Yikes, signing off from Redmond...scary, but definitely for
a great cause.
Oh the trip to I-Falls was beautiful and a great trip! It was lightly snowing that morning and then
it stopped right as we got into the car and the roads were great. Right as we returned to Kenora and stepp out
of the car it began to snow again.
Coincidence? Hmmm. God disguises his miracles as pure coincidences
to the world, and as Bro. Oster says, there is no such thing as a small
miracle. It was great seeing I-Falls
again, definitely a little different, but not too much different. I stopped and saw the Osters (minus Sis.
Oster who was at work) and it was SO good to see them again, but don't tell
Bro. Oster that. Also visited with a few
members as we were in the area finding.
Great to see them all. I made
sure that the I-Falls elders knew as I was coming down that the purpose of the
trip was not for me to see everyone that I taught, but to have a
productive exchange and if that included seeing members I would absolutely
welcome it. So Elder Mitton (my MTC
companion now serving in I-Falls) and I went and taught...Bro. Wilcox! It was
SO good to see him too and seeing him and others really reminded me how much I
love the people I work with. For the
lesson, Elder Mitton and I did an object lesson (that Bro. Oster gave to me)
that discussed doing the basics of the gospel, continually building oneself
from the inside-out and then going to the temple. Bro. Wilcox is beginning to
prepare for the Melchizedek Priesthood!
How amazing is that?! Wow. I look up to him as a MAN who has
learned from his past and I told him that I look up to him because of
that. It was neat being there with Elder
Mitton because it was almost symbolic of me being one (with Elder Bodily) who
found him and helped him to baptism, and Elder Mitton assisting him to being a
full-fledged member working towards the temple.
Oh, it was one of those legendary lessons. As Elder Cutler would say, "A choice
experience". Speaking of the
Cutlers, I will be paying them a visit after my mission down in good ol' Shelley,
ID. All in all, the exchange to I-Falls
was productive and a spiritually strengthening, yet it is still good to be back
in my own area of Kenora helping newer people here.
Speaking of Kenora, good things happened this past
week. Derold came to church! Oh, finally. I really want him to do so well.
Ha---he just walked in and gave me a hug.
Good timing Derold. He came and stayed for the first 2 hours of church
and really enjoyed it. He participated
in 2nd hour and really felt welcome. He
did not want a ride to church and instead walked like 3 miles to church and we
met him there. What a trooper! He had to walk by like 4 churches and his old
church to get there! Yikes. He has limitless quotes, and my favorite is
"I am a huggy, kissy guy". Oh
boy. He always gives us hugs during
lessons thanking us for different things.
He was so thankful that...well...he fulfilled his quote and my neck is
scratchy. But it was so worth it because
he is receiving answers. He is one of
the most spiritually sensitive people I have ever met. Other investigators...Kenny had an emergency
over the weekend and could not come to church last minute, so we have to move
his baptismal date back because he needs more Sundays to come to church and
live commandments. This next week will be very formative with the
material we need to present (Lesson 4).
Keep praying. We have a new investigator, Alex, who is hoping to
hear back from a reality TV show tomorrow.
(I am learning that I have to be vague with some people's identities
over the internet, so I can't tell you the show name or people's last names)
Alex is really unique because he knows nothing about Christianity other than
Jesus died on a cross. Not his
fault. We are helping him out. He literally knows nothing, yet he came to
church last week. He is super musical
and he got me to go to some choir's practice in another church last week. I figure it is a good use of 45 minutes to
really get our name out in town showing that we are REAL people.
A member had us out to eat and had a Norweigen exchange
student over named Jens. We were talking
and began to discuss differences between Canada and Norway. He said a lot of things, and we asked him his
last name and I slaughtered it trying to say it correctly. He said it a
few more times and between each time I would say it and he would emphasize a
different part of the name. I totally
got it. Elder Perkins tried and he and
Jens were trying to go at it for like 5 minutes. Jens would say his name and Elder Perkins
would butcher it and Jens would slap his forehead (a really good sport about it
all) and laugh and say it again and then Elder Perkins would try it and Jens
would shake his head and Elder Perkins would laugh and say "what am I
saying wrong?" The response:
"all of it". He eventually got
it. Then I told Jens my first name,
something I rarely do, and his eyes got wide and was like, seriously? He pronounced it totally different than I
have ever heard it pronounced before. I
always said Terje like ter-e-yuh but Jens said it like Tarr-euh, with an
"a" like a cat sound and rolling his "r". Whoa.
It took me the rest of the night to get it, but I think I did. I'll stick to saying it the way I did, just
knowing that Norweigens say it a little differently. I will call it the Americanized or
Canadianized version. Funny evening though.
Look for a big week ahead: transfer calls this weekend and
hopefully lots of lessons. Elder Perkins
and I have a goal to always say positive things all week. So far so good. Next week is a special week, however, with my
P-Day on Thursday instead of on Monday because of the way transfers and
American Thanksgiving work out. So don't
expect an email from me on Monday, but on Thursday. I expect a lot is going to happen back
"home" with the move. Good
luck! The yard and house look really
good. Funny that Mom included the little
bit about Luigi because I was wondering how he was doing with the move and how
he was going to get moved. Cute cat. The
last thing I still have to write is that razor model: Phillips
Norelco 7110X, with 62V/4W power. I
figured I would include the power but I don't think it would matter too
much. Anyway, that is all from
Kenora. Elder Perkins is great, I am
doing well, being a District Leader is not too different, but the extra
work helps me focus better. Thank you for your great email. Over and out.
Love you all!
Elder Galbraith
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