Transfer 8 Week 1 & 2

Looking Smart as an Elder

Hey ya'll

Soooo sorry I did not write last week. I forgot to click the send button so I have included it in this week's letter. So last week here are some of the highlights! So Tuesday we did a little bit of finding. Then we went and had lunch.We then went and visited Bro. Riche. He is doing okay but is struggling with just being in rehab and is struggling to gain hope that he will recover. I dislike this situation because there is not much I can do about this and I still have trouble handle situations that are out of my control.

Then we called a bunch of people when we got home and set up a few appts. Sadly most of our appts bombed this week. It was another slow week. Then came Wednesday and we had to tidy up our appt and do a deeper clean than we thought as we always have people coming to look at our apartment! It is getting a little annoying but helps us to be clean.

Another pretty picture for you all to enjoy

Wednesday morning we finished our studies at the church and went to go pick up Ken to go take him to Cyndie! It was another great lesson. We discussed her concerns and showed her www.lds.org  and mormon.org. We gave her a few videos to watch and a few things to watch. We had a really good time discussing how our next prophet is called and talked about Joseph Smith. Along with talking about forgiveness. We found out that after we left and the day after she actually spent all day watching a ton of the videos and had an awesome experience with them.

Our wonderful member Cyndie had the real sword from Robin Hood! We held it and played with it! I have a new respect for people that carry huge swords on movies. They are heaveyyyy!

After we took off to Sauble and Elder Tinney did his physio. Then we did some tracting and contacting out in Southampton and Port Elgin until dinner with the Ripley's. It was a fun night as their kids are super energentic. That family understands their roles as missionaries! It was so awesome to see them with a family plan to share the gospel and a working names list that every family home evening they would make assignments and goals to help these individuals learn more about the gospel! I was sooooo impressed! It made me cry a little :) I cannot wait to be like them in my missionary efforts when I get home. I cannot wait to help the missionaries back at home haha. For all you families and friends reading this. Strive to share the gospel, set goals and make plans to help you do so. Then re-evulate and re visit your list every so often. Always try to think of people you can share with!

Thursday we had dinner with the Martin's and it was fun talking with them. Than we also weekly planned and had lunch at Bro Bullocks again!

Friday was a bit of finding, finishing off weekly planning and that was honestly about it. It has been a rather slow week and we were able to teach some people which I will talk about at the end of this update :). Saturday we have been on pause with building the house and become a farmer. We saddled up the baler and hooked up the trailers and went out into the fields. It was so much fun chewing my grass and just enjoying the beautiful weather. Plus Sis Cepada ALWAYS give us some amazing delicious food so all the work we do is well rewarded. We picked up bails and than had dinner and ventured home.

Sunday was really good as we found out that this Friday both of our converts are going to the Temple and we get to go too! It was actually really funny Curtis one of our invs showed up for church but first we had to go and rescue him as he could not find the place. That was yet another first for me. Than we were back at the Cepada's for dinner again.

Yup that was our week!

Old picture from Canada Day chilling with some of the best members ever!!!

Well now onto what is fresh in my mind!  Monday was sweet! We got to go over to Cyndie's for some delicious southern fried chicken with some delicious mushroom friend rice!!! Mmmmmm! It was awesome to also get to met with Mike her husband. They told us about how they met and are working on strengthening their relationship because of the messages we shared with them and the videos they watched. Mike is a non-member and we hope one day to be able to teach him. It was nice to hear some of their love story! I love old married couples!

After that appt we than had to travel out to Collingwood to met up with the Zone Leaders for exchanges. Elder Adams came to Owen Sound with me! Our exchange was spent reminiscing about the past times in Niagara and Windsor. Tuesday was our work day! We went out tracting and contacting in the morning and met some awesome people and got a ton of potentials. We met this one guy named Dane who is super awesome! We had an appt set up with him but he got called into work! Erg silly work.

Then we went out to Port Elgin to go teach Sidney and Whitney a daughter and mother who is less active and we hope to help her daughter get baptized! We brought Adam a youth and he was awesome! We have been bringing him out a lot with us teaching and he has enjoyed it a lot I think. It has been nice being able to have youth who have not to much experience teaching with the Elder's and training them to do it. They really follow the Spirit and teach from the heart because they cannot do to much else! I love listening to the thoughts and ideas they share with the investigators. It was an awesome lesson and they both committed to church. After that we went and did some more tracting and found more ppl. It was such a productive day. After we went and found a nice old guy named Rick who was super awesome! We love teaching him. He was really nice and sincere so we shared the Plan of Salvation with him and he wanted his wife to hear about it too.

After we got to met another YSA recent convert who was in our phone and we had no idea who she was. So we met up and found out she was from Kitchener and she told us about herself and her conversion story started with, "Hey I like your backpack!" I think that is the best start to a conversion story! There is a lot more to it and some giving up of chocolate along the way to only find out we still eat chocolate but she got baptized! It was fun to chat with her. After we went to the Laivio's. Dinner was delicious and we got more free ice cream! Their daughter works at Chapman's ice cream! That evening we took Elder Adams back home and boy it was a sad evening. We wanted it to last a little while longer. At least I did. Wednesday we had our weekly physio appt where I sit happily in the waiting room and read a book or write in my journal. I have been quite pleased with myself as I have written everyday of my mission so far except 3 haha.

working away with Bro. Cepeda

So this pole is an i beam for holding up a house! It was black before I started. Now it is nice and clean!

Then we went out to lunch with the Cepada's. After our late lunch it was time to go met Aaron at the Family History center. We were going to teach him about family history work. It was cool to get him all set up! He loved the idea of it and was excited to get started so he can take family names to the temple. Thursday came and we had an awesome morning. So Josh an RM who just recently got back came out with us to do splits. So Elder Tinney and Bro bullock went to go teach Cyndie while we went finding. We found a few more potentials and I got to see an RM in action! He is sooooo awesome at contacting and talking with people. I was glad to see he still had it and it was funny as he first introduced himself as Elder Kuezak but then he remembered he was released. After that morning of some good solid work we met back up and took everybody home and were back to weekly planning. That evening we got to go have a picnic with the Kuezak's at Harrison Park. It was a lovely little Park and really nice too! It was fun to visit with them and hear more about their lives. They are soooo awesome and than the boys showed up and we all chatted back and forth.

After our time in the Temple we got with Bro. Bullock and Aaron and took a Photo!

Friday we went back out to teach Sidney and Whitney sadly Sidney was not able to be there so we just taught her mom. But it was another solid lesson and they were still good for church. We got to met with Rick too but no wife yet :(. Than after we got home we got into the car with Aaron our RC and ventured up to Brampton to go to the Toronto Temple!!!! I was soooooo excited to go to the Temple. We had both Ken and Aaron there. We arrived a little bit late but got to do some Temple work for people and then just sit quietly in the House of the Lord. It was such an amazing Spirit and time. I MISSED the Temple sooo much! For all you who are at home! Always strive to go to the Temple as much as you can! I am so jealous all of you can go when you want. I treasured that night and felt the Spirit so strongly. It was a nice spiritual boast that enabled me to come closer to my Father in Heaven. It was one of the happiest moments of my life seeing my converts in white! :). Good day!

None other than the famous golden arches with Silken and Aaron and my wonderful comp!

After that we drove back home after getting McDs and went right to bed. Saturday we were back at the Cepada's doing bailing and fixing a bunch of things around the farm! It has been a reall educational day every saturday as we always do something different. Sergio was not here as he was at a YSA conf so we hung out with President Cepada and Ali. Plus in the morning we got to go on an adventure to visit the Amish! It was cool to go and meet some of them and get to know these families a little more. It is so neat how a lot of the people out here buy stuff from their neighbors instead of from the store. Whether it be pies, veggies, fruit, eggs, they just get it from one another. I like this way of doing it a lot better and it tastes a lot better for ya. Plus you do not have to deal with all the additives the store puts in! EWWW.

Sunday came and we had unfortunately no one at church :( ppl who said they would did not show up and it killed me. Erg oh well I always got next week! We will just try that much harder. It saddens me when people we teach do not keep commitments but helps me to just try to help them that much more. We got to have dinner at the Buttineau's and boy was it good. Last night after dinner we went to visit our Ward mission leader and chat with him and his family the Cepada's again. We have spent a lot of time with them lately haha. They are pretty much family! Elder Tinney left us with a great Spiritual thought which the Cepada's asked him to teach to their kids Sergio and Ali and me haha. It was about marriage and marrying in the covenant. He just helped us to understand the importance of it haha We all had a good laugh after. This week was good as we got to teach a little more and found some more people to do so with. We hope this week and the ones to come will just keep getting better. I am still loving it out here and every week I feel like I have taken 100 steps in the right direction! I am so excited for what this next week will hold as this past week was awesome! Def an awesome experience the temple was the highlight!

Well everyone I love you all! have an awesome week

Elder Sopal.