Week 69 - Christmas In Kentville

Hi Everybody!

I don't have much time this week. But I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!!!

I'll update you more next week, but so far my time spent in Kentville has been awesome! We have an investigator named Edward. He's a lonely, older guy. He's progressing, but he's afraid that if he joins the church, he'll lose the friends he has in his current church. Still, we're hoping to get him baptized this transfer!

Love you all! Have a good week.

--

Elder Haslam

Week 68 - Transfer to Kentville, NS

Hi!!!

This week was great! I found out that I'm getting transferred to Kentville, NS. I'm excited!!! I've now hit zone bingo, which means I've served in every zone in the mission thus far. I just need to serve in Maine and Prince Edward Island to hit province/state bingo. 

I am a bit sad to leave Amherst. I've got some good buddies here. Still, it'll be a nice change. Kentville is awesome because there's a university in my area, so we get to work with a lot of YSAs and fun things like that. 

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas. Remember that Christmas is the time that we celebrate our salvation and redemption. That should be at the forefront of our minds as we celebrate. 

Hope everyone has a great holiday! Love you all!!

-- 

Elder Haslam

I boiled broccoli this week and then I drank the water. It was gross.

At Mission Office During Transfer to Kentville

Week 67 - #LightTheWorld

Hey Everyone!!

This week's gone by pretty fast.

First off, good news! We have two new investigators!! Their names are Alex and Starr, and they are a young, unmarried couple. They have an 8 month old son. We've taught them a couple times this week, and they're doing well. They want to learn more about the gospel, and we're hoping they can make it to church this week. So we're pretty stoked about that!!

We've also been going caroling a bit this week to advertise #LightTheWorld. We've made sooo many old ladies cry haha. It's been awesome. 

Also, one of the LA (less active) families I've been working with since I got to Amherst came to church this week! It was so great to see them there. It made my week. Hopefully they keep on coming!!!! 

All in all, it was a good week. I hope everyone takes some time to ponder the true reason we celebrate Christmas. I've been pondering that a lot lately. I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ. For his life, his death, and his resurrection. He loves us so much, and I hope that we all take some time each day to develop our love for him--not just this season, but during the rest of our lives.

Have a good week!

-- 

Elder Haslam

#LightTheWorld

Week 66 - Driving to America

Hi Everyone!! 

I don't have too much time this week, so I'll be fast!

We did a lot of finding this week, and we talked to a lot of really nice people so that was a blessing. Hopefully we can find someone new to teach this week. 

I got to drive to America on Friday!!! Elder Foy had a dentist appointment, so we drove 4.5 hours to Presque Isle, Maine and all the way back. That was a looonnng day though.

Thanks for all your support. I love you all.

Elder Haslam

Week 65 - The Moncton Christmas Parade

Hello Everyone!

This week was a good one! We weren't able to meet with our investigator Danielle, sadly. We'll get her this week though!

We went on exchanges with the Moncton Elders this week. That was fun! There's an Arby's in Moncton, so I got to have Arby's for the first time in over a year. It was really good.

Friday we helped one of our recent converts, Carol, set up her Christmas tree. She bought it for 9 dollars from this yard sale, and it was super sketchy. I thought a possum was going to fly out of it or something. 

Saturday we walked in the Moncton parade!! This parade was huge!!! There were so many people!! It was televised too. The Moncton elders got a media referral a couple days after it, and we think it was because of the advertising we did in the parade!

Sunday I gave my 3rd talk in the last 8 Sundays. We had like 20 minutes to fill, so they asked me to speak, and I talked for like 20 minutes about Light The World. I don't know how I did it but it happened. Miracles!!!!

Hope you all have a good week. The church is true!!!

Elder Haslam

Week 64 - Happy Thanksgiving

Hey Everybody!

This has been a fun week!

Friday we went to Halifax for a conference, and I got to see a bunch of missionary friends and buddies. Then, a few days later we had zone conference, so I got to see some more friends there too! The whole zone conference was about how hard things are good. When we struggle, we should be happy because we're fulfilling the purpose of coming to earth in the first place.

Saturday we walked in the Amherst Christmas parade. Why did they have it so early? I HAVE NO CLUE. But we built a nativity float and advertised the church's Christmas initiative. It went really well and hopefully it will soften some people's hearts. 

Sunday, we picked up a new investigator!! Her name is Danielle, and she is SO AWESOME. On the doorstep, we were teaching her about the priesthood and how it's been restored, and she was like, "Well, then what do I need to do to be baptized?" and I was like, "That's correct!! A+!!!" (not really...), but we told her how she can gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. She was asking how much they cost, and we told her they were free. She's soo awesome!!! I can't wait to teach her more. 

That's about all this week! Hope you all are well. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Love,

Elder Haslam

Week 63 - Hospital Visit

Hey y'all!!

Hope you had a good week. 

This week was pretty good. One of our two investigators dropped us this week. We set up an appointment to come teach her and when we showed up we found the BoM we gave her and all the pamphlets sitting on her porch with a note saying that she didn't want us to come anymore. So that's unfortunate. 

So the bulk of this last week and this next week was and will be spent trying to find some more people to teach. We have a one really cool potential investigator named Star so hopefully we can teach her this week. 

Funny Story: For lunch I was trying to open a can of beans and our can opener really sucks. So I tried opening it with that can opener for like 15 MINUTES. Finally, I started using my hands and that was a dumb decision. I sliced my thumb open and had to go to the hospital and get 2 stitches. Good times....

That's about all for this week. Here's a good scripture  (Alma 7:23) to look up and ponderize this week. I ponderized it this past week and got a lot out of it.

Love you all have a good week.

-- Elder Haslam

Pics: My district last transfer         I cut my thumb (2)         Monthly Activity Calendar

Week 62 - Adios Elder Olsen

Hey Everyone!

Sad, sad day. My brother Elder Olsen is getting transferred! Bummer. My new companion's name is Elder Foy. He's from West Valley, and I'm excited to work with him!

Not too much happened this week. We're still teaching Jerome. We play basketball with him whenever the weather allows. Hopefully he can keep working toward baptism. We just got to get him to come to church.

Since Thanksgiving in the U.S. is approaching, I want you to know I'm grateful for all of you, and I'm super grateful that I get to be a missionary for the Lord's church. I testify that the Book of Mormon is true and through it we can find the fullness of the Gospel, which is there
to provide us with peace and joy throughout our lives. It's really a blessing to be able to share that with people each day.

Hope you all have a good week!

--
Elder Haslam

Week 61 - Winter Preparations

Hello Everyone!

This week was great! We've been helping a lot of people get ready for the winter by helping them stack wood. Many people here have wood burning stoves for heat, so they need to load up the wood before the snow comes. So, we've been doing quite a bit of that this week, aside from the usual stuff.

We did, however, get to go to the temple on Saturday with all of our 3 recent converts! They all loved it! It was so cool to watch them get baptized for their parents, siblings, and other relatives. We took some cool pictures at the temple, but I'll get them to you next week. We also went to a sketchy Chinese buffet after the temple to celebrate and that was a mistake. We didn't feel well after. Despite that, when we got back to Amherst, all of our converts were like, "When do we get to go again?" haha. Good times.

Jerome is doing well. We played ball with him twice this week and taught him about the Plan of Salvation. He's been reading his Book of Mormon, and he's progressing well. He should be good to go for his baptismal date.

That's about all I have time for. Love you guys. Have a good week!

-- Elder Haslam

District Outing to Chingecto Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sisters (l-r) Auvigne, Wood & Nowlon. Elders Haslam & Olsen

Cape Chignecto Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada

On the trail to Cape Chignecto, Nova Scotia, Canada

Trail to Cape Chignecto, Nova Scotia, Canada

Chill'n at Cape Chignecto Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada
with Elder Olsen & Haslam

Week 60 - Road Trippin'

Hi Everyone.

This week was pretty great! We had interviews with President Pratt on Wednesday after district meeting and that was great as always. After that, we went and played ball with our investigator Jerome!

Jerome is awesome! Although both of his parents are less active, they told us that they think Jerome should look into being baptized. So we've started teaching him, and he's on date for Nov. 18!! He says that he wants to get baptized too, so we're excited to keep teaching him. He's such a cool kid. 

This Saturday we're going to the temple on the other side of Nova Scotia with our recent converts to do baptisms for the dead! It's about a 2-hour drive, but we got permission to go, so I'm really looking forward to road-trippin' on Saturday!

That's about it for this week! Have a good one!!

-- 
Elder Haslam

Week 59 - Another Week in Amherst, NS

Hey Y'all!

This week was great! Tuesday we had zone conference! The area medical people, Elder and Sister Keyes, were visiting our mission, so they were there at the conference. Sister Keyes approached me and told me "Hi from Elder Roberts." I was confused at first, but apparently they're in the same district in Boston as Chase, so that was cool. She took a video of Elder Ipson and me saying hi so she could show it to Chase, so that was fun!

Friday we had a branch movie night! We got permission from our mission president to watch "Remember the Titans", so that was legit! The sisters and us both had investigators there, so it was a double success!

We also did a bunch of knocking and street contacting this past week. At one point, we were walking downtown, and we saw one of our investigators named Sam. Before we could get over to him to say hi, this sketchy van pulled up and he got in. After he got in the van, this RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) guy busted out of a store nearby and started talking into his radio as he was staring at the van driving away. It was pretty nuts. So, sadly, we think Sam might be rolling with the wrong crowd. We haven't been able to get a hold of him since then, so that's a bummer.

On a happier note, on Monday, we picked up a new investigator named Jerome. He's 16 and his parents are members, but he's not. We played basketball with him and then taught him about baptism and why it's so important. He says he wants to come to church and stuff, so we're pumped to work with him. He's bringing his buddies with him the next time we play ball too, so that should be fun.

Well, that's about it for this week. Love you guys!

-- Elder Haslam

Week 58 - Canadian Thanksgiving

Hey Everyone!

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving, so happy Canadian Thanksgiving to you all! Because it's a national holiday, we have an all-day p-day today.  We drove from Amherst to Moncton in New Brunswick where a local member is going to feed us Thanksgiving dinner. We also went to a place called Hopewell Rocks this morning. I think it's one of the 7 natural wonders of the world because it has some of the highest tides in the world. Where we were standing this morning will be ten feet under water later today, so basically we were standing on the ocean floor.  It was pretty cool!

This week was great! We met this family, and we may start teaching their 10 yr old son!! I'm hoping that works out. 

Well, I don't have much time today. Here in Moncton we only have access to 3 computers and there are like a dozen missionaries who need to email. Since it's Thanksgiving here, I want to say how thankful I am for my mission and my family. 

Love you all!

Amen.