A Classy Time in Canada: happy week!

Hey familia!!

How is it going?? Tell the whole family hello for me when you see them!

So this week was amazing, so many good things. So last Monday we just got together with the whole zone which was fun to see other missionaries, like Sister Connor and Gonzalez so fun. We taught Lish that night and taught her about following the prophet and service in the church. She's so awesome and the whole week I was just getting so excited about her baptism!

On Tuesday we had district mtg and then met up with the Raymond sisters for exchanges. I went to Raymond with Sister Connor and it was super good. Raymond is similar to Cardston, its a small LDS community and they've been doing really good there. That night we went and stopped by their investigators house and ended up having the most spiritual lesson I've had in a long long time. I have no idea, we just talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon and praying to our Heavenly Father but the room was just thick with the spirit and I knew that he could feel the power of the Holy Ghost. It was just another lesson that confirmed to me that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true.

The next day was awesome! We just walked around and talked to lots of people and contacted tons!! The night before we got 8 referrals which was awesome so we contacted some and got a lot of return appointments. They have so much potential in Raymond and a super good set of missionaries there. I love going on exchanges and helping other areas, even though I may never see the outcome its just so rewarding to do the Lords work. When Sister Armstrong and Sister Egbert were back in our area they found a new investigator for us which is awesome as well! Its been awhile since we've found a new investigator so I'm super excited about it. That night we got back into Cardston and went to a ward activity out in Aetna which was super fun. I really wish you could come and meet the amazing people I associate with every single day. I'm so blessed. That night we taught Lish about temples, eternal marriage and family history which is always super fun to teach. Baptisms are always fun but the end goal truly is the temple and I'm super excited for that day to come for Lish and her husband.

Thursday we went and street contacted a ton for our Walk n' Talk August. Our mission is doing super good about getting out and talking to more people and we're seeing lots of miracles come from it. We had a lesson with Jody that day as well and let me tell you that she is doing sooooooo good. Honestly the gospel was the best thing for her....well actually the gospel is the best thing for anyone but I love seeing how Jody is still progressing and still learning. She has such a strong testimony and I learn from her every time I see her.

On Friday we had Lish's baptismal interview in the morning and she did awesome, then we had the worst idea on the planet. We decided to ride bikes......which I'm all about bike riding and I think its great but you should come to Cardston and see how it was built on like 3 million hills. So we went and picked up some bikes and rode over to lunch with some members. After lunch we realized we had 4 minutes to get across town, up the biggest hill for singing at the old person home. So we started riding and I was just laughing my head off because I forgot to mention that Sister Armstrong was wearing a hockey helmet. So we're heading up the hill and its like 33 degrees outside which is way hot here in Canada and I thought I was literally going to die. Well we made it up and sang some songs and then had to leave for a lesson and when we got outside the biggest darkest clouds of my life decided to show up over Cardston and I realized that we were going to get poured on in like 1.8 minutes so we started peddling super fast and got to our investigators house and Sister Armstrong fell off the bike and I couldn't help but just laugh because it just starts pouring rain on us. Luckily we had a way good lesson on fasting and tithing and by the time we were done the rain had stopped. The only problem is we had to get back to our house which is on the steepest hill in Cardston so we just walked our bikes up hahahaha and then ate real quick and then headed all the way to the other side of town to retrieve our car......I'm just going to stick to walking.

The next day all of Cardston was at a pancake breakfast because that's what they do up here in Cardston hahahaha but for reals . They were having Mini Chuck Wagon Races on Saturday so it felt like the whole town shut down because apparently the races are a big deal. Well we were at the breakfast in the morning and got a call from our investigator who was getting baptized later that day and she was having a little melt down. Which is understandable, its a huge decision, but I just felt so much peace in knowing everything would be okay. So we quickly went over to her house and talked with her for awhile and then she got a priesthood blessing and everything got better. I have such a strong testimony of the priesthood and I'm so grateful for men who are worthy to use that priesthood power. Its sooooo cool!!! Her baptism was later that day and it was amazing!! So many people came we had to move it into the chapel and everything went so well. I spoke on the Holy Ghost and was super grateful for that opportunity.

Honestly after that baptism me and Sister Armstrong got in the car and I realized that I was perfectly happy with how my mission has gone. This whole time I've been super stressed about coming home and I just try and ignore that whole thought all together but after that baptism I felt so much peace in knowing I've done what Heavenly Father wanted me to do and that its going to be okay to come home and to keep living a super awesome life. I've seen and received so many blessings out here. After the baptism we went and celebrated our friends birthday who's in the YSA and that was way fun as well. Overall it was just the perfect day.

I think everything hit me on Sunday from the whole week before and I was so tired! Oh my goodness I knew it was going to be a long day when I looked at my watch and it was only 9:00am and I was already falling asleep. We went to ward council earlier that morning and then headed over to our ward with some of our investigators in it. Then we went to YSA branch council and our branch president wanted to have a little testimony meeting which I was very grateful for. Again it was a way spiritual moment for me as I reflected on how my testimony as grown over the last 17 months. I truly love this gospel and my Savior Jesus Christ. The rest of the day was good and I was so happy when I was sitting by Lish in church and realizing that she's just going to be such a great member for the rest of her life.

Well overall I'm super happy. I think overall I've been super happy my whole mission and I'm so grateful for it. This gospel is a gospel of happiness. Thanks mom and dad for raising me in such a good home, I'll be forever grateful for the both of you. I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Love

Sister M.