April 25, 2011

Brampton is awesome. This week has been full of miracles-just as last week was. Elder Hancock and I are working as hard as we can, and doing everything that we know how to do. I'm so blessed to be paired with an amazing missionary like him. It feels SO good to have somebody who is constantly lifting you up to a higher standard, instead of doing your best to maintain enthusiasm and try to constantly carry your companion and an area.

The past week has been FULL of teaching. We fell 1 lesson short of our goals this week, and it’s only because we got bombed on Sunday evening. We're teaching like crazy! It’s hard to find time to reach our finding goal of 20 hours per week. We had 7 lessons taught to investigators with a member present...it’s a great blessing to be able to teach so much! We're reaching all of our other goals, and our area continues to be one of the most consistently successful units in the whole province. We're so blessed to be here. There is something very special about Brampton. I think it is the influence of the temple being so close.

Let me tell you a bit about my new area! (If I haven't already) I'm currently serving in the Heart Lake Ward, and the Toronto, Ontario Temple is about a block outside of our ward (proselyting) boundaries. We attend the Stake Center which is right next to the temple, so we get to see the temple a few times a week which is so awesome and amazing. My area is in the heart of Brampton, and we cover approx. 200,000 people. It’s a burdening feeling to know that my companion and I are the only two chosen people of God to bring every person we see unto salvation and guide them back to Heavenly Father. It’s a blessing to be able to stretch yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually every day. You learn and grow so much here, its amazing.

The Heart Lake Ward is the most missionary-minded unit I've ever seen. Ever. The leadership is just fantastic, and we have resources for missionary work I would have never imagined here. The members are fantastic, and our ward has many, many different cultures. Lots of people from Africa, Guyana, Colombia, China, Europe, and many other smaller Asian countries. Such a diverse place.

Contacting and tracting is very unique in Brampton...there is a HUGE population of Indian people here. Lots and lots of Islam, Hindi, and Sikh people to talk to. I'm learning words and greetings in quite a few languages, and often make people laugh from talking to them in the wrong language or displaying my ridiculously strange accent. There are some places you go and it feels like you are in India. Everybody you see will be wearing turbans and be speaking in Punjabi. It is a really strange experience.

A few random things about Canada that I have not yet mentioned-the milk here comes in bags. Not jugs or cartons. BAGS. It still freaks me out every time I pour a bag of milk to drink. Every single dinner app. I've had here has also had a dessert. I have a dessert almost every day. And it makes you chubby. No good. It's a Canadian thing. It’s awesome in a way, but so terrible as well. Also, it is a culture thing to take off your shoes when you go into any house. I know lots of people in the states have that rule at their house, but it appears that everybody without fail has it here. They don't even sell shoe hangers that go in closets, because your shoes will never make it to your bedroom.

Well, the work here is speedily coming along. Our area vision that we made has a goal of BAPTIZING 2 this month of May, and having 2 future dates set. It’s very realistic, and we're both expecting to hit it. We'll be having a baptism (possibly) this Sunday. We're working with a less active family who has a 9 year old son, so technically he is an investigator, and will count as a convert baptism. We're also working with an AMAZINGLY PREPARED investigator. Her name is Taryn. She is so prepared for the gospel. She has had so many hard things happen in her life, and every single thing has slowly and eventually prepared her to meet the missionaries. It’s so amazing to hear her already strong testimony of the love Heavenly Father has for all of us. She is so convinced that it was meant to be that we knocked on her door the other week. So many things lined up and started making sense right to the point where we met her. So amazing. She is doing so well, and is currently powering through the BOM before her baptism (which has been moved to May 8th) She is simply working through an addiction that should be taken care of by then.

Elder Hancock and I are continuing to find people to teach, and are continuing to teach by the spirit. We feel good at the end of each day, knowing we've done all that our Father in Heaven has required of us. It’s so amazing to watch both of us grow stronger and stronger as missionaries. We can FEEL if the Lord is displeased after a contact where we did not say what we needed to say. We can FEEL when we didn't follow the promptings of the spirit in a teaching appointment. It’s so amazing to go back, and fix your mistakes and make the Lord proud. It’s how you learn and grow. I'm so lucky and blessed to have a comp. that helped me make those proper steps.

It’s finally warming up-but raining a lot more. It’s not cold at all, but it’s been wet quite frequently. Hopefully it'll even out a bit. I'm afraid to start complaining, but I've heard it gets really really hot and humid. It gets to around 40C (104F), with 100% humidity. Such strange weather...so opposite ends of the spectrum.

Anyway, things are amazing here in Brampton. Until next week-

-E. PORTER

April 18, 2011

What an absolutely incredible week.....

I'll first start off by telling you about my new area/companion/ward/and new life really.

I have been moved from the London Zone, to the Brampton Zone. The Brampton Zone is in the heart of the mission, and is where the mission office and mission home are. We are around all the office missionaries, the APs, and a few senior couple missionaries who are an EXCELLENT addition to the already fantastic tools and resources that we have in this great mission of the Lord. The Heart Lake Ward which I am serving in now is the very center of Brampton City. The Creditview ward is on our left, and the Brampton 1st ward is on our right. Brampton City is VERY different than London City. Brampton is a very, very clean and very nice place. There is a RIDICULOUS amount of cultures and different kinds of people here, which makes things interesting. TONS of Islam, Hindu, and Sikh people. All of them are really nice. It is strange not living in a much lower class area anymore. It’s been a strange adjustment.

My new companion's name is Elder John Hancock II. He's from Phoenix, AZ, and he's a true gem. He is easily the most Christ-like person I have ever been able to associate with. So, so amazing. He is so loving, understanding, and such an amazing missionary. Our styles of doing missionary work are almost EXACTLY the same, which is weird, but awesome. He is pretty much what I hope to become in the future. His contacting, teaching, and social skills are all developed in a way that I hope to achieve someday. Such an amazing guy. We've been working SO HARD this past week. Even during breaks, and meals, we are going non-stop. Always updating records, always calling people, always rescheduling/scheduling appointments. It’s a good feeling when you go to bed at night knowing that you did everything that the Lord expects of you.

The Heart Lake ward is the most missionary orientated ward I've ever witnessed. SO AMAZING. Fellowshipping isn't a big deal, because there is always somebody in the exact same situation as your investigator. And they are always willing to help. I love the ward and its members already. They have such genuine love, they make you feel like a king. So amazing. I love them so much and can't thank them enough for their Christ-like example they set for me.

My life is a lot different in the sense that I HAVE A CAR NOW! Haha, woooooohhhhhhooo! I love cars more than ever before. We actually have a BRAND NEW Subaru Impreza. The missions always get really nice new cars, because we just keep them right until all the warrantees run out, then we sell them and buy brand new ones. So we've got an awesome car, it’s amazing.

This past week Elder Hancock and I surpassed all of our goals and all of the missions Standard of Excellence goals as well. Everything EXCEPT finding hours. We honestly didn't have time to find, because we were teaching almost all week. AMAZING. The Lord is blessing us so ridiculously much. We're worthy, we're obedient, we're working hard, we're trying to be humble, we're trying to always be better, we have genuine love in our companionship...it’s so humbling to see how the Lord will bless you if you simply DO what He wants us so. So humbling.

We had quite a few miracles this week.....

Day 1 for me in Brampton we did some finding in a place called "the jungle". There are tons of high-rise apartment buildings, so we find in the middle of them all. We contacted an 18 year old girl named Rebecca. Right off the bat you could tell she was VERY prepared for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We chatted for 5 minutes, and set up an appointment for 8pm that night at the library. Elder Hancock and I met with her, had an awesome lesson, and set her for baptism on MAY 1st! 3 weeks away. She is Brampton YSA, so we passed her onto the APs who cover the YSA ward here, and we've been getting frequent updates from them, and she's doing amazing. She came to church and was fellowshipped like crazy, and she can't wait for May 1st to come so she can be baptized. MIRACLE.

Day 2 in Brampton we went tracting, and when we tract, we typically go door to door, but we stop and talk to anybody we see outside, and then continue on. While we were going door to door, I saw a lady across the street poke her head out and then go back in. I knew she was home, so we crossed the street to talk to her next. We knocked on her door and she answers, and we have a quick little chat with her. She's so prepared its NUTS. She goes to church because she knows she should, but she doesn't get anything out of the Catholic Church she's attending. We shared our testimonies with her, and she let us in to teach her right then and there. Once again, amazing lesson, and she committed to be baptized on MAY 1st!!! She came to church, and she's doing amazing. We had a member invite her to FHE tonight, so we're excited for that. She's excited for May 1st to come up as well. Another MIRACLE.

We are being SO BLESSED here. My testimony of faith, diligence, and obedience has grown lots and lots this past week. So actually see and feel results to your quest to be better is such a relief, and a blessing from Heavenly Father. I'm so grateful to be here in this AMAZING City and Zone, and have the privilege and blessing to serve my Master at this time.

I love you all! Thank you for your support and prayers.

Until next week

ELEVATE THE STANDARD

-E. PORTER

April 11, 2011

Well, in 1 week I will be hitting my 5 MONTH MARK. Man, I am not a baby missionary anymore. I'm getting "older" every day. It’s kind of depressing actually.

I have been serving here in the city of London, in the London 2nd ward for nearly 4.5 month, or for 3 transfers. 3 or 4 transfers are pretty normal, but 4 are much more common for a walking area. As the transfer drew to a close over the past week, a desire started to grow bigger and bigger inside me to stay a little bit longer in this area. When I got here I didn't like it. Not much at all. I liked being a missionary, but not London. I worked my guts out and tried to be happy, optimistic, and hard working. It wasn't until I realized that my time in London may be drawing to a close, that I started to feel with strong emotion how much I love it here. I didn't even realize it until recently. I love it so much. I love the people, I love the ward, I love the stupid hills I have to walk up every day in any direction I walk from my apartment, I love our investigators, I love the memories, I love the things I have been blessed with while I've been serving here, and I love the things I've learned about myself, the gospel, and the way this area has changed me for the better. It’s just another experience on the pile of things that shapes me into who I must be. I received my transfer call last night, I will be heading to the Heart Lake Ward, in the Brampton Zone. I know Heart Lake isn't a city, I think it may even be inside of Brampton. I'm not sure. Its most likely just west of Toronto, in the suburbs that way. I am going to be paired up with Elder Hancock, who has been out for 2 transfers more than me. We're a pretty young companionship, but Brampton is ALWAYS loaded with the best missionaries. They've got to set a model zone for the rest of the mission. It’s where the headquarters is, and where the AP's work and things. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Elder Hancock, so I'm REALLY excited. Brampton even has a motto-"BRAMPTON BAPTISES". It’s a nicer part of Ontario (or so I've heard), and it’s pretty close to the Toronto temple. Oh, I GET A CAR TOO! HA! Yeah, pretty excited about that. Walking was cool and had its perks, but walking in the summer would be tough. That’s really all I know about my new area...I have no clue what the address is or anything, but I'll get that by next Monday.

So after I got my call last night, I just sat at my desk, staring at the wall for about 45 minutes. It pretty much shattered my entire universe, ha. I wasn't expecting it, and I didn't want it to come. It’s so funny how big changed make you realize what you really feel about places and people. I love it here. I am going to say goodbye to my FAVORITE people in the whole world...Bro. and Sis. Hofstetter. They've had the BIGGEST influence on my mission. They are incredible people, and they honestly changed who I am. We visit them every Sunday, many times for dinner. I love them so much. I love lots of people here.  It’s going to be really sad to leave. Man.

I finished this area with a strong push though. We've got 2 investigators with baptismal dates, 1 of which is SUPER solid with no concerns thus far. We're working with an amazing 13 year old girl, whose mother isn't letting her be baptized. But we've been working with her mother, and they are coming to stake conference together this Sunday! She even had me and my comp over for dinner last week. Things are looking up with nearly everything now. I'm glad I was able to leave this area better than when I found it. It was a tough past 6 weeks. But I made it through.

The Lord has His hand in this work, and in our lives. It is so easy to see if you step back. Everything around us points towards a loving Heavenly Parent. We're so lucky to be blessed with this truth and knowledge that we all have. We've got to take advantage of the light that we have. We've got to pray more sincerely, study more diligently, be more exactly obedient...these simple little things make the make-or-break difference in the end. I pray that we can all remember that we are simply clay in the hands of our Master. Everything will work out. I love the gospel, my Lord, and my mission. I'm doing what I'm supposed to do, and I'm receiving the positive consequences that come from it.

Never forget to "ELEVATE THE STANDARD"

-E. PORTER

April 4, 2011

This past week has been a real interesting one. I feel like I learned a LOT. Conference this past weekend along with the personal whisperings of the spirit combined together to make this past conference wonderful. I learned many things I need to do as a missionary, as well as a child of God. I'm very grateful for the opportunity that we have to listen to living apostles and prophets. How lucky we are. I'm so grateful, and I testify of the truth that we have in the Church of Jesus Christ. The truth that we possess is often taken for granted, or not understood as much as it really should be. The more and more I learn and the longer and longer I am on my mission serving the Lord 100% of the time, the more and more I realize I have a testimony. The more and more I realize we have ordained servants of prophets of our Lord. The more and more I realize WE HAVE THE TRUTH. Words can't express the wonderful things I've learned about myself and about the gospel during my short 4.5 month time I've had to serve my Master.

I did learn an interesting lesson this week. Well...more like had a lesson re-confirmed in my heart and spirit. Faith is the power by which the Lord rolls forth His will among His children. It’s pretty simple actually. If you don't have faith, nothing will happen. If you have faith in a righteous, inspired goal, it will happen. Pretty simple, eh? (ha). My good companion is a GREAT guy. Great sense of humor, great personality, lots of fun. But this past week there was a very apparent lack of faith. He and I are joined by a spiritual power during the time we serve together. If one of us has faith, and the other doesn't...then our companionship doesn't. It’s a win-together, lose-together situation. Conference was a wonder opportunity we had, together as a companionship, to discuss and talk about things we could prayerfully implement in our missionary work to help us find more success. I DO know from the past, that AS WE SHOW OUR FAITH (faith is an ACTION word, my friends) then we can and WILL accomplish the Lords will. Whether we are missionaries or regular church members. The lesson I've learned is that we must follow Christ’s teachings to accomplish His will. A big part of His teaching is developing Christ-like attributes. Every Christ-like attribute is an ACTION word, or a verb. You cannot develop something, or become something without doing it. We've got to ACT, and NOT BE ACTED UPON. If we do, we will act as tools in the Masters hands, mouthpieces in His mouth, and we will be able to fulfill our divine calling of being the sacred vessels in which His spirit, and His will will be accomplished. It’s our duty and privilege. I know the Lord is REAL. I know he LIVES. His influence is ETERNAL. And we must RISE TO THE STANDARD to accomplish what he has set us out to do.

As I show forth my faith this week, we will find success and progression. This past week, every single person in our teaching pool got sick right before conference. Coincidence? I think NOT! Very frustrating. We've dropped lots of our investigators, including one from the past who was almost baptized. It’s the second time we've dropped her. She blew her second chance. So sad. We've got 2 not-so-much-progressing investigators, BOTH with baptismal dates. They will be postponed if things don’t get moving. We're teaching an AMAZING 14 year old girl. Cried to her mom frequently to be baptized. We haven't gotten the ok-go YET. We'll be working with her this coming week.

Out of time. Love you all!

RAISE THE STANDARD

E. PORTER

March 28, 2011

What an absolutely fantastic week! The past 7 days have been filled with miracle after miracle. I am slowly learning how the heavens work in accordance with your righteous desires, diligent prayer and fasting, and motivated action to fulfill your goals that are in-line with our Fathers will.

Our area nearly reached standard of excellence this week! 2 weeks ago at Specialized Training (similar to Zone Conference), our Mission President told us how it is, and boldly proclaimed that the London Zone is only operating at 1/3 of its capacity, and that we all had to "elevate our standard". Wow. Talk about a slap in the face. I can promise you that I've not been slacking off one bit. Not even a little bit. But there IS more that I have been impressed I should be doing. President Brower also left us with a commitment to re-commit ourselves this week. To re-read our mission call letters, and recommit with heavenly Father to do all we should be doing. What a wonderful experience. Due to our increased motivation and effort, mixed with diligent prayer and fasting, we were able to see our area pick up quite a bit. We got 3 new investigators this week, with plans to receive another 3 this coming week. We doubled our investigator lessons taught, and committed 1 person to baptism during the end of April. Simply great things are happening. It’s such a testimony builder to see the Lord waiting at your command to hand you blessings if you are willing to do the required work to receive them.

We were able to get a hold of my very first investigator who was to be baptized, but disappeared the day before her baptism. We've talked with her, and she is willing to work her way towards baptism. No specific date yet, but we are working towards it. We were able to have a miracle contact with a lady this past week-

We were walking through a neighborhood on Wednesday, and I saw a lady on the other side of the street waiting at a bus stop. I looked to cross the street, and I saw her bus coming. I only had about 15 seconds to talk to her before her bus came! So I sprinted across the street, ran up to her, word barfed something to the extent of..."Hi! My friend and I are missionaries! We helping people know Christ, and we show people how to be happy and find peace! Can we come back?"....Talk about a super random and awkward contact! But nonetheless!!...she said yes. She pointed to the building she lived in and said she lived on the top floor. And that was that. We went back the next day, taught an inspired Restoration mixed with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and committed her to be baptized. AWESOME. Cool experience.

I'm out of time, but all these things really make you see how involved Father is in the work of building up His kingdom. It’s absolutely humbling to even be here. I love my mission and I'm sad I've only got 19.5 months left.

Lesson of the week...

Don't let a day go by without striving to “ELEVATE YOUR STANDARD"

Love,

E. PORTER

March 21, 2011

Hey there. This week was a bit of a challenging one. We weren't able to teach any investigators due to 6 re-scheduled or bombed appointments. Frustrating. These people are going to be in big trouble for not being accountable. It’s so sad to see people literally fail at why they are here on earth, and see it happen right in front of your eyes. We've been told that we sadly teach more people to condemnation than we do to salvation. Sad thought, but a lot of the time it is true.

But other than the slow-ish week, there ARE many good and promising things coming up in the near future. Our Mission President has challenged each companionship in the mission to achieve 5 new investigators this week. He's given us a promise that as we prepare ourselves, it will be possible for every companionship in the whole mission. It’s been pretty cool to pray for this promise all week, and now get to the beginning of the week it’s supposed to happen, and see how everything has been lined up for this achievement to be possible. I know it'll happen. We've got 2 promising families. Which is probably the most exciting news of my whole mission thus far. We also miraculously got in contact with my first investigator who was to be baptized. She wants to see us again, so it looks like a miraculous recovery in process!

Despite things being tough physically, mentally, and emotionally lately, I am starting to see how the Lord may be preparing me for the things that are to come. I gave a blessing last night, and in the blessing I was directed to say "Be mindful and remember that your Father in heaven will place you in certain situations, and put you through specific things so that you may be molded, chiseled, and refined into the person you are to become." Isn't this so true for all of us as Father's children? Completely understanding that sentence will give you a perspective on life that will make you invincible! It’s important as members, or as missionaries that we DO always remember that God has a purpose and a plan for us. We are his full time work. He has no other distractions, hobbies, or jobs that get in the way. Our very creator is 100% involved in leading and guiding each one of us by the hand to where we are supposed to be. It’s great to feel the spirit bear witness that this is true. Knowing this is the ONLY thing we could ever hope to learn, achieve, or obtain to give us legitimate, true, lasting peace and happiness. I'm very grateful for this opportunity I have to serve my Master with all my time and energy. I'm grateful for his prophet to show us the way. I'm grateful for evidence of this truth, the Book of Mormon. I'm grateful for the guidance and direction is provides us with. I know that our Father's love is a very REAL thing. Connecting to the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the only real way to find eternal progression. I know these things to be true, and I am grateful to be blessed with the strong conviction and testimony that I do have. I know this week we will be lead to achieve our goals. Strive to go past your best.

The greatest missionary I ever knew always said...

"NO BAD DAYS, NO REGRETS, AND NOTHING LEFT IN THE END"

How true it is.

I LOVE you all so much. Keep working to go past your best. ELEVATE YOUR STANDARD!

With much love and sincerity,

Elder Porter

March 7, 2011

Well, another week gone by already! Today I was looking at the calendar I have by my desk, and I realized that I have been away on my mission for ALMOST 4 MONTHS. I just stood there and was confused for probably a whole minute, because there was no way I could have been gone that long. WEIRD. I do feel like I am close to completely in missionary mode now. Just taking it one day at a time and trying to do all I can do focus on building up the kingdom. The winters and slow and tough here, but things are still going on. We're only teaching a few investigator lessons a week, but I'm sure it'll speed up as the weather gets warmer.

I got my new companion this past Tuesday! His name is Elder Williams! He was last serving in Tillsonburg. He has been out for 15 month...so a LOT longer than my trainer. He is our district leader for the west/south side of London. There are 4 companionships in our district, so it’s a big one. There is London 2nd (us), London 3rd (sisters), London Chinese, and the YSA Branch (Zone Leaders). He is a really good guy. Really, really goofy. Sometimes a bit too goofy, but he is fun to be around, and he is a real good guy with a good heart. We're getting along just fine after almost the end of week 1 together.

This past week he and I did tons and tons of finding. We had 30 hours of finding, many of which were in the rain, freezing rain, and snow. The first part of the week was VERY productive. We were lead by the spirit, and got a LOT of potential investigators. We've been hanging out at a busy-ish intersection and picking people off. We'll hopefully be able to get 3 new investigators this coming week. It will be nice to slowly fill our teaching pool so we can begin to do what we are called to do, which is to teach! We met a really nice couple with a few kids that seem promising with the little contact we have had with them thus far, but I'll fill you in on what actually happens this coming week.

Funny story for the week. Elder Williams and I are contacting people back home. It was about 8:15, so we didn't have a ton of time left. We saw these two 20ish looking year old guys looking kind of sketchy together having a smoke. Its funny how all your fear leaves concerning talking to sketchy people. In a normal situation, I probably would have crossed the street to get away from them. But I contact them and we start talking about who God actually is. They were both potty mouths and were smoking something funny smelling, but they invited us to come up to their room to have a chat. We didn't feel bad about it, so we agreed. So went up and sat in his apartment and started having a decent conversation about why we are on earth, why bad things happen to innocent people, and who God is. About 10 minutes in, the guy pulls a beer out of his pant pocket and starts drinking it. We tried to keep him on track but about 10 minutes after that he was acting high as a kite and pretty drunk. It went from really normal to really weird, really fast. We started trying to convince us we should come party with him tonight. It was actually really funny, but I felt like we were starting to waste time so we tried to leave. He pretty much forced us to let him add us on Facebook. Then he let us leave, ha. Weird experience. Really weird.

Anyways. I am really grateful to be able to be a misisonary. I feel blessed and honored to be able to do what I'm doing. Feeling the spirit so frequently is quite a marvelous gift and blessing. I cannot wait for the upcoming time I have to serve the Lord with all I have.