February 16, 2015 - Area 2: Clearbrook (Abbotsford)

How to Spend a Preparation Day

   

For the first time on my mission I had the chance to participate in a tourist attraction. Here's a shot at Cascade falls which we went to earlier today. Its about 20 mins outside of Mission and features a drawbridge that spans across a brook and past a waterfall. Later today we took a look at the West Minister Roman Catholic monastery that sits on a hill just outside of Mission. Unfortunately it was closed to the public for the day. Here's a view of the chapel: 

Now to begin the account of last week: Our friend Sonny who showed up at church last week has pretty much disappeared for the time being. When we called his home, a woman answered who told us that he was in India. Not sure why Sonny didn't tell us this before, but its just the way things are. 

Monday night we taught Theresa at the Taylor's place after we ate dinner. She hadn't read the Book of Mormon or remembered much about the lesson we taught her last week so we went over it all again. She wanted to come to church but she called us and sent us a voice mail. In a painfully scratchy voice she told us that she had a nasty case of bronchitis and wasn't able to make it. 

As for Faron, we taught him on Thursday when I exchanged with Elder Butler. It seemed difficult to stay on pace with the lesson and he talked a ton. He said that he would come to church but ended up backing out for some unknown reason last minute.

We taught James on Friday but he seemed to have trouble when we tried teaching him the Plan of Salvation. He's been taught everything at least several times but still doesn't want to get baptized. According to Elder Nielsen who taught him a while ago, he's just not ready right now.

Garry finally came to church again! We also taught Carol and both of them have been doing well. Garry is continuing to fit in the church quite well. He's back on track! 

Well with our teaching pool getting flushed down the drain yet again, a transfer is just around the corner. As always, I have no idea if I will be staying or going.  If a move occurs, I predict that I will be transferred somewhere in the interior. Perhaps a place with snow. Talk to you then!

Elder Maclean Samis   

February 9, 2015 - Area 2: Clearbrook (Abbotsford)

Counting Car Crashes

Its been a great week! There is much to talk about and little time. We taught Theresa the 1st lesson Monday evening and she's still willing to keep meeting with us. 

Wednesday, we taught a former named Erica with our good friend, Brother Newman. She's a little older then Elder Johnson and I and has always held to some kind of belief about God but isn't really sure what kind of purpose he gives us and why. Well, we've helped her find out by teaching her the first lesson and leaving her a Book of Mormon. She marveled at how little she knew about God, Jesus Christ and the prophets of the bible. She's excited for our next visit.   

Thursday we saw Garry who seems to be doing pretty well, but is also slipping away from attending church. He keeps on saying he wants to come but for some reason isn't. 

Friday we did a lot of hours of service. We helped Brother Gauthier move some stuff around in his garage since he's still recovering from back surgery. After that we went over to Brother Candia's and helped him cut down a tree in his front yard. Elder Johnson and I put a rope on the tree pulled on it as Brother Candia cut it down with a chain saw. Unfortunately, my pull wasn't strong enough and a stronger wind ended up causing it to fall directly onto the neighbors' driveway. No damage was done and luckily there wasn't any cars there! The tree was then sawed into pieces and we moved them from the neighbors' driveway and onto the Candias'

Saturday we got an unexpected call from Elder Rolfson (now an assistant to president Burt) and his companion Elder Hay. They wanted to come in and blitz exchange our area. It was a very happy reunion with Elder Rolfson and its been great knowing Elder Hay better. I had only met him once when I went to stay at the Burnaby Chinese Elder's place overnight for a transfer meeting. He says that his Chinese is already starting to leave him a little now that he's back in English work.

Anyhow, I split with Elder Rolfson after the 4 of us ate dinner at Subway. The plan was to go to visit Brother Bernaker (who lives in the same home as Brother Gauthier) and waite for our investigator Faron to meet us there but he never came. Perhaps it was a good thing too, because during our chat, the phone rang and Elder Johnson told us that him and Elder Hay got in a car accident. They were at fault. Nobody was hurt but the front assistants' car had been badly damaged. They somehow managed to drive the thing safely back to our apartment. We left and met them back there. They had called the president and he told them not to drive the car back to Richmond.   

Sunday morning while Elder Rolfson was backing OUR car out GUESS WHAT? Someone backed up, not paying any attention despite Elder Johnson screaming at the guy and hitting his car to stop and ran into our bumper, cracking it slightly. We couldn't believe it! 2 accidents involving 2 assistants in 2 days... Fortunately, Elder Rolfson had no fault in this one. Later that night we had a tow truck come and pick up the assistant's car. This has been the 3rd accident I've had to be a part of on my mission. 1 in Nanaimo, 2 in Clearbrook. Luckily the ones I have been involved in have not been our fault and not severe at all.    

Well, despite the car chaos, we did have a couple of huge miracles occur in church. Just before church started, we met a 24 year old man from one of the Protestant churches in town. His name is Sonny and he told us that a while back he found a Book of Mormon in a library and began reading it. He became fascinated with it and eventually decided to find out the location of our church in Abbotsford so he could attend a sacrament meeting. He didn't go to the other 2 blocks since he was busy with other personal matters but said that he really liked the meeting and he wants to have us teach him more about the church.  

The second miracle that day was the fact that one of the areas former investigators, who hasn't come to church long before I entered the area showed up! His name is James and he knows a ton about the church already since his mother is a member in Burnaby. There's a good chance that he'll get baptized soon! 

With the exception of having to deal with these accidents, it has been a very good week. I should note that according to Elder Rolfson, Elder Lamb is doing amazing in White Rock! He's baptizing someone in the area for the first time in well over a year this week! Have a great week everyone! 

Transfer calls are next Monday so stay tuned. 

Elder Maclean Samis  

February 2, 2015 - Area 2: Clearbrook (Abbotsford)

No Greater Joy Then That of Service

It's pleasing to report that perhaps we are going to find success in Clearbrook. Things began when we called Teresa on Wednesday to confirm her appointment. She told us that she was busy cleaning an apartment that belonged to one of her friend's who had moved away a few days earlier. We offered her some help and instead of having a lesson with her, we did some service! Teresa was indeed grateful and wants to meet with us again soon.

Wednesday we went to Garry's place and things seem to really be calming down now. His girlfriend is doing better and he says that he can turn his attention more to learning the gospel. I asked him if Carol has ever thought about learning with him. Must have been an inspired question, he told us that she did! She had been asking a few questions about what he's been learning during the days she was unstable. He told her that it was really not much different from what his church teaches. It seems like the 2 of them have been drawn really close to each other in this time of trouble. It's our hope that times like this will strengthen their relationship and they'll have a desire to get married! The only downside is that Garry has relapsed with the word of wisdom. This was pretty expected and we'll keep on praying for him. 

Friday night I went on every missionary's dream exchange! I went with Elder Petillot to Mission and we woke up the next morning thinking that it was going to be an ordinary day with nothing but personal finding. Turned out to be the opposite. Remember that member family I mentioned a couple weeks ago named the Herd's? Well, we helped them finish the last of their move by moving out a couple of loads of stuff to their new place and then scrubbed their floors.

We went home and ate lunch after, only to receive a call from another member requesting a helping hand. His name was Ron and he joined the church 4 years ago. One of the missionaries who baptized him was from Edmonton. Ron loves dogs enough to own 4 of them, 3 of them Siberian Huskys. We spent a lot of time replanting some trees in his yard. Then Elder Petillot fixed something on his roof. When our work was done, he took us out for dinner to one of his favorite restaurants. The pizza there was awesome! So was the freshly brewed rootbeer.

During this exchange Elder Johnson and Elder Butler managed to find success on their exchange. They taught our old buddy Chris who suddenly seems to have a bit more intent. Sara wasn't there but he told us that she had been wanting to meet with us when she could.

On top of these things, we're seeing more and more potential in our area. We're off to a great start to the new month with January beaten. The Lord appears to be rewarding us for staying strong and enduring. The transfer is already half over! Life sometimes just doesn't feel real! Hope everyone is having a great start to February. If not lighten up! Won't be long till spring comes now. Bye for now!  

Elder Maclean Samis  

January 26, 2014 - Area 2: Clearbrook (Abbotsford)

The 2nd Year Begins...

January 21, 2014 is a day I will never forget for the rest of my life. The day I left for the MTC. Much has changed in that time and here I am, just past my year mark in a seemingly rough time for my companion and I. Poor Elder Johnson had to see the doctor and was diagnosed with bronchitis on Wednesday and has been sick for a while. He just finished his anti-biotics and he's been doing a lot better. 

Our teaching pool continues to sit empty with Garry in a reflection process. In my previous letter I forgot to mention him. His girlfriend had a heart attack at the beginning of last week and has returned from the hospital since then but has still been not feeling well. Garry has been under a lot of stress as a result and he ended up missing church this week and the last. 

Thus, we did a lot of finding this week. On Tuesday while I was on an exchange out in Mission, Elder Johnson and Elder Mahabeer found a lady named Teressa who seems keen to learn. We'll be seeing her on Tuesday. The exchange for Elder Orr and I was a good one. I met one of their investigators with a baptismal date. His name is Shane and it appears that once he's quit smoking, he'll get baptized for sure! We also moved a family out with the Mission East Elders which was good fun.

We haven't been able to talk to Sara since our last visit. She doesn't have a phone and we're not allowed to meet in the place she's staying in at the moment. Chris has been busy and told us over the phone that he doesn't want to pull her away from the things she's been having to deal with so we have no choice but to just pray that there'll be a way to get to her somehow... Wednesday the 22nd was the official day of our year mark so we went to Dairy Queen to celebrate, other then that it was a fairly normal day.

Thursday we had a special zone training in the church's high council room where we heard from Sister Burt and the assistants while President Burt interviewed each of us. After Sister Burt did a role play with one of the Chilliwack sisters, she turned to me and ask the question "Elder Samis, at the start of your mission, how did you feel knowing that you had to talk to complete strangers all the time?"  I replied, "I thought, how on earth am I going to do this?" It made me further reflect on how far I've been able to come. Only through God has such a thing been possible. Sister Burt went on to explain that just because you're a missionary doesn't mean that you don't have to be yourself. We were encouraged to show enthusiasm and energy when we talk to someone.  

Sunday night we went to dinner at the Hara's place. Then we saw Brother Gauthier and a less active friend of his named Gerald who has been living in his place for a couple months. He told us that he's ready to come back to church and to come out teaching with us! He's originally from Ontario and he said that he would go teaching with the elders there all the time. 

So far 2015 hasn't been very kind to us. I don't know why things have happened the way they have been lately but I know that there's someone else who does. They say that January is a difficult time of the year for a lot of people. That may be true but things are the way they are. Hang on everybody, the month is almost gone! 

Elder Maclean Samis          

January 19, 2015 - Area 2: Clearbrook (Abbotsford)

SLOWLY BUT SURELY

This week we went finding... a lot. Elder Johnson and I have been doing what we can to find those who are ready to hear about the gospel. We've found several potentials, but there isn't any telling where they'll end up save it be one.

The most solid of these was a Native woman named Sara who was actually referred to us by Chris, a long time investigator. Elder Lamb and I had met her briefly the last time we went to Chris' place. She popped out of another room and introduced herself but disappeared as quickly as she came. We saw Chris on Friday and he asked us permission to have Sara join in the lesson. The answer was yes of course!

Sara is quite a remarkable woman. She was born in Fort McMurray but moved to BC when she was two. She's a childhood friend of Chris' and has worked her way out of a rough lifestyle. She seems to shine with this positive vibe that makes it easy to like her. We taught her about the Book of Mormon and she loved the thing! As we were talking with Chris, I noticed her reading the introduction and the testimony of the 3 and 8 witnesses. Chris hasn't been reading the Book of Mormon and hasn't come to church in a very long time. When we chastised him, Sara took our side and told him "we should totally study this together! It would be fun!"  Music to a missionaries ears indeed! 

Aside from meeting with Sara, there's not much else to talk about. We tried to re contact a lot of potentials and formers with a few members but things haven't clicked with them. Nolan has fallen off the earth it seems.

Our new zone leader is Elder Mahabeer who is from Jamaica. I haven't been around him very much but he seems cool. He's only been out 6 months! Hope everyone is having a good January and that its not too cold. Ta for now!

Elder Maclean Samis  

January 13, 2015 - Area 2: Clearbrook (Abbotsford)

1 YEAR, 2 AREAS 

I apologize about the fact that I'm emailing a day late. We had a temple trip today, so our p-day got moved to today after the trip was over. Lo and behold, I am still in Clearbrook. Elder Lamb meanwhile has been moved to White Rock to become a zone leader. My new companion is Elder Johnson who came out at the same time as me. We didn't know each other very well though since we weren't in the same MTC district.

Elder Johnson is from Ephriam, Utah and has been great working with so far. It's a good thing too because it's been a rough transfer week. On Monday night we got the call from the assistants and Tuesday, Elder Lamb said his last goodbyes to our investigators and beloved ward members. Wednesday morning, Elder Lamb and I had to drag ourselves out of bed at 5:00 am so that we could go to Mission. Elder Lamb went to White Rock with Elder Pettilot and Elder Butler while I went with Elder Engalsted and Elder Orr to Vancouver to grab Elder Johnson and take him to Clearbrook. The rest of the day we did a lot of finding and a visited a couple of members.

We taught very few lessons this week and went out finding with not too much to write about. We found a couple of people who we thought had potential but both of them blew off their return appointments the following day. We did teach Nolan at Brother Taylor's house and discussed baptism with him on Thursday. He seems a little worried about changing too many things about his life style when he does. We're still teaching him.

We saw Garry a couple times, once on Wednesday and once yesterday. We've brought Brother Newman with us both times and he's been a great true friend for him. We taught the Law of Chastity in our most recent visit and its now up to him to get married to his common-law wife at some point. It won't be an easy choice for him to make if he commits, so please everybody pray hard for him!

I can't really give a lot of details about much else. I've realized that I don't know my area as well as I should and it's been easy to get lost. I think it's easier to navigate your area if you're the one driving most of the time. Between our trip to the temple, and to Vancouver, and getting lost our KM allotment has been destroyed and it's not even half way through the month. Have a great week everybody!

Elder Maclean Samis   

January 5, 2015 - Area 2: Clearbrook (Abbotsford)

A NEW AREA IN A NEW YEAR?

Well the snow has finally come and it has come pretty hard. So hard that church got cancelled yesterday after sacrament meeting. It really wasn't that much but it was enough to scare the city. 

Tuesday I went with one of my zone leaders, Elder Engelstad to Mission for the day. We taught several really solid lessons and did a lot of finding. Nolan was taught by Elder Lamb and Elder Orr while I was away. Sadly he wasn't able to make it to church. They also taught a lady named Melody who became a new investigator. Devin meanwhile has stopped investigating altogether... it just seems like he's lost interest for the time being.   

New Years day was fairly ordinary. We had a pizza dinner at Noftle's who's family is always fun to visit. The Cervos came as well and it was a great time!

Throughout the week we've been working with Joel and his teen aged sons to create a video based on the song we sang at the Christmas Party. The boys finished the editing on their own Sunday and it turned out awesome! A good memory to have one of those fun times on my mission. 

As for our teaching, we taught Garry on Friday and had a really good lesson with him on the gospel of Jesus Christ. He said that he really enjoyed his time at church last Sunday but he wants to keep coming before he gets baptized. For whatever reason, he didn't come to church either. 

Transfer calls are tonight and with the way things have been going in our area, it might be time for me to move on. I've loved the members here and if I don't stay, it will be hard to say goodbye. Talk to you all next week to bring you the news and have a happy New Year! :) 

Elder Maclean Samis