Dear Family,
I'm trying to remember what even happened this past week it went by so fast.
Let's see, Tuesday night until Wednesday afternoon there was a big snow storm. We had to have our district meeting over skype and almost didn't make it out of our parking lot. We had to dig our car out and push it through the snow until we got to a plowed road. During the skype meeting we were doing a role play and Elder Kleinkopf closed the clerks office door behind him and it was locked... with our keys, our phone, and our shoes and jackets, inside, haha. So while the meeting was going on we listened to what we could through the door while a member that lives down the street brought us a spare key to get our stuff. When explaining over the phone in the church what happened, all brother DeVries could do was laugh.
After the meeting, the snowstorm was finished and there was just over a foot of snow on the ground. We spent the whole afternoon driving around Montague and seeing what houses were not yet plowed. The ones that weren't we just jumped out of the car, shoveled it real quick, and drove away when finished. Some noticed and came out and we had some good conversations, and some very thankful people. But yeah my arms were pretty sore the few days after, but I'm sure that I will get used to it the more the snow comes down. A few days later we were knocking a street where one of the houses on the street was one that we shoveled out. And we knocked into a guy that wasn't interested in learning about the gospel, but he saw us the day that we shoveled his neighbor out and thanked us for it, even though it wasn't for him. It just shows that you never know who's watching you, so always be an example. That is what we are focusing on here now in the Montague area, service. Since I have been here five months now I've knocked pretty much every street in this little town, and we have found that the best thing to do for this area is service, because knocking doors obviously isn't working.
We taught one of our investigators, Jennifer, the Restoration this week which went pretty well. She does believe in God but has a hard time with it because of all her trials, which are many. But Jennifer is a friend to us and we talk with her just about everyday. She is a very strong person and loves the missionaries. She works at a group home for people with disabilities, and since we go over to see Jennifer at her work, which is right across the street from the church building, we are pretty good friends with all the people there, and they love visitors because they don't get many.
Every Friday we go to see a less active in the town of Souris, and that area hasn't been worked in much, so we are going to work there more. Before the lesson though we knocked for a bit and met this guy called the candy man. Him and his wife are very Catholic, you can tell jut by walking into their house, and they are so nice. When he was in the army sixty five percent of his body got burned and he has had over fifty surgeries, but he is the most humble guy and praises God every day for being here. On the way out he gave each of us a big candy bar, and says that he passes candy out to all the kids, hence the name.
After trying to meet with a certain less active in the branch for the time that I have been here, we finally had a visit with him, and he invited us back over for FHE with his family next Monday. Although not much is happening on the investigator side of things, the less active work is really booming. One less active family that we have been working with has come to church two weeks in a row! We were fasting this past Sunday for missionary work and the less active mom fasted with us!
In church Elder Smith, Elder Kleinkopf and I sang I Need Thee Every Hour for a special musical number during sacrament meeting, and people told us that it was really good, and they always love hearing new voices in a small branch. This week was great, and things are happening, it makes being in this area for this long worth it.
This past week I made a goal to have better prayers and to be more positive, and I know that it makes a difference.
I love you all and hope you have a great week. Now it's time to ball it up with the PEI district, Montague missionaries are gonna crush it. Stay Safe!
Love, Elder Ray
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| How do we get around? "Snowmobile" |
