Sep 29...the hardest thing i'm ever gonna love to do.

This last week has been FILLED with mixed emotions for me because I love Canada so much and I know its not going to be the easiest or cheapest thing for me to get back to my mission but I also know that the hardest thing I am EVER gonna love to do is getting on that airplane Friday morning and come home to you! I miss you all so much and its weird to think that a computer screen and lots and lots of miles wont separate us anymore. 

haha I have one suitcase packed an filled because we dont have enough room in our car to take both me and sister porters stuff to winnipeg... YEP we are BOTH getting transferred. They are changing sisters to elders because there is SOOO many sisters going home... areas are gonna start closing like crazy because they cant keep sending enough sisters. I plan on filling the other two this week and getting ready to get back to YOU FINALLY!!!!!! because im coming home this week... i didnt really want to write a long email mainly because i want to be able to just talk to you about these things later on... I love you so much! I am so grateful for the things I have learned as a missionary and the things that I can apply to the rest of my future! I am so grateful for how much my mission has strengthened my testimony and i love you all so much and will see you on friday! 

dont party too hard until i get there :) 

LOVE YOU!

Sep 22...biking on my mission

Okay I wanted to start off by explaining my pictures because well... that way I wont run out of time if i cant finish all i want to say haha!

One of the pictures is me and sister porter with helmets on... we are biking/walking sisters now because our car was in an accident last transfer (it got 'scratched' on the side of a car wash) and will take TWELVE DAYS to fix... when they told me that i couldnt believe it because i wouldnt have even taken my car in with the damage that was done to it haha. but oh well... since my number of days and the number of days tell we get the car back are almost the same we are making the best out of the situtation! Also realized it may either be God punishing Sister Porter to talk to more people (street contacting!) or it might be God answering my prayers in an effort to get healthy and happy before I get home (you should be careful what you pray for.. i should know that by now as a missionary haha but it works i have lost five pounds since i have come to selkirk!) so there is the story of why I am sore and tired and SOOO happy.. which all dont really relate haha welcome to missionary work! 

The second picture is of me and a boy named J*** in our branch... he is thirteen. we had lunch at his place on sunday and he wanted to show me his halloween costume... it was a pretty intense halloween costume... his family is all being lego characters (apparently i missed the lego movie so i have no idea whats going on) but all i know is he put on his costume then started running towards me...scariest thing ever! he is bigger than he thinks and if he doesnt stop he could really take me out. but he stopped and i screamed and he laughed.... im gonna miss that kid.. hes like my buddy and he is the only active young man in our branch so i always praise him and his worthiness and willingness to use his priesthood! he is going to be an incredible missionary one day! 

Okay! I will start with this week and if i have time i will try to tell you more about last week!

MONDAY: We went to the city for pday activity for the first time since i have left prince albert... so many missionaries... i only knew like three... it was sad... but we played basketball so it made it all better! then we just kind of hung around as close to winnipeg as possible for the rest of the day. We had dinner in birds hill with a member, we planned outside the gateway sisters apartment because they didnt get home tell nine thirty. we had lunch with sister menlove at costco.... LOVE SISTER MENLOVE! and i got a bunch of stuff done that needed to happen before i go home... it was a very productive monday just a horrible emailing day. 

TUESDAY: we had a specialized zone training meeting that was all about giving members tools and having them pray for us in our missionary work. It was very inspired and very incredible. and I had to give my departing testimony which was hard... I have loved my mission so much not sure i could ever express it in words. But of course i saw Ed (st james recent convert) he comes to all those things... and of course the meeting was suppose to be done in time to get us home by like three.... and what time did we get home.. .like five, no big deal! but i think the best part was President and Sister Thomas made us recommend holders specific to the cwm with the regina temple on them! SO FANTASTIC! 

WEDNESDAY: We went to go see a member and what do we end up doing. Carry a table down the hall and around the corner to a neighbors apartment... its funny seeing old ladies worry about if you are lifting too much or not! Then we went and saw the L*** (the foster family we are working with) and they are super cute... they want to talk to us about boys and everything and their mom is so strict... its a funny dynamic to watch. 

THURSDAY: was the day we lost the car... it was a sad day... but its okay we only walked an hour to do online to realize the place we were walking to was closed... and how did god bless us for our efforts. He sent us to find D*** who is HILLARIOUS! He is a short skinny man who wears biker clothes with long hair but is the nicest smiliest man you will ever meet in your entire life and he is really helping us teach according to our skills because he wants us to put well us in our lessons... its fun! Then we went to the norwells (recent convert family) and had a lesson about the parable of the popping corn. what do you do under pressure and heat?! do you reach your full potential and become delicious or do you fall short and get tossed in the trash! really its up to you! 

FRIDAY: i waddled like a penguin most of the day because i was so sore... my knee acted up which caused me to limp which effected my walking just in general! it was really funny! but its okay because we weekly planned and did a phone lesson... i curled up in a blanket to avoid from crying haha seriously SOOO FUNNY! 

SATURDAY: I hit my eighteen month mark.... that was weird... and really unreal for me... but we celebrated with D*** by meeting him at dairy queen for ice cream. then it was pouring rain... our loving district leader said he prayed for it. so i looked like a wet dog. but you know what! rain is beautiful! so why not learn to dance in it right!!!!!!

SUNDAY: we started teaching cal who is way interested in religion for his age! he was so excited he wanted to meet again tomorrow! its weird to see how the lord still has a hand in everything we do even when we feel like we cant do as much as we normally can. Then we got a ride to winnipeg and was able to sing in the stake choir. Sister Emmers is an incredible arranger that really turns into MIRACULOUS music! it was so fun to sing it even though i wont be here for the choir. 

Love you all... and like kaylynnn said! See you next week.... AHHHH SO WEIRD!

Sep 15..."best email ever"

Okay... So I was trying to be smart and wrote out all the incredible things for the week and was all ready to write the best email ever when unfortunately i realized I left it at home.. .next to my bed... smart one sister Harrison... and i would just make sister porter drive me home to get it but unfortunately haha we decided to go to Winnipeg for the day so I am thirty to forty minutes away from my apartment so here is to the recollection of a dying missionary on what i did this week... and then i will put my list in my suitcase so i can tell you about all the stuff i forgot.

Monday we were SUPPOSE to have celebrated Sister Porters nine month mark... found out it was only her eighth... and we built a fort and everything. our fort has a name. its flicka's fort... Sister Marx (the mission therapist) came up with the name but that's a story for a different day. Then we went on a crazy search for a navy blue shirt for family pictures when I get home... made me realize how close it really was... but it seems like we have found the perfect match. :) Then we had an incredible lesson over the phone... Kaylynn has all of these fancy gadgets that help with her missionary work haha my phone makes it so I can talk to a less active who lives an hour and half away one way... haha its crazy to see the differences in our missions but still know that God uses weak and humble servants to hasten his work all over.

Tuesday we were in Winnipeg for district lunch and you will never believe what happened. They made me do a portion... on how to be a successful missionary... they said it had something to do with me coming home soon, I kind of laughed because even though I am going home soon I feel like I learn every day how to be a more successful missionary... I don't think I will ever get there in this lifetime but I sure try. I ended up using the Climber, Camper, Quitter analogy dad sent me forever ago as a pep talk because to me a successful missionary is someone who gets up every day and climbs not someone who baptizes like crazy. It's courage for me to keep going in the face of struggle then to be able to put on a tough face and show the world that you can conquer it all. "It's the climb" as a famous artist once sang... but do you think I could remember who that was to save my life haha NOPE the mission veil has got me for sure! Then we went to a members house for dinner and I thought i would check the phone before we started the lesson... GOOD THING! We had eleven messages, seven missed calls, and six voicemails... apparently Sister Porters facebook got hacked and the mean person was putting horrible stuff up so we had to do damage control for the rest of the night and Sister Porter was pretty shaken up by it but we got it all squared away... i guess there are pros and cons to the technology we are using now days.

Wednesday we had a lot of member appointments. We were at members for dinner and supper (yes our lunch appointment calls lunch dinner) and then we were able to help out a member who was moving unpack some boxes... Luckily we were able to end the day with an investigator family of ours that are a foster home.... what was the rule with summer getting baptized? what were lessons really like i cant remember them to save my life?

Thursday we had another lunch appointment (i think this branch wants to fatten me up) and we were also able to have another phone lesson but nothing really exciting happened... I saw a porta potty in the middle of the street that i have to tell myself I CAN'T use every time i pass it because its so tempting... how neat would it be to say you used the bathroom in the middle of the street. We also found out we are losing our car for twelve days starting Thursday because of scratch its the worst... but im running out of time so i will add on to next week what i didn't get done... LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! thanks for the support and I will keep sprinting :)

Sep 8...Time is starting to soar.

Okay so usually I am all prepared and have a piece of paper in front of me that reminds me what I have done this week but this week apparently I didn't quite get to it haha.

So now I am gonna have to do the day thing to keep everything straight because its hard to even remember what I have eaten for breakfast! 

   Monday we made back to school kits for the kids in our branch and spent that night stopping by delivering them. I kind of worked with a hope kit that i used before and made it specific to back to school. So for example we did an eraser to help with the mistakes, a mint so they are always fresh, a rubber band to help them stretch, a paper clip to help them hold it all together, a picture of the best tutor they will ever have (Jesus Christ), and a chocolate coin so they are never broke. It was a really really cheesy idea but it got us into homes that we have been trying to get into for FOREVER and it really helped us show the branch that we love them. 

   On Tuesday we had district meeting with probably my favorite practice that we have had in a long time. We did minute doctrine where we were blind folded and picked a number and then had a minute to explain that principle. It was really fun... and of course i got law of chastity, luckily I also got baptism and so it wasn't like i was full of all awkward things. Then we skyped Sister Porters aunt and was able to start teaching her. That was really fun for Sister Porter and my little quiet companion sure does have a BOLD testimony that i am so impressed by! 

   Wednesday we were able to do a lot of different kinds of appointments so it was a really fun day. We had lunch with our branch mission leader and his wife and son (who is married and has a family of his own... thought i would put that in for age purposes) and they are always fun to eat with. They take such good care of us. and they love to tease us too and on wednesday apparently it was my turn to be teased about how i am going home soon and getting "married" even sooner... haha and as much as that is a goal of mine the idea of it is kind of scary as my mission gets closer to an end. Then we traveled for an hour out to a members house and was able to teach her a lesson out there. It is such a long drive and so in the middle of no where that it makes me suprised that a huge city (winnipeg) is so close to these outskirt beautiful areas. There are also some nice looking old vehicles on the property haha. (the blue one is a bus for the snow) We also saw some recent converts and read the scriptures with them because they hadnt done that for a while and were able to start teaching a family of five. They are incredible. They are a couple who does foster care and has four girls and so we have started teaching the girls who range in age from 14-20 so its an incredible experience that is bringing back memories of when Summer was taught my the sister missionaries in Idaho! 

   Thursday we weekly planned because we had exchanges on friday. Then it seemed all of our lessons fell through. but we always find a way to keep ourselves busy because if we slow down we are in trouble. (its easier not to get trunkier the busy you are... kaylynn has the right idea, dont give yourself time to get trunky)

   Friday we had exchanges and it was good! I got to go with Sister Haner who i have been on exchanges before. It was fun! We were able to drive out to Stonewall which is this BEAUTIFUL little town! I loved the scenery and the buildings... .I could spend a week there (even though it was really small and there wasnt much to do) walking on main street made me feel like i was in the movies. Then we got to go teach R***. He is so funny. He laughed for five minutes because we was like "i drank all my life tell ten years ago, and when i was drunk the girls came no where near me. Now I dont drink and I have five young ladies in my house" he thought it was the funniest thing. we all laughed for a while about it! Then we had the most INCREDIBLE lesson with a less active on the phone and she is just progressing so well. I love her so much. And we were able to teach the parable of the talents. My favorite parable there is!!!!

   Saturday is a special day its a day we get ready for sunday! like seriously trying to see everyone we can who needs to come to church so they are ready for the best day of the week! We were finally able to meet with two of our investigators again and because of that they came to church! We are excited for the energy we are finding in this area and hope that it continues to grow. on saturday night we got invited to an inner faith performance by an investigator of ours so we decided to go to be supportive. and it was INCREDIBLE! the music was so powerful and inspiring and its funny how everything they were teaching could be answered through the restoration. hopefully one day!

   Sunday! I love sundays. We get to partake of the sacrament and get to feel the love and faith of the branch and get to usually go to supper at a members house! yep sundays are good days! 

Today was Sister Porters nine month mark! HAPPY NINE MONTHS! so we built a fort and ate lunch in it... yes we may be missionaries but dont worry mom im still a kid at heart! love you all! cant wait to see you again!

Sep 1...What were you thinking

Please ignore my grammar mistakes as i am going to be writing fast because I am running low on time... as per usual!

Well mondays in selkirk are extremely relaxing. There is no rush or fuss we just do what we need to do and EVEN GET A NAP! I didnt believe it when sister porter told me until i went and laid in my bed and closed my eyes... NEVER in my life of a missionary has that happened. SO GREAT! Also we sleep over at the gateway sisters apartment monday nights so we dont have to drive forever to get into town tuesday morning for district meeting (its like a fourty five minute drive from selkirk to northern winnipeg where district meeting is) and so I got to stay in my first apartment with Sister du Plessis. That was fun! We even found the book of mormon sign book me and sister rush and sister hutchinson started when we first opened the apartment. It feels like just yesterday i was there until someone reminds me it was almost a year and a half ago.... ouch... stab at the dying missionaries heart why dont you haha! 

District meeting this week was really good! it was all about Companionship Unity and communication and for me and sister porter (who are out by ourselves) communication is key because there isnt anybody else around to talk it out with. Then we ran errands all around winnipeg because we would be in town. We were able to go get me my medication and go turn in the receipt as well as turn in an accident report since our car was banged up before i got here! man did that take longer then i thought it would but it was all worth it in the end because i got to give sister menlove a hug. Then we had a sports night where NO ONE showed up. one of our members came who is the soccer coach who we apparently help out during the season but no one else came so he taught me how to kick a soccer ball. Its funny how people keep trying to teach me soccer and how i keep being not so good at it. 

Well i finally was able to meet our branch mission leader on wednesday and that was good! it ended up with his friend stopping by, him asking us to teach his friend, and his wife giving his friend a book of mormon. the members here are incredible! Online also proved fruitful as we got a new investigator from nigeria that we taught a couple of times and have turned over to the missionaries there! hopefully they find him! Then we met with a less active that sister porter told me was schizophrenic... and i dont think thats what he is. I think he has mulitple personality disorders but either way it was a very odd lesson that we might not jump at the opprotunity to do again. oh and one of our investigators who started out super bitter and closed off looked up what is prayer online, He also started closing his prayers in the name of Jesus Christ and reading the book of mormon... its incredible how god softens hearts. 

We met with these two little girls who recently got baptized and were talking to them about fasting that their step dad would join us in our lessons... so next sunday we are all gonna fast for that! its incredible to see these girls willingness to learn and grow in the gospel! Then we went and saw a branch member who is from scottland (in fact we are emailing at their house today because everything is closed) and they have the most incredible back story. They are true pioneers as they were baptized into a branch of four... them and two others when the missioanries left them to be on their own and they had to keep things running the best way they knew how until the sent missionaries again. The stories they can tell are incredible! 

We finished weekly planning in one day again! I love it when that happens. Then a set of triplets in our branch got baptized. They broke the record of number of people being baptized at once for our little branch and we even had to borrow a lot of jump suits because for some reason our small building wasnt equipped with three kid size jumpers. haha but it went really good! 

Our weekend was more eventful though as we helped a member move from an hour out of town to into town. When we finally got there sister porter told me it was okay to call where we were at the middle of no where (since i think everywhere in selkirk is the middle of no where) but once we got back into town it was getting all her stuff in the elevator that was the tricky part haha. the guys who were helping us (since there were only four) jokingly told us to go get the deep freeze off the truck and bring it in. We both knew they were joking but what did me and sister porter go do. We went and got the deep freeze and brought it in haha.... their faces were priceless but then they made us set it down because apparently we couldnt finish the job we started then sent us to get a trunk that was heavier then the deep freeze haha. Makes me grateful my dad had me help him carry all those couches and stuff. then we had a lesson with a member that turned into life lessons sister harrison and sister porter need to know and they talked to us FOREVER! it was good things to know though! A less active we are teaching showed up to church. She lives over an hour away and she hasnt been in years and she surprised us and just showed up we were shocked and SOOO happy! We also had an incredible relief soceity priesthood class on the talk What are you thinking? from general conference its incredible and talks about working with what we can control and trying to understand all parts of the situation and its my suggestion for attitude this week because it has a LOT of good advice in there! Also in sunday school we learned about jonah and the whale and how we cant run away from our callings... thats kind of a scary thought... but all in all my weekend ended with my district leader asking me how long i was in canada because he could barely understand me. Thank you... thank you very much. didnt think i talked that much like a canadian but apparently i do haha! 

LOVE YOU ALL! cant wait to see you

                                           Jessalyn copying her dads selfie in the background.

Aug 25...From one side of the mission to the other

Saying goodbyes are really hard and this week I had some hard goodbyes to say! Its weird to think that these people can have such an impact on my life in such a short time but I hope to never forget the experiences I have had. So I am gonna start off this letter with a list of hard goodbyes I had to say! 

My district and other missionaries: Usually saying goodbye to missionaries is the easiest because you know you 'might' see them again through transfers or after the mission but I won't see these missionaries again unless I see them after the mission. And then on my travels I got to see old companions and friends that I just probably won't see for a while. The missionaries around you really become your family out here! I love them all oh so much! I have made a lot of eternal friendships out here that I plan on keeping around for a while. 

The YSA/Young Women of the Prince Albert ward: Those girls are incredible they really made me feel loved while I was up there and it was so sad to say goodbye to them! They have great things ahead of them and I hope they realize the impact they can make. Such powerful girls! 

The Kiefer's and Mavis: I swear in every area i got to there is one or more people who 'adopt' me. This is my Prince Albert mom and aunt and they are so incredible and so supportive. they told me if i ever came and visited i would have a place to stay! i may take them up on that one day! 

Cooks: I feel like i should never have had to say goodbye to them but president was kind enough to let me go anyways and that was SUCH A HARD GOODBYE! the hardest part was sheila walking me to my car and holding my hand and telling me she loves me but i have to move on with my life that i cant stay here or i wont grow and that she loves me. I love that woman so much! I am so incredibly happy I came on my mission so i could meet that family! 

Then off to my 11 hour car ride that went over two days to get from Prince Albert, SK to Selkirk, MB! It started with me and sister hudson driving down to saskatoon and then i lost my companion and was placed with wait not another sister... nope... instead with three elders... so for three hours i was in the car alone with three elders and HOLY was that weird. haha we ended up finally finding something to talk about but I was so excited to see sisters again when i arrived to Regina. In Regina we stayed with the sunrise sisters (sister meservey and sister fellows were there) and then at five thirty in the morning we had to be at the church ready to drive to winnipeg... so with no sleep and little time to get ready off we went on a six hour car ride in petunia my purple vibe from saskatoon! She drives horribly just so everyone is aware (petunia not sister fellows) but we safely made it to winnipeg that was followed by big hugs from sister thomas and sister menlove. seeing old companions, a special ordered pizza because sister menlove loves me and meeting my new companion sister porter... and would you think my traveling was done there... NOPE! I then got in the car with sister porter and traveled for an our to selkirk... but we finally made it! :) 

Now that i have given you a run down of what consisted of most of my week let me tell you some of the fun stuff that happened. 

I wrestled with C*** who is one of the young women up in prince albert... she thought it was lame the boys could wrestle but we couldnt and i told her we could so she was like REALLY and came to sports night and had me wrestle her... she taught me a few things and was sure she was gonna beat me... little did she know i am pretty tough so after we both threw each other once we called it a day because we were both tired. 

In selkirk we got to see some incredible people so far. Some of our recent converts were the first stop we made and they gave me a big old welcome hug and it was the best! im so excited to be here. Then we also met T and D who are our new investigators... T is an italian catholic who has way to much to say and D is buddhist she thinks but they are SUPER funny! We showed them the importance of faith using a tea bag and then got on a really good discussion about the importance of positivity. Apparently T has been so negative lately he is causing negative energy to make him sick or so D tells us. Then we spent two hours in the most secure part of the mental institution here in selkirk because we have a less active and an investigator there. They had to lock up my possessions and wand me down and it was incredibly weird but we did it. Then we met a real live viking... not sure what that meant but it was pretty neat that that was the first thing he told us. Then we met an investigator who suffers from MS and hasn't left his home in a year or more because he doesn't have a ramp. Poor guy! he is super bitter about it too! hopefully knowing Jesus Christ loves him will bring him some peace! The people we have met have confirmed to me the importance of positive thinking! its so important to be able to know that you can change your outlook and how you react to things. I love how the people around me sometimes teach me more lessons then what i teach them. On sunday i went to my first PEC and probably my only PEC meeting... i guess that PEC will just be for the men when i get home haha. 

Sister porter is such a sweet girl. im nine inches taller then her but she is ten times smarter then me. she wants to be a mechanical engineer when she gets home and maybe specialize into something with space, she talks in big words. But she draws beautifully she is an incredible artist! She is more on the quieter side but i love her! we will have a good six weeks together! Selkirk is small but its growing on me! population of 10,000 here i come! 

Aug 18...transfer to Selkirk

So this week wasn't quite as full as adventures as last week but it was still a lot of fun! 

    For FHE we played this winking game. The basis of the game is if you get winked at you wait five seconds and then die suddenly... it's a super fun game. Well i was picked and I HATE being it because i am a horrid liar but apparently i am getting better at it because i almost killed everyone. The only reason i didn't win was the last two girls who were standing were too afraid to look at me and I COULDN'T KILL THEM! it was frustrating but it was funny to see how creative people got with their secretive winks. Then we were done planning and i was on the phone with Elder Schmidt and when i went back to the bedroom i realized i had NO idea where my companion was... I was scared she ran away on me and realized the door was locked and i still had the keys so she couldn't have gone that far so i started calling out for her... you will never guess where she was. UNDER THE BED! She just wanted to see if she could fit and almost gave me a heart attack, one for making me feel alone (scariest thing you can do to a missionary) and two for creepily crawling out from under the bed... haha now that's the first place i look when i have no idea where she is. 

   District meeting on Tuesday was all about setting goals. It made me really excited to know what the goals are for the next six weeks of my life (thanks dad) Then i spent online time working on a goodbye letter to president and sister Thomas... that was weird to thank two of the most important people of my last year and a half for all they have done for me. I don't think words could ever fully thank them for everything they do! Then we forgot about a lesson we had with an investigator... ooopss... that hasn't happened in a while. We called as soon as we realized and she was asleep so she would have missed us anyways... so we set up another appointment and got to see her on a different day and she called us "awesome" and said she was glad to know us and her little girl is the CUTEST thing in the entire world! We also have been carrying around this wallet forever trying to make it a finding opportunity by returning it to the owner but it doesn't seem like he is ever home... so we ended up just leaving it in his mailbox. oh and we had lunch with the relief society president and that was fun and we even ended up getting a new couch out of it which was great for us but not so fun for the elders who had to carry it through a flight of stairs and six doorways haha yep it takes them six doors to get to our apartment. Then at sports night i got to play California speed for the first time on my mission... i remember playing that so much growing up it was fun to be able to play it again... even though i'm not very good at it! 

   We were in charge of young womens this week so we decided to talk about 'deep beauty' and show the girls the example they can make just by their spirit. It ended in a photo booth with fun props and it was a super fun night! We even had an investigator come and she loved it! We decided to pick the line 'I "moustache" you to remember you are a daughter of God'. The girls in this ward are so cute! Wednesday night i left my planner in the car so i planned on a piece of paper because i was too lazy to go down the stairs and get it haha. I've planned so much i can make my own planner with a piece of paper... that will be a fun quality to have when i get home, the ability to plan! Oh and one of our less actives disappeared. Her Facebook was shut down and NO one could tell us where she was so we were getting worried then we found out she was okay! thank goodness! 

   It has been so hot this week! its been 30 degrees Celsius with 60% humidity and some days  i swear I'm melting... like into a puddle... its hot! I think the winters here changed my internal thermometer haha. We also went to ward council this week and it was sad. The amount of missionaries in attendance (six) almost doubled the number of members who were there (3) two of the bishopric members and the primary president were the only ones there. It was kind of a disappointing ward council. But during ward council me and sister Hudson had to leave so we could practice our song we were singing in sacrament and we almost blew the microphone. it was so loud when it was first turned on. but practicing went well and then bishop took all the missionaries out for blizzards so we could support the local childrens hospital... i will eat ice cream... all in the name of service :)

    WE FINISHED WEEKLY PLANNING THE DAY WE STARTED IT!!! It was a Christmas miracle and its no where even close to Christmas. It was such a relief to just get it done! Then we taught our neighbors which is fun but always crazy and we get scared with how much to push because we are afraid of awkward encounters if they decide they don't want to learn anymore. Even missionaries have our fears of missionary work we have to get over each and every day! then we went downtown to pick up a fax that was sent from the mission office and in ten minutes of walking i got blisters and they hurt so much i ended up just taking off my shoes and walking barefoot which probably isn't the safest thing to do in prince albert, especially downtown. But its okay because Friday night we watched the saratov approach with some members and non members who came out. I think the scariest part of the whole movie was when the missionary was utterly alone... that must have been terrifying and watching that movie as a missionary... may not suggest doing that to anyone else haha. 

    This weekend we spent time doing demolition and renovation with a less active and it was fun! the elders got really into it too and it was crazy to see the difference that more hands made. Then we went to lunch for Elder Bee's birthday... he is 20 now the old fart hahahahhaha... and then the celebration didn't stop because we went to dinner at our ward mission leaders house and it was his birthday this week too. We bought him a gag present from the dollar store. It was a pirate costume (i painted his face pirate style on the first of july) so we made sure he wouldn't forget us (me more then anyone else because i am being transferred) Then Sunday came and because I'm leaving i got to give a farewell talk.. so did Elder Schmidt... and then elder bee just talked because he was asked to and then elder nilsson taught sunday school, i lead the music in sacrament, sister hudson played piano in relief society, and me and sister hudson did a musical number in sacrament... it was kind of a missionary day good thing they have lots of missionaries to choose from. I am really gonna miss PA. 

    Well I am being transferred to Selkirk, Manitoba. It is a small branch where there are only missionaries and its about forty minutes away from Winnipeg. I am excited to go back and learn the adventures heavenly father has for me. I am also super excited to hug people i haven't seen in a long time (sister menlove, and others) The change talk and attitude talks have been good for me. I have a very hopeful look of the future! Love you all! cant believe it but we are down to a six week countdown... CRAZY!!!!! LOVE YOU!!!

   

Aug 11...Bats, blood and missionaries

Okay so I have SOOO much to write about this week! I hope I have time to write it all! I dont know if I necessarily like the whole day to day thing so I am gonna try to make it flow without all the day choppiness. 

   For family home evening we played Kings Cup... apparently its a drinking game but we played Mormon style with just nasty juices. Tonic Water was the worst followed by Ginger Beer... thought i was gonna gag!!!! but the YSA kids LOVE IT! They also think its funny to see us missionaries taste weird stuff.. I never understood that... why does making missionaries eat things that are weird fascinate people so much.. don't know guess i will find out when i get home ;) Kennewick Washington missionaries look out you might have a touch of CWM at meal appointments from now on! On Monday night I tried to focus on the Adjusting To Missionary Life handbook to deal with my stress and it helped a little but i have decided they need to have one of those for old missionaries or missionaries who are going home! because we deal with stress too but its not exactly the same as new missionaries! either way that book as INCREDIBLE INSIGHTS! I think the insight that stood out to me the most this week was one of the scriptures it quotes. "And [Jesus] said unto [His disciples], Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat" I guess it didn't hit me tell this that Jesus and his disciples would know the feelings I go through as a missionary! When we are so busy we don't have time to eat, or when we worry about the salvation of the people we are teaching, or where we want to support those we have already taught who are falling away but we are too far to see them anymore... They understand what we have been through, we can relate to each other! I just thought that was so neat! 

   The SPCA this week brought the CUTEST puppies I have ever seen in my entire life. They were part pug puppies that were just to die for cute! So we got to hold them and play with them for a little bit and I picked one that I just stuck with! I named her Speckles! She was soooo cute! Then Sister Hudson named one Joey, not quite sure why... then the Elders got to pick the name for all the other puppies (five more puppies) and they named them all Tom haha.... good thing we wont forget their names or mess them up at all... super creative elders! Then me and Sister Hudson went through the white hand book and wrote down all the rules we needed to focus on to improve ourselves spiritually and physically. It was good to see how much we were doing right. It's really easy to focus on the things we get wrong all the time that going through the white hand book it was a relief to see what was already going right! Then we had sports night where at the end I became an evil twin because the little girls that come where playing a game... and so I chased them around and they just laughed and laughed then they started wanting to put me in jail so my good twin came back! yep i know have multiple personality disorder and my good twin is a lot easier to handle haha... so they let me stay out of jail until after closing prayer... then they were convinced that the evil twin had come back and required me to go to jail and see the judge. Luckily the jail was the car and the judge was God in my evening prayers, those girls let me off easy :) 

   We spent all of Wednesday in Saskatoon for ZTM and doctors appointments... The upside to our trip there was I got to see the Cooks! and Ricah! it was Ricah's and Jay's birthday so it was INCREDIBLE to still be able to share these special moments with these people I love so much! ZTM (haha Canadians say its zed.t.m because z is zed up here if its not in a word... its been a debate for a while) was really good! It had a lot to do with faith of reaching our baptismal goal of 225... since we are only at 60 something 225 is quite a distance still but we can do it! We had a mission wide fast for it on Sunday and we are all determined to get three baptisms before the end of the year... kind of had a realization that I wont be here at the end of the year so I did the math... I need to contribute on more baptism to help the CWM mission to reach its goal... so that is my goal.. one baptism before I get home! Keep that in your prayers please! Then we went home and we were planning for our next day when we could have sworn something was in the apartment. I was the one closest to the hallway and I saw a flash of black in the hallway and FLIPPED!!!!!! We still had no idea what it was until the STUPID BAT flew around the corner... yes there was a vampire, flesh-eating, horrible creature in our apartment. Really it was just a nice bat that eats mosquitoes and other bugs that I don't like but I don't appreciate it being in my apartment. So I screamed! Quite loudly actually, and you know what that did... absolutely nothing! In fact it made the bat freak out and start swooping towards us! So I ran with the phone into the bathroom and called the Elders knowing they couldn't help but thought it was worth a try and Sister Hudson went for a broom, opened the screen door, and then ended up just laying on the floor until the bat just left. We still have NO idea how it got into our apartment, we are thinking the chimney but really I am tired of creepy, crawly, and flying things getting into our apartment. I thought i would add in her version of it too so you got both sides of it... it makes it more entertaining "Then at the end of a long day we were planning in our apartment as we do every night. In the middle of planning, we heard a rustling sound coming from the bedroom. We had no idea what it was. Sister Harrison was like "Is there something in our apartment?" and from where she was sitting on the floor she could see into the hallway while I couldn't. So I watched her face turn to one of absolute HORROR and I started freaking out, thinking someone had broken into our apartment and was going to murder us. It was the most terrifying moment of my life. I had no idea what was going on because Sister Harrison wasn't saying anything. Then this bat comes flying out and we were screaming/laughing/crying/ducking (it kept swooping at us) until Sister Harrison hid in the bathroom and I closed all the doors and got a broom. I ended up just lying on the floor so it would stop swooping at me, and then it flew out of the porch door I had opened for it."

   While we were at the food bank this week Elder Schmidt said I was the senior companion of the district! WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS CALLING ME OLD! haha but I am old and they use that to their advantage and have me make decisions...haha poor elders! But even the old comment couldn't ruin my time at the food bank! I love it there!!!! it is one of my favorite service opportunities ever! Then Sister Hudson got sick. She got a nasty cold and we tried to tackle it day one by making her sleep but no luck... she still got it hard and coughs and sneezes all the time! Its her first time being sick on her mission and she said its worse then being sick at home! I would completely agree with her! So while she took a nap I called Sister Marx who is the CWM councilor for missionaries and worked with her on some relaxation techniques. I really liked them and I am gonna keep trying them on my own. My favorite was her imagery one where she took me to the lake! It was an amazing journey that really worked with the whole relaxation thing... now its just making the time to do it again haha! I have started sending messages to the random people who add me online! I realized that the only way I am gonna find is by being creative... so for friend requests for people I dont know, that dont have a thousand other missionaries as friends already, i sent this

... "Hello! I noticed you sent me a friend request. As a representative of Jesus Christ I am always excited to meet new people who want to get closer to their saviour. Since I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I love to invite all to come closer to Christ and listen to the unique message of the restoration that we share with the world. Would you be interested in hearing more about this message!?"

It may seem like a lame message but I got a response. I am now teaching a less active from California who is living in Calgary who was outreaching to anyone and will HOPEFULLY start meeting with missionaries in her own area soon! She is incredible and its been a really neat experience to get to meet her and teach her! We are still finding everywhere we go.. .online, at investigators homes, somehow we have been able to consistently find one to two investigators each week this transfer... even though TWO OF THEM DROPPED US IN ONE DAY! We cant have a perfect teaching pool its just hard when people you feel like could progress so much decide not to study with you anymore! But you keep them in your prayers and you know that one day they will get there, its just not today! 

   Weekly planning went sour this week when we hit a stump and didn't know how to help a family that I have been working with since I got in this area. They are super open to lessons and if we push they come to church but Sister Thomas reminded us this week that it wasnt our job to push them that our job as missionaries is to invite others to come unto Christ, whether they come or not is their decision... it makes planning and getting ready for this family to progress a little harder but we aren't ready to give up yet! Then I got to go the hospital to get some blood work done... and what did they do THEY ADMITTED ME TO THE HOSPITAL! The one thing Sister Thomas said to make sure they didnt do... yep I got a bracelet and everything... Luckily six vile of blood and 144 dollars later I escaped with Sister Hudson... really they just let us go... but we had a joke with the lady at the front that they were gonna keep us and so she was part of our escape. Then we got to see President Thomas and Sister Thomas... they came up to visit us in Prince Albert and to do interviews! It was sooo good to be able to talk to President Thomas and he is so incredible! He has so much love for each of us and worries about us so much! Then we had so many cancellations... this week has just been full of them... so one night I was singing 'err body hates us no one loves us why dont we eat cake' and you know what we did after that... haha we ate cake! and did companionship inventory! it was grand! oh and I spilled a milkshake all over because im clumsy and cant hold on to anything (I blame it on losing a lot of blood) but its okay a miracle happened... the milkshake missed my planner, thank goodness because i dont think that blueberry deliciousness would have come out haha. OH AND THE MOST BEAUTIFUL LIGHTNING STORM HAPPENED! I wish I had dad's nice camera so I could have taken pictures but HOLY it was GORGEOUS! Made me happy to be woken up in the middle of the night! 

   The weekend proved to be slower and less eventful which was a blessing. One of our less actives got up and moved to Melfort (which is like an hour away) just out of the blue.. in the middle of the night... so hes gone and its sad! Then we finished weekly planning for the first time EVER this transfer! that was a miracle! Then I got to talk to my family. As much as its unfortunate that things got to the point that I had to call my family I was truly grateful for the chance to talk to them. It really helped more then they will ever know! Our neighbor came to church with us.. then disappeared, we still arent sure if she was found but her daughter texted us asking where she was and she didnt know where she was that night either... luckily she is a grown woman and can take care of herself and her daughter is an adult too and can survive a day without her but its still weird. I dont know if I have told you about Sister Deschambeault at all either. She is an elderly lady in our ward that lives at the hospital and we go with the elders to give her the sacrament each week. I LOVE DOING THAT! She reminds me a lot of Corette and i love just feeling her spirit. Then we had a supper appointment with one of the Mission Presidents Councilors and it was good! the most annoying part was an elder kept distracting everyone during our lesson to try and get a picture of a hummingbird... and he moved so fast he scared it away every time! I really do love PA its hard but its great! And I have met people here I will keep in contact with forever... Well this week we get transfer calls... our last transfer call EVER on our mission.. its weird... But I am excited and hopefully for what heavenly father has in store for me. Thank you for all your support, and letters, and love! I LOVE YOU!

Aug 4...where is the time going?

So this week was stressful and crazy! but we made it through with only a few bumps and bruises and a lot more respect for prayer and a loving Heavenly Father. 

Monday we went and had a lesson with some less actives and HOLY COW no one ever told me as a missionary i would have to be a really good listener but its a skill I have DEFINITELY had to work on, haha especially as a sister because we see a lot of the old ladies now. Lessons are funny when for 50 minutes of them neither you nor your companion can get in a word and then you try to teach in five minutes what was suppose to be an hour long discussion haha. I am getting really good at being an effective teacher in five to ten minutes! 

Tuesday we had district meeting and the zone leaders were in town for that. It was all about what the restoration and what that means to us. It was fun to think of all the different ways the restoration has made a difference in our lives... A lot of us wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the church because it is very doubtful our parents would have met haha. Then we went and met with one of our investigators at her work. She has had such a hard life.. a lot of people i have taught have had a hard life, its incredible to see the ways that god prepares his children to be ready for the restored gospel. In this area it seems to be death and despair which means that's a lot of what we get to hear. It can be very heavy subjects sometimes but I find strength in knowing that I am a servant for a loving Heavenly Father who wants to show his children how much he loves them! We also met a new investigator this week that is the niece of one of the members or one of the wards i served in in Winnipeg haha did you catch all that. Well either way teaching her has shown me the example a righteous family can have on their family members. Because this ladies aunt is a convert she is interested in what she believes and because her cousin is on a mission she is willing to meet with sisters. She is incredible! We had dinner with a family that has like 7 foster daughters 14 and younger. They are all really great and they love the missionaries! The 11-year-old got to choose who said the opening prayer and couldn't decide whether she wanted me or Sister Hudson to say it. She wanted us both to do it! So we told her that one could do the closing prayer, so she ended up choosing me to say the opening prayer. It was funny and cute.  Then at sports night we played football. I got to be QB which i like because then i don't have to run very much! and I can apparently throw because we always seem to at least get one touch down. 

Wednesday we went and tried to help out at the food bank but it never seems like we get enough done there. But then we went and taught an eight year old girl about faith. i have never come to appreciate the analogy of faith is like a seed more than I did as we tried to teach her... for some reason using an analogy of something she knew really helped the whole faith thing click with her. Then we met with the D and he dropped his baptismal date. It was super sad and hard to hear but it all works out in the end. Just keep him in  your prayers. 

Thursday we had two dinner appointments and I thought I was gonna die. Not only that but we did like 100 kilometers because both of our dinner appointments were like 25 minutes out of town in opposite directions. PERFECT! our stomachs were so full and we were so tired of cars by the end of the night that we decided never to do that again. 

Friday and Saturday were kind of a blurr day but im sure miracles happened because we see them all the time! 

Sunday... got to love sunday! Miracle of the week: none of our people who normally come to church showed up, despite our efforts to wake them up and get rides for those who needed them. But Sister Hudson and I were holding the doors open for people coming in, when I saw this lady in jeans and a sweater who looked strangely familiar. It took me a minute to realize she was one of our investigators! The one we meet with at her work. I guess it was partly because we weren't expecting her to show up. We invite as many people as we can to come to church each week, and we never know who is going to accept the invitation. Its always like a grab bag of excitement. We also went to a dinner appointment on sunday where there were more than fourty people there i swear! It was a big dinner appointment! 

Love you all! cant wait to see you! eight more weeks! 

Jul 27...bug bites and lessons

This week was a complete turn around from last week and I am sure there are a lot of things that contributed to that but I am so grateful for the ups and downs of missionary work because it makes the ups seem a lot better haha. Kaylynn put a quote on facebook this week that really explains my week and the gratitude that has come from the hard couple of weeks before that. "When was the last time that you thanked the Lord for a trial or tribulation? Adversity compels us to go to our knees; does gratitude for adversity do that as well?" -Bonnie D. Parkin So this week I want to explain all the hard things I am grateful for because it made me see more joy in the little things. 

Exchanges: This week we got to do exchanges with the sister training leaders from saskatoon! It was fun because i got to be with sister mcphee again and its always fun to be able to spend a day with old companions. Plus this exchange was exactly what me, our area, and my companionship needed to get a good start on the last nine weeks of my mission. We got to go to the food bank and really get some extra work done there because we had two extra hands and they were really appreciative. They say we are there most reliable helpers and they LOVE having us come in. It was nice to be able to feel like we are having a positive influence with our service work, because we were doing so much we were worried it wasnt being effective but even the little things make an impact. And having the extra hands was a blessing for sure because we usually dont get as much done as we want to just due to not enough time. Just so you know what we do at the food bank is we make hampers of food for families, doubles, and individuals. All of the food is donated and then given to those who need it the most. Its fun because sometimes we throw in little extras like some cookies or chips and think of how surprised people will be, even though no one will probably notice haha. The food bank is the best! Then sister mcphee and i both werent feeling the best. We were willing to push it off and keep working but sister bronson was insistant we rest because we made her rest the last time she came on exchanges.... haha sister mchpee slept which was good and i shut my brain off for a little bit which was nice but apparently i didnt get the memo heavenly father was trying to tell me (yes dad i know i need to take care of myself, dont worry i got it now) becuase he gave me a lot of other opportunities this week to rest... and finally i had to take on, but thats another story all in itself. Then we got to teach lessons... as two companionship's we taught five lessons, found two new investigators, did service, and were able to go to young womens and other things to help with ward trust. It was really good! I am so grateful that the sister training leaders were able to come in! 

This week the SPCA (where we walk the dogs) turned out to be more then we thought it would be. We went and FINALLY finished the dog houses, two pair of pants (luckily one of them were sweats) covered in paint later those things are FINALLY done! Hopefully cute little spot likes them because that was way more difficult then painting walls in a house. Then they asked us if we could come saturday morning and help set up for their grand opening. They just barely moved to a new location which is a lot nicer then the one they were at. They were having a day with blow up toys, a bbq, and a chance to meet the animals and wanted help to make sure it was all ready to go. We told them we would try to make it but didnt promise anything incase we were unable to make it. but eight o clock in the morning six missionaries

Well I dont know if I have told you this already or not but our car here in prince albert is a nail magnet... So I am pretty sure it was last week we got a nail in our tire and while fixing it they realized that one of the lug nuts was shredded and they had to break off the lug nut and the stud to get the tire back on. So we have been driving around with only four lug nuts on one wheel. It makes all the elders worried because its not a normal thing that happens but even though the guy at the tire place thought we were stupid, and the fleet coordinator lives almost 12 hours away, and we now have to take in the car this upcoming week to get it fixed it brought a lot of appreciation for our car and the fact that we have one, and we have even mentioned charley (thats our cars name charles darwin jacoby IV) more in our prayers. 

I helped build a fence this week. It was crazy! We sawed and helped but in the screws and no one got too hurt haha. It was fun to able to spend all day in pants... haha this area is really helping me get use to being in pants again. minor miracle. The family that we helped build the fence for is great! the wife is so funny she is a lot like me. She is spunky and can do anything for herself that she wants to and i look up to her alot... and the relationship she has with her husband is so funny... sometimes i wish you could just teleport here and meet all of these people but i will have stories for you when i get home... Lots of stories! 

Now the story of the attack of the KILLER BEES. we found out this morning that we have been infested with bees and its the worst! fourteen of them! I counted fourteen of them that i could see. I dont do bees, or bugs... end of story... thanks mom i will go buy a trap now... STUPID!!! oh and i got fourteen mosquito bites..... why bugs...anybody want to explain that one to me. please and thank you. 

The people we met this week to start teaching and hopefully helping them progress to baptism are SOOOO great! there is a girl who is living with a recent convert we work with and she is sooo prepared! we are so excited for our lesson with her tomorrow. and then we found another lady whose family has just gotten through a hard time and are looking for continual happiness. we are hoping the gospel can bring them that. Thank you for all your prayers and love! i miss you all!  

Jul 21...finding

This week was good! We saw so many different miracles in ways that we
> didn't even expect to. Me and Sister Hudson are getting use to each other
> which is always the fun part of getting a new companion. We laugh through
> planning sometimes (I think its because I'm exhausted and she likes to
> laugh at me. but thats besides the point) But it always seems that with a
> new companion comes new goals. So we have made a goal to get into three new
> members houses a week. These are houses that neither I nor Sister Hudson
> have been to before. It was a goal Heavenly Father helped us accomplish
> even though we forgot all about it... haha and it came in the form of
> goodies! YAY TREATS! We also made a goal to find a new investigator each
> week. We didnt reach that this week which was kind of discouraging even
> though I tried harder to find then I have in a LONG time. But we have a lot
> of good things set up for this upcoming week which is encouraging!
> It seems like funny things happen all week but i sit down to write my email
> and go blank! its the worst!
> Here are some of the highlights of my week that i remember. We went out to
> dinner to a members house that lives thirty minutes away on sunday. They
> literally live in the middle of no where. haha welcome to PA, but its
> always fun to drive out there and the members here are so nice. this ward
> is like a family. I am so excited that I am here and I love getting to know
> the ward members here more.
> Monday we had FHE with the YSA here in the ward! Four people showed up and
> it was SUPER fun! We played card games and if you lost you had to eat some
> NASTY asian food... I had smoked squid, you could still see its dangly
> things... tenticals i think they are called, and everything! it was gross.
> Tuesday we had an incredible district meeting on following up on potential
> investigators. It wasnt like any district meeting i have ever had before
> but it was REALLY good! Then we went to the SPCA and got to volunteer with
> the dogs there which is good and we were able to teach the J*** family
> which is our focus family right now. That house consists of less actives,
> investigators, and a recent convert haha there is always something that can
> be taught or someone to focus on.
> Wednesday we had a crazy lesson day. We met with D*** and she is GOLDEN!
> we found her doing service and she is seriously incredible. says she has
> felt more peace then she has in her entire life and she is SUPER excited
> and open to read the book of mormon. Then guess what... we got ANOTHER flat
> tire, which how many car problems i have had on my mission I am suprised i
> havent been cut off from cars completely but there was another nail in the
> tire, and apparently my lug nut got shredded so now that needs replaced
> too.... haha I KNOW WHAT A LUG NUT IS... its crazy, I have changed a tire,
> learned what a lug nut is, unclogged a sink, and learned how to sew. My
> mission has taught me real life skills.
> Thursday we ended up singing for like two hours. The ward wants us sisters
> to be part of two musical performances and it is INSANE! i aint that good
> of a singer but apparently im good enough haha... hopefully i dont make
> anyone deaf with my singing. oh and PS I HATE MOSQUITOES!!!!! hate hate
> hate them. I have been bit like 20 times this past week and im done...
> someone better explain to me why this little creature is on the earth so i
> can find some love for it because right now i have none... absolutely none.
> It reminded me of the sinsects article mom sent me and it has made me look
> at the other things i should hate. The book of mormon tells us that we
> should hate sin... hopefully i can get better at that too :)
> Friday we tried having another movie night. We watched tangled. It was fun!
> We were able to talk someone we were working with to coming to it too. We
> have on average about 12 people there and we are hoping that more people
> come out to it so we can use it as a finding opportunity. But for the movie
> night we went to walmart to get some popcorn... walmart on friday night in
> prince albert is a HORRIBLE idea! haha it was so busy and we only had 15
> minutes then we had to go to an appointment and i was getting so worried we
> weren't going to make it but then the nicest lady ever let us cut in line.
> We prayed the world would be nice to her for the generous gesture she gave
> us! I LOVE NICE PEOPLE!
> Saturday and sunday were full of trying to find with no avail but it gave
> us a lot of appointments for next week! I still love being a missionary
> even though the end is so near! and I am grateful for everything the lord
> has taught me! I LOVE YOU ALL... miss you like crazy, wish i could be with
> you right now! Tell me a miracle you see in your next email! LOVE YOU!
> i attached the picture of my car after the ysa and elders got ahold of it
> haha... and me and my comp.. sorry its blurry im shaky for some reason haha

July 14...new transfer and monster trucks

So this week was transfers and full of changes but it has been a GREAT week!

Monday and Tuesday were full of goodbyes... it was so hard for me to say good bye to Sister du Plessis but she is needed in Winnipeg and will do great things there.. we even had a goodbye celebration full of KD and diet coke! She knew me too well.. :)

Wednesday I got to go to the BEAUTIFUL town of SASKATOON!!!! I love my random trips into the place that still holds part of my heart because it just reminds me that even though I have to leave for a little bit that will always be there and I will be able to visit again sometime soon. The City of Dreams, and Bridges, and Friends! I love it there! 

Then Thursday I got to spend some time at the doctors. Like three to four hours at the doctor haha! Which is apparently pretty good. Got some blood work done, felt like i was getting jibbed because i had to pay for my blood test because i wasn't Canadian. I guess me being half Canadian is only so helpful across boarders. :) But after my poor new companion Sister Hudson spent all day with me at the doctor I was able to leave with pills that might be able to help me with my shaking and an hour and a half car ride home! 

Friday and Saturday we got to do the WEIRDEST THING! President Thomas gave us permission to help with a Monster Truck Show. The lady who is in charge of it is a member from oregon called the church building asking for volunteers and the bishop said he didn't have many members but he would offer what he could and he had six missionaries that could help. So for two shows i got to be a bouncer taking tickets and trying to smile at the people that were not happy that they couldn't re-enter if they left. Sorry people, I am just doing what I am told. 

Sunday was rather disappointing as those who were committed to come to church seemed to follow through with the sleeping in that i want to do every other day. But we did see some incredible things this week! Brother J*** prayed for the first time that i have ever heard! We had people who were reading that had before said they were too shy and we were able to have seven lessons in three days which is good things are starting to pick up again! That's why when not everyone who said they were coming came to church it hurt my heart, because church is such a revelatory experience! EVERYONE that said they were coming needed to hear something that was prepared and presented that's why we invite them to go to church. I think my mission has taught me so much about the importance of church and the experiences that can come from it! I am grateful for that! 

I am so excited for this next transfer. Its weird to think after this i will only have eleven more times to email home.. then i can talk to you in person. But me and sister Hudson made a goal to find a new investigator every week so if you could PLEASE pray that would help us out a lot!!!!! With this time I have left (which I am trying to convince myself is a lot) I want to work super hard, because if I slow down i will regret it! So all your prayers will help! THANK YOU!!!! LOVE YOU!

July 7...independence week

So this week was crazy! We did so much service it was hard to get lessons in. But we are hoping with all this service we will be able to see things come from it. But let me tell you about our festive activities!

On Canada Day the ward does a fundraiser for the scouts and youth programs and asked for the missionaries help... ALL DAY! Its so different to be in an area that is so reliant on missionaries to get things done. But we helped... From nine in the morning until six at night we were at the park. And what did they have us doing. FACEPAINT! by the end of the day i swore if i ever saw another face to paint again i would go crazy. Together me and sister du plessis probably painted a hundred faces each. Which is crazy because facepainting was three dollars a face! But i attached some pictures of my work! It was a fun day. I only got bit five times by mosquitoes which drove me absolutely bonkers and got a nice sunburn that turned into a tan the next day but the ward was able to earn a lot of money for the youth programs which is good! Then we had sports night, where we got to play basketball and then i was lame and was in bed before 11 at night so TOTALLY missed the fireworks, thats okay i will see them next year. 

Wednesday we got to go to saskatoon for a zone training meeting. For kaylynn these are probably like right within thirty minutes of where she is at. for me... we had to drive an hour and a half for the meeting, then went out to lunch with the zone, then had to wait for our district leader to be done with his meeting before we could drive a hour and a half back. all in all we left at eight in the morning to get to the meeting and got back barely by five that night. It was so crazy how meetings take out so much of our day! Then we went and had dinner at a members house. We had sweet potato spaghetti. it was actually really good. Then again missionaries to the rescue as we helped back up a member to move. Elder Schmidt is a tetris master! we literally packed this family in the SMALLEST trailer ever! it incredible we got everything in! 

Then thursday we had a ton of service opportunities that just took up a ton of time. We went to as good as new and the spca... we painted dog houses all day. they still arent done and they are the UGLIEST color! and the paint ruined my pants! ruined it! thank goodness they are service pants. Then we had dinner and ward council. I love the new bishop here! he is incredible and his goal is to make the ward two wards in five years. Talk about a goal! i am so excited to be part of the missionary work here as it happens.

Friday we had a scare with an investigator and spent a lot of time at the hospital making sure she was okay! so if you can keep her in your prayers that would mean a lot! Then we had a dinner appointment where it was more like a sauna but it was SOOOO much fun! Then yes for the fourth of july we got to watch frozen. our ward is trying to do a movie night and it is SOOO good! we had about 20 people there which was fun! and then the ward suggested things to make movie nights better so its hopefully gonna keep going. And kade let it go is one of my favorite songs right now. 

Saturday we tried to finish the dog houses. They are still undone and its really annoying I am getting tired of paint. Then we had ward correlation at I LOVE the direction this ward is going! Its gonna be so great! 

I am grateful for the freedom that we have! I am grateful to be a missionary! and I am grateful for my saviour Jesus Christ!

Jun 30...feast upon the words of Christ

So this week I have had a fascination with the Book of Mormon. Its what I have been using to keep me diligent and desirous to keep going because I am getting super tired. So I am going to share experiences this week with some of the scriptures that I was able to read and relate to what I am doing! They won't be in order of what actually happened this week, sorry thoughts and days are kind of jumbled this week haha!

1 Nephi 1:1"I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents"

This week I am so grateful for my family, for my parents, and for the things they have taught me. Some days get really hard when i just want to go home and see the people i love so much but I hope my family knows that THEY are what keeps me going out here! YOU ARE EVERYTHING TO ME! I am so proud to be Sister Harrison to literally represent my family through that name!!!!! This week I got a blessing, which I'm sure I will bring up more later, but Heavenly Father reminded me of the love of my family and I am just so grateful that they are stuck with me for eternity! 

1 Nephi 1:20 "... the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

Now its time to tell you about the bug, the bug that saved our lives. I think the best way to describe this is by using the conversation my companion had with her mom.

Sister du Plessis:

We were driving and I was stopped at a light. Then the light turned
green, so I started to drive again, then this MASSIVE beetle landed on
the windshield and I didn't know if it was inside or outside, and
Sister Harrsion let out the most gut-wrenching scream I have ever
heard, so I was really confused and braked. And just as I started to
drive again this huge truck sped through the red light and missed us
by like three centimeters. This all happened within a couple of
seconds and afterwards I had to pull over to calm myself down. God is
good.

Her moms response:

Oh my flipping goodness!! God moves in mysterious ways and really
protects his soldiers. HOLY COW. I cant believe it.  All hail the bug.

My comments on that:

I agree with her mom... ALL HAIL THE BUG!

1 Nephi 11:17 "And I said unto him: i know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things."

So this week there was a lot of built up tension in our district! In each of our individual lives there have been a lot of things that we have all been bottling up and it was starting to get to the point where we were taking it out on each other. So we spent time doing a district inventory. Each week as a companionship we do an inventory where we talk about goals, strengths, and struggles so we decided it was about time to do this as a district. It was REALLY incredible. At first everyone was defensive, no one wanted to talk, and we weren't getting anywhere but then something happened in the room and we each took turns talking and the love that was in that room when we left was incredible! I seriously LOVE these elders, and my companion so much! they are INCREDIBLE and i am so grateful that i get to spend this time learning from them. At first we didn't understand why God would put us all together, but i guess just like Nephi we didn't know the meaning of all things but now we really know that God loves us, and that we love each other. 

1 Nephi 16:21, 23 "Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food...And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food?"

So this week there were a couple of things that dealt with illnesses so i thought this scripture fit it pretty well since both me and sister bronson are just continuing forward. So we had exchanges with the sister training leaders this week and I got to go with sister bronson. It was weird we haven't spent more than a couple of hours in the same room with each other since the mtc so it was interesting being her companion for 24 hours. Well on the morning of our exchange she got sick so we took her to the medi-clinic and three hours later we have the pills that are needed and we had a lot of time to just talk which was nice! and she is such a trooper.. she didnt want to give up, she wanted to keep working, but unfortunately her pills make her drowsy so we took her home and put her to bed. But just like Nephi she kept going the thought of being sick didnt stop her and she always wants to fulfill her purpose! it was an incredible example to me. Then you have me. I had little bit of a shaking scare after a dinner appointment with a member one night and I got a blessing for it because I was literally vibrating (it was kind of funny) but during the blessing i was promised that I would be healed according to my faith and my willingness to do what i know i need to do! I am grateful for Nephi's example and I am also grateful for priesthood blessings. Now we can ask the question where do you want us to go!?

I love being a missionary! I love the Book of Mormon! and I am learning to LOVE Prince Albert!

Jun 23...short and sweet

So this week for my email i thought i would just fill you in on what i learned at zone conference! 

It was so much fun to travel back to saskatoon I LOVE IT THERE SO MUCH! But i think more then being in saskatoon i was super happy for the lessons i learned. 

They first started talking about hastening the work. I loved a definition that i heard about hastening. To hasten is to add momentum. adding momentum is something that i really need to work on since i am nearing the end to where i can see it! it kind of freaks me out a little bit. there was also a lot on endurance. There was a quote shared from an elder not in this mission that said 'if one does not endure to the end; faith, baptism, and the holy ghost are useless.' that put into perspective for me the importance of enduring. If we lack in areas of endurance we become vulnerable to defeat and despair. As a missionary this was HUGE for me. BELIEVE OBEY AND ENDURE thats my motto!

Then sister thomas gave a great portion on  carrying burdens. If we are too worried about the burden we are carrying we cannot focus on the work ahead. I felt this way a lot lately i have been worrying about stupid things and it makes it hard to focus so we learned that relying more on the savior will help you let go of what you are dealing with. I love what you wrote mom too about praying for the strength to endure. If things burden our thoughts they burden our actions and we need christ in everything. Then sister thomas gave another portion on shoes.. the footprints our shoes leave someone may try to follow so what footprints are we leaving? this really made me think. Are my feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace? do i need to put on different shoes? I loved two of the shoes we talked about, slippers (dont slip up on your prayers) and worn out shoes (wear yourself out in the gospel) It was so good! then we got a portion on marriage. by president thomas... haha encouraging us to get married... does that help a sister out who is going home soon, NOPE! haha but he had good insights. Marry inside the church! that was the biggest one he emphasized! It was such a good zone conference. I am sorry for the short email but I am happy, healthy, and getting in the mind set that I am going home! like kaylynn says... 101 days left. its weird! love you all! 

Jun 16...bigger than utah

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! sad i missed the baby blessing this week but i know i am where i need to be. 

Monday: For pday activity we played Risk again, and I dominated the world again! I love proving people wrong when they tell me I can't do something! Then we went to the YSA fhe and they did an incredible thought on scripture study. My favorite was when they shared Jacob 2:8  8 And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul. It was really what i needed to hear that day. It really made me happy to know that just reading the scriptures could heal a wounded soul. I am so glad that even though i am a missionary god still looks out for me and cares for me. Then we went and saw a less active who has the cutest five year old in the WORLD! On monday though he was acting a little bit more like a terrible five year old but thats okay, kids can do that. He didnt want to finish his food so his mom told him to finish it and it would help him grow chest hairs haha. So things to learn about parenthood, crust makes chest hair grow. haha!

Tuesday: we had district meeting and this week instead of KD party we had a perogie party. Decided to go a little bit more creative haha... not really but it tasted good. While we were eating (since we just make food at the church to save money) we played apples to apples. haha so funny and apparently your cards are what make up who you are. So i am lazy and unhealthy but its okay im feminine. :) Then we went and volunteered at the humane society again. My dog i got didnt like other dogs at all. So i spent most of the hour alone, with in sight and sound of course but off in my own world and it was weird to have that quiet time to think. It gave me time to just look at the green around me and just love what i saw, it also gave Sister du Plessis time to get covered in dog hair... LITERALLY COVERED! she had to go home and shower after that. I also got to do my first skype lesson. I got to skype with some less active girls from winnipeg that i use to work with when i lived there and it was so much fun to be able to see them again. We had a lesson on prayer and we even got them to agree to meet with missionaries in the area! it was super good!

Wednesday: As we volunteered at the foodbank some good country music came on! TENDER MERCIES OF THE LORD! It was so nice! Then we had a lesson with a part member family we are working with. We are trying to get the son baptized! So we decided to stick with the scripture power theme that is going on right now. We talked about the importance of scripture power by me SLAMMING A CAN ON MY HAND. Yep really did that, in fact in companionship study i practised it and i did it wrong and thought i broke my finger. but i didnt and was able to still smash it during the lesson so all is well. 

Thursday: Thursday was soo good! We had a lesson with an investigator who is hopefully getting baptized on july 5 about a loving heavenly father. There is a scripture in 1 Nephi 11:17 that talks about how he doesnt know the meaning of all things but he knows that god loves his children. As a missionary i feel that way a lot. I dont know the meaning of all things but i KNOW THAT GOD LOVES HIS CHILDREN. We also had two investigators from africa pray this week. They are thirteen and eleven and apparently its a big deal I am so excited to have been able to be there for that. Oh and you need to check out the new book of mormons they are making. They are putting captions on pictures and dates in chapter headings.. .its fantastic. 

Friday: friday was a full moon and it was friday the thirteenth, so we were so expecting CRAZY THINGS TO HAPPEN and did they. NO! We had a district pow wow on friday and it went really good! We realized we need to work better with the members but have NO IDEA how to do it. So we set some goals made some plans and now we are gonna get work done! Then we went and did icecream. We are also trying to find someone who speaks niranda so if you know anyone please let us know! We asked sister menlove about it and her response was, give me a second let me call the congo. haha sister menlove is the best! 

Saturday: During our service project this week we had to work with chemicals and mold. it was gross and it made me feel sick. we had a scone party with a member and the elders. It was super fun! then we went and had chinese food with a member. it just was all in all a good day! Question how do you help shy people get over being shy? 

Sunday: We did wake up calls again sunday morning. Sister du Plessis left the stick at home this time though. but they worked because we saw three investigators at church! Then we went with the elders to give sacrament to a lady in the hospital. She reminds me a lot of corrette and it makes me really happy to go see her each week. But i think they best note from the week was did you wish heavenly father a happy fathers day! I am so grateful for a heavenly father who loves me and is patient with me... I am also grateful for my dad! LOVE YOU DADDY!!!!