I Got Raked

Well it's really hot and it's really humid. I still don't do good with humidity. We did go up to Bancroft this week which was about 2 degrees colder than Peterborough so that was nice. It still hasn't rained too much. 

This week took about five minutes, I don't have too much to say about it haha. We had Zone Conference this week, it was an amazing conference. We talked about a lot of things but one thing that stuck out to me is when President Shields said "Are some so distracted by "good things" that, as a mission, we never get to the "best things?" If Satan can keep us so busily engaged in good, we will never get to the best." That really stuck out to me, if we aren't doing good things, then the first step would probably be to do good things. But if we idle at those good things and stop progressing we will never get to the best things and fulfill all of what Heavenly Father has planned for us. 

Our car office missionary gave an instruction at Zone Conference and I got raked by the spirit during his instruction about K's, for not being as diligent as I could have been in the past with my kilometers. I always justified not walking places or driving more because I could do more effective things with my time if I drove to places with more people, but the K Limit is something we have been asked to do and is a mission rule. (1 Nephi 3:7--And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.) The Spirit told me I haven't been trusting The Lord with that one. Alas, I felt horrible and needless to say I am currently in the process of repenting. And on the next day after Zone Conference, me and Elder Moulin decided we would walk to some of our appointments. And like 3 minutes into our first walk, we walked up to a community garden and met a Former that hadn't been contacted for a year or so and she said we could come by again and teach her 9 year old son. And we met another lady that said she would like to meet up as well because of all the crazy things going on in life. It was a very humbling experience for me because we would have never talked to either of them had we driven to the appointment. It was amazing to see The Lord truly does provide a way for his servants to accomplish his work and was a testimony builder for me.

So I mentioned it before, but we went to Bancroft last week and it is a cool little town. It's about 1 1/2 hours away from Peterborough and is only about 4 thousand people. We got to do some missionary work up there and visit some members that have not seen missionaries in a while. On our way down we met Bri Bri the Turtle guy, we stopped to take a picture of this lake and he came out and started to talk to us haha. He has saved a ton of turtles, somewhere like in the hundred thousands and goes around Ontario to give seminars and stuff about turtles. He was a very nice guy and seemed genuinely interested in meeting with us again and going to church in Bancroft. The Branch also said that they would be interested in Hosting a seminar by Bri Bri the Turtle Guy at the church for the members. 

We also had Church in Bancroft and that was my second time. There is such a special spirit in that Branch, the members are very strong and the love is eminent in the building. Me and Elder Moulin both were the speakers and we had a total of 15 minutes and Elder Moulin took just over 10 haha. I had to change my talk topic but it still worked out. Elder Moulin gave a great talk about overcoming our trials and why God gives them to us, we get them because God wants us to be better and become more like the Savior and that is one of the best ways to do it. 

That's all I got.

Elder Talbot ​​​​​​

Elder Talbot and Elder Johnson

Elder Talbot, Elder Johnson, and Elder Martin

Elder Coffey and Elder Talbot

Elder Clark and Elder Talbot 

Elder Coffey's catch!

Trying to Learn As Much As I Can

It was pretty nice weather this week. It was 20ish all week, didn't really rain while I was outside. Last year in Orangeville it didn't stop raining for like 2 months, so pretty different this year. Yesterday was super hot for me. It is getting warm now. 

I have very low motivation for this email this week. We had a really good week this week. One highlight was going on exchanges with Elder Oviatt. He is from Calgary and is a super good missionary. I went to Oshawa for the exchange. It seems like a nice town. Its a bit bigger than Peterborough. I honestly really like the size of Peterborough. It is big enough that there are people outside and a nice downtown but it is small enough that it is still country and has a lot of trees. The people here are really nice. There is a University and a College so there is a bit of diversity and a lot of different cultures. I don't know a ton about other religions but it is very interesting. 

Elder Moulin is super great, he is very young in the mission but he is a stud. He really has a high desire to learn and to get better on his mission. He is from Geneva, Switzerland area but it happens to be in the Country of France. He speaks French and super good English. Probably better than my English hahaha. When talking to people this week, when I would tell them I am from Utah, a lot of non members (members usually give me crap) would say wow that is far and then they ask him and he is a lot farther away which really astonishes people. 

Spiritual thought comes from my mother. "My thought for the day comes from Sister Jones today.  She was talking about how the world invites us to know something.  You can see that in the quest for education, for higher education and it's the means by which we can better provide for ourselves and our families.  Education has paid off exponentially for us, that's for sure.  Then Sister Jones said that that gospel invites us to become something.  I've been thinking a lot about the word 'become' lately.  I know God doesn't want me to be wasting my time away.  What does God want me to become through the experiences I'm having right now?  What would He like to me to become through all the time I spend alone?  What should I be learning?  What should you be learning and becoming through your experiences on your mission?''  

I have been thinking about that a lot lately and I have been trying to learn as much as I can from everyone I come in contact with. Especially with trials in life, having the foundation of the Savior and the gospel keeps me going to wanting to improve and get better with trials.  

Elder Talbot 

Elder  Moulin and Elder Talbot

Elder Nakamoto and Elder Talbot-sort of.

Little Things

The weather was pretty nice this week. It was about 20 (68 F) the whole time and didn't really rain. It dropped to about 12 (53 F) for one day but we were outside doing service on a farm so it was really nice. 

We had a nice week. It was pretty fun, we had a lot of appointments so it took some effort but we were able to fit in some finding time as well. Mathew is one friend we met up with. We didn't have too much time to talk to him but he was super nice and very humble. He believes in God and has great faith. We did a super super brief Restoration and talked a tiny bit about the Plan of Salvation. 

One thing that has been on my mind a lot this past week has been the little things. A sister made a comment about how Heavenly father notices the little things. They make a big difference in your life and everyday things. Following the little things we have been asked to do is a lot more personal and only self notice but they are so important. 

So it was Mother's Day. So naturally, I get to tell you all about how wonderful my mom is. She is seriously the best mom I could ever ask for. I can't really put into words how amazing she is. She has supported me through everything and has always been there for me and loves me. I am so blessed to be able to call her my mom. 

I love Ontario 

Elder Talbot 

Elder Talbot, Elder Earnest, and Elder Lowry

Home!

Home!

Fight For Righteousness

Well it was great weather all week, it was around 16 to 20 (60-68 F) all week and didn't rain too much. It was nice.

So it was transfers yesterday. I am getting a new companion here in Peterborough, his name is Elder Moulin. He is from Sweden or Switzerland, I don't remember what they told me last night. I am excited. I think he is a French missionary and he was in Val Dor up north. It will be sweet. 

This week the missionary work was pretty crazy. President Ballard was coming for stake conferences and so he was going to have a meeting for the missionaries as well. To prepare for that our mission set a goal to talk to 5000 people in the 4 days before. It was pretty crazy. Me and Elder Ernest pretty well went contacting with any free time that we had. It was quite the experience. We talked to 200 people in the 4 days. We saw a ton of miracles. We have 7 appointments this week with people we met so it should be a good week.

The conference itself was fantastic. President Ballard, Elder Gay, and Elder Homer were at the meeting and it was a fantastic meeting. My whole mission was all together for the first time in my whole mission. They shared a lot of really good things and promised us some sweet blessings. One main thing they talked about was the more we talk to people the more we will teach, the more people that will get baptized and the more people will come closer to Jesus Christ. Elder Gay came to Oshawa's stake conference the next day as well and his talk was fantastic. Some of things he was saying and the stories he was telling just made him so much more of a real person for me. It was neat to see. Even though he is a General Authority he is still a normal person that goes through hardships as well. 

Spiritual thought. I was reading the scriptures with missionaries Sunday morning and we talked about how you can't sit on the fence with the Gospel. We need to be all in and giving it everything we have if we want to get to the Celestial Kingdom. You have to fight for righteousness, as Elder Nakamoto says. 

Well that's all I got for everyone this week. 

Elder Earnest and Elder Talbot

Smokes Poutine

Elder Talbot having poutine at Smokes

Elder Talbot