End of Week 7 in Canada

I just realized I forgot to tell you about Elder Kember and I being sick a couple weeks ago, so I'll just tell you now.

 

One morning I worked out, showered, ate breakfast and studied for 3 hours by myself while Elder Kember slept because he was way too sick to get up. We called the other missionaries over to our apartment around noon to give him a blessing.

 

When they came over they gave him the blessing and then we all ate lunch that I had made. After that Elder Kember still didn't feel good so he went back to bed. My stomach started hurting way bad about 30 minutes after I ate so I lied down. We both fell asleep for 2 hours straight.

 

I woke up covered in sweat and I felt way sick. I ran to the bathroom and threw up, then brushed my teeth and went back to my bed. I now had shivers so I got the extra blankets out of the closet and fell back asleep. I woke up 20 minutes later covered in sweat again and ran to the bathroom and ... you know. Anyway that process happened 3 or 4 times and by then we had cancelled our dinner appointment for the night. I finally said a prayer because it hurt so bad every time I threw up. I thought my head was going to explode and my lungs were going to shoot out of my eyes. seriously :) It was definitely a miserable experience.

 

The worst thing was is that we had 7 lessons planned that day so we had people to go teach. After I had said my prayer, I decided we just needed to tough it out and go out and teach. Elder Kember and I felt like we weren't doing anything because we hadn't left the apartment all day long and we didn't want to be slacking at all, so we toughed it up and went out to teach.

 

 We stopped at a less-active family's home (the bishop asked us to visit them) that never allows missionaries in the door so I thought for sure that they wouldn't let us in. But right as they opened the door, I threw up all over the snow on their lawn... they felt way bad that I was sick and got me water and gum and let us in. We taught them a lesson though! :)

 

After that we went to the store. I bought a water because I felt so dehydrated from all the throwing up, and I also bought some medication to calm the stomach. I took it and so did Elder Kember, but after we took it we read the box and it said, "do not operate motorized vehicles." We were in Morinville and our apartment was 25 minutes away! We both just laughed and decided we would teach one of our investigators (Robin and her 2 kids) now that we had medicine in us. Lucky she lives in Morinville which is not too far from the store where we took the medicine. So we carefully drove to her house and taught her about the restoration. Everything was going really well except that right after I shared Joseph Smith's first vision, I asked them where their bathroom was and ran to it. I threw up all the water I just drank, along with the medicine...

 

So then after we left her house we decided that it would be best if we went back to the apartment and tried to get better. We had tried to work and we gave it our best but I was just too sick. So out of the 7 lessons we had planned that day we ended up teaching 4 :) We had to cancel 3, but hey we tried!

 

That night, Elder Kember started feeling a lot better. I had fevers and chills all night long and in the morning I still felt sick. So around noon that next day we called the missionaries again to give me a blessing this time. I took a 2 hour nap after that and when I woke up, I felt fine. Elder Kember and I both felt good and we went out and taught that whole day. That was a great experience to see that priesthood blessings work and especially how fast we got over this sickness! I ended up saying Elder Kember's blessing the first day, and he said mine the following day which was cool too! But yeah, that's my sick story from a couple weeks ago that I forgot to write about!

 

Oh and some cool facts about that less active family when I threw up on their lawn... They've came back to church the last 2 weeks in a row, and we've met with them 2 more times since that day. When they come to church next week, they'll be considered active again which is way cool! Who knows why I threw up on their lawn that first visit, but hey,  the Lord works in mysterious ways and they're almost active again so I'm not complaining :)

This week was a good week but nothing too exciting happened. Since all our investigators have been getting baptized, our teaching pool (the people we teach) is getting smaller and smaller. So this week we tried to go tracting (knocking on doors) every single day for an hour or two in hopes of finding more investigators. We had about 15 door slams, 10 lame-excuses, 8 QGC's (quality gospel conversations), and 3 PI's (potential investigators)! Haha so hopefully out of those 3 PI's that we found, hopefully one of them will decide to take the discussions and be baptized. But we'll see! I think we gave away 6 copies of The Book of Mormon this week as well. So we are staying nice and busy! I love talking to people about the gospel so much now. It's kinda cool!

A couple weeks ago Robin was thinking about pushing her baptism date from April 14th to Mother's Day, but we asked her to pray about it. Some incredible and crazy things have taken place in her life the last couple weeks and we have been so blessed to be a part of these changes and trials. She told us a couple days ago she has her answer and she needs to be baptized as soon as she can. So we set it for April 7th! I wish I could explain everything, but it's really personal. Anyways, she is doing amazing and she is way strong. This gospel is already helping her in so many ways it's amazing to see the progress!

I think I have figured out the thing I love most about being on my mission. It's when I get to hear someone praying to their Heavenly Father for the first time. That and hearing little children pray. It's truly amazing and such a blessing to see. My testimony of this gospel increases more and more every day and I'm so glad I am here to share that with others.

Thank you for all the support, I love you all.

-Elder Jon Stevens

End of Week 6 in Canada

This week was pretty exciting!

Melodie was baptized and confirmed!

Justice and Sarah also got baptized, confirmed, and Justice also recieved the priesthood! They left this morning to Toronto because he got a job down there. It was a way crazy week getting everything ready for them and everything happened so fast. I'll miss them a lot! I grew way close to them! But we'll stay in contact which is good!

My two month mark was yesterday and that was exciting! My second transfer started today and I'm staying in St. Albert, with Elder Kember which I am way happy about!

I miss you all!

Love, Elder Jon Stevens

End of Week 5 in Canada

Every week just seems to be flying by!

 

This week Elder Kember and I cut each other's hair! Brook kinda taught me how (using a guide and holding the comb and stuff) before I left for my mission so I taught Elder Kember! Our hair turned out looking great and it was just what each of us wanted!

 

Phil blessed the sacrament yesterday for his first time which was so amazing! :) This Saturday, March 17th, Melodie is getting baptized and confirmed! We also moved Justice and Sarah's baptism to this Saturday as well! They are doing so good it's incredible. They came here with absolutely nothing but last week they finally got their luggage which was lost on the plane about a month ago! So that was nice for them! Now they each have at least one suitcase of clothing.

 

They can only stay in the Fregene's Home until the 20th (because that was their agreement) so they are trying to figure out how and where they're going to live. We've met with them almost every day since we met them and have taught them everything. Justice has almost read the whole Book of Mormon, and he has already read "our heritage" and he is reading now also, "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith."

 

Yesterday we were about to teach him about tithing and fast offerings (we saved that for the last lesson because we thought it'd be the hardest concept for them since they don't have much, not even a job yet) but when we started talking about it, he pulled out his tithing which was already filled out and sealed and he said "who do I give it to?" He already had the strongest testimony in tithing and he had found the slip on his own and filled it out during sacrament! And when we pulled out the scriptures about tithing, he quoted them to us word for word and then told us he is happy to pay tithing! He's not even a member yet!

 

It's truly amazing how prepared they are! So things will be busy this week with getting all these baptism arrangements taken care of! Oh and Sarah sung in the ward choir before church! She went early just to sing with them and she's a way good singer! Justice gave us his family's info (where they live in Greece and their numbers), He told us that he's been talking to them and they want to have missionaries teach them and they need 6 copies of the Book of Mormon. Ha, ha!  So, we're going to send that info to the main office! :)

I'm enjoying every second here so much! I wake up around 5 or 5:30 most mornings and go running, work out, or go to the church and breakdance and shoot hoops :) I have gained 12 pounds on my mission so far, but it's not fat! :) Anyway, I enjoy it here more and more every passing week! :)

Love Always,

 

Elder (Jon) Stevens

End of Week 4 in Canada Mission Hill St. Albert

This week was insane! I don't even know where to begin...

Last week we had a mission-wide fast. Every ward in the Edmonton, Canada Mission boundaries fasted on the same day so that we could see missionary work pick up tempo. And it has really been working! Elder Kember and I witnessed so many miracles this past week because of that fast. We are still reaching 30+ lessons every week and still working hard.

On Monday we got a referral from some other missionaries in a different area. They saw a lady (Jackie) at church that just stopped by to see what church was like. So they started talking to her and found out that she lived in our boundaries. So they called us Sunday night and told us to go to her house and see if she wanted to learn more. We stopped by her house the next day (Monday) and knocked on the door. She answered and when she saw it was missionaries she said "no" right away and started closing the door. Right then Elder Kember asked if her name was Jackie. She then told us that we were at the wrong house and Jackie was two doors down the road. So we laughed and apologized for bothering her.

We then went two doors down and knocked on that door. A small 9 year old girl answered with a huge smile on her face.  She started to yell, "Mom, mom, the two men in suits are at our door! come quick! :)" Her mom came around the corner and instantly told us to come in. We asked her if her name was Jackie and she said "yes" with a huge smile. She told us to sit on her couch and asked us if she could get us water or juice or any kind of food. So we told her water would be nice! We then started talking about her life and asked what she believes in.

She's from India and her 9 year old daughter's name is Kateylnn.  She grew up in India but when she turned 19 she got married and moved to Toronto, Canada. She's now a single mother 14 years later and they moved here from Toronto 4 years ago. She grew up with in a Catholic family, so she believes in the Bible. We introduced the Book of Mormon to her and gave her the first lesson (the restoration). She was so excited and she wanted to learn more. She asked if we had dinner plans this week and we had lost our dinner calendar again so we told her we had none. She told us to come on Thursday and she would cook us India food and we would teach her the next lesson after we ate. So we said yes of course! She then said Friday as well? And we said yes! We then committed her and her daughter to be baptized by the proper authority if she came to know these things were true for April 7th. She said yes instantly! So we went back on Thursday and ate India Food and taught her, and then we went back on Friday as well!

She reads the Book of Mormon every day and she told us she's prayed and she knows it's true. Her daughter also has done the same! They are way prepared by the Lord and they need this in their lives now more than ever! They are way humble and it is such a cool experience to be a part of it! :) She was way sick on Sunday so we gave her a blessing as well! :) She has so much faith it's amazing to see her growing! So anyway,  that was Monday!

Tuesday, we were at Phil's house (the guy we just baptized last week) and we were teaching him the lessons again. It's required to teach investigators the lessons again after they are baptized. Anyway, every time we teach him we ask him to pray. He just says he isn't ready yet. But this time he volunteered and said the prayer! It was way cool to hear that and it really was an amazing prayer! So as we were teaching him the lesson, the front door opened. This lady (Phil's wife's friend) came in and slammed the door behind her. We asked her how she was and she said terrible. She told Phil that she might be living with them now and she no longer has a ring on her finger. She then went upstairs to go hang out with Phil's wife. We (Elder Kember, I and Phil) all looked at each other and said that this would be the best time for her to hear about the gospel. But we proceeded with our lesson until it got late and we had to be in soon so wrapped up the lesson and told Phil we had to go. Right after we said that, the Lady that came in earlier (Robin) came running down the stairs! She came so fast that she ran into the wall at the bottom of the stairs and almost destroyed it. She turned the corner and sat down right in front of us. She said, "I've read the Book of Mormon two or three times now, I know it's true, I study from in every day for at least an hour and it helps me through my day. So teach me, Please! I need this in my life. I didn't realize it was you guys and when I realized who you were I ran down here before you left. So please, teach me, tell me what I need to do."

 

Elder Kember and I were dumbstruck.. We thought it was a joke and we were waiting for her to start laughing.. But she was dead serious. We then showed her from the introduction of the book that if she came to know it was true then she would know that Jesus is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was the Lord's Kingdom once again established on the earth preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah. She said she knew that to be true. So we asked her to be baptized and she said yes. She picked April 14th because that is her son's birthday as well! She then said that she has a 11 year old son, a 9 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. She said that they all have been reading from the Book of Mormon and they have been looking for this church for ever and that they all wanted to be baptized if that was okay. We told her that she and her two son's would all be able to be baptized on that date and we would need to teach them the discussions! She said that they would all love that! So we set up appointments!

 

I then felt like I needed to ask her a question, so I asked, "Robin, How do you feel that the Lord has been preparing you for this moment?" She thought about that for a moment and said trying to hold back tears, "As you know I am a single mom with three kids, and life has been hard. I have always felt that I had a hand on my shoulder leading me to things that I should do. It has been there to guide me out of those hard times, always helping me with every decision and guiding me which way I should go. And now that I am here, in front of you guys, That hand that has been on my shoulder, is now taken off. This is where God has been leading me to my whole life, this moment right here." We all felt the spirit as she was saying that and I had tears coming down my cheeks. Phil bore his testimony to her. It truly was a miracle. We then offered a kneeling prayer giving thanks for what we felt and the miracle which had just taken place. That was Tuesday.

 

We were on a spiritual high the next couple days and we kept thanking God. We taught Jackie on Thursday and Friday like I mentioned earlier. On Friday Jackie also told us that her daughter Katelynn is a shy girl like we can see but something about us made her way happy. She told us that Katelynn never gets excited about anything but she has been way excited to see us every time we come over and every time they read out of the Book of Mormon. She said that just in the past few days they have become so much closer in their small family than ever before. That really strengthened my testimony that this gospel strengthens families as we follow the example of Christ.

 

Then on Saturday we knocked on a member's home (the Fregene's, a Jamaican family). The kids answered the door and said that their parents were gone. But we noticed a guy in there that looked older (50's). So we started talking to him and he let us in. He is a guest of the Fregene's and is living in their home until he can afford his own. His name is Justice and he is from Nigeria and grew up in Greece. He told us about how Greece is a bad economy right now so he and his 20 year old daughter (Sarah) flew to Ontario, Canada to look for a Job. He left his wife and 5 other kids in Greece because they didn't have enough money to all come here. Their luggage was lost on the airplane so they only had the clothes that they were wearing and enough money to get a hotel for a night and eat. They are Christian and believe in the Bible and they are the most humble people I have ever met. They thank God for everything they have and they know that if they trust in him and follow his teachings, He will prepare a way for them. They came here strictly on faith in hope to have a better life for their family.

 

While they were in their hotel, they met the Fregene Family who was on vacation. Brother Fregene is such a nice guy that when he met this guy in the hotel, he offered to let them stay at their home in St. Albert (where I am now). Anyway, we showed them (Justice and his daughter Sarah) the Book of Mormon and told taught them the first lesson. They accepted it with full heart and they said they knew that there had to be more than just the Bible. We asked him to be baptized if he came to know if it was true. His answer was not what I expected. He told us that he had been reading the Bible this last week about when Christ was baptized. He showed us that in the margins of his Bible he wrote, "I want to be baptized". Then 2 days later, we knocked on the door. He said he knows it is God that lead us to him.

 

We were setting a date for him and his daughter to be baptized. We started asking about sometime in April and they both stopped us and said March! So we explained that they had to come to church at least 3 times before they could be baptized and have all the discussions They said, make it March 31st and we will be at church every week! We were again dumbstruck. We left that night and gave them Chapter 31 in 2nd Nephi to read for next time. They wanted us to come back Sunday morning at 10 am and teach them the second lesson before church which is at 1 pm. So we said yes and offered a kneeling prayer and Justice said it after we taught him how to pray. He said an amazing prayer and gave so much thanks for everything he has and is blessed with even though he hardly has anything.

 

We came back the next morning (yesterday) and taught them lesson two. They had already read the chapter we gave him the night before and had highlighted the verses we wanted to point out to him. And he pointed them out to us. He said he prayed about these things and he and his daughter knows that they are true! And that they need this gospel in their lives right now and God has led them to it. They were at church later that day and Justice got up in sacrament and bore his testimony in front of everyone and he was the first person to go up there! It was crazy! :) He has the strongest testimony. He said that he was so happy to find this gospel and that if he had never gotten on that plane, he would have never found out about Christ's Restored gospel and about Joseph Smith and how God has a Prophet today. It truly has been a miracle to see him grow and learn about this church. They are so excited about baptism. It truly is amazing!

 

So we found 7 investigators that all want to be baptized this past week. God has prepared them and led us to them. I have witnessed so many miracles this past week, it is amazing. I've never felt the spirit so strongly before. This gospel is true and it blesses families so much. Fasting really works and it shows God that you are sincere. I'm so glad to be His servant and to take this time to help bring these families to eternal life with help from Him.

 

I never told you about Melodie who is getting baptized on March 17th. She is an 11 year old girl that is way smart and her dad is already a member. We have taught her all the lessons and she knows them better than we probably do now! So that will be an amazing experience as well!

 

And also Austin who is in his 30's. He have taught him almost all the lessons and he knows this is true! He is getting baptized on March 24th which also will be an amazing experience!

 

Just so you know our Standard of Excellence is 300 baptisms for this year. That is the goal that the Mission President set for this mission. Last year we had 200 baptisms for the whole year so this year will be a lot harder to reach. That means that every set of missionaries will have to get 1 baptism every 2 months for this goal to be reached. In our area, the Mission Hill Ward in St. Albert, we had a total of 5 baptisms all year last year. So this year we now have Phil and 9 others on date so far..

 

This isn't to brag or anything like that.  This is to show you how the Lord is preparing his children and that miracles can happen. I have been so humbled through this last week with the power that God has. It truly is an amazing experience. I know that I am where I need to be. I wouldn't rather be doing anything else with my life at this time. I love you all and I miss you! I'll see you in 2 years :)

Love always, Elder (Jon) Stevens

End of Week 3 in Canada

This week flew by!

Phil and his son Zachary were baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday in sacrament meeting! Everything went well and it was such an amazing experience! Phil also was ordained a priest and received the Aaronic Priesthood! So I've been on a spiritual high all week because of that!

We also lost our dinner calendar again on Sunday,.. so if we don't find it, we won't have much to eat this week! We have it passed around in the Relief Society and someone always takes it home or something instead of just leaving it in the room! oh well.. it'll turn up soon!

We got in a car chase this week. Elder Kember was driving and we went to turn into Walmart, but he realized he couldn't turn there because of construction, so he took off his blinker and kept going straight. A BIG truck behind us honked because we had slowed down and did a false blinker. So as we turned into the next entrance Elder Kember honked once to be funny. The guy in the big truck didn't think it was too funny so he followed us into Walmart. We weren't sure if he was following us at first so we just kept driving and turning. He stayed right behind us no matter where we turned. It was a full on chase but we were only going about 10 km/h (4 or 5 mph) through the parking lot. Finally we made a U-turn and drove out of the parking lot to get away from him and he got stuck at the light!

Anyways,.. It has snowed every day the last 5 days in a row and today it is -19*C! There is now about 3 inches of snow packed on every road! They don't plow it up here, it's crazy! I feel like I'm at a ski resort every day and I'm driving on the slopes! I had to go buy a sweater at the store because i just couldn't stay warm! But I'm getting more used to it than the first day!

 

Happy Birthday Dad! I hope you got my letter in the mail! I miss you and the family!

I hope all is well back at home with everyone (family and friends)!

 

Love you all and talk to you next week!

-Elder Stevens (Canada)

End of Week 2 in Canada - Presidents Day and Family Day

Sorry about not writing on Monday! I'll explain what happened later in this email!

Canada is COLD! I'm getting used to scraping the windows (inside and out) of our car every morning! It snowed the other day for the first time since I have been here and the snow was so cold and dry that you blew it off the car in the morning! Some people use leaf blowers to clear their driveway in the morning because it is so cold that the snow doesn't stick to itself!

This last week we lost our dinner calendars on Sunday, so we had to make dinners every night for ourselves for the whole week which is expensive when you are on a budget! It was okay though because Elder Kember and I have gotten really good at making exquisite cheap meals! On Valentines day we made chicken with pasta, mashed potatoes, and sparkling cider and watched the Joseph Smith Movie on a 5 inch screen! We wanted to celebrate Valentines Day the best we could so we made sure we at least still had a dinner and movie! haha! I also said, "eh?" for the first time last week on accident... I used to make fun of Elder Kember for it, but now I said it for real on accident! oh well.... ha, ha!

I had my first "Donair" last week as well! it's like a big taco with Donair meat and all the condiments you would put on a hamburger... deep fried... It's way good! but I felt like I gained 5 pounds after I ate it! We taught a family from the Philippines and they gave us "Longans." They taste like a grape, with the skin of an orange, and a pit like a cherry! They are pretty good and juicy! Also, in Canada, "smarties" are like M&Ms! They are chocolate with a candy cover but I like them better than M&Ms! and Rockets" here are like our "Smarties" in the States!

The money here is way cooler than the states! It looks like Monopoly money! Every bill is a different color! The $100 bill is plastic and soon they all will be plastic!  The lowest bill they have is a $5! They use "Lunies" (one dollar) and "Tunies" (two dollar) coins! So you always have to break a $5 or carry around change! When you get change back you feel like you got ripped off, but you really didn't! So it was kind of hard to get used to at first! Also, their coins are magnetic... which I thought was strange and I can't remember if ours are or not...

It's so fun being a missionary because everywhere we go we talk to any and every one! A couple days ago we were eating doughnuts in the bakery at a store and a woman sat down next to us. She was doing a lot of paperwork and she could have been the manager of the store or something. The phone rang so she got up and left her stuff behind to answer it. When she wasn't looking Elder Kember and I put a "Plan of Salvation" pamphlet under her paperwork and a Mormon.org card as well! Hopefully she found it though because we had to leave! But we "accidentally" leave things a lot, everywhere we go, in hopes that someone will see it and it will change their life!

We are working way hard everyday! Phil and his son Zachary, two of our investigators are getting baptized this Saturday at 2:00! It is so cool to see this really happening and to realize that this hard work really does change lifes! We have taught him almost every day since I've been here! There is a lot about Phil that I wish I could share, but he really turned his life around! He asked Elder Kember and I to be the witnesses which is way exciting! His son is 9 years old and really looks up to his dad! I'll send pictures of them next week!

Instead of Presidents Day this Monday we had "Family Day" which is where no one works or goes to school and if your business is open on that day, you get fined! So everyone is at home with their families! It was a way cool concept and I wish the States had that day!

Our P-day got switched to Tuesday this week because it's a temple p-day and the temple isn't open Mondays! So yesterday I got to attend a session at the Edmonton, Canada Temple which was so nice! The temple is way small but it was a good experience! We didn't have any time after that to get anything else done that we needed to though so that's why I had to wait until today to email!

Bishop Gatt (the bishop in the ward I'm serving in) had us over for dinner last night! After dinner we went to his garage and we had a dance off! He's from London and grew up on the streets and danced and made music everyday! He wasn't joking when he said he was an OG! He's way good and it was fun to dance with him! We only stayed for about 5 minutes though because we had to get back to work, but I'm going to go there on a p-day and dance for longer!

It's so cold out side that there are Ice sculptures around the town that never melt! It is way cool! I am sending a picture of a bird ice sculpture that is in the front of the library in St. Albert!

Mom, I went through the temple yesterday and I had a feeling to put your name in for the sick.. I had no clue why I was doing it but the feeling didn't go away. So I wrote your name down and no one else's came to mind... So as the session went on I kept praying for you to get better but I had no idea if anything was even wrong. Then today I read your email about your tooth pains and how you've never been in so much pain... I almost starting crying here in the library when I read that and realized that you really needed me to do that for you. The Lord works in mysterious ways, but if we listen to that still small voice, miracles do happen. I love you and I hope you get better! You and the family are in my prayers everyday. I love this gospel and I love how I  get to take these 2 years and dedicate it to serving the Lord. He's watching over me and as long as I put Him first, I won't have to worry about the small things! Read 3 Nephi 13:31-33 :) I  love it!

Love and miss you all!

-Elder Stevens, the younger

P.S. Anyone that reads this, please take 5 minutes out of your day to make a Mormon.org  profile. It simply just asks how you gained your testimony and how this gospel has changed your life. You never know who is going to be online and come across your testimony and they will feel the spirit and want to know more. At the bottom of the website (which is owned by the church), they can click a button and order a Book of Mormon for free. Within a day missionaries will be knocking on their door and teaching them. You never know who's life you can change with that simple testimony that you have! Imagine in the next life, if you had someone come up to you with their whole family and they thanked you personally for taking that 5 minutes out of your day. Now they get to enjoy Eternal Life with their family and all their future generations to come! Sounds like a good use of time to me :) Thanks!

Email from President and Sister Campbell

14 February 2012

Dear Stevens Family,

Elder Stevens arrived in Edmonton on Tuesday, the 7th of February. He arrived with 6 other missionaries that he worked with closely at the MTC. They looked a little anxious when they stepped through the doors, but thankful to be here. We were there to greet them at the airport, President and Sister Campbell and the assistants showed up shortly after they arrived with the van and trailer.

It was a pleasure to finally meet your son, Elder Stevens, after studying his picture for the past few weeks. The assistants helped them load their luggage into the van and they were on their way to the mission office. 

Once at the mission office we introduced them to the office staff and had a bite to eat. They were very tired and hungry and appreciated the lunch we provided for them. We had the opportunity to sit down and eat with them and enjoyed the time to just visit. They filled out and signed the necessary forms that would allow them to get right to work.

After the office we went to the mission home, where the missionaries were able to sit and rest while President Campbell had the privilege of interviewing each one of them. We welcomed them into our home and saw that they were well cared for. After interviews they received their first training by the assistants.

We provided dinner and then had a fireside where they watched a DVD of sights from the mission. Then we had the privilege to hear testimonies from each of our new missionaries.

Thank you for raising such an amazing son and preparing him for the work. We look forward to serving with him and watching him grow in testimony and purpose as he serves the people of the Canada Edmonton Mission.

Enclosed is a photo of your son with us on the day he met his new companion. May God bless you and your family during Elder Stevens' service here in Edmonton.

With warm regards,

President and Sister Campbell

Week 1 In Canada

Hey Everyone,

This was my first week in Canada!  I arrived here on the 7th at noon! It's crazy how flat it is here! No mountains or anything! Their snowboarding resort is a hill.... haha! But it is nice up here and I love it! My mission president was a cheer leader in high school as well which I thought was way cool! He said I can dance on p-day (which is today!) so I am excited about that!

I'm serving in the Mission Hill ward in St. Albert! It's such a nice ward and the bishop is a dancer as well! On sunday I met him and he told me he is a body popper from London, England! He said he was once the best there and he is an "OG" (original ganster)! haha! It made me laugh, but he was serious! So I can't wait to see him dance, and I called him out for a battle sometime! He's way cool but he's serious when it comes to the missionary work, which is great! :)

I love missionary work so far! I've had multiple experiences so far and i can't share them all. But on Saturday, we went tracting and we said a prayer to help us find someone who was prepared. We have a big map in our apartment and I picked a street close by (to save on Klicks) and we went there. When we pulled up to the first house on that street, the dad was leaving.. so we thought we were out of luck. We decided to still knock on the door to see if anyone else was home. A girl answered the door and she was probably in her mid 20's. It was crazy how prepared she was! She was telling us that recently she and her sister have been researching a lot of religions and asking everyone they knew, what they believe. So when we showed her the Book of Mormon, she said "hold on!".  She ran downstairs and grabbed her own Book of Mormon!  But it was a triple combination set with the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price in it. So we taught her the whole first lesson on her doorstep and answered all of her questions! And she had a TON of questions (which was way good)! We were standing there for longer than an hour! We couldn't go in though because she was the only girl home.. but it was so worth it! it's crazy how the Lord works! Maybe if her dad was still there we would have never been able to teach her! Everything just seemed to fit how it was supposed to! Her name is Talia by the way! Anyway, that's the short version of the story and I have so many other experiences!

We have 2 people on date to be baptized on February 25th and 3 people set for March 17th! I wish i could tell you all their stories and all their names and how we found and taught them, but that would take way too long! Our goal that our mission president gave us is to teach 20 lessons a week, which is a pretty hard goal.. My companion and I worked way hard this week and we got 30 lessons! :) Cool,  huh?

My companion's name is Elder Kember! He is from Ontario, Canada! He is a convert of a year and a half and the only one from his family, which is almost the same as my last companion, Elder Pineault except that Elder Kember does not speak French! But he is way cool! He is my same height, build, and same almost everything! People say we look like brothers! He is pretty much exactly like me and we get along way good! He's my trainer, so we are companions for the next 2 transfers.  Each transfer is 6 weeks, so I'll be with him for at least the next 3 months! He is my "dad" and I am his "Son" in missionary language. And when people go home, they are "dead." ha,ha!   So i have a picture of my "grandpa" which was Elder Kembers trainer or "dad." Does that make sense?

But anyway, the weather here is cold!! It's usually -18* C and the first couple days, I shivered no matter where I went!  People keep telling me this winter has been the mildest they have ever had! So I'm scared for next winter! One thing that is hard to get used to is the roads,  They are ALL covered with about an inch of ice.. so no matter where you go, you're driving on ice! New missionaries can start driving after their first transfer (after 6 weeks). Oh yeah, we got a Subaru car, which is the nicest car in the mission!  We also got a cell phone for contacting investigators! Our apartment smells like smoke when you walk in the building, but our room is smoke free which is nice! We are hardly ever home though unless we are sleeping or eating!  And sometimes we wake up at 5:30 instead of 6:30 so we can play basketball at the Stake Center in the early morning!

Canadian's are soooo nice! It's kinda funny how they say, "eh" all the time but I'll get used to it... eventually! They all have accents too which is different! But every person I meet here (in the ward) is so nice!  We went tracting a couple days ago and every door we went to slammed the door on us! ha, ha!  That was a fun experience too! They have outdoor hockey rinks on every block and at the high schools they have those instead of football or baseball fields! Every one plays or has played hockey!

Oh I mentioned "klicks" earlier,. those are how many miles we are allowed to travel in a month. As a missionary we are limited to 2000 klicks and we can't go over that! They measure in Kilometers not miles... which throws you off when you see a speed limit sign that says 100!! That's about 60 mph.

Anyway, I told you everything that I can remember.....oh...   My p day is now on Monday so that's why I had to skip last week's p day! :(

I love you all!  Take care!

-Elder Stevens (the dancer)

Starting of Week 3 at the MTC

This week was so much fun! We are teaching a ton of ''investigators'' everyday! I taught this less-active girl named LaChelle and it was the best lesson we (Elder Pineault and I) have ever taught! It was such an amazing experience and it really made me excited to finally be helping others. By the end of the lesson she was crying tears of joy along with everyone else in the room, including the members that were with us. All this took place in the TRC where the people are real invesigators and they get paid to come to a building and let us teach them.

 

I got to see the real world this week which also made me more excited to go to Canada! I had to go on splits with Elder Freeze who had to go to a doctor. He says his knee hurts and the docters have to do a MRI to make sure nothing is wrong. Personally I  think he's just trying to get attention.. haha but I still love him. I love my whole district so much.  They all have the funniest personalities and we all help each other progress when we are studying! My companion is continuing to teach me French and I'm getting better! I am so blessed to have him as my companion. We seriously teach so good with each other and we can finish eachother's thoughts when talking! He's way cool! I told him he could come live with us for a week after the mission during the week of General Conference and we would go together! He is a convert by a year and a half so his dream is to see the prophet! I mean that when I say it really is his dream!! So I think that would be a way good experience for him! plus I'd hang out with him after the mission if he came to the US.

 

My flight plans are: I leave on February 7th and my flight leaves at 5:30 am.... so i have to be at the travel office at 3 am... which means I have to wake up at 2 am... :( but it'll be so much fun! We have a layover in Denver, CO but then we will arrive in Edmonton, Canada at 11:50 am!)

 

Last night (Tuesday) we had a Devotional! It was also the 50th anniversary of the MTC! Elder Nelson and Elder Holland from the Quorum of the Twelve were the speakers and it was amazing!! I wish I could tell you more but I hardly have time to type!

 

Alexandre, our first TRC investigator wants to be baptized and I am way excited about that!

 

Mom, get better! Stop getting sick!

 

Dad, sorry you're the only male in the house,.. but Josh will be back soon.. :/ well, sooner than me! haha hang in there!

 

Mom, tell Amy Simkins that I miss teaching dance for her and I miss all the kids I used to teach! I am teaching Elders here how to dance so I won't lose it! ;)

 

Family, good job on reading your scriptures! It really does make your day go by so much better when you start and end off a day by reading and praying!

I love you all and miss you

-Elder Stevens, the younger :)

Mommy!

Hey, sorry it's taken so long to write you! My p-day is on Wednesday here in the MTC! I don't have much time to write you so I will get as much in as I can! So much happens here in one day, let alone a whole week! The first day I had an embarrassing experience but it was funny too! It was about 3 hours after I was here and we had to teach an ''investigator'' in front of the whole class! I had to be the missionary with my companion and it was a door approach. He said he was a Christian and asked if we were too. I said, ''we are also Catholic" but I meant to say 'Christians.' ha, ha!   I caught myself though, but it was too late. The whole room was already laughing! But anyways, I love it here! 


I have learned so much about the gospel and I have grown so much spiritually. My companion's name is Elder Pineault (pee-no). He speaks French and is from Quebec, Canada! He is going to my same mission! My district is so cool. Everyone in here has their own personality and we all get along! I have only known them for a week but we all feel like family already. It's probably because we spend 16 hours a day with each other though!! Yesterday my companion and I had to teach a real investigator in this thing called TRC, where we go to a different building. The investigator's name was Alexandre, and he was a tall black guy. It was so amazing to see how much joy we brought to him when we taught him the gospel. I know I have Elder Pineault as my companion for a reason because we work SOOO well together! I wish I could tell you more but I hardly have any time at all to email! Anyway, I love it here!

Thank you so much for everything you sent me and that you and dad are doing for me!  I am so blessed to have you as my parents and am so thankful for all the support you give me! I couldn't do any of this without you! I love the dress shirts you sent me and the ties! They are just what I wanted/needed! Also thank you for the contacts, Dad! Tell Rachelle congrats on her cheer competition and to keep it up! When you get time, could you send me Josh's email, a photocopy of my call (for when I go to Canada), a normal short sleeve t-shirt (for gym time... all I have are thermals!), and a picture of my sisters to hang up in my room?? :)

Thank you again for all you do and the sacrifices you are making for me! :) I love you all!

-Elder Stevens