Email from Elder Lofthouse Stranger Tides in Millwoods

This week was absolutely nuts. This has probably been the weirdest way to finish a mission ever.  I got another new companion. His name is Elder Potter, and he's from Huntington, Utah.  It was a crazy way to get him.  Here we go!

      

Tuesday was good. We went shopping, emailed, and then at 3 we went to he mission home so that Lara could talk to President. Don't know why, but it was a good visit. We got a sneak peak of the Christmas initiative. It was pretty neat. The end of the day we went to the Wrights for supper. It was awesome. After that we went and knocked a few doors, and went to bed.

      

Wednesday we went to the church and got some stuff done. After lunch we got a call from President. We went back to the mission home at 3:30, and then Lara and Rousseau both got travel plans. It was kinda nuts. The rest of the evening was uneventful. Lara and Rousseau got picked up by the APs, and then I got Elder Potter. So yes, I had 4 companions in 4 days...  Crazy, eh?

      

Thursday was good. We had district meeting, and then we went trail contacting, and then we went and got a progress record, and then we had thanksgiving supper with the Harrises. It was awesome. Then we had coordination. It was good. Really good. We had a good night. 

       

Friday was good. We did weekly planning. Getting Elder Potter up to date on the area took longer than it needed too. Then we went and walked around for a little... it wasn't all that exciting. It was a pretty decent day. 

      

Saturday was awesome. We helped someone move a piano in the afternoon. It's been a while since I've done that!  After that we went and finished weekly planning... yeah, we didn't finish it Friday. After that we walked to supper, and then we walked back.  We then stopped by the Mannings, and had an awesome visit with them. It was an awesome day. 

     

 Sunday was good. We had all our meetings, and then church. Church was awesome. After church we went to supper at the Moawads. They're an awesome family. After supper we drove to Beaumont to give a baptismal Interview. It was really good. That was the end of the day. 

      

Monday was fun. We got to go to the MCC Thrift Store!  It's been a while since I've been there. It was awesome. We had a lot of fun. We had supper at the Calverts. After supper we set up an appointment with the Smith family. We haven't seen them in a while, so that's good!  After that we stopped by some more people, but nothing cool happened. It was great, though. 

      

This week, more than anything, taught me a lesson about adapting to different situations. If we cannot learn to adapt and change with certain situations then we won't ever be able to become the person God wants us to be. As we learn from all different situations, we can grow and become someone better!  Have a good week!

Loves

Elder Rusty Lofthouse 

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet success unexpected in common hours.

-Henry David Thoreau

Email from Elder Lofthouse 11/22/16 Strange things are afoot (in Canada) Ted

 This week was less stellar than last week, but it was still a super fun week.
     
Tuesday we had supper with Bishop Palmer and his family. It was pretty sweet. After that we went and knocked a few doors, and went home. Nothing too exciting.
     
Wednesday was pretty fun. We had interviews with President Pattison. He's an awesome guy.  It was a good chat. After that we went and did some street contacting and knocked some doors. It was pretty good. Then we went to Soda Jerks with Elders Hubner and Bullock. It was awesome. I love Soda Jerks. I'm definitely going to miss that place when I'm gone. After that we were going to have a lesson with the Robanskes, but they weren't available. Sad, eh?  It was a decent day.
     
Thursday was fun. We had district meeting in the morning.  After that I did some My Plan.  Yes, it was the dating and marriage section...  it was interesting. After that we went on exchanges with the Ellerslie Elders. Elder Johnston came with Elder Lara and I. It was awesome. We had a ton of fun, and we got quite a lot done. Nothing super amazing, but it was good.
     
Friday was good.  We had a pretty decent morning, and then we went and got Elder Woodruff and Richens and went to Soda Jerks for lunch....  again. It's so good!  After lunch, Elder Woodruff, Lara, and I did some weekly planning. It was pretty good, and then we went and knocked some doors and had supper. It was pretty good. Then, later that night we went on ANOTHER exchange with the Zone Leaders. Elder Bonny came with Elder Lara and I. Yes, Elder Bonny is also from Elk Ridge.  We finally got the Ridge Boys together!  Haha. It was awesome.
     
Saturday was awesome. Elder Bonny is a stud. We went trail contacting in the morning.  Surprisingly enough, there were actually people on the trail!  It was cold and snowy, but we went anyway, and there happened to be people. It was awesome. Then we went to the Gurdwara and got lunch. After lunch we went and contacted a few potentials and knocked doors along the way. It was pretty good. We were out doing that in the cold for a couple hours. It was awesome. I love the cold!  After supper we had a lesson with the Robanskes, and then exchanged back. It was an awesome day.
     
Sunday was good. Magnus and Izaak were confirmed!  Magnus got the Aaronic priesthood as well. It was an awesome day. After church we went and knocked a few doors and then went to supper with the Kenworthys. Then we knocked some more doors...  it was pretty good. We found a few potentials. It was a good day!
     
Monday was awesome. We were going to go to the MCC, but craziness happened. We got a call from the assistants in the morning telling Elder Woodruff to pass his bags.  He got sent to Leduc with Elder Johnston.  Super weird. Later in the day we got Elder Rousseau. For my last two weeks of my mission I'll have another companion!  Pretty sweet, eh?  We had a sweet lesson with Skye later in the evening.  It was awesome. It was a super sweet day!
     
This week was really good. I love being here in Canada. I'm going to miss it a ton when I leave.  I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I wouldn't be knocking doors in the cold in Alberta if I didn't know it!  I love how the gospel can change lives for the better. It's amazing!

Love you all!
Elder Rusty Lofthouse

I forgot a quote last week, so you get 2 this week!

If there are no demons within, the demons outside cannot hurt us.
-African Proverb

We grow by great dreams. All big men are dreamers.
-Woodrow Wilson

Email from Elder Lofthouse 11/15/16 Temple Day!

This week was incredible!  I loved it!
     
On Tuesday we went to launchpad. It's a trampoline park that's owned by a member here in Hillview. It was awesome. After that we played sports, and then we had supper at the Halliwells. It was really good. After that we went and knocked some doors, and then exchanged with mandarin.
     
Wednesday was good. Elder Yu was with us. It was a good day. We had a lesson with Shawn, but he wasn't able to make it. So we went and did some language study, and then we had lunch and went and bus contacted. It was awesome. We had supper with the Wrights, and then we went and walked around a bit. It was a good day.
     

Us with Magnus and Izaak

Thursday was awesome!  We had a lesson set up with Ayan, but she wasn't home. After that we had ZTM. Which was really weird, because it was my last ZTM. Weird eh?  Also that day, I got my flight plans. So it was a really weird day for me. It was good, though. After ZTM we went and had a lesson and a meal with Nivee and Atul. It was awesome, and then after that we went back to the church for the baptism of Magnus and Izaak. It was awesome. There were so many people that came to support them, it was incredible!  It was an awesome night.
     
Friday was awesome as well. We had a lesson with Shawn.  As it was remembrance day,  we read Alma 46 with him. It was awesome. Right after that we went to Tim Hortons and had a lesson with Mizan, a new investigator. He wanted us to bring him a bible, and we talked about the Plan of Salvation and gave him a Book of Mormon as well. It was an awesome lesson. We had lunch, and then we went and visited Brother Blanchet.  That was awesome as well. We listened to the talk "To whom shall we go" by Elder Ballard. It was so fun!  After that we went and stopped by Ayan again, but she wasn't there. Sadly. Then we went and had supper with Sister Gregson. It was awesome, we had some super good Chinese food. Then we went and had a lesson with the Robanskes. It was an awesome day!
     
Saturday we were on exchanges. Elder Richens came with Elder Lara and I. We had an interesting day. We went bus contacting and street contacting and tracting and all that stuff. We had supper with the Carters. It was awesome. I love the Carters. It was a pretty good day.
     
Sunday was awesome. We had meetings the whole time before church, and then we had church.  Then we had a potluck after church....  yeah.  It was pretty good. The Guzmans came!  They're a less active family we were working with in our last area.  It was awesome. I loved it. At the end of the day we stopped by Fong, but she wasn't home. It was a pretty good evening.
     
Monday was crazy. And kind of boring. We had to get our apartment sprayed for cockroaches....  not fun. So we prepped it and then we had to wait to let the exterminator in, but he was about 3 hours late...   not fun. Again.  Then we had supper with the Baldersons, which was a lot of fun!  We had a good time knocking on doors, and met 3 people who want us back. Cool, eh?
     
This morning we went to the Temple. I love the Temple. I hope that everyone who has a chance to go on a regular basis goes regularly. It is a wonderful place to learn and find answers to your questions.


Have a great week!
Elder Rusty Lofthouse

Email from Elder Lofthouse 11/8/16 It's Not Over Until We Win

This week was pretty sweet. We had some really good conversations with people. We met a lot of interesting people as well...
     
Tuesday was good. We had supper at the Bennetts. After that we were going to have a lesson with Skye, but she cancelled. So we stopped by a few people.  It was pretty okay. Nothing super exciting.
     
Wednesday was fun. We had a lesson with Shawn in the morning. We read some of the Book of Mormon with him. It was awesome. In the afternoon we went to Brother Joseph's place to help him take some leaves. It was pretty sweet. He's a really cool guy. After that we went and did some of the My Plan program. It's not the most exciting thing ever. After that we stopped by some potentials. We had supper, and then we went and tried by some more people. It was alright.
     
Thursday was awesome. We had district meeting, and then we went and walked around and knocked a few doors. It was pretty good, and we ran into a former investigator who said we could come back. So that was cool. Then we went to the Gurdwara to set up a time to volunteer. There was a little bit of a language barrier, but we are able to go whenever we want!  It's gonna be fun. After that we walked to supper with the Becks. It was awesome. After that we had coordination Meeting, and then we went home. It was a good day.
     
Friday was fun. We had another lesson with Shawn. We talked about priesthood blessings.  It was a really sweet lesson. After that we did our weekly planning.  Which isn't too exciting.  But it's necessary. Then we bussed to the farthest corner of our area and knocked some doors. It was awesome!  Then we bussed back to supper and then walked home. All in all, it was a good day.
     
Saturday was fun. We bussed to the far end of our area again, and then we walked across our area knocking on doors and talking to people. It was pretty sweet.  We talked to a lot of cool people. After all of that we had supper at the Harris' and then we went and taught the first three lessons to the Bruce Family. Three of the kids are getting baptized this Thursday. It's gonna be awesome!
     
Sunday was the North America Central area broadcast. It was really good. I was also able to meet with President Pattison and renew my temple recommend. After that we went to the top of our area and had a really interesting time knocking on doors. We met some weird people..... it was awesome. That's basically all we did that day.
     
Monday was stellar. We had a lesson with Shawn in the morning. We taught about prayer, and it was awesome. After lunch we went to the MCC Thrift Store with the Ellerslie Elders. It was a lot of fun. After that we had a lesson with Nivee and Atul, and then the Spanish Elders brought another guy that speaks Hindi, and we got to teach him as well. After supper we had another lesson with the Bruce Family. We finished the lessons, and they're good to go for Thursday. I'm so excited!  Woohoo!
     
This week was really weird. We had nothing going for us, but we kept on working.  We might not have found anyone new to teach this week, but we have a whole bunch of people who are progressing. Even if our efforts don't yield anything at the moment, the effort you put in will always come back and you will always reap the rewards. I know that's true.

Have a good week!
Loves
Elder Rusty Lofthouse

If you're already great, be better.
-Taylor, a drunk lady I met in Yellowknife

Email from Elder Lofthouse 11/1/16 Posterity

This week was pretty cool. Transfers happened, which is always exciting. My newest companion is a super cool guy.
   
Tuesday we got transfer calls.  As you know, Elder Lara and I are training!  That means I'll have been training for the last 18 weeks of my mission. Pretty neat, eh?  It was a crazy day. We had a lesson set up with the Bruce family, but they weren't home. It was kinda sad. All in all it was a pretty good day, though.
   
Wednesday we drove to the Riverbend Stake Centre for the trainers meeting. It was pretty good. The best part was when we got to meet out Greenie. His name is Elder Woodruff. Elder Woodruff is a pretty stellar guy. He's from Innisfail, which is about 20 minutes south of Red Deer. He is currently waiting for a visa to go to Guam. So that's neat!  The other cool part is that Elder Hubner is training as well!  Somebody I trained is training, so that's super cool. I'll attach the posterity picture at the end. It was a lot of fun. After transfers, we went and dropped of his stuff at the apartment. Then we set up his iPad, had a lesson with Nivee and Atul, and then we had supper with the Hinmans. It was really good! I don't think we did anything else amazing in the evening.

   
Thursday was awesome. We had district meeting in the morning, which was good. After that we had to drive Elder Cheng to the Coronation Park apartment.  His companion spent a few days in the hospital, so Elder Cheng was with Ellerslie.  We dropped him off, and then we went back, did 12 week and My Plan, and then we went and had supper with Nivee and Atul. It was awesome. We went to coordination Meeting after that. It was a good day.
   

Friday was interesting. We did our studies, and then we did some weekly planning. It was rather boring...  after that we went and knocked a few doors With Brother Joseph. It was awesome. We met a lady named Kara who said we could come back!  It was awesome. After that we went back to the church to put in some records into the Areabook Planner app. It takes forever to put stuff in, but it's gonna be a good thing to have once everything is put in, but it sucks putting it in. After that we had supper with the Gateway YSA elders, and then did splits with them. Elder Lara and I took Elder Bullock to visit Judy and Clyde, but they weren't home. so we knocked a few doors. It was pretty good. We stopped by Carlos afterwards, and we got in!  It was awesome. He's a super cool guy. It was an awesome day.
   
Saturday was good.  In the afternoon we went and helped a lady move into the Ward, and then we went and had a lesson with Brother Blanchet. It was awesome. He's a cool guy. After that we ate supper with the Steeds, and then we had a lesson with the Robanskes. It was a really fun day!
   
Sunday was great. We had Ward Council, and then we had church. I loved church.  It was the primary presentation!!  It was awesome. After church we had supper with Sister Randeau, and some of her friends. It was really good. Then we walked across the area to go visit Fong, but she wasn't home, so we walked home.
   
Monday was Halloween!  We went and volunteered at the MCC Thrift Store.  It was awesome. We had supper with the Andersons. Their family tradition is pizza and candy for Halloween supper.... haha. It was awesome. We had to be in early because it was Halloween. So nothing else happened.
   

This week was awesome. I love it here in the Canada. I know that this church is true, and that Jesus Christ is our savior.

Loves!
Elder Rusty Lofthouse

Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.
-Japanese Proverb

Email from Elder Lofthouse 10/25/16 Beginning of the End

This week has been awesome!  We've had a lot of miracles happen, and we've been really busy. It's been fun!  Transfer calls also happened, so there's going to be some surprises here at the end!
     
Tuesday was cool. After P- day we went and had supper with the Bennetts. They're super cool.  Bro. Bustamante was there as well, along with Sis. Johal. It was a really fun supper. After that we went and knocked a few doors. It was a good day.
     
Wednesday we had ZTM in the morning. It was pretty good. ZTM, or any meeting for that matter, isn't my favorite thing to do, but it's necessary. It was good, though. After that we exchanged with Ellerslie. Elder Orton and I got to do one last Exchange before he leaves. He goes home this week!  It was a lot of fun, and we got to teach Amber and her daughter.  They got baptized on Saturday. It was a good day.
     
Thursday we made crepes for district lunch.  It was awesome. We had all sorts of crepe stuff as well. It was awesome. Lunch was great. After that I started the My Plan program. It kinda freaks me out that I only have 6 weeks left..... yikes.  Haha. After that we went and had supper with the Carters, and then had a lesson with a lady named Skye. It was an awesome visit, and she said she'd come to church not this Sunday, but next Sunday!  I'm stoked!
     
Friday was awesome. We had a lesson with Shawn.  We've finished teaching him all the lessons, so we started reading the Book of Mormon with him. After that we went and weekly planned, and then we went and visited some people with Bro. Joseph. It was a lot of fun, and we met some cool people. It was a lot of fun. After that we had supper with the Strongs. It was really good, and then we went to the church to give a baptismal interview.  It was for Amber and daughter. While we were there, Amber's other daughter fell off of something and broke her arm, so we had to go to the ER and get it checked out. It was sure exciting. That took up the rest of the night.
     
Saturday was interesting. The traveling APs picked up Elder Wood in the morning, and took him out for the day. So it was just Elder Lara and I. It was pretty fun. We went to the baptism in the afternoon, and then we went and had supper with the Moores. After that we stopped by a few people, but no one was home.  It was kinda sad, but it's okay.
     
Sunday was crazy. Elder Wood went with the Traveling APs again.  Elder Lara and I went to church.  It was Ward conference, and we got a new bishopric in Hillview!  It was pretty exciting.  It's gonna be interesting working with a new bishopric in the Ward. I'm excited for it!  After church we went and tried to contact a referral we got yesterday, but they weren't home.  It was a pretty fun night. Nothing too crazy happened, but it was fun.
     
Monday was interesting. We found out that we had an exterminator coming the next day and we had to prep the apartment for it.....  it wasn't too bad. After that we got the Areabook Planner app!  So now we need to transfer all of our records to the app, and then everything will be digital. Pretty cool, eh? After putting in some records we had supper with the Zemps. The rest of the evening was uneventful.
     
Now I'm sure you're all in suspense about transfers....  well, for my last six weeks I'm going to be in Hillview with Elder Lara!  That's not all, though. We're going to be training a new missionary!!  How cool is that?  Elder Wood is going to Greisbach with Elder Wood . Yes, both Elder Woods in the mission are going to be companions. That's awesome!

Loves
Elder Rusty Lofthouse

The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man's foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher.
-Thomas Henry Huxley

Email from Elder Lofthouse 10/18/16 A New Companion

This week was absolutely insane. There was some crazy stuff that happened. Enjoy!
     
Tuesday we had supper with the Bohles. It was pretty good, and then we went and exchanged with the Zone Leaders. Elder Wilde and I went back down to Leduc. It was an good evening.
     
Wednesday was fun. Elder Wilde and I had a blast!  We had lunch with the Patricks. It was awesome!  They were up in Whitehorse while I was in Dawson Creek and we talked with them on the phone a couple of times when one of our investigators moved up there. It was cool to meet them in person. We got a call from President around that time as well. We found out some crazy stuff was going to happen the next day!  Anyway, we went and taught a few lessons, and then we went and ate supper, and then had a sweet lesson with a less active lady. It was awesome. After that we exchanged back.
     
Thursday morning we drove to the Riverbend Stake Centre for the crazy stuff. We are in a tripan again!  Elder Lara came to Hillview with Elder Wood and I. It's great. Elder Lara is a super cool guy. We went to district meeting after that, and then we went and walked around a did some street contacting.  It was a good time. We had supper with Sister Muñoz after that. It was awesome. We had papusas again. They're so good. After all that we went and stopped by a few people. No one was home, though. It was still a good day.
     
Friday was really weird. We started our weekly planning, and then dropped off a bunch of stuff at the Ellerslie Elders place. Then we went to the office, and came back and finished our weekly planning. It was interesting. The best part was we got a whole bunch of snow!  We probably got 3-4 inches, so not a whole lot, but it's still October, so it's a lot. After weekly planning, we went to supper, which also happened to be the Elders quorum party. It was pretty sweet. We got to introduce Elder Lara to a bunch of people, so it was good. Then we exchanged with the Mandarin Elders.
     
Saturday I was with Elder Yu.  He is awesome!  We did some street contacting and door knocking in the morning. It was pretty good. We met a few people who said we could come back, so that's cool. It was really interesting in the afternoon.  I was the only English speaker at the institute with a bunch of Mandarin speakers. The language is super cool to listen too, though. Haha. After that we went and had supper with a super cool family. It was a lot of fun. We had a really fun day. We exchanged back in the evening.
     
Sunday was interesting. We had Ward council in the morning, and then we had lunch. Church was really good. After church we had supper with the Dorwards. They're a super cool family. The rest of the day was kinda sad. All of our appointments cancelled, and so we knocked some doors. It was just a bland evening.
     
Monday was good.
     
This week was really interesting. I tend to have to be taught the same lesson 4, 5, maybe 10 times before I get it. This week I figured out that living life timidly, worrying about this and that, and worrying more about what people think of you will never get you anywhere in life. If you really want to live life, then you have to be bold!  You have to take chances!  Above all else, you have to care about what God thinks about you. If you keep yourself worthy of the spirit at all times, and work toward your goals like there is no tomorrow, life is amazing. Don't fear man, and trust in God.

I love you all, and hope you have a wonderful week!
Elder Rusty Lofthouse

It is better to live one day as a lion than 1000 years as a sheep.
-Tibetan Proverb