Elder Moffitt in Canada, eh!: If they ain't white, they'll treat you right

Hey guys!

It done did warm up here in Calgary this week! I think I saw it get all the way up to 2 degrees (Celsius)! Elder Stringam and I spent some time cleaning out our mini van last Monday, and we were able to be outside in shorts! The tender mercies of the Lord are all around us!

So the title of this email is a phrase that I've found to be very true in the last little while. Here in Calgary, you run into people from all over the world, and consistently, the nicest people that we meet aren't white. This isn't racism, it's just the truth. Here are some examples from this week!

We got to spend a lot of time finding this week. It's good for the soul. I've developed a lot of sympathy for door to door salesman. Tuesday evening we did some tracting, and everyone that answered the door was Canadian, and not interested. Then we had an appointment with a less active that we're teaching whose from Trinidad! It was a good lesson. We watched the bible video of Jesus healing the man born blind, and talked about how Christ can heal us physically and spiritually. Simply testifying of Jesus Christ and his atonement brings the spirit more powerfully than anything else!

We got to spend a lot of time finding on Friday as well. We spent a whole long time tracting as well. We tracted one street for a couple of hours, and had some really good and positive interactions with (white) people, but none of them were interested. Then we stopped by some potential investigators that we found in our area book, and found some people that were interested in having us come back! One was Jennifer and her family. She's from the congo, and seemed really willing to have us back! We also met George, who said he would love to have us over as well! I don't actually remember where he's from, but he had an accent. We also found a new potential investigator named Varsha. She's from India, and is hindu, but is willing to have us over to discuss our beliefs with her! We were on exchanges that day, and Elder Stringam had an appointment that night with some great members that live out on the Tsuu T'ina reservation.

Saturday we hit it hard. We were on exchanges again, I was with Elder Jones, and Elder Stringam was with Elder Hawkins. We both set some goals of how many people we wanted to talk to that day. Usually 20 people is a pretty stretching goal for new people talked to in a day because lot's of people aren't home during the day, or thanks to Vivint doorbells with cameras people don't answer their doors, and it's still pretty cold and icy outside, so people aren't out for us to street contact. But by the end of the day, between the four of us, we had talked to over 110 new people that day, and invited them to learn more about Jesus Christ! We had some really good interactions with people that day, and found a few people that might be interested as we worked in the Woodbine area that day. Elder Stringam and Elder Hawkins were in the Evergreen ward working, which is a pretty diverse area. They were able to find a family from India that was interested and wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon in their native language! And then they found a family from Syria that let them in, and they taught about the restoration! They seemed really interested, and want to have us back over!

Then on Sunday, we had dinner with the Riveras, a less active family in the ward. They're from Mexico, and made us authentic Mexican food! We had Pozole, and it was amazing! Then we had Pan Dulce for dessert. What a blessing.

So I hope you can see the point of my title now. This week I also had the opportunity to try and contact someone in Mandarin, and in Spanish! The spanish one went a lot better haha. All I can really say in Mandarin is "Hi, we're missionaries!" and "We share a message about Jesus Christ" but after that I'm pretty lost.

We had another great lesson with Alysha this week! This was a joint lesson so we could pass her off to the YSA sisters, but she's doing great! She read the first chapter of the Book of Mormon since our last lesson, and really feels like she's finding answers to her questions! It'll be sad that we don't get to teach her anymore, but I'm sure we'll see her around, and we're just so excited for her to come to know that our message is true and experience the joy of the gospel in her life!

In other news this week, we had zone conference! It was such an amazing meeting. We had a lot of time where we just talked about Jesus Christ and how we can come to know Him. It was such a spiritual meeting, and really reaffirmed my testimony of my Savior, and gave me such a greater desire to share that testimony with others.

We had housing inspections this week by the Batemans, and this was their last one before they get released as housing inspectors. We're really going to miss them! Sister Bateman is a cleaning guru, and would always give us home remedies for cleaning things. She also made a bunch of my long sleeve shirts into short sleeves. What an angel.

For my spiritual thought this week, I want to share something I read in my personal study today. I was reading Mosiah 4:16-21, and in it, King Benjamin talks about how we need to give to those in need. I think too often we can look at people in need and think that they have brought it upon themselves, and because of that we don't need to help them. I'm definitely guilty of this! But as I was reading these verses, I really realized the need for us to reach out to everyone who is struggling. Take some notice of those around you who might be going through a hard time, and reach out to them. Help those who are down.

Love ya'll and hope everyone has a great week!

Love,

Elder Moffitt