Sep. 24, 2016
Dearest friends and family,
The Great White North isn't actually that white yet. It's actually been really nice this week, and all the natives are complaining about the heat!
The Great White North isn't actually that white yet. It's actually been really nice this week, and all the natives are complaining about the heat!
I arrived safely in Edmonton last Tuesday, and met my trainer the next day. His name is Elder Leigh (Lay), from Stafford, Virginia. He looks a lot like Jordan Nilsson, and we have a lot in common. He's a spiritual giant. He really knows his doctrine. We were assigned to the Vermilion branch, which is really close to Saskatchewan, right on the border. This is a really small town of about 4000 people. There really aren't a whole lot of members here, but that's why I'm here! Our branch isn't very big either, there's about 40 people, and therefore Elder Leigh and I get to bless the sacrament AND teach a primary class of 10-11 year olds. This town is a huge farming community, and they're all in the middle of the harvest. They grow canola here (which to me was always just an oil but whatever) and so I see huge tractors driving down the middle of the highway a lot.
My first full day in the field was a doozy. And it's also the reason for the title of this email. We decided to go visit an older lady named Elizabeth. So we get to her house and she lets us in. She had about 15 cats and she could hear one downstairs making a lot of noise, so we went looking for it with her. As soon as we set foot in the basement, all noise stops. We were determined though, or rather she was, to find it. Finally, after about 20 minutes of looking for this nonexistent cat, we went back upstairs and began to talk. She said she's about halfway through the Book of Mormon, but she doesn't understand any of it. She didn't care what we had to say, she believes the only word of God is Genesis to Revelation. Elder Leigh and Elizabeth went back and forth for about ten minutes. All the while, she was smoking her self rolled cigarettes. (I counted 5 for the whole 20 minutes we were talking). We started talking about Joseph Smith (this is when it gets funny) and she said something to the effect of, "you know, there are berries in the woods. Some of these berries will make you see and hear things that aren't really there. This Joseph boy must have been hungry, being out in the woods so long praying, and I believe he was eating those berries. And that's why he saw what he did."
So apparently Joseph Smith was eating hallucinogenic berries. I've never heard
of that. But Elder Leigh and I continued forth in the conversation, bearing
testimony of the truth that Joseph Smith restored this gospel. She said there was
no way we'd convert her and she didn't feel comfortable with us praying in her
home. She kept comparing us to Jehovah's witnesses. That was a little
unnerving. But my faith remains unshaken, because I know what we teach is
truth.
Yesterday, something interesting happened. Elder Leigh and I were headed out to go tracting. Just before we were about to cross the street, this huge white truck pulled up to the stop sign. "You guys Mormons?" He yelled, his voice really course, probably from cigarettes.
"Elder Leigh talked to him for a minute and he told us he was from Mexico and was working up in Alberta. He guessed we were from the states. Then he said he knew where Twin Falls was, which blew my mind. We told him our names and he said his name was Aaron and that he'd like a Book of Mormon. He then said, "I really need this in my life right now." And we said goodbye and was gone.
We just happened to be in just the right place at just the right time. I hope he's been reading it, and hope it helps him.
My companion and I have been able to give service at the food bank, for an older lady named Paula, and the Perron family, who lives in Dewberry, and are less active. We got to split wood for them and taught Brother Perron about the story of Nephi and his broken bow. How he didn't just sit and complain like his family.
It's been awesome to get to know a new area and be a missionary in God's service. I love doing this and I know I have a purpose.
Take care this week, I love y'all!
-Elder Trevor J. Wells
Yesterday, something interesting happened. Elder Leigh and I were headed out to go tracting. Just before we were about to cross the street, this huge white truck pulled up to the stop sign. "You guys Mormons?" He yelled, his voice really course, probably from cigarettes.
"Elder Leigh talked to him for a minute and he told us he was from Mexico and was working up in Alberta. He guessed we were from the states. Then he said he knew where Twin Falls was, which blew my mind. We told him our names and he said his name was Aaron and that he'd like a Book of Mormon. He then said, "I really need this in my life right now." And we said goodbye and was gone.
We just happened to be in just the right place at just the right time. I hope he's been reading it, and hope it helps him.
My companion and I have been able to give service at the food bank, for an older lady named Paula, and the Perron family, who lives in Dewberry, and are less active. We got to split wood for them and taught Brother Perron about the story of Nephi and his broken bow. How he didn't just sit and complain like his family.
It's been awesome to get to know a new area and be a missionary in God's service. I love doing this and I know I have a purpose.
Take care this week, I love y'all!
-Elder Trevor J. Wells
Pictures:
1. Church Building
2. Elder Leigh and the cutest dog
3. First night with Elder Leigh
4. French Subway Selfie
5. "It's wallowing in its grease."-Elder Leigh
6. Largest chuckwagon ever
7. Fall in Alberta
8. Chevy Equinox, our car we named Rudy.
9. Sunset in Dew Berry
10. Me and my best friend, spot the unicorn
11. Epic picture from the middle of the road in Dew Berry.
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