Lots of Lessons to Teach!

This week was a really good week! We were very busy and that is  not something that we can say every week so it was very exciting. We were able to teach so many lessons this week that it became very hard to plan for them all and I had never experienced this problem before because it is usually the other way around. 

On Monday we did our shopping and laundry and it makes me miss home because I never did much of that kind of stuff before the mission. Monday evening we had a really good lesson about the Plan of Salvation with a lady who has no religious background which makes The Plan of Salvation quite mind blowing for her. She seems really interested and enjoys the Book of Mormon so we are very excited for her. 

On Tuesday we went out to dinner with a family that just moved here from Churchill! It was neat to meet them and hear all about Churchill. It's really too bad we never get to go there but it is understandable because you cant drive there, you have to either take a plane or the train but the train ride is 16 hours. We almost got to go visit this family but then they moved here so there was no need to go to Churchill. Also on Tuesday we were just walking back home from the church and we met a lady on the street, we did the whole "we are missionaries" and all that, eventually we asked if there was a time to meet with her and share our message. She said "right now" so we taught the Restoration of the Gospel on the side of the road. That was the first time that had ever happened to me. 

On Wednesday one of the lessons we taught was to a less active member at the church but she was late so Elder Birchall and I got bored and ran over to the park across the road and went on the swings. I decided to try doing a back flip off of the swing while swinging but it didn't really work out , I landed right on my back and got my white shirt covered with sand. It was a bad idea but  decided to try again... Same result. I was in a bit of pain during that lesson but it was totally worth it! 

Thursday we went out to Nelson House again and Stopped by the lady who we taught on the side of the roads house. She wasn't there but another lady (we think her sister but not sure) opened the door. we talked to her and she invited us to have a lesson with her. That was the first time something like that has happened to me as well. We also had the opportunity to teach a less active member out in Nelson House. She had been reading the Book of Mormon and we actually read the last couple chapters with her to finish off the book. We were excited to hear her say after "well I guess I start over now". 

Friday was a good day too but Saturday was a big day for the branch because we had a primary party. It was a weird idea because since being here we haven't had more than 5 primary age kids at church. I wasn't too sure how the party would turn out but it went great. Elder Birchall and I led the kids in minute to win it games. There were like 15 kids! I didn't even know half of them but it was still good and a free meal for us!!

At church we got to listen to Brother Hinds give a talk! He is like a 75 year old guy from Scotland and if you don't know him you cant understand him through his accent. He is hilarious though and he talked a lot about letting God lead us and trusting in Him. His wife was supposed to teach Sunday school but she wasn't feeling well so guess who got assigned to teach Sunday school. We taught on Ether 12:6 and showed the video "the refiners fire" and read the story of Abraham and Isaac. it was actually kind of fun to be put on the spot like that and have to make it up as we went. Sunday night we went to the Hinds for dinner and it was amazing! He is actually quite the chef!

Thanks for all the love and support!

Elder Stewart

A LOT of Travelling!

This week was pretty crazy! We spent the rest of P-day playing tennis and shopping. On Tuesday we had a great lesson with one of our investigators. We had like four lessons fall through on Tuesday as well but at least we got one taught. That is one of the hardest things here on the mission because it's easy to get down when you have five lessons scheduled and four of them end up falling through but we are in good spirits anyway!

The rest of the week went by at 110km/h. Literally. On Wednesday morning we drove 3.5 hours to Flin Flon and did exchanges with them. I was with Elder Owens from Alaska and we taught some really great lessons. We then went and played soccer that night because they have some investigators they play with every Wednesday but for some reason no one else showed up but it was still fun just the four of us. Thursday morning we got in their car and began our eight hour driven to Brandon with them. We stopped in Neepawa and met up with our ZL's in Dauphin and the Neepawa missionaries and went to a members house for dinner. They fed all eight of us a delicious lasagna with Caesar salad and a pasta salad. We then left and finished our trip on to Brandon where we stayed with the Brandon Spanish elders. They are super great missionaries. 

Friday morning we went to specialized training at the Brandon building. Our whole zone was there as well as the assistants and President and Sister Craig. Our zone leaders taught a portion on how to teach, the assistants taught a portion on how to extend commitments and then President and Sister Craig taught a portion about on-line missionary work. It was really great to actually learn about on-line work because it can seem like a waste of time sometimes. After the meeting we had another great meal of... you guessed it Lasagna and Caesar salad. It was delicious though so I didn't even mind. We each also had an interview with President Craig and he is an amazing man. He has so many wise words of advise. There are quite a few Elders heading home in two weeks and most of them are extremely sad to leave.

After our interviews we got on the road again and drove to Dauphin to stay the night with the zone leaders. Let me tell you one thing, missionary apartments aren't big enough for six missionaries but we made do. On Saturday morning we got in the car and drove the six hours to Flin Flon where our truck was and then we drove the 3.5 hours to Thompson. I was so sick of driving when we got home I wanted to either go run a marathon or go to bed but I couldn't because we had a fireside with the stake leaders who came up here for branch conference. The three members of the stake presidency spoke to us and they were really great talks. Yesterday was Branch Conference and I was called as Branch Clerk and President Gruninger set me apart after the meetings. 

We had a delicious pot luck after our meetings as well. We ate chicken breasts, pasta salad, a different pasta salad, Kraft Dinner, rice, and cake and ice cream. It was a strange mix of food but I loved it! Free food is good food. We even got the leftovers! President Burkman is a great Branch President and he is showing me the ropes of being Clerk. 

We had another great lesson yesterday and it is exciting to see investigators progress! They better be ready to fill the font in Thompson!

Love you all! 

Elder Stewart

Elder Stewart and District at the Provo Temple before heading to Winnipeg.

Elder Stewart and Elder Birchall on their way to Flin Flon. (We aren't sure what happened to the bottom of this photo.)

Elder Owens and Elder Stewart. They happened to have matching "Black Sheep" ties!

Elder Stewart and Elder Evanson at the MTC. So cool that they were there together.

A Great Week in Thompson...and a couple pics!

This week was great! Right after I finished emailing last week Elder Birchall and I went and played tennis. We decided that whoever won 4 games first didn't have to shave their legs but the other one did. I won four straight games and that was that! He really didn't want to have to shave his legs so he said lets go double or nothing. I agreed but this time if he lost he had to eat 25 perogies for breakfast on Tuesday. Well I won four more straight so he had a big breakfast. It was one of the grossest things I've ever seen because perogies don't taste very good after about #5. That night we taught an FHE to a family via skype so that was very neat! On Tuesday we had a great lesson that we taught with the Burkmans to a lady who seems very interested in the church. That day we also went out to Nelson House and taught some great lessons there as well.I cant remember if I told you or not but last week on the way to Nelson House we hit a sand hill crane and cracked our wind shield so we got that fixed! This week on the drive we didn't hit anything so that was a plus. Later in the week we met some east Indian kids who play soccer near the church everyday so we may make that a tradition to play with them. They are super nice and have a bunch of questions regarding what we are doing way up here in Thompson. A lot of people ask us that because they don't get many visitors here. On Saturday night we had dinner with a guy who is interested in what we believe but not in joining the church, but he is still one of the nicest guys. He is very passionate about what he believes and believe me there are no dull moments when he is around! He fed us a delicious pork BBQ and it made me think of home! Church was nice, I think we had 14 people there and two of them were less actives! We then taught one of the boys from that family over skype again because he is getting baptised next month. We are quickly learning that a 30 minute lesson with an 8 year old is too long. Yesterday for dinner we had home-made Shepherds pie with the Hindes. It was amazing!!! A lot better than the stuff I usually eat at the apartment. It has been a great week and Elder Birchall and i have been getting along great! We have some fantastic investigators and its exciting to see them progress!

I don't feel in danger at all but it is an interesting place! I like it.

Love you all!

Elder Stewart

Elder Moore and Elder Stewart- Companions at the MTC. Elder Moore is just a little bit taller than Elder Stewart...6'8"!

We mailed him a few pictures of the Saviour and he emailed and said  "I decorated!" We are not sure that word was in his repertoire before he left! It's pretty neat too...

First Full Week in Thompson

Well it's almost been a month and I love it so far. A couple nights ago Elder Birchall and I were talking and we both decided that leaving home was tough and things but we also agreed that we weren't mommas boys before the mission but we are now haha. They sell shirts at the MTC store that are pretty funny. They have a picture of some totally jacked guys that say "Stripling Warriors" and then in way bigger print "MOMMA'S BOYS". I should have bought one but I didn't. 

We have a Chevy Colorado so its super handy. We eat a lot of cream of wheat, oatmeal and egg and toast for breakfast. Lunch is usually some kind of ichiban or something. Dinner is pasta or perogies or something usually. I also eat a lot of frozen fruit.  We get fed about twice a week, mostly by the Burkmans! They are extremely kind! Our apartment is nice enough, but we hardly spend any time there anyways.

That is super nice of you to feed all of the missionaries! Always feed them fruit and veggies because they are so much $$$$.  Elder Burkman takes some unbelievable shots! You should order some of them. I'm hoping to get permission to stay out late one day and look at the northern lights with him but I'm not counting on it. I'll buy gear if I need to but my priorities are in line, that's why my first purchase was a new tennis racquet. That mailing system you mentioned should work well, but hurry cause its freezing here already. (Editors Note: We sent NO warm clothes or a coat with him to the MTC. We had been encouraged to wait. We figured we'd have lots of time to get them to him in the field, as it was July when he would get there...:)  )

This week was a busy one here in Thompson. We taught a Chinese lady who is very interested but has little to no knowledge of Christianity so it is a different feel than teaching a person with a Christian background. She is progressing so we feel hopeful for her! On tuesday we volunteered by helping with a search party for a missing man. Thompson has the most people go missing and not be found out of anywhere in Canada. It is sad but they never give up hope and they just keep searching. That afternoon we went to a reserve called nelson House. It reminds me a lot of Cardston so in a strange way it felt like home. We have a fair amount of members there. It is very difficult to get lessons taught here because everyone is so busy but we are teaching a lady who is seriously considering baptism. She will be a great member one day! We also volunteered on Wednesday by helping re-stain the museum. It is a log cabin and it needed to be updated so we went over and helped out with some of the staining. That night the Burkmans fed us and we practiced teaching them! We have so many great investigators it is just so hard to meet with them during their busy schedules so we have a lot of time to go tracting and that is always fun! With yesterday being fast Sunday, it was really interesting because there were only 14 people at church so pretty much everyone bore their testimony. Elder Birchall is a great trainer and he is so knowledgeable especially for only being out since April. The mission has been great so far and Thompson is a wonderful place but i'm scared for the Winter. 

Love you all!!!

Elder M Stewart