Tuesday, March 29, 2016
pics
WHAT IN THE WORLD?!?!
My family is falling apart...I knew I shouldn't have left. ;) Logan tells me you are all going inactive, you didn't go to the Temple Dedication?? WHY NOT?? Or to church on Easter?? Or celebrate Easter with the whole family?? Who are you anymore?? Grandma's House is ruining you. Beware of the Great and Spacious Building (aka Grandma's House). ;) I'm just glad Charlie's Deep Doctrine, Doctrine and Covenants Class is keeping you all in line. As a missionary, all you study is deep doctrine. It's wonderful. But Micah got in a FIGHT?? I hope his suspension means staying in his room praying and studying the Book of Mormon/Bible and learning about Charity. Study about Jesus, Micah. He never fought people. He just made a whip and kicked them all out of the temple. True story. I hope Skyler's backpacking trip wasn't as bad as ours when we climbed up that mountain. Ugly stuff. LOGAN!!! NO!!! Don't go to Grandma's for your 16th birthday. GO ON A DATE!!!! Take a date to Conference!! BRILLIANT!! Just be like, "Hey, you want to go receive some revelation with me??" And then during the marriage talk, slowly put your arm around her. If she kisses you at the end, then she's really a keeper. Best First Date Ever! DO IT!! Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHHHHHHDDAAAYYYY!!!!
For Easter here, we ACTUALLY went to church. We had basically ALL our investigators come so it was SUPER good. We planned the decorations for the wedding THIS FRIDAY!!! Everything is coming together SO well. Jose Manuel passed his Baptismal Interview (of course) and we're helping them move into a new apartment today. Then Bachelor Party tomorrow. Decorating Thursday. Marriage Friday. Then GENERAL CONFERENCE WEEKEND!!!! I'm SO PUMPED!! Also, supposedly in Canada, they celebrate Easter Monday. So that's why my P-Day is today. Other than that, what happened this week?? I saw Abigail last Monday. Haha.Remember when I said "don't count on me Not hugging her..." hope ya didn't count on it. ;) Ate lots of Latino Food (Papusas, Colombianas, Tacos, Empanadas, Panela). We got freezing rain here in Toronto last Tuesday. It was CRAZY!! I have never witnessed freezing rain before. Intense stuff. I bought an Ecuadorian Flute called a Caina, Kaina, Cayna?? I don't know how to spell it, but it was sweet but started to break really quickly, so I went back to the store and exchanged it for a Colombian Jersey (because the Zone Leaders lost my other one. But I will find it) Other than that. Teaching people, baptizing people, marrying people (but they're getting married, not me) and serving the Lord. It's been a great week, and it's only going to get better.
So there supposedly are some families in Canada and Utah (cough cough) that need a little more church in their life. And I can assure you that this General Conference, keeping the Sabbath Day Holy will be brought up. It's been a huge focus throughout the church in Ontario and it's a focus that I think everyone could do a little better on. I've really gained a testimony on my mission of the importance of not only Church Attendance, but focusing on the Lord throughout the Sabbath Day. Many people think, "Oh, I can't go to the store on Sunday or watch my favorite movies or play sports," but we're missing the point. It's a day set apart for us to constantly be edified by the Spirit because we're focusing on the important things in life. The Celestial Things. I've made it a goal, on and after my mission. To treat everyday like the Sabbath Day. To always be focusing my thoughts on the Lord and doing things that edify my spirit. My new catch phrase is "Live the Celestial Life," because when we focus on the Celestial Things we have true happiness in life and in the life to come. I love you all and hope that you receive much revelation and take advantage of the Spirit you can feel during these meetings. Bye!!!
Elder Flint
Canada Toronto Mission
My family is falling apart...I knew I shouldn't have left. ;) Logan tells me you are all going inactive, you didn't go to the Temple Dedication?? WHY NOT?? Or to church on Easter?? Or celebrate Easter with the whole family?? Who are you anymore?? Grandma's House is ruining you. Beware of the Great and Spacious Building (aka Grandma's House). ;) I'm just glad Charlie's Deep Doctrine, Doctrine and Covenants Class is keeping you all in line. As a missionary, all you study is deep doctrine. It's wonderful. But Micah got in a FIGHT?? I hope his suspension means staying in his room praying and studying the Book of Mormon/Bible and learning about Charity. Study about Jesus, Micah. He never fought people. He just made a whip and kicked them all out of the temple. True story. I hope Skyler's backpacking trip wasn't as bad as ours when we climbed up that mountain. Ugly stuff. LOGAN!!! NO!!! Don't go to Grandma's for your 16th birthday. GO ON A DATE!!!! Take a date to Conference!! BRILLIANT!! Just be like, "Hey, you want to go receive some revelation with me??" And then during the marriage talk, slowly put your arm around her. If she kisses you at the end, then she's really a keeper. Best First Date Ever! DO IT!! Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHHHHHHDDAAAYYYY!!!!
For Easter here, we ACTUALLY went to church. We had basically ALL our investigators come so it was SUPER good. We planned the decorations for the wedding THIS FRIDAY!!! Everything is coming together SO well. Jose Manuel passed his Baptismal Interview (of course) and we're helping them move into a new apartment today. Then Bachelor Party tomorrow. Decorating Thursday. Marriage Friday. Then GENERAL CONFERENCE WEEKEND!!!! I'm SO PUMPED!! Also, supposedly in Canada, they celebrate Easter Monday. So that's why my P-Day is today. Other than that, what happened this week?? I saw Abigail last Monday. Haha.Remember when I said "don't count on me Not hugging her..." hope ya didn't count on it. ;) Ate lots of Latino Food (Papusas, Colombianas, Tacos, Empanadas, Panela). We got freezing rain here in Toronto last Tuesday. It was CRAZY!! I have never witnessed freezing rain before. Intense stuff. I bought an Ecuadorian Flute called a Caina, Kaina, Cayna?? I don't know how to spell it, but it was sweet but started to break really quickly, so I went back to the store and exchanged it for a Colombian Jersey (because the Zone Leaders lost my other one. But I will find it) Other than that. Teaching people, baptizing people, marrying people (but they're getting married, not me) and serving the Lord. It's been a great week, and it's only going to get better.
So there supposedly are some families in Canada and Utah (cough cough) that need a little more church in their life. And I can assure you that this General Conference, keeping the Sabbath Day Holy will be brought up. It's been a huge focus throughout the church in Ontario and it's a focus that I think everyone could do a little better on. I've really gained a testimony on my mission of the importance of not only Church Attendance, but focusing on the Lord throughout the Sabbath Day. Many people think, "Oh, I can't go to the store on Sunday or watch my favorite movies or play sports," but we're missing the point. It's a day set apart for us to constantly be edified by the Spirit because we're focusing on the important things in life. The Celestial Things. I've made it a goal, on and after my mission. To treat everyday like the Sabbath Day. To always be focusing my thoughts on the Lord and doing things that edify my spirit. My new catch phrase is "Live the Celestial Life," because when we focus on the Celestial Things we have true happiness in life and in the life to come. I love you all and hope that you receive much revelation and take advantage of the Spirit you can feel during these meetings. Bye!!!
Elder Flint
Canada Toronto Mission
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY!!!!
If you haven't seen the new Easter video...watch it. And it's definitely Springtime here in Toronto. That's exciting that Grandma got a dog. What kind of dog is it?? I’m not sure it’s a very good idea to marry him and Ginny off and then have them live separated. I’ve seen too much of that here in Toronto. :|
That's super exciting to hear Mom, babies are the best. I've made many tiny friends this week, and I've been attacked by many. It's very hard to keep the missionaries rules on not holding children when they're surprise attacking you and jumping on your back. #struggles
WHAT!?!?! Dad! He would. Has the opportunity to eat Poutine and he turns it down. What a hater. I wonder if the Poutine there is legitimate.
Birthday?? That's not in like a lot of days. I'm still young. :) What would I like?? Typical missionary stuff: Ties, scarves, cuff links, cook books, piano/organ/guitar music, temple pictures, flags, Il Divo music, chocolate. The usual…and some.
This week has been a hullabaloo. That's the best word I can think of to describe it. So last Monday, we were planning on going Downtown to go up the CN tower (because Elder Cox has about 3 weeks left) but it was super cloudy, so we're going to save it for another day; then, we were going to go to the Toronto Aquarium, but it was packed with little kids because of Spring Break; so we decided to go shopping at Dundas Square (equivalent to Times Square) and I bought a new side (because my last one bust) for 50$. It was a sweet deal and it's a great bag. Later that day we decided to go to the Royal Ontario Museum where we looked at medieval armor and swords and guns (haha, they do have guns in Canada). It was super fun.
Last Wednesday we had a huge Zone Conference where I saw Abigail, my cousin, again. It was super fun and no hugging commenced (but I'm seeing her again today because we're having Zone Sports for P-day, so don't count on it! ;)
Another super great thing that happened this last week is that we discovered a little Latino Paradise. Our New Convert had told us about this Spanish Hot Spot. So we decided to go to it and it was this dinky little building, but when you walked into it, you passed by some Spanish stores and then it opened up into a huge food court where there were different restaurants set up for different countries and EVERYONE there was Hispanic. We though we had died and gone to Paraiso (Paradise in Spanish ;) So we have decided to spend the rest of our transfer here spending time there, eating Papusas, and Baptizing Colombians. And they say a mission is hard. Ha!
But in reality, it's not as easy at it seems sometimes. This last week, we had a few baptisms and baptismal dates fall through due to our investigators' parents' agency. We call these people Crazy Dads/Moms because they won't let their children get baptized even though the child wants to. It's basically the WORST THING IN THE WORLD. Think about it. In the Premortal Realm, SATAN wanted to take away everyones' agency SO they would all have to choose the right. These people are taking away their agency so they will choose the WRONG! It's messed up stuff. One thing that we had a huge talk with last night with one of our investigators and a returning member is that as long as we're doing the God's Will and keeping His commandments, we will never permanently fail. It's something that I've had to remind myself many times this week, because it's very easy to lose hope when you can't see the immediate blessings. So for all of you who are struggling or can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just realize that as long as you're holding on to that iron rod and following God's commandments, EVERYTHING will turn out well. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful Easter. #hallelujah
--
Elder Flint
Canada Toronto Mission
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Good Morning!!
At least it's morning here in Canada. It's very rainy and warm. I quite like it. Haha, yeah, Sister Raymond is the one that emails me and asks me to say something. I figured that everyone would love hearing something crazy about Canada. LONG LIVE POUTINE!!! Sounds like everything is working out great with classes right now, Mom. That's super exciting to hear. That'll be an incredible adventure in your life. I love adventures. It's what life's all about. That's an incredible scripture, Mom. There's a new Easter Video that came out, just last Sunday, that applies to that exactly. If you go to <FollowHim.mormon.org> the video is right there. Watch It!! That's what we do as missionaries, we help people repent and find a New Life. It's incredible to see that change happen in people.
This week was Super Nuts!! So much happened, but I'll briefly share some of the highlights. So, to start off. We had a jam session with Jose Manuel where I brought my guitar to his house and we played and sang lots of great songs (Hymns/Il Divo ;) It was super fun and spiritual. We taught a lot of lessons this week and we had some baptismal dates fall through, but we were able to set some with more solid people, so were hoping to see some big changes in the next few weeks. We at KFC lunch with lots of leadership, even though we aren't leadership ourselves. Ha ha! And then, last Saturday was a crazy day!!
So to start off, we went to the temple with Jay (our New Convert) and Paul (a member) to do Baptisms and Confirmations for the Dead. Jay was driving and thought we were supposed to leave at 12, but we were supposed to be there at 12 so we ended up being super late. But we were able to see Jay do his Proxy Baptisms and we were able to help confirm Paul and a bunch of other people there at the temple. The Toronto Temple Baptismal Font is INCREDIBLE!!! I love that temple to death. On the ride home, Jay told us about a really good El Salvadorian place that sells Papusas, RIGHT BY OUR HOUSE!!! We had never seen it before, so he showed us and we got SO MUCH LATIN FOOD!!! We got Papusas, Cerviche, and Tamarind Drinks. They were SO GOOD!!! Jay also told us about other Latino hot spots in our area so we're super pumped. Later that night, we went to the adult session of Stake Conference and guess who I FINALLY saw there?? ABIGAIL!! My Cousin!! It was very awkward and we shook hands and took a picture and didn't hug...yet. ;) The next day, I saw her at the Sunday Stake Conference. It was really weird introducing the Spanish people I work with to my cousin. That doesn't happen in life. Except for me. But she is doing well and I'll be seeing her again this Wednesday for Zone Conference. It'll be super fun. Other than that, this week we met these crazy cool Dominicans from Spain and ate lots of Colombian food (Arepas, Pescado, Oreos? :)
Something really cool that was shared at our Stake Conference was the importance of Temple Work and Family History. In Malachi 4:6 it's talking about the Spirit of Elijah coming to the Earth and "turning the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers." I have seen that so much in the last few days. Jay was planning on taking his great-grandfather's name to the temple, but he decided not to because his father (one of our investigators) said that he wanted to the work after he was baptized. It was Incredible to hear that!! The temples are SO important and we can't take them for granted. Family History work is an incredible thing we have, and it's SO fun to do. When we do this, we not only bless all the Spirits waiting in the Spirit World, we bring the Spirit into our lives. So go to the temple!! I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!
At least it's morning here in Canada. It's very rainy and warm. I quite like it. Haha, yeah, Sister Raymond is the one that emails me and asks me to say something. I figured that everyone would love hearing something crazy about Canada. LONG LIVE POUTINE!!! Sounds like everything is working out great with classes right now, Mom. That's super exciting to hear. That'll be an incredible adventure in your life. I love adventures. It's what life's all about. That's an incredible scripture, Mom. There's a new Easter Video that came out, just last Sunday, that applies to that exactly. If you go to <FollowHim.mormon.org> the video is right there. Watch It!! That's what we do as missionaries, we help people repent and find a New Life. It's incredible to see that change happen in people.
This week was Super Nuts!! So much happened, but I'll briefly share some of the highlights. So, to start off. We had a jam session with Jose Manuel where I brought my guitar to his house and we played and sang lots of great songs (Hymns/Il Divo ;) It was super fun and spiritual. We taught a lot of lessons this week and we had some baptismal dates fall through, but we were able to set some with more solid people, so were hoping to see some big changes in the next few weeks. We at KFC lunch with lots of leadership, even though we aren't leadership ourselves. Ha ha! And then, last Saturday was a crazy day!!
So to start off, we went to the temple with Jay (our New Convert) and Paul (a member) to do Baptisms and Confirmations for the Dead. Jay was driving and thought we were supposed to leave at 12, but we were supposed to be there at 12 so we ended up being super late. But we were able to see Jay do his Proxy Baptisms and we were able to help confirm Paul and a bunch of other people there at the temple. The Toronto Temple Baptismal Font is INCREDIBLE!!! I love that temple to death. On the ride home, Jay told us about a really good El Salvadorian place that sells Papusas, RIGHT BY OUR HOUSE!!! We had never seen it before, so he showed us and we got SO MUCH LATIN FOOD!!! We got Papusas, Cerviche, and Tamarind Drinks. They were SO GOOD!!! Jay also told us about other Latino hot spots in our area so we're super pumped. Later that night, we went to the adult session of Stake Conference and guess who I FINALLY saw there?? ABIGAIL!! My Cousin!! It was very awkward and we shook hands and took a picture and didn't hug...yet. ;) The next day, I saw her at the Sunday Stake Conference. It was really weird introducing the Spanish people I work with to my cousin. That doesn't happen in life. Except for me. But she is doing well and I'll be seeing her again this Wednesday for Zone Conference. It'll be super fun. Other than that, this week we met these crazy cool Dominicans from Spain and ate lots of Colombian food (Arepas, Pescado, Oreos? :)
Something really cool that was shared at our Stake Conference was the importance of Temple Work and Family History. In Malachi 4:6 it's talking about the Spirit of Elijah coming to the Earth and "turning the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers." I have seen that so much in the last few days. Jay was planning on taking his great-grandfather's name to the temple, but he decided not to because his father (one of our investigators) said that he wanted to the work after he was baptized. It was Incredible to hear that!! The temples are SO important and we can't take them for granted. Family History work is an incredible thing we have, and it's SO fun to do. When we do this, we not only bless all the Spirits waiting in the Spirit World, we bring the Spirit into our lives. So go to the temple!! I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Blackout! Blackout! (name that musical, or ask Charlie)
Man, you'd all be SO jealous of me right now. The sun is high, the sky is blue, the birds will sing, and so do you (another quote that Charlie probably knows :) But it's definitely a Spring day here today. Which is funny because about two days ago we got hit with a winter storm. Oh Canada! Sorry to hear about the snow shoveling, I remember those days. And an eternal family class sounds super exciting!! Our investigators went to a marriage counseling fireside, and they met a member there that said she can make them a wedding cake for FREE!! And now they're all set for their wedding next month. So Excited!! And in a year, I'll be here to see them get sealed!!! (Supposedly President allows missionaries to go, even if they're not serving with them) Yeah, temples!! And guess who's going to the temple this Saturday?? This Guy!!! I'm Pumped!!
School sounds exciting. Mom, before passing nursing school, you probably need to know how to spell Next Test. It's not NCLEX Test, that's incorrect ;) Wrapping it all up, though. Time really does fly. Logan wishes I was pushing a year. But it'll be here in no time, and by then, I'll be an AP :) All the sports sound fun. I'm excited to see Sophie tear up the ice once I get home.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAVANNAH!!!!!! I MISS YOU!!!!! HAVE FUN IN SCHOOL!!!!
This week has been so adventurous. Tons of lessons, most I've ever had on my mission; adventures with Colombians (including Colombian Parties); crazy foods, like fried pig skin; decaffeinated coffee, I didn't drink it; and of course, baptisms. So, this last week we helped our investigator and returning member (who are both Colombians) move into their new apartment. After we helped them, they gave us Chicarron (fried pig skin), bought us bacon (because they know we love bacon), ice cream, and invited us to her son's birthday party the next day. He was turning nine, so we decided to go and make him a new investigator!!! So we went, and EVERYONE THERE WERE COLOMBIANS!!!!! Except one Chilean. I was in Heaven!!! We are going to baptize all of them!!!! But, we gave the birthday boy an easy to read Book of Mormon and we're going to baptize him So Soon. The problem with Colombians is that they all drink coffee like crazy. The two we're working with brought up that decaffeinated isn't against the Word of Wisdom, and this week, THREE different people brought up that concern. We basically told them, WE DON'T KNOW, JUST DON'T DRINK COFFEE!!!!! Other than that, yesterday, our ward had two more baptisms. One was a ward baptism, and the other was that boy's sister, whose parents had stopped her from getting baptized until her brother turned 8. I had picked them up a couple of transfers ago, but gave them to the Hermanas when they came into our ward, so I was very happy about the baptisms. I also got the opportunity to play and sing "Glorious" with one of the Hermanas for the baptismal service. Supposedly it was pretty great. :) And now here we are. We have baptisms set up for the next three weeks (after this week) and we are hoping to get more. Everything is coming together and we are super excited for the rest of this transfer.
One thing in the mission that we are supposed to do is teach in every meeting, contact, and conversation. I have grown a HUGE testimony of that this week. A lot of times, we need to teach investigators something, or follow up with them on reading, praying, etc. but we're in a situation where we can't sit them down and just talk with them, so we have to integrate gospel conversation when we talk with them. It's made a huge impact on our investigators. We've been able to teach a ton more, set more baptismal dates, and things come together so well when we do it. It's been crazy cool and has really helped with my testimony of having a language of faith. When we're talking about Gospel-related things, it's SO much easier to talk about the Gospel. Who knew?? :) Well, I hope everyone is doing great. I love you all!!!
Man, you'd all be SO jealous of me right now. The sun is high, the sky is blue, the birds will sing, and so do you (another quote that Charlie probably knows :) But it's definitely a Spring day here today. Which is funny because about two days ago we got hit with a winter storm. Oh Canada! Sorry to hear about the snow shoveling, I remember those days. And an eternal family class sounds super exciting!! Our investigators went to a marriage counseling fireside, and they met a member there that said she can make them a wedding cake for FREE!! And now they're all set for their wedding next month. So Excited!! And in a year, I'll be here to see them get sealed!!! (Supposedly President allows missionaries to go, even if they're not serving with them) Yeah, temples!! And guess who's going to the temple this Saturday?? This Guy!!! I'm Pumped!!
School sounds exciting. Mom, before passing nursing school, you probably need to know how to spell Next Test. It's not NCLEX Test, that's incorrect ;) Wrapping it all up, though. Time really does fly. Logan wishes I was pushing a year. But it'll be here in no time, and by then, I'll be an AP :) All the sports sound fun. I'm excited to see Sophie tear up the ice once I get home.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAVANNAH!!!!!! I MISS YOU!!!!! HAVE FUN IN SCHOOL!!!!
This week has been so adventurous. Tons of lessons, most I've ever had on my mission; adventures with Colombians (including Colombian Parties); crazy foods, like fried pig skin; decaffeinated coffee, I didn't drink it; and of course, baptisms. So, this last week we helped our investigator and returning member (who are both Colombians) move into their new apartment. After we helped them, they gave us Chicarron (fried pig skin), bought us bacon (because they know we love bacon), ice cream, and invited us to her son's birthday party the next day. He was turning nine, so we decided to go and make him a new investigator!!! So we went, and EVERYONE THERE WERE COLOMBIANS!!!!! Except one Chilean. I was in Heaven!!! We are going to baptize all of them!!!! But, we gave the birthday boy an easy to read Book of Mormon and we're going to baptize him So Soon. The problem with Colombians is that they all drink coffee like crazy. The two we're working with brought up that decaffeinated isn't against the Word of Wisdom, and this week, THREE different people brought up that concern. We basically told them, WE DON'T KNOW, JUST DON'T DRINK COFFEE!!!!! Other than that, yesterday, our ward had two more baptisms. One was a ward baptism, and the other was that boy's sister, whose parents had stopped her from getting baptized until her brother turned 8. I had picked them up a couple of transfers ago, but gave them to the Hermanas when they came into our ward, so I was very happy about the baptisms. I also got the opportunity to play and sing "Glorious" with one of the Hermanas for the baptismal service. Supposedly it was pretty great. :) And now here we are. We have baptisms set up for the next three weeks (after this week) and we are hoping to get more. Everything is coming together and we are super excited for the rest of this transfer.
One thing in the mission that we are supposed to do is teach in every meeting, contact, and conversation. I have grown a HUGE testimony of that this week. A lot of times, we need to teach investigators something, or follow up with them on reading, praying, etc. but we're in a situation where we can't sit them down and just talk with them, so we have to integrate gospel conversation when we talk with them. It's made a huge impact on our investigators. We've been able to teach a ton more, set more baptismal dates, and things come together so well when we do it. It's been crazy cool and has really helped with my testimony of having a language of faith. When we're talking about Gospel-related things, it's SO much easier to talk about the Gospel. Who knew?? :) Well, I hope everyone is doing great. I love you all!!!
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