Hello everyone, I hope all is going well for ya wherever you may be.
Our
week was pretty good capped by an amazing general conference. I hope
you all had the opportunity to watch it! My favorite talk was Robert D.
Hales! There have been a lot of emotions felt during my final week. it
is very bittersweet and I have also been a bit sick the past couple of
days with a relentless headache, no sleep, and dizziness. but overall id
say it was a great week. I figured for my last email, id give a "short"
summary of my mission. I have been blessed with amazing companions and
areas and i could not trade it for anything.
Meadows
Ward(Edmonton): My greenie area was exactly what i needed. It was my
refiners fire, and it pushed me to my limits. I gained a lot of great
friends there that helped me along the way and i truly learned what it
was like to be a missionary. I also got to endure my first ever canadian
winter in a walking area :) I had Elder Chase Taylor as a trainer and i
also had Elder Ripley and they were great! I learned to love all people
and gained first hand knowledge that God truly does love all his
children.
Fort
St. John: It was a perfect follow up area to my first. We didnt get to
teach too often in Meadows, but we sure did in FSJ! All we did was
teach! I learned my inadequacy as a teacher and was able to improve.
Elder Merkley and I were able to Baptize Tracy and i got to confirm her a
member of the church! We also met a guy named Sai, who we taught for
awhile and although he never got baptized, we were lucky to meet and
become good friends with. We were also able to work with some Less
Active members and help bring them back a bit closer to activity. I was
also blessed with great companions here in Elder Merkley, Elder Cassell,
and then Elder Wheeler when we split the area. I was blessed to be able
to serve way, way up north. (Like further north than missionaries in
Spencers mission can even go ;) )
Beaumont:
I was able to start it off with serving in a tripanionship. We had a
legit apartment that i never thought would be beaten (beaten in next
area) It was here that we as missionaries met a lady named Cassandra who
was having lots of health problems and going through some divorce
complications. I am thankful that we were able to be a light in her
life, and that she can now be a light in the lives of others as she got
baptized. Beaumont was my favorite family ward because of the great
community and all the amazing members. I also had great companions here
with Elder Majdali, Elder Leyerle, and Elder Winnie. We were blessed for
our hard work, both knocking doors, and working with the members.
Mill
Creek YSA (Downtown Edmonton and Sherwood Park): Probably my favorite
area overall. There were great missionaries around me, I gained 3 really
good friends who balled with us on P-Days and fed us often(that is
generally hard to come by with poor students), its a YSA, and we had the
best apartment in the mission. I also served as a Zone Leader where i
learned many many important leadership skills that i will need later in
life. Elder Monks and I started teaching Diddy and Elder Liddle and I
continued and eventually i was able to perform the baptism. It was an
honor for me and I am thankful that we met him and that he was sincerely
interested in learning and had the presence of mind to feel the spirit
as we taught some wacky lessons to him(Jesus the Christ-The Great
Apostacy...it throws down on his former religion... but it worked :) ) I
served with Elder Monks and Elder Liddle and they were both awesome
comps and i learned a lot from them. Overall it was the most fun i had
out here.
Vermilion
Branch: Not gonna lie, i was pretty bummed when i was sent out here at
first. I wanted to stay in the city and train, but that was not what the
Lord had in mind for me. So i put my head down and went to work, and
just a week into it, i loved it like i loved all my other areas. This
place is great! For what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in
quality. I was only here for a short 3 months, but it was 3 months that i
am grateful i had. I served with Elder Parker and Elder Robinson, and i
was blessed to serve with them.
One
of the things i learned most out here, is that the power of Fasting is
real. I saw so many miracles that were a direct result, and i will never
be able to deny that. It is like prayer on healthy steroids. And it
works :) I love this work and i will miss it deeply, but i am also
excited to start the next chapter in my life.
Go Hard Go Fast
Keep it real,
Elder W.Chad Thompson
BNT
