February 6, 2011

Family,

This week was good, spent half of it in Ottawa again. We got a couple new elders and a new zone leader, so President told us we had to go down to meet them all. It's very difficult to work as a missionary in Val D'or only half the week. Anyhow.

We were having trouble getting to around our mileage limit on our cars, but luckily our elders quorum president helped us out this week. He's only lived here two years, he used to live in Montreal. After he lost his job and his house down there, he prayed and asked God where he was supposed to go to help the missionary work. And now here he is. He found a girl up here and is married, and lives here solely just to do missionary work. He's about dad's age.

This week we finally broke through with the members, they are starting to refer people to us to have us teach and our elders quorum president drove us to Rouyn Noranda, a small city where half our members live, and we home-taught with him to a bunch of part member families. Excellent. This guy would do anything for the work.

We spent the full day in Rouyn Noranda, from 1-9 pm. At the last house we visited, this man came out of the restroom, holding his stomach and walking as if he had ridden a horse for 5 days straight. We asked him if he's okay, he said no, very calmly, and said he might have to go to the hospital. I was sure he had herniated himself. But he insisted on Continuing the lesson. And this lesson resulted in a huge milestone in progress with one of our investigators.

After we got into the car to drive an hour and 15 minutes home, the first thing he did was whip out his phone and call his wife "Hello, yes I'm going to the hospital now, because one of my testicles is the size of a tennis ball." This was all in french, and it took me a minute to translate it in my head, and then I couldn't help but laugh. All the way home he winced with every bump in the road and towards the end was laughing/crying saying "oh I can't die like this, not like this!"

Now there is a man who gave everything for the work.

Well that's basically all I have for this week, I'll have more stories for next week I'm sure. The worst of winter is over, I survived! Have a good week everyone. And Happy Birthday to the old man over there!!

Love,

E. Holm