Crazy Rain!

So the weather this week has been really crazy! It's been raining SO much! On Tuesday, we thought we were low on our allotted k's, so we were walking. It was just pouring! We got soaked! Unfortunately, we found out it was for no reason cause we're not low on k's at all! Yeah, there's been several instances so far this transfer that have made me feel really stupid! We even were walking all over on Thursday. We were exhausted!

We had specialized training in Saskatoon this Wednesday, so we drove up on Tuesday evening. The training as all about finding. It kinda made me feel like dirt cause I'm really not confident in my finding abilities. Of course during practice, Pres. and Sis Paulson were evaluating Elder Call and I. Yeah...I felt stupid! But I'm starting to see a little progress, so there's hope. I was also able to see Elder Zohner again. That was pretty fun!

We went on exchanges with the assistants Tuesday morning, and we found a new investigator! His name is Shane. He's into philosophy, so he's a thinker. He's really solid. However, he may be a ysa turnover. Oh, well.

I also went on exchanges on Saturday with the zone leaders. I stayed in their area, so I went street contacting for the first time. I was absolutely terrified! The first couple contacts were really rocky, but afterwards, it went better than I thought it could. I actually like it more than tracting. I learned a bunch about finding, so it was really helpful.

It was also Stake Conference this weekend. 4 other elders and I had to sing at the adult session on Sat night. I wasn't really nervous at all because of the size of the group (both our singing group and how small the audience was!). Plus I just had to sing melody. I think it actually sounded pretty good! We sang 'Be Still my Soul'... A Capella. Yeah.

Kerry's baptismal interview is coming up. She's pretty funny. She likes to tease, but I feel like she's ready. Elder Call was really excited cause yesterday she said that she had forgotten the questions she had when they first started teaching her. I guess she had some pretty major concerns about like polygamy and stuff. So, yeah, I'm glad I didn't have to deal with that. I guess Elder Call and Elder Brower just shelved her concerns, and she resolved them herself! That's the way it's supposed to be.

So for the food section, we ate at Wing World in Saskatoon. Yeah, I ate another deep fried mars bar. I had to eat a celery stick to get out of the food coma! And at a meal appointment yesterday, I had some killer hot sauce! It was called "Colon Blow". It was pretty bad. It doesn't help that my tolerance is way low cause there's zero spicy food in Canada.

Well, I love you all! I hope that everyone has a fantastic week!

Love,
Elder C. Lyons

Greenie Power! 5/21/12

So it sounds like Jason's had a pretty crazy week. When did he end up in the hospital? He's supposed to be released today? I would like to be kept up on whether or not he decided to have more tests done. Poor guy.

This week has been really crazy. The Wascana area doesn't have very many steady investigators, at least not as many as Prince Albert. We matched the largest number of lessons Elder Call has ever seen in the area this week. Mostly cause we're working like crazy. It's the second lowest total lessons I've had in a week, but this is also the hardest I've ever worked just to have lessons. So basically what I'm getting at is we've done an insane amount of tracting! And it's been pretty hot. I don't do well in the heat. So that combined with both of us being new equals crazy tracting experiences!

I think probably the funniest was on Thursday. We had been tracting for about two and a half hours straight. Also, we had tracted for 2 hours in the morning. That's a lot of tracting! So it was about 80 or 90 degrees, and I was dehydrated! A bunch of people were saying no. The nicest person we talked to was a 94 year old lady, but bless her heart, I doubt she completely knew what was going on. So this combined with a bunch of other stuff is the preface to this door contact. I walked up to the door and knocked, and I nice looking old man answered. He asked, "You Mormons?" He seemed pretty friendly, so I smiled and answered, "Yep, we are!" "So why don't you go back to Utah then?!" he snapped. Without even thinking I said, "Actually, I'm from Idaho." He didn't really know what to say to that. So the conversation ended somehow (I can't really remember how), and we left. Elder Call was really trying hard not to laugh, but basically we both lost it afterwards.

Friday and Saturday we really started to see some blessings come. After spending most of our time this week tracting, we are starting to see the potentials come. It's crazy how that works. After we give it everything we've got, to the point we're about to lose it, that's when Heavenly Father begins to bless us. And, on top of that, I'm not really afraid to tract anymore! Elder Call and I are actually starting to really enjoy it!

So a little about Elder Call. He is the oldest in his family with 2 little sisters and 2 little brothers and 1 on the way. He is from West Haven, Utah (just outside of Ogden). Basically, combine Ben Moore and Alan Bloxham and you get Elder Call. I didn't think that it was possible, but that's the best way to describe him. We get along great! We both can joke around and stuff. Which is great cause there's sort of a lot of pressure on us. He's pretty funny and also a great missionary. He's incredibly diligent and always wants to do what's right. It's fantastic serving with him.

A little about Regina. I've had so many meal appointments. It's ridiculous. I'm gonna get huge! Anyways, Wascana is a bigger ward than Prince Albert, so I don't think I'll get to know the ward as well. Unless I'm here for a while. This seems like it's a really well off area. Like we got taken out to dinner by this couple who the guy works as a radiologist. I don't know. It's crazy. Basically, I look around at church and nearly everyone has an iPad or smart phones and stuff. Regina is the second largest city in Saskatchewan, but it's still a pretty small town. We don't really tract in the "rich area" but the "not rich area" is basically like the rich areas of Prince Albert, but you don't know what that means....oh well.

I'm running out of things to write. Oh! We do have 1 baptismal date named Kerry. We had a great lesson with her yesterday. Her baptism is scheduled for the 16th of June, and we think she'll make it. Yeah....I hope all is well at home. I love you all!

Love,
Elder C. Lyons

Craziness!

       Alright, so first off it was great to talk to all of you yesterday! It sounds like you are all doing very well! It was no small miracle that we made it to the apartment to call cause our low fuel light came on when we were half way across town! Pretty crazy!

Elder Call is a great missionary. We're both just eager to work. The only problem is we keep getting lost! We get lost at least twice a day. On Thursday, we got lost for at least 20 minutes looking for some street I'm convinced doesn't even exist! Needless to say, it's been a very exciting past few days! I think this transfer will be a tremendous learning opportunity for both of us. Elder Call's really laid back, so we are able to really bounce ideas off each other and work together.

I'm sorry I don't really have any pictures of Regina yet. I'll be sure to send some by next week. I also still have no clue what or address is. I'll work on that, too. I'm sorry Dad, I'm not sure how to describe the size of Regina. It seems like a pretty big city, huge compared to PA. It has some tall buildings and a university. Mostly, the best comparison I have is the amount of people. I'm pretty sure I've talked to more people in the last few days than I did all transfer. So, yeah, Regina's a pretty big city. It's the capital of Saskatchewan, and the second largest city in the province. However, this province has a very low population!

P-day activity was fun. We played basketball and football. Turns out I'm still terrible at both, so nothings changed. However, the only difference is now I actually get SO tired. I'm too fat to do physical activity.

Umm...the drive to Regina was as terrible as I remembered. It was pretty sad saying goodbye to PA investigators and members. It was especially sad saying bye to Rob. He's changed so much, and I will miss seeing him continue to make changes. But I will get to see the people of Regina making changes, so it's all good.

Hopefully, this week will be a good one for all of you. I love you lots!

Love,
Elder C. Lyons

Transfering

Well, first off, I will be transferring to Regina! I've only been
there twice. Once on the way to PA, and the second time was for zone
conference. It seems like a great place, though. I will be serving
with Elder Call who has only been out 1 transfer more than me....yeah.
So when President called us about transfers he said,"now I know you're
both young, but you'll just have to show us how it's done, alright?"
Okay, President, if you say so. Elder Call and I will be co-senior
companions, yeah! The clueless leading the clueless. No, I'm sure
Elder Call knows what he's doing. Anyways, the best part is that I'll
be by the temple! And there will actually be other missionaries close
by, so I can go to p-day activities! Don't get me wrong, PA's great!
But being outlying also has it's downsides. Mostly, I'm just super
excited to go to the temple!

Mom, you're talk sounds incredible! I can see why President Cambell
chose you! Way to go!

Wow! I can't believe it's already May! Weird! Well, we haven't been
able to do very much cause Elder Zohner's been sick. Let's just say I
got some good reading in this week. I wish we would have gotten the
new Ensign, that would've been nice.

I've said some goodbye's. I had one last meal appointment at the
Wright's and the McCallum's. The Wright's just sent their son to the
MTC. They're a riot! They have little chickens, and we got to see
them. One of the Wright girls, her name is Andie, she kinda reminds me
of Rachel, anyways, she asked what chickens they were going to eat.
Bro Wright without a second of thought answered, "the fat ones of
course!" It was hilarious! We ate a buch of bannock (fry bread) at the
McCallum's. It was great. I'm going to miss natives. :( By the way the
McCallum's came to church! That was exciting! They hadn't been in
forever. It was great to see them! I guess their family had been
praying to see if God really wanted them to go to church. Then we
called to see if they needed a ride to church. Pretty neat!

I can't wait to talk to all of you on Mother's Day! I love you so
much, and I hope you have a great week. I have no idea when I'll be
calling, but we're in the same time zone, that's nice. I'll let you
know what my new address is when I find out. Have a great week.

Love,
Elder C. Lyons

Whoa! 4/30/12!

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL!!!...on Friday. You're going to be a
teenager. Gross! Don't worry, I'm a teenager, too.

I think it's great that Ryan's going to Africa. I'm still kinda geekin
out about it. Ryan, you should look up 'Israel, Israel God is Calling'
by Alex Boye. It will probably be your African theme song!

This transfer has completely flown by! I don't even know where the
time has gone. Oh, before I forget, I got your letter today, Mom.
Thanks! I love the picture, too. You guys are "goofy". Ha ha, get it?
Anyways...what was I talking about. Oh yeah, I can't believe I already
get to talk to you guys in a couple of weeks. So far I have no idea
what the plans are for the call. I have to say, I am terrified to end
training. Mostly cause it's one step closer to training someone else.
Yikes.

Let's see...what on earth happened this week? I've sorta been sick. I
have one of those zap your energy colds, so that's been no fun. Oh, we
taught Mary Ann again. We gave her a Tagalog Book of Mormon. Sometimes
she doesn't completely understand English, but she understands the
Spirit! She accepted the invitation to get baptized! Woo hoo! Now she
just needs to get off work, so she can come to church. She is a
fantastic lady!

What else...I got to listen to the area authority of central Canada.
That was interesting. One day, we get a call from the zone leaders,
"hey Elder Terrence C. Smith wants to meet with you and the Saskatoon
missionaries." So our first thoughts were, 'look I'm workin as hard as
I can. I don't really want to get slammed right now!' But the first
words out of Elder Smith's mouth were, "I'm not here to critique you."
Whoo hoo, I don't have to feel like a pile! Well, it was a great
meeting. We talked about the difference of being convinced and
converted and true conversion. Good stuff. Very enlightening.

We did a bunch of traveling this week. We had exchanges in Saskatoon,
the meeting in Saskatoon, and we went to church in the Melfort branch.
(We have an investigator in Melfort.) Haha, yeah church was funny. We
had to give talks, and the branch was so grateful to hear someone new
speak! I think they might have 10 people. It was crazy!

Well....I can't really remember anything else. I'm glad all is well,
and Natalie is married? Weird! our family is old. I hope little
Natters gets feeling better! Love you all!

Love,
Elder Christopher Lyons

Baptism!!

Shicona Thomas and parents

Elder Zohner and Shicona

Me at an Elk Farm.  Going for the oriental tourist look!

So turns out setting up a baptism is a ton of work! I'm exhausted! But
seeing Shicona's smile as she came up out of the water made it all
worth it!

Just to remind y'all. The Thomas family lives just outside of PA.
Sister Thomas is a member, but Brother Thomas is not....yet. Yeah,
basically we hope he decides he wants to hear the discussions more
because he was very encouraging for Shicona, but he wasn't able to be
at most of the lessons cause he works 2 weeks on 1 week off. Wow! that
was a long sentence! Anyways, he's pretty much a champ! They have 2
kids: Tayven and Shicona. One day Sister Thomas called the church and
said that she wanted her kids to be baptized. Tayven is only 7, but
Shicona is 11. So we taught the lessons directed towards Shicona, but
it was really for the whole family!

We basically were just scrambling the entire week to make sure
interviews, talks, musical numbers, and all that stuff was set up. It
was wild! I was a nervous wreck. I just hoped that the family was
ready, and that it would be a good experience for them. Oh, man! It
was bad! And then, they asked me Sunday to be the one to confirm
Shicona. I was thankful for the opportunity, but I was just praying it
wouldn't be a train wreck! Hopefully, it went well.

Oh, we did go to President Fowler's to teach a ward member's friend.
Mary Ann is from the Philippines. She seems really interested. That
could turn out really well. We'll see if we can meet with her again
this week.

While we were there, we did get a tour of the elk farm. There's
another Canadian stereotype for ya. There's reindeer in people's
backyards! ha ha....anyways, that's what the pictures are from. It was
pretty interesting.

Well....I pretty much can't remember anything else that happened last
week. I sure love you all. I hope you have a great week.

Love,
Elder Christopher Lyons

Zone Conference!

So this weekend was my first zone conference. We had to travel to
Regina, and we almost got to go to the temple. The first counselor in
the mission presidency, President Fowler, lives in PA, and he stayed
with someone in the temple presidency in Regina. President Fowler was
our ride down, and he was meeting his host after a temple session. So
we almost got to go to the temple with him, but no dice. Oh well, it
was worth a try.

Zone Conference was incredible! I learned so much! Basically, we need
to be studying Preach my Gospel way more! haha, I even got chosen "at
random" to give a talk about personal and companion study. We had
gotten a text about how all missionaries were supposed to prepare a
3-5 minute talk. I had no clue what on earth the zone leaders were
talking about. After all it's my first zone conference! Fortunately, I
was the last of 3 missionaries to speak. The Elder's talk before me
was in a nutshell, "Well, Elder Ronald shared some great insights, and
I'm sure that Elder Lyons will have some great insights; so I don't
have much to add." Yeah, no pressure. No worries, I was only preparing
my talk on the way up to the pulpit. No big deal. President's just
gonna judge every single word that comes out of my mouth. No, I wasn't
nervous. It was only 3-5 minutes. I'm just always the lucky one that
gets chosen for things like that.

Interviews were great. President and Sister Paulson are amazing! My
interview with President was really short. Pretty much all he said
was, "I enjoyed your talk. Get ready to train." What?! I know! I'm not
even done BEING trained! I'm still green! But out of the about 56
missionaries that will be out in August over 20 of them will be in
training. Yeah, I bet President's pretty nervous right now. But it's
okay. He'll just hand off the green mission to a green mission
president. haha! The mission's basically getting purged or something!

You may have guessed, but PA is sort of an outlying area. I don't know
very many missionaries, so it was pretty great to meet all the
missionaries in the zone! Great weekend!

Well...we are going to have a baptism this weekend! The baptismal
interview is tomorrow. Hopefully it goes well! Shicona Thomas is 11.
Her Mom called the church one day and asked if her kids could get
baptized. Tayven is 7, but we've been teaching Shicona since I came to
PA. Sister Thomas is a member, but she's lived on reserves and has not
been able to go to church for most of her life. Brother Thomas is not
a member, but basically, he's a champ. He just retired from RCMP.
They're just a golden family! I just love to go to their home!
Hopefully, the baptism will happen. But it will be a crazy week of
planning and hammering out the dents! Pretty exciting!

I love you all! Good luck on your missions Dallin and Alex! Pretty
sure Alex is going to the same mission as Alan. I hope everyone has a
great week!

Love,
Elder Christopher Lyons