Email from Elder Lofthouse 8/26/15 Week 6 in Yellowknife

The Aurora

Well transfers happened again......... But we'll get there later.
      So Tuesday was good. We emailed 'n' stuff. We were on our way to pick up Tanner to go fishing, when we saw our buddy, Vlad. So we stopped to talk to him. We talked about all kinds of stuff, and then we got on the subject of how some religions are very Assertive in the way they try to convert other people. We told him a sure way to get them to stop...... So we gave him a Book of Mormon. Who knows?  Maybe he'll read it and he'll want to learn more!  Then we picked up Tanner and went fishing. I got a pike. It was a little baby fish. Only a small guy. So then we had supper with the Hunts and then we went and visited the Hartfords. They're awesome. It's that time of year that everybody starts to come home from summer vacation. So we're starting to see people again!
  Wednesday was super fun. We had district meeting. We played a game called bean-boozled. It was pretty fun. And gross. It's like Russian roulette with jelly beans. Super gross. Then we drove out to a campsite about 2 hours outside Yellowknife to visit with the Selfs. The Hunts came with us, and the lesson was awesome. We were talking about tithing, and the Hunts testimony was super powerful and the Spirit was super strong. It was a really good lesson. When we got back, we went to Twist for wing night with Stephan. While we were there we met a guy named Manny. We got to talking, and he told us that once he decides to practice religion, he's going to join our church. He said that it all makes sense to him, but right now he's too focused on other things. It was a sweet experience. The Lord truly does lead us to his prepared children. After wing night, we went and visited the Laroques. They're awesome. They have a lot of potential, but they said they're not ready to make that step. We'll just keep working with them.  It was a super good day.

Arctic Explorer

   Thursday was a pretty good day. In the morning we stopped by the Greenwood's place to drop off some baking soda. Then we went and did some Facebook stuff. During lunch we got a call from President Manion. Turns out instead of flying this time, Elder Anderson and I will get to drive out. We're going to drive because we are switching our vehicle with a different one. We're giving up the Silverado for a Chevy Trax. Sad day. So we drive to High Level, and then I meet my new companion, Elder Holden, and we drive back. Elder Anderson gets to hang out in peace River for a day, and then continue on to Edmonton. It's going to be a party!  We're still not sure where Elder Anderson is going, but he is getting transferred. It was a surprising day for sure.
    Friday was a good day.  A really good day. We went to Avens in the morning and did a target shooting thing again. It was super fun. Then we went and helped Stephan paint a house for a little bit. Then we took Stephan and went to the Hunts for lunch. It was a super good lunch. We had Monte Cristos. I don't know if that's how it's spelled, but it's basically a ham and cheese sandwich with French toast as the bun. It's incredible. So after lunch, we drove out to see the Selfs one last time before Elder Anderson leaves. So we went to the campsite and then when we got back Elder Anderson said "that whole drive, ro

Alexandra Falls

und trip, is half way to High Level."  So we get to drive for twice as long one way to High Level. Yay.  When we got back we had supper at the Purcell's. We had steak. It was awesome. After that we went and visited with Vlad. He took us off-roading, and we got to talk to him and one of his buddies, Tom, quite a bit. It was super fun. Friday was fantastic.
      Saturday was pretty great. We first went and had brunch with Brother Sutherland at the Red Apple, a cool family run restaurant here in town. It was good. Then we went and volunteered at Ptarmicon, which is Yellowknife's comic con. It was pretty fun. We got to talk to a bunch of people so that was good. After that we went and ate lunch with Mike.  He cooked us wings and they were incredible. After that we went and we had another supper with Stephan. He cooked us some steaks. They were also really good. It was really good. So then we went and we visited Everett again. He's such a great guy. It was a really good day. That night we went and saw the aurora again. It's so incredible. There is no good way to describe it. Absolutely
gorgeous.
      Sunday was a super good day. Elder Anderson said goodbye to a whole bunch of people. It was a good day to sit and talk to a lot of people. There is just something special about Yellowknife. It is an incredible place. I love being here in the north.
      Monday was pretty good. We found out that Elder Anderson is going to Stony Plain. So that was fun. Then we drove 8 hours to High Level.  We stopped a few to see some waterfalls, and to get a picture at the border of NWT and Alberta. It was quite the day.  
      Tuesday the Peace River Elders came and met us in High Level. Then Elder Holden and I drove back from High Level to Yellowknife. We stopped at the border again and got a cool certificate for being an "Arctic Explorer". How sweet is that?  It was a pretty good day. Elder Holden is a good kid. It's going to be fun serving with him!
      While we were driving, we passed some areas that had been torched by wildfires. It was really interesting to see all the new undergrowth starting to grow in. It's like us in our lives. Sometimes we go through something devastating, a wildfire so to speak. What we don't realize is we need that burn to grow and to become what God wants us to become. Going through trials doesn't weaken us permanently. No it does the opposite, in fact. Turning to our Savior, Jesus Christ, while we're going through rough times, will give us strength that we did not know existed. I know that trials are for our benefit, no matter how rough it is, no matter how matter how devastating it may be, everything happens for a reason. God doesn't let stuff happen to us unless he has a purpose and he is trying to help us grow. The quote at the end of the email is very applicable. Darkness must give way to light. And it's at the darkest times that we must focus on the light. I know that this is the true church. We have a living prophet on the earth today. We can and we will make it through the challenges of life and, if we follow Christ, we will be saved and live with our families forever. I know that Jesus Christ lives. He loves us, and he is there to help us if we just turn to him.

I love you all and hope you have the best week ever.
Hugs and Handshakes
Elder Rusty Lofthouse

     

It’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.
-Samwise Gamgee

Email from Elder Lofthouse 8/18/15 How's It Going to Be?

 Tuesday was pretty good. We were going to drive up The highway a little ways to do a hike, but we found out on Monday that the road is closed due to wildfires in the area. So that was a no go this week. But we did have quite a bit of fun here. P day is always fun. For supper we went with Brother Taylor to the Wild Cat Cafe.  I had a chicken cordon bleu burger. It was excellent. After supper we went and had our weekly coordination with Brother Milnes. It was a really fun day.
    Wednesday we went and had breakfast with the Hunts and then we had District meeting! It was another excellent district meeting. After that, Elder Anderson and I went and ate lunch. Then we went to see if we could get more boxes for somebody, but Independent, the grocery store, didn't have any more we could take. Then we went and helped somebody move a couple of beds. It was just a run around helping everybody kind of day. For supper we went and had Wings with Stephan. They were some good wings. Then we went and helped Patrick, one of our investigators, take some signs down for a festival that was held last week.  It was a really tiring day.
    Thursday was most excellent. We went and picked up some more boxes for the lady who's moving. We went and took the other beds over to Chris's house. It was good. Then we went and got Stephan and helped him fix up his houseboat again. We had lunch with him, Ryan, a potential investigator, and Douggie, another potential investigator. It was awesome. Those guys are super cool. After lunch we did Facebook time. Then we started repairing a camera that Stephan found in the lake he lives on. So that was fun. He found a go pro hero 4. It's a $600 camera. So lucky him. Then we went and had supper with the Gray's. They're super good. All the   people up here are amazing.
    Friday was awesome. We were up and going from 7:30 am to 9:00 pm. We helped haul some trash to the dump, making two loads for the lady we're helping clean and move this past week. Then we went and got all of the stuff from Chris's office and took it over to the golf course. He had a charity golf tournament for the RCMP. It was super fun. We got to golf with some nonmembers we know and talk to them about all kinds of stuff. It was awesome. Then we went and had a steak dinner after we golfed, went to a Meet the Mormons movie night the Hunts were doing, go get everything from the golf course, take it back to the office, and then we got to sit and relax for a little bit. It was a super busy day, but it was super fun.
    Saturday was an interesting day. I'm the morning we went and did Mormon.org time. So that was fun. Then we went and ate lunch. It was good. Then we went to Arctic Farmer. We helped move a trailer over to another spot using a bobcat and a forklift... It sure was interesting. It was fun though. Then we went and had supper with the Hunts. We had Cafe Rio style pulled pork burritos. It was incredible. Then we went to Branch council. That was fun.  After that we visited Neil and Kelsey again. It was an interesting day for sure. That night something amazing happened. We saw the Aurora!  I thought it was cool when I saw them last winter in Cherry Grove, but these ones were absolutely incredible!  There was some red in them and they were super bright. It was gorgeous. I love being up north.
Sunday we went to church, of course. I got to teach the lesson in priesthood.  It was fun. After church we did our weekly planning. Weekly planning is always an interesting time. I'm sure if we stayed on topic it would take all of 20 minutes instead of 2 hours.....  Anyway, then we went and had supper with the Milnes.  We had some super good ribs. Then we went and and visited the Self's. They're awesome. Being a missionary is amazing.
    Monday was insane. We haven't been this busy in a while. We went and did another couple dump runs for the Lemay's. After that we went and we helped the Selfs get a quad into our truck. They're going camping, and we're going on Wednesday to see them, so we're taking the quad for them. It's great. After helping them, we went and picked up some signs for Chris. That was fun. There were a lot of them. After that we went and did Facebook stuff and then we had supper with the Coopers. I love them. They're awesome. After supper we went and we visited Steve, our barber. He's been out of town for a while and we went and introduced me to him. We do some service for him throughout the year, so he gives us free haircuts. It's great. He is a super cool dude. He's incredible. People here in the North are so genuine. They know how t serve people and how to just be friends with everybody. It's amazing.
     This week was kind of an eye opener. I realized that just because we're doing what God has asked us to do, it doesn't mean that we're going to have the easiest time or get exactly what we want when we want it. We're still going to have trials, still going to have ups and downs no matter what. Some people might ask "than what's the point? Why should we follow God if life is still going to suck"?  Because if we do not follow the commandments of the Lord, life is going to be harder than it already is. So why should we make it harder than it needs to be?  Life is meant to be enjoyed and the best way to have true joy from it is by following Christ and doing our best to be like him. I promise that as we follow the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we will be able to find more joy and more fulfillment from the simple things in life. We just need to be happy we are here to experience this journey. Always remember, God loves you more than you could ever imagine. Why would he want us to be less than what we can become?  Everything is for our benefit. Falling in Reverse says it pretty well when they say "look to the sky and be thankful you're here". Just be grateful you are here to enjoy life. It's great.  If you have this kind of attitude, no matter what happens, the glass will always be 100% full.

 “Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed.
The fact is most putts don’t drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. …Life is like an old-time rail journey—delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride".

-President Gordon B Hinckley


I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Email from Elder Lofthouse 8/11/15 Interesting...

On the rood of the chapel in Yellowknife

I hope you're all sick of me saying it... This week was amazing.
     Tuesday we were going to do some P-day activities, when we got a
call from Stephan. He needed some help so we drove out and helped him.
4 hours later we finished taking all the trash across the lake. He
lives on a house boat, so we had to canoe across 4 times to get all of
the stuff. It was great. I haven't had a workout like that since I was
home! After we helped Stephan, we went to a place called Bullocks for
supper. It was really good, but I wouldn't say $30 good. I don't know
how the member that took us could afford it!  It's ridiculous!  It was

Killed the biggest horsefly ever!

pretty good though.
      Wednesday we got all the things like shopping, washing the
truck, all that fun stuff done. It was well worth helping Stephan
yesterday. It was super fun. After getting all the good stuff out of
the way, we went and visited Sam, a less active member.  He is a super
cool dude.  Everybody here is super cool. It was an excellent day.
      Thursday we had ZTM in the morning. We have to skype into
meetings from Yellowknife. It's pretty fun. It was really interesting.
And the connection sucked so every once in a while we had to call them
again. It was really annoying. After that we are some lunch. Then we
went and tried to do some service, but nobody needed our help.  It was
quite sad. After that we went and had supper. Dawn, the lady who gave
us dinner, works at the Fraser tower and she bought us dinner. It was
really good. Then we got to talk to her and hear more of her story. It
was super fun. I think that we could help her out a lot with the Plan
of Salvation. After supper we went and tried to pass out fliers for a
Meet the Mormons movie night the Hunts are putting on. But nobody was
home. Nobody's ever home in the summer in this town. Oh well. We're
trying. Thursday was an ok day.
     Friday was a super good day. We went out with Avens to Prelude
lake to help with a "bush camp" for the residents. It was awesome. We
got to hike around in the bush to find us some big logs so we could
make a fire. But not really. There are lots of fires in the NWT right
now, so there's a ban on campfires. Yellowknife has been super smoky
the past couple of days because of said fires. But it's all good.
After lunch we did weekly planning, and then went and helped out
Chris. It was a super fun time. We got to help him organize a charity
golf tournament. So that was fun. After that we had supper with the
Iversons. Last time we were there Elder Anderson jokingly requested
Ethiopian food. And we got it. We had some Ethiopian food. It was
great. After that we went and had a lesson with the Selfs. It was
good, but they're struggling with some stuff. But it was a really good
visit. It was a fantastic day.
     Saturday we got to play in the dirt!  We helped plant 500 haskaps
(blueberry bushes). It was awesome. There were about 6 people that we
were able to talk to about the church. So that was a lot of fun. Plus
playing in the dirt is awesome. So a win-win situation there. After
that we went and showered and stuff because we were so muddy. Then we
went and did some Facebook Proselyting. It's still a work in progress.
We went and had supper with the Hunts. It was just leftovers, but they
were still really good leftovers. After that we visited Everett again.
I love Everett   He's got such a big heart and he's just a really good
guy. After that we went over to visit Kelsey and Neil Roberts. They're
an awesome couple. I think we need to focus on trying to get them to
church more regularly. Today I found out that I'm 100% climatized to
Canada weather. It got up to 28 C and I was dying. It was so hot. Then
I realized that during a normal summer back home, 28 would be kind of
chilly. Good thing I've got a long while left in Canada, eh?
     Sunday was excellent. Church was awesome. We had 3 investigators
there!  So that's amazing! After church we went and ate lunch. We
finished up weekly planning. We just have so many random things pop up
that we can't finish in one session. Haha. It's been good though.
After weekly planning we went and had supper with the Hunts. I love
going over there. They're great. Then we went and visited some
members, trying to teach them so that they know what to do when they
have missionary opportunities. It was good. So we went and visited
brother Taylor and brother Sutherland. They're a couple of older
gentlemen that know their stuff. Every time we go visit them, I learn
something new. I love visiting with people like that. I love being on
a mission.
   Monday was pretty good. In the morning we went and picked up some
boxes for a member that is leaving soon. After that we helped out
Chris. He's in charge of a charity golf tournament this weekend, and
so we're helping him with that. We've gotten to talk to a lot of
people so far. For lunch Brother Sutherland took us out to Boston
Pizza. He's an awesome guy. After that we went and did some of our
studies because we sort of missed them in the morning. Then we took
Tanner out fishing. He's a 15 year old kid that has no LDS friends, so
we take him out once in a while to give him the "older brother"
influence. He's a great kid. He's gonna be a killer missionary
someday. Supper ensued with the Cooper's. Brother Cooper is an awesome
cook. It was a super fun day.
   This week I learned a lesson in persevering. I learned that no
matter what happens we need to keep going. As Dory says "just keep
swimming". If we give up and let despair overcome us we will not last.
We have to be stalwart and steadfast in just going forward. In Lehi's
Dream the mist of darkness surrounded the people pressing forward. I
would have to say that a lot of them wanted to give up. They wanted to
stop and go back to where they were before. But they pressed forward
and came to the tree of life. We must push forward through adversity.
Life's not always going to be cupcakes and roses. It's going to be
tough. We are all going to be beaten to our knees at one point or
another. But if we press forward with faith, keeping Christ as our
focus, we will be able to go through anything, I repeat, ANYTHING. No
joke. It's when life is at its darkest that we must try our hardest to
see the light. I promise that if you always have faith in Christ we
will be able to overcome any challenge, any adversity, and any trial
that is thrown at us. I know that this is the time to be the best you
can be. And when we need to be our very best, it's going to be the
hardest. It's overtime in game 7 of the finals. We cannot afford to
give up. It's not just a title that's on the line though. So much more
is at stake. Eternal life is on the line here. So Never Give Up, Never
Surrender!

Have a fantastic week!

Email from Elder Lofthouse 8/4/15 The Next Week

This week was pretty good. Just like every other week. Every week
should be better than the one before.
     P-day was great. We went to Avens and had a worship service
there. It was a lot of fun.  After all the fun stuff we went and had
supper with the Purcell's.  We had ribs and chicken. It was amazing.
Then we went to the Sutherland's to visit. I just love everybody here.
The culture in this town is absolutely amazing. I love Yellowknife.
  Wednesday we had district meeting after studies. It was an awesome
district meeting. It inspired all of us to try to be more willing to
do God's will. After that we went and help Pops stain his deck. It was
a lot of fun. After that we went and picked up Stephan. He's awesome I
love Stephan. We went out for wings, and then we visited with Padre
(that's not his real name, I don't remember what it is.) , a catholic
chaplain for the Canadian army. He's awesome. He's going to Edmonton
on Friday, so we had a last hurrah with him. It was a great day.
    Thursday was great. In the morning we helped Padre clean up his
house a little before he leaves. He then took us out to lunch after.
After that we went and taught a lesson too the Selfs. We taught the
word of wisdom. They said that they are going to live it. No problem.
They're so great. Then we went and helped out Pops some more. He's
repainting his window sills and all that fun stuff now. After that
Pops took us to lunch. Whew. We had a lot of food today. Not good. I
still trying to shed a couple pounds and today didn't help. Anyway
after that we went and took Stephan into town again. Then we went and
had supper with the Grays. They're a great couple. Brother Gray is
killing it with member missionary work. I love it. Thursday was
amazing.
 Friday was a really good day.  Padre took us to breakfast at the
Explorer Hotel. It was so good. Then we said our goodbyes and Padre
hit the road.  We went to go do balloon badminton, but they weren't
doing it today. So we helped out with a target shooting thing. We
stacked up some plastic cups and the residents had dart guns to shoot
them with. One of the guys, Charlie, was super good. He must have done
hunting when he was younger. It was a lot of fun. After that we had
lunch with Brother Sutherland. So that was fun. He's an awesome guy.
After lunch we did Facebook and then we went and helped out a family
we know with some yard work. It was good. Then we went and picked up a
box from the airport for another guy. Then we had supper and then we
went and said goodbye to a member who is going to school this month.
It was a great day.

Elder Anderson, Elder Hunt, Sister Hunt, Elder Lofthouse

   Saturday was fun. We went to the Ramble and Ride festival at old
town. It's just the old part of town. It was super fun. We wandered
around talking to people and going into shops and talking to more
people, it was great. Elder Anderson and I both entered into a drawing
for a diamond. So that's fun. After that we went and had lunch with
the Hunts. They're awesome. We then went and did Facebook. After that
we went to supper with a nonmember. Because the church is a part of an
office building, there is a lady who comes and cleans the building. So
she fed us supper. We had steak, chicken, bacon wrapped asparagus, and
potatoes. It was excellent. Saturday was a lot of fun.
    Sunday was good as well. We had church, which is always good. Then
we went over to visit Marcel, one of our investigators. He is doing
well. After that we went and visited with Pops again. He's an awesome
guy. After that we went back to Old Town to talk to people on the
streets and see if one of us won a diamond. Sadly we did not win the
diamond, but we did get to talk to a whole bunch of people that we met
at Folk on the Rocks again. So that was fun. Afterwards we went to
supper with the Iversons again. I love that family. It was quite good.
   Monday was a holiday. Canada is the only country I know where they
have a holiday to have holiday. I think the U.S. Needs to do that. It
was a blast. We went and helped paint a deck not looks so good. It's
awesome. I love serving people. It's the best thing ever. We had
supper with the Coopers. They're a great family. I love it.
     I've learned a lot of stuff on my mission so far. One thing that
has come to the forefront of my mind this week is standing up for our
beliefs. The people in the world will try to belittle us and try to
tear us down. Just because we believe what we believe. So my advice to
you is to never give up. Be courteous when defending your beliefs, but
we must defend them. We need to live our lives in such a way that
people know that we're followers of Christ. My favorite question is if
you were taken to court, would there be enough evidence to convict you
of being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?
Are you living your life in such a way that people notice?  If you are
not and people find out you are a member, what kind of message does
that send?  What kind of message should we be sending?  These are just
a few questions to help you evaluate where you are at and what you are
doing. I promise that no matter where you're at in your spiritual
development there is always room for improvement. If you sincerely
evaluate yourself and then go to God in prayer, you will find the
strength to change the things you need to in order to be where we need
to be. And it is amazing the power that comes from being spiritually
prepared.
     I love you all and I hope that you all have the best week EVER!