June 15, 2015

Last week was good. We did some service for a potential investigator. We did some yard work for her. She really likes us and insists on giving us money for pizza. She told us that she was thinking on leaving her religion because the Catholics do not send out men like us to help other people and to teach. We will be helping her again this week.

On Wednesday we went on splits with the Ward Mission Leader, and Ward Missionaries to visit some people less actives in the ward. We got one return appointment from that.

We got a new investigator! His name is MJ. We got ahold of him. We taught him about who God is and about the Restoration. He likes what we taught him and he said the prayer before we left. He has a good job and works with members, so that is good. All during that lesson it was raining, and there was lots of thunder! We have had a couple of storms last week, hail and rain and thunder. We will be teaching MJ again on Saturday.

We had apartment inspections last week. We cleaned our apartment really hard. We got a 9 on a 10 point scale. They never give out 10s because 10 is celestial. I will take a 9 any day.

 We taught a less-active that day as well. We just read the Book of Mormon with him.

A couple of days before, we knocked on some door. We were invited to come to dinner at this one door because they were going to have some thing exotic, "Fishys" he called it, but when we got over there he was not home. No dinner. We walked back home and took the car to get something to eat. we got Donair Pizza. It is so so so good! Donair meat is sliced from a conical loaf cooked on a vertical spit, made from a combination of ground beef, flour or bread crumbs, and various spices.

The sauce is distinctively sweet compared to doner kebabs, being made from condensed milk, sugar, vinegar, and garlic. This is a Donair wrap. they are also really good.

We met with Cole last week. That went really really good! He was talking to us and telling us of the experiences that he had last week, because we did not meet with him. He said that he likes the feeling that he gets when he prays, and when he reads the Book of Mormon. He said that he prayed the day before he went to the place in Calgary where you can do day jobs and get paid for that day. He prayed that he would get a full-time job. The next morning when he went to the job site he got the full time job right away! Working Monday-Friday from 6:00-7:00 at $20.00 an hour starting wage. All he is doing is custom cutting wood for houses and putting them on a semi. He said that he loves it and that the hardest part of the job is standing on his feet all day long. I think he was kidding about that.

He also told us of another story where he took his girlfriend to the hospital because she was in pain. Turns out she's going to have a baby, and the baby is growing wrong, so they may loose the baby any day. Cole told us that he walked out to the back of the hospital because he was full of anger and wanted to take a smoke. He told us that he prayed for help. After he prayed he was not mad anymore! All of that was lifted from him. His burdens were lifted. He said it felt good! We had a little lesson on faith and we put him on date for baptism on July 4th. When he accepted the baptismal date the sun came out from the clouds. That was a cool experience.   That date may have to be pushed back, because he is smoking. He said that he is trying to cut back and that he has tried to quit before. I have this stop smoking program that is guaranteed to help you stop smoking in 7 days. We will start that on Thursday. He realizes the blessings in his life and the blessings that he has received ever since we met him. Cole told us that 4 months ago he would have just laughed at us. 

He is now on date and we have met our goal as a mission to have 50 investigators on date in the month of June. We are at 52 as a mission right now.

This area is doing well. It’s the same I’ve been in the last 3 weeks. The district is also the same and is doing really good.

Our car is doing fine. We have not had any problems with the ignition ever since we got it switched because of the stolen keys. They gave us and the whole mission the kilometers back! They said due to organizational difficulties.  We were really happy to hear that we are back to 800 for the month instead of 550. 

Sounds like EFY was really fun, and St. George as well. I saw a picture that Drew posted on facebook with Tanner. \

Callie sounds like Caleb when he was that age, everyone’s friend, the whole neighborhood knows and loves. Maybe during Christmas time Tallie will ask for Tanndy-Tanes hahah just kidding. kinda.;)

 Good thing Harvey has a close friend that is right next door. He can get some good exercise playing, because he probably is not getting walked.  ha

We will get a new mission president at the end of this month, I do not know where their homecoming will be, somewhere in Texas. We will be able to meet the new mission president on the 8th I think.

June 8, 2015

This week we got a referral. I do not remember if I told you about him. His name is MJ and his story is he has had lessons with other missionaries in another area, he has read and prayed about the Book of Mormon, and he said that he wanted to be baptized into our ward, which was good to hear. The only problem is that we have tried to contact him but he is never home it seems, and the number we have is not in service. We know where he lives so tonight we will drop by again.

I cut my hair last week, on the day before interviews.

We had our last interviews and lunch with President. Interviews went well, so did lunch. We got some pictures with him I will have to send bunch of pictures sometime.

On Wednesday we went to the Subaru dealership to get a new key. They plugged a computer into the car and programed a new key and remote to the car, so now we do not have to worry about setting off the alarm anytime we get into the car! haha Whoever has the old key, that key will not work nor the remote, but they can still unlock it by the door, the alarm goes off, and they cannot start the car. So its like a trap! haha

We taught a lesson to a recent convert, just the after member lessons. His name is Costo. He’s from Africa. He can speak like 7 different languages. We taught him the Law of Chastity. It went really well. They fed us that night too. African food, it was really good.

On Saturday we went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders. That was fun. That night some Phillipino  members in our ward fed us and the Zone leaders. The food was the best, like always, and there was lots and lots of it. There was:

Pancit- A rice-noodle (like anglehair) dish with some vegetables and some meat.

Adobo- Really good chicken in some sort of sauce.

Rice- Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima. As a cereal grain, it is the most widely consumed staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in Asia.

Pinoy- Pork Ribs, its Really good. 

Afritada- Like beef stew. Carrots, potatoes, and beef  

Frog Legs- Legs of a frog.

I ate some frog legs! They were really really good! They taste just like chicken. Try it some day. Have it for dinner tomorrow. There should not be any complaints. haha ;)

 Get a frying pan with a good amount of vegetable oil and fry 'em. Frog leg is now the most unique food I have eaten on the mission besides eel. I ate eel in BC. It was on sushi. 

We did not meet with Cole yesterday, we will have to stop by and teach him the first lesson.

They are going to cut our allotment of kilometers by 1/3 for the summer, so there will be more walking, which is fine with me because our car was parked all of last half of last month. I think I lost about 10 pounds because of all the walking. hahah 

That's about all that happened last week, hope you guys have fun at EFY.

Elder Condie

June 1, 2015

Last week was good. So the funniest thing (not really funny), last night we were going to get our keys to the car back but someone broke into the Zone Leaders car last week! It was not locked. They thought they locked it, so it was a nice, clean grab. They stole $10.00 in cash, our car keys, and 6th Wards keys! But they left the web cam and the GPS.  So now our keys and 6th ward keys are gone! :( Someone in Calgary is going around looking for a Subaru!  They told us that our keys were stolen last night when I was reporting numbers.

This morning we had some service. We helped someone move at 7:00. The zone leaders were asked to help with that so they picked us up, they left the move early to go to the mission office to pick up the spare keys. So now we have keys to the car!!:) I'm like the happiest guy in all the land because we have the car back. Because it’s a spare key, there is no remote on the key to lock and unlock the car, so we have to stick the key in the door to unlock it. The problem with that is it does not turn off the alarm! Whenever we unlock the door and open it, the alarm goes off, so I have to be really fast to get in the car and turn the car on. Getting it the car today was the best feeling ever it was like Christmas!  

Some time this week we will be going to a Subaru dealership to change the ignition switch and get a new key and remote for the car, so that guy does not find the car and drive off with it. hahaha.. Until then I will not have any personal items in the car.

On Sunday we had a lesson with Cole. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. He's had lots of deaths in his family. He just got back from one funeral. His sister was beat to death by her boyfriend, is his story. After the lesson, we asked if he had any questions. His reply was, “Yeah, I have 19 years worth of questions.” We answered some of them, and we gave him a Book of Mormon. At our last visit, he said that he would say the closing prayer, and he did! That was like his first time praying and he gave a wonderful, powerful prayer. He said afterwards, “Wow that was easier than I thought.” 

He works in construction and can do anything. This Wednesday we are going to help put up some siding on a house. We asked him if he wanted to help and he said that he would.

We also helped with another move for a less active. She has cancer and she had to be out of the house in like 3 days. There was so much stuff! Like hoarding status! We were there for two days. She was really nice and really, really, really, really grateful for all of the help!

We helped in the yard for a member’s neighbor. She has three hernias and she was walking around and lifting some stuff, so we stopped her we did not let her lift any more. I thought of dad when he had one of them and how he was bedridden for weeks! haha;) She was so happy for the help we gave. She's Catholic and she told us that she might change religions because the Catholics don't send young men like us out.

So that baptism fell through...:\ Turns out she was on date before. Reminds me of my first area.

Canada Day is coming up soon, I want all of you to support Canada, so I am going to find some Canada neck ties and I'll send them down. I have one already. I think it will be really cool for everyone to wear Canadian ties to church.

May 25, 2015

Well I got called back to the north... I had no idea that I was going back north, and definitely was not expecting that. Ha! I thought I would go somewhere south. But instead I'm back in a different area north. I served in Airdrie about 3 months ago. There are some missionaries that are still here who served when I was here. My area is Calgary 13th ward. On the map it might be Thorncliffe AB. This area is way different than the ones before.

Pig roast my first week in the 13th ward.

This has been an interesting month. The mission is cracking down on missionaries that are going over their allotted kilometers for the cars. If we are over in the middle of the month, then our car in parked and the zone leaders take the keys. So last week and this week we are walking, since the last missionary drove a lot because he was getting transferred. So because of him we are walking. I’m totally fine with it because I could use the exercise. I don't mind walking. I have been driving for about 8 months now and I have been mostly obedient about going over. We had lots of write-offs in the past so we don't go over 300 clicks of allotment. But when other missionaries go 600 or 2000 then that becomes a problem. June 1st I will get my wheels back! :) haha

I got a new comp. His name is Makay Johnson. He’s been out 7 months and he's from Ohio. I'm not training anymore, My training is done. Elder Hopoi is still in New Brighton with his new comp. I do not know who he is. We are not opening up a new area, but in New Brighton they will be covering a new area. They will be covering two wards instead of one (New Brighton and McKenzie ward). So this will be Elder Hopois 2nd purge in a row. The mission is going to close down that townhouse, once they repaint the walls and fix it up. They are going to get rid of it because it’s too big and too expensive for just two missionaries.

I’m still DL. I still have the biggest district in the zone. I have some Spanish speaking sets in my district. It’s fun to speak Spanish with them, all the Spanish that I know, which is muy unpoco.

I know 4 missionaries in this zone because I have served around them.  

I heard that you got a phone call from Calgary! Haha that's funny. Bishop Drew is a very interesting and good bishop. He's a Personal Injury Lawyer. I wanted to see a video of him on the court floor. That would be cool to see.  haha 

We have three investigators! One is already on date for this Saturday so hopefully it goes through, and the other one, our elders quorum ran into looking for someone. His name is Cole and on Sunday we taught him about who God is. He said that he can’t see there being a God because of all the bad things that happen, and yet he can see there being a God because there is lots of good in the world. On Wednesday we are going to teach him about the Plan of Salvation because of the recent deaths he has had in his family. The other investigator we found tracking. We gave her a Book of Mormon and set a return appointment for Tuesday (tomorrow)

I have good news and bad news..

Good news is.. I have lots and lots of pictures..

Bad news is.. we email at the library and I don't trust the computers because of the system, so once I back-up all my pictures by putting them on a USB or a CD I will send them. All of my pictures are on my SD card so if that's wiped out or lost or broken then everything is gone..

Maybe by next week I will have my pictures backed up on a USB.

 I love to hear of all the rain that you have been getting. I love the rain. Hopefully it does not rain too much that it floods the basement.