Monday, October 28, 2013

October 28, 2013

Hi.
Hey.
How are ya?
Hello.

This week... This week made me a little bit sore. It was great!

In Petawawa, the church building is right across the street from the heritage center, and tehy needed a little bit of help, and have asked the missionaries many time to help them, so we got a call asking us to head over and help them pull plants from the giant garden they have over there! So Wednesday we tossed on our suits and drove off to district study, then we striped ourselves down and hopped into jeans and sweater (It's starting to get freeking cold over here, I don't know about you guys....) and jogged over to pull plants. It was the easiest 30 minutes of service ever. I really don't know a whole bunch about gardening and stuff, but I appreciate so much more the great dark rich black soil we have in Edmonton. Everything here is just straight up sand. EVERYTHING! Petawawa and Pembroke are going through a small boom and so there are new houses being built everywhere. And beside every new house is a huge pile of sand, because that is what they dig out to pour the foundation and basement. THere is a spot where they are building probably 20 or 25 new houses, and it looks like a giant beach/desert. Everywhere is sand, with tons of huge piles of sand scattered around. I love dirt. So, pulling these plants was mega easy because the sand in the soil kept everything from getting to packed, and allthe plants just pulled right out. We were pulling sunflowers like it was nothing. Or maybe all my morning exercises have started to pay off and I am actually just jacked now. =)

Right after that, we got in the car and drove to Pembroke and helped and "investigator" family lay some Click Flooring in their basement. That was actually tons of fun! And way easy. Then they fed us. Barbecued steak. I love steak. And after a day of service, nothing satisfies like a nice steak and a baked potato. Mmmmm.... 

Thursday we Headed down to Renfrew to visit with our friends Tara and Mark, with their friends, and members, the Donohues! It was a great lesson, and we were able to commit her for baptism, on the 22nd of February. That was one of the most spiritual lessons Elder Wright or I had ever been in. She has 2 super cute daughters who are 4 and 6. And we found out that she is pregnant! She told us that she had actually asked her Boyfriend mark if he would be OK if she got baptised, and he was like, "OF COURSE I said yes!" They are so great. We have put off seeing them every week and will be seeing them every other week so that we can see Tara and Mark Together. He works shift work, so every other week he works evenings.

We also have an investigator from Colombia who came to church yesterday with her 6 year old son and 4 year old daughter and month and a half old daughter. She loved it, her Son loved it, and her daughter loved it, and her other daughter just slept through the whole thing (Rude... =P) Her son was asking if they could go every week. She is going to Lebanon in a few weeks though to get married to her husband, well, he will be her husband, but for now, it's just her fiance, who is Lebanese. We are just waiting to meet him, but he was having Visa problems, so he had to go back to Lebanon and wait for those all to get figured out. 

Saturday we helped a new family move into the ward. Guess who long it took to unload the whole truck? 35 minutes. All of those reading this right now who aren't members of this Church/Community who have helped someone move before, it that isn't motivation enough to join the church, I don't know what is! ;) 

This week coming up we have... Halloween for one!! I love that holiday, I think this year I'm going to go dressed up as a door-to-door Carpet Cleaner salesman. Trust me, my product is so good, it's like a 100% forgiveness policy. You spill something or make a mess, and BAM, it's like it never happened, and your perfect and clean again!* no refund or return, please be sure to get all appropriate knowledge and have performed all pre-requisite readings and experiments before entering into this sale contract.  And we have a zone meeting, Wednesday and we will be headed down for exchanges with Elder Umana and Elder Wilbur after that, so that will be tons of fun! But then, that's it! I'll let you all know about how everything went next week!

Elder O 'Henry' Viatt

October 21, 2013

Hello, eh!

So, this week we spent a lot of time with a member who is from the US, up working here because he makes gun ranges, and the military needs a new gun range. And he has adopted 'Eh' and uses it excessively. It's music to this Canadians ears! But more on that later!

This week was great! Tuesday we headed down to Renfrew, where we meet up with a less-active family and their friends, Tara and Mark, who we are teaching right now! Tara had an awesome experience with Prayer this last week! She had never really prayed before, but we had promised her that if she prayed and asked a question, she would recieve an answer. So we committed her to pray before we came by the next week. So she prayed about for her cat, who was very sick and wasn't really getting better. When we came over this tuesday, She told us about her prayer and how now her cat is doing much much better and how to her, she said "that's basically my answer!" we laughed and agreed wholeheartedly that yes, that was her answer and if she kept praying and asking, she would keep getting answers. We then talked about the Holy Ghost and how we can recognize it when it is in our lives. Brother Donohue, the member gave a fantastic example and explanation of why we as members of the church avoid addictive substances and behaviors, such as drugs, alcohol, smoking, and other, personal things that people are addicted to (For example, chocolate, Watching Lost, or World of Warcraft. =P ). He said, "have you ever tried to do something that required lots of concentration", like writing a test, or something artsy like painting, making jewelery or , or even just reading a book? Then, he said, "have you ever tried to do those after drinking a ton of water and having to pee SO BADLY? because even to this day, I can't do anything when I have to pee. my brain doesn't function, and all I can think about is "Where is the closest bathroom and how can I get there in less than 3.4 seconds". That, Tara, is why it is so hard to feel the spirit sometimes, because there are things in our lives that are like having to pee. And you can't do anything when you have to pee, let alone feel a small, subtle warmth or a nudge to the heart." I thought it was a super great way to explain that! I'm going to use that for the rest of my life!

After that, we decided to sleep over at a member who lives in Renfrew, because it's like an hour away from Pembroke and we had to be back in Renfrew the next day anyways. And our mission president has approved our sleeping in their basement already. So, since we were there Tuesday, and we had to attend district meeting wednesday, which normally we do at the churhc, which is an hour and 15 minutes away, we decided instead to head the opposite direction and we drove to Ottawa to attend in person! It was great,it being the first district meeting since transfers, and we got to meet the new missionaries in our district and zone! So, there is only one NEW new missionary in my zone. It is a sister! Her name is Sister Dick!! Hahaha, if you don't understand why that is so funny, go read Kadens last 3 emails home. =) I went and introduced myself with my companion, because both of our borhters know who she is, having been in the same zone in the MTC, and she saw my name tag and said "OHMYGOSH!" then quickly recovered and said "I know your brother, and your brother too!" it was funny. That was it for that though, we had a long drive to go back home. 

The rest of the week was mostly uneventful except the one time we drove past a less-actives house and they wern't home so we parked the car and made some phone calls. I was wearing my sunglasses because the sun was shining right in our eyes. Then, after a few minutes of making calls, I hear a tap on my window and look over to see a police badge! Woah! Window rolls down... Hello? The man was a member of the military police and was just looking out for his budy who was also a Military police officer, but who was out of town. He just wanted to make sure we weren't scoping out his house or something. =) That was my 2nd official run in with police on my mission. I'm going to try and keep the number at 2. But then we had a crazy fiasco Saturday and Sunday. Kind of. =) 

So, it all started with that announcement that Full time missionaries are supposed to attend adult session of stake conference. So, like I have said before, I live 2 hours away from the stake center and we were trying to catch a ride down with members so we wouldn't destroy our Kilometer limit. So, this one member, Brother Carlson from Texas (He is a contractor who builds gun ranges, this one is for the military and is up for a few months. He has a wife and 4 kids, but they are all back in Texas, he served a mission in Kentucky, so he just comes out and helps us with lessons and drives us around all the time, it's great!) Anyways, he offered to drive us down, and then get a hotel for us to stay in because he can get them for free sometimes from his work. Then we would go to Sunday session. Then head home. We were super pumped, but then he checked for a hotel and they were all booked up from the ones he could get for free. SO we were sad and bummed, but planned on have a sweet dinner with a less active instead of going to the Saturday session, and then we were going to go down Sunday morning with Bro. Carlson. Then, change of plans! Zone leaders call us up, and we have to go down Saturday whether we have a ride or not! So we call Brother Carlson to tell him that we will go Saturday night and stay at our District Leaders apartment, and thanks for the offer to drive us Sunday, but we will have to see him at conference Sunday. Well, Brother Carlson, being the sickly awesome/I-have-no-responsibilities-right-now-because-my-family-and-children-are-thousands-of-miles-away person that he is, offers to drive us down Saturday, then back home after conference Saturday night, and then BACK Sunday  and home again so we could save on Klicks! And it was OK because he has a rental car and his company pays for gas and they have given him the OK for Church things. So, we were like, uh, yeah! We need to save Klicks, and you are a blast to hang with, so we are totally in! So we spent WAY to much time in the car this week, and in total, made 3 trip to and from Ottawa! Saturday night we got back to our apartment around 11:30, in bed at like 11:45. Then up at 6 so we could be in the car by 7 to make it to conference and have good seats. We were dead Sunday night, and went to bed as soon as we finished planning and did everything we needed to be ready. It was a great session of conference though! the members who spoke did great jobs, and focused a whole ton on how members and missionaries can "Come together" as President Monson said in his conference talk! And Sunday, our mission president spoke also. It was just a great weekend!

But that is it for me this week! It is supposed to snow today. Please no! =P

Elder Austen Oviatt!
This is the room we stayed in in Renfrew! Those members are awesome!

On our way home we stopped at the "5 arch stone bridge" Apparently the only one in North America!

It spans the mighty Mississippi river. I have no idea if it's the same as the huge one way down south... 


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

October 14, 2013

Hey Hey Hey!!

So, Who remembers me telling them about Samantha? The investigator who was really close to baptism up here in Petawawa?

Probably no one. Because I didn't talk about her, because she didn't really exist...

Well, ready for a curve ball? She exists now! Actually, well, not even really, because she got baptized on Saturday!! 

"Wait, What? How can this be?" You ask? Good question. Let me tell you.  Samantha has been investigating the church since 2009. She has also been regularly attending church since 2010. She has never been baptized because she was living with her boyfriend. He wouldn't propose to her, and in order to be baptized she either had to be married and living with this guy, or not married, not living with this guy. So, years passed by and she kept attending church, and not being married or baptized. Then, her Guy had to go away for trainings (military stuff) for a few months, and she told him that they were going to try moving out. So, he moved out, and has been moved out for about a month. Then, Tuesday morning, we get a call from our Branch President, President Stevenson, and he said "Elder, Samantha is being baptised on Saturday. Can you help get everything ready?".....    Let me put it this way. UM...... YES!! So we had a baptism on Saturday! Yeah Surprise! We didn't know it was coming... But, with that, Elder Wright has been my most sucessful companion to date! We have had a baptism every transfer we were together! 

Transfer calls! Elder Wright and I are staying together for another 6 weeks! We are super pumped for it! 

Thanksgiving was delicious my friends. I loved it. We went to the Lavoies and had turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, Mashed potatoes, Sweet potatoes with marshmellows, double baked potatoes (FLIPPING DELICIOUS. It's like, those mini potatoes, baked (Or boiled, I don't remmber) then, you cut them in half, and scoop out the inside, mash it up, add in bacon, cheese, refill the potatoes, then toss a layer of cheese on top, and stick it in the Oven. I'm prity sure I ate half of them.), gravy, salad (bacon brussel sprouts and broccoli. Hot. Not that good), beets, and that was Sunday night. Tonight we another Dinner. I'm excited. And a few pounds fatter than I was yesterday afternoon. 

Hey, I love you all, but I have to go today!

This week should be good, we have a trip out to Renfrew to visit some families and teach some lessons and convert some masses, the usual. Ya know?

Elder 'Oh' Viatt!

Monday, October 7, 2013

October 7, 2013

Hey! Happy General Conference week!  Let me tell you about my week!

Tuesday we went down to Ottawa for our Zone meeting (we never to go Montreal). We had interviews with President Patrick. that was great. It's crazy how fast you can find such a deep love and respect for someone, especially when you see them once every  2 or 3 months! That was fun though. After the Zone meeting, we sat down with Us (Petawawa) And two other teams in the zone who are in small branches, and President and us Counseled together and talked about other ways to do the work up here. We came up with knocking on doors with a clip board in hand, and asking specifically if we can come back later, in appropriate clothing, and give them service. So far we haven't gotten a chance to see if it works, but we got clip boards, and are super excited to see if we can get through to people that way!

Speaking of service though, we went and helped out a Less-Active family whos friends we are teaching, because they are having a rough time, and their landlord is getting on their back about the property looking shabby. So we went and raked leaves for them. Which would have been fine and dandy, but they live on an acerage. We raked for 6 hours. I was actually worried about my shoulders falling off. Ok, maybe not really, but I was worried about my right shoulder, that I had my surgery on. And sure enough, I was really having troubles with it. I woke up and almost couldn't move it =) But it went away in just a few minutes. ANd it felt good the next day when I woke up. Thankfully.

And Honestly, that was about it for this week. I have no idea how, but this week flew by and somehow, it feels like we did absolutely nothing. It was actually a terrible feeling! Haha, I mean, we did stuff, but... I don't know how to explain it... I'm sure everyone kind of has an idea of what I'm talking about though... 

General Conference was great though! I love conference. Which is weird, because before my mission it was... less desirable... 8] But here I am now, looking forward to it so much! And man, I can't wait to celebrate conference with a plate of ribs... Actually, this session of conference was weird. I couldn't focus, I was trying to take notes and get something out of it, but it wasn't working so well. I liked what I DID hear, but I know I missed a ton. I'm going to devour the Conference Ensign when it arrives! 

Transfer calls are this saturday. Hard to believe, hey? Time is going faster than a greased up pig going down a slip-n-slide coated in butter. Now thats fast! 

I will try and have a more eventful week this week, I'm sorry! =)

Elder Austen Oviatt



1. This is the Noah's Ark restaurant. It is for a Christian summer camp, but the restaurant is open all year round. Elder Wright and I ARE going to stop next time we pass it.