Friday, April 29, 2016

          Another week, time to write. Time is going so fast.  We find ourselves speaking the language now. We say ""aye" after our sentences and many other foreign words.  It just comes naturally.
          The work here is very different. We spend many hours trying to establish relationships  with people so we can teach them. The Canadians are very private people & are slow to warm up to strangers. As I'm writing this Stan is outside helping the non-member landlord build a new fence for our apartment complex. They are talking together as they work in the dirt & beat fence posts into the ground.
          This week we went back to Martin's house. He is the Italian we met tracting. This time he was gone but we met his wife Amelia. True Italian. She dramatically pantomimes as she speaks in broken English. She has a great love for God & Jesus Christ. She welcomed us into her home where we visited in the laundry room. We have asked the Zone leaders to help us find an Italian speaking missionary to teach her. We have planned a Branch family talent night. We are hoping to ask Amelia & Martin to cook an authentic Italian meal for the evening. We will purchase the food they need & help them prepare it.
         We also have another new investigator family of six. The mom is from Tahiti & speaks French. The Dad is a German Canadian. They have four great teenagers. The possibilities for them are exciting. We are trying to build a relationship with them.  Christine, mom, is interested in Family a History, our branch president is an expert in family history. He served a six year mission in that field.
I am going to have a "making cards party "with the teenagers. Also, We want to invite the teenagers to Mutual but the branch doesn't do Mutual. We visited with the Branch President about that. The Mom is a professional photographer who works in the main coffee house in town. It called the "Blue Moose ". We also have a "Skinny's Grill " but most places are the "Pub".
         We have another good family from Brazil. It 's Marcio, Silvania, and their two children. They are looking for a religion that will help keep their family strong & teach good values.  They are very good people who attend the Baptist church every Sunday. They were the family that came to our Open House. We had all kinds of things about families for them to see so hopefully that will catch their interest.
          Our non-member neighbor Marlene has become my really good friend. She came over yesterday & gave us two nice gifts. A tomatoe plant which thrilled Stan & a colorful whirligig to put in our garden to keep the local cats from using it as a litter box.
        We tried to meet with Tanna again this week. She is the Author. Her children were sick so she did'nt let us in. We have taught her two lessons. After our first lesson she got into some anti Mormon literature so that is a new challenge.
        One of our Branch families of six is moving to Idaho this summer. So we helped them pack & move boxes to get the house ready to sell. They will leave a big hole in our tiny Branch.
        Our other investigator, Laya, needs us to sponsor her two daughters & family to immigrate to America. So we are looking into the rules & regulations for that. Not sure if we can do much with that while we're living in Canada.
       Tonight we are going with the Branch members to the Temple in Langly. It's a six hour trip but it's always wonderful to be in the Temple. Be very grateful you all have temples so close to you. It's a blessing.
   Our little blue car is  now repaired as good as new. We are grateful for that as well.
   Our District meetings each week are amazing. I am in awe at the valiant, responsible,spiritual young missions that are serving. They are amazing & they teach us so much. I cook a meal for them each week so they can go right back to work after the meeting without going back home. One of the missionaries this week said : " thank you for the good lunch. I didn't have to have cold cereal again today." I am happy to feed them . I always prayed people would feed our sons on their missions.
        Sunday in church the Primary President asked me to teach the children about the Ressurrection in sharing time. I took the picture of our "fantastic five " kids that I brought with me on our mission. I introduced each of our children telling their names and about their families. When I got to Matt, I cried & told them because of Jesus Christ our Matt lives & we will be able to see & talk with him again. The president said the primary has never been so reverent. We have been blessed with amazing people to be our kids. We are so grateful.
      Need to go.....We hope you are all well & having the courage to ask your friends to listen to the missionaries. The field is white & the Lord needs each one of us to help teach the world his truth.
         The church is true. It has been restored. Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God as is Thomas Monson. The Book of Mormon is true. We are blessed beyond measure because we are members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
       We love you all,  Elder & Sister Fisher

Saturday, April 23, 2016

          Eighty eight degrees with 90% humidity and it 's only April.  We shall see what summer brings for us here in Hope British Columbia.
         Great week !   We took a seventy year old man named Jack to the temple for his own endowment. He has waited 50 years. It was amazing to be in the Vancouver temple with him. I think it's always nice to go to the temple with someone for the first time. At least for me , I see & hear more clearly trying to see from their perspective .  On the way home from the 2 hour drive to Langly, we stopped at" C Lovers" for fish  & chips & enjoyed conversation with Jack. He is funny. He & his wife have different homes in different cities. They love each other but can't live together. They have been married 15 years. He is such a nice man. His wife is a non- member.
           We taught two lessons this week. One to the drum pounding Indian chanting family with the stinky Rottiwelder. The man is a 50 year old grandfather living with a twenty year old girl with a two & four year old boys.  Hmm.
            The other lesson to Tanna , a published author who writes young adult fiction about the paranormal.  We went over earlier in the week  & showed her three kids how to carve birds out of a bar of Ivory soap. She committed to read the Book of Mormon after her second lesson. We made a third appointment in which she stood us up. Hmm.
           Our friends Betty & Jim helped us make screens for our apartment windows. With this kind of heat we need to open the windows. For Relief Society on Wednesday we visited a couple of gardens. As the evening wore on I was attacked by misquotes . Because we live in a rainforest misquotes are more numerous than quills on a porcupine . I came home with twenty three bites. I'm not complaining, the flying ticks & spiders the size of a silver dollar are worse.
           Friday & Saturday we set up and spent hours at the church as we had the "Families Are Forever" open house. We had specialist for Family Home Evening, Family Prepardness, Family History, Primary & treats. It was well planned, well prepared for & branch members made homemade goodies.The Branch President, members and us were there for three hours on Friday night . All day Saturday. We waited.....in two days we had one non-member family come to see what our church is about. It was worth every minute everyone spent for that one family. That's how the Savior teaches, one soul at a time. The individual is important. This event was the culmination of the huge missionary Bltiz we had in Hope two weeks ago. I do have to say it was disappointing that more people didn't come & that I had to eat so many brownies.
           Oh yes. Last Saturday we went with our friends Betty & Jim (a non-member) for a drive to "White Rock " to the ocean.  We spent all day walking along the beach, finding shells, walking the boardwalk & going in all the shops. We had lunch at a place called "Moby Dick ". It was yummy but so expensive...$85.00 for lunch.  Betty & I played on the beach, shopped in the little shops & laughed ourselves silly. Stan & Jim watched trains , talked little & shook their heads at Betty & I. We walked all the way out on the pier looking for sea lions & whales to jump out of the water. There were four sailboats racing across the water which entertained Stan . On the way home we drove to a hidden lake where we hiked for the last two miles . It was beyond beautiful. I will post a picture. It was a Fun Fun day!
       We are trying everyday to be the best missionaries we can possibly be. We are serving with all our heart, mind, might & strength. We are having exceptional experiences & opportunities that we could not experience had we not come on a mission. We are happy to be here , hoping to be instruments in the Lord's hands. We fall in bed at the end of the day exhausted & wake up in the morning excited , looking forward to another adventure in the mission.
     The church is true. We have a Heavenly Father who is real. Who knows us by our first name & knows us better than we know ourselves. We have a Savior, the son of God, Jesus Christ. Who did more for us than we possibly can understand. His love for each of us is incomprendable. Joseph Smith was the true prophet of the Restoration . The Book of Mormon is the true word of God. We have a living prophet today, Thomas S. Monson. How truly blessed we are. Our lives are so different from the people of the world who have no idea what we have . But they can have it too. Please invite those you know & love to have the gospel be part of their lives. The missionaries need your help.
        We love you all always.
        Elder & Sister Fisher

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

News flash !!!!  
 

   Our mail address in Hope is....



   #3.     480 Thacker
       
     B 1211

    Hope British Columbia


    VOX.  1L0




Update...April 19th 2016

Friday, April 15, 2016

        Whoa.....I don't think I can possibly write about all that has happened this week. Can I say..."Amazing ".  So Saturday  56 people met at our little branch at 9 am. Most of them were full time missionaries  from three areas outside of our Hope. The others were members from those areas. We divided the city into routes & campanionships of missionaries & members . We went out for two hours knocking doors. Stan & I went as well. Afterwards we came back to the branch for debriefing, sharing a few experiences & enjoying a BBQ.  As we sang the opening song , I truly felt I was among the army of Heleman. Such spirt, strength & testimony in one room. It was inspiring for sure.
        So Stan & I have spent all day everyday this week following up those leads. We had 30 leads to go see. Some sent us away, some were mean. But we were able to teach two lessons & pray with two others. I had my first broken heart experience. We taught an elderly man on his porch about the Restoration  & he was loving it when his wife came home & immediately dismissed us  saying...."I've heard enough . You may leave"  Eariler the man gave me a beautiful plant & said I could have it or pay if I wanted to. They had been given a Book of Mormon during the Blitz. So later we went back to give the man some money for the plant. His wife saw me & ran to get the Book of Mormon. Her husband handed it to me & said: "It would be a crime for us to have this in our house." I asked why & he told me  it was of no value. I got in the car & cried & cried. Stan had to take me home. I was devestated that the beautiful book I know to be true ,that can change & bless lives was thrown away. What an immeasurable gift that book is. It was a sad sad day for me.
           We did teach two wonderful lessons. One to a young mother with three children. Tanna is a published author . Her book is in thousands of stores. I really like her a lot. We gave her a lesson on the Plan of Salvation & will teach her again on Tuesday.
          The other lesson we taught to James on his porch . It was on the Restoration. That was on Thursday & we're teaching him again on Sunday afternoon.
            My friend Betty & her non-member husband Jim took us to Aldergrove to get a large shelf/organizer thing (furniture) I found on Craig's list for free. We put it in our second bedroom to keep our books & stuff looking more organized instead of sitting on the floor. It's much better.  They stayed & ate dinner with us.  Stan told Jim he needs to get baptized so he can have his awesome wife for Eternity. He dismissed the idea. Saturday we are going to see the ocean with them & enjoy real "Fish & Chips".  The ocean is about two & half hours away. We 're hoping we can be a good influence for Jim.
           We have six people total now in our teaching pool. The missionary work is looking better everyday. We pray we can help people find the happiness they are seeking.
           Today we spent from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm at a zone meeting in Abbotsford. Those meetings are long but such a spiritual uplift. I had a most touching spiritual experience with  Joesph Smith's first vision . Totally amazing ! A mission is more than I can write, it becomes a part of you. I'm so happy Matt & Daniel had the opportunity to serve a mission. And Zack & Alicia & Adam too. I hope those of our grandchildren who have the desire will be able to go on a mission as well.
          I love our Heavenly Father. I love our Savior Jesus Christ. I love the Book of Mormon. The gospel is true. The Lord is hastening his work. We are happy to be part of that work even if we walk a little slower & get tired a little easier. Life is good. A mission is a wonderful opportunity. Life is great without a TV in our home .The world stays a little further away so we can see more clearly what is really important in this life.
                              We love you all !!!!!
                              Love, Elder & Sister Fisher

Friday, April 8, 2016

Put on the breaks, time is going to fast !  Each week we are busier than the week before. But that's great.  Knocking doors has been very beneficial to us here.
     We loved General Conference !
This week we had some "hair raising" experiences.  We went to Bellingham to see our friend Laya & to buy groceries & gas we could afford . So we were driving down the road on a two lane street in the city. A car came speeding by us and sideswiped our car on my side. It made a huge "sounds like the car is really smashed in " sound. The unreal part was the car kept going. Yes, hit us & then drove off. Who does that ?  So our pretty little new car has to go have some body work done. I feel I need the same. Ha !  Gratefully neither Stan or I was injured.  The insurance said the repairs will be about $1800 so it could be worse.
       The next day we went out in the country for a teaching appointment.  We knocked at the door while a 200 pound black Rottweiler sniffed around us. I'm hyperventilating . A voice calls to us from above, "who are you & what do you want " ? We step out from the porch so she can see us. " Hi, it's us, we came to teach you today ".  She said she would come right down. In the meantime the dog is still right there. We are standing in a filthy garage. The Rottweiler  jumps up on Stan, puts his huge paws on both sides of his suit & slobers on his pink tie. His face is as big as Stan's as their eyes meet.  Stan pushes him down. Then the black giant comes at me. I turned away from him as he jumped at me from the side. My church going outfit would never be the same. Stan rescued me.  Then we hear Real Indian drum beats & cries with Indian chants. First I thought we were in the movies. Then I became very scared. One voice started the chant, then another & another. I said to Stan "let's run for the car ". He just looked at me. Then the women comes out & greets us with a baby on her hip so dirty I could barley see his little black eyes. She had been crying for a long time. Stan asked her what we could do to help  ?  She tells us that two of her family died, that the drums & chants were people who came to help her mourn. "What can we do " he asks . She said hug her. So we hugged her as she held on tight and sobbed. He then said we could pray with her. So he started to pray . "no ! " she said and we both opened our eyes. "That's not how to pray. We hold hands."  ... So we gather in a circle Stan & I each holding her hand. Stan starts praying. She lets go of my hand & puts my arm around her back & holds my other hand. She lays her head on my shoulder. Here comes the icky part ,   The huge  black Rottweiler  jumps in the middle of the circle , his head next to mine as he slobbers & drools all over my arms & hands. It's oozing through my fingers . He stinks to high heaven.  I start to gag. This is all durning the prayer . I need to run & throw myself in the river but we're missionaries. So she asks for a couple more hugs after the prayer & tells us to come back next week.  As we get to the car, I promptly threw up.  I cried & told Stan "I'm not a very good missionary. I can't do that again ". He didn't say much & drove me home so I could shower & throw my clothes in the washer. We need to find someone to go on splits with him for this investigator.  But we are the only missionaries in the area. The branch president is 74 and in very poor health. The first counselor just had a heart attack & is going in for bypass surgery. The other counselor works three jobs. Hmmm, we shall see what next week brings.
   We had a great experience with teaching a new investigator , Sydnee. We taught the lesson on the Restoration & invited her to church on Sunday. We will see if she comes. We also have found another new family from Brazil. Marcio & Salimia & their two children. They are very nice.
    We love being missionaries. We never know how our day is going to go. It's certainly not boring here. I do minimum  housework as our apartment is very small & we don't have much time anyway for that. So it's good. We love the Lord. We love the gospel. We are blessed to have the opportunity to serve a mission.
Until next week then. Love, Elder & Sister Fisher

We had a new dish this week......Greek Chicken.
                                             A listing of some of the places we are near.
                                                          We are not in America anymore.

                                                             Elder Fisher studying.
                                                               The Pacific Ocean.
                                                                       More Spring.
                                                                        It's Spring !
                                                 The Cocohallah river by my daily walk.
                                             This is my other friend from Iran, Laya.

                                                 This is Michelle & her dog Ken.
These are our new friends from Iran. Huiesan & Fatemia. They own an organic farm.

speed limit sign.
                                                              Stan loves to see trains.

Saturday, April 2, 2016

            Today's conference was amazing. The music so heartfelt & spiritually uplifting. The talks soul searching. We watched conference at the Branch with the Branch President & his wife. No- one else came.
           This week was amazing !  I LOVE being a missionary & so does my companion. We had an exciting week. We were able to teach our first two investigators . One of them doesn't know she is an investigator yet. ( that's Lucy who is an atheist ).  We taught her the Plan of Salvation. I also taught her how to crochet. Stan pruned her big cherry tree & fixed her fence. She says she's going to have us over for a traditional English meal including "Yorkshire pudding ". Yea ! I need to buy a perfect English hat to wear.
           Our other investigator is Michelle, the lady we found sitting on the sidewalk a few weeks ago. She cried & told us our timing is just right as she wants to change her life. It's not our timing but the Lord's. We taught her The Plan of Salvation. Tears streamed down her face. She wants to quit smoking & drinking & whatever else she wants to change. She said she has done some bad things. We taught her our Savior will help her because He loves her. I will post a picture of her outside her house that we took on Friday. She has a little bathtub with water in her bedroom  . It has fish in it. She is coming to conference with us tomorrow. Yahoo !
           We went tracting again, this time with the zone leaders. Stan & one zone leader on one side of the street & me & the other zone leader on the other side. It was way fun ! We both found a new person to teach. Ours was a teenage girl who really wants to hear. We were getting along splendidly with her when her Dad came out the door. He opened it wide & said "come in right now " So I walked right in  before Abby. Her Dad yelled at me "not you " ..Abby & slammed the door. ( after I backed out ). Oops. We'll catch up with her later . The Lord will provide a way.
           Stan & his Elder met a lady ready to go on a Baptist mission. We have an appointment to teach her on Tuesday. Yea !  The zone leaders came home with us & we had dinner together . We then took them to help us clean the church.
           Oh wow .. I have so much to write !  This week we had our first zone conference. Amazing is about what I can say. Our mission president is awesome! What a spiritual high to be there all day & learn from him. He taught us a new really neat way to study the scriptures . I love it ! I'll have to tell you sometime. It was great to be in a chapel filled with missionaries singing "sweet is the work ".
           This week we also found a First Nation lady to teach. We have an appointment with her on Tuesday.  We need a First Nation friend before the fall. They are the only ones allowed to catch Salmon the river. We hear they will sell it to the white people. Ohhhh... Love love salmon.
            On Thursday we drove to Agassiz to see the farm of an Iranian couple we met. I just love all the people I have met from Iran. I know it is because of my love for Leili.  I will post a picture of them as well. They have over 300  free range chickens so we bought some eggs from them. We will buy their vegetables as they are ready in the summer. Hussian has a masters degree in biology & environment something (I can't remember ).  He has built a climatized building for growing mushrooms. It is so interestering. I will take a picture of that the next time we go. They have greenhouses full of tiny plants & they are buying 10 goats .  Hussian taught us that if you eat the yellow flowers of the dandelion it will detoxify your liver. We both ate one. They aren't that tasty. He also pulled up fresh garlic & had us eat that for some healthy good reason. They invited us in for raspberry tea and Iranian special treats that were delicious. They tasted like Danish Wedding cookies. Yum ! We hope to see them often. They are not members of the church.
          We have an exciting week ahead. Time is going much too fast. What a blessing it has been for us to be here serving the Lord. A mission is all I hoped it would be and then some. We couldn't replace this experience with anything better. I love our Heavenly Father and His wonderful plan of Happiness. I love our dear Savior Jesus Christ. I'm just beginning to learn a small part of what He has done for you and me. We have a great desire to share the gospel with anyone who will give us a minute or two. The weather is warming up moving towards the 98 degree days with 100% humidity .
For today , we are enjoying the sunshine. My hair is wickedly wild in the humidity. It's okay because the people here have never seen me before so they don't know how it's supposed to look. Ha !
          We love you all so much !  Share the gospel please. Everyone needs the joy that comes from the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
     Elder & Sister Fisher