Week 67-Drumheller, Transfer Predictions, Lost Phone, and Investigators

It's another manic Monday here in Airdrie, and there's a lot on my plate to get through; hopefully I don't let that get in the way of this email, though!

Well, first off, we did go to Drumheller last week, and I did take some pictures, but.......  I don't know where my card reader is. :(  I think I've done this to y'all every time I've promised pictures.  Please forgive me!  It was a blast, though- we went to a swinging bridge, Horseshoe Canyon, a small collection of hoodoos (nothing like Goblin Valley), and just had a blast hanging out with some mission friends.  With transfers on the horizon, we're all getting our affairs in order as we suspect major changes are going to hit our Zone.  Here's the breakdown of who's serving where, and how many transfers they've been here:

Luxstone/Sierra Springs ward: Elder Martin (2) & Elder Shaw (1)

Mandarin Branch: Elder Chronis (2) & Elder Abunawara (2) (By the way, Elder Abunawara's from Orem!)

Airdrie 1st Ward: Sister Burr (3) & Sister Huntley (1)

Airdrie 2nd Ward: Sister Lewis (3) & Sister Keller (1) (From PG)

Airdrie 3rd Ward: Elder Larsen (3) & Elder Eastes (1)

Drumheller Branch: Elder Alldredge (3) & Elder Heuer (2)

...Lately President's been putting missionaries in a lot of areas for 4 transfers, but most of our Zone's been together for too long.  When that happens, a zone usually changes all at once.  I predict Sister Burr's leaving, 2nd ward's getting purged, and Elder Alldredge and I are leaving.  We'll see, though: Transfers have also gotten pretty unpredictable lately.

This week's had a lot of miracles occur in it: Tuesday, Michelle got put back on-date for the 22nd of this month, and the McClain family found us! Wednesday.... I lost our phone.  :(  I'll talk about that in a bit.  Thursday, we went on splits, had a lesson with Barry, and a lesson with the McClain's.  Friday was the francophone lesson. Saturday we got to give 2nd ward a blessing. And yesterday, Marge came to church, and didn't get completely deterred when our ward mission leader started teaching doctrines from the temple video instead of Gospel Principles... So that was good. :)

First: The McClain family.

We got a phone call in the middle of our lunch/lesson appointment with Michelle, and our bishop's wife left us a voicemail.  We phoned her back afterward, and she explained that she'd received a phone call from Sister McClain, who was supposedly a less-active member out in Irricana.  They've been here since February, but they never got in contact with the Church.  When her daughter turned 9, she started chatting with some missionaries on mormon.org, and they suggested that she meet with us, so she found Bishop's number and asked if we could come over that night at 6:30!  It was awesome.  They've got 2 daughters, and the second will be 8 in September, so the parents wanted us to come and see if this is something they'd want to be a part of.  We've now met with them twice, and we anticipate they'll all be at church this weekend!

Second: The Phone.

Sooo you know how we go contacting in downtown Calgary?  Well, we drive about twenty minutes to a C-train station, buy some tickets, and take the train into town (C-train is a lot like UTA, but a bit sketchier... It's more like the subways of New York, but above ground). We got off at our usual stop on 1st Ave and were immediately engaged in a conversation with a man.  Just as the train pulled away from the station, I realized I'd left our phone sitting on the seat beside me, and my heart plummeted.  I chased the train, but there's no way to catch up to one of those- I mean, if walking were faster, there'd be no point to the train!  Since I couldn't stop worrying about the phone, this pretty much threw me off for the remainder of the day.  We stopped by the CTA office for their lost and found, and they informed us that they typically don't collect their items until the end of the day, so they wouldn't know where it was until Thursday.  Seeing as we had no idea what anyone else's phone numbers are, we just left my email as the contact info and hoped for the best.

Later that day, Sister Keller (on exchanges with Sister Huntley) felt impressed to walk a certain way down a street called Stephen Avenue- It's pretty much like the Gateway Mall.  In so doing, they saw us walking and joined us.  We explained the situation, and they tried to call our phone several times, also leaving a text informing whoever found the phone to call the "Airdrie 2nd" number.  They stuck near us for the remainder of the day, but they had to take off half an hour earlier.  Elder Eastes and I continued to contact and made our way to a train station right on-time.  As we bought our tickets, a member from the Phillipines came to talk with us, and we missed our train.  We hopped the next one and rode for a few stops, when who should get in the same car as us?

...Sister Keller.  What the heck?!?  Turns out they'd missed their trains too, and this was the first to come their way.  While on the ride back, they received a phone call from the CTA office, telling them our phone was there.  We raced back, procured the device, and returned rejoicing.  Had we not gotten the phone that day, it would've stayed there until Friday when the Zone Leaders go to MLC.  I don't know if you really know what "weekly planning" is, but it would've been a nightmare without a phone!!

Third: Barry.

Barry is the non-member cousin of the recorder in the Calgary temple.  Barry went through the open house of the temple and had a revelatory experience wherein God told him, "This is My house, and these are My people."  ....He's so prepared!!  He's a biblical scholar who's read the bible countless times, owning 38 different versions in different languages.  He already knew the Book of Mormon was true before we met him.  His only hang-up right now is an addiction to caffeine: And it's a real addiction.  A little while ago, he was drinking the equivalent of 100 cups of coffee every day!!!  Since then, he's cut down to just 2 cups every day, and 1 bottle of Pepsi.  We've taught him the first three lessons and the Word of Wisdom, but he's dead-set on cutting back slowly.  I may not be here when he's baptized, but he will be baptized.

Fourth: The Francophone.

...This lesson wasn't everything the member talked it up to be.  The Dillworth's are wonderful people, but they're trying to convert as many francophones to their own religion as possible so they can have their own French congregation. ...Awkward.  But I consider the lesson a miracle nonetheless.  Why?  The Holy Ghost is a powerful thing.

To be perfectly honest, a three-year old speaks better French than I do.  Really.  I can say what I want to say, but it isn't pretty, fluffy, or perfect.  It's kind of frustrating to not have the vocabulary to say what you want to say how you want to say it.  But nevertheless, Heavenly Father is able to take the amount of talent or ability you've done your best to develop and amplify it in accordance with His purposes: If He's asked.  Words came to my mind that I haven't seen, heard, or used in over 5 years, and I know it wasn't because my  memory's any sort of good.  The Dillworth's won't be investigating in the foreseeable future, but my own testimony was strengthened by our short encounter.  (There aren't any missionaries called to speak french in our mission, but there are a few who still do: Elder Lauzon, Sister Clabaux, Elder MacDuff, and Elder Gagnon. There used to be Elder Fitamant [whom Nancy Tremblay knows], but he went home in January)


Thanks so much for keeping me informed on everything going on back home- that way it won't be too much of a shock to return eventually. ;) I love you all!  And mom, you asked if there's anything you could get me from Disneyland: In answer, I would love another Disney pin!  I've been collecting quite a few pins up here, and the last one you sent had a wimpy back, so I think it fell off in Calgary... :(  If you were to send anything else my way, I might have a request or two?  If not, that's totally fine. :)  If no one's using our three David Lanz books, I would love to have those again...  Also, that Wedding Classics book. :)  I don't know if y'all returned those glasses I bought from Coastal.com or not, but if not, I would love that pair with the mathematical symbols on them? Also, the reason I sent the GPS home was because it doesn't have any Canadian maps on it... If you could update that and send it up, that'd be fantastic. :)

I love you, and pray for you daily.  Father's Day will be a day to celebrate!

-Elder Larsen