Interviews...

This last week we began our interviews for the transfer.  We headed to Medicine Hat on Monday afternoon (on snowy, unplowed roads) and arrived safely Monday night.  Tuesday morning we were able to attend a great zone training meeting with the Medicine Hat zone.  It is so awesome to see the zone leaders and sister trainer leaders carry forth with what we discussed at MLC the week earlier.  They really did a good job training, and also having others in the zone participate.  These great missionaries are the future leaders of the church and I have all the confidence in the world in them.
Following the zone training meeting we conducted interviews with that zone.  Or I should say Steve conducted interviews!  When those were done we met with the Stake President, President Salmon, to see how we could help him with his vision of missionary work in his stake.  He is a wonderful leader and we have grown to love him.  We love all the stake presidents we are able to work with, and feel it is such a blessing to be able to know them!
After our meeting with him, we drove to Lethbridge.  Wednesday we had interviews with the Lethbridge East zone, and then Wednesday night Steve went out teaching with some elders and I went out teaching with Sisters Jakobi and Messick.  It was such a great night of teaching.  On our first lesson we met with their investigator, Leon, who was getting baptized on Saturday.  They were going over the baptismal interview questions with him, to be sure he was prepared.  It was such a tender experience to hear this man (I would guess his age about 55), answer these questions and be so excited to be baptized.  He actually offered the opening prayer, and in it he said, "Thank you for helping me to quit smoking."  It was such a simple, heartfelt prayer.  I felt so honored to be able to sit in on this lesson with him.  After that, we went to teach a Young Single Adult named Judith.  She was so sweet.  She is very spiritual and has been taking the lessons for a bit, but has struggled with her reading of the Book of Mormon to know if it is true.  So, the sisters had prayed about what to teach her, and determined they would read the first chapter with her.  As they did, they shared favorite verses with her.  And then she began to share verses that 'stuck out' to her.  After we were done, she said that she was now motivated to read the Book of Mormon--that she liked these verses!  It was so cool!  Following that lesson we went to teach a less-active family from Peru who have been here in Canada for quite a long time.  They were so kind and nice, but struggling in their faith.  They are also struggling financially finding a job--so life isn't easy for them.  So, the sisters taught what they could and invited them to come to church and make friends in the ward.  It was a great night of teaching, and I was so proud of our sisters.  They taught with love and enthusiasm, and they shared their own testimonies and experiences, and it was really touching.  It is always good to be out teaching with our missionaries.
Thursday we drove to Raymond, Magrath, Cardston, Fort MacLeod and Claresholm to conduct interviews.  It was a long, but good day!  We then drove home to Calgary and on Friday we conducted interviews in the Calgary zone.
Saturday we spent most of the day preparing for zone conferences which begin tomorrow!  But we did take a break to attend another sealing of a couple who were baptized last year, Shawn and Amanda Ryan.  This is the couple that we were present at one of their very first lessons out in BC.  And then they were baptized-and we were able to attend their baptism-and now sealed in the temple.  It was such a beautiful day!  We have been able to witness now two different couples (families) be baptized and then one year later go to the temple to be sealed together forever!  That is what this great work is all about.  We have to begin with the end in mind!  Our purpose as missionaries is to bring people to Christ through the ordinance of baptism, but we always have in mind that this is just the beginning, and where we want them to be is in the temple!
I wish you could all see people that a little over a year ago knew nothing about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and  see them in the very early stages while they are investigating, and watch the spirit touch their hearts and they embrace the gospel and decide they want to be baptized.  It is just so incredible.
I love this gospel!  My life is full of joy because of it.  Yes, we have had our fair share of challenges, but through them we have been sustained and comforted and lifted.  I know the Savior's atonement is real--I love Him for what He has done for me.  Words cannot express!

Medicine Hat Zone

This is the McLachlan family that was sealed in the Calgary temple 2 weeks ago!