Week 8: Yes I Canada!

I have officially been in Canada for one month! I haven't had poutine yet but I've been to Tim Horton's twice, so I'm on my way to being a Real Canadian. I also hit an important milestone this week and got my first door slammed in my face! This lady opened up for us, saw our nametags, said "sorry not interested," and shut the door! The whole exchange took about 1.0 seconds.

We tracted into this lady on Sunday night and asked if there was anything we could do to help her and she said that we could help her dig a trench and we were like yeah! We'd love to! And she laughed and said she was joking and that it would be too much work for us and that she didn't want to get involved with the Jehovah's Witnesses anyway. And we were like ... great!! We're not Jehovah's Witnesses! She figured out pretty quick after that that we're the people they call Mormons and she apparently doesn't want to get tangled up with us, either, even though we told her that we don't have to teach her about God to help her dig her trench. She didn't seem too interested in our trench-digging services but did talk about how much she hates Trudeau for half an hour, so I guess she ended up warming up to us a bit. 

We helped our first counselor's wife blanche, chop and can tomatoes and I was the designated blancher and while I was putting 50 tomatoes in a pot of boiling water some of the water popped out and splashed me in the face! I was fine but it was very rude.

We also played kickball with the YSA on Monday night and it was an Adventure. Someone threw the ball at the back of my head to tag me and one time when I tried to catch it it went straight through my dress between my legs. I felt like the laughingstock of America's Funniest Home Videos. I did get on base once, though! So practically a success!

I spoke too soon about my bowling abilities. It turns out that my duckpin skills do not translate well to adult bowling. I got a hole in one in zone minigolf afterwards, so I hope that redeemed me from the sheer mediocrity of the rest of the day.

The highlight of the week was definitely Thursday, when we had interviews with our mission president and I managed to cry through the whole thing! I don't think he knows what to do with me anymore or why I'm a Disaster but I know why! It was because we were doing a district fast! But I couldn't tell the mission president that I just can't keep it together after fasting for more than 12 hours! That night we were supposed to eat dinner at 5 but our appointment went WAY over and we had to water this lady's flowers so we were biking up this hill and my companion had to get off her bike and walk because we were SO weak. We didn't even get home to eat until 7. But we found 4 people in 2 days after that, so I guess it worked! Sacrifice brings miracles!

People are always down our backs about "asking inspired questions," and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what that means, but lots of other people have asked me inspired questions this week! So here are some important questions!

1. We were baking brownies with this member who has a LOT of struggles and while I was stirring brownie batter she asked us "Have you felt Jesus Christ strengthening you through your trials?" It kind of caught us off guard but we were like, "Yeah! Have you?" And she said she thinks so! So, have you?

2. We showed the #PrinceofPeace video to this family at dinner (which is a great video, 10/10, I get the music stuck in my head all the time) and this guy was saying that a lot of the Jews didn't recognize Jesus as the Messiah because He didn't like, overthrow the Roman empire and wasn't what they were looking for in a Savior of Israel. And so he asked us if maybe we have some preconceived notions about who Christ is and what it means to have a relationship with Him and if they're preventing us from seeing Him as He is. He probably should have been the one giving the dinner message.

3. We tracted into this guy who looked at our nametags and said "You ladies look like you're with Jesus Christ!" And then he squinted and read the rest of our nametags and said "... of Latter-day Saints" and told us that he already has a church and that we should move along, but it made me think about Alma 5:19, where Alma asks the members of the church if they have the image of God engraven upon their countenances and wonder whether I'm doing things so that when people see me, they can recognize me as a disciple of Christ. I sure hope so!

I finished the Book of Mormon yesterday, which was super lit, so this week's scripture is Moroni 10:30! "And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing." I love this scripture and I gave a whole talk about it at school! Remember that every good gift comes from Christ and that He's able to give us those super awesome gifts as we come unto Him!

I hope you all had great weeks! I love hearing from you, even though I'm terrible at responding!

Lots of love,

Sister Willis

Week 7: I cause a backup on a major thoroughfare

On Thursday night, we had dinner with one of our members and we decided to bike there because it was close enough and we wanted to save our clicks. She lives down this GIANT hill that's so steep that from the top, it looks like you're going straight down. The last time we biked down it we walked our bikes back up and it still took us 10 minutes and we still had to take breaks because it was so hard and when we got to the top, our hearts were pounding so fast that we still thought we were going to die, so we asked the member we were eating with if she knew any alternate routes without as many hills and she said she did! It turns out that the alternate route was the HIGHWAY, which we didn't know until it was too late and we were biking up the first of THREE giant hills in a row! The traffic was... not thrilled. I'm like 98% sure it was illegal but the map told us to bike that way! And it wasn't like we could just turn around and go back down or turn off onto a side street! We got honked out a lot and my bike wouldn't change out of gear 7 and I cut my ankle on the gears, so it definitely counted as an Experience! We finally made it to the church to do online proselyting at 8:45, which is, coincidentally, the time that we have to start biking home to make it before curfew. The Mandarin elders were there (they're always there, I'm honestly not sure what they do with their time) and Elder Jhu, who is from Taiwan, I think, asked me why I was SO red and told me that I was sunburned. I explained that I was just really sweaty and he told me again that he thought I was probably sunburned. He asked me why white people are always getting so red, and in my head I was like "Karen! You can't just ask people why they're white!" I feel like I get unusually red so I am probably not a great example of white people as a whole.

It has been COLD this week. 14 degrees and rainy every day, and I don't have a coat beyond a cardigan or rain boots or anything and so I just freeze on people's doorsteps! It honestly feels like September or October or November and I keep getting excited for the start of school (which I will not be attending) and Halloween (which we do not celebrate) and Christmas (which is four months away). I seriously want to drink hot apple cider and listen to Christmas music by a fire. It SMELLS like fall. It's August 14.

We taught lots of lessons this week! And I don't think anybody bailed! So that is a capital-s Success! We started teaching this kid named Adam who has lots of member friends and whose stepmom is a member of our church, but who is Protestant (he didn't tell us which denomination) and knows his Bible REALLY well. He has a lot of concerns about the Book of Mormon and we asked him why and he was like "well there's this verse in Revelation..." and I was like "No! No! No!!!!" But only in my head. I tried to explain it to him but he didn't buy my theory about that verse only applying to the book of Revelation, which is ... great. We'll keep working on it. He did say that he loves how members of our Church are so happy and kind and respectful of other people's religions, because his pastor apparently bashes the Mormons and the Catholics every week, but mostly the Mormons! Awesome!

We're teaching this other lady named Marnie, who is definitely not YSA age. She's probably 50? 55? But she wants to be taught by us. She made it very clear that she is vegan and financially challenged and too busy to come to church or read at all this month because she's volunteering at the Calgary Fringe Festival. She is definitely a chatter and INTIMIDATING to teach because she has been going to Institute classes for 20 years! She started going when her daughter was at the University of Calgary because you get free parking at the institute if you take a class, and she just never stopped attending. In that time, she converted from Lutheranism to Catholicism and now she's looking to join our church and she already knows EVERYTHING and is just meeting with us because she knows you have to do it to get baptized. She already believes the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet and when I bore my testimony about the restoration she said "good job!" but told me Joseph Smith wrote that it was Nephi who appeared to him instead of Moroni! Because she already knew everything! I've honestly only been to institute twice, and she's been going since I was born, so I might find myself a little outmatched in my gospel knowledge.

The family ward sisters who cover our area tracted into and passed off this guy named Treay, who is super sweet and interested in the gospel because we said that it would make him happier! Which is awesome! We taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it brings us joy as we live it, and we could TELL he was feeling the Spirit, which is awesome! And then he came to church for a hot second on Sunday! I love him and every time I see him I think about how much I want him to get baptized. He's gonna have to quit smoking, but it'll be fine. Everyone smokes in Calgary. It's still a ~cool thing to do~ here.

We have been tracting a LOT lately because nobody is outside when it's 14 degrees in August. I learned this week that an hour goes a lot faster when you actually talk to people instead of just standing behind your trainer. Tracting is not super effective to find YSA. And people we talk to are either nice but not interested or mean and not interested. Every time people see us they're like "Oh sorry, I'm Catholic," "Oh sorry, I'm Presbyterian," "Oh sorry, I'm atheist." Which is like ... so not the point. I don't know if they think we're going around looking for people who are already members of our church, or what. Being Catholic doesn't stop you from taking the missionary lessons! I also like it when old men see us and say "Oh! Look! Mormons!" It makes me feel very seen.

On Sunday, I was so trashed (from what, you may ask? getting 8 hours of sleep a night?) that while my companion was filling out pass-along cards I just ... fell asleep. For 20 minutes. Sitting on the couch. We love that mission life!

Being a sister missionary is the BEST kind of missionary because it's just like being at girl's camp and EFY and Young Women rolled into one. We have sleepovers and bake treats and say "love you sisters!" all the time. Yesterday we had a pass-off lesson the in the Southeast with another companionship and this cute girl named Joanne who wants to learn more about God because she thinks religious people are happier and nicer (she's 25 and teaches piano and owns her own house! She said she'd try to come to church on Sunday and our member who was there is definitely a character of his own and told her that he usually just comes for the potluck at 3:30 and so that's when it would be best for her to show up). Anyway, these other sisters have been having a hard transfer so after the lesson we snuck out to their house and heart-attacked their door. Because that's what Jesus would do.

Elder Andersen came to speak to our mission, and he only went to the south! So I didn't get to meet him! Which is fine, because I don't care about meeting apostles anyway. At all. It's fine.

Our zone hit our monthly finding goal in 2 weeks! We've found 46 so far this month, which is awesome. We've just gotta, you know, get them to church...

We love scriptures! Luke 1:45 says "And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord." PMG says that having faith in Jesus Christ includes having faith that He has the power to keep His promises! So hold on! We know that everything works out in the end!

On that note, if anyone knows what is going on in Romans please enlighten me because I am Very Confused. I'm beginning to understand why there was an apostasy...

We're going bowling today and I'm pumped because I'm secretly not terrible at bowling. The Calgary YSA zone isn't going to know what hit them.

Send me your favorite scriptures! Because I love scriptures and I love you all!

Have a blesséd week! Love you!

Sister Willis

Week 6: Has the day of miracles ceased?

Sis. Willis & Sis. Bangura with a member they bike downtown to read the Book of Mormon with.

Moroni says that it has not, and I have to agree! On Friday I was trying to open a jar of pickles for like 5 minutes and I was Very Frustrated and about to cry and so I said one (1) prayer about the jar of pickles and guess what! I twisted it and the lid popped open! So it's true! God is an unchangeable God and He cares about your pickles!

On a more serious note, last week we had some CRAZY miracles. Our zone is really small because it corresponds to the Calgary YSA stake and so there are only 6 companionships, but last week we set a goal to find 45 people to teach in August, which is a lot, like 10 more than we've been finding, and so we made plans to read about finding every day and spend more time talking to people on the streets and knocking doors and to fast as a zone to be able to find the people who are prepared, and last week we found ... 24! That's a lot of people! That's 20% of the people our mission found this week even though we're only 6% of the companionships. Our district leader played Living on a Prayer at district council because we're halfway there, and it's totally approved music because the whole song is about finding by faith. Or that's what we said, anyway.

Selfie!

On Monday we had exchanges! I was so so scared because I'm always scared about new things, but it was just like (excuse this very niche reference) the part in The Errand of Angels where she goes on exchanges with her bff comp and her whole perspective changes because of the things she tells her? That was me! I went in about ready to go home and by the time we were done I was PUMPED to find some people to teach, so it was a good time. We also got Popeye's, so there was no way the rest of the day could have been bad.

On Monday night we went to a pool party for FHE (which was really fun because everyone was in the pool (obviously) and we were on the pool chairs in church clothes (because missionaries), so we slipped out once the person we're teaching was securely into a game of spikeball with a group of guys his age) but this girl asked me what my name was and I said Abby! rip! I wanted to die!

I also forgot my name tag while we were doing stop bys once this week :( I tried to cover my shoulder with my hair so no one would know but I'm sure the members noticed and were like... this dumb fool! Or maybe they thought I was a regular member and we were on splits. But I doubt it.

We volunteer at the botanical gardens with these old guys named John and Bob and I told them I was from Maryland and they asked if I'd ever heard of Silver Spring and I said "um, yeah! That's where I'm from!" The botanical garden is in an area called Silver Springs (crazy) and they said that they'd wanted to call it Silver Spring Botanical Garden but they couldn't because there was already one in Maryland! So they had to call it Silver Springs, with an s. Small world!

Paul Rudd is filming Ghostbusters 3 in Calgary and one of our members tries to find him every single day. It's very entertaining. She's gotten his picture and his autograph, so good for her! And she thinks she's found his hotel. Maybe he'll want a Book of Mormon.

People keep making appointments to meet with us downtown and then not showing up, so we keep dejectedly eating timbits and cinnamon sugar pretzels before riding the train all the way back to our apartment. It's not all bad because the train is a great place to read general conference talks. Such is life, I suppose.

Scripture power! Mormon 9:15 says "And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles."

Let's get those miracles! Have a great week! I love you!

Sister Willis

Week 5: I pull ramen noodles out of a hole

Tsuut'ina First Nations Reservation

On Monday, all the missionaries serving in and around the actual city of Calgary helped clean up the Tsuut'ina First Nations reservation after their annual rodeo and powwow and someone had apparently made ramen, dug a hole in the ground, and put the ramen in the hole, so yours truly got to pull the ramen OUT of the hole. It was one of those experiences that stays with a person for a lifetime. I collected lots of cigarette butts, wads of gum, and chewed food. Service! We did the haka and sang together, which was pretty cool. The reservation was FAR and so I drove 164.58 kilometers (like 102 miles) in one day! We carpooled with the other sisters in our district and a member who came to help out so it was a par-tay. I also got fried! It became apparent after we left that I am going to be nice and crispy all week.

Tsuut'ina First Nations Reservation

I taught my first real real lesson! It was over video call because the girl we're teaching is housesitting pretty far away. This girl, Natasha, seriously found herself. She was listening to Vocal Point and she looked them up and found out they're members of our church and just ... wandered into sacrament meeting one day. We taught her the Restoration and she really liked that we have prophets today, but she asked us about polygamy. Lots of people ask us about polygamy. I guess I'm gonna have to figure out how to explain polygamy to nonmembers #thatchurchhistorylife.

We have now met two different people downtown who have stopped us to tell us Sister Bangura should go out for modelling. They BOTH talked to us for half an hour, both asked me if I'm English or Irish (my face is just really true to my heritage), and both mentioned how weird the Mormons are, clearly not understanding exactly who we were. One lady named Rema told us she's a galaxy traveller and that she goes faster than the speed of light. She also told us that Satan isn't a fallen angel, he lost his wings trying to save ANOTHER angel, or something like that. She said she doesn't like Mormons because they are "too forgiving" (one that I'd never heard before, so! expanding my horizons!) and "too lenient, like a piece of grass". She was definitely on something. When you're a missionary, you get to meet and love ALL of God's children.

Sis. Willis & Sis. Bangura

I spoke in church on Sunday and I did! Not! Cry! This is a major milestone on my path of public speaking achievements. It might have been because I was reading the whole talk off my phone and I kept getting Facebook friend requests (thanks guys!) and the keyboard kept popping up, so I was panicking and trying to read off the two visible inches of screen. Speaking in YSA is scary because they're all either on their phones or are RMs who are convinced they know more than you judging every word that comes out of your mouth. But it was fine. No one booed.

I got to go to my first ward council! I didn't really know what to expect, but it turns out they spill SO much tea at ward council. It's all to figure out the best ways to help people, so I guess it's important to know who's dating who, but still! I've never been so in the loop in my life.

Last p-day we played glow in the dark scatterball, which is basically a bunch of missionaries running around in the semi-darkness of the church gym, trying not to get hit by a glowing racquetball-looking thing. Someone's phone was hooked up to the speaker so we were doing all this to the Tabernacle Choir version of There Is Sunshine In My Soul Today. I felt like I was in a bad Desert Book-produced comedy.

Arlo

There's a VERY cute boy who lives in the apartment upstairs from us. His name is Arlo and I think he's a German Shepherd? He likes to dig holes in the backyard and get tummy rubs and sit next to me when we study outside. We live in a basement apartment that has windows at the ground level near the ceiling, and one day our windows were open and Arlo was sitting outside of one so I was like "Hey babe, did you know that I love you? You're my best friend. I hope you're having a great day" and then I saw my NEIGHBOR'S LEG step in view of the window! So! I guess they know I'm crazy and probably won't be taking the lessons anytime soon.

In relief society, we talked about Elder Rasband's talk from April conference. It's a good one so you should definitely reread it. Don't forget to build those spiritual fortresses!

Lots and lots of love,

Sister Willis

P.S. I am changing my mission scripture to Acts 18:11- "And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them."

P.P.S. everyone is more spiritual than me and does like, scriptures of the week instead of just writing about the dog that they met? So I guess I can try to be ~inspiring~ this week's scripture is Mosiah 5:12-13:

"I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts, that ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you. For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?"

Anyway, I used this in my talk on Elder Uchtdorf's conference address. Don't forget to share what is in your hearts!

I promise I'm really done this time!

Love you!