Fort Mac Chapter 18

Wow this week has been a roller coaster. Got some new investigators and some dropped us. :( That's how it goes.

Monday

We had p-day then we had supper with Spirig's. We then visited with the Kidd's. 

Tuesday

We did studies and then went and did mormon.org time. We tried some people and then went on exchanges. I was with Elder Kriesel. We went tracting for a bit. We had supper at Sis Beech's with the Sosa's. We then went and talked with McPherson's about being a fellow-shipper. 

Wednesday

We came and did Facebook, then lunch. We printed some stuff off at the church and then tracted. We exchanged back and went and did some more tracting. We had supper at Sister Kidds. We then went to the Roys and one of the boys taught us a couple of the PMG lessons. It was pretty good. We then left the phone there. So when we got back up to the apartment we didn't have the phone and had to drive back over. :)

Thursday

We had District meeting and lunch. We then tried some people that we had set up lessons with, but they weren't home. We then tracted and found some great new potentials. We then picked up supper from O'Bray's and then we drove out to the Kidd's. 

Friday

We did weekly Planning. We got a call from Bobby D. We met him for lunch and at the end Bro Fitzner showed up. We ended up going up to Fitzners for a bit and talking. we then had a lesson with Marius and Carina. We tracted into them a little while ago. They live upstairs from Landrums. It's the perfect situation. :) We then, awkwardly enough, had supper with Landrums. We told them about how things went. We then went and had a lesson with Diana. She is progressing so well. 

Saturday

Well we got a call Friday from Grandma Jean and tried to call her back. She called us again and we set a time to see her that day. We went with Bro Fitzner and we challenged her to fast for an answer. :) We then went with Bro Fitzner to see Bud and Dan. Dan wasn't feeling well so we went and visited with Bud. We then drove up to the church to catch some people at new beginnings. We then went and tried some potentials. We had supper at Fitzner's. Bobby D was going to the hockey game that night with them, and wanted us to go. We can only go if there is a non-member. We were busting our but to get a non-member, but no one could. We did have a lesson with Prince at the Afrane's. It was pretty good. He might finally understand what the Book of Mormon is now. :) It was awesome to have it in their home. 

Sunday

We went to church and then had coordination. We then went back to Grandma Jean. She said that she knew the Book of Mormon was true, and that if Joseph Smith translated the book, then he must be a prophet. She wouldn't give a clear answer on whether this was the church she should join. We tried to commit her to a date, but she felt pushed. So we left it at that. We had supper with MacPherson's. We then followed up with the Galenzoski's. We then went to the Family Christian Centre. It was interesting. The other elders were invited and we all went. We got invited back and might go one day to talk with one of the pastors. :) As we were leaving Grandma Jean called. She didn't like how we pushed her and dropped us. :( It was a little heart-breaking. She will accept the gospel one day. Maybe not in this life, but someday. 

Well that was my week. Ups and Downs.

Love,

Elder O'Neill

Fort Mac Chapter 17

to Family, Garrett, me, My, Regan, Regan Wow this week was a lot of fun and really just a great week. :D Monday We did the normal P-day stuff. Emailed, shopped, did laundry and played games. :) We didn't have a supper. Sis Fitzner offered, but we were going over there on Wednesday so we really didn't know. Well it wasn't much of an option. We had supper with Fitzners and then went and saw Olsen's. We then tried some potentials.  Tuesday Well we did our studies and lunch. We then went to see Grandma Jean. We went with Sis O'Bray and Shannon. It was a pretty great lesson. We thought she might be ready for the baptism invitation again, but clearly not. Don't know how much longer we will be teaching her. We then went and saw Bud and Dan. It wasn't much of a lesson with them. Bud is forgetting a lot and doesn't remember he has a testimony of the Book of Mormon. We then went and did Facebook. We then waited for a bit until the zone leaders made it. We had supper with them and then went on exchanges. I was with Elder Christensen. It was cool to be with him. He was my MTC comp. We've both changed so much it's awesome. :) We stopped by a few potentials. We actually got in with Gerald and Eileen. It was a good lesson. We taught them briefly about the restoration. We are going back this week to see them again. :) Wednesday We did our studies and lunch. We then decided to go exploring a little bit and went to check out Saprae Creek. It's a cool place. It's a little community with big lots. Found one potential. We then drove back to meet with Mark. We talked to him and introduced the Plan of Salvation. We then tried by some potentials and tracted. We then had supper at Fitzner's. 32 oz challenge. :) :P I'll lay it out for you. You start with an Ice Cream bar (palette cleanser), 32oz or more steak with potatoes, corn, salad, and at least 2 buns. Once that is done you eat another palette cleanser then dessert. "If you can still see the dessert, there isn't enough whipped cream." Dessert covered in whipped cream and one final palette cleanser. :) I did it. We each had a 36oz steak. Elder Waddoups actually had a 39 oz. steak. 4.4 lbs in an hour. :P It's done. I made it. :) Later that night we went to see the Tagg's.  Thursday We had studies and then we went out for lunch with the zone leaders. We went to Mucho Burrito. We then went back and had District Meeting. We went back and were going to make calls until they were done with their lesson, but their lesson fell through so we left earlier for Anzac. We went and all got haircuts from Sis Spirig at their new salon. It's nice. we then had supper with Kidds. It was a great lesson. We talked with Bro Kidd about the tea and smoking. He put it all together himself that if he stops drinking the tea, it will help with the smoking. :) We also gave him a blessing and it was a special one. Really strong Spirit there.  Friday We did Weekly Planning. We stopped by Gabriel and set up a lesson. We tracted a bit and then went to the church for the Follow-up training meeting. It was interesting it was a video conference. The only downside was that it started an hour late. :P It was good. Interesting doing it over video chat. We then made some calls and picked up supper from Irmen's. Bro Irmen wasn't back from Edmonton yet. We then had a lesson with the Schmidt's and the Grants. It was great and very funny. :) Saturday Well we had a really good day. We did some studies then went and visited McAteer's. We then came home and finished studies and lunch. We then did quick FB time. We then had a lesson with Dan and Bud with Bro Fitzner. It was great. Reestablished that we are going to come and teach. We missed our lesson with Gabriel. We tracted and then vistited with the Landrums. We then had supper with the Sosa's. We got a lot of food. Landrums gave us some extra pizzas, and Sosa's gave us their junk food. :P. We then went and visited the Simpsons. Sunday Well we had ward council. It was High Council Sunday. We kind of got the ward in trouble for not writing the fellow shippers on the progress record. We then had church and coordination. We then had a lesson with Mark with Bro Schmidt. It was a great lesson. We taught the Plan of Salvation and Mark prayed at the end. His first prayer. :D We then tried by someone and went home to change. We tracted for a bit and had supper at Beaulne's with Nortons. It was great. We then tried some potentials and got in with Kenny. He has been around for a while, but finally let us in. Had a good talk with him. We then went and saw LA Olsen's. She is reading the Book of Mormon again. They have some strange views, but hopefully we can help them some how. Well that was my week. Things are going well. :D Love,  Elder O'Neill

Fort Mac Chapter 16

To family and friends, Wow this week was a bit crazy! We are on Facebook now. :) :P :(   I don't really know how to feel about it. It's a complicated process of trying to clean up my page. :P Monday We had pday. While we were doing laundry the other elders came over to Fitzners and we played games. We then had supper with Swainson's.  Tuesday We did the normal. We tried by Nahia and she wasn't home. Wish we could connect with her again. Grandma Jean had to cancel. We went over to the other elders to talk about some stuff. We then went and helped Bro Swainson create a mormon.org profile. We then came home and had supper. We then went and visited with Bro Rich for a while.  Wednesday We did studies and lunch. We then went and did mormon.org. We then just tried potentials and stuff all day. We visited with the Paynes to extend our 21 Day missionary challenge. We are doing a challenge with all of the members that if they will write down a list of friends or lessactives, pray morning and night about each of them and read a scripture on the sheet we give them, in 21 days that someone they know will be ready to accept the missionary lessons. :) It's an awesome challenge. We had supper at Nortons. We then visited with Sis Roy for a bit.  Thursday We drove down to Edmonton, stopped at the mission office, grabbed lunch at Wendy's, went to ZTM about Facebook, filled up, grabbed supper at Burger King and then drove home. Long Day. Friday We did some weekly planning. We then tried a whole list of potentials. We also tried to call some members to set up appointments. We had supper with Jackson's. We then had a lesson with Diana. It went great. She told us that she is starting to have faith in God. It's a great step for her. She is doing great.  Saturday We did studies and then lunch. We then went to our first time on FB. I was cleaning up my profile while Elder Merica created his. We then went and saw Bud and Dan. Finally resolved any issues with his computer....I hope. We then stopped by a few more potentials. We had supper out at Graves. We then stopped by the Roys again, but they were going out. We then went to the Simpsons and had a heart to heart. We were pretty blunt with them. It was a good visit. Sunday Well we had Ward Council. It was a little boring for us. It was a lot of ward stuff for the new year. We had church and coordination. W then came back for lunch. We then went and met with Prince for a bit. It was a really good lesson. He is just going  through some hard times and needs some support. We then went and had supper with Galenzoski's.We then went and had a lesson with the Diggles. We were extending the challenge. The other elders extended the part of praying for us by name the other night. They said they laughed at it. They were like, "We already do." :) They are so great. :) Well that was my week. Just have to keep going. New things everyday. :) Love, Elder O'Neill

Fort Mac Chapter 15

Wow this week was pretty exciting. Lot of fun too. :) Monday Well we had p-day. We then had supper at Loose's. It was pretty great. We then just tried by some potentials.  Tuesday We did studies and then we had to take our car in to get an oil change and tire rotation. We tracted for a bit and had the other elders pick us up and we went to our apartment for lunch. We then went on exchanges. I was with Elder Nielson. It was a blast. We went and taught Grandma Jean with Bro Fitzner. We then went and took all of her bottles to the depot. $60. We then dropped the money off to her and Bro Fitzner dropped us off to pick up our car. We then went and tried by some potentials. We had supper at Sis Beech's. We then went to try Roy's, but they were bust. We then just tried some other potentials.  Wednesday We did studies and went to the church to do our interview. we came back and had lunch. We then ran to the store for Grandma Jean to pick her up some water and ginger ale. :) We then exchanged back. We tried by some other people and then we had supper with Heggie's. New Year's Eve...so we had to be in early. Thursday Well we had District Meeting and went to lunch. We then went out to the Kidd's and helped them. We swept the porch/stove area. A little later we helped them take out their Christmas tree and had to sweep again. :) We had supper and shared a lesson, then drove home. Friday We had weekly planning. We then had a few people to try by. We tracted for a bit and found another potential. We stopped by Fitzners and then had supper at Diggles. They are still amazing. :) We then tried by a few investigators. We ended the night at LA Olsen's. We had a really good talk with them.  Saturday We did studies. We had a lesson with Gabriel set up, but I don't think he is back from Venezuela yet. We then went back and finished studies and had lunch.We drove up to Timberlea to try some potentials and the other elders call. Miscommunication that we got blamed for. We went and helped them and Christine clean up McDonald's house a bit. They are getting ready to move. It's a ward project this upcoming week. Small house and packed with stuff. Bishop talked about it at church and they are hoarders. Floor to ceiling with stuff. We then had a lesson with the potential Erica that we found the day before. We show up and Shannon is there to come with us. We were just waiting for Bailey. Called texted nothing. We wait around for a while and she doesn't come. We got to knock on the door to explain that we can't come in and Erica isn't even home. AH. Well at least it worked out. Another lesson fallen through for Shannon. :) We then went and visited with Bud and Dan. Fixed Dan's computer again. :) We then had supper with the other Elder's and then went to see Roy's, but they weren't home. We then went to the Simpson's.  Sunday We went to Church and had coordination. We then came back to change and do 12 week, but instead really had a good conversation about what we need to do to do better and work more. We then tried by potentials. We had supper at Galenzoski's and then we went and visited with Bro Swainson.  That was my week. Happy New Year! :) Love,           Elder O'Neill

Fort Mac Chapter 14

to Family, Garrett, me, My, Regan Wow this week was great, but slow. Everyone was gone for Christmas, but it was Christmas!! It was awesome to be able to Skype home. :) Well let me tell you about my week.  Monday It was p-day. We emailed, did laundry, and then shopped. We tracted a bit and then had supper at Rusnell's. It was great. We then just tried by some potentials.  Tuesday We did studies and had lunch. We then had a lesson with Grandma Jean. We read through 3 Nephi 27 with her. We then went and saw Bud and Dan. We then tracted in a new part of downtown and found 5 potentials. It was great. We had supper with Lord's and then tried some potentials.  Wednesday Well we got together with the other elders and had a district Christmas party. It was fun. We then tried the people that we tracted into. We then went to the Roys. We had supper at Aulenbach's we then went to Fitzner's for a bit.  Thursday CHRISTMAS!! We got up and went to Fitzner's for breakfast and to open presents. Thanks to everyone. :) We then went to the Catholic church. They put on a Christmas meal for some of the homeless and poor families. We went and helped set up and decorate for that. We then came back to the Fitzner's and Skyped. :) We had lunch and played some games and ate supper. We then ran and visited with Olsen's for a bit. We then picked everything up from Fitzner's and went home. :) Friday We did Weekly Planning and then had lunch. We went to do mormon.org time, but the library was closed. we then just tried potentials. It was really too cold to tract. We then had supper at Olsen's and then went to Jackson's. They gave us each Little Missionary Quote book and a True to the Faith book. It was cool. Saturday We did studies and had lunch. We then tried by potentials. We were supposed to have a lesson with some people that Elder Barber and I tracted into, but they weren't home. We did mormon.org time and then tried some other people. We drove out and had supper with the Kidd's. Helped them a bit and then drove back. We then stopped by Simpson's. One of the boys was the only one to really talk. Bro and Sis Simpson were out to dinner and two of them were downstairs. He really opened up to us about why he doesn't come to church. It was great.  Sunday We had church then coordination. We then went home for some lunch. We were suppossed to have a lesson with Jeff. We go and knock on the door and their dog runs out. We spend a few minutes trying to lure the dog back. The whole time the dog is just playing. We finally help get him back inside and it was her mother was watching their kid while they went out somewhere. We then tried some potentials. We had supper with Beaulnes. We drove to Gregoire to try Bro Rich, but he wasn't home. We stopped at the church and made some calls. We then went over to Diggles and had a lesson with them. So amazing. :) Well that was my week. With the holidays it's been slow, but it's going to pick back up soon. :)   Love, Elder Colin O'Neill

Fort Mac Chapter 13

Wow. So a lot has happened in just a short week. I've got a new companion. His name is Elder Merica. Yes it's said just how you think America without the A. :) He gets it all the time. :) He is great. He is so ready for the mission and I get to be his first companion. :) I also found out some news as I was updating our numbers. Our mission has been approved for Facebook proselyting. We can't start using it until we get some training early next year, but it's going to be coming soon. :) That will be interesting how it works. Well now to start my week. Monday P-day and transfer calls. Elder Barber went to Grande Prairie. We mostly just ran around to say goodbyes all night. Had a really good conversation with Diggle's. The Spirit was soooooooo strong there. Very powerful for all of us.  Tuesday Elder Barber packed and we cleaned the apartment a little. We went to Fitzner's for lunch and then drove to Edmonton. We went shopping a bit. Stopped at Cabela's on the north end. It's really quite small, but the animals were impressive. We then went and saw Cody! I haven't seen him since I left Londonderry back in April. We then stayed at the Zone Leader's place in Clareview. Wednesday I had the new trainer's meeting. Training Elder Merica! We had Transfer meeting and then lunch. We then had Christmas Conference. It was AMAZING! There were a couple of elders that would read some scriptures about the Christmas story and then there would be a musical number. It was good. We then got a surprise....We got to watch Meet the Mormons. :) It was incredible. After all of that we did the usual running around, moving stuff from cars and picking up mail along with extra christmas gifts from President and Sister Manion. After all of that we had to hurry and take off. We went to do some quick shopping. Elder Merica needed some boots. we then had to drive up to Fort Mac that night. :P  Thursday Well we had District Meeting. We then went back and did 12 week. We get an extra hour of companionship study everyday except Monday and Friday. we then went and tried some potentials. We tried to see Bud and Dan, but they were busy. We went tracting and so I did the first couple of doors to give an example. I tell him ok the next door is yours. His first door he knocks on lets us in. :) It's the Svenson's...members. we talked with them for a minute and then kept going. We then stopped by the Fitzners to introduce Elder Merica. We had supper with Mackay's and then went to see the Roy's.  Friday We had Weekly Planning and then we started to have lunch and Bobby D texted us. We went and had lunch with Bobby D and talked with him. We then went tracting. We had supper at the Pickett's. We then had a lesson with Prince and Esther. It went a little better than the last lesson. I don't feel like they know what we do. We then went to Simpson's and had a good visit with them.  Saturday We did studies and then had to pick up another extension cord for the car. We pinched the other and it finally broke. Bro Fitzner invited us over for a dutch oven lunch. Mountain Dew Chicken. We then made sugar cookies to take to some of the investigators and less-actives. :) It was really good for some of them. :) We had supper at Sis Kidd's and right before we got there we were told that the whole family was there. It was great. :) We then went and visited with the LA Olsen's. It was a great lesson. We asked Sis Olsen what keeps her back from coming to church and she just opened up with us. It was a great lesson. Really gave us some good insight.  Sunday We had church. Gospel Principles was interesting. The Seventh-day Adventist Pastor came. He had heard from the other elders investigator that they lesson would be about the Lord's day and about the sabbath. He didn't say much, but was sure intrigued. We then went back and had lunch and finished studies. We then tracted a little bit and then had supper with Galenzoski's. :) We then went over to Olsen's to introduce Elder Merica. The Spirig's were also there. We had a good visit and shared a Christmas message.  Overall this week was a bit slow. Most people have left for the Christmas and the holidays. The work is a little slow and we were gone for a couple of days. It will get better.  Excited for Christmas. If you haven't seen it yet, watch the He is the Gift video. It is amazing! Share it with everyone. #ShareTheGift Merry Christmas!!

Frot Mac Chapter 12

Wow this week was crazy. Talk about anxiety. It was transfer calls today. We honestly couldn't figure out what was going on. It seemed like everything was possible. We didn't know what was going to happen. This morning was the worst part. The anticipation of if the phone is going to ring. The call didn't come until 9:15. It was eating at us. Well Elder Barber is going to be leaving for Grande Prairie. I don't know who my new companion is going to be, because he isn't in the mission field yet. :)........Do you get it?.............I'M TRAINING! It's going to be fun. :) Well now for my week.

Monday

Well we had Pday. Emailed, while we did laundry we played sequence with Sis Fitzner. That was fun. :) We hurried and shopped and then went and saw Bud and Dan for a bit. We then had a lesson with Prince. He is the Afrane's friend. He has so many questions. It was an interesting lesson. 

Tuesday

Well the other elders had to take their car into the shop and so we picked them up and went to the church and did studies. We had lunch and then we went to Grandma Jean's. It was a really good lesson and helped her understand the importance of the Book of Mormon. We then went with Bro Fitzner to see Bud and Dan. Bro Fitzner kept Bud distracted so we could teach Dan. It was a really good lesson. :) We had supper at Montoya's and then we went to the LA Olsen. 

Wednesday

We did some finding the Gregoire. It was really warm so it felt great. :) We found some great potentials. We went and did mormon.org time. We then had lunch. While we were at lunch we got a phone call from Grandma Jean. She had read some article about polygamy and Joseph Smith having 40 wives. We are going back on Friday to help her understand. We then did some finding. We had supper with Bro Crane and Bro Norton. It was new. It was a Jigg's Dinner. Newfoundland specialty. It was pretty good. We then went to the Doonanco's. 

Thursday

We had District Meeting. We then had lunch at a Donair place. It was one of the best Donaires that I've had. We then changed and went out to the Kidd's. We then came back changed and went and had supper with the Simpson's. Surf and Turf. So good. We then had a lesson with Diana. They are doing soo well. 

Friday

We had Weekly Planning and Lunch. We then went and met with Grandma Jean with Bro Fitzner. We think she is at peace with it now. We then had some potentials that fell through, so we did some finding. We had supper on our own. We then went to Jackson's. We then visited with the Roy's.

Saturday

We started the day off by doing some finding downtown. It went actually really well. We talked to a lot of people and got some great potentials from it. :) We then had lunch. We went to stop by Bud and Dan again, but it was the hospital Christmas Party. We tried a few people and then came back. We then met Bro Turner at Mucho Burrito for supper. We then went to LA Olsen's again. Really good visit with them. 

Sunday

Well we had Ward Council then Church. We had a lot of people come. The whole Simpson Family came as well as Diana and her kids. We then had coordination. We ran home and had lunch and did a little studies. We then had supper with Stewarts and Diggles. It was a farewell party for Elder Barber. Early christmas presents though. :) We then met up with the other elders. Elder Barber and Hentunen went out to Anzac for some goodbyes. Meanwhile Elder Kriesel and I went with the YSA and Bishop to do a living Christmas Card to some of the LA YSA. It was pretty fun. Went and sang two songs, Elder Kreisel shared a quick scripture and then we gave them some cookies. It was fun.

Well that was my week. I'm getting ready for a couple weeks of crazy. :) Merry Christmas!

Love, 

Elder Colin O'Neill