Happy Canada Day!!!

Being a missionary in Raymond during this time of year has its perks. One of which is that the Canadian pride, but more specifically the Raymond pride, is unreal. So they went all out for Canada Day and we got to help with most of the celebrations. #service4dayzz. Which meant we weren't bored out of our minds trying to visit people on the holidays that didn't want us to visit them. So this week was a blast.

Tuesday: We had a zone meeting and it was really neat because we talked about how when we fulfill our purpose as missionaries, it's helping us change into the type of person we want to be for the rest of our lives, not just the kind of missionary we want to be for the next few months. Then we took a zone photo in front of the Cardston temple. Ah, it's so pretty. I'm a little partial to the Calgary one, but I like this one too. 

We had pizza for lunch and it was dang good. And then we went to a lesson with our member who's shooting for the temple in a few months. We did our hide-n-go-seek game with the Holy Ghost with her and invited her to pray to know what she needs to work on to help her get to the temple and then heed those promptings from the Spirit. Remember that talk given in conference in October, What Lack I Yet? That's what we're going for! Try it(: 

We had a couple of other lessons with some families we stopped by. We're really pushing for people to read the Book of Mormon as a family right now. It's definitely something that will strengthen us personally and as a family unit, so that's the main focus of our object lessons. 

We went to heart attack a girl in our ward and she walked out on us while we were doing it. And it was super awkward. And we tried to get her to go back inside... It didn't work. So when she finally did go back inside, we stood there and waited for a few minutes and then finished hear attacking her hahaha. 

And then it started poooouuuuring. Like, buckets. So, we're walking to our next appointment and this car pulls over and offers us a ride. 

"Where you goin?" she says. 

"Uh... your house. We have an appointment with you, remember?" 

Hahaha she didn't. She'd forgotten it was her daughter's birthday party and it was recked because they'd planned to have a camp-out in the backyard but it was pouring and all the 9 year-old girls she'd invited were bummed. So we went over and made a fort in the basement for them so they could still have a "camp-out." We helped them roast marshmallows over the fire that was still going despite the rain, and helped them brush out their snarled, rain-soaked hair. It was a blast. 

Wednesday: We helped lay sod. So, I didn't know dirt and grass could be so heavy...??? Well, It was. So there's that. 

We had correlation/lunch with our stake Mission Leader and it was my first time meeting him. He's pretty cool, Brother Bridge. Very missionary minded and ambitious with getting things done. I like it. Also, the Raymond stake is being rearranged, ward boundaries and such, on Sunday, so we talked a lot about that. 

We had a lesson with Julia, an older less-active-ish in one of our wards. We did the BOM object lesson with the can where you smash your finger but it dents the can instead and she freaked haha it was great. But it got her to commit to reading every day! 

Then we packed. A lot. Because -- Surprise! -- we're moving! We just moved apartments because where we were living was just temporary and they finally found us a permanent residency. So that took a ton of our day. We also helped a member clean her house in preparation for the Canada Day festivities. 

Sister Taylor and Sister Romney's 82 year-old investigator got baptized, so we went to that and it was so neat to be a part of. People can change, guys! 

Then we went to our ward BBQ and our family that's investigating came! They had so much fun! We got all the kids to play Red Rover and Capture the Flag after all the eating was done and it was a blast. 

Thursday: We did weekly planning and finished packing and then actually did the physical process of moving. All the appointments we had set up fell through, so none of them happened haha. We did service at City Hall passing out donuts after a concert and there's an A Capella group with a bunch of kids from our wards that sang to us afterwards. They're adorable. We gave them donuts. 

Friday: Was Canada Day!! 

We started off by being in the parade on a float for one of the wards and it was lot of fun. We ran out of candy halfway through... Oops. But we got our royalty wave down pat. While on the float, I saw a ton of people from previous areas and it was so cool to see those familiar faces that I wasn't expecting at all! 

We went to a couple of families houses for lunch (we got fat) and then went to help out at the rodeo. We were in charge of the Lil' Buckaroos for the little kids and that was a lot of fun. 

We had supper (leftovers from lunch) with a family in the elders' ward and they made homemade donuts. Holy heck, they were so good. No leftovers after that. Then we went uptown to the street fair where we ran the bouncy houses. That was a lot of fun. We basically were in the sun all day long and so we have been applying aloe vera like our lives depend on it for the last few days. But it was so fun to see this little bitty town of 4000 explode to around 10,000 to celebrate Canada Day. 

Saturday: We helped with the pancake breakfast they had after a relay run. Lots of people came through and if I had a dollar for every person that asked me where I was from and if I knew someone, I'd have so. Much. Money. But it was a lot of fun. I love getting to meet new people. It's a blast. 

So we helped with that for a few hours. We had lunch with a member, and then we helped another member plant lilac bushes. And move railroad ties. They're heavy. 

We had a few lessons with members, but our investigators weren't able to meet with us, so we were sad about that. 

Sunday: Was our usual 9 hours of church. Bishop and Sister Steed, the members we used to live with, saved us Chinese food leftovers from the night before and gave them to us so we had lunch for Sunday. We pigged out on that after we broke our fast, and then we headed to the big stake meetings where they rearranged the ward boundaries. So, we now cover four wards and the boundaries are completely rearranged, as well as the members in them. So, what little I've figured out about our areas and the members, I've thrown out the window. Woo hoo! But it'll be fun to meet more new people. I'm excited for this next adventure! 

Something I learned from the stake rearrangement is that, change happens. That's part of life. And resisting change slows the progress of the Kingdom of God. We've been sent here to learn and to grow and that all involves change. We are meant to eternally progress and the Lord knows what we need for that. Change is good! That doesn't mean it's easy, but it's good for us. 

Also, the Church is true no matter where you go. #micdrop 

Love you all so much! Hope you have a happy and safe 4th of July! Take lots of photos for me and then... and then send them to me(: 

<3 Sister Pipkin