Missionary Monday!

Today I got a little message from Jason, but I thought I was too late, and had missed his computer time. So I sent a brief email back to him and then went back to work on house stuff and grocery shopping. Later I got back onto the computer and found out he had answered me right back. So I missed out on a conversation with him today. :-(

But here's this week's news:

"This last week has been busy, I haven't even had time to write it in my journal! 

By the way, did you see the Blood Moon yesterday? I didn't think that was a real thing, but I guess it's a lunar eclipse. Apparently they only happen once every thirty years. But the moon was blood red during it, so it was really cool. I've never seen anything like it, and I didn't even have to break the rules to see it! The moon was visible at 8:30, and the eclipse ended just after 9:00 I imagine. The moon was white again and nearly fully shining at 8:58, so I think it probably ended soon after.

Last week I met this really cool guy Robert, who I just remembered I told you about last week. So we saw him again though, on Tuesday, and he was even more cool!

Between Sunday and Tuesday, he had read all of the introduction to the Book of Mormon, and the testimonies of all the witnesses and Joseph Smith, and also 1 Nephi 1-13. And he didn't just speed read, he told us about Lehi's dream and how he didn't understand it at all but was amazed at Nephi's dream with the interpretation of the dream. He told us he had been reading with an intent to understand the teachings of the book. So I can't wait for him to get to Moroni 10:3-5! We'll probably show him that before he gets there on his own, if we can see him before then. He said he wanted to come to Sunday School and go to Gospel Principles, but he didn't come. He had asked us if there was a class for people learning about the church he could go to so we told him. He is what people like to call a golden investigator.

We met another cool guy on Saturday, Leonard. He's from Nashville Tennessee, moved here 32 years ago. He wants to go to church too.

So that's the highlight's of the week, life is going good!

Love you guys!
Jason"

He also mentioned (in one of the little emails that I didn't respond to) that he only has three Sundays left in British Columbia. I'm pretty excited!

Missionary Monday!

Jason tells me he has five weeks left. I was thinking it was four, but he's probably right. It's exactly one month from today, in any case. :-) !

Here's today's news:

"I met this guy named Jason recently and I don't know his last name. But occasionally we meet him, and he testifies of the Book of Mormon as being true. Apparently he is a direct descendant of Benjamin, the brother of Joseph of Egypt. Last time I saw this guy he was sitting on the sidewalk by a bank with thank you cards and pens and the trash of smokers all around him, as well as a backpack and clothes. He was pretty upset when he saw us because he had lost the first copy of the Book of Mormon that we had given him, but we gave him another one and then stood there for a while as he wrote us a thank you card. He explained in the card why he believes he is a descendant of Benjamin, but I haven't read it. So I don't know anything else about him.
But he had two native friends hanging around, and I learned in the course of our conversation that Nephi is a word in their language, meaning "first person", as in the original person, or person of origin. So they're on to something there.
Rita has a baptismal date! She's going to be baptized on October 17, and I'm really excited! 
We also met this really cool guy Robert, who let us right in when we knocked on his door and we had a cool conversation about the church history, the temple, and the Book of Mormon. He accepted a copy of it and said he'll read it, because he is interested in what we believe, not in joining us. He doesn't know that that's kind of the same thing.
But I have to go. I'm overtime!
Love you guys!
Jason"

Missionary...Monday

"Hi everyone!

This has been a pretty good week! We did some service on Monday for a lady named Natalie, who I think I told you about but I'm not sure. She's Chinese and pretty cool. On Wednesday we gave her an invite to come to our Ward's fall social on Saturday.

Our investigator Rita came to the fall social too, and that was really good! She got along well with everyone there, and there was plenty to eat. Natalie came too, and brought a cake to give to just Elder Villarreal and I, at least I hope that's what the intent was, because we did take it home and not put it on the potluck table.

But it was really cool, because the way things turned out we had to go say hi to a member and her non-member friends right when Natalie showed up and neither of us could get away. She sat by herself at a table and Sister Comb (say Coombe,) came over and invited her over to her table. After that I was able to get away from the first group (leaving my companion to take the floor,) and then the ward mission leader came over and fellowshipped her, so it was awesome!
I am overtime, but I love you guys!
Jason"

For my non-Mormon (LDS) friends, a bit of Mormonese:
investigator = a person learning about (investigating) the LDS church
member = Mormon (a member of the LDS church)
non-member = not a member of the LDS church
fellowship = to befriend
But you probably guessed all of that. :-)

Jason comes home in five weeks! Arriving at Salt Lake International Airport at 2:24 p.m. on October 21! Yaaaayyy!!

Missionary Tuesday!

I was absent from my computer yesterday (Monday), but it turns out that was OK:

"Hi Mom! Sorry I didn't write yesterday, I forgot to tell you that this week P-day is on Tuesday.

This week's been pretty good. We didn't talk to enough people; we have a standard of 140 (non-members) every week minimum, and we only talked to 120. I don't feel justified, but it is offset a good amount because our only investigator accepted the invitation to come to church, and I think she liked it. She did disappear into the washroom really quickly after sacrament meeting, and then after she came out she said she had to go home. She did know about sunday school and Relief Society, but she said she had to go do something.

Levi North got a spot on the email topic because I've developed an interest in him lately, he's the pioneer era North line ancestor. I logged on to familysearch a couple weeks ago and it bothered to tell me that, and I became interested to know as much as I can about him. I can't really learn much about him on my mission, but I learned he was married twice and altogether appears to have about eighteen children. I'm not sure why there's not a lot more Norths running around. 

Brother Shumbusho is a man from the Congo that I met this week. (Brother Shumbusho isn't actually a member of the church, but I'm not supposed to give out first and last names.) He really likes the Book of Mormon (he's met missionaries before,) and the church, but he said he has three questions. The first is Why does he need to be baptized again? Second, Why do we regard the Book of Mormon and the Bible as equal? And the third is Why does the the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints have the only authority to baptize?

We were supposed to see him yesterday with answers, but he went to Vancouver. But he called us back last night and we'll probably plan for another day.

I also met this cool lady named Natalie. She's from China, came over to Canada when she was 22. She was studying to be a nurse, with hopes to bring medical education to the general world, but she got rear-ended a few years ago and has back problems now. We pulled a lot of weeds out of her yard for her, which she greatly appreciated, and we were able to introduce our ward mission leader to her, which was awesome. I think she has a lot of potential we may be able to nurture.

So that's basically how I'm doing. Pretty good. The sun is shining in Canada, at least metaphorically.
I love you guys!
Jason"

I will see him in six weeks! :-)