Week 86 - Six Months in Kentville, NS

Hey Everyone!

I'll give you a quick rundown on what went down this week.  

Wednesday, we had district meeting in Annapolis Royal. We traveled from there to Bridgewater to exchange with the Elders there. We knocked doors in a place called Lunenburg. It was such a cool place! We talked to a lady at a gas station as we were walking by, and she said the Elders could come by and teach her family! So that was cool! It was a great exchange!

Thursday we drove back to Kentville early in the morning, so we could volunteer at the local food bank. The semester is over at Acadia, so Wolfville is slowly becoming a bit of a ghost town. The population of the town almost gets cut in half when school isn't in session. Our days of walking around the University chatting with students are over though so that's pretty sad.

Friday we had a lesson with Troy early in the morning before he drove to the airport to fly back to China. We talked to him about ways he can share the gospel in China, and we made sure he knew who to contact to get to church there. It will be my last lesson with him face to face because he won't be back in Wolfville until September. Man, it was fun teaching that guy!!

Saturday we attended a funeral for a local member named Brother Morgan. He was a long time member in the Kentville ward and the patriarch for Nova Scotia for a long time. There were a BUNCH of people there--members and non-members alike. After the funeral, we spent the rest of the day searching for new investigators. We're also working on re-teaching Mare the lessons, so we taught her the Restoration, which she really understands well.

Sunday, we had ward conference and a linger longer after church. Sister Spinney invited a LA member named Sister Lombardo to church and she came! She also brought her 12 year old, unbaptized son, LaDavian, to church, so that was awesome!

Monday we had call-ins from the morning until the afternoon. In the evening, we taught LaDavian in the Spinney's home. We taught him the Restoration, and it went well! He said he wanted to keep meeting with us and read the Book of Mormon. So we'll see how that progresses!

Yesterday we found out about transfers, and I'm staying for another transfer here in Kentville. I'm so happy I'm staying. I love it here! At the end of this transfer that'll be 6 months here, which is crazy because I feel like I just got here. 

I love my mission, I love the Savior, and I love you all!

Elder Haslam

A boat in Lunenburg

A Huge Mansion we knocked

The town of Harbourville

Me on a road

My District this past transfer

Week 85 - The Gospel is True!

Hi Everyone! 

Here's what happened this week.

Friday, Judy texted us and told us that she'd have to put our meetings on hold for a couple weeks because she's having trouble with severe pain in her leg. She's got a lot of appointments the next few weeks, so she wants to focus on that. Hopefully we can get with her down the road. Today we also went on exchanges with the Halifax Elders. I got to be with my MTC buddy Elder DeBry. We had a great time finding together! We also taught our investigator Larry. He's a good guy, but we have to teach him very slowly to make sure he gets it. 

Saturday we spent the morning and afternoon knocking on some doors. We didn't find anyone, but we had a lot of fun and talked to some nice people. Later on, we had a ward games night. There were a few non-members there that we got to talk to, and  I played Apples to Apples with some other members. It was a good time, and I think the non-members enjoyed the experience.

Sunday we had church and Larry came! He enjoyed church, and he  only feel asleep once! We went finding for the rest of the day, since we had a couple of lessons with potential investigators fall through. Although we weren't able to find any new investigators this week, we'll get some next week!

Monday we again spent a lot of time finding. We knocked into an older couple, and the wife seemed super interested, but the husband didn't want us to come back until next month. We'll definitely drop by then because the wife seemed solid. It was a pretty good day.

Today, we got an all-day P-day, so we went over to Dartmouth and played almost 5 hours of basketball on the new court at the Dartmouth chapel. It was soooooooooooooooooooooooooo nice!!!! I loved it! Also, this morning I read the conference talk by Lynn G. Robbins "Until 70 times 7" and it may be one of my favorite talks ever. You all should listen to it or read it. It taught me that failure is an inevitable part of life. What we can control is how we react to the failure. If we react correctly, then we are progressing towards perfection through Jesus Christ.

This gospel is so true! Hope you've all had a good week! Love you all!

Elder Haslam

Pic 1 Troy's jacket he wore to church on Sunday

Pic 2 The new court

Pic 3 Us at the games night

Week 84 - Troy was Baptized Saturday!

Howdy!

Sorry for the confusion with my P-day being on Thursday this week. There's a lot going on, but it's been great! 

So, Wednesday, we picked up a new investigator!! Her name is Judy! She's awesome! We taught her about the Restoration and invited her to be baptized, and she accepted! She said, "I think I need some baptizing!" She worked at Burger King with one of the members here in the past, and they were really good friends! We're excited to keep teaching her.

Thursday we had MLC. We counseled a lot about how the mission can find more new investigators. It was a good counsel, and we learned a lot. Also, Troy passed his interview on Thursday too! 

Friday we went on exchanges with the Bridgewater elders. We did quite a bit of finding! Another elder and I coincidentally knocked into Mare's grandma who came to her baptism! We tried teaching her a little bit, but she wasn't having it. We also had our last lesson with Troy as a non-member and taught him about how he can stay on the path that leads to eternal life after his baptism.

Saturday was the best! Troy got baptized!! I had the privilege of baptizing him. It was weird because I had to call him by his Chinese name and not Troy. I also had to rehearse saying his name because it's hard to say haha. But it all went well!! He enjoyed his service and everyone there had a good time. Mare was having a bad day on Saturday, so I bought some donuts from Tim Hortons, and she thought it was so funny! Man, Saturday was a good day!

Sunday was great! Judy couldn't come sadly because she wasn't feeling too well. But, Troy was confirmed by Elder Bringhurst!! Other than that, we had dinner with the Morrisons and did a good bit of knocking.

Monday and Tuesday were primarily spent finding. Tuesday we actually were visited by Elder Ipson and his companion, and they gave us some training for our district. They did a great job, and it was very beneficial. Then we had dinner with Mare at Brother and Sister Walker's house. She's doing so well!

Wednesday we went to Sackville to visit the district meeting for that district. That's why my P-day is on Thursday this week. We gave a training to them on overcoming adversity, and it went really well. Additionally, we had our interviews with President Pratt over Skype later that day, and we also taught Troy a lesson about family history, trying to get him started on that.

Yet another good week!!  They're going by so fast I can hardly believe it.

Love you all!

Elder Haslam


P.S. The church is extremely true. 

Week 83 - Last General Conference in the Mission Field

Hi Everyone!! 

Here's a rundown of the past week.

Wednesday we had zone conference, and it was awesome! We talked a lot about how we can use our time in better ways. Elder Bringhurst and I also gave a training on a retention plan that we've made for the companionships in our zone. It went really well. Also, we found out after the conference that our investigator Jeremy (who came to church last week) doesn't want to meet anymore because his grandma doesn't want us to. Ahhhh, so lame!!! But it's okay. He'll be more prepared for when he meets missionaries in the future.

Thursday we volunteered at the local food bank, and Elder Bringhurst had to get a massage for some back pain he's been having. I decided I need to get hurt, so I can get a massage too haha! We also taught Troy about the temple, and he's excited to go. The first time he goes will likely be in the Hong Kong Temple because he's going back to China this summer. He's doing well though.

Friday we taught a lesson to a new investigator we found named Larry. He's a really humble guy. He had a stroke a couple years ago that basically paralyzed the right half of his body. He knows a couple members already, so hopefully he can progress well.

Saturday we watched Conference at the Morrisons with Mare. She really enjoyed it! She got to witness a solemn assembly her first conference! She was a little confused, but we all explained it to her afterwords. It was awesome to be able to stand and sustain a new prophet of God! I know we're in good hands! The talks were wonderful as well.

Sunday we watched General Conference again! Man, it was a good time. President Nelson kept us on our toes. I'm glad I've had a lot of practice ministering the past 19 months, and I'm excited to keep doing it at home! Troy watched the first session, and he liked it a lot. He's on track to get baptized this Saturday. It's weird to think that this is my last General Conference on my mission! Next time I watch it, I'll be home!

Monday, we had a lesson with Troy and talked about the priesthood. He said the priesthood session was his favorite part of Conference. He is excited to hold the priesthood after his baptism.

Love you all. Thanks for your support! The weeks are flying by!! Hope you have a good week!

Elder Haslam 

Cape Split Nova Scotia

Cape Split Nova Scotia

Cape Split Nova Scotia

Week 82 - Another Great Week in Nova Scotia

Hey Everyone!

Another good week here in Nova Scotia!!

Wednesday we had district meeting in Annapolis Royal! We also went on exchanges with the Yarmouth Elders. I got to be with one of my former companions, Elder Jones. It was nice to be with him again. We taught our investigator Troy together. We went over the baptismal interview questions with him, and he did well with all of them. He's progressed so much since we met him. At first he didn't even know who God was, but now he knows that God is there to help guide him through life. He's a great learner!

Thursday we had a big snow storm! We still went knocking all evening and that was fun. People thought we were crazy for being out in a blizzard, but we met a lot of nice people! We also stopped by a less active part member family we're going to try to work with.

Friday we waited in a walk-in clinic for 2 hours to get a prescription for Elder Bringhurst. Then we drove down to Halifax for our exchange with the AP's. We did a lot of contacting downtown and had a ton of fun! I was also able to teach a cool investigator they have named Greg who's thinking about being baptized. 

Saturday we were still on exchange for most of the morning. After some knocking, we went to have lunch at a burger restaurant. I got a huge burger called the Legendary CC Porker. I'll send a picture of it. After lunch we drove back to Wolfville and went finding. We found this awesome guy named Jeremy. I'll talk about him a little later. We also taught Troy again and talked about the covenant of baptism. We moved his baptismal date to April 7th. That'll give us more time to prepare, him, but I'm confident he'll make it!!

Sunday, our new investigator Jeremy came to church!! He's awesome. We met him on the street on Saturday night. We gave him a Book of Mormon, and he read some of it that same night. We invited him to church and even arranged a ride for him. It was great to see him there! We taught him the Restoration during the 3rd hour and put him on date for May the 5th. He's awesome!! Troy couldn't come to church sadly because he had a job interview.

Monday we taught Mare about family history and got her started on Family Search. She has two names so far that she can take with her to the temple. She's pumped to go! She just needs her recommend then we're boogying over to the temple in Halifax to do some baptisms!!

Like I said, it was a great week! Hope you had a good week too! Love you all!

Elder Haslam

Just another snowy drive

The Legendary CC Porker Hamburger

Downtown Halifax from the City Library

Acadia University at Sunset

Week 81 - Mare's Baptism - So Happy!

Hi Everyone! 

It's been a pretty incredible week! Here are some of the cool things that happened.

On Thursday, we volunteered at the local food bank and had a lot of fun with the other volunteers there. Then, we drove down to Dartmouth to pick up my new companion, Elder Bringhurst. He's so awesome!! I'm going to have a ton of fun serving with him. Then we went to a dinner appointment that I thought was going to be just with the Drennan family, but the Morrison and Spinney families showed up there too to surprise me. They all celebrated my 20th birthday with me, so that was an awesome experience that I'll always remember. I'm so grateful I was in Kentville for my birthday!!! 

Friday, we made our final preparations for Mare's baptism. We also taught a lesson to our investigator Troy. Last lesson, he put himself on date for baptism March 31st. We thought he could make it, but we hadn't taught him tithing yet. That was the only commandment he hadn't been taught by us at that point. Troy's main problem is that he often looks at what he loses with particular commandments rather than what he could gain. So we were worried that tithing would be hard for him. But we taught him tithing on Friday and he just accepted it so easily!!! So if all goes well, we may see Troy get baptized at the end of this month!!

Saturday was probably the best day I've had on my mission. Mare was baptized!!!! She loved the whole service. She cried a lot haha. She bore her testimony, and I felt the spirit SO strongly. At that moment, I knew more of the truthfulness of the gospel than at any other point of my life. The gospel has changed Mare's life. I've been able to witness it from the moment we knocked on her door all the way to her baptism. The gospel simply can't not be true!!!! If it were fake or something like that, it wouldn't have power to influence Mare's (and all of our lives!!) for so much good. We went to Boston Pizza that night to celebrate and I had some beast pasta. Man, it was a good day!!

Sunday I had the opportunity to confirm Mare. She's so converted. Later, we had dinner with her at the Morrisons and taught her about the sacrament.

Monday, we had a bunch of Skype meetings, and we had to continue putting our area book into our phone. That was a long day haha. We went knocking all evening though, and we found a cool potential from Jamaica. We think he'll be a new investigator.

This was an amazing week. It definitely strengthened me and my conviction for the gospel. I have no doubt in my mind that this is true. It has turned Mare into a completely different person, and it's turned me into a better person as well. We often forget the purpose of the gospel. It's there not just to cleanse us. It's there to help us be transformed into someone like Jesus Christ, day by day, week by week, and month by month. The changes don't happen over night, but as we adhere to the principles of the gospel, changes do come. Those changes help us prepare to meet God and live in His presence again. I testify of this.

Love you all! Hope you have a good week! 

Elder Bringhurst, Elder Haslam, Mare Hatt, Elder Carlson

Week 80 - Still in Kentville - 20th Birthday!

Hey Everyone!

It was another good week here in Nova Scotia!

Wednesday we had district meeting in Annapolis Royal. We talked about the power of faith and the ill effects of doubt. We also got to go to a baptism in Bridgewater with  our investigator Mare. It was about an hour and twenty minute drive, but an awesome member, Sister Walker, drove her down so she could see what a baptism is like. Mare loved it too! We're shooting for her to be baptized on the 17th. She's definitely going to make it. She's really excited!!

Thursday we had Skype calls to help train the district leaders in the zone. I also got permission to have a Skype lesson with Howard and Elder Olsen! That was a good time. It was nice to get the Amherst crew back together. Mare had her baptismal interview in the evening and she passed! If she can stay smoke free from here on, she'll be baptized this Saturday! 

Friday we had probably the most snow this entire winter. We also had an awesome dinner appointment with the Spinney family. Sister Spinney made us Greek food, and it was amazing!

Saturday we got to attend a great baptism in Sackville. The girl who was baptized is a 17 year old who referred herself on Mormon.org.  We also had a lesson with our new, very short investigator Brenda, who's doing really well. She had already read part of the Book of Mormon, and she said she'd be open to baptism. So we'll see how her progression goes!! 

Sunday, was a great day! We had church and Mare came! Then we went knocking for the rest of the day, and shoveled out a driveway for this lady who has a sick child. That was a good experience.

Monday, we prepared Mare's baptismal program, and she asked me to confirm her on Sunday! We also taught our other investigator named Troy, and he put himself on date for March 31st! He's so great. We're hoping and praying he will make it.

Tuesday Mare made us dinner and we taught her about missionary work. She's already thought of friends who she thinks could accept the gospel. We also found out about transfers. Turns out Elder Carlson is leaving Kentville. I'm gonna miss him! We've had a lot of success together. My new companion is Elder Bringhurst, from Alaska! I'm excited to serve with him.

Love you all!! Have a good week! 

Elder Haslam