The World's Turned Upside Down

Hello Everyone!

There has been a lot of change since I emailed last. Lots and lots of change. I bid farewell to Elder Parker on Wednesday and received Elder Jennings as my new companion. He is perhaps one of the most driven, skilled and obedient missionaries I have ever met. I am so ready for this change! Elder Jennings threw out all the junk in our apartment that Elder Parker didn't want to get rid of. We deep cleaned and it looks a lot better. We went through the Area Book and got it spruced up. Lots and lots of change, In order to make us the most effective and efficient missionaries this side of Canada!!

We had an incredible lesson with Mercede's last Thursday. We met in the chapel at the church and taught the plan of salvation. She definitely felt the spirit during the lesson, and we asked her if she was ready to kneel and pray at the end of the lesson. She said not yet, like the first lesson, but Elder Jennings suggested that we kneel and each of us pray in turn, and asked if she would be comfortable praying after we had and her member friend Jacob had as well. She agreed! She offered a sweet prayer and affirmed to have felt the spirit. It was definitely there and we could all feel it. We will be teaching her in a members home this week and we will invite her to be baptized on the 24th of May! If you all could pray for myself and Elder Jennings, as well as Mercedes this Thursday before 4:30, that would be much appreciated! 

Elder Jennings is a good ol boy from Ogden Utah. He likes to go tracting on P-day. Or study the gospel haha. He can read in the language of Deseret, (I thought Michaela and Michael would enjoy that) and he is a gospel scholar. We have fun chatting and studying when there's a moment to. Salt of the earth kind of kid. I'll attach a picture of him at the bottom. 

Well I hope this email finds you all well! I am having a good time, working hard and learning all about how to become the most effective missionary I can be, so I don't waste another second of my mission! Love you all dearly! Keep pushing along and know that God loves us all and want's to bless us all abundantly!

Love,

Elder Higginson

 Elder Jennings

There is Balm in Gilead

Well the Last 6 weeks of general purgatory are coming to a close. We got transfer calls this morning and my current companion will be going away. And I will be serving with a sweet gem of a companion, Elder Jennings. My trainer served with him for a time, and he comes highly recommended. He just finished being a Zone Leader in Grand Prairie, up north. This is just the miracle I have been praying for. Also, I've been appointed district leader.

Well, this week we taught our new investigator. She's a sweet girl named Mercedes Fright. She has lots of friends in the Church, one of which came to sit in on the lesson. Her parents are fine with her taking the lessons and she says she will be baptized if she gets a confirmation that it is true. I think she will, with the way she's been plowing through the Book of Mormon. She's already nearly done with Mosiah! Our first lesson went really well though and the spirit was strong. We'll meet with her again next Thursday, so I'll keep you all updated!

We've got a couple less actives and a recent convert that we'll start working with shortly and the Bishop has informed us that he has someone who is willing to take the discussions, who will be back in town next week. And I'll have one heck of a missionary who will actually work in Unity with me. Thank you all for your love and support. I hope to have a lot of good news for you next week!

Love,

Elder Higginson

 

My district

Rough Stone Rolling

Hello everyone!

Well, a couple days ago I was planning on writing this email about losing things. I lost my flash drive this week, with all of the pictures that I have taken thus far, and a number of talks and discourses. We also went to get in contact with Grant this week, a guy who we talked with a few weeks back who was ready for the message and wanted to take the lessons and come to church. He said come back after Easter because he was going to be in Hawaii for the holiday. We came back and his wife informed us that he didn't live there anymore, as of a week prior, nor did he live in Sherwood park at all. She wouldn't give us a cell number or anything to contact his and she really didn't want to talk. He seemed so stable, but evidently has some marital problems. At least we assume. So we lost who we thought would be our new investigator. Lame depressing stuff.

I was pretty down cast by all this, and a number of other poor circumstances when I knelt to pray Saturday night. I recalled something that Truman G. Madsen had said about the Prophet Joseph and his spirit of constant gratitude- not only for blessings, but for immense trials and hardships. So I thanked the Lord for my trials, that by which I might be a partaker of his holiness. Then I remembered that at several points when I was serving in St. Albert: That sometimes when doors close in missionary work; other doors open. So I prayed that the Lord would open some sort of door for us. And it happened Sunday. One of the Young women in the ward brought her friend to church and she asked us if we could begin teaching her the lessons. And a recent convert from an outlying area just moved here and we will begin teaching him the new member lessons. 

I know the lord answers prayers if we ask not amiss and in humility. My time is far spent, so I hope this email find you in good heath.

love,

Elder Higginson

Conference Weekend

Hello everyone!

This has been a great conference week for sure. The church has put out a video #becausehelives on youtube and they gave us cards to give out people and invite them to watch it. Not many even accept the card though haha. The people we run into here mostly have their lives figured out and already attend a church. For every time we extend an invitation to come and check out our church, we get an invitation to come to the Alliance church or the Lutheran church, or the Catholic church, or the church of the Nazarine, or the church of "Our Lady of Perpetual Help" (all of these may be collectively called the "mixed up churches"--quote from McKay when he was a young lad). There are so many churches in our area, it's like the burned over district. Maybe we'll get permission from President to come check them out some day. We'll keep looking for people who are prepared though. 

We are going to set up our first appointment with Grant today hopefully, and we stopped by a German referral last week, which my companion had a nice conversation with. He said we could  come back. Not sure if he just wants to speak German with my companion or if he actually wants to hear the message, but we'll go by none the less. And we stopped by a really old potential who lives way the heck out in the sticks, and he was busy, but he gave us his number and said we could come back. We had a couple dinners with less actives and non-members present which was good, and we thank the members for that. The members here are pretty good.

I baked apple crisp for conference! It wasn't half bad! Conference itself was awesome. We watched Saturday secession at the church and Sunday secession's in two members homes. We got fed SO WELL that day! Giant Waffle breakfast with members and a big supper with member in the evening. 

For Priesthood session, President Manion called us and the other set of elders in Sherwood park and asked us if we wanted to go with him. It was the greatest. I love President so much, he's a great guy. He took us out for ice cream afterwards too. He's pretty into BYU football, so I told him about Uncle Jim- He knew exactly who he was and what position he played. President also chastised my comp a little for not getting up in the mornings and exercising. I didn't say anything about it, yet he perceived the situation and let him know he should be exercising and not holding me back. Good ol' president Manion, haha.

Anyway, I've talked enough. I hope you guys are enjoying life back home! Send more pictures of arches and stuff :) I'll send you a few as well.

Love,

Elder Higginson

 View from my apartment.

 My district in Sherwood Park.