always been right there with me, even in the darkest times of my mission. I felt charged by the spirit afterward.

On Friday night we had a lesson with a former investigator named William. He's a very kind man with a lot of health challenges that have been preventing him from meeting with us. He's from Sudan and considers himself Christian. The last time we saw him, he was concerned about the Book of Mormon and was wondering why we needed it since we already have the bible. However, he read it during the time he's been ill and told us that he feels really good about it. We proceeded to testify of it and then taught him the Plan of Salvation, emphasizing the doctrine of the Resurrection that deeply touched him. He was very grateful for our visit and told us to come back any time!

Late last night Elder Okamoto and I had our plans fall through and were unsure of what to do. Then he suggested we go see Rocky, another former investigator. We did so and he was surprised but quite pleased to see us again. His wife was also there and though she sat in the living room while we spoke to Rocky in the dining room, she seemed to be listening to us. After showing Rocky one of the Christmas videos recently released by the church, they sent us home with a bag of mini oranges! While we're not too sure exactly what the level of interest they have is, we will be sure to know by the end of this week if we should keep teaching them. 

How's the schedule looking for Christmas? Well, the W family has kindly offered to allow us to Skype our families at 3:00 pm MST. Sister W is Skyping her 2 sons, while Elder Okamoto will be talking to both his mom and his step dad at separate times and I'll skype my own! That's a lot of skyping in one home! We plan to have a turkey lunch after. It should be a lot of fun spending a good chunk of our time at the W's. There will probably be some finding on the 25th as well since there are time gaps to fill.

Have a Merry Christmas!
Elder Maclean Samis

December 14, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

We are into the final transfer. 6 more weeks to work myself silly. Not that this is a bad thing of course, I just want to finish strong!

Monday night we taught Melanie, once again with Jared. She feels like God seems to be answering her prayers a lot more clearly, which she is very excited about. She's still pretty shy about coming to our church but we're confident she'll make it soon enough!  

Tuesday evening: We were walking to an appointment that just happened to be across the street from the mall downtown. The mall's parking lot was right across from our view where we heard a nasty crunching noise and saw a brand new white Jeep SUV flying in reverse through the entrance to the parking lot, causing another SUV to slam into a barrier as it swerved out of the way, avoiding what would have been nothing short of a disaster. The Jeep finally stopped on the other side of the parking lot, backing into another car taking out one of it's headlights...

Elder Okamoto and I decided to get close to see if everyone was alright. Turns out there was a family of three in the car. The Mother and her son got out of the car a bit shaken but no worse for ware. The young daughter that was driving the car however had her eyes tightly shut and was sobbing as she buried her face in her hands. A few moments later the mother talked to the man involved in the accident and they sorted things out together while we started talking to the 2 kids. By this point the girl driving got out to get some fresh air, still breathing hard and crying. "It was my first time driving with my learners!" she exclaimed. "Now I don't ever want to drive again!" Her brother and us told her that she didn't need to worry. That all of us make mistakes and now she will know to be more careful.

We felt terrible for her. We wished there was something we could do to help further. As I watched this poor girl, I thought to myself are we not all a bit like this at times? We often do things either by accident or intentionally that may bring harm to ourselves and others and it makes us feel really bad. There is however, one person we can rely on to take away our guilt when we mess up. Then we can walk away and strive to not make the same mistake. In the end, everybody was alright with only a bit of damage done to the 3 cars involved.

Well, with that story out of the way how did the rest of the week go? Well, we taught the O family and cleared up a couple of big concerns. The first was our stance on homo-sexuality and the second was about plural marriage! We were able to give them satisfying answers which they agreed on. This would be the last time we would teach them before they pack up their bags for New York. They won't be coming back until January 9th, 11 days before I return home. When I told then this it seemed to sadden them quite a bit, which made me feel sad as well. I just can't believe how close I am to the end of what has been a remarkable 2 years.

To our disappointment, we got contact with Jignesh by texting him how his Christmas prep was going. Then after he replied that it was going well we asked him if he had read the Book of Mormon and he didn't reply... Guess we'll have to try again some other time.

On Saturday I made a stop back in Surrey to see an excellent stake Christmas Cantana. There were various songs to hear, many of them outside of the hymn book. At the end we stood up and sung the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. It was rather good fun. Elder Okamoto and I have listened to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's version of that quite a lot so we pretty much had it memorized. I'm pretty sure we were the only ones outside of the choir who knew the tune off by heart.

So concludes another week of interesting experiences. You don't really see what's in the world until you serve a mission. It's always really cool to know that God often puts you in position to help comfort people who need it, even if they only need a pat on the back and gentle reassurance. May you all enjoy the Christmas break as we continue another week of growth in the mission field.

Elder Maclean Samis 

December 7, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

Caroling in the Rain  (featuring the S. family)

There seems to have been a lot more people then usual being kind to us ever since we heard the bad news about Jignesh. Elder Okamoto and I will be texting him sometime this week to see how he's doing and determine what to do from there. Last night before we had dinner at a members house we tracked a certain street where we found 3 people who said we could come back and share more!

Transfers have passed and it has been confirmed that I will finish my mission in Port Coquitlam. It's a great thing too because my companion and I are really starting to click with the members of the ward! I was honestly scared of having Christmas so close to the time I go home, but I feel like things have been working out really nicely lately.  There hasn't really been a lot to be discouraged about. 

We've been working with a very kind lady named Mel who was passed to us by the Port Moody Sisters when they discovered she lived in our area. We taught her for the first time on Tuesday with Our ward mission leader's son, Jared, who has been a great help to us since returning from the Canada, Montreal Mission. The lessons he's helped us teach often involve him saying a lot. It is evident that he was an excellent teacher on his mission!

On Wednesday night we saw Jessi and Victor with Brother S. Jessi and her son were sick and Victor has been feeling pretty stressed about work lately so we gave them all priesthood blessings. I marveled at how easily I forgot the words to the annointing part. Guess it had been a while since I had last done it. A few days later, Jessi expressed to us via text that all of them were feeling a lot better!

Early Saturday morning we walked and tracted this one street where a white house with bright yellow trim caught my eye. The spirit told me to go there right away and sure enough, we met a man named Simon! He's a great guy, born in Iran and has lived in North America for 30 years. He apparently investigated the church some years ago but stopped because he ended up moving to Washington for a while.

   

Saturday was also the night of the ward Christmas activity. Before it, we went caroling with the S family which was a lot of fun despite the heavy December rain. I still can't tell you how odd it is seeing rain this time of year. It's Just WRONG. At the party we saw Simon and he brought his son Eli with him. We talked with them during most of the activity. Jessi, Victor, and their kids also came to the party. It seems like almost everyone in the ward knows them so we didn't have to worry about them as they sat with the S and the W families having a great time.

So, after the conclusion of one of my longer emails in a while, I wish you all the best at the start of this holiday season. Cheers and thank you for your prayers and support!

Elder Maclean Samis

November 30, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

A Difficult Week

We come now to the conclusion of what's been a difficult week. Thursday was a delightful day for the devil when we found out during our weekly planning that Jignesh's family did not approve him of being baptized into the church... As discouraging as that kick in the leg was, we didn't let ourselves go into the "Wo is me!" faze. 

We taught Jessie's family on Wednesday with our ward mission leader, Brother S and his wife. When we extended an invite them to get baptized, they got pretty defensive and told us that they were not ready. Even so, it was a good lesson. The S family proved to be great fellow shippers. Brother S was most disappointed when we told him about Jignesh after the lesson. He couldn't believe it! So it appears that the O family won't be baptized during my time as a missionary either, and while there has been no report of anyone I've taught getting baptized for the past seven months, its no excuse to give in and waste the time I have left on my mission with self-pity. Brother S told us that he didn't have any baptisms on his mission to Ireland, yet he has been blessed well throughout his life since.

There are a lot of people we began teaching this week. The most solid of these has been Debora who we dropped in on this past Sunday. She has to be one of the nicer people I've met on my mission! We found her about 3 weeks ago but it had been difficult to get in contact with her since, until yesterday. She's been going through a number of difficulties and we taught her a little about the Plan of Savation. We're pretty sure her husband isn't too thrilled with our visits though...

Yesterday Elder Okamoto and I sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" in sacrament meeting. After some time struggling with following the notes in my first few practices, I was able to work through it and sound pretty good I think. After church we practiced singing a version of "The First Noel"  which seems quite a bit more tricky. That's about it for the week I suppose. Enjoy the first week of December!

Elder Maclean Samis

November 22, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

Frost, Not Snow

The weather continues to get colder as the days pass. For the past few days we've seen a lot of frost on the ground in the morning. The moisture in the air allows it to really build up on the side walks. Elder Okamoto has never seen frost in his life so he's been having fun with the sight of white! We haven't seen any snow yet but I've been hearing that there's some snow in the forecast this Tuesday.

So as November draws to a close, so ends another week. Jignesh is still doing great! We've taught him about family history and temple work, which he is very interested in doing one day in the future. He says he's been having a lot of problems with his permanent residence so he'll probably move to the States in a few months. Fortunately, he will be baptized by then!

Now to tell you of a couple of fun little experiences I had this week with a family in the ward. I will call them the D. family. They are originally from Fiji but have longed since moved to Canada. Brother D's mother passed the week before so he had a family gathering as they prepared for the funeral. Brother D., who has been very positive about the trial, requested that Elder Okamoto and I come over and share a gospel principle with them. It should be noted that none of the members of his family are members of the church. Some are Hindu, others belonging to other Christian faiths.

After a few moments of visiting with the family, I went into my missionary ways of thinking and asked everybody at once; "So what were you expecting from meeting with the missionaries?" Brother D. to my great alarm informed me "actually they weren't expecting a spiritual thought." Feeling now incredibly uncomfortable and seeing now that many of the family members were as well, we decided to proceed anyway... I said a prayer and then we began to teach the principle of God is our loving heavenly father to a gathering of 10 Fijians. It was about 5 minutes long and when I closed in the name of Jesus Christ, everyone with great relief and gratitude responded with an "Amen" of their own! I'm pretty sure they were really pleased that we didn't "preach" a big long boring sermon or something. Brother D. was very pleased and invited us to come over on Sunday for another short message.

We did so and this time we shared the "Because of Him" video the church put on about the message of Christ's Resurrection. We bore our testimony that one day we will be free of the sorrow and pain that comes to us whenever we lose those we love. This time there was a number of members attending the gathering so it seemed a lot easier then last time. After that was a Fijian potluck with all kinds of tasty curries, meats, and noodles. We visited as we ate for a while then moved on finishing the week strong.

That covers the more interesting events of the week. Hope you're all staying warm during this season of cold weather. Till Monday, farewell!

Elder Maclean Samis   

November 16, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

Learning to Sing (sort of)

So passes another week in the Canada, Vancouver Mission. The weather continues to be cold and mostly wet. The week was a little disappointing in terms of teaching. There's Jignesh of course who is progressing fast enough to the point that we are considering moving his baptismal date to the end of November! He has a solid friend in the ward now, Brother J. who says he would be honored to be the one to baptize him!

The main event that have been going on in the life on Elder Samis lately is the fact that I'm forcing myself to do something I never thought would interest me a whole lot: Singing in public! This past Saturday was the "Poco's Got Talent" party at the church. Elder Okamoto and I sang the youth song "I Can Do All things." Its a nice tune, one about relying on the Savior. Elder Okamoto loves singing. He was in choir for 9 years back home so it's no secret to why he volunteered to do it.

I can't sing well, but I do like singing. In the days before my mission I loved singing along to my favorite songs, like almost every young adult you can think of do. I basically forced myself to join Elder Okamoto, and after a couple days of practicing, we performed. I sang the first verse of the song and it sounded alright, though there were a few members who said that I looked deathly nervous on the stage... So I probably did. I hate being in the spotlight.

Then the next day my companion decided it would be fun to sing in the ward choir after church. I did that too. I was a tenor and I had a pretty tough time trying to figure out what my notes were as we sang the hymn, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." After that number we sang "The First Noel." which we will be singing the Sunday before Christmas.

But wait, there's more! Last night while we traveled to the Surrey Stake Priesthood Meeting, one of the senior sisters from the mission office called us and asked if we would like to sing in the upcoming zone conference this Saturday. Elder Okamoto wanted to of course, so following the example of my companion, I decided to do the same... Maybe one day I'll learn how to sing parts. We shall see. Speaking of which, Elder Teh of the seventy will be speaking during that meeting so I guess the pressure will really be on. Thank goodness there will be 24 missionaries singing in the choir!

So, there are a few fun little stories about how I'm learning how to sing in the twilight hours of my mission. I did sing a couple times with Elder Lamb when I was in Abbotsford too.  Oddly enough I believe it was around this time last year that I was doing so.

In short, Jignesh continues to look real solid, I've been singing a lot, and we have had a couple of really good potentials surface. We'll see how that goes. thank you for your thoughts and prayers throughout my mission. May the Lord bless you as we near winter's wrath. Cheers!

Elder Maclean Samis 

    

November 9, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

Like Coal Under Pressure

There's a lot of words that I could use to describe a week like this one. Exciting, stressful, busy, difficult, humbling, tough, joyful, you get the idea. At the start of the week, our zone leaders committed us to hit what our mission calls "the standards of excellent". I'll explain how this works simply and clearly:

In order to hit these standards, you must have the following by the end of the week:

-4 New investigators

-2 investigators at church

-8 lessons taught with a member present

-140 conversations about the gospel (20 is the daily standard)

These are used to set a bar that will make us stretch, and for the past 8-9 weeks before this one, my companions and I have been unable to hit it. I can't go over all the events that got us to the point of meeting these standards this past week but I will share what's been important.

We taught Jignest the word of wisdom, which he is practically living already anyway. He says that his parents drink tea daily but he's never known why people "have to do it." As an add on, we taught him the 10 commandments which he also fully agrees on. We asked him about baptism and we got a usual response, he's "thinking about it."

Saturday was a wild one indeed. at 12:00 pm we had an investigator that we had found the day before which was looking really solid fall through on us. The member who was with us, Roque was kind enough to take us to another place to teach someone else if we could. Elder Okamoto decided to call Jignesh to meet right away and he agreed even though he was in the public library in Port Moody. We had to call the zone leaders for permission to go there since it was out of our area and they allowed us. We read 2 Nephi 31 with him to build his faith further in baptism and assigned him to read 32 before our next meeting.

That evening, we taught Jessie for the first time in 2 months. We were figuring that it's time to give her another try. She and her husband were taught by us and a wonderful couple named the Woodwords who seemed to teach a lot of the lesson for us. It was great! Jessie even got pretty emotional, but for whatever the reason they didn't come to church...

The great news is, Rocky came and so did Jignesh that Sunday. With the need of a couple more member present lessons left for the week at that point, we decided to do something bold. I took Roque and Jignesh while I left Elder Okamoto with Rocky and we taught mini lessons. I decided during this short lesson to ask Jignesh how he had been feeling about the idea of being baptized. He said that he feels like he's getting close, very close! I explained to him that if he were to be baptized, there wouldn't be a need to rush him. We could work towards December 5th and as that date got closer we could see how prepared he felt. His answer was Yes! My tense worry was replaced with relief and joy! How amazing can the results be when you do something the Lord knows you're uncomfortable with!

So it was we hit the standards of excellence. It wasn't easy. We had to deal with a number of cancelled appointments, a huge number of unanswered phone calls, rushing everywhere, and other obstacles. Our work payed off and I'm grateful the Lord allowed it to be so. As much as this week made me feel like coal under pressure, I'm glad to say that this week has helped me become a little shinier. God is good and so is the work! Please pray that Jignesh will be able to make his baptism date! Have a great week all!

Elder Maclean Samis 

Elder Samis with Downtown Port Coquitlam in the background

November 2, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

The Korean Planner

Welcome to a another report from the field! The rain has really come this week and it appears it wants to stay. It's been so cold over the last couple days that I had to get out my big grey wool jacket and boy I tell ya, that thing works well against the rain and cold!

We've taught a few lessons here and there but we would have loved to have taught a lot more.  Unfortunately, we had some lessons set up with people we met that fell through. We met Jignesh on Friday and taught him about the Sabbath and he wants to live it, though, he ended up not making it to church on Sunday again... sigh, the work goes on.

And what happened on Halloween? Not much. We had a couple of lessons set up during the afternoon but found out the member that was to join us had to cancel, as it turned out the people we were supposed to see were no shows anyway. Funny little story here though, we plan from 6:00 pm-9:00 pm and just before we planned I realized I didn't have a new planner for the new transfer. Elder Okamoto bailed me out by giving me one of his planners. The only problem was the entire thing was in Korean! 😁 I had no reason to be alarmed though because though I don't know a lick of Korean I am totally familiar with the layout of the planner so I can figure out where I need to write everything. Looks like I'll be using it the rest of the transfer!

On Sunday we taught an Iranian man named Shawn at the church. He's a really nice guy, we called him from one of our potential lists and he wanted to meet with us the very same day! He didn't have long to meet, so we taught him a little about the restoration. We will see him again this Wednesday.   

I'm sure you're wondering about Emily and Lei and unfortunately, the news isn't all that good. When we called them early this week to set up an appointment, Emily told me that they would be really busy and that they would study things on their own when they could find the time. Perhaps we didn't explain our purpose as well as we should have because they seem to be treating our meetings a bit casually. Non the less, we will give them a call soon and see what we can do about setting another appointment up. Wish us luck, and pray for us till then! Hope everyone has a good first week of November. Till next Monday from Coquitlam, farewell.

Elder Maclean Samis

October 26, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

Last Companion?

Here we are at the beginning of another transfer! Elder Okamoto arrived here Wednesday morning and Elder Nielsen was off to what was I'm sure a long haul to Nanaimo.

After just 2 hours of being together, we went and taught Emily and Lei. This lesson went a lot better then the last. We were able to teach clearer and Sister L, our fellowshipper, had to do less translating then the last visit. Once we had finished teaching the restoration, I asked them if they get a good feeling when they read the Book of Mormon. Emily replied that she had. Then we explained that's how the Holy Ghost works. Emily and Lei now suspect that God is truly there. It's really cool to see how much more they understand when they read the Book of Mormon compared to before. They're such a sweet family! Pray they'll get baptized!

We also met with Jignesh Friday morning. We'll probably have to teach him about keeping the sabbath holy because he hasn't been going to church lately. He knows the church is true though, we jsut need to start commiting him to live the commandments.

Well, since I've only been here 5 weeks, I don't know the area well. I have this bad habbit of just thinking I know where I'm driving to and then realize I don't. Elder Okamoto is my 15th companion (including the MTC)  and according to what President Burt told him in an interview, he will likely be my last... That would be nice because I feel like I change companions really often. I was with Elder Nielsen for only 5 short weeks after all! I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I'm glad I'll likely not have any more companions because it puts a bit of stress on you when you're the only one who knows about the area.  

How's my new companion? He's great! As I mentioned he is from Las Vegas and was assigned here from Korean work. There's quite a few Koreans in Poco which makes his linguistic skills come in handy! His Father was half Korean and half Japanese while his mother is Caucasian and was born in the US. He didn't know any Korean before his mission. He says that since I'm his first Canadian companion and he just got out of Korean and is in English work, sometimes he hears me say things that make no sense to him. 😁 Non the less he's a great guy. Amazingly faithful since he has only been a member of the church for 2 and a half years. He's also the only church member in his family.

I'll end this email by sending out a happy birthday to my younger sister Samantha who turns 19 on Halloween and my Grandma who turns 75 on November 1st! Its been amazing having both of you as such great members of the family. I love you so much and miss you both! Have great birthdays. To the rest of you, have a great week!

Elder Maclean Samis

October 19, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

The Five Week Transfer

I don't think I ever mentioned the fact that this transfer has been 5 weeks long. I don't know the exact reason why but I've heard that there's some kind of big mission conference coming up.

I'm staying here in Port Coquitlam and Elder Nielsen is going to Nanaimo to train! He'll probably be there for the rest of my mission. Only 2 transfers to go before I fly home... its just unreal to think about, and it makes me want to work ever harder to finish strong. Elder Okamoto will be my new companion and perhaps my last. He's from Las Vegas, though his family came from Korea before then, and he is coming from Korean work in Coquitlam to English work as my companion. He sure didn't have to come far! Elder Nielsen will be leaving on Wednesday.

When Elder Nielsen told a bunch of the ward members he was leaving, the dinner invites poured in. We ate twice yesterday, once at the Woodward's for lunch after church and then at Bishop Ashton's for dinner! The members have made it very clear that they have been grateful for all Elder Nielsen's work. Ill miss him too and I'm excited that he's going to a place I once called home. I left that place in August last year. 14 months have past since then.

How did the teaching before the transfer go? We had a few appointment's with formers, here and there (we usually do, though I don't mention them a lot.) The main and most important lesson was with Sister Wu's Chinese friends, Emily and Lei. They speak a little English and my companion and I tried really hard to explain things like the fall of Adam and Eve, and God being our Father, and a number of other things that made little sense to them since they really have no clear concept of who God is. It was tough and I was quite nervous before the lesson. Thanks to Sister Wu's Mandarin, they understood at least some of it. We'll be having another visit with them on Wednesday.

That's the meaningful news of the week. Wish me well as I continue to labor in Poco with a new companion. Have a great week everyone!

Elder Maclean Samis  

October 13, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

Stuffed for Thanksgiving

Happy belated Thanksgiving! its been a true blessing to be in missionary service this time of year. Between yesterday and Sunday Elder Nielsen and I were appreciating the 3 turkey dinners prepared by the great families here in the ward. Sunday evening after a long fast we went from being super hungry to really full. Sister Nourabuena had a group of relatives over at the time and she fed us a large amount of turkey, salad, and potatoes.

I finished that easier then I thought I would, but after that the Goddard family fed us a great big plate of turkey, ham, stuffing, cheese potatoes, and ice cream with pumpkin pie for desert. I probably finished a 3rd of that and would have been sick if I ate more. I felt bad I didn't finish it but they didn't seem to mind. Elder Nielsen finished his but got sick during the night. He woke up in the middle of the night and just about threw up.

Sister Wu fed us a turkey lunch on Monday. Along with the turkey there was a spicy Indonesian soup of some kind that was delicious. By the way, Sister Wu's son Corban is going on his mission to Manila in the Philippines.

With all these dinners now past, there will likely be more come late November providing I have an American companion! The ward seems to want to see if they can make me fat before I go home! Physically, I don't think I've changed much at all on my mission. When you see me in person, I'll probably just look like the same scrawny kid I was before. Beyond the lunch though, the rest of the day was tough. Tracting wasn't doing a whole lot for us, so we moved on to street contacting where there was barely anyone walking around in the rain.

Well, enough about the dinners- oh wait nevermind, there's more. On Friday the Rodrigues family had a baptism for their son Oscar who just turned 8. There was a huge taco dinner afterward and a bunch of their friends and family showed up, many of them not members of the church. We had some great conversations with them and explained a lot of what we do. Sister Wu invited one of her friends, Emily who has taken quite a bit of interest in the church! We'll be teaching her the first lesson on Thursday. Emily's family lives right inbetween the Rodrigues and Bishop Ashton oddly enough, so there's already plenty of fellowship.

Jignesh has been progressing slowly but effectively. He went to regular sacrament meeting for the first time on Sunday and he's made a lot of friends. He loves what the church teaches and promotes and wants to invite his family to join him in his investigation. Thus ends another week in the field. I hope you all enjoy the coming week.

Elder Maclean Samis

October 5, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

Money on the Prophet

Things this week started off rather odd. It seemed like we were working hard but not talking to enough people and hardly teaching any lessons. We failed to get a hold of William, left a voice mail and he hasn't replied yet. We were able to meet again with Jesse last Monday but she didn't end up going to conference.

With our weekly results pretty bad, thankfully, the end of the week got better as we saw some conference miracles over the weekend. On Thursday morning we met with an Indian man named Jignesh. Elder Nielsen taught him with his last companion and he was looking really solid until a heavy schedule and a sickness overtook him. We told him about general conference and he came to all 4 sessions! He loved it! So much of it rang true to him. We'll be meeting him next weekend as he is still a busy man during the week days. He apparently showed clips of the conference to his family and explained a lot about the apostles and prophets.

Leah also came to the conference with her friend Ember and she enjoyed it as well. You can put your money on the prophet to allow your investigators to have a spiritual experience. With that in mind, let me share a couple lines from President Dieter F Uchtdorf: "Don't we often feel that discipleship is more complicated then it needs to be?" he said in the opening session on Saturday. I sure feel that way. The other little line I loved from him was in the priesthood session which said: "It's easy to be skeptical, anyone can do it." I'm probably one of the more skeptical people I know! For the record, President Uchtodorf is my favorite current general authority. I love all of them, but what he says always seems to speak to me so well.

After the priesthood session, our ward mission leader Brother Soll invited us over for a quick bite to eat. His daughter's boyfriend who is not a member came to the priesthood session and came to the house with us. His name is Harry and he seems to really like the church. He's down to start taking the lessons and the Soll family is very pleased!

We also managed to find Peter after a lot of knocking late in the week! He was amazed we were able to find him. He gave us his phone number and said we could call early this week. He's the father of a young family.

So ends another week in the mission. It seems like we've been rewarded. I'm so thankful that we could see some fruit from our works and faith. As Sister Merriot said in the conference, "It all works out!" Now its time to move forward and help the ward see some baptisms. Just so you're aware, its thanksgiving weekend and the library will be closed so don't expect any emails from me until next Tuesday. Enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend. I may not be home for this one but I will be for the next!

Elder Maclean Samis

September 28, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

Its a beautiful morning in Coquitlam. Here I am once more after another week in the mission. The more and more I'm here, the more my feelings of inadequacy are present. The past few days have been exhausting.

We were unable to see either Leah or Jesse this week. Both of them have busy lives, though Leah did go with her church friend to the General Women's Broadcast Saturday evening, and she really liked it. I suppose you can put your money on the prophet if you want to have a meaningful spiritual experience!

The only lesson we taught the first half of the week was to a man named William. He's Sudanese and is a strong believer in Christ despite the tough circumstances he's been put in. When we taught him the Restoration he didn't seem to like the Book of Mormon very much. He didn't like that it was adding to the bible and that what we were teaching was more about Joseph Smith then Jesus. In short, almost every common Christian's concern about Mormons. Then the member we were teaching him with spoke up, and explained that the bible and Book or Mormon were like 2 nails. A sign was the gospel. If you nail in one (the bible) in the middle of the sign to a wall, you can swing the sign right or left easily. If you nail both the nails one to each top corner however, the sign will not shift, but stay in one place. We bore testimony, and after a bit of thought, William excepted the invitation to read it!

We also taught a guy named Eric who loves football. He's played a year with the BC Lions and now he coaches a high school team as a hobby. He grew up in a church but didn't go to church very often. We taught him the Restoration and things were going great until his wife walked in the apartment. Eric said "Hey honey these are my friends, Elder Samis and Elder Nielsen! They're Mormon missionaries" She forced herself to be polite and said "ok that's great", though the 3 of us knew she was thinking otherwise. She went away to a bedroom and didn't come out.

Beyond these 2 visits, we've visited a few members, and went finding a ton Friday till Sunday. With the streets in downtown Coquitlam not very busy these days, we went tracting a lot. We were given a potential investigator named Peter who is really interested, but they only got the street he lived on,which was really long, so we went right ahead and knocked out the entire street. Despite being out 20 months, I'm still finding it really difficult to find the words I need to say, to talk to people. Elder Nielsen doesn't have this problem and quite often seems to be taking over the conversation as soon as there's a couple seconds of silence. Its a crippling feeling, and it seems like no matter how often I study the lessons and pray to have the spirit tell me what I should say when I need to, it doesn't come to me very easily.

Its a good thing general conference is coming up soon because maybe I'll find my answer on how to fix this really irritating problem. On top of that, the Quorum of the 12 needs 3 new apostles, so this will perhaps be the most interesting general conference I've lived to see. It will also be the last I'll watch on my mission. With this week finished, I thank you for your thoughts and prayers. If it weren't for them, I don't believe I could serve a mission. Have a great week!

Elder Maclean Samis 

    

September 21, 2015 - Area 5: Port Coquitlam

Area 5:  Port Coquitlam

So it begins. After a couple more days in Surrey, it was time to pack up and move on. Wednesday afternoon Elder Nielson and I were in my new area which will quite likely be my last. 

Port Coquitlam has been a great place to be so far. It's a lot smaller then Surrey and sits close to the mountains. It's also probably as diverse as Surrey but with a lot more Chinese people than Indian. Our apartment is actually right by downtown Coquitlam. We cover all of downtown which makes it nice and easy for us to street contact. The name "Coquitlam" is apparently a Native word that means "stinky fish"  because for whatever the reason, the fish that come out of the nearby river smell unpleasant.  

The members? They've been terrific so far! We helped them out with the annual BC food drive on Saturday, in which we put the bags that had been donated on scales to weigh them most of the time. The members seem really warm and friendly, especially when I told them I was Canadian.

Elder Nielson is from Logan, Utah. He loves sports (like pretty much everyone down there) I was pleasantly surprised however, when he mentioned that he liked watching hockey too! He seems to take the work very seriously and the members of the ward love him. He knows what he's doing even though he's only been out 3 months. Elder Lopez taught him well.

Our teaching pool has been looking very good so far. We've been seeing this Filipino guy named Noel who had a baptismal date, but for reasons that are hard to explain, we don't know if he should be. He goes on tangents a lot and never really seems to respond well to the questions we ask him.

Among others is Leah, a 16 year old Chinese girl who comes from a Christian family but wants to know if there is a single church that's completely true. She has a friend who is her same age named Ember, a member of the church who is also from a Chinese family. Her mom loves feeding the missionaries! Leah has instant fellowship, which will surely help her progression a lot. We shared a brief review of the restoration with her to make sure she understood it well. She's a little concerned about the need of priesthood authority, but she's willing to pray about it to figure out if such a thing is needed.

There's also Jessie, the mother of a Mexican family who has been taught on and off for quite a while. She loves the missionaries but says that it seems to be taking a long time for her to get an answer on whether or not the Book of Mormon is true and if she must be baptized.

 Yesterday we went to Bishop Ashton's house for dinner. He lives in a large house that overlooks a lot of the Greater Vancouver area. You can see Surrey from up on the hill. Bishop Ashton was called to be bishop over the ward the Sunday before I came in. He's got a daughter that's getting ready to put her papers in for a mission soon, so missionary work is truly "a big deal" to him. 

It appears that my time in this city will likely be a very good one. There are lots of people to bless and a lot left to learn as the twilight of my mission appears to have arrived. We need to sustain this teaching pool and baptize some people before the time is spent. We'll need the direction of the spirit more then ever before. Too often have I gone into investigator's homes, not knowing quite what to say. I guess that just means I'll have to pray harder for the spirit to discern what our investigators need. So ends the first week in a new area. Talk to you all next week!

Elder Maclean Samis

September 14, 2015 - Area 4: Surrey East

Another Challenge Begins

Hey all! So, I think I forgot to mention last week that transfer calls were coming. Sure enough, they came Saturday night. Suddenly I am about to leave Surrey and will be transferred to Port Coquitlam, likely on Wednesday. To my irritation, I can't figure out a way to save a screenshot to show you where it is on a map since those who don't live in BC probably don't know where it is, but its actually just across the bridge to the northern side of the river from Surrey, and east of Burnaby meaning I'll still be within the greater Vancouver boundaries. Fun little fact, my old companion Elder Burns is coming to join Elder Shelley and Elder Tolman. He goes home in 2 and a half months.

President Burt has assigned me to follow-up train Elder Nelson who has been out for only a transfer. I'm really excited for it! I've been told that I'll be in the same stake as Surrey but in the Langley zone. Though I know it won't be easy, I believe I was placed in Surrey to prepare for this task.

What of this final week? We've still been trying to help Ian. We met with him once and his testimony appears to be growing,but at seems like a snail-like pace. We've been having some trouble contacting Jamie to set a time to meet with him. We sent him a few texts a couple days ago and just early this morning he finally replied.

We also got a phone number from the Coquitlam Elders (*it should be noted that Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam are 2 seperate places right next to each other) that belonged to this crazy guy who wanted us to meet him in Holland Park. We did, and pretty much the entire time he bragged about how his bible contained the 2nd and 3rd books of Ezra and a bunch of other writings that were not found in the King James Bible. He was offering to print off the 3rd book of Ezra and charged us some money to do it. Only Elder Shelley bought a copy but Elder Tolman and I didn't bother. We tried sharing about The Book of Mormon but he kept on talking about the bible.

Those who have been following this blog regularly are probably getting the message that being here in Surrey has been a refiners fire. With these great trials that have fallen upon me, its time to move on. I'll be forever grateful for this sacred time I've experienced these 4 and a half short months in this city. You may hate trials in their moment, but when you look back on it, all is well and you've been shaped to something amazing because of them.

And now suddenly here I go, down to what will likely be my final area in my full time mission. I know almost nothing of my area or my companion. One sister missionary who had served some around the area found out I was going there and told me it was a "cute little town" with some nice scenery and a lot of rain. The assistants who gave the call also told me that the area was "booming" which would be very welcoming indeed. 

The next couple days will likely be very busy as I get ready to go. Enjoy The last bit of summer-oh wait I guess school just started didn't it. Love ya bye!

Elder Maclean Samis      

September 8, 2015 - Area 4: Surrey East

Saying Goodbye To John

Hey everybody! Sorry this email is late. Its been a wild day so far. Yesterday, being labor day, meant that the church employment center was closed which disallowed us to email. I went to Abbotsford for a doctors appointment after a temple trip in Langley this morning.

This will probably be a pretty short. Yesterday Ian came to church and the day before we had another meeting with him to see how he was doing. Is Ian making much progress? In our eyes, not really but perhaps in the eyes of the Lord. We passed Joshua off the the Langley Elders and they had a lesson with him the other night. We haven't heard how it went since we asked them just a few hours before the appointment started. 

On Friday we came across the name Jamie in our area book. We invited Jamie to our ward corn roast that kicks off tonight at 5:00 pm. He replied to our text saying that he was taught by missionaries in 2003 though, he can't remember what he learned from them. He said that he would come to the activity. We taught him the restoration the following day and it was a solid lesson. The idea of the great apostasy makes a lot of sense. He loves the idea of new prophets as well!

Another big event was the mission farewell of our beloved friend, John B. He's been going out with the missionaries in the ward pretty much daily. He had an open house Sunday night and there was a ton of people there. We'll miss him a lot and we wish him well in his mission Cebu in the Philippines. He leaves tomorrow morning. I know perfectly well that you want a photo with him, so here you go! John is in the gray suit and his mother and younger sister are in the bottom left corner:

It's truly hard to believe that a year ago this past week I left Nanaimo and was placed in Abbotsford. The 20th month of my mission is here (not that I'm counting or anything). Hope you've enjoyed your labor day weekend and the start of the new month. Bye for now!

Elder Maclean Samis