A Range Road Miracle

It's been a crazy week full of ups and downs, but i'll skip the intro and get down to business. 

Monday evening I learned that even though we have plans, God's plans are ALWAYS better.  We had a couple stop bys for less actives that we were going to do, when all of a sudden, we got a text from Kenny!  backing up---> we knocked on Kenny's door about the second week we got to Drayton.  He said we could come back and teach him, but he works in the oil fields, so he's literally NEVER home.  We've tried so many times to set up lessons, but he's too busy.  Anywho, we got a text from him saying he was home and we could stop by!!!  We needed numbers though, so we called around to find a member to come with us.  we called about 5 people with NO LUCK.  Finally, the spirit reminded us of Sister Curry, we called her, and she was free to come!  We had a good lesson with him, we watched He Is The Gift and talked about the Book of Mormon.  As of the end of last week, he said he's been reading!  Hopefully we'll be able to meet with him this week.

Thursday, we stopped by a nonmember named Morna Rae.  She's not very interested in the church, (very catholic) but loves the sisters. We watched He Is The Gift with her, and she cried and cried.  Then we shared Ether 12:8-9 and she loved it.  It was exactly what she needed to hear.  And guess what, SHE ACCEPTED A COPY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON FROM US!  AND said she would read.  (as well as the restoration pamphlet).  I'm telling you, that video softens hearts.  there are so many people who don't seem prepared, but ultimately just need to feel that spirit to give them a little shove in the right direction.  She said she's not converting, but we all know the Book of Mormon does wonders. :) 

Since we got here, we've been searching for an investigator who moved to Drayton from Edmonton.  The only information we had on her was that she lived on a certain range road.  (mind you, that range road stretches about 20 miles).  Saturday, we decided to tract it.  yep.  The whole thing until we found her.  it only took us two hours, but, WE FOUND MELLISA!!!  We're going back on Thursday to teach her.  We have to faithfully work as hard as we can, and God will provide us with the things that we need.  FAITH IS ACTION. 

also, we almost got eaten by some wild animals.  actually, not really, but I thought we were going to. We were visiting a member who lives LITERALLY in the middle of the forest.  We were leaving to head home for the night, when we got to our car it was covered in ice because of the freezing rain!  Where she lives, there are bears, cougars, bobcats, coyotes, wolves...you name it.  So we blasted our good old EFY CD so that they wouldn't come near us as we hacked away at the ice on our car.  Heavenly Father protects his missionaries!

Also, here's this really amazing talk that we've been studying, give it a good read.  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1975/04/obedience-consecration-and-sacrifice?lang=eng

THE CHURCH IS TRUE! 

Onward, ever onward.

Sister Jones

alsoooo i just lost all my pictures from this transfer.  so if anyone knows how to recover files on an sd card pleeeeease let me know. 

Happy American Thanksgiving from the land of Polar/Arctic Vortexes

 yes, we were hit by a "Polar/Arctic Vortex" this week.  (At least that's what the members referred to it as....what it is, I couldn't tell ya)

We were supposed to go out to Evansburg (about a 30 minute drive) for American Thanksgiving Dinner with a member (She's American), but then that vortex thing hit and the roads were SUPER SKETCHY.  Apparently Canadians don't believe in snow plows util the snow stops falling, so you basically have to battle it out  between the piled up snow and the jacked up pickups that think they own the roads.  Don't worry, we only got stuck 3 times on Friday after the snow stopped. 

funny/awkward/weird things that happened this week:

arctic vortex

tracted in snow up to our knees--GONG SHOW

tracted in -40 degrees with the windchill #onwardeveronward

ate ramen noodles for thanksgiving dinner

car got stuck 3 times in the snow in one day

Sister James slipped on the ice

I fell down a less-active member's stairs<----Sister James told me that my life should be a movie....ehhhhh probably not. 

ANYWAYS NOW TO THE IMPORTANT STUFF. 

Michelle won't return our calls or texts or answer her door.  And basically all of our investigators dropped us or said they didn't want to be baptized.  That was really rough. 

Somehow, we managed to get a ton of lessons this week though, and we found a new investigator on Saturday night!!! 

So the church has put together this new Christmas initiative called "He Is The Gift".  You've probably heard about it and seen the video, if not, watch it.  now.  here's the link: christmas.mormon.org

IT'S GOING TO BE HUGE!  We found Mel, a lady from the philippines using the video.  She let us in right away and we showed her the video, and she agreed to let us come back to teach her the restoration.  We also found a really promising potential named Cassandra.  When we told her about the message, she said, "well, it must be a pretty important message if you're out in this weather sharing it!"  She is so right.  We're going back to see her today.  Same with Mel. 

The really cool thing about those two, is they happened between 8:45 and 9pm on Saturday night.  The last 15 minutes of the day.  I remembered what my high school choir director, Mr. Bradshaw, always told us, "Anyone can give 90%.  Anyone can be pretty good, or even great.  But it's those who go that last 10% that truly succeed."  We could have easily just gone back to the apartment early because of the cold, because we were tired, because nobody was listening to us, but we didn't.  We decided to give that last 10% and give it our all.  THEN the miracles happened. One of my all time favorite scriptures illustrates what I'm trying to say here...

"For ye have need of patience , that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise . "  That key word there, AFTER, changes everything. God's promises will ALWAYS be fulfilled when we give all that we have.  It might be seconds after, or it could be years.  But God always keeps His word.

  We've also been doing this "Jar of Sacrifice" thing, where every morning, we write down something we're sacrificing that day (fear,pride,discouragement,etc), put it in the jar, and truly work all day to sacrifice that thing to give it our all.  It's been making such a huge difference.  Even though we don't always see the results of our diligence, they are there. They will come. 

sorry this is so scattered and long...

Onward, ever onward.

Sister Jones

  

We thought this was worth a shot...

zone conference and a book of mormon miracle

What a week! (as always)

We had zone conference and interviews with president this week which was SO EDIFYING I can't even handle it.  President and Sister Manion are literally angels sent from heaven above.  So great.  The training from the zone leaders was on the Atonement.  The atonement is central to EVERY principle and doctrine we teach as missionaries.  And it applies to EVERYONE, because we all fall short, and it is only by Him, through Him, and of Him that we can reach our full potential. 

We taught Michelle again about the Book of Mormon!  She is so eager to read and to continue to learn more. :)  She hasn't come to church yet, work has been getting in the way *cough cough* SATAN *cough cough* but she'll get there, we're going to teach her Sabbath Day along with the Plan of Salvation this week.  It has opened my eyes to how much God is preparing his elect to receive the gospel.  We just have to sift through literally EVERYONE to find those people that are ready and willing. 

We had a STELLAR lesson with a less active named Stacey as well!  We had planned to watch a mormon message with her, but the connection wasn't working....Sister James and I were praying our hearts out that God would make it work aaaaaaand it still didn't work.  We read the first chapter of the Book of Mormon with her and BAM the spirit was so strong!  It was exactly what she needed!  It's amazing how God really does know exactly what he's doing.  He knows his children better than we do, so it's our job to accept his will and follow the guidance he gives us through the spirit.  Stacey said she would read everyday and seemed like she would want to come back to church soon!  I've said it before and I'll say it again,  THERE IS IMMENSE POWER IN THE BOOK OF MORMON! 

Onward, ever onward.

Sister Jones

Canadian Sunrises *sigh*

Me and Sister James 

Our "Scare Attempt"

No Shave November or "Movember" as they call it!

Canadian Pride

Drayton Valley Christmas Parade

Watching the Parade

#askEVERYONEforreferrals

Greetings from Drayton Valley, Alberta!

I had like a bajillion emails this week, so I'm sorry this is going to be short.

I just wanted to share a really neat miracle that happened this week! 

Tuesday night, we decided to stop by a less-active man on the branch list that we didn't know.  We knocked on his door, and lo and behold, he doesn't live there anymore. (story of a missionary's life, right?) but we talked to the guy who did live there, definitely not interested #atheist ...BUT then I had this thought to ask, "do you know of anyone who might need a message of hope?" It went real quiet and he just sat there thinking...I knew he thought of someone, I could just see it in his eyes! FINALLY he said, "Michelle."  Then he gave us her address and sent us on our way!!!  WHHHAT??  This never happens.  So naturally, we drove over to her house as quick as we could (as the icy roads would permit of course) and knocked on her door!  Her boyfriend answered, then she came and we told her what had happened, and she had us come back the next morning.  We taught her the restoration Wednesday morning, and the spirit was so strong!  She said she would read and pray about the Book of Mormon and when she knows it's true, she'll be baptized!!! :) :)  We're so stoked for her.  She's so solid. 

We were also able to contact a referral we got from a member last week, Fay,  and we'll be teaching her and her son, Seth tonight in the Strasbourg's home! Miracles are happening here in Drayton Valley.  (cue princess diaries music...MIRACLES HAPPEN ONCE IN A WHILE, WHEN YOU BELIEEEEVE!)

http://www.mormonchannel.org/bible-videos?v=3888852754001

^^^super great new bible video, give it a watch.

Onward, ever onward.

 Sister Jones

these Alberta skies though...

 

CAUTION: DO NOT LEAVE WATER BOTTLE IN CAR OVER NIGHT, IT WILL FREEZE

White washing in a winter wonderland!

hey hey!

 

What a week.  Let me tell you.  Monday and Tuesday were spent saying goodbye to all the wonderful people of Grande Prairie, I miss them so much!  Wednesday was transfer day, so we had to leave at 6:30am to get to Edmonton.  Luckily the weather wasn't bad at all, so we got there safely. 

 

J Squared

Sister James and I are here in Drayton Valley and it's so great.  The first day was reeeeally difficult, we had nothing set up, so we tried to get in contact with the investigators that the sisters before us were teaching, and we have a few appointments set up for this week!  We're super stoked!  Sister James served here in Drayton about 6 months ago, and was surprised to be called back here for her last transfer.  I'm glad she's here, she knows the members so it has been easier to get to know the branch.  The members here are REFERRAL MACHINES!  So many missionary minded people.  Let me tell you, it's amazing. 

The branch covers a pretty big area, so there's lots of driving. 

 

 

The high temp for this week is -14c

the pine and spruce trees covered in snow is the most beautiful sight(site?) in the world

 

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3851853843001

 WATCH THIS VIDEO ^^^^ PLEEEASE and I just want to encourage you all to look outside of yourselves this week.  When we are being selfless, everything else falls into place.  There are people out there who are struggling, who need a smile or a helping hand.  If you're struggling, turn to the Lord.  He will lift you higher than you can lift yourself. 

 

 

Sorry this is so short..THE CHURCH IS TRUE! 

 

Onward, ever onward.

 

Sister Jones

GET OFF MY PORCH YA LITTLE WHIPPERSNAPPERS!

HOLY COW WHAT A WEEK.

first off, transfer calls were this morning......aaaandd.......I'M GETTING TRANSFERRED TO DRAYTON VALLEY!  Definitely did not see that coming.  We thought for sure I would be in Grande Prairie for 6 months, but obviously God always knows better, and although I'm heartbroken to have to say goodbye to all the people I have grown to love so much here, I'm excited for a new adventure.  I'll be with Sister James, who goes home after this transfer.  

We got to go ice skating last Monday which was definitely an adventure!  I only biffed it once, so I call that a success. :)  We had some pretty amazing lessons with our investigators, things really are looking up for the Bear Creek ward!

For Halloween, our ward had a trunk-or-treat/chili cook off!  That was definitely an adventure.  Along with the Elders, we dressed up as old people.....hahaha it was EPIC.  We borrowed canes from a member, and put flour in our hair (which takes like 6 washes to get out btw...don't try this at home, kids.) I probably said the word "whippersnappers" more in one night than I have in my whole life.  (hence the subject line...sorry, i'm running out of ideas people.)

We tracted into this pentecostal lady on Saturday who invited us in!  It wasn't until we got in that we realized she was pentecostal.  We ended up being there for like...2 hours..which was not good, but we semi taught the first lesson, but she was more interested in comparing the things we believe.  We just bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and the power that it has.  the spirit was so strong, and she ended up saying she'd read ours if we would read hers (she gave us a bible study pamphlet from her church) so we agreed!  Hopefully they go back to teach her after I leave!  

Something I have realized this week is how much happier we are when our focus is to become Christlike.  If we can strive for the attributes he has, literally everything else falls into place.  We don't have to be a different person, just a better version of who we already are.  God doesn't see us as who we are, he sees us as who we can become.  Even though I'm so incredibly imperfect, I know that God still loves me.  And he will help me to become the person he sees.

Onward, ever onward.

Sister Jones

Our District Halloween costumes!  (2 peas in a pod)

Photo Update!

District Meeting Costumes

Massive Snowball Fight!

The Elders Jack-o-Lanterns

Saying goodbye to Kristina

Saying goodbye to the Hatch family

Saying goodbye to the Green family

I'm a moose!

Saying goodbye to the Jarvis family