TWENTY

Bonjour tout le monde!

What a week! We had a baptism, transfer calls, service projects and splits!

To follow up on Monday—pickle ball with Elder Heder and Elder Reid was awesome! If you haven't ever played it you definitely should! It was fun to be active again and run around. So remember a few weeks ago, sometime just before Christmas, when I wrote about a kid we met named Jon? Well, he came to Family Home Evening that night! He had a great time and got to meet a lot of new people. It was fun to see him getting to know everyone because he is super shy but tried so hard to get to know people. From talking with him afterwards I could tell that he had had a good time. I love working with the YSA because of all of the great activities that are available to us to bring investigators to. 

On Tuesday we went and got frozen yogurt at a place called "yeh!" with Amaru! It was a fun way to celebrate her getting her mission call to Spain. (Speaking of missionaries in Spain... Does anyone have Sam Norton's address? I need to write that kid so bad! And speaking of Sam... Kevin Fonseca! Kevbot, if your reading this you have exactly two weeks to get a letter in my hand or else... And speaking of Kevin... Kirsten! How do I not have your address? I need to send you a post card! As well as Gemma! Where did she get her mission call to? And Brynnley and Abbey! Basically everyone but Nicole and my family is failing at writing me! Oh and Alyssa, I just got your letter, I'll try to write back today! Okay... Sorry for the crazy paragraph of "speaking of's") Anyways... So. Frozen Yogurt. We went to this place called "yeh!" and the funniest thing happened. I totally felt like I was back in Utah. It looks exactly like every other frozen yogurt place in the valley! It was pretty good. Amaru came with us afterwards to meet Jon on McGill campus to teach him about the Restoration. The lesson went really well—we gave him his own copy of the Book of Mormon and answered a few questions of his. He told us that he wasn't necessarily searching for anything right now but he was interested to see what kind of a perspective it would give him to learn about the Plan of Salvation. Later that day we went back to the office to finish making preparations for Caitlin's baptism on Saturday. I made a nice little program for her. I'll send a picture for you.

Okay so Wednesday we had district study. Our district is kinda funny because we have the AP's, the zone leaders, the district leader (Elder Baker) and then the Sisters. So the AP's and the zone leaders never come so we have to have our district study up in the office to have a chaperone. So this time we had our study in the supply room. We didn't have much time because we wanted to mark out all of our investigators and members and less-actives on a map (this is where iPads would come in handy...) and it was going to take a while. After we helped one of the senior missionaries with the zone leaders to move some new stuff from the mission home to the mission storage. There are a lot of sisters coming in soon so the mission has been preparing all of the new apartments. Right now there are 5 elders to 1 sister. By the end of May it will 2 to 1! Can you believe that! I am so excited to have more sisters in the mission—from what I've seen from working with Sister Lopez and Sister Nilsen they bring so much to the table that elders can't. After the service project we met Caitlin at Laurier to show her her baptismal program. She loved it! Then we helped the YSA clean the chapel and played some volleyball afterwards with a few investigators.

Thursday was one of my favorite days of my mission so far! I went on splits with Elder Heder which was just amazing! I am so happy that he is here to set an example for me. He is such an amazing missionary and an all around nice guy. He really helped me with a few aspects of missionary work that I didn't quite have set. I still have a lot to learn out here and I am trying my best to improve each day! I've learned over the past few months the importance of looking at every situation with an attitude of learning. We are given experiences that provide us with an opportunity to grow and develop into the kind of people that we aspire to. The greatest blessing in life is knowing that God is our Heavenly Father and that He knows and loves us perfectly. He knows our full potential and what it will take to get us there. Don't let any opportunity in your life pass without considering what your Father in Heaven wants you to learn from it. I was so grateful that He gave me the chance to work along side Elder Heder—I had a lot to learn! We passed by a few people and did quite a bit of knocking. I wish I could tell you about each experience that we had with the people that opened to us. Well, that night we watched "The Prophet of the Restoration" with Jon. He seemed like he liked it but didn't, even after our conversation, see how it related to him. We talked as we rode the metros home and he told me that he was going to come to church but that might be the last time we saw him for a while. It made me really sad to hear that.

Friday was great but mostly filled with weekly planning and nothing too exciting! We got a lot done that we needed to for a long time and set a lot of good goals. That night we had our last lesson with Caitlin before her baptism which was a bitter-sweet moment! I am so grateful to have played a part in sharing this Gospel with her. She will be a friend for life. That night we had institute and ate soup and baguettes with the YSA.

Saturday was one of the happiest days of my life! Caitlin was baptized and the day went without a single hitch! Our friend Guillaume was the one who baptized her and I couldn't have been happier! It is a miracle that she was able to get to where she is. Looking back a few months ago when we first started teaching her and her first baptismal date was approaching with all of the problems with her parents I was worried that I would miss this day. It was through fervent prayer and fasting in faith that she made it to this day. She asked me to share a few thoughts on faith and the Holy Ghost which I had a great time doing! After refreshments and chatting for a while we left to teach a lesson to a potential investigator we met the first week I came here. An engaged couple came to help teach with us—they are amazing people! The lesson went well and we discussed a lot of her questions. That night we had to be back in our apartment by 8 for transfer calls. I wasn't nearly as nervous this time around because I had a pretty good feeling thing that I would be staying at McGill with the YSA. Drum roll... I'm staying! Elder Baker is being transferred across the island to Zarahemla (haha, the Spanish Branch chose their name...) and will be speaking Spanish now! I'll be receiving Elder Osorio who used to be in the YSA. He speaks English, Spanish, and French. It will be so much fun working with him!

Sunday we had wonderful meetings! Jon came to church like he said and I tried my best to explain everything to him and help him recognize the prompting from the Spirit. He came with the wrong mindset and sadly that was just about all I could was try my best. He had a good time but told us that he would be taking a break for a while and that we could contact him in a few weeks. It broke my heart because he had made great progress and great friends! But Heavenly Father has given all of us the ability to choose for ourselves and He will never take that power away from us. But enough of that talk... Caitlin was confirmed and given the Gift of the Holy Ghost which was my absolute pleasure to do! She asked me to be the voice in the ordinance and for that I will forever be grateful! It was a great day through and through. We had great contacts at night as we knocked and taught some great people!

Thanks for all of your love and support as I work my hardest to find, teach, and baptize! I am so blessed to have this opportunity and I could not do it without your prayers and love! I feel so blessed to have amazing friends and a wonderful family who cares and supports me! Stay faithful and pray always!

Avec amour,

Elder Ellis