Traveling, Service, Exchanges & Canadians, Eh?

Hi everyone hows it going? Things are good here! We've met lots of cool people and set up lots of lessons, but they've all been falling through. Hopefully people will start to become more available soon! Even when stuff like that happens we don't get discouraged, because we know as long as we do everything on our part in life things will work out the way they need to!  Here's some of the week 

Wednesday- we had district council in Bathurst which is a couple hour drive away. Weekly road trips just like the good old days in Newfoundland! District council was great and it was fun to meet everyone in the district! After district council we started exchanges. I stayed with Elder Morrell and did the new missionary Skype call since it's his first transfer. After the call we drove back to Moncton and ate dinner and then went out finding for the rest of the night. It was fun to work with Elder Morrell and think back to when I first started. Time flies!

Thursday- we kept going with our exchanges. We did some service in the morning, weaving sleeping mats for homeless people out of milk bags. The mats are actually pretty cool! After that we switched and I went with Elder Pierson. We did some follow up and had a good visit with a lady named Barbara and set up a lesson. She has met with missionaries before and loves us! When we were leaving Elder Pierson accidentally took the car up a curb and when he backed up off the curb the car smashed down and broke something off the bottom. I thought it was hilarious but Elder Pierson was a little worried. We were still able to make it to the apartment.

Friday- we did all of our studies and planning. I'm trying to learn a little French so I can actually contribute when we meet French people, but it's super hard! That night we dropped by a member that neither of us had ever met. We got to his apartment and he buzzed us in. When we got to his door and knocked he yelled "come in" so we did. We opened the door to the sight of a very old man trying to put on his pants. Once he got fully clothed we had a good visit haha.

Saturday- we spent awhile planning for a church open house we are doing this week. We have a lot of people that said they are coming so hopefully it's a good turn out. Other than that we had some good lessons with some less active members. We also had a feeling to visit a guy we met. He never has time to meet, but right when we got there he pulled up and we were able to teach him the restoration in his driveway and gave him a Book of Mormon. It was super cool! 

Sunday- we had church and then had studies and 3 lessons with new people set up so we were pumped for a busy day. But sadly, one by one, all three lessons fell through, but we still had a good day. We saw the most Canadian thing driving home. We were behind a car driving through a neighborhood, when there was a car backing out of a driveway. The car in front of us was passing directly behind the driveway when they noticed the car backing out, so instead of just continuing to drive like a normal person, they slammed on the brakes, and backed up, so we had to back up just so the guy backing out of his driveway could go. Canadians eh?

Monday- today we had our calls with the APs about the zone and also had a ward Canada day BBQ. Canada Day is a Great Value version of the 4th of July. In the evening we had a rocky start, but it ended really well!

We will be traveling a lot this week with exchanges and visiting district councils. I'm really excited for it. Should be lots of fun! Have a great week everyone love you!

Love,

Elder Tait 

First week in Moncton, Prayer and Miracles...

Hey everybody! It's been a good week here in Moncton and we've already seen some sick miracles! Here's some details

Thursday- got up super early and then went to the mission office and drove to Moncton. Elder Kennedy and I went back to the apartment and planned exchanges and things for the transfer. Then we had a few lessons fall thru but met a super cool guy named Abou as we were going around following up with people.

Friday- today we did some service where we made mats out of milk bags for homeless people. Later we had a lesson with Abou, the guy we met yesterday and taught him the restoration. His kids were going crazy the entire time but the lesson was still pretty good and he's excited to read the Book of Mormon. That night we did some more follow up and then met with a recent convert named Daiji. He's from Nigeria and is super cool! He speaks pigeon English so he was teaching us a little bit about that.

Saturday- we had some sweet miracles today! During daily planning we prayed for an unplanned act of service. A little bit later we got a call asking us to come help someone move. Later we were doing some follow up and we knocked on the door of this guy who said he was interested, the other door opened and so we talked to the mom in that house and she said we could come back! Then we were walking down the street minding our own business when we saw some old ladies on the porch, so we went and talked to them and they love missionaries. They want to come to church and meet with us! Then we went and had a lesson with a member that hasn't been coming to church and after the lesson we talked to this guy in the street that was playing soccer and he was super interested and he is pumped to meet with us!

Sunday- we had church today and it was great! I got to meet a bunch of members of the ward so it was really good. Later on we had a couple lessons with members and they went pretty well. There are lots of members to meet with here so we stay pretty busy.

Monday- most of the day was studies and then calls. We had our weekly meeting with Pres. Low, and the APs to talk about how the zone and how everything is going. It was great to be able to council and see how we can improve the work! Later we had a dinner appointment where we loaded up on food. "Fill your boots" I felt like a bowling ball after the meal but it was really good Haha! Then we had a lesson fall through so we did some finding, stopped by FHE and gave a spiritual thought and then had a lesson with a recent convert and read Mosiah 13 and talked about the commandments.

Overall it's been a great week! There are tons of members here that don't come and there has been a lot of drama in the past. Elder Kennedy and I have been talking a lot about how it seems like many people are converted to the social aspect or other things in the church, so when something happens they are quick to give up and leave. There are so many good activities and opportunities in the church but that's not what it's all about. We need to be converted to Jesus Christ if we want to last through hard times. I encourage all of you to focus on your testimony of Jesus Christ and try to build it up through scripture study and prayer! Hope you all have a great week! Love you!

Elder Tait

Transfers...

Hey everybody! I don't have much time today but it's been a super fun week! We started teaching 3 new people and had lots of fun street contacting!
We talked to some drunk bridesmaids who tried to get us to come on a boat with them for the night. We decided it was best for us not to go Haha. We got lots of great quotes for them that aren't very appropriate but really funny! It's transfers and I'm getting moved to Moncton New Brunswick! My companion is elder Kennedy, from Draper Utah and we'll be the Zone Leaders! It should be exciting and lots of fun! I'll send more info next week! Love you all!

Love,

Elder Tait

The Trio - Elder Martinez, Elder D'eon, Elder Tait

Transfers...

Hey everybody! I don't have much time today but it's been a super fun week! We started teaching 3 new people and had lots of fun street contacting!
We talked to some drunk bridesmaids who tried to get us to come on a boat with them for the night. We decided it was best for us not to go Haha. We got lots of great quotes for them that aren't very appropriate but really funny! It's transfers and I'm getting moved to Moncton New Brunswick! My companion is elder Kennedy, from Draper Utah and we'll be the Zone Leaders! It should be exciting and lots of fun! I'll send more info next week! Love you all!

Love,

Elder Tait

The Trio - Elder Martinez, Elder D'eon, Elder Tait

Exchanges, Bus Contacting, Changes & Another Great Week...

Hey everybody! Things are going great here still and I'm loving it! We had exchanges this week, which are always super fun! 

Wednesday- we had district council in the morning and there was also a conference going on for all the senior couples in the mission so we had lunch with them after our meeting. That night we had English connect and it was great! One of the guys that comes is from Brazil and he brought this drink for us to try. It tasted like warm grass but it was fun to try! There was a new guy that showed up to the class and then came to church on Sunday! After English connect we went home with the zone leaders and started our exchange.

Thursday- I started off the day with Elder Bluth, we bused downtown and did some street contacting. We talked to one lady who didn't speak much English. She whipped out her phone and called someone and handed me the phone. I was really confused at first, but it was a translator so we were able to invite her to English class. After lunch Elder Bluth and Elder Martinez and I went to a lesson with Nathan who is a recent convert. We talked about the For The Strength of Youth pamphlet and it went well, then we bused back for dinner. It was during rush hour, so a 30 minute bus ride turned into 1 1/2 hours. It was a good time to bus contact though, so it wasn't too bad. That night Elder Groneman, Elder D'eon and I went to sports night for basketball. We had a really good turn out this time, so we had a few different teams going. It was a fun night! 

Friday- we got up and finished up our exchange with the zone leaders and then went home to our apartment. We spent awhile doing our studies and planning and then went to the radio station to follow up with this guy we met. He was busy doing an interview, so we weren't able to talk much. That night we had institute and we studied the book of Acts.

Saturday - we did a Plan of Salvation booth downtown. It was a lot of fun! Booths always bring out some crazy people! Elder D'eon and I talked to a cool guy and were able to teach him the restoration for a solid 20 minutes. Later we dropped off a triple combination to a lady that responded to a Bible ad. We were pumped because she seemed super elect. When we dropped it off we realized that lady is already being taught by the sisters. It was pretty funny! In the evening we went and played basketball at another church with a guy we met on the bus and a bunch of other guys.

Sunday- we were pretty much at church and meetings all day. We had an area coordination and now we are just covering the YSA ward. We had a musical fireside in Dartmouth with Wayne Burton who does a lot of church music. We sang a song called "The Living Christ". The fireside was awesome! 

Monday- the highlight of the day was when we went to the library and did some digital finding. There was a bunch of guys in their 20s playing minecraft and they were super intense and were saying a bunch of funny stuff. I cried from laughing so hard. We did some street contacting in the rain and then had dinner with Joan. After that we had a great lesson with Kudzai where he taught us the restoration. He is doing great and wants to go to the temple! We finished the night with chair soccer for FHE.

This transfer is flying by and is only going to get busier! We've got more exchanges this week that should be a blast! Have a great week everyone! 

Sent from my iPhone

Creative Finding, Choir Practice, Where’s the Sun??

Has anybody seen the sun? I haven't seen it in a few weeks and I'm starting to get worried that it might be lost! Haha it rained a lot this week but we still had a good week!

Wednesday- we drove way out to the middle of nowhere to help a guy we are teaching move. He lives by the church now so it will be easier to meet with him. Then we had district council and then a dinner appointment with a couple that are big NBA fans so we got playoff updates. That night we had English connect and taught how to describe family members.

Thursday- we spent the day doing a lot of service at the food bank and then doing our studies and calling people from our area Book. Then we went to sports night and played basketball.

Friday- we did all of our planning and studies and then went downtown and street contacted to dinner. Joan took us to Your Father's Mustache! We went to wash our hands before we ate and had a good laugh at the bathroom wall Haha! After dinner we bused to the church for correlation. I was pumped to ride the bus again but right when it pulled up I realized I made the rookie mistake of leaving my bus pass at the apartment so I had to buy a ticket. After the meeting we just street contacted the rest of the night.

Saturday- in the morning we used the media room in our apartment for wifi and did some digital finding. While we were there another guy came in and turned on the TV and was watching golf. So we watched and talked with him for a bit. We did some street contacting and accidentally went way over time but it was good because there were tons of people to talk to! That night we had an awesome church tour with a guy from the bus. He asked a lot of good questions and was really interested. He's going home to Bangladesh for a month, but we are going to start teaching him when he gets back!

Sunday- we spent most of the day at church and then singing practice. This time we had a member who is a legit choir director come and lead us and it was really good! It's amazing what a good choir director can do! Later we did service at the Sunday supper and then on our way home we saw a couple guys playing basketball so we went and talked with them and shot around. They are going to come to English connect and Thursday night sports. Basketball is a great missionary tool!

Monday- we had a lot of time to go finding today which was fun, we also had a lesson with a returning member and talked about forgiveness and then met with Kudzai before FHE and went over the restoration in basketball form. Next week he's going to teach us. For FHE we played volleyball. The talent was low, but the fun was high!

That's all for now! Our mission is trying to do more creative finding so we are going to try new things to find people to teach. It's going to be fun! Have a great week!

Transfer Week, Seeing old Friends, Hard to say goodbye...

Hey everyone! Transfers are here again! It has been a great few months. Elder Strong is getting transferred to New Brunswick and I am kind of staying here. I will be moving across the city to a new apartment and I'll be in a trio. We will cover the family ward and YSA. It should be really fun!

Wednesday- We had district council in the morning and then practiced singing for a musical fireside we are doing at the end of the month. That night we went to the English class all of the missionaries in Halifax are doing at the church. Our job is basically to sit by a person and help them along during the class with pronunciation and the activities we do. One guy we met street contacting a few weeks ago came! His name is Shun, it was crazy that he came for the first time that night because it was also our first time going.

Thursday- We did a few hours of service at the food bank again and had some fun sorting moldy bread. The rest of the day we spent street contacting and also met with Shun and helped him with some English and also taught him a little about God. 

Friday- Today was a really nice day so we decided to go finding down on the boardwalk. There were people everywhere but none of them were very excited to stop and chat. Eventually we made our way to the ferry and took a ride on it. I met a really cool couple from China on the ride. Then we went home and did weekly planning and then did bus contacting for the rest of the night, I met this kid who knew every fact about the buses and was telling me all about them, he even had the robot voice that announces the stops down perfectly, I was impressed.  

Saturday- We did some bus contacting while it rained all morning and I talked to one of the first guys I ever met on the bus. We reminisced about the our first time meeting, he's still not interested in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ though. Maybe next time. Later we went to the church to do some digital finding and there was a party going on. One of the members invited us in and we ate some food and talked to some people. That night we bused around some more.

Sunday- We had church and Kudzai got up and bore a great testimony, it was awesome! After church we practiced our song for the fireside and then bused home. I sat next to this older man that I've talked to before and had a great conversation. He got off with us and asked to take our picture because we looked so "smart" with our suits on. So he took some pics of us and said he will print them off and give them to us next time he sees us. Later we helped out at the soup kitchen. For dinner we made alfredo and bacon and then put the alfredo in the bacon grease. It was amazing, maybe not healthy, but really good! 

Monday- We were supposed to have a lesson in the morning at the library, but the guy didn't come, so we just street contacted and then went home for studies, lunch and our apartment inspection. In the afternoon we had a really crazy experience, every morning we pray that we will be guided where we need to be and we definitely were. We were in the right place at the right time and ran into this guy we'd talked to before. We were able to sit down and just talk, if we hadn't run  into him when we did it could have been a really sad day. We ended with some hugs and then ran to dinner with Joan. We had dinner and then got ice cream and went to the church for a lesson with Kudzai. He has had all of the lessons taught to him since his baptism so now we are having him teach us. He did a great job! Then we watched the YSA devotional for FHE. 

Tuesday- We had a member lesson in the morning and then we went street contacting for most of the day. We got wrecked. We talked to a lot of people, the only problem was most of them didn't talk back. We bused around for the night and got to ride our favorite bus driver's bus, it was emotional when Elder Strong had to say goodbye to him. 

It was a good week here! I'm really excited to be in a trio this is gonna be a fun transfer! This week I really gained a testimony that Heavenly Father will guide us exactly where we need to be if we pray for his guidance and then act. Have a great week everyone!

Love, Elder Tait