Southgate Chapter 3

Well this week was ok. Nothing really remarkable happened. It was still just a good week.

Monday

We had Pday. It was fun. We gave the Mt. Pleasant Elders a ride since they don't have a car. We did the usual, email, shop. We then went to the Millwoods Stake Center to play some games. We were told they were going to play soccer which got Elder Wilson excited, but when we got there they had the volleyball net set up. We ended up playing volleyball. It was a ton of fun. We had supper with Sis Fairbairn. It was great. She had one of the other Elder's investigators, Pat, over as well as Evlyn, who we are working with. It was a great supper. We then had FHE at the Raaflaub's.

Tuesday

We did studies at the office and were there all day. We had supper with the Habing's and then we were going to have a lesson with Kelly and Thomas, but they cancelled. :(

Wednesday

We had district meeting and lunch. We then went in to the office for the rest of the day. We were supposed to have supper with Byam's, but Bro Byam wasn't back from Red Deer yet. Sis Byam just gave us some money to go get something. We went to Soutgate mall and got New York Fries pulled pork poutine. Best stuff ever. :) We then had some money left and were going to get some DQ, but as we were walking over some kid working at one of the stores started walking and talking with us. He lives in Spruce Grove. It was random. He ended up buying the Ice Cream. It was cool. We then went and tried some people.

Thursday

We did studies at the office again and were there most of the day. Don't really remember what we did that night. Probably some stop-by's.

Friday

Well we were once again in the office for most of the day. We left a little early and went on exchanges. I went with Elder Duncanson to Bearspaw. It was fun. We went and checked Facebook. I went through some of my Heritage Tours pics of the church history sights with him. We then had supper with the Jones. Sis Jones is Bro Palmer's, from Londonderry, sister. It was crazy. We then did some tracting and tried by some people.

Saturday

Well we got up and did the usual. We were asked if we could come set up some chairs at the stake center at 11. We got there at about 10:50 and right as we are pulling into the parking lot, we get a text saying they were playing basketball in the gym so we couldn't set up chairs. We then drove back to the area and did the interview. We had lunch and then did Facebook and then tracted. It was a fun exchange. :) We then exchanged back at the office. We then tracted for a bit. We had supper and then went back out. We tracted some more. We then met the other elders at the office and planned out our portion of the 5th Sunday lesson we were giving.

Sunday

Well we got up and got ready to go to PEC and when we got to the church, no one was there. Since it was the 5th sunday they didn't have any meeting and no one told us. we just helped set up the chairs. We had church. For the 5th sunday lesson it was combined RS/Priesthood/Youth. It was talking about the Ward mission plan. Our part we talked about using Social Media. We also introduced #BecauseHeLives to the ward. We then had out lunch hour, but it was fast Sunday. :) We had coordination then did studies. We had supper at the Kastendieck's. Yes more Kastendieck's. I had to ask. They are brothers. :) They are a fun family, just like I thought they would be. We then were suppossed to have a lesson with Kelly and Thomas, but it fell through again. :P

Monday

Well we were in the office. We opened and closed. It was good. We had supper on our own and then we had FHE at Raaflaub's. :) It was a great night.

Well that was my week. We were able to go to the temple this morning which makes it all better. :D Excited for Conference :)
Love, Elder Colin O'Neill

Southgate Chapter 1

Well a new book of my mission. It's sure been a roller coaster of a week. Lots of new things. New area, new companion, new responsibilities. It's all sorts of fun. :)

Monday

Well we had P-day. We got everything done as quick as we could and then we went to the church and played some soccer. It was awesome. We had supper with the Rusnells. We then went and said goodbye to the O'Bray's and then the Olsen's.

Tuesday

We had a lesson with Nahia in the morning. It was a great last lesson. We then found a Fort McMurray pin. We then had lunch and packed. We went and saw Bud and Dan. We then stopped by some other people. We had supper at Goetz. We went to try and say goodbye to Fitzners, but they weren't home. We then went to Diggles.

Wednesday

We drove down for transfers. We then had transfers. It was hard to say goodbye. We then had to drive a car back to the office so we used to talk my stuff back to the apartment and to get some groceries. We then took it to the office. We then had supper with the Draycott's. We then went and visited with the Lowes.

Thursday

Well we had District Meeting. We then had lunch. Then we had an adventure. Both Elder McMullin and I's companions had to go to the District Leader meeting. Well we were both new to the area as of yesterday so we really didn't know where to go. We went and got on FB. I then got us close to our apartment and we tracted for a while. We then were going to stop by the apartment, but we didn't have keys. :( We then went to McDonald's and got a shake. The meet us there and we picked up supper from Sis Fairbairn. We then all had supper. We then went and stopped by a few people. We then met with Monir.

Friday

We had our first day in the office. Learn how to do referrals and entering baptism records. We had supper with the Carter's and then went and met the Raaflaubs.

Saturday

We did weekly planning and lunch. We went to see our investigator Monty and when we showed up he handed us back all of the books and dropped us. It was a sad day. We then went and met with the Arrisons. We then had supper with the Deppe's. We then had a baptism interview with some of the Zone Leaders investigators. They are sweet.

Sunday

We had PEC. Elder Low and I just sat outside. We then had church. We had lunch at the AP's apartment. We then met with a few people. We were supposed to have a lesson with some investigators with Bro Henday, but they weren't home. We took him to some other people and finally got a lesson with Marseille. He is from Rwanda. He is awesome. At the end of the lesson he said "I think I understand prophets now". It was awesome. We then had supper with the Munoz. They are fun. We then stopped by some people.

Monday

We were in the office all day. I was learning financial stuff. We then stopped by the Raaflaub's to help move their daughter move out, but they didn't come. We then had supper with the Cahoon's. We then went back to the Raaflaub's and had FHE. It didn't end well. Got a migraine. Not a fun night. Great night sleep though. :)

Well that was my week. It was a roller coaster, but it's going to be fun.
Love, Elder Colin O'Neill

Fort Mac Chapter 24 final chapter in this area!!!

Well it looks like it's the end of the road for here. I'm getting transferred to Southgate Ward in Edmonton. It will be an interesting experience. My new companion Elder Wilson and I will also be working in the office. One of the office couples is finishing their mission and there is no one to replace them yet, so we will be filling in. It will be different. Now for the rest of my week.

Monday

We had P-day and then had supper with Christine and the Lamoureux's. It was fun. We went and said goodbye to the Schmidt's and Grant's. Sr. Bro Schmidt is moving back to Idaho. Jr. Bro Schmidt is moving back to Virginia and at least Sis Grant is going back home to South Africa. We then went over to see the Jackson's.

Tuesday

I don't remember what we did. :) I think we just tracted and tried potentials. We had supper at the Irmen's. We then went on exchanges. Elder Walker came with me. :) We went and stopped by some people and then we went to see the Roy's and say goodbye. :)

Wednesday

Elder Walker stayed over night and the other Elders came in the morning to exchange back. We had a lesson in the morning with Malinda. Sis Beaulne and Fitzner came with us. Great lesson. She is just super busy. We finished studies and had lunch. we didn't have much that day either. We picked up supper from the Eric's. We went back and ate, then went and saw LA Olsen's. We had a good chat with them. I enjoy them a lot. :) We then went to the BFC Bible study again. It was great and a lot of great people. :)

Thursday

We had District Meeting and then lunch. We had the rest of the food from Eric's. We then tried by Mihaly, but he wasn't home. We then changed and drove out to Anzac. We all got haircuts and then had supper with Kidd's. I'm going to miss them. We then came back and had a lesson with Diana. It went pretty well. :)

Friday

We did Weekly Planning we also cooked a really good lunch. Chicken with roasted veggies. :) Best cooking I've done so far. :) We then went and did Facebook. We then just tried some people. Don't really remember. 

Saturday

It was a long day of tracting and potentials. We had supper with Diggle's and then went and saw the Simpson's. 

Sunday

It was a pretty good day. We had Ward Council and church. It was pretty good. Mihaly came and we talked to him a bit afterwards. We were talking in the chapel and Bro Fitzner came in and just remarked it was nice to see him and told him that what he was feeling was the spirit and this is where he was supposed to be. He started crying. Mostly it was Elder Merica and Walker in that conversation, but it was still really powerful. We then went home had lunch. We went and tried by some potentials. We had supper with the Beaulne's. Then tried people the rest of the night. 

Well that was my week. Forgot my planner so the details are a little spotty. Going to miss Fort McMurray, but that's life as a missionary. :)

Love, Elder O'Neill

Fort Mac Chapter 23

Dear Family and friends,
Wow. This week was a bit crazy. We were in Edmonton for almost 3 days and then just trying to catch up and meet with people who aren't home. :( It was interesting.:)

Monday

Well we did as much as we could. We emailed and did laundry and packed then headed to Edmonton. Elder Nielson drove to Grasslands then gave me the keys so he could sleep. I drove to Fort Saskatchewan and we had Mucho Burrito for supper then drove to the Mission Home. Stayed over night with St. Paul. :)

Tuesday

We had interviews with President. We then had Zone Conference. It was great learned a lot. :) We then ran to the office, because the other Elder's were getting a different car. Still a subaru, but just a different one. We then drove to the temple. It was so amazing. It felt great to be able to go. :)

Wednesday

Well we got up and went to Generations Bookstore and then to this book binding place. It was pretty cool. They do custom book binding. Looks awesome. Made me laugh a little too. Their main customers are the Elders and the JW's. :) We then grabbed lunch at Wendy's, drove to the north side, filled up and then headed out. The whole time I was driving in Edmonton. Elder Neilson drove to Grasslands again and then Elder Merica finished the drive. We had supper with Nate and Bailey, then we went and visited the Roy's. 

Thursday

We had District Meeting and then we went to see Bud and Dan. We are trying to get them to church. :) Hopefully. We then went out to the Kidd's for supper. We got a picture of the temple for them to help them remember their goal to get back to the temple. 

Friday

We had Weekly Planning and then lunch. We did mormon.org time and then we went and tried potentials. We had supper with the Lamoureux's and then tried some more potentials. 

Saturday

We did studies and lunch. We then went and saw Bud and Dan. Trying to work out details for getting them to church. Doesn't look like it's going to happen. We then tried some potentials. We had a lesson with LA Olsen's with Bro O'Bray. There is some progress with them. We then had supper with Bro Turner at Mucho Burrito. :) We then went and tried some people and then went and visited the Simpson's with Bro Swainson. Invited them to church. The kids were already going to come. Bro Simpson is probably coming next week since it most likely will be my last week. 

Sunday

Well we had church. The whole Simpson family, except Bro Simpson, came as well as Bro Kidd. It was awesome. :) Testimony meeting was really powerful. There were a lot of tears and emotions. We were trying to get Nahia to come and we are sort of glad she didn't. She has a hard time when people bear their testimony with an accent and when people cry. Well everyone that had an accent bore their testimony and lots of people were fighting back tears. :) It was really powerful though. We had coordination and then changed stopped by some people and then tracted. We had supper with the Stewarts. We then went and met with Eddy. He is awesome and super willing to learn. He told us that he has been getting some resistance about trying to read the Book of Mormon, but he still wants to find out what we are about. :) He is so sincere. We then just tried some other people.

It was a good week. A little low on the investigators, but that's Fort McMurray. :) :( I don't know which one. haha :)

Well hope everyone has a good week. Don't have much time left so I got to get working hard. :)

Fort Mac Chapter 22

Wow so last week wasn't very exciting. This week is already starting off more exciting. We are heading down to Edmonton for a Zone Conference, Interviews and Temple trip. :)

Tuesday

Well we had p-day. We had supper with the Goetz, Blackmore and Christine. It was pretty good. In the middle of it the other elders had a call for a referral from a lady down in Lethbridge. It was actually in our area so Elder Walker handed me the phone. It was pretty cool. That is an overarching story of the week. :) We then tried some Less-actives. 

Wednesday

Well we did studies then we went and visited with Bud and Dan. Had a good conversation with Dan and then talked with Bud. We then drove out to Saprae. We drove out there and found a street to tract. We went to park and the truck slid off and got stuck. Luckily someone saw us go in and drove home to get some tow straps. Got out no problems. :) He was awesome. We then tracted somewhere else. We were walking down and this car was stopped at the next drive way. They were waiting for us. This guy asked if we had any pamphlets. He was heading to the Philippines and was going to be wearing some dress clothes and didn't want to get robbed so he wanted to look like he was handing out religious stuff. Hopefully someone in the Philippines gets baptized from it. Or him. :) It was interesting. We then had supper with Tagg's. We then just did some visits. 

Thursday

We had district meeting then lunch. We just tracted for a bit. We went out to the Kidd's for supper and to help them. We then came back and tried some people.

Friday

Well we did Weekly Planning, lunch, then mormon.org. time. We stopped by a few people and tracted. We had supper. We then were supposed to meet with Mihaly. He is the referral. It was quite a process. We have been trying by his apartment, calling him, Dale (the apartment owner who referred us) was in constant contact with us and him trying to figure out how we could meet. It was quite an ordeal. We were supposed to meet with him, but he wasn't home. We just tried by some other people. We then had a lesson with Diana. It went ok. She is having a struggle with one of her friends. Which affected the lesson. 

Saturday

We did the usual. We then tracted just about all day. We saw Bobby D and talked with him. We then had a lesson with LA Olsen's and the Diggles. It was great. They wanted to meet with some converts. :) We ended up having to leave and left them there talking for a little while longer. We ran and met with the Simpsons. We just had a really good talk about how we can help them. It was a good night after a long day. 

Sunday

Well we had ward council, church and coordination. We had lunch, then tracted and tried by some people. We had supper with Galenzoski's. We then ran and finally met with Mihaly. He is so prepared. He lost his job and Dale, his landlord, didn't want to kick him out, but just wanted to try and help him. He sent us over to see if there was anything we could do for him. He was actually prepared for the job loss. He was telling us that he kept having promptings when he was going shopping to buy extra because something bad is going to happen. Well he lost his job and was taken care of, but then the emotional kicked in. We went over and he started the conversation about the gospel. He is a really great genuine guy. 

Well that was my week. The main story was Mihaly. He was being prepared to hear the gospel and I can't wait to see what will happen. :) Dale also has a friend that he wants us to meet. Dave O'Neill. He feels like their might be some family connection. We'll see how that goes or even if I ever meet him. I might be leaving Fort Mac soon, but I don't know. I don't want to leave, but if that's God's plan then I will have to.

Hope everyone is having a great week. Until next week. :)

Love, 

Elder Colin O'Neill

Fort Mac Chapter 21

Wow this week was crazy. I don't even hardly know where to start.

Monday

Well It was Pday. Did the usual and then had supper with the other Elders. WE then tried some people in Gregoire. 

Tuesday

Well we did the usual tracting and potentials. We went on splits with the Zone leaders that night. I was with Elder Waddoups. We stopped by Nahia and actually set up a return appointment with her. It was a miracle. :) Haven't talked to her in two months. We then all had supper with the Schmidt's and Grants. It was a lot of fun. We then tried by a few people. We were able to get in and talk with Eddy for a bit. He is a really cool guy. More about him later. 

Wednesday

Well they were doing some things for our apartment so we had to be out of there by 9. We went over to the Fitzner's and did studies and had lunch. Well with the wind it was -45 so we couldn't go out. We stayed at the Fitzners for a while. The other elders were having some problems with their apartment and so the Zone leaders stayed with us that day. We had supper with Sis Kidd and then we went to the Bikers for Christ Bible study. Eddy is a part of it and invited us to go. He was totally shocked when we showed up. It was really awesome. They are really great and Eddy has told us since that they really enjoyed us coming. :)

Thursday

Well the Zone Leaders took off early early that morning to drive back. We did the usual and then had district meeting. We went to a great place for lunch. Freshii. The owner is one of the bikers. :) It was soo good. We then tried by some people and then went out to the Kidd's. Helped them and had supper. We then hurried and drove back to meet with Diana. :) It was a pretty great lesson. She got a little fired up when we were talking about fast offerings, but she feels the same. It's not a hand-out, but a hand up (Bro Fitzner). It went well. 

Friday

We did Weekly Planning and then we went and did Facebook. We then went and visited with Bud and Dan. We then tried by some people and tracted. We had supper with Lockhorst's and then went with Bro Lockhorst to see LA Olsen's. It was a great lesson and felt like it actually went somewhere. :)

Saturday

We had a lesson with Nahia!!! Like I said earlier we haven't seen her since the beginning of December. She went to Edmonton for Christmas and then got busy with school and it's been a struggle to connect with her. We went in not really sure of what to expect and it seems like nothing was different. It seemed more like we haven't seen her in a week than in two months. She stopped reading the Book of Mormon, just because she was busy. We recommitted her to reading and praying. She is so prepared still. :) We then had lunch at Fitzner's. Bobby D was supposed to come, but didn't. We went and stopped by his new place. He had to move into town so we can see him more. We stopped by and talked with him for a bit and are reteaching him the lessons. We then ran home to get a progress record and ended up talking with one of our neighbors. He is Muslim and we had a good talk. He's open to talking, but not sure where it's going to go. We had supper with Pickett's and then we went and dropped off the progress record. We then went and met with Simpson's and Bro Swainson. Their trip sounded like a lot of fun, but not much has changed with them.

Sunday

Well we had Ward Council and Church. It was cool since it was High Council Sunday, one of the High Councilmen came up. It was Bro Johnston from Londonderry. It was great to see him. :) We then had a Linger Longer Pot-luck. Ya Food. We went and tracted and then we had supper at Beaulne's. We then went and met with Eddy. He's awesome and so willing to learn more. :) We then were going to go see the Francis family, but they were busy so we went to the Roy's. 

Monday

It was Family Day and since most people were going to have work off pday was changed. Well we spent most of the day tracting and not finding much success. We had supper with Fitzner's and had a really good talk with Sis Fitzner. :) We stopped by the Francis' again, but he wasn't home. 

Well that was my week. A bit of a Gong show, but I managed. :) Still alive and still smiling. :D

Love, 

Elder O'Neill

Fort Mac Chapter 20

Wow this week was a really slow and boring week. :P Every lesson we had set up fell through. It was a long week of tracting and potentials.

Monday

P-day. We then had supper at Sis Beech's. We then went over and had milkshakes at the Lamoureux's. 

Tuesday

We did studies and tried some people downtown. We were supposed to have a lesson with Dwayne, but he wasn't home. Dropped. Can't keep setting up appointment and having him not be home. We then had a lesson with Dan and Bud. Don't know how promising Dan is really going to be. We then just tracted and tried potentials. We picked up supper from Soares and ate at the other elders apartment. We then tried by more po's and then went with Bro Lockhorst to see LA Olsen's. It was actually a really good lesson. Bring members to everything. :)

Wednesday

Studies, tracting and po's, mormon.org time, tracting. We had supper with McAteer's :). We then tracted more and then went and visited Roy's with Bro Olsen. It was more of a visit, but still great to bring a member.

Thursday

District Meeting. Elder Walker baked some bread. We then went home and grabbed a little bit of food and then went out to the Kidds. Helped them with wood and changing spark plugs and had supper and talked about getting Bro Kidd to church. 

Friday

We did weekly planning. We had lessons set up with Mark, Georgina, and Marius and Carina. We texted Sis Landrum the night before to confirm that they could still come and she told us that Marius and Carina were going to be in Edmonton and had to cancel. We texted Mark to see if he was still good and he was going to be busy with the doctors and couldn't keep the appointment. We got to Georgina and were waiting for Sis Fitzner and Montoya. Sis Fitzner showed up and was just going to go inside. Georgina forgot we were coming and was still in her pajama's and wanted to reschedule. Another day of tracting. :P We had supper with Diggle's and then tried potentials.

Saturday

After lunch we went and grabbed some shovels from the church. We got dumped on the night before. We shoveled the church sidewalks and then went and shovelled some LA's, Investigators and Potentials driveways. Some we knew were gone and we wanted to shovel it so they didn't have to worry about it when they got back. :) So 5 or so hours later of shoveling snow, we took supper. We then tried by some people. 

Sunday

We had Ward Council. We then had church. Mike (Bro Beck's co-worker) and his wife Krista came to church. They are pretty much new investigators. :) It was awesome. We then had coordination. We had a small lunch, tried by a few people and then went to supper at Aulenbach's with the Lamb's. Elder Neilson and I went on a quick exchange since the other elders had a lesson with some one in our area. We ran back to the apartment since I forgot a toque and then tried by some people. We exchanged back and tried some LA's. 

It was a really slow week and I hope that this week will go better. I know it will. It's going to be hard to get worse. :D

Love, Elder O'Neill