If You Don't Like The Weather, Give It 5 Minutes

That's a common phrase here in Alberta, and this week we proved it to

be correct. On Sunday we went to a neighborhood to knock some doors;

it was a beautiful sunny day. Then out of the blue it started raining.

We both had rain coats so we put those on. Then 5 min later the rain

turned into hail. Then 5 min after that, the rain and hail suddenly

stopped, and the sun came back. Then the hail came back with the sun

still shining. It was very strange, but interesting. It didn't really

impede us though.

We had a good week. Stephany is doing well, she came to church and

stayed all three hours. She is meeting more members and she is

enjoying the spirit. We are meeting with her tomorrow. Member-

missionary work is the best! This ward is really good for that.

Charles is going through a rough time. He was in a mood Sunday and

didn't want to come to church. We have had a hard time meeting with

him.

We met a less active member named Travis. He seems like he wants to

come back to church, but something is holding him back. Just yesterday

we had a cool experience; we were about to knock his door, but just as

Elder Rodriguez was about to knock, a member, Bro. Ellis, called us.

The member lived just down the street, so we went over and talked. We

asked if the Brother Ellis would like to come with us to visit Travis.

He came with us and it turns out they have a lot of similar interests

and they got along very well, despite a 20 year age difference. Then

today we came over to play pool and have breakfast with Bro. Ellis,

and Travis was there. We had a good time. It was definitely divine

intervention.

We have been working hard. One day just before dinner we had some free

time so we knocked a few doors. As we were about to go, we were

talking in the car, then we went out to knock. After a few doors,

Elder Rodriguez turned and said " we've been out here for 10 min and

we were in the car for 2 min," but it felt like we had been in the car

for 10 min and we had been out only 2. Time flies when your doing the

work.

We are well.

Élder Grimmer

Major Ups and Downs

This week has been crazy. It was +15 and warm earlier, and today it is
snowing again. It is snowing really hard right now, there is about 3-4
inches of snow outside. It is melting though.

This week was a good one. We have been teaching Charles. He got sick
and couldn't come to church. We have been helping him with stopping
smoking. He is doing alright. One day we were struggling to meet with
him, and we caught him later that day. He was struggling hard with
depression. We lifted his mood.

We' e been teaching a lady named Stephanie. She is good friends with a
member in the ward, and we have taught her twice. She came to church
this week. The member said she leaned over and asked her how quickly
could she get baptized. She has started to live the word of wisdom
before we have taught it. She is a single mother from the UK, and she
is awesome.

We are working hard, and having lots of fun.

Élder Grimmer

April Flurries Bring May Flowers

This has been my first "White Easter" with 3 inches of snow. It is

currently snowing outside right now. It is barely sticking, and almost

all of the snow we had Saturday night was gone by Sunday evening. It

comes and goes and comes back. I feel bad for all the gardeners, but

hopefully some of the mosquitoes hatched early and die so there won't

be as many this summer. That happens sometimes with late season cold

snaps in Canada. That and making snowmen is about the only positive;

most of us up here are done with snow for the season.

This week has been the best week of my mission so far. Elder Rodriguez

is awesome. He is from the Dominican Republic but he moved to Toronto

Canada three years ago. He hasn't been to the MTC, his call is to Perú

and he was assigned to go to the MTC there. He calls me his "pre-MTC

trainer." He is a really good guy.

Last Tuesday we met a guy named Charles. He was in a really low point

in his life and so he went searching for a church so he could talk to

a minister. He came to our church, and here was no minister but there

was a maintenance man who was a member from Red Deer that talked to

him. He later told us when he was looking for which church to go to he

saw Jesus Christ on our building so he said that seemed like the right

one. The member gave us a call and he gave us Charles's address. We

went over that night. I felt that it was too good to be true; before

we even entered his house he said he wanted to be baptized. He is

easily the most humble person I have met on my mission. He reminds me

in a lot of ways of Salvador. Charles is so lonely it has physically

affected him. We came back on Wednesday, then on Thursday, and we have

been there every day this week. I have grown to love that man. He came

to church and he really enjoyed it. He says he doesn't feel the love

of God but he still follows Him and is willing to do what God wants.

He is just incredible. In meeting with him for one week straight we

can already see a change in him. He looks happier.

We have been keeping busy, and it is awesome. Not to long ago I

learned that there is something the Lord wants us to do every hour of

every day. We have to plan and seek his will, but be open to change as

the spirit directs. We have been changing a lot of schedules, from

unexpected visits to Returning members while helping a member home

teach, to putting the Canopy on a truck for some older nonmembers to

street contacting the Main Street of Innisfail, God always has

something he wants us to do.

Saturday we went to the wedding of a part member family. It was

surprisingly spiritual for a nonreligious ceremony. We were really

happy for them. We think the fact the had a kid out of wedlock was

keeping the sister from coming back to church. I'm sure if she will

come back to church, her husband will see the change and perhaps

desire that for himself and for their family.

We had a great week. Time is flying by. We are doing well.

Élder Grimmer

It hasn't been cold, but not super warm. Snow is an increasingly rare sight.

Transfer calls were today. I'm training! President said the new Elder
is a visa waiter going to Perú and he is a native of the Dominican
Republic who has lived in Canada. Elder Santos is going to St Albert,
a small city that touches Edmonton on the north side.

This week has been a good one. We found two new Investigators that
seem pretty solid. One was a member referral, and the other was an
American man we found trackting. They both seem fairly interested.
Sunday quite a few less active members came to church. There was a guy
named Max who came. He is a member, but we had no idea that he was
here until we found him one day. He is a really good guy, but he has
some family struggles that are trying to keep him from coming to
church. But he came, and that was awesome!

There was a family history fair Saturday. It was run by the Darbys,
who went on a mission with Grandma and Grandpa Grimmer. We were there
mainly for our presence; there was over 100 non members attending. We
just pushed a button, got free lunch, and helped clean up a little
bit. We learned a lot about family history, so that was cool.

Take care!

Élder Grimmer

It has been fairly warm,  but after Sunday afternoon session of

General Conference it was snowing. It was +3 and none of the snow was

sticking, but still, snow! There is no trace of it anymore. The people

here say there's at least one more snowstorm left for the season.

This week has been alright. Oswaldo is doing good. He started reading

the Book of Mormon from the start and finished it. He is on fire. Too

bad he's not our Investigator,  but it's still good to help with his

conversion.

General conference was good. No one came :( but it was still really

spiritual. We taught a new Investigator last night. We found him quite

a while ago, but we just barely got to teach him. He is a bit slow,

but he has a good heart.

We have been working, but is tough.

Élder Grimmer

It has been warm here, for the most part. It can get chilly, but we don't have to worry about freezing anymore. Most of the snow has melted and things are about to start growing. Only snow piles and snow that is in the shade is still hanging around.

This week the travelling APs came to Innisfail. They were here to help us multiply our efforts. It was a lot of fun serving with them. We found a new Investigator; a christian man who is unsatisfied with the hypocrisy he saw in his church. He is a good man but he has his vices. We had a good Three days with them.

The Spanish sisters in Red Deer found a guy named Oswaldo. They needed to have at least three men or a woman with them, so they invited us to the first lesson. He Is awesome. After Being invited to read 3rd Nephi 11, he read all the way to the end of the Book of Mormon! He said that he didn't understand everything, but he is willing to find out. Later we brought a Spanish speaking member of our ward and we read with him, and we talked about prayer. It's a miracle they found him. He hasn't even been here a month yet. His fist time going to the Spanish store in Red Deer he saw a flier for free English class and he came. The sisters asked if he wanted to learn about Jesus and he agreed. He is progressing now.

We don't have any progressing investigators of our own to talk about right now. but we have a few we are trying to work with.

Élder Grimmer

Sun and Slush

This week has been a lot warmer. It is still pretty chilly at times,
but I'll take -2 over -20 any day. It's been really windy, and that
makes things a lot colder. Southern Alberta is famous for incredibly
strong winds. Most of the snow has either melted or turned into tough
ice. That happens when it keeps melting and re-freezing. I made a few
snowmen, but they all fell down. One got hit by a car, which happened
to be driven by my companion lol. He really wanted to hit a snowman.
We have a video and everything. I found out building a snowman is a
really good leg workout, especially when you have to squat down to
roll the snow cause you don't want to get your knees wet.

Yesterday was Zone conference, and big things are happening. Our
mission president gave us an interesting initiative; we are going to
ask the members to show us their friends lost on Facebook, twitter,
the like, and send a special message to them. The idea is that it
creates a "safe" environment where missionary work is instituted. We
were also told of other plans to utilize technology to hasten the
work. Apparently they did this in a district in Arizona, and in three
weeks they went from having no one to teach to 13 baptisms. I am
exited to implement this.

We have been working hard, and we are teaching lessons, but we don't
have anyone on date or coming to church. We are trying to work with
more people. There are plenty of less active members that we are
working with. The work is going on.

All is well

Élder Grimmer