Fort Mac Chapter 9

You would think I would know which chapter I'm on, but I still have to look every week. :) Well this has been quite a gong show of a week. First I'm writing this on Wednesday. The Library was actually closed for Monday and Tuesday, but We had Zone conference that same time, so we finally get to email Wednesday. It's going to be a long one this week. :) Monday Pday, then supper with the Diggles. Everything else fell through, so we did some tracting and potentials. Pretty good night. Tuesday We went to Gregoire in the morning, our lesson fell through as well. We came back and had lunch then went to Grandma Jean with Sis Olsen and Swainson. It was a really good visit. We asked her to pray specifically to know what we are saying is true, and she did. Most specific prayer ever. We then tracted and tried potentials. We then went on crazy splits. The Zone leaders came up and so we went on 6 way splits for two nights. Tuesday night wasn't bad. We all met at the McDonalds downtown. I was picked up by Bro Swainson. We had supper at their home and then we went and visited the Simpsons then Bud. It was a good night. It was pretty cool. It was Sis Simpson's birthday and they were going to go out to dinner, but they waiting until after we came. :) Wednesday We tried some potentials. Went to lunch with everyone. We then did mormon.org time. Tried more potentials. This night I went with Bro Rivers. Wednesday night was a GONG SHOW TO THE MAX! All of our appointments fell through. We did get to go to Thompson's which was good. Everyone's appointments fell through that night. It was crazy. Not doing that again.  Thursday We had a District Brunch, since the Zone Leaders were heading back. Most of the reason was Elder Stewart is going home. We then had a lesson with Malinda with Bro Sousa. It was great. We then went to the church and played a bit of dodgeball and then had District Meeting. We then had supper at the Fitzner's. We then had a lesson with Diana with Bro Fitzner. It was incredible. We taught her the history timeline of the Bible and the Book of Mormon. We also talked about the importance of Jesus Christ. It was incredible.  Friday We dropped off a Chinese Book of Mormon to Diana. We then did Weekly Planning and then lunch. We tried by some potentials. We picked up supper from Sis O'Bray. She was trying soo hard to have us over, but numbers couldn't work. We had supper and then went to LA Olsen's. It was interesting. We went over and were visiting. At the end his parents came. They are Fundamentalists. Interesting people. :) Shared a scripture on prophets and following the prophets. :) Made his dad laugh a little. :) Be bold. Saturday We were invited by a lady, we tracted into, to attend the 7th Day Adventist Church. It was pretty interesting. They are very friendly and welcoming. Many of them said that they might come to our church. The other elders went the last week. :) It was fun. We then went and had a lesson with Jeet. We acutally got to sit down with him. It went pretty great. We then went to Gabriel's Baptism. It was incredible. We then had supper with Simpson's.  Sunday We had ward council and then church. We had some lessons that all fell through again. We had supper at Macpherson's. It was fun. We then tried more potentials since the rest of the lessons fell through.  Monday We did what we needed to and drove to Edmonton. Elder Hentunen and I stopped by some families in Londonderry. We stayed the night at the mission home. Tuesday We had Interviews and then Zone Conference. We then went to the temple. It was great. I hadn't been in 9 months. We then went Christmas shopping. I'm all done. :) Then stayed another night at the mission home. This time with St. Paul elders.  Well that was my week plus some. :) Gong show, but what else can you do. :) Love,  Elder Colin O'Neill

Fort Mac Chapter 8

to Family, Garrett, me, My, Regan, Regan Well this week was a fun week. A few ups and downs, and a few gong shows. :) That's life as a missionary. :) It's only going to get crazier from here though with what we have going on the next couple of weeks. :) Monday Well we had pday. Did everything that we needed to and then did some shopping. We then went and played a little dodgeball. It's so much fun. We were in shorts that time so it was easier. We left and went downtown to try a few people and to fill up. We then had supper at Irmen's. We got a text and someone needed a blessing. That was interesting. Leanna is a semi LA in the other elders area. She texted us though to come. She is having some struggles and when we went, she wasn't telling us the full story that we found out later. Stupid drama. Leave the missionaries out of it. It was still a really good visit. Tuesday Well we tried by some potentials and then went to have lunch at the other elders' apartment. we then went on exchanges. I was with Elder Hentunen in my area. It was a fun exchange. We went tracting a bit. We tracted into Leila who is super awesome. She used to be Muslim, but doesn't really practice anymore. She was super interested in the idea of modern-day prophets. It was awesome. We then went and met with Grandma Jean. We need to get some fellowship there. We then tried some other potentials and tracted. We had supper at Fitzner's. All 4 of us. We also did some landmark burnings. It was E Hentunen's year last month and E Barber's 6 months next month and my 18 next month. we decided to just do it all at once. Burning the Fitzner way. :) It was fun. Also had a super cool lesson with them.  Wednesday We had a lesson with Nahia. We/I couldn't get a hold of some one the night before to come, so we were trying hard to find some one to come in the morning. Finally got sister Landrum to come with. It was a decent lesson. We then had our interview. Well next week we have zone conference and so we are going to have some time in Edmonton. Elder Hentunen and I are going to go see Cody :) It's going to be great. We called him during our interview. He didn't seem to know who we were at first. Then I think it finally clicked. :) We then went back to our apartment and had lunch. After lunch we went and did mormon.org time. We then went and visited Bud and Dan. It was a cool visit. Well when we got back to the car there was a not so nice surprise waiting for us. We were park a little too long and there was a nice parking ticket and things in Fort McMurray aren't cheap. :P Well we then went to Boehme's for supper. They are pretty nice. After supper I gave the keys to Elder Barber. I'm not driving anymore. It's been 15 months. I need a break. It's an adjustment to not drive though. :) We then tried some potentials and tracted a bit. Thursday We had District Meeting. It was really inspiring. We just read about faith in the scriptures and PMG and watched District videos. It was really cool what I was able to learn. We then went to lunch at this Schwarma place. It was ok. Our lesson fell through and then we went to Kidd's. helped out and visited with them. Bro Kidd is going to stop smoking next week. :) We then rushed back and had supper with Cahoon's. Dry. Not much conversation. We then went to LA Olsen's and had a good visit with them.  Friday Well we tried some potentials and then went to Mark. He is an incredible guy. He is a brain cancer survivor. His story is incredible. He is the most positive person I've met. We then went home and had lunch. We then had Weekly Planning. We went and stopped by some potentials. We then had a lesson with Krystal and Amber, with Bro Aullenbach. It was an ok lesson. We then stopped by Roys'. They weren't home, but the Sousa's (?) let us in to share a quick message. We then went to the Simpsons. They are hilarious. they definitely need some help. We were going to take a late supper, but they fed us instead. :) Saturday We tried potentials and tracted. We then had lunch. We visited Bud and Dan again, mostly to set up for next week for epic splits. We then went to Gregoire and met with Bro Rich. He is pretty cool. We then tried some potentials. We then went to the Roy's they were home and we were finally able to share the mousetrap lesson. It took a long time, but it was the perfect lesson that night. We then came home and had supper.  Sunday We had Ward Council. The other elder's investigator Gabriel is going to be baptized this week. We had church, then coordination. It was a lot of planning for the epic splits. The Zone leaders are coming up this week and we are going to do a 6 way split with some ward members on Tuesday and Wednesday night. It took a lot of work to plan it out, but we did it. We then ran home to change and had a quick lunch. We had a couple of lessons set up, but they fell through. We went tracted and met Papa though. Yes that's his name. He is from Ghana. Super excited to met again. We then had supper with Stewart's. It was the first time it was just Stewart's. It was pretty cool. We then tried by Lisa, but rescheduled. We then helped Bro Mackay move a couch really quick.  It was a really good week. Always seeing miracles. :D Love, Elder Colin O'Neill

Fort Mac Chapter 7

Wow this week has been absolutely crazy! You can only plan so much, then when you turn it over to the Lord, he makes miracles happen. :) Monday Well we had pday. Emailed then did laundry while talking to Sis Fitzner. Had a great talk with her. It was awesome. We then tried some potentials. We had supper with Rusnell's. Supper wasn't quite ready when we got there, so they invited us downstairs to play some pool for a bit. It was a fun night. Our other lesson fell through. Tuesday Well we went tracting in Waterways, just the fartherst south of downtown. We then had lunch. Visited with Grandma Jean for a bit. We were supposed to meet March at A&W, but he didn't show. We then went and saw Bud and Dan. We had supper with Olsen's. We then tried some potentials. We also met with Bro Crane. We actually ran into at the hospital earlier and didn't know who he was. We just stopped by and had a visit with him. Wednesday We tried some formers and potentials and tracted in Timberlea. We then had lunch and tried some people downtown. We were walking from a potentials house and started talking to this guy, we walked with him almost the whole way across. We then had to walk back to the car. We were about 2 houses away from our car when this guy pulls up. He is from Salt Lake and was up here for work. he offered to take us for lunch. We really didn't want to, but we did. We then did Mo.org. We went and saw Tenicia and Nick. They are really cool. Super solid. We had supper with Sis Kidd and then ran to Stewarts to have a lesson with Diggles and them. It was a fun night. I love teaching the new member lessons to them. They already know everything so we can teach more in depth. Thursday Well we had District Meeting. We then went out to the Kidd's for a bit. It was good out there. We then rushed back and went to supper with Dahl's. We then rushed to Fitzner's for splits. I went with Bro Schmidt to Diana. That was a very interesting lesson. She is from China and is trying to find God. Her "boyfriend" is a member who set up the lesson. She had been taught many times before as well. It's going to be interesting teaching her. Her kids go to Catholic School and are very understanding. It was different. Always learning new things. Friday We had weekly planning. We were also going to have a long day of finding that day. In the middle of it Bobby D called and wanted to take us out for lunch. We tried some people downtown after that. We then met Bobby D at the mall. He is a LA, because he lives out at camp, works 24/4 shifts, can't get a license and the buses don't run from camp on Sunday morning. He is incredible. "His life could be a movie"-Elder Barber. We met him at the mall and he took us to Foot Locker and bought us new shoes. We then went to Montana's for lunch. It was incredible. We then tried some potentials. Well we were going to have supper with Olsen's, but they never called us back to confirm. We get a call from Sis Olsen and she asked if we could pick up some things for her, before we come for supper. We weren't hungry, but we went. It was still good. We then went to Fitzners' and went with Bro Fitzner to go see Bro Judd. We reinvited him to bring a new friend into his life. Saturday Well were in the middle of studies and Bobby D called us again. 2 days in a row. It's awesome. We tried some potentials. The temp also dropped like a rock. It was cold. We met Bobby D at a Chinese place and we talked for a bit. We then tried LA Olsen's, then tracted some more. We took a shorter supper and then stopped by Roy's they were in the middle of supper so we told them we would come back. We then stopped by Simpson's and had a great talk with them. We went back to the Roy's and they had gone out. Sunday We had Ward Council. It was a long weekend so there was no one there. There was the two councilors of the bishopric, the RS pres, Sunday School pres, Bro Fitzner and the 4 missionaries. :) Guess what we took the majority of the meeting talking about. :) We had church and then ran home for lunch. We had a few lessons set up that all of them fell through. We had coodination and then had supper at Eric's. We then stopped by Davis'. We actually got in with them and had a great talk with him. It was great. We were able to answer soo many of his questions and just have an open conversation. It was remarkable. We had a really good week. When most of our plans fell through, they were filled. It was an incredible week. Do all you can and then put it on the Lord and he will take care of the rest. That also applies to anything not just planning. :) Love, Elder Colin O'Neill

Fort Mac Chapter 6

Hello to Family, Garrett, me, My, Regan, Regan This week was quite a fun week. I forgot my planner again. New transfer left my old planner in the apartment. :) Monday P-day. Didn't do anything too out of the ordinary. We got everything done, so we played some uno for a bit till we had to leave. We had supper with Swainson's. It was an incredible night. Had a very good conversation with them. Don't remember what we did the rest of the night either. Tuesday We had a lesson with Nahia in the morning. It went really well. Her father in Edmonton was sick so she was down there last week. She is still just as interested. It was a good lesson. We then went and had stopped by Grandma Jean. We talked with her for a bit. she called the night before and told us that she was advised to stay away from the Mormons and so we didn't need to come by. Well we wanted to understand what was going on. We had a good conversation with her. We are going back next week. I think we had supper with Rusnell's that night. We had a small snow ball fight after. :) We then went to LA Olsen's. It was a good time there. Wednesday We tried some people in the morning downtown. Sometime in the afternoon we went out to the Kidd's and helped them around for a bit. The other Elder's came for supper as well. We then went and tracted in Gregoire Lake Estates. Found a couple of potentials. It was pretty good. It started snowing while we were out there. Tracting in a Winter Wonderland :) Thursday We had District Meeting and then went for lunch. Don't' really remember what we did that day. Friday We did Weekly planning and then we went to Gregoire to try some potentials and tract. It was interesting being Halloween. We were told many times, "this really isn't the day to be doing this". What else were we suppossed to do? We had supper with Diggles and then went home. We had to be in by 6 if we didn't have any appointments. We played some card games. I tried to teach Elder Barber Crib, but that failed. We mostly played Speed. Saturday We had a lot of lessons set up that cancelled. We tried some potentials downtown and tracted. We tracted into one guy that we debated with for a good little while on his door. Why do people enjoy telling us so much about what we do and what we believe? It's a little annoying. Just a bit. :P We then had lunch. We had a lesson with Dwayne, but he had to reschedule. We then went and met Sis Eric's friend March. He was meeting with the missionaries a few years ago, but lost contact with everyone when he lost his job. He is struggling a lot. We met him and he is going to come to church. We were suppossed to have a lesson with Eric. Well that didn't really happen. When we got there no one answered, but he was walking up the street. He awkwardly let us in. We were half teaching lesson one. His dad came in and we tried to include him in the conversation. Well then Eric took off and took a shower. His Dad wasn't interested so we left. We went up to Thickwood and we got our Flu Shots. We then tried potentials. We were going to have a lesson with Jeet, so we stopped by Tiffany. Well her husband answered and said she wasn't home. Elder Barber saw her in the window as we were walking away. Don't think we are teaching Tiffany anymore. Jeet then wasn't home. Aaron met us there and still had some time, so we tried potentials. We went and saw Tenicia. She was home and we had a super good lesson with her. I can't even describe how much she respects what we do. We made her cry a couple of times. It was a great lesson. We then went home and had supper then tried by some more people. Sunday It was an incredible day. We had church. We had Nahia and March at Church. It was incredible. Testimony meeting was interesting. Some interesting Testimonies. The rest of church was great. After we went to Gregoire. We were supposed to have a lesson with Joe, but his family was sick. We then went to Al Rich. He was home and we had a great conversation. We were almost late to coordination. We then had supper with Harper's. We then stopped by Tina. She was home. We had a great conversation with her and then we were late to the Fireside. It was incredible. It was about Member missionary work with the Stewarts and Diggles sharing their story. It was amazing. Well that was my week. Tons of miracles. Hopefully this week will be the same. :) Love, Elder Colin O'Neill