Dear Family,
Sorry about last weeks letter, it was hard to even get in the mood for typing but you are in for a treat this week because I have much to say. What a crazy week, at the beginning of the week I was on an exchange with Elder Craig, one of the zone leaders, to help train me and find ways to be motivated. It was definitely a go go go week, always have something planned. On Tuesday we had dinner with the Fitzner family and one of the kid's, Joseph, had two friends over who ate with us. Joseph started asking us questions about the gospel, mostly so that his friends could hear it, he will make a great missionary. But we asked if his friends, Grace and Emma, wanted to learn more, and they both said yes, so after we finished eating we taught them about the Godhead, the Book of Mormon, and prayer. It was such a great moment because it was the first time we found someone new to teach all transfer.
The birthday cake mix and stuff you sent me I finally used, but it made two cakes and one of our investigators, Melissa, had a birthday on Friday so we dropped by and gave one to her. She was excited because she wasn't going to do anything for her birthday and was grateful for it. It was a small act of kindness but it can go a long way, she wanted to give us a hug but we couldn't, which she thought was kind of dumb. We have visited Melissa like four times this week to keep in contact and lift her spirits because it helps her depression.
On my mission I have not seen anyone more prepared to be baptized than Gary, he believes everything that has been taught, he loves church and the people, and wants to be baptized but won't fully commit, I wonder if something is holding him back, but I think he is ready. I know he will be baptized soon though, but I won't be here to see it.
Again it is transfer week, and I am being transferred to Montague, Prince Edward Island. I am so grateful for the amazing time I have had to serve in Sackville, and I will miss it, especially the people. There is so much happening here but even when I leave I know the work will continue. I have seen many miracles and the changes that people make in their lives to conform to God's will. I have been blessed by blessing others. I am excited for PEI though because I wanted to go there some time on my mission but now I have to leave a wonderful place, three months was not long enough in Sackville but I know that PEI is where I need to be for the next while. What I am excited for is that I will most likely be getting a bike because it is an island, and I have wanted a bike like my whole mission. I was stuck in a car for six months because the areas are so spread out and you drive from one destination to the next, but with bikes the community will be able to see us and we can talk to a lot more people.
On Saturday we helped continuing the project on sister Mackenzie's house, shingling the roof. Missionaries aren't allowed on roofs so we were the shingle carriers and stackers, those suckers can get heavy when you try to carry multiple at once. It was so muggy that day I literally thought I was melting, it was gross.
We had our fifth Sunday yesterday even though it was only the fourth because President and sister Pratt were there to speak because it was also missionary Sunday, so guess who else had to speak, yours truly. As a missionary though talks seem so easy, especially when the topic is missionary work. I used to hate giving talks but I actually enjoyed this one, and I wasn't as nervous as a used to get. "There is little growth in a comfort zone, there is little comfort in a growth zone." I wanted to share part of my talk with you that was taken from a book, The Power of an Everyday Missionary, that I used because the focus of my talk was Being a member missionary.
Principles of Becoming a Member missionary
1. We cannot predict and should not judge: We simply cannot know in advance who will and will not be interested in learning about the Church.
2. We succeed when we invite: We succeed as member missionaries when we invite people to learn and accept truth. We give them the opportunity to exercise their agency.
We have observed this general pattern - one in four people we invite to learn more say yes. A friend of ours, Ben, applied this in a very interesting way. He didn't feel he wanted to be told "no" three times so he set a goal that he would be told "no" once. The first person he asked said "no." That was easy and he succeeded! Ben then set a goal to find three additional people to say "no." He was surprised when the next person accepted his invitation. He learned that inviting people really is easy because you succeed when you invite, regardless of how it turns out!
When the background of our invitations is love, every invitation is a success because it is an expression of our love for others. God's love for His children is completely unaffected by the choices they make, and we too can love people regardless of their responses to our invitations.
3. Use Mormon words in everyday conversation: Using Mormon words in our daily conversations opens a door for people to have a conversation about the Church. The vast majority don't walk through the door, and that's fine. But sometimes they do by asking, "Oh, so you're a Mormon?" We have found it very helpful to follow up by asking, "Why do you ask?" This better prepares us to follow the spirit in answering the questions they are interested in and to not miss opportunities by talking only about what we are interested in.
4. What people are interested in: When someone says, "Tell me about the Mormon Church," as a general rule, we ought not to tell them what we like about our own church. We often give a doctrinal response, eternal families, modern prophets or scriptures. This makes sense to us because doctrine is the reason why we are in our church instead of in another. Doctrine over time becomes very important to converts, too. But it often is not the initial reason for their interest.
A survey of converts conducted by the Church found what typically attracts people to the Church initially are desires to feel close to God, to experience happiness and peace, and to develop a sense of purpose and direction in life.
If instead we respond with a question like, "It's a great church. Why do you ask?" we open the door for people to share what's important to them and possibly a question they have about religion. When we know what's important to others, we can share something that makes a difference for them. And if they don't have anything specific in mind, we can talk about one of the three areas most people say appeal to them at first: being close to God, experiencing happiness and peace, and having purpose and direction.
I had to make my talk good though because I was speaking right before President and sister Pratt, so they got to hear it as well. I love President and sister Pratt, they are so awesome and I got to know them better because they spent the day in Sackville.
Like all missions, we keep a record of what we accomplish weekly, and Elder Wolvers and I were told that we led the mission this week with our key indicators and we even hit the silver standard, which I explained before, but that I think was a great way to end my time here.
It has been a fantastic week but it is time for another change, maybe one day I'll get used to it.
I love you all and miss you more than the thieves that had their arms cut off by Ammon miss their arms... I tried.
Love, Elder Ray
 |
| I guess it's official, cake and all. |
 |
| Elder Craig trying to take a selfie with his awesome computer setup. |
 |
| How Firm A Foundation |
 |
| How Firm A Foundation |
 |
| Elder Craig, the climbing monkey |
 |
| This is our investigator Owen, who loves to study the scriptures! |
 |
| Fitzner Family and Friends. |
 |
| I love the Pineau's robust cat, Tiger. |
 |
| Service pt. 2 |
 |
| Service pt. 2 |
 |
| Service pt. 2 |
 |
| Service pt. 2 |
 |
| Service pt. 2 |
 |
| Service pt. 2 |
 |
| Service pt. 2 |
 |
| Service pt. 2 |
 |
| Service pt. 2 |
 |
| I don't know how small the camera makes them look, but did I ever tell you about how big the spiders get here? They are freakishly huge. Even spider-man would be afraid. |
 |
| Welcome, to Jurassic Park. It is foggy almost every morning. |
 |
| I just think it's ironic to have a fireworks sale sign on a firetruck, anyone else agree? |
 |
| Third Area - Montague, Prince Edward Island |