KV Ward: President Pratt's First Talk

Hello everybody! This week was really great. :) Elder Taylor and I continue to work as hard as we can to bring souls to Christ. I love life here in the Kennebecasis Valley! We've seen so many miracles and we've had such great luck meeting so many great people! :) This week has been a little crazy, I hadn't even been in Hampton for a couple of the days. To start, we had zone training with all of New Brunswick West :) It was a lot of fun, we got to practice our teaching and became better teachers and learned what we could do to improve ourselves. I love going to zone meetings because they help me reflect on my purpose and what I can do to do even better in my work.

I spent a couple days in Fredericton this week. Fredericton is a nice city in the middle of New Brunswick. It is actually the capital city, and there are always a lot of people walking around. Definitely a different way of life than Hampton, that's for sure. We met a few pretty nice people, and met a lot of not as nice ones. :) Regardless, they are children of God, and I'm glad I got to work with Elder Heimonen (one of my Mtc friends) for a little bit.

We had a lesson later on this week with a man named Penrod. He is from the Caribbean. He was a really nice guy, and he had investigated the church a year ago. When we began to meet with him, he was very standoffish and didn't really want to meet with us. However, as we resolved his concerns about what our church believed, he had a change of heart, we could see that within him as he talked with us. He said that we could come back, and he wants to continue to learn more about the church. :) I have a strong testimony that God will change people's hearts.

President Pratt also came to the Kennebecasis Ward this week, and it was really good to see him. He is so kind and genuine. He spoke about how we need to retain and get more involved in helping people come to Christ. We got to talk with him about how the work in this area is going, and we told him that we've been pretty successful in finding people to teach as time has gone on. We felt really good about everything. :)

As a personal challenge I am reading the Book of Mormon once again, with the thought: "How can I have a stronger focus on my mission? How can I find real intent within myself?" As I've read, I've been able to find so much from the Book of Mormon to help me. I have such a strong testimony of its truthfulness! This is the truth! In 1 Nephi 6:4, it reads: "For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved." That is the whole purpose why the Book of Mormon was written! And surely it does this. I've felt it. I know that you can feel it too! :) I've changed so much on my mission from the experiences I've had and from the things I've learned.

I love this gospel!

Love you all!

Elder Wanlass

 President and Sister Pratt visiting our Kennebecasis Ward.

 

 The new updated St. John's District.

 

Canadian money

 



Elder Taylor











We Are at Your Service!

Good day everybody! It's been quite a fast week! We did a lot of work and ended up finding more people to teach that want to get baptized! It's been great! :) On my birthday we ended up teaching two lessons and getting 5 referrals from members. It was so great! My birthday was definitely a successful day, and I couldn't have asked for anything better. Not too many picture worthy things happened this week, so I don't have any pictures to give...plus it might be a little shorter as well.

I convinced the sister missionaries to make me another planner. I told them to make me an adventure planner, so they made it a treasure map! Check it out!

Aside from that, we had some other fun things happen. The Bishop's kids invited us over for a game night at their house, and they invited three non-member friends for us to teach a lesson to. It was good, none of them were interested, but they were all friendly and we had a good time at the game night regardless of that. Sometimes people aren't always interested right out of the gate, but it will take time before they will show interest.

I suppose I could explain the title of my email. We did quite a bit of service this week. More than we usually get to. We helped do some weeding for the town for the "Communities in Bloom" Event for Sussex. We also helped out at the Food bank on Thursday and met a few people who said that they were interested in meeting up with us, so that's good! Other than that, we've either been knocking, teaching, street contacting, or calling people..so that's pretty much been our week. :) We also had a couple miracles happen.

So we were searching for a former investigator because we found out that they had moved. So we asked some members where to go and they gave us instructions to go to church street. We went over there and asked around for this person, and we were told she moved to Main street...so we went over to main street and started knocking. As we did, we ran into Vanessa. Vanessa is a lady who has never been religious, but she had a desire to learn more. We went over on Saturday night to meet with her, and it turns out that her boyfriend and their two kids were also there, so we taught them all together. We invited them to be baptized, and Vanessa enthusiastically said yes, along with her 8 year old son. Stephen isn't sure quite yet, but we are meeting them throughout this week, so hopefully we will see good things happen.

We also found another family who wants to learn more about the church as well! things are going so good! :) The work will always move forward, it is comforting to know that. :)

I love you all, we will continue to work as hard as possible, to bring people to the knowledge of Jesus Christ :)

Elder Wanlass

My planner that the Sister Missionaries made for me!

Serving in the community.

I'm 19! It Only Took a Year....

Well everybody, it finally happened! I'm 10 months out and I finally turned 19! It's about time! :) Before I talk about my birthday, I'll start by summarizing this last week:

We had a really good week this week to top it all off! We hit all of our goals and are finding more people that are interested. The ward is really getting excited for the work that it is going on. We've had many people help us out in the ward and we are teaching more people than Hampton has seen for a while. It's so good!

We spoke in sacrament meeting yesterday on member missionary work. Elder Taylor covered the "How to" part of the missionary experiences, and I covered how we need to have the hope to make those experiences happen! It was really good and I hope that our talks inspired some of the members to look for ways to serve the Lord.

We found a couple new investigators! One of them is named Mike Durley. He is from Sussex and we met him street contacting. He has a few grandkids, and loves his family. We talked with him and he had a strong desire to find God once again in his life and come to church. We taught him the restoration, and he accepted it! So cool! We are trying to get him to come to church now. He has minor word of wisdom issues, but nothing major. He shows a definite desire to come closer to Christ.

Aside from that, we've been finding a bunch of people who are interested, we were able to see the Reversing Falls in Saint John and it's just been a good week!

My birthday plans are pretty exciting! We got subway for lunch, donairs for a snack, and we are eating at a member's house and teaching two lessons tonight! It's so good! :)

I love my mission so much!

Love Elder Wanlass

Here are some pictures of Elder Taylor and I visiting the Reversing Falls in St. John, NB.

Elder Taylor admiring the scenery.

Our Mini Learning Center

This week was quite the change for sure! We had the chance to meet our new mission president, President Pratt. He is such a great guy, and he's already impressed me with some of the things he's said. I know that he is called by God. He's already helped me out personally :)

This week we've seen a LOT of stuff happen. We've had at least 6 lessons this week, and we've seen a lot of success in terms of finding people. Elder Taylor and I walked outside and got 4 potentials in an hour street contacting, which doesn't happen too much :)

This week was Canada Day, which was pretty fun. Our ward had a BBQ the night before, and we ended up teaching a couple people during it. We were just handing out copies of the Book of Mormon, and I talked with this lady for a few minutes. She had a question about our view of heaven, and I explained to her, (as well as the table of women) how there is the Celestial, Terrestrial, and the Telestial kingdoms. I showed her a few scriptures in 1 Corinthians 15 and 2 Corinthians 13 about the third heaven. :) She was blown away: "My pastor hasn't said anything about that! You are the only church who believes it? But it's so clear in the Bible!" I showed her one of our boards about the restoration, and she said she believed it! We got her information and should hopefully meet with her this week! :)

We also taught a pastor...she was super nice! :)

Aside from that, one other exciting thing that happened was I went to Saint John on an exchange! Saint John is an interesting city. I might've mentioned it in the past, but it is the oldest city in Canada. 1/3 of all people who live in the city of Saint John are unaccounted, so it makes street contacting a little interesting. Tons of people there are very poor too, so we see a lot of people struggling. It can be tough to see sadness, but the gospel is meant to help everybody! We had some good experiences teaching in Saint John, and we also met many people who were interested, so that was good! :)

Yesterday evening we also set some lessons up with a family of 5, and a couple guys that are both interested in learning about God! So cool! I love when people are so willing to meet.

Also, this week was Elder Taylor's Birthday, if you want to see a funny video, check out Elder Taylor's profile that sister Downey posted! It's hilarious! :)

I love you all! I hope you have a great week! Enjoy the 100+ degrees!

Elder Wanlass

Here is my awesome St. John's District!!

Happy Birthday Elder Taylor!

Birthday celebration for Elder Taylor

School has come in handy!

We are prepared to defend the Faith. :)

First Zone Meeting with Pres and Sister Pratt

President Leavitt Leaves

Hello Everybody! Elder Wanlass here! It's been a very good, bittersweet week! We have had a lot of success in finding people to teach, unfortunately, we've also had to drop a few. But we've been seeing miracles happen here in the Kennebecasis Valley! So many people have wanted to read the Book of Mormon, and making that our focus in finding has really helped, I think.

So as of tonight, President Leavitt will be ending his mission. He has served for three years and it's coming to an end. I can't believe that we are going to be getting a new mission president soon, but I know that the Lord calls his servants at very particular times for very particular purposes. I know that God knows my needs, and what I need to be doing is serving in this area. In a similar way, President Pratt has been prepared for the Canada Halifax Mission! He's going to do miracles :)

We managed to pick up four investigators, unfortunately, one of them dropped us this week, which was a little tough, but hey, it's okay :) We taught a couple very religious people this week, and they are both interested in reading the Book of Mormon! :) One of them was named Dawn Stoddard, she works at the Bible College in Sussex and owns a cafe. She fed us some fruit as we talked about the restoration of the gospel. She really seemed to agree with a lot of it. She's friends with some members of the ward here, and she actually went to our church 30 years ago. She had a lot of questions for us, and we had a good lesson :)

We also ran into another lady who worked at the Bible college and she gave us Bubble gum fudge! I didn't even know that was a thing. The important thing to realize though, is that she gave us her information, and she said she would be interested in meeting up with us for a lesson this next week! We have a lot of potential for this week, it's going to be so great :)

We also taught a Baptist missionary in a trailer park, and he accepted a Book of Mormon and everything! It's been so great! :) People here are really starting to open up to the gospel, and we are seeing more people that are interested as time has gone by!

I just want to close with my testimony. I know that this church is true. I know that God loves me. I know that my Savior is always there for me, and each one of us. His atonement is for everyone. Even though our lives may appear daunting, our challenges impossible, and our mistakes dark, we can always count on Christ to give us the light of the gospel. We just have to keep trying! As soon as we begin to try again, to persevere, and to believe, that is when faith becomes a reality in our lives. When Christ can come into our lives.

I love this gospel, I love my Savior. I wouldn't be out here if I didn't.

Love you all!

Elder Wanlass

More beautiful rivers!

Elder Taylor and I after a hard days work.

This is bubble gum fudge from a lady in Sussex.

A Hole-In-One Kind of Week

Hello Family and Friends! I hope that you all had a great week! I know that mine has been good, and I can't wait to share it with you all today!

Overall this week we managed to find more people to share the gospel with- four new investigators! It was so cool! One of them that I'd like to mention is named John Hartley. Elder Dooley and I had tried for a long time to get ahold of him, but whenever we tried to set up an appointment or anything, it always ended up cancelling. One day we drove past his house, and I had a feeling to go back and check on him. We drove back to his house and knocked on the door, and he let us right in Joyfully! We had a lesson about God, and we committed him to baptism on July 20! The spirit is truly leading each one of us to the people who we need to find.

 

Something kind of funny happened this week. We were going street contacting in the main area in Sussex, and we passed this church called the Higher Life Christian Centre. They invited us right in to talk with us. I guess for Father's Day they were letting the Fathers practice golf lessons, well, I'm not a father, but they let us in anyway. I talked with the pastor who had actually investigated the church before, but he wasn't super interested in chatting. Elder Taylor got to show off his mad swinging skills though! So that was good! :) We only stayed for a few minutes since we were working, but people here in the Kennebecasis Valley are just so nice!

Anyway, this week we also talked with a man named Vernon Dempsey. He has relatives over in British Columbia that are from our church. So he is kind of familiar with it. He was willing to let us in and talk with us about the church, and we ended up teaching him parts of the Restoration. 

One cool experience happened on Thursday as well. We were just about to help with some service for a ward activity, but they didn't have anything for me to do...so I decided to flip through some contacts in our phone. I decided to call Christian Gowan, a man Elder Dooley and I had talked with the day before Mother's Day. He said to stop by a different time, but he didn't seem overly interested at all. I decided to give another call to try it out. And his wife Jessie answered. I started talking with her and she said that she was Christian (not her husband, but religion.) and she didn't feel that we were. She thought we worshipped Joseph Smith. Well! I explained to her what we believe, I told her that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and I recited the First Vision to her. Immediately, she said "I believe everything you are telling me. I do." We are going to meet this week with her and Christian :) So good!

Yesterday we also were knocking some houses searching for a couple in a blue trailer on a really long and windy road. It was pouring rain, but we felt like we needed to go on. The first door we knocked on let us right in, and we are meeting with her tomorrow :) miracles!

Anyway, as you can see, miracles are happening in the Kennebecasis Valley! We will see success, we will see a baptism! It will happen! I know it! :D

Love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Wanlass! :D

 

 

When Life Gives You Lemons....

Hello Everybody! Elder Wanlass here! This week has been pretty good! We found a new investigator, are beginning to teach more people, and things are just starting to get better :) This week has been super sunny, which given the erratic weather here in the Maritimes, has been quite pleasant. Elder Taylor and I have been working hard, and as we continue to work diligently, searching for more people to teach, we will be able to find more people to teach!

This week we had zone conference, which is a time for all of the missionaries in New Brunswick, Maine, and PEI to gather together and learn more about how to become better missionaries! I got to see my Maine district once again, which was really nice. Elder Beacham is doing well, and one of the investigators we found together on my second to last week in Caribou (Devin Cote) just got baptized! Miracles happen, and I know that people are constantly being prepared to hear of the gospel and become members of the church. 

This week was Hampton's annual yard sale day, so as such, many people were outside and driving through Hampton. Because of this, we wanted to get people to see us, since most people weren't home. We decided to set up a lemonade stand and give out free lemonade, copies of The Book of Mormon, the Bible, etc. It went pretty well, even though we didn't talk to as many people as we would have liked, it still got us out there and was something different than exclusively knocking. 

Hampton has definitely been a good area to work in. It's taught me a lot about myself, about the way I work with people, and about my Heavenly Father. I will always try and think of ways that I can serve him, that I can become a better person, and ways that I can use my agency for a good cause and bring to pass much righteousness. (D&C 58:27) The ward here is great, the people are fantastic, people in general are nice to us and willing to talk.

I hope you all have a great week! :) I know that I will!

Elder Wanlass