Transfer calls!

Aye Aye Mate!

Stake Activity!

So first things first, this week was transfer calls. I will be staying here in the Wascana Ward, and I will be welcoming Elder Beacham. He came out as the same time as the missionary I trained....and that's about all that I know about him. He's spent all his time on the other side of the mission. So I haven't talked with him much at all. I'm super happy that I get to stay, but I'm really sad to be losing Elder Wilson. We've had a ton of fun together, and we really work well as a companionship. So it will be a hard adjustment. But I'm excited for him. He gets to open a new area in Manitoba. It should be a good change for both of us.

This week was crazy. I am so tired from everything that we got to do. At the start of the week, we drove out to Yorkton to go on exchanges with the elders there. During our exchange, we went out to a small town called Kamsack which is a part of the branch. We went out to some of the native reserves to find some less-active members. It was amazing! The people were so nice, and I could see a lot of growth occurring in that part of the branch. That night, a member invited us to stay the night at his house. Brother Blowers is the one who makes all the work in Kamsack possible. He sets up lessons for the elders, drives them around, and lets them stay in his home. He is the nicest and most thoughtful man I have ever met! It was an incredible experience to be in his home!

This week we also had a few service opportunities. We were asked to help out at the temple baptistry. It was so much fun. And it was also 10 times better because the Regnier's were the ones who were assigned to work there that morning! So I got to spend some time with them. While there, I had some powerful spiritual experiences. It was a great opportunity, and I'm thankful that we got asked to help out.

We also helped out with a stake activity on Saturday. It was a lot of work, and the members really needed our help. I was glad that we could help out and ease the burdens for them a little.....There's really no way to explain this without it being weird, so here it goes. We had to dress up as pirates. We were "instigating" the entertainment, but clearly we know what the truth is. And we were handing out the prizes and what not. Essentially, all eyes were not "supposed" to be on us, but seeing as how we were the only ones dressed up as pirates, we got a little bit of attention. It was a little embarrassing, but I'm glad we could help out... even if it was in a bit of an unusual way.

This week was a bit of a crazy one, but hopefully things can start settling down for us. I'd really like to be able to focus a bit more on those we are teaching. Our zone has split, so we won't have to be out of town as much. That will be a blessing as we work to build our area in the coming transfer. It should be excellent once the dust settles after transfers this week. So...yeah. That's all I've got. I love you all! Have a great week!!

Love,

Elder C. Lyons

Let it Snow!!!!!

So we woke up this morning to some snow. Pretty amazing. It's still lightly snowing, and it's starting to accumulate a bit. I love Canada! The winters here are crazy!

This week has been pretty busy. I sorta lost my mind progressively as the week went on, so this will probably make zero sense. But we started off our week by going out to a small town called Odessa.  A member family invited us out for thanksgiving. It was super good! Go figure, I ate myself into a stupor....cause that's what we're supposed to do. It was nice to be taken care of over the holiday weekend.

Tuesday was super fun. I went on exchanges with one of the missionaries in the ward. His name is Elder Barton. Basically, he is a carbon copy of Mark Parry. So what I'm saying is we should be companions at some point. We get along super great, and we just taught in unity with the drop of a hat. It was amazing! It was great to have a learning experience with him and to provide what training I could. We had a lot of good discussion, and it was great to get to know him better.

Wednesday morning, we got a random call to go help out the senior couple in Carry the Kettle ( I know Canadian names). Carry the Kettle is a native reserve. So they needed our help to get their trailer placed. Yeah, trailers! I'm basically a trailer trash missionary, so that's probably why they called me....OK they were desperate for help. We had to dig a trench underneath the trailer for the electricity line. I tell ya that was something else to get done! We had about 3 feet of space to get under there, and then we still had to dig. It was crazy, but I'm glad that we could help out.

We had some great experiences finding and teaching this week. I just wanted to share one amazing thing that happened yesterday. We've continued teaching Cory this week, and his lessons continue to be some of the most spiritual of my mission! During sacrament meeting, I noticed that he got up and left with tears in his eyes. While we were teaching him after church he explained why. He said that as he took the sacrament, he just had memories flood into his mind of when he was active. He said he felt an overwhelming sense of love, AND he felt his testimony coming back! He said that it was now clear what he had to do to get back on the path. The Spirit was so strong as he told us about his experience. It was incredible! I know that obedience is the key to allowing God's power to take effect in our lives! This was just another testimony builder to me that God will bless us when we do what he says. It's amazing how simple and profound the gospel truly is!

I love you all! Thanks for your love and support! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder C. Lyons

Turkey Day!

So as you may have gathered, today is Canadian Thanksgiving. This ward is amazing, so every day so far this weekend we have had a turkey supper! And we have one tonight. It's the best! I'm going to be so fat.

Anyhow, this week has been a little tough for us as far as teaching goes. We've had a ton of appointments fall through, and investigators have just not been committed. Or they have moved out of our area. Or they are just no where to be found. So we gave it one last focused effort to contact and teach everyone this week. Now, we've decided it's just time to build up our teaching pool. It's sad to have lost touch with so many great people, but we'll keep trying with them. However, our focus will be on finding those who are prepared to act.

Well, that being said, we had a great week working with a less-active member named Cory. He just moved from Winnipeg, and he's amazing. He works doing drywall, and he reminds me a ton of Hedley in Weyburn. Teaching him has been incredible. I've had some of the most spiritual lessons of my entire mission with him. He just wants to change, and his life has been pretty tough lately. Great guy. We really look forward to working with him.

We also had some good success working with members this week. We volunteered to help Bro Cardona with his landscaping. He was really impressed and put us right to work. It was super tough, but a great way to spend a morning. Bro Cardona is an amazing man, and it was a great opportunity to get to know his family. They fed us lunch after, and well, they're Filipino. So it was amazing! Bro Cardona's granddaughter, Gabriana is a doll! She is 3 years old, and she is so funny. Apparently, she needed to change out of her school clothes. So when we first came into the house, she came up to Elder Wilson and said, "I'm gonna to go to my room, and I'm gonna get naked!" Elder Wilson told her that he would be staying right where he was, so she could go do that. Then she told him, "sometimes I run around, and you can see my butt!" Ha ha, Sister Cardona (her mom) was the best. She just told her to make sure that she didn't tell the missionaries all of her secrets. They're an amazing family. They are very missionary minded and just love to serve and help others. It was great to be in their home.

That's pretty much all that I have to report for this week. It was a challenging but good week. I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder C. Lyons

Numb Bum!

So this week was absolutely insane. We only had a day and a half in our proselyting area. It was ridiculous. I've never sat on my butt more in my life. OK, that's a lie, but still. By bum was completely numb by the time it was all over!

So this week we started off with exchanges in Moose Jaw. We drove out Monday evening and spent the day there on Tuesday. It was so much fun. I was on exchanges with a brand new missionary from Germany! His name is E. Frenkel, and he is my new favorite! He is so amazing. It was like he had been out a year! I was doing his training in the morning, and he was basically thinking 'duh' the entire time. It was so fun teaching and talking with people with him. They would ask where I was from, then they would ask where he was from. They didn't care about me from that point on, ha ha. But he's an excellent teacher, so he's going to do a great job. Plus, he's got an excellent sense of humor. The man is obsessed with fruit loops. Apparently, they don't have those in Germany. It was even the terrible, cheap Walmart kind that leave a wax coating in your mouth and a terrible aftertaste that won't go away no matter how many times you brush your teeth! But the man loves them.

So we got back from Moose Jaw, and Wednesday was zone conference. So began the butt sitting. There was a lot of it, believe me! But it was very informative, and we learned a lot about what we can do in our area...if and when we have time.

I learned so much from General Conference! It was amazing to see how much was focused on missionary work. I have been inspired to be even better and to step up in areas where I am weak. One thing that I loved is something that Elder Scott said. He said that weakness is different than rebellion. I feel I have mixed those two up a ton on my mission. I beat myself up a lot for the weaknesses that I have thinking that I am turning completely from our rebelling against our Heavenly Father whom I love completely. But really, these weaknesses are just a part of our mortal experience. Something that brings opposition that, If I humble myself and turn to God, will only make me stronger. This is much different to the view that I had previously. And it has helped me to feel a lot better about the challenges that I have. Conference always makes me feel so good! I know that our Heavenly Father speaks to us today! I love you all and thank you for listening to my ranting each week! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder C. Lyons

Fiesta!

This week was a bit of a slow one as far as teaching goes. We had a lot to deal with, but that's no excuse. Elder Wilson and I have talked a lot about it. And we both feel that we are better than we've ever been on our missions. We've really been working hard, and my desire to serve is SO high right now! It's just been a little tough to fit everything in with all the responsibilities that we have.

We were able to go on exchanges this week in Swift current. I love that place! It was just pouring the entire time! We were so drenched. I was with a relatively new missionary named Elder Binning. He's a champ. We had a good time working. We were knocking a few doors, and we talked with this really nice lady. It seemed like an average contact to me, but after we were walking away E. Binning said, "Well that was the longest I've ever been able to talk with someone." He was pretty excited. That's my favorite thing about exchanges, helping missionaries do things that they don't even think are possible. It's the best!

Anyways, our investigators have insane lives, so meeting with them has been a challenge. But we have had some success this week working with members. We've really been making that a focus lately. It's really hard for both of us because we are the 'old school' type missionaries who like to knock on doors and let the members do their own thing. But there's a better way. We've really been making an effort to get to know members and see how we can help them to do  missionary work. Mostly we've just taught members as part of meal appointments. As a positive side note, we got fed Mexican food this week! Twice! It was so good. The Wood's are an amazing family. They are a young family, and they made us fajitas. And the Remington's are also a young family, and they made us Cafe Rio burritos.. yeah! It's been so much fun getting to know them and seeing how we can better work together.

This next week is going to be very busy. We are going to Moose Jaw tonight, and we will be there all day tomorrow. And Wednesday is zone conference. And then it's general conference. I'm excited for all of it, but I just might lose my mind!

I love you all! Thanks so much for your support! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder C. Lyons