Week 102 - "Well, This Is It!"

Hey Everyone!

Well, this is it. This is the last email I'm going to be sending out from my mission.

It's been a very bittersweet last few weeks. A lot of "This is the last time I do ____!" statements. 

I've loved being a missionary. It's been such a humbling experience, and I will always be grateful for the opportunities and experiences I have had out here. It was on my mission that I actually received an undeniable testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I know, through personal experiences, that it is true. My missionary service has been such a blessing. Words can't express the gratitude I have right now. I'm going to be leaving a part of me here in the Maritimes, but now I've got other fish to fry. 

Thank you all for the love and support you've provided me, whether it was through emails or prayers, I've felt love from all of you, and it has helped me so much.

Look forward to seeing you all soon!!

Much Love,

Elder Haslam

On The Road Home!

Week 101 - In My Final Days! I'm Really Going To Miss It!

Hi Guys!

So I'm in Fredericton for p day today!! I'm hanging out/saying goodbye to Elder Olsen! It's like 10 degrees hotter here than in Saint John! Think I've been spoiled by Saint John's pleasant climate. I don't know why I've started each of my past two group emails talking about the weather, but I guess it works out.

I had my final zone conference yesterday. It was a weird and sad experience. I'm going to miss being around and a part of the full-time missionary force. You just can't get the experience of a missionary zone conference anywhere else. I realize now I took them for granted! I got to bear my testimony with the rest of the departing missionaries, and it was a wonderful opportunity.

We've had a couple of fun activities this past week. Thursday we had a YSA activity, and we played ultimate Frisbee with one of the members of our bishopric (who's an insane Frisbee player). Yaohui and a few non-members came to that! I had a diving Frisbee snag and wrecked my hip, but it was worth it.

Monday we had a ward BBQ to celebrate New Brunswick Day. We had met with a lot of the members throughout this past week and committed them to invite their non-member friends. Sadly, only one member kept their commitment, but the non-member who came had a great time. A couple of less actives we invited came too! The missionaries (us and our ward mission leader) were put in charge of doing an activity. We decided to put soapy water onto a huge tarp so we could slide around and play soccer on it. It was a blast! We tested it out last p day and we got some videos so I'll send those. 

Yaohui had to take a break from us teaching him, sadly. He has a calling in the nursery of the Baptist church in his neighborhood, so he told us he couldn't keep all of our commitments at this moment because he had commitments somewhere else. He's moving to Fredericton in September, so we plan on passing off his information to the missionaries there. Hopefully, they can resume teaching him when he's separated from his current church.

A cool thing I found out yesterday is that the temple session I'll do with President Low the night before I head home will be the same session Debbie Doyle goes through to receive her endowment!! If you don't remember Debbie, she's the one I baptized in Cole Harbour! What an awesome way to end!! 

That's about all for this week, folks. I'm so grateful for my mission experience. It's changed my life. I'm really going to miss it, but I'm stoked to see all of you soon!

Love you all! Have a good week!

Elder Haslam

Week 100 - Setting Righteous Goals and Fulfilling Them!

Hi Everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well! Here's a quick accounting of our week.

First off, it has been super foggy!! For almost 4 straight days we had super thick fog. It was nice weather to do missionary work in though because it was nice and cool. At this time last year it was super hot in Cole Harbour, but it's always pretty pleasant here in Saint John. It's usually around 75 degrees. Perfect weather.

Anyways, weather aside, it was a pretty good week in other ways as well, even though most of our investigators have been sick or tied up with other stuff lately, so we haven't been able to meet with all of them.

Our Chinese investigator, Yaohui, is doing great! He even got work off so he can come to church this upcoming Sunday. He also came to the YSA activity this week and had a good time. We played this intense board game, and he destroyed all of us at it haha. He also brought one of his friends named Lee to the activity. Lee has sat in on a couple of our lessons, so we're hoping we can start teaching him as well.

We also knocked into someone named Beverley this week. She's really cool! She said she's been praying for spiritual guidance lately because she's been feeling a bit uneasy at her church. She thinks we might be an answer to her prayers. The sad part though is that she can't meet until after August 13th because she's going on vacation. I might be able to teach her during my last days in the field though!

This week during district meeting I was asked to give a training on goals. It was most likely the last training I'll give in a missionary meeting, which seems really weird. But, I really learned a lot as I prepared it. I read a talk given by Elder Marvin K. Ashton called, "The Word is 'Commitment'". In it there was a quote that stood out to me. He said, "True happiness is not made in getting something. True happiness is becoming something. This can be done by being committed to lofty goals.... To reap the full benefits of life, we must fill our days with commitment to worthy goals and principles. There is no other way." I loved that. 

A practical application of the doctrine of Jesus Christ in our lives can be making, and being committed to, worthy spiritual goals. Examples may be attending the temple each week, reading the Book of Mormon for 30 minutes everyday, gaining a greater understanding of a certain Christ-like attribute we want to develop, resisting and avoiding a specific temptation we struggle with, or maintaining weekly contact with those we are assigned to minister to. The list goes on and on! Elder Ashton also said, "The journey of success," and I may add, exaltation, "is long and is dotted with a series of commitments to worthy goals."

I challenge all of us to set some worthy gospel goals. I also challenge us to actually be invested in those goals we set. Doing so will bring the power of Jesus Christ into our lives, and we will all become the disciples we want to and should be.

Love you all!! Have an awesome week!

Elder Haslam 

Week 99 - "I'm Really Enjoying These Last Few Weeks"

Bonjour Everyone!

This past week has been pretty weird! It was so strange seeing Elder Ipson and his group go home! It feels like I hardly know anyone in the mission anymore! It's also weird to think that we're the oldest group of missionaries left... I don't feel like I'm that old haha.

As far as investigators go, we've had to take Kelsey off date for the time being. She's had to move out of her parents' house, and that's made meeting with her difficult lately. She'll be baptized eventually, but she's just got to get some things worked out in her life! 

We taught Yaohui the plan of salvation this past week, and he came to our Book of Mormon study class! He really enjoys learning. He's pretty smart too! He's working on getting Sundays off in August so he can start coming to church. He's such a cool guy! 

Hey, so another cool thing...a family in our ward has brought a friend to church the past few weeks. We're having dinner at the members' home tonight and he's coming over! Hopefully we can start teaching him! His name is Mike, and he's an awesome dude. We're super excited for that!

This past week has been a blast! We've been having so much fun together!! We just laugh all day long. Elder Ablett's British accent just cracks me up! I'm a blessed man having him for one of my final companions. Anyway, life's great right now, and I'm really enjoying these last few weeks.

Hope you all had a great week too! Thanks for your continued love and support!

Elder Haslam

P.S. Crazy to see all my buddies getting home! Seems unreal!

Week 98 - Staying in Saint John, New Brunswick, CA

Hi Everyone!

Well, I found out what I'm doing for my last 4 weeks. I'm staying in Saint John with the same companions!! And I couldn't be more happy! It'll be a good way to finish out.

As far as investigators are going, Kelsey's doing well. She's looking for a new place to live closer to town (currently she lives 30 min away). We've had to move her baptismal date back to Aug. 4th, but she's actively working towards that date and she's successfully given up coffee, which is a big deal.

Yaohui, the investigator from China our mission president found, is awesome! He just soaks up everything we teach him. I think he gets the doctrine of Christ better than I do, and he's only been a Christian for a year. He's unable to go to church until next month though because of work and  he's moving to Fredericton in September, so we think it might be best for him to get baptized there since that's where he plans on living long term.

This week in my studies I came across an article by President Oaks called, "Why do we do missionary work?" In it there was a quote that stood out to me. He said:

"We do not preach and teach in order to 'bring people into the Church' or to increase the membership of the Church. We do not preach and teach just to persuade people to live better lives. We honor and appreciate the many ministers and others who are involved in the kind of ministry that makes bad men good and good men better. That is important, but we offer something more. One can qualify for the terrestrial kingdom instead of the telestial kingdom without the aid of this Church. We are concerned with a higher destination."

I loved this because it helped me understand that the work I've been doing for nearly 23 months is so much more eternal than it is temporal. This quote helped me see the bigger picture for doing missionary work. The importance of the gospel goes way beyond this life. If we can maintain that perspective with our missionary work as members and full time missionaries, I think we'll all find an increased urgency and an enhanced desire to help souls come unto Christ.

I'm so incredibly blessed that I'm able to do what I do each day. I'm so very grateful for the time I've spent on my mission so far and I'm also very grateful for the precious days I have left.

Love you all! Have a great week.

Elder Haslam

A waterfall we walked by while knocking 

Week 97 - Went to America - Happy 4th of July!

Hi Everyone!

Things are going well in Saint John!

One of the highlights of the week was that I got to go to America on it's birthday! We did a booth in Eastport, Maine with our whole district! It was hot. (Yes, mom, I got a bad sunburn.) We had our booth set up right next to the ocean, so the sea breeze made the heat bearable. I took some money out of an ATM, so I could buy some food. I had forgotten what American money looks like! So when I pulled it out, I was in awe. It felt fitting to take a picture with it.

Our investigator Kelsey is doing well. She is getting over her sickness. We've taught her a couple times over Skype, and she's still working towards her date. We'll see if she makes it. We're sure hoping and praying she does. She's still got a few concerns, but none of them are too big.

Cool story of the week: Our mission president passed through our area last week to interview us. He and Sister Low stopped to get some lunch, and they talked to this Chinese man about the gospel at the restaurant. They got his phone number, and now we've started teaching him!! His name is Yaohui, and he's been in Canada for two years studying chemical engineering at the university here. He's just starting to learn about Christianity, and he's excited to read the Book of Mormon. President Low is getting work done already!!!

It was a good week!! Hope that was a sufficient update. As usual for P-days, we're in a bit of a rush today. Seems P-days are the most stressful day of the week.  

Anyway, love you guys! Hope everyone has a great week!!!

Elder Haslam 

Week 96 - Christ's Atonement is Very Real!

Hello People!!

I'm pressed for time because we have interviews today with our new mission president!! I'm excited to meet him. I'm sure we'll be excellent buddies after the 1.5 months I get to serve with him.

Our on-date investigator, Kelsey, is doing great. Well, health wise she's not doing great. She's been in and out of the hospital because of problems she's having with her throat. She's contagious, so we've been teaching her over Skype and it's going well. We taught her the Word of Wisdom this week and she accepted to live it. She says it will be really hard for her to give up her coffee, but she committed to give it up still. I'm excited to see her get baptized in a few weeks!!

Last week we went to this cool place called St. Martins where you can walk on the ocean floor when the tides are out in the Bay of Fundy. We found this little cove that we had to repel into with a rope, and we chilled there for a few hours and played spike ball. It was a TON of fun!! 

I'm loving life and I'm loving my companions. This has been one of my favorite transfers so far. I can't believe how fast time's going. It's been CRAZY seeing some of my friends start coming home. 

I'm grateful I get to do the Lord's work, and I'm even more grateful for the blessings I've received from my service. I know God is real. I also know that Christ's Atonement is very real. I think that's the greatest knowledge I've gained from my mission.

Hope you all have a great week!

Elder Haslam

P.S. I HATE THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS.

Week 95 - My Companions are Hilarious!

Howdy!

This week has been great!

First off, our investigator Kelsey is doing really well! We taught her 3 times this week and she came to church. One of our teachers talked about baptism and it's effects on us, and Kelsey started weeping. She's excited to be baptized!! She's elect! She also came to a YSA baseball activity we had this week too!

We had a TON of our lessons fall through this week, and we weren't able to have any lessons with any of our gators other than Kelsey. Hopefully we can get with them this week and find out whose got intent and who doesn't. Despite that, we had lots of fun this week, probably because my companions are hilarious.

Saturday, we did a Book of Mormon booth in Uptown Saint John. We went around with clipboards and invited people to read a page from the book and highlight the things they learn about God. It was a lot of fun! It was a fun way to get people to read the Book of Mormon, and we got a few potential investigators from it.

That's about all from this week. We should have a couple of new investigators next week! We have lessons set up with a few solid people so we'll see how that goes!!

Hope everyone is doing well back home. Have a good week!! 

Elder Haslam

Fountain with beavers in a park in uptown

Homie we got to read from B of M, and now he wants his own!

Pages of the B of M that we had people read

Dinner at the Crilleys

Ward game night

Week 94 - This Week Was So Great!

Hi Guys!!

This week was so great! I had the best week on my mission for finding new investigators! We found 4 this week! One was someone who contacted us on Facebook and the other 3 were found through knocking! The one found on Facebook is named Kelsey, and she's so awesome. She's 23 and lives out in the boonies of our area, so it's a miracle that we are able to teach her. Actually, some Elders in Moncton found her and starting messaging her about the gospel over Facebook. They taught her over Skype with us and then we met with her in person. She came to church, and she's on date to be baptized! She's awesome! She really wants to be baptized and establish a relationship with God. She's probably the most solid of our 4 new investigators! I only really have time to talk about her today!

We had zone conference in Fredericton yesterday. It was weird to go to Fredericton because I haven't been there in over a year. It was also weird to not see it covered in snow! I was there from December to April before, so it was buried in snow that whole time. But the zone conference was probably the most spiritual conference I've been to on my mission. It was President and Sister Pratt's last conference, since they're leaving next week. I'm really, really, really going to miss them. They've had such a major impact on my life. President Pratt has helped me through a lot, and I have no clue how to repay him. It's gonna be hard to finish the last stretch of my mission without them, but I'll be alright. I'm convinced that one of the primary reasons I was called to this mission is because of the Pratts--God knew they could teach me invaluable lessons. He wanted to give me an exit interview despite me still having a couple months left, so that was really nice and gave me one last opportunity to learn from him. I love that man!

That's about all I have for this week! I know that God is real. I know His love is real even though we may reject it at times. His love isn't dependent on whether or not we are obedient to commandments. He loves all of us no matter what we have done. I do, however, know that His love is magnified and enriched as we live in accordance with His will. I've personally felt that in my life. We should always be seeking what the Lord's will is for us every moment of every day.

Love you all! Have a great week! 

Elder Haslam

Last Zone Conference with President Pratt

Week 93 - First Week in Saint John, NB

Hi Everyone!

I don't have much time this week, so I'm sorry if this one is brief...

The past few days here in Saint John has been AWESOME!!! I love my companions Elder Ball and Elder Ablett so much. This honestly could end up being one of my favorite transfers. The members here are fantastic, and they love the missionaries.

Saint John, New Brunswick is easily the biggest city I've served in on my mission. We've been walking through uptown Saint John and have met a lot of interesting people. So far, we've been spending most of our time finding since we have no current investigators. We do have some cool people to follow up with, however, so I think we'll find at least two or three people to start working with this week.

I'm really happy and I'm so excited for this transfer and this area. It's going to be great. Love you all! Have a great week!! And Happy Father's day to all you dads out there, especially mine. Love you, dad!

Elder Haslam

Week 92 - Back to New Brunswick Baby!

Hi Everyone!

I'll run you guys through the week.

Wednesday we had district meeting and after that we spent the bulk of our time creating family trees for the people who signed up for one at our booth last Saturday. But we got those all finished up and they'll be delivered sometime this week.

Thursday we went to Halifax for an exchange and had a blast!! I spent basically from 1:30-6:45 in downtown Halifax either street contacting or doing a booth. Elder Olsen tagged along at our booth, so that was fun!! We invited people to read random Book of Mormon passages to see what it teaches them about Christ. We talked to some cool people and some funny people too! I love Halifax. There's sooo many people to talk to there.

Friday we helped our investigator Judy move into a new apartment. We helped her move all the big stuff, and it was a huge relief to her. She really appreciated our help! Later we had a dinner with the Walkers and our recent convert Mare. She's been struggling a bit lately, so we working to get her back on track. She seemed to benefit from the lesson and the dinner.

Saturday was spent mostly finding because we had 4 lessons fall through. It rained a ton in the morning, and we got SOAKED!!! It was fun though. We got a couple of cool potentials, so hopefully they'll turn into new investigators sometime this week.

Sunday we had stake conference, which was awesome!! A seventy, Elder John Pingree Jr., spoke. I had a lot of my personal questions answered by his talk. Later in the day, we picked up a new investigator named Kirk. He's from Jamaica, and he's dating a less active. He had a lot of deep questions, and he really seemed to grasp the Restoration when we taught him. He's a cool dude!!!

Monday morning was all spent doing call-in reports. We later had an appointment to get our car serviced, so we spent some time there messaging random people on FB to see if they're interested in learning more. That was really fun, and we now have a few conversations going on with people in the area!

Yesterday, we found out about transfers!! I'm heading to Saint John, NB to be with one of my dream companions, Elder Ablett!!! He's from England!! We lived in the same apartment over a year ago and  since we both came out the same time, now we'll probably finish our missions together. At first we thought we'd be whitewashing, but later we got a call saying we'll actually be in a TRIO with another one of my dream companions, Elder Ball!!! I legitimately have journal entries saying I hope I'm companions with these guys! I am so blessed! I'll also be in the same zone as Elder Ipson and Elder Olsen, so I'll get to see Ipson again before he goes home, and I'll also get to be around Elder Olsen! I'm so pumped!!! Blessings all around!! Back to New Brunswick, baby!!

Although I'm super stoked, it's sad to say goodbye to Kentville. I absolutely love this place and the people here. I'm having to say a lot of tough goodbyes, but I've been tremendously blessed to spend 6 months here!! This area and the people here will always have a special place in my heart.

Hope things are well at home. Love you guys! Hope you have a good week!!

Elder Haslam

new Companion, Elder Ablett

Riding Bikes with Elder Bringhurst

Kentville District

Sunset in Halifax

Me and Elder Olsen

Week 91 - Apple Blossom Festival Time

Hi Guys!

Had another great week here in Nova Scotia! Hope yours was great too!

Wednesday we had district meeting in Greenwood, and we spent most of the day knocking and following up with our list of potential investigators 

Thursday we had leadership conference and it went all day long. They had a bunch of pods we rotated to where we received training. I learned a lot. The main take away I had was that we all are agents who act not objects who are acted upon. Although we sometimes make ourselves into objects and blame our actions and attitude on our surroundings, we have the power to be agents ourselves--beings who act and work to change situations and make improvements. Too often we blame our poor choices or lack of effort on our surroundings. This is foolish. We have to power to change things if we act and are living according to God's will.

Friday we finished up the rest of leadership conference. At the end of the conference I was asked to give a 30 minute schpeel on having faith to find. I had a bunch of notes for it and felt like I should scrap them so I was pretty nervous, but I followed the spirit and it seemed to go alright. After that, President and Sister Pratt did a Q&A session, and it was awesome. They just answered any questions we had and were very insightful.

Saturday there was a parade in downtown Kentville, and we signed up to have a family history booth set up around the parade. We started at 8 am and it went until 5 pm. It was long, but we got about 30 people who said we could deliver a family pedigree chart to them! So we'll make those and try to deliver them soon. Hopefully, we can eventually teach some of those people. Everybody in Kentville was drunk to the moon and back Saturday evening because of the annual Apple Blossom Festival. So we talked to a lot of drunk people. They were all nice though!!

Sunday was frustrating because our investigator Judy slept in and missed church!! So that was a let down. This is the second time she's done that so we're gonna try and crack down on that!! Other than that, we spent our Sabbath knocking!!

Monday we had a bunch of meetings over Skype. That took up the bulk of our morning and afternoon. We did have dinner with the Drennan family, and that was awesome (as usual)! We had a couple of lessons fall through in the evening, but it's all good.

It was a packed week!! Next week is transfers, and I'll probably be bounced out of Kentville. We'll see where I'm heading. Elder Olsen and I are praying for a reunion :).

Love you all!!!


Pics

Me and my homies

a sweet picture my companion took while we were walking across this bridge in Kentville 

Week 90 - This Week Was Beast!

Hey Everyone!

This week was beast. 

Wednesday we had district meeting in Annapolis Royal and afterwards we drove to Yarmouth to go on exchanges down there. It's a cool little community with a lot of fishermen. We knocked into a lot of lobster fisherman down there.

Thursday we spent mainly driving back from Yarmouth and at our correlation meeting. Also, we got to teach our investigator Judy a lesson. We watched the restoration DVD for most of it, and she really enjoyed it. She said it was "powerful" and we were like "amen." 

Friday we had the Halifax Elders up here for an exchange and I was with....ELDER OLSEN!!! It was nice to back with him again. It was like we were back in Amherst all over!!! We had a lot of fun together, and we spent a lot of time reminiscing together about the good times we had. We spent most of the day knocking and we worked so well together!! It was like we had never split up. So, Friday was a beast day! To top it off, Elder Bringhurst taught our investigator Judy a lesson and it went really well. 

Saturday we went knock-biking around the rural highways in the area because we haven't really talked to many people out there. It was a lot of fun. Not a ton of people were interested, but the weather was nice!! :)

Sunday Judy and LaDavian came to church! We had some good talks on the priesthood, so hopefully they learned a lot from those. We spent the rest of the day knocking in the pouring rain!! We were soaked haha! We also got to Skype our recent convert Troy all the way from China. He's doing really well. He's still reading the Book of Mormon and progressing well on his own. 

Monday we had a ward activity put on by our ward mission leader and us. We did a photo scavenger hunt and everyone had a really good time. Judy came and she had some laughs with some of the members. It was a great!!

Anyway, the days are ticking away, so I'm trying to make the very most of them. 

Love you all!!!

Elder Haslam

Re-creation of the 1st vision

Yarmouth sunset

President Pratt's Gater Socks

Week 89 - Final Skype With My Mom on Mother's Day

Hello!!

Holy cow! The weeks are flying by. I feel like my last p-day was yesterday!! I want to start off by telling you all how much I love my mom. It was awesome to get to see her and talk to her this week. Love you, mom! 

In other news, Wednesday we had zone conference, and Elder Bringhurst and I gave a presentation on car maintenance. Kind of dull subject matter, but it it went pretty well. No one fell asleep, so we'll call it a win! Overall, it was a really good conference. We talked about the power of the Book of Mormon and how it directs us to Jesus Christ. I don't think I'd have much of a testimony of Jesus Christ without the Book of Mormon.

Thursday we contacted a former media referral named Kaitlyn, and we picked her up as a new investigator! She's awesome. She's a music major at Acadia, but she still lives in the area even though it's summer semester. She said she'd like to find out if The Book of Mormon is true, so that seems pretty promising!

Friday we weekly planned and taught a lesson to Mare. We taught her all about the after life, and she loved it. She's doing really well!! She loves the Church. After that we went knocking, and we met some interesting people, but those are stories for later.... 

Saturday our investigator Judy went to our ward relief society breakfast and really enjoyed it. We taught her afterwards and put her on date for June 9th. She's awesome! We're just trying to make sure  she understands everything that we're teaching.

On Sunday all of our investigators couldn't come to church because they already had Mother's day plans, so that was kind of lame. But I did get to Skype the family for the last time on my mission, so that was pretty cool!! 

That's about all for this week. I hope all the mothers had an awesome Mother's day on Sunday. Again, I love you mom and don't know what life would be like if you hadn't reminded me to wash my face and brush my teeth every day for the first 18 years of my life. Love you!

Elder Haslam

Week 88 - I'm a very blessed Individual

Hey Folks!

This week was great! Elder Bringhurst and I had a lot of fun and we worked really hard. We didn't see a lot of fruit from our labor this week, but the missionaries around us had a great week so we know our faith is contributing to the work elsewhere!

Wednesday we had district meeting and Elder Bringhurst and I gave a training on retention. We also had interviews with President Pratt. I love that man, and I'm going to miss him a lot when he leaves the mission in the next couple months. We talked about the Jazz for like 10 minutes at the beginning of the interview. Go Jazz!

Thursday we had a couple lessons fall through, but we taught our investigator Judy and she's doing okay. She didn't end up coming to church and hasn't gotten back to us since the lesson. So we're pretty worried about that. She is currently on date for May 26th, however,  but that may change if we can't get a hold of her. 

Friday we went on exchanges with the Bridgwater Elders. They were up here in Kentville, and we spent the majority of the time finding. We weren't able to find any new investigators, but we had a lot of fun together.

Saturday was all spent knocking on doors except for one hour for our companion study. It was a beautiful day, so we had a lot of fun.

Sunday we had church, and we taught our investigator LaDavian. We taught him about the doctrine of baptism. We invited him to be baptized and his only concern was that he didn't feel like he was going to be able to keep the covenant he'd make at baptism. We explained the sacrament and he seemed less hesitant after that. He's such a sincere kid. We feel he'll get baptized eventually.

Monday we spent some time preparing a presentation we're giving in zone conference on...... CAR MAINTENANCE!!! Pretty lame, but someone has gotta do it. We made the presentation pretty funny though.

It was a good week! I'm a very blessed individual. I love you all!