Week 28: Kamal

1.  Update on investigators and reactivation efforts:
Kamal-- Monday- President Clayton taught with Sister Barton and Sister Hoki

            Saturday @ 12- We Taught Temples and FH, Follow the Prophet and 

                                    Priesthood

            Saturday @ 2- PASSED HIS INTERVIEW

            Sunday-- KAMAL WAS BAPTIZED!!!!

Sister Barton, Sister Stuart, Kamal and his wife Poonum

Marcela-- She is doing so good! She is super sweet! and we asked a member to take her to church and apparently all she could talk about was baptism! She is so ready but she needs to overcome some challenges but she is sooooo close!

Stephanie/Kionna/Noah- Single mom and 2 kids! They are so amazing! They were all asking great questions! They are so cute!

Zaid- Sister Barton and Sister Hoki found him on Exchanges! He is Muslim! They were talking and he told them that he didn't believe in his religion and he was going to be baptized in a christian church but felt it wasn't right and then continued to ask When was the earliest he could be baptized and how can he learn to be able to do that! We are meeting with him tomorrow!

2.  So when you have a car in the mission, what responsibilities do
you have with it, like washing it, oil changes, etc?  Curious minds
want to know.
     We try to wash it once a month, oil changes are kept track by Elder Green and we do that about every 2 or 3 transfers. We have to keep it clean and we also have to use it to take all of our materials with it! We have to try to go no more that 1700 k's a month...

3.  How do you make contacts in your area?
     Usually tracting, potentials, or formers, there is not really a solid place to OYM

4.  Funniest moment of the week?
     Oh man! We were at the bishop's house eating dinner with all of the missionaries and one of his son's was trying to memorize our names and he went around the table Sister Barton, Sister Stuart, Sister Hoki, Sister Palmer (serving in georgetown on exchanges), Sister Gibb..... Well Brother Gibb..... NO no no Elder Gibb, and Elder Steed!

     Then Last night on our follow up Calls Elder Gibb calls us and 

I answer "Hello this is Sister Stuart and Sister Barton.

E. Gibb "Hello this is Sister Gibb...."

Phone hangs up and we laugh for 10 minutes he then calls us again

Me: "Hello this is Sister Stuart and Sister Barton"

E. Gibb: "that must never be spoken  of"

Sisters and Elder Steed: Laugh and Laugh and Laugh

5.  Favorite teaching moment?
     We were at the De Dios' home having dinner with them and then was sharing a message about faith and how you have to have faith to share the gospel! Then they told us 2 names and he turns to me Sister Stuart how can I teach the gospel to these very different people! For the first one I just told him to ask inspired questions and LISTEN.... and he says that would be perfect and it gives me practice at listening because i am not very good at that. Then he said what about the other one and he said he has tried EVERYTHING he just needs to get married already! I then without thinking Tell him to find a double frame and put a Family Proclamation in one side and a family picture in the other! He was stunned and said I haven't tried that yet and he said he would share it with him and then he HAS to hang it in the house and read it again and again! SWEET!!!!

6.  At your meeting with President Oaks what specifically gave you an
A-Ha moment?

     "It isn't your mission; it is His mission that you are serving for Him.  So you do His work His way on His timetable." 

7.  My favorite part of "finding or reactivation is"...
     Seeing the faith they have already and the light they have grasping for more! LOVE IT!

8.  The "Most Unexpected Moment" I had this week was...
      President Clayton Showing up at Kamal's Baptism.  

Rapid Fire:

1.  I laughed so hard when...
     See number 4 above

2.  My ward is great because...
     There are more cultures I get to learn! 

3.  One way that Sister Barton and I are strengthening our companionship is...
     Cook for people

4.  The Spirit was so strong as....
     I bore my testimony that this gospel was true!  Also Sister Hoki, Sister Bodine, Sister Barton and I sang at the baptism yesterday! 

5. One way I feel blessed as a missionary is..
     I get to share my happiness with others and I get to help them find the happiness they deserve

6.  A goal I have for this upcoming week is..
     to teach 20 lessons this week and to hit standards  for the next couple of weeks (to chance for another set of missionaries to come to this area)

7.  I love learning new things everyday.  Today's "new thing" was...
     That sister Lundin will love me after I give her, her Birthday gift next week! ha ha ha ha ha!!!

8.  3 things I am grateful for this week and why?

     President Clayton: even though he is super busy he tries to support us and our investigators when he can

     Kamal: for showing God he loves him and wants to live with him again

     The Spirit: Because it testifies of truth not only to the people we teach but to you as well!

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

Week 27: Elder Oaks and Recent Converts.... Baptism

Have you been singing?  Did you sing Glorious yet?
     I sing all the time! It helps keep your mind off the cold! and No not with the piano yet!

So Question Time:

1.  Update on investigators and reactivation efforts?
    Kamal-- came to church this week and Went to elder Oaks' Meeting and asked when he can be baptized!!! Which he set a goal for this week on sunday! AHHHH!!! So happy! He is so prepared! (met him last week)

     Marcela-- She is awesome and has the cutest little girl! She is super sweet! She Came to church again! She is Great!

      All others were super busy this week!

2.  What are you driving now a days?
      Well The past couple days I have been driving a 2012 Subaru Impreza WITHOUT A TIWI!!! WOOOO! Because it was in the shop because some guy backed into and took off! But we will be getting that back today! And it is a 2014 Chevy Cruze

3.  What was the best (and what was the worst) part of your week?
      Meeting With Elder Oaks and shaking his hand and meeting with Kamal who is super prepared! Worst part I don't know!!!

4.  Funniest story (these are my favorite, so spare no details?)
     So my district leader called us then put us on hold because he still needed to talk to us! So I thought well this will take a while! So I started being weird I did an indian yell and scared Sister Barton and He then Said WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!?! I laughed so hard I was crying on the floor! Ooops!

5.  Most spiritual moment of the week?
     We met with Kamal last night after the baptism we attended! and we taught the Plan of Salvation! And he prayed in front of us to himself! He is so ready!

6.  How was your conference with President Oaks?   What did he share
that you liked the most?
  Oh man It was sooo good! He is super young! He was jumping around like he was 14! It was great! I learned so much! President Oaks was suppose to get here at 7 am but he was running late so the missionaries met with him from 1 to 2:30 and had instruction from President Clayton and the area president and then at 3 All the missionaries were invited to stay for the Returning less actives, Recent Converts, and Investigator meeting! Oh it was sooo good I loved it!

7.  What have you learned the most from Sister Burton?
    She is super Obedient! 

Sister Barton and Stuart

8.  What is your favorite thing about Brampton?
     Well I am outside of Brampton! So in Bolton (super small town, but not as small as woodruff) It is the closest I have been to the country roads in a long time! and I love driving them!

Rapid fire:

1.  Biggest "Made me smile" moment?
     Seeing my Recent Convert Tony and Sabrina and people from Don Valley! Oh man I my heart is so full! 

Iva Mema, Sister Stuart, and Sabrina at the Conference with President Oaks Jan 2015

2.  My favorite study session this week centered on...
    What I can Sacrifice and The Plan of Salvation

3.  If I could talk face to face with the Savior, I would ask Him...
     I wouldn't ask him anything! I would listen to him and what he needed to teach me!

4.  My companion and I bonded over...
     Teasing Elder Steed and Elder Gibb (DL)

5.  I was so excited when...
     I got to see All the Great Missionaries I have served with! 

6.  The Spirit was so strong as....
     When Elder Oaks was telling everyone about why he was a member and when he talked about how much his mom meant to him!

     

7.  Something I have discovered about missionary work....
     That I love watching how people react when they find the truth and actually want it!

8.  Since I have to teach on the plan of Salvation this week-- Bear
your testimony on the plan of salvation....

    That it is true! It is proof that God loves us! It shows he will do anything because he loves us and wants to be happy! The Plan of Salvation is where we find true happiness! It is a plan that is put into place that gives us all the opportunity to choose for ourselves for what makes us happy and what we want out of life! It is a plan that puts us to the test but with each test we have the opportunity to learn and grow for the better! It is the way I know I can be with my family forever in complete joy!

Week 26: I see Miracles......

Sister Stuart and Sister Brampton rocking it out in Brampton January 2015

So question time

1.  Update on investigators and reactivation efforts?
      Mark--(Guyana) President and Sister Clayton came teaching with us and it was a good lesson. He really needs to understand that we are not here to convince but to help him find out for himself if this gospel is true!

      Marcela-- is a new investigator from South America! She is absolutely amazing! She is a single mom and is a former! She already knows it is true! She is so amazing and so golden! She even came to church! :)

      Franca--is a new investigator is from Italy! She loves to talk about god and invited us in!

      Kamal and Poonam-- are both new investigators from India! We felt we should tract a couple houses before we left this area and BAM! Poonam answered the door and said yes they believe in Jesus Christ and invited us to come over the next day! So we did and the lesson went amazingly. Only problem is she speaks very little english!

      Jamal-- is a new investigator form Iraq! He is a former! He knows the Book of mormon is true and wants to learn more! AHH!

2.  Best companionship teaching experience this week was?
     Definitely when we taught Jamal last night with Brother LaBlanc! We were all insync ! So great!

3.  How are the wards involved in the missionary efforts?
     This ward tries hard to come teaching with the missionaries but we need more members where we work because we are a half hour away from most members so it is hard to get them to come out here!

     They are really trying to do missionary work!

4.  When was the last time you saw an answer to a prayer.
     Oh man! All the time this week! So we were challenged by our district leader to find 3 new investigators and we found 1 by thursday when the AP's came to zone council and challenged us to find 5! So here in our area it is SUPER hard to find new investigators so we prayed for help to find 4 more! and we did! 5 NEW!!

5.  Favorite scripture study moment this week included the scripture...?
     So as you know I missed my cousin's wedding! and there I was starting my personal study this morning (our search for happiness) was all about the priesthood and what it means to be married for not just time but eternity! So great! 

     But a scripture I liked this week was 3 nephi 9:15-22

6.  The goals we have as a mission this week or month are?  And we are
doing ....on the goals?
      So a Zone Goal we have set is for 11 Baptisms in February! So we are working on finding the elect prayerfully! 

7.  Something I learned about myself this week?   Something I learned
about my sister companion this week was?
     I am crazy after 10! 

     Also Sister Barton and I get confused as each other a lot and apparently we are the exact same person!?!?!

8.  I felt The Lord guiding me the most this week when..
     When we found Kamal and Poonam! It was amazing!

Rapid Fire

1. My companion and I couldn't stop laughing over.....
     At Zone Council we were talking about positive attitudes and one of the Zone Leaders (Elder Anderson) says well to improve my positivity every morning I roll out bed and say YAY!!! (in the most sarcastic voice) oh my goodness Sister Barton looks over at me and then I remember Sister Lundin calling me a grumpy cat in the morning! and he looked at me! when I was trying not to laugh and it just burst out of me and I was almost in tears! 

2.  What do you see everyday when you walk out of your apartment door?
    Snow!

3.  What should we do to be better missionaries at home while you are gone?
     Really find some one you know who could use happiness and serve them or tell them what makes you happy and invite them to participate in what makes you happy like service, church, cooking, god.....

4.  What is your apartment like? Is it is a building?  Do you have a
lot of neighbors?
     Currently We live in the basement of a cold house with no carpet just tile floors. It is so long and big we don't have enough things to fill the space so it feels kinda empty! Oh well it is a nice apartment!

5.  It is so cold we could......
     We could build the ice castle from frozen if the water didn't freeze in the hose first!

Hot Versus

COLD!!!!

6.  Favorite thing to eat when it is cold outside?
     Ice cream and Cookies

Canadian Ice Cream

7.  Favorite thing that happened at church yesterday...
     Marcela came!

     Kamal came to church and told the whole gospel principles class that he use to pass by the church and temple (right next to each other literally) and always wanted to go inside! He said he always believed in Christ but didn't know what to do with that. Then he said it was a miracle the 2 things he wanted came when we knocked on his door! AHH!

8.  I couldn't believe it when...

     We didn't even have to ask Kamal to come to church he asked us if he could come! WOOO!

Week 25: Wait! What?? 6months already??

I GET TO DRIVE!!! AHHHH!!!! WOOOO!!!!!

So question time:

1.   Updates on investigators or reactivation efforts?
      So in preparation for Elder Oaks coming on January 17th, We are required to get at least 2 new investigators each week but they are asking for 5! We have had trouble finding investigators!

       When I got here we had no maps, we didn't really have a potentials list, or a decent dot map! So that is something we are still working on! We visited and called some of the Formers and the Potentials and if all goes well we will have 10 New Investigators this week! AHH! 

        Mark- Very interesting! Not progressing anytime soon! Only time and prayers can help! :)

2.  Tell us about your new companion, where is she from, how long has
she been out, etc?
      Sister Barton! She is from Taylorsville, Utah! We came out together, we were in the same MTC zone. She loves to sing and she is awesome at it! She is 19! She loves to Serve God!

Sister Barton and Sister Stuart New Years Eve 2015

3.  What is the new area like?  What about your new ward?
     Brampton is a lot like Draper! Big Houses, spread out everywhere and the Temple is in the middle of it! People here were born Roman Catholic and want to die Roman Catholic... Well we will see about that! 

      My Ward is so much fun! There is a different Diversity here! Everyone is pretty young! Also we have all the temple missionaries in our ward!!! So much fun! Brother and Sister Ethridge are from Roy, Utah as well!!!!!! WOOT WOOT!! They live right by the airport!

4.  What is Brampton like, small, rural, urban what?
     Pretty Big it is more of a Subburb. But my area is more on the out skirts and it has more fields and smaller towns and such!

5.  How are you holding up in the weather?  Has it been cold?  It
snowed here quite a bit and the nights have been bitter cold.
     Oh my GOSH!!! It is SOOO cold! it was -12C today when we left at 10 this morning! and that was without wind chill! Sister Barton's ink was freezing! 

6.  So who is in your new district/zone?  Do you know some from
before? or came out with?
      A whole lot of people I haven't met before!

      Zone Leaders- Elder Anderson -Logan

                            Elder Ganowski- St. George

      District Leader- Elder Gibb- Alberta

                             Elder Steed- Marysville, ut (I came out with him! Awesome! Super Redneck!)

      Sister Training leaders- Sister Mandla - Austrailia (turned down broadway)

                                         Sister Hoki- Pleasant grove

     Assistants- Elder Karl- Alberta

                       Elder Russell - Utah (last zone leader)

    President and Sister Clayton

     Churchville YSA 2 sets elders

    Georgetown- 1 set elders

    Heartlake-1 trio elders, 1 set sisters (E. babyface Johnson.. came out with)

7.  Most spiritual moment this week happened when?
     When we taught RC John about the atonement and how we all have trials we have to face but it is how we handle them is whether or not we can come closer to God or not!

8.  Favorite companion moment this week?
     Sister Barton and I singing in the Car! 

9.  5 things I am thankful for from this past year 2014?
     Atonement

     Book of Mormon

     Family and Friends

     Trials 

     a Mission

Rapid Fire:

1.  What was the BEST part of your week in the field?
     Praying constantly for a New Investigator because we needed one more for the week! We had been searching and searching! We prayed and Bam there was Anna! We will meet with her this week!

2.  Favorite scripture of the week and WHY?
     I found 3 Nephi 5:13 Today! My purpose here as a missionary! GO MORMON!

3.  Best service opportunity this week?
     Washed Dishes!

4.  Weirdest food eaten this week or coolest place went to eat?
     The Giggling Tomatoes! Ha ha ha interesting all day breakfast place!

5.  The "MOST unexpected moment" I had this week was....
     That I had to leave Don Valley But that i Got to come to Brampton! 

     My area touches my last area! WEIRD!!!!

6.  My companion and I bonded over....
     Singing the same song at least once a day because it is soo good! And now neither of us can remember what it is called!

7.  See as this is a new year 2015, 3 goals I have set for myself are:

     Finish my mission Strong!

     Being Obedient so I can have fun!

     Align my will with God's!

Love you all so much!!!