Adventures in the City

Well I've almost been here for a whole week. Crazy! But even though I'm still trying to get used to everything I'm LOVING it. Each day we are doing better on the subways and bus systems. Sometimes it takes a while to get everywhere but there are always plenty of people to talk to about the gospel. It's funny though...some people on the bus really don't like us. (They immediately turn to their phones, put earphones in, etc) But most people are nice. Toronto is very very diverse. 

I. Love. It.

My companion actually did go to BYU-H. We were going at the same time last Fall...but I never saw her. She is awesome though. She always wants to improve and become better and I love that.I just sometimes feel very inadequate. I'm trying my best but I'm not perfect...especially in a new city.  But we are definitely growing together.

We met with a previous investigator who is awesome. Last week we taught him the Word of Wisdom...in a coffee shop...while he was drinking coffee...haha. Get this though. Before the lesson he said, "Well everyone drinks coffee that's crazy!" And he didn't seem convinced. But after the lesson he said that he'd get off coffee and switch to herbal tea. !!!!! He came to church yesterday with us and he loved testimony meeting. He said the Book of Mormon is great and that he had gone 2 days without coffee. He is progressing and is looking to get baptized. So happy and excited for him! We meet him tomorrow.

We also have been teaching a former investigator...the last time the elders taught him was in May so it's been a while. We taught him Saturday and yesterday and have been reviewing with him the first lesson. He seems open and he really listens. We are excited to see what happens.  

And that's not all. We are meeting with some new investigators and old investigators this week. There is so much work to do here. It's very exciting and busy and I love it! I hope that we can keep working and finding people. It's really great.

My district is just English. But in our zone we have Portuguese Elders, Spanish Hermanas, and Farsi Elders. So we pretty much have it all here in Toronto. We are still teaching English and it is very fun.

Love you!

"Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come." (D&C 68:6)

Oh by the way I had a Christy moment the other day. I was running in the morning with my comp...and I ran into a hole and twisted my ankle. It's not too bad...just a little swollen but I've still managed to walk on it all day. haha but it was SUPER EMBARRASSING!!!!

The Reaping (Transfer Day)

Three words: I'm in Toronto. Holy Comoly! Okay so last Sunday was Transfer Day and I was like, "I'm going to stay here for seven months!" And I was completely fine with it. I wasn't worried about training or anything because I knew that I knew the area and the investigators so it was fine.

Transfer calls came.

President: "Sister Ogden, I'll start with you. You are going to be moving to Toronto....you are going to be training and whitewashing." (Meaning there are NO experienced old missionaries in the area)

Me: "Yayy!" (Trying to hide away all the fears that suddenly rose to the surface)

President: “Now you are going to love it. You will need to know the bus and subway system but you'll get it eventually. But the work there is exploding so you are going to be great.”

Man...I'm guessing the Lord is helping me grow but it's been CRAZY. I have a new trainee and guess who it is? A sister from BYU-H! haha I don't remember her but she is super nice...I just feel bad because sometimes I have no clue what I am doing.

Yesterday we went to the church and we taught ESL with our district. (English classes for those who aren't fluent in English) I still didn't know what I was doing but it was really fun. Our district is really cool. There are a lot of investigators here in Toronto but I'm trying to figure out where they are and we have been trying to meet with them. We are going to be so busy trying to see everyone and get to know the area. Yikes.

It's been an adventure but the Lord has really taken care of me. We have made it okay everywhere so far so that's good. I'm trying my best but sometimes it's like I have so much to do I don't know where to start. But there is a lot of potential here so I can't wait to see how it grows. It puts a lot of pressure on me because I'm trying to take care of the area while training a brand new missionary. Lord is going to provide a way though! I can't wait for the time when everything will start to make sense. But it just brings me back to how if the church wasn't true, missionaries would have failed years ago. The Lord isn't going to let me fail. I'm just going to try my best and that's all He asks.

Canada Day was my last day in my other area. It was so fun. Our ward had a picnic. So there was good food and it was great seeing everyone. But it was HARD to say goodbye to everyone. Tough tough TOUGH. I didn't realized how I loved that place but I guess it's easy because I've been there since Feb. But I know my former comp is going to do so great. She is awesome and I feel like the last couple of weeks she has grown a lot.

Canada Day was fun. There was a huge block party by the Harbor...but we obviously couldn't go. And we went to a members and they fed us dinner.They were really nice.

Sorry, I dialed the wrong country...

The missionary broadcast was very very very awesome! My comp and I are pretty amped up. There's A LOT of work to be done with the members. I was thinking of you guys watching the broadcast. Yeah I'm really excited about the changes. I don't know the details yet especially about the internet and chapels and such. But I guess I'll let you know when I find out. I KNOW that our church leaders are very inspired. These changes are going to help A LOT. I got a little teary eyed in parts too. I got excited when President Monson was talking about Canada. I was just thinking over and over again, "yup, that's where I am now! :)"  We had watched the broadcast in our chapel and it was sweet because after the meeting all the members flocked over to us. And we've been getting texts and such from members offering help. I am so so so so SO excited to work with the members more.. I have a question for you: what are YOU going to do now?

A week from today is Canada Day! (It's like Independance Day but in Canada) It's going to be interesting...I've never celebrated Canada Day before. haha.

Last P-day I went bowling with our district for the first time. :) It was super fun! I won the first game with 95 points. haha. But then I DIED the next game. It was really fun to get to know my district. I can't believe that this is the last week of the transfer. AHHHH! I hate waiting for the transfer calls on Sunday because it puts me on edge and you have to wait..and wait...and wait. I don't mind if I stay or go. I love it here and I know there is work to be done. But change of scenery would also be nice. But we will see. I'll go where the Lord needs me, and I won't argue with that.

Last Saturday was awesome. We were teaching an investigator and all of a sudden she paused. And she put a hand to her heart and she told us, "Sorry, I just felt something....like warm and comfort." :) I hope she can continue to feel that.

So our investigators are actually teaching us a lot. I learned quite a lot the last time we met with one guy. Did you know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Jews and that he was killed by Jews? Our investigator was trying to convince us of that. We kept trying to explain, but he wouldn't budge. Yeah...it was a little frustrating.

 A couple nights ago we were trying to call this member who we had NO IDEA who she was.  I dialed the number and someone answered and they were speaking Spanish. I was asking for the woman in my broken Spanish. I was like...."Soy misionera de la iglesia de jesuchristo de los santos de los ultimos dias.” But they kept speaking Spanish so I just hung up awkwardly. Later on, the member calls us and says, "My mom called me from Mexico and told me you were looking for me." So I had called Mexico. Yup.

Anyways, one last thing: so this last week it seemed like everyone we taught was arguing with us, or didn't think the Book of Mormon was evidence enough that our message was true. It was pretty brutal.. By the end of the week I was getting a little discouraged. But yesterday I feel like God helped me a lot. The broadcast really lifted my spirits...and it was what Elder Perry or Elder Nelson said about how the work can't stop from progressing. If we try our hardest, God will NOT let us fail. I felt a comfort and peace and knew that God knew that I was trying. Sometimes I feel like my best isn't enough but last night I finally felt like it had been. The words of the apostles really touched me and I know that they are true servants of the Lord.

I hope that you guys continue in your missionary work.

My companion is awesome. When I get super stressed she calms me down so it's nice to have someone to be there for you. She is very sincere and always is striving to better and she is very motivated to do the work. She is AWESOME!

It is pretty humid and hot as of late. I can't complain...but it is like a RAINFOREST here. haha. It's a lot warmer than Hawaii so you get sticky and gross by the end of the day. Our apartment has a nice air conditioning system though so it feels really nice inside. Outside...you just get used to it. 

I'm getting a nice farmers tan though...I have some REALLY cute tan lines from my shoes with the straps! 

A few pics

 New Comp!

The Lake

"I Will Try..."

Hope you had a great Memorial Day! We don't have Memorial Day here...but last week we did Victoria Day which is kinda the same thing I guess. Tuesday we are going to be helping a nonmember with her yardwork. So don't think I'm off the hook for working in the yard. :)

Well we have a new investigator. Remember the lesson I was going to teach when I wrote you last week? That was him! We walked into him and talked to him for like 15 min and he told us we could come back. So we came and taught him. It was quite a miracle. Because he is a single man we need members. We spent hours and hours asking EVERYONE to come and teach him with us. No one could because they were so busy. Our old mission leader and his wife said that they couldn't unless their tennis match got canceled. So...we got so desperate we ended up praying that it would rain so they could come with us. haha But it was 30 min before our appointment they called and for 2 min it had rained and because of that the match was cancelled. They were able to come!!!! It was pretty awesome. The lesson went well but he kept talking and talking so it was like an hour and a half! We met with him the second time yesterday and he had already read 50 pgs of the Book of Mormon. But he is a sweet man who lives alone. He always tells us to come back which is nice. I'll never forget what he told me after our first visit: "I let you come back because when you talked to me on the street, I saw an angel in front of me." 

Since then we have had trouble getting in our appointments with our investigators. Everyone here is so busy. But God will provide a way if it is His will. I know that anything is possible with the Lord and miracles happen. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Good news: no more fender benders! But I have to call the head of vehicles! :*( But I don't think it will be too big of a deal...hopefully. My new comp, is so funny. She is so energetic and positive and loving. She is willing to work and she doesn't get scared to go teaching or talking to people. She always has a smile on her face, even when appointments bomb. So I'm so lucky to be her companion. I def don't feel her trainer though! She is training ME! We both pretty much don't know what we are doing, but we are learning from trial and error. We have to really rely on the Lord.

Yes, I am getting to know the ward members better. I know most of them and they are all so super nice. Like I said before we get fed for dinner almost every night. The ward takes care of me so much.

Here's my fav quote right now:

" 'I cannot' never accomplished anything....'I will try' has wrought wonder!"

Transfers and Changes and Miracles (oh my)

Last Sunday we received our transfer calls. I thought that I was going to be leaving and my comp  was going to be staying here. We got the call and...she got transferred. I'm going to miss her a lot! So the APs told me I was going to stay here and train a sister who has been out for 6 weeks already. !!!! I was super shocked. Beforehand I kept telling myself, "There's no way that I'm training let alone be senior companion because I haven’t had enough experience." WRONG! haha I remember at first I was shocked, excited, but then it hit me and I was so nervous.

But man the Lord has given me SO much strength. The night of the transfers it was kinda funny...I WANTED to cry but I don't think the Lord would let me. I was so nervous. (I still am a little bit) My new companion is awesome. It's weird because she is a year older than me and I'm training her. She also plays rugby and she is super sweet and fun. I'm so excited to serve with her.

The day before transfers, I practiced driving because I'm now the new designated driver. This is sooooo embarrassing. The first time I got in the car I backed up and I wasn't watching the front...I scraped the front of the car against a stone pillar. ......Yup.....luckily it didn't dent the car but there's a scratch on it. ugh how embarrassing. But I'm still driving and I haven't crashed or had another accident so that is good.

Transfer day was yesterday and what a day. Well my comp and I tried to drive to where we were going to make the transfer. And because we didn't have a GPS we got super lost! We went all the way to downtown Toronto. But eventually we made it. There were a ton of missionaries...there are a lot of changes in transfers. I said goodbye to my comp. It's pretty sad saying goodbye. I miss her...she was such a good example to me and she was so loving. But I picked up my new comp and away we went.

I was so so so so so so so so nervous. I felt very very inadequate. I don't understand why the Lord thought I was capable to train. But I have felt so.much.strength. I have seen so many blessings. I have felt the spirit and I have already learned and have grown in so many ways. I seriously feel a big difference from when I wasn't a trainer/senior comp. I feel very very different. I know I have so many weaknesses but I guess God knows that. It's cool because I know that whatever happens, as long as I try my best God will take care of the rest. I'm so far from perfect but as long as I have the spirit and be obedient everything will work out.

It was a FULL day yesterday. But there were a lot of miracles. We tracted in a neighborhood and we got yelled at a lot. But there was one last door with a basketball hoop and I was like, "let's do this house it has a basketball hoop so it should be a good one." We did and we got a potential investigator out of it. We couldn't teach him but he told us to come back on the weekends. We had a dinner appointment in another city. On the way I decided to stop and visit some investigators we haven’t seen for a long time. They weren't home. So then we decided to tract to the house by them..no one was home. So we decided to leave. AS WE WERE LEAVING THE PARKING LOT we saw our investigators pull in to the driveway. !!!!!!! We got in and taught them about faith and read Alma 32 and committed them to read the Book of Mormon. Thank goodness for the spirit!  But they have forgotten a lot so we are thinking we need to start and go back to square 1 with them. We are meeting with them Friday again! Woohoo! Then we went to our dinner appointment and then came back to our town and talked to people on the street for a bit. But guess who we walked into on our way home. Another investigator! We talked to him but he's really really busy. But we're inviting him to church so hopefully he comes. But seriously of all people we ran into him!

Then we called a potential investigator and we have an appointment with him today. Wish us luck!

I'm HOPING we get a mission leader this Sunday. Oh I really hope and pray that we can get one. Here's some words of wisdom: ward mission leaders make a BIG difference.