Greetings from Canada! it is like -25 Celsius outside. Good thing I'm leaving. 

I haven't much to say really, so I'll just do the same thing Riley did before she got home. That is, to attach fitting song Lyrics. 

When you find its me your missing, and you're hoping I'll return,

To your thoughts I'll soon be listening and in the road I'll stop and turn. 

Then the wind will set me racing as my journey nears it end

And the path I'll be retracing when I'm homeward bound again. 

Love you all and see you soon!

Elder Higginson

The Close of the Ministry of Elder Lincoln James Higginson

Greetings from Canada. I hope that all is going well down there in the states. A member in St. Albert reported that his brother that lives in Star- said that he had planned on cutting his grass the other day. Guess there isn't a lot of snow yet? Not a ton to speak of up here either. I hope it continues this way for the last week of my mission. 

With everything rapping up here and flight plans coming in, It would appear that I'm almost done with this chapter of my life. It doesn't feel like I've been out here for the whole two years. It feels like I went home somewhere in the middle. Not sure why. It was so long ago that I started my mission with Elder Allen in St. Albert, yet the last year has just gone by so fast! I don't know how to explain it. It's been a good run, it really has. 

I was with my old friend, Elder Beutler, on exchanges last Thursday. He was one of my companions in the MTC and we get along swell. On our exchange we did two hours of contacting on the infamous 118 ave. -the southern border of the North Edmonton Stake, and we talked with tons of people. It was cool, seeing that both of us were a bit apprehensive about talking with people towards the start of our missions. Now here we were at the end, just tearing it up, finding all sorts of people. That next morning in companionship study we went into the Book of Mormon, into Alma 26 and read together.

29 And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their synagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon...

 30 And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.

 31 Now behold, we can look forth and see the fruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you, Nay, they are many; yea, and we can witness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also towards us.

As we reflected upon our missions, we could truly say that we had had a similar experience. The kind of experience that only a faithful missionary truly knows. I have entered into the homes of these people and I have taught them. From the streets of Edmonton to the Rocky Mountains and from the hills of Sherwood Park to the forests of central Alberta - I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. I have come to know of a surety that God works through those whom he has called. Through his Son, we may find forgiveness and peace. And through his plan, we may indeed find happiness and exquisite joy, together as families. And this is the testimony which is in me. And I make an end.

Elder Lincoln James Higginson 

Better times

Dear Family and friends,

        This week was pretty good. I honestly don't remember a lot of specifics right now. All I know is that we've been pounding the pavement from morn until eve. We are teaching an increasing number of lessons. We are also finding more new investigators. No, things still aren't perfect but they're getting better over all. 

     I got my travel plans this last week and my 2 week letter came today. I'll have my exit interview with President next week on Wednesday. 

      Sister Van Vleet has been doing more good work with her companion in Belmead! We taught another lesson to the Filipino lady that they found and we were able to support her, even though she's going through some serious trials. Man, why are sister missionaries always hugging investigators!? It's all good though--they seem to have a bond with this lady. After we taught the lesson, we got a selfie with Sister Van Vleet and went to go contact some potentials near the West Edmonton Mall. After experiencing no success, I decided we should go knock out a few complexes before heading back. At the 4th door we go in with a lady named Rhonda. She was really nice and had met with missionaries in her younger years. She remembered about Joseph Smith and she was really receptive to the message. Before we could even ask for referrals, she told us her daughter had been looking for a church. We'll be passing them over to the sisters tomorrow hopefully! Choosing to use time wisely always seems to yield the most blessings. 

     Here's a funny story. We had to do splits because we had two teaching appointments scheduled for the same time. So I took Elder Thomas, a wonderful and very new missionary out to teach. Unfortunately the person no-showed, which isn't really uncommon, so we decided to do a little tracting. after a couple doors we go up to this house and there is a package on the door step. We were joking about posing as the delivery guys and giving it to him but we didn't. The fellow inside was east Indian. Not interested, but friendly. as we were preparing to leave we mentioned the package and he was like "It's from the church. The previous owner here must have ordered it. I sent it back, but it keeps coming here. I think it's bibles or something. You can take it." Being highly skeptical that the parcel was from our church, we kind of laughed and then checked the label. Sure enough, 

The Church of 

Jesus Christ 

of Latter Day Saints

Teachings of Gordon B. Hinkley

40 manuals.

I started to laugh, then Elder Thomas started to laugh. Then our friend in the house started to laugh. So we asked to for referrals and took the parcel with us. Just another day in the work of the ministry. 

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! We will be having an American Thanksgiving after District meeting on Thursday. We're in charge of Stuffing and Soda. We'll also be bringing some Balute. I got some from the Filipino Store. What's thanksgiving without a few boiled duck embryos? We'll see how it goes! 

Love,

Elder Higginson

Fight the Good Fight

Greetings from the wicked North.

First off, thank you for all of your prayers and for putting my name in the temple. I'm certain that I'm getting a great deal of strength beyond my own to deal with the garbage that I have to deal with on a daily basis. Honestly, things are getting better. He's starting to conform, albeit some what grudgingly. Just an observation. I've noticed a direct correlation between a missionaries cleanliness and their overall caliber as a missionary. So be cleanly folks. 

I've been finding ways to be more charitable towards my companion. Charity is something that is easy to have for our friends and those who choose righteousness over wickedness. It's less easy to have charity for them that disgust us. But that's what it takes. On Saturday morning we got up and I could tell the comp. wasn't in a good mood. He's usually not in the mornings. So I went on as usual and began to make breakfast while he was in the shower. I had thought about doing my customary 'make breakfast for your companion because that's the best way I know how to serve him" but I shrugged it off. I was behind and he was irritating me anyway.  I was about halfway done making my french toast when I received a direct prompting to make some for Elder Henry. So I did. Got it all ready and out on the table. He was appreciative and it totally changed the whole day I think. He actually participated fully in Companionship study and we had a merry go of it. After serving him I was also able to look past more of his little failings that affect me. It was just an all around good thing. Sure, there is a heck of a long way to go, but I've at least learned one thing and I hope Elder Henry has learned something too. 

We had ZTM on Thursday and I didn't realize that it was my last one. Elder Beutler, Myself and Sister Aldrige all gave our departing testimonies. The time is coming faster than I realized. Which is good, get me out of here!  I would be rather sad to be leaving the field so soon, if it were like it was in the good old days. But this last experience is how I'll sever myself from the work. Sure, I'll make sure to be a good member missionary when I'm home and maybe a senior missionary with my wife some day but this kind of gig is getting old. Forgive me for my pessimism. I will not however, shorten my stride in these last weeks. 

So you'll think this is interesting. Sister Van Vleet and her companion, Sister Hempworth found a Filipino woman and began teaching her and we were able to come and teach with them last week! Except Sister Van Vleet was on exchanges out in Drayten Valley. But we'll be teaching this woman again tomorrow with them. She's a really nice lady who just came to Canada within the last couple months. It's always fun to see old friends as well. Sister Van Vleet still has that greenie fire! or at least that's what she's claiming. She's pretty trunky if you ask me haha. Still doing good work though.

I hope that you all have a wonderful week! Mother says that the weather is getting cold. Surely there will be snow by the time I'm down there. :)

Love 

Elder Higginson

While God is marching on

Greetings from the Wicked North.

This week felt more like a month. It's been rough. But things are getting so much better. We've spent a lot of time on the phone with President and with the Zone Leaders including an emergency exchange on Saturday. But we're making headway. I will prove to the Lord that I will not shrink.

This week has been pretty good for the Work. We've been able to teach a decent number of lessons. We were able to get in touch with Monte, that fellow who wanted to be baptized,  and he's been swamped with a lot this week but he would like to meet at the beginning of next week. Seems like he's still sincere! We were able to meet with Irvin and taught him the plan of salvation. He really would like to come to church this week. Were also able to teach his son, John Troy, who seems really Interested! We've picked up a few new investigators, and we are getting more organized in our efforts to cover two stakes. 

We had Stake Conference on Sunday and it was really nice to hear from Elder Rasband and the other general authorities in addition to our local leaders. There was a promise made at the beginning of the meeting that those who had come with questions or seeking guidance would receive it. I felt a great measure of the spirit during the meeting and felt that I have received the answers that I needed and some of the direction that I should take. Truth be told, I need to repent of my pride and try to have more charity. There are things that the Lord wants me to learn before I go home. I was also fortunate enough to see many of my old friends from the St. Albert ward and recruited a few to help us out in our proselyting efforts. 

Elder Henry has been making some great changes to conform to the mission standards and I'm pleased with his efforts. Elder Henry was born in San Diego and moved to the Philippines when he was 10 years old. He joined the church a couple years back and decided to join the mission. He played soccer professionally before he came out. Also, he's a code changer! We'll just be sharing a message and all of the sudden he'll start talking in an English accent and not even realize it! then he has his black man voice, which is his normal one, and then the Tagalog accent. Funny stuff.

Anyway, I'm doing a heck of a lot better than I was last week folks. I'll hang in there and do what I need to do. I'll just quote Elder Carlos E. Asay who was quoting from"How firm a foundation" to rap this up here. 

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

I'll give you an update in a week! 

Love,

Elder Higginson

The Mish

Hello everyone.

I'm glad to hear that you all had a fun trip down to California and Disneyland! Some good quality time with family and relatives is always good for the soul. I look forward to seeing you all in five weeks or so.

This week has been admittedly very difficult for me. I have been sent back to the North, and it is much worse than the last time I was here, if that were even possible. I have been sent to clean house, in more than just the literal sense. on day three we had the Zone Leaders come help Clean the apartment with us as well as the missionary that I replaced up here. I've had to clean out an gut 9 apartments over the course of my mission. This one I've had to clean twice. Basically I'm done with the nonsense, so I arranged for the fellow who was here before to come back and pay for his sins. The place was not livable. 

Basically, I've been put on babysitting assignment for my last 6 weeks. This is the worst possible way I could end my mission. And though the last 6 days have been hell and I've hardly slept and lost my appetite and I feel awful most of the time, we are seeing some improvement. President, the Zone Leaders - my old friends Elder Hunsaker and Elder Finch and my district leader Elder Beauter - one of my old MTC companions- have all stepped up behind me and promise that they will parachute in if things get too out of hand. But in the end, I'll still have to be in the lions den 90% of the time. I hope I can help change this fellow some. He has made some changes in the last few days and I am pleased with his progress but he still gives me grief. I have cause to mourn daily because of the wickedness of my brethren. 

Do not worry about me. I've done this before- and even though it was the most difficult part of my mission, I did learn things about working with others possessed of opposite personalities. I have a hard time accepting that this is what the Lord want's me to do now in my last chance to affect the people and be exactly obedient and see miracles. But Elder Henry, my companion will at least work during the day. We'll see if we can focus as much as we can on doing the work. 

Yesterday we were really busy. We only had about 40 minutes to do studies before going out. We taught a less active at 9:00 A.M. and then went near by to visit an investigator in the hospital. Unfortunately, he was unable to entertain us at the time, so we went back to the vehicle. as we were walking down the street I talked to a man who was passing by us and struck up a conversation. After learning that we were Mormons he told us that he had read the Book of Mormon. So I asked him what he thought of it. His response was -"It was Divine...but I never was able to find a baptizer. I went to a couple church's but I could never find a baptizer." I asked his name and he told me it was Monte. I said "Monte, today is your lucky day. My companion and I have authority to baptize." He started getting excited and I told him we could have him baptized in a couple weeks. To which he responded "why wait? If you have the authority lets just do it right now." We explained that there were a few lessons and preparations that needed to take place first and we needed to do it under the direction of a bishop but that it could happen at as fast a pace as he wanted. He told us he'd jump through whatever hoops he had to, but he really wanted to do this. So we put him on date for November 12th and promised a few blessings that would come into his life as a result of entering into the covenant of baptism. I'm not even joking. I've been working on bringing baptism into our finding situations and making the invitation to people on the street and God provided someone who brought it up in the conversation before we did. How's that for faith promoting!?!? We will hopefully be able to meet with him today.

Love you all and I'll give you an update next week. 

love,

Elder Higginson

Transferred again

Greetings from Canada. 

So the big news is, we are getting rice-washed out of this place! Rice washing is the equivalent of white washing, or were both missionaries are transferred out of an area and two new missionaries are put in. We call it rice-washing because we're Tagalog and Filipino culture revolves around rice. Go figure.

I'll be going back up to the North Stake, with Elder Henry. The last stint I did up there did not go super well, but I'm optimistic and hope we'll be able to have a really good 6 weeks. 

Now for the update on the work for last week. Basically we rode buses and the Edmonton Light Rail and made our way around to potentials on foot. And we still don't have a car for some reason. But it matereth not, we will be out of here tomorrow. The traveling assistants will be taking over our apartment. Good thing it's in pretty good shape. Dang it, I thought that would have been the last apartment that I would have to clean, but undoubtedly, I'll have to clean another one. But I digress. 

We were able to teach a few people. Denilo said he brought the Book of Mormon to work, but was not able to read it still for some reason. Haha, good start I guess. We were able to also pick up a former who hasn't been taught in several months. He let us in and was really receptive to our reteaching him the restoration. It was really hot in his house and there were distractions, but we did our best and tried to focus in. He agreed to be baptized on the 10th of December if he gets an answer about the Book of Mormon. 

One of the Filipino young men in our stake invited his friend to church this week and he came! But he didn't tell us, so we weren't there, but he wants to come next week as well evidently! This is what I've been praying for since I got here. Some solid member referral that we'd be able to put on a course towards baptism. And it seems to have appeared on the last day of the transfer. The work has really picked up here in the last 6 weeks. We've got 2 people on date and have found 28 new investigators. that is a serious improvement from the work that was happening before. We've talked to tons of people. 1,254 approaches as they've been recorded, which referrers to doors knocked, people approached on the street, bus, whatever - regardless of their response to us trying to share the gospel with them. President wants us to keep track and report all this stuff these days. I've done what I was supposed to do here. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week! I heard that California was exciting. Keep on doing the hard things and keep the commandments!

Love,

Elder Higginson

And Winter Came

Greetings from Canada! We have received a hearty portion of snow, especially on Friday but it's starting to go away thankfully. It has been pretty chilly! Kind of weird walking around seeing all of these Halloween decorations up and they're covered with snow haha. Also, It's harder to street contact because most people have retreated from off the streets and the ones who are left, well, they aren't quite as happy as they used to be. It's all good though! That's just part of the work! 

Unfortunately, our car was taken in for repair yesterday, so we've been trying to figure out how to use the Edmonton Transit System. I never really enjoyed Bussing, it limits the work we can get done by a lot, but it will only be until Thursday or Friday. The companion and I are having fun though! It's quite the ride trying to get from one place to the next. We missed one of our stops coming home last night and had to run a kilometer through the mud and snow to catch a bus that would get us home. We arrived at our pad at 15 seconds to 9:00. Crazy awesome miracle! So we'll do our best for the next couple days. Not easy covering the whole stake and we have no car. Good memories though. 

Oh, I haven't told you much about my companion. Elder Randeep Singh Ranu is from Quezon City Philippines. His father came from India to start a business over there and married a Filipino. He is a convert to the church and was baptized just 3 weeks after starting the missionary discussions. He's a really sensitive guy, but he has a big heart and I like him. 

I was able to go on exchanges this week over in Stony Plain with Elder Odicta. He was a Tagalog missionary before but was a assigned to English temporarily. We spent a couple hours tracting, meeting with very limited success. We then went to stop by a couple Filipinos and got in with an older couple and their grand-daughter. They seemed to be interesting in meeting with us and accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon. After that we went to check out the Filipino Store to contact people and purchase some Balut for district meeting haha. Unfortunately, they were out of Balut, but we did find a lost sheep! We started talking with some of the employee's and I was talking to this guy in Tagalog and getting no response. Turns out he was Hispanic! Not only him, but the 4 other guys too! everyone but the Main lady who was running the operation hahaha. Mexicans working in a Filipino store, go figure. But we started talking with this guy and it turns out he was a convert to the church back in Mexico! He hadn't been attending for years but he said to us "Some day I'll come back. I know that the church is true." He was such a nice man, We got his info, so well get his records the the ward. Tender mercies for sure.

On Tuesday we were able to meet with one of our more solid investigators, Randy, out in Stony Plain. He's really a great guy and he cooks for us every time we go out to see him! We just did a bit of Book of Mormon follow up and encouraged him to get going on it, because he hasn't read yet. Seems to be a problem with most of the people we teach, but especially in Tagalog. Try as we may to get it across that ang taning paraan - the only way for anyone to really know and gain a testimony of what we teach is through reading, pondering and praying about The Book of Mormon. And if you really don't have 5 minutes in the day to read, you need to wake up 5 minutes earlier! We really do love the investigators we have though and we're glad that a few of them are up to meet at least once a week. Randy agreed to come take a tour of the church today, so we are looking forward to that. Teaching opportunities are a sacred privilege, So I'm going to try to treat them as such for the rest of my mission. Really think about the people we are meeting with in the morning and prepare myself to teach according to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Never let anything keep you from being happy! 

Love,

Elder Higginson 

Snowfall

Greetings from the Wicked North! We got our first Snowfall this week on Friday and it didn't end until Monday! We got a decent bit, it was nasty. Super cold and windy. Not Ideal for doing missionary work but that didn't stop us from getting 5 new investigators and putting one of them on date for Baptism on the 26th of November! Hopefully we'll get this area to produce some fruit.

Last Saturday on the 8th, We were able to attend the first ever Tagalog Endowment Session! It was a pretty cool experience and I was able to go through without needing the head set. There is a bit of deep Tagalog in there, but I was able to understand most of the stuff from context clues and memory. Filipino members came from all over the city to attend and I got to see some old friends.

unfortunately just before getting to the temple We got rear-ended on the overpass. Not a great thing, because two days prior I hit a curb and caused some damage to the vehicle. So all the paperwork for that will now have to be done all over again. Lot's of things have been causing me anguish this week. Reminded me of when dad was serving in South Carolina and experienced the buffetings of Satan after being in a car accident that was not his fault. It is no surprise that when I'm becoming the best missionary I can be, I face great opposition. I spent the weekend with a little black rain cloud hanging over me,  but I was able to have a change of perspective that is helping me get back on my feet. For a lesson we were sharing with some members at our Canadian Thanksgiving yesterday, Elder Ranu found a Talk from Elder Uchtdorf entitled "Grateful in any Circumstances" I would encourage all of you to read it if you have forgotten what it's about. I'll just share a little. 

"My dear brothers and sisters, the choice is ours. We can choose to limit our gratitude, based on the blessings we feel we lack. Or we can choose to be like Nephi, whose grateful heart never faltered. When his brothers tied him up on the ship—which he had built to take them to the promised land—his ankles and wrists were so sore “they had swollen exceedingly,” and a violent storm threatened to swallow him up in the depths of the sea. “Nevertheless,” Nephi said, “I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions.”

"This type of gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us. It surpasses disappointment, discouragement, and despair. It blooms just as beautifully in the icy landscape of winter as it does in the pleasant warmth of summer."

"We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?"

"Being grateful in times of distress does not mean that we are pleased with our circumstances. It does mean that through the eyes of faith we look beyond our present-day challenges."

"This is not a gratitude of the lips but of the soul. It is a gratitude that heals the heart and expands the mind."

I have only 7 weeks left to prove my mettle and serve to the best of my ability. So I'll work through this and make it count. We've got a good week lined up and it should go by fast. Thank you all for the continued Emailing and praying for me! Have a good week!

Elder Higginson

This was after the Tagalog Temple session. So many wonderful Filipino friends from past area's! 

Baptism

Here are the pictures of Denise's baptism! And the skype afterwards.
No, I really wasn't paying attention to the look on my own face when I
look the screen shot. All so wonderful though really.

Open your mouths and they shall be filled

Hello from Edmonton. 

So here is the run down on this week. We basically street contacted. That's pretty much it. Kind of exhausting. But doing the hard things brings miracles so that's nice.

So here are the miracles from our street contacting. The first one is a nice fellow named Dmitri. We were looking for Filipinos in some apartment housing complexes and stumbled across the fellow. He told us that he had been involved in a lot of bad stuff from a tender age. He began doing rather hard drugs at age 12. But he decided to get away from it a couple years back and is trying to move on. We expressed to him that our message could help him find complete healing from wounds of his past life and he agreed to hear the message and gave us a return appointment. So we referred him over to the Coronation Park Elders. Two days later we were driving to an appointment when we saw Dmitri walking down the road. We stopped and asked him how the lesson went with the other Elders. He told us he had read the whole pamphlet after they left and loved it. Seemed genuinely touched and shook our hands before bidding farewell. What cool experiences this work provides.

Another Miracle from this week was we found a Filipino who is not working and doesn't have a church that he attends frequently! That's two miracles! Certainly is uncommon. We had a good lesson and a return appointment and he also agreed to come to church. 

Another miracle from Yesterday was one of the potentials we found the other week actually texted us to set up an appointment like he said he would. THAT NEVER HAPPENS. So we have an appointment with him for this Friday. 

We had a good experience with some Member help this week. One of our favorite Filipino Priest-age young men, R.J. came out with us to do some teaching. None of the Filipinos kept their appointments, but we ended up in the neighborhood of one of R.J.'s friends. So he sent them a text and asked if he stop by with some of his church friends haha. They were like "Sure, come over!" so we rang the door bell and got to meet R.J.'s friends. Very nice young people who are strong in there faith and not worried about talking about religion. R.J. actually attended their church once and talked about the gospel with them. He said it was a good experience so hopefully he'll be able to invite them to our church to check it out. And they were pretty excited that I knew any Tagalog. Good member missionary work, I'd say! Introduce your friends to the missionaries in a non-threatening way! 

Well, I will let you know how things are going next week, but it looks like I'll have some fun stuff before the end of the mission. General conference next week, then in November we are having Elder C. Scott Grow come up for mission tour, and Christmas conference will be my last day in the mission. Just like it was my first day when I came to the mission two years ago.
Hey one last thing:

So I don't know if you remember one of our super cool investigators in Rocky Mountain House named Denise?? Well anyway, I called Rocky this week to get some info and follow up and found out some news!

Denise was found and taught by a pair of Sister Missionaries when she lived in Alaska like 16 years ago. They helped her overcome some of hesitations she had because of some false things she'd heard about the Mormon church. She certainly spoke very highly of those missionaries.

Denise was found by the missionaries about 20 months ago and taught her only a couple lessons. She had for many years had a crisis of faith and only believed in Science and all that kind of thing. Anyway, about 6 months later, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast Cancer and as she was going in to have a serious operation she said she heard God Speaking to her. She said it brought peace into her heart and she felt joy under the difficult circumstances. I found Denise in the Former investigators in the Area book Last January and for some reason decided to go by. It took us a while to find her address, but with the help of a couple other missionaries who had served in Rocky the year before, we were able to locate it. We met her and found out about her coming back to the  faith She told us right off the bat that she believed the Book of Mormon and thought that Joseph Smith could very possibly be a prophet. We taught her as circumstances permitted with her poor heath for the next two months, in which time she came to accept Pre -Earth-Life as a true doctrine. I was transferred shortly after but she seemed committed and told us that she could see where the path was taking her, hinting that she intended to join the church. 

There was some fallout however, as the missionary who replaced me in Rocky was not that great. Denise Stopped meeting with the missionaries for a few months, most likely because she wasn't feeling the spirit when meeting with them. But a good Elder picked her back up a couple months later and she was ready! They set a baptismal date and taught her twice a week. This last Saturday she was baptized a member of the church. I was fortunate enough to get permission to Skype in and congratulate her.

I thought my time down in Rocky was futile and sort of a waste. We worked so hard to have success and saw none. But turns out we were sowing seeds, and one actually brought forth fruit! You will have to meet this wonderful woman when we come up to tour the mission.

Have a great week everyone!

Love,

Elder Higginson

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine

Greetings from the West End! I hope that you are all doing fantastic back home in the US of A! We are up to our elbows right now in the work of the ministry. And the work of Cleaning apartments and getting this place into some form of decent proselyting shape. We'll make the most of it!

So here is the most exciting news: I'm a Grandfather! That's right! Elder Jenson is training a new missionary up in High Level. Elder Nield is his name and he's from Pocatello Idaho! Woohhoo! We are all Idaho boys! This brings me great joy. 

This week has gone by in a flash! We drove down to Edmonton on Wednesday and transferred luggage. Elder Miller is getting Elder Levitt, who seems to be a real top notch Elder. I am now with Elder Ranu, from Quezon City, Philippines. Here is the interesting part: his father is from India and his mother is from the Philippines. So he looks super Indian. He speaks some good Tagalog though! We have been out everyday talking to people in the streets and knocking doors. Unfortunately, the only investigators we had when I got here were the ones that I was working with in Slave Lake... So I'm not totally sure what they've been doing with their time here, but we got 4 new investigators last week and talked to a lot of people. 

Edmonton is a beautiful place this time of year. The leaves are all turning colors and it is just rather nice in some areas. We were walking down a park trail along the North Saskatchewan river and talking to people last week. Mostly rich snobs and other people who didn't really want to listen. But we found a few good folks and as we were moving back up the trail to our car a man approached us and asked us, "Why does God allow the devil to have so much power over us sometimes!?" We were able to talk with this man for probably 20 minutes and he shared with us his story and about how he had a really bad alcohol addiction, and he had been sober for 5 months but he was struggling really bad that day. He was certainly humble and sought us for advice and help. We told him about the Addiction Recovery Program and taught a brief Restoration lesson. He was willing to try it out and took a copy of the Book of Mormon. He told us that when he started down the path he felt awful and not sure what to do. He said he felt much better after talking with us and counted it the hand of God that was guiding him and us. 

Not much else to report, except that we'll be doing some serious deep cleaning in the apartment shortly. It needs it badly. I hope you all have a wonderful week! 

Love,

Elder Higginson

Here's the new companion! Cleaning out the car and eating some KFC for the first time in a long time.

Marunong Ka pa rin mag-Tagalog?

Greeting from Slave Lake. 

First off, congrats to Mason for taking off to the MTC! Gonna be a wonderful missionary and a sharp sword in the master's hand. This week has been really good for us and we've seen the work hasten!

We got 3 people on date for baptism this week! The first one, George agreed to be baptized on the 16th of October and we also got in with a former investigator couple. The husband prayed about the Book of Mormon and felt it was true. He agreed to be baptised on the 2nd of Novemberand his wife said she would follow on that date if she was ready. Getting people on date in the first lesson is my favorite thing. The week treated us really well, success wise. 

Lens Baptism was great. It was stinking stressful for me, but it was great. We basically spent the whole day at the church, finishing my talk early and church and the baptism and a sweet potluck and then a fireside with Elder Cook and a lesson with a recent convert in the evening. Long day. I was unable to do the violin deal, because my accompanist was sick and I got to practice for an hour in the whole week anyway. It is ok though. My talk went 19 minutes surprisingly. Well executed if I do say so myself. We filled the font up during church, after mopping all the dead bugs out of it beforehand of course. The talks were wonderful, and the service spiritual. Minus talkative members and rowdy children. You all know how I used to get when children are being unruly at family gatherings. I kind of felt that way during the first half, but I was doing my best to pray and calm myself down so I could enjoy things. Old habits die hard. Len had to go under twice do to a leg popping up. But we got him all under the second time! His wife Leslie came and was very pleasant and talked openly with us. She was wonderful and we hope she felt something. I was able to confirm Len a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. After the blessing he shook everyone's hand after which he turned to me and said "we did it" and gave me a hug. I've never felt so blessed to be part of someone's conversion. I don't often shed tears of joy, but I certainly did in my prayers that night. The branch put on a wonderful Potluck with tons of food and a lot of people attended the baptism. A successful end to a successful ministry here in Slave Lake.

We received our transfer call this morning. President doesn't tell too many people where they are going or who they're getting but he told me. Riverbend Stake with Elder Ranue. TAGALOG. It's interesting that he'll be keeping me in the same stake. perhaps near the end of my time, I will come back up to Slave Lake to teach our Filipino friends up here. It is still my area I suppose. President said he was granting my Tagalog wishes on account of my diligence and contribution in the mission. So I guess I deserve this hahaha. 

This really has been a wonderful mission. I've gained a lot of experience for life and overcome many difficult obstacles. I look forward to the last 3 months and hope the Lord will give me the strength to perform to the best of my ability. 

Love,

Elder Higginson

Thou wilt surely wear away- Jethro

Hello everyone! This is my last full week in Slave Lake and we've got a lot to do and probably another 900 Kilometers to drive. We have an appointment in Red Earth, 2 hours North West on Friday. Then we have to make it to Wabasca. Probably 6 hours of driving ahead of us just on that day. We'll make the most of it. 

Len is squared away for Baptism on the 11th of September, and we got permission from the Stake President, President Wong to do the confirmation immediately following. And then a sweet Luncheon in the cultural hall! The stressful part is A) We have to make most all the baptism preparations plus B) I have to give a talk in Sacrament meeting plus C) I'm doing a violin musical piece for the baptism on top of it D) We have to make sure the area is tip-top for transfers next week. And we have very little time to accomplish any of that because we have appointments. Please pray for me haha!

This week has been great, We had exchanges and I got to go with my old time buddy, Elder Brown! We came out at the same time and he's a really good fellow. We got to teach Carla and Andrew again, since they live in Elder Browns area! It was good to meet with them, they seem to be doing better now that they've left Slave Lake. Elder Miller took over the area for the first time on his own! He's not a greenie anymore! seasoned, trained and tested. I will be leaving the area in good hands.

Blake came back from Whitecourt for the weekend and we had some good visits with him. He has found the church down there and he has Sundays off so he'll be going there while he's away. He is certainly committed to joining the church, It will happen sooner or later. 

We were Knocking Doors on Wednesday and a lady opened up and let us right in without any explanation. It's nice when that happens every now and again. She said that she had been feeling despondent about not attending a church since she moved to Slave Lake not long before. She told us it had been on her mind when we knocked on her door. She was receptive to the quick restoration we taught there in the entrance of the house and she invited us back. There are people who are ready to receive the message, we just gotta find them. 

On Wednesday night we were invited to attend a Pentecostal sort of church on a spur of the moment basis. Actually they called it a 'Bible Study". I had forgotten how loosely people apply that term to any sort of religious gathering. Should have know better haha. But we had about 45 minutes until our next appointment so we opted to check it out and be cultured. The people were really nice and happy to see us. They had us sit in the second row. Then they had everyone stand and a couple Jamaicans starting singing some strange modern christian songs. Evidently the small congregation knew the songs too, but we felt slightly awkward. You all remember what happens when I have to sing songs in a choir that I don't really care for. Stephanie Burnett has the recordings if you care to find out. 😱 Anywho, everyone is singing and using the saviors name an awful lot - not necessarily in a vain way, but way too much, and shaking and praising God. We got out just as the sermon was about to start. Interesting stuff for sure. I wonder If people think that's the kind of stuff we do in our churches? Regardless, I'm sure people have fears about coming to our church because of the unexpected. We'll keep trying to break down barriers and help people get there. I think I've had my fill of culture for now.

That sums up what's going on here! Thank you for all your emails and support. 

as always, Love

Elder Higginson

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye!

Greetings from Slave Lake. Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Firstly, we have been doing a lot of finding this week. The new mission President has put a lot of emphasis on going out and finding new people to teach. So, we've obediently begun to take the time to go knock more doors and talk to everybody. It is a strange change of pace; before the efforts of our finding would be indicated in actual results: New investigators, lessons taught, investigators at church, etc. But now, in addition to those key indicators we count the number of approaches we get each day. Approaches just means we tried to talk to someone or knocked on a door, regardless if no one answers or the people on the street ignore us - it still counts as an approach. So we've been doing a lot for that reason, though it seems like teaching is more effective in real life terms.We got 163 approaches this week and have no Idea if that is good or not. We are finally finding the more rude people it seems. We've been quite fortunate in the past here. But it mattereth not, I'll be transferred in two weeks haha!  Anyway, just a little bit about what is going on in the mission these da

We had a good lesson with Len this Saturday in the home of one of the members. It was a great lesson, we went over the baptismal interview questions and made sure everything was squared away. He has agreed at this point to have the baptism performed on Sunday, September 11th after sacrament meeting. I hope I didn't press him too hard to try and have it done before I was gone, but this is the outcome at this point, so it looks like I'll be here! Len is such a wonderful fellow and he'll make a fine addition to the branch. Pick and Flower of England I tell you! This branch could really use some more priesthood brethren.

Poor Lyle has been ill as of late and he took a fall down the stairs in the middle of the night this week. Seems he can never catch a break. a few cracked ribs and his neck was messed up as well. Lots of prayers going out to him in the branch; we hope to have him around for a few years yet! 

One of our Filipino investigators, Cris, watched the whole Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration movie we emailed to him last week! We didn't expect him to have time, seeing as he works some crazy hours. Cris really has some admiration for the prophet and he is getting a better understanding of the Book of Mormon. We will hopefully be committing him to baptism again in the next lesson or two. Hopefully we get to take him on a church tour this next week. We will hopefully be meeting with that really cool couple we found a couple weeks ago, this week. They got really busy after we left; Mike got a job and has been running ever since. We'll see what happens. 

That just about wraps everything up! 15 days until transfers, so we'll see what the Lord has in store for me. Time to really dig in and go out with a bang.

Elder Higginson

 

 Caterpillar!

 Len and Elder Miller preparing for baptism!

Be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud

Greetings from Canada. Thank you so much for the sweet email you have sent my way, they really gave me a boost. Now to the reporting on the work. 

The Parks had family come up to visit this week which was really neat for everyone. The best part was they brought their son, Robert, who recently returned from serving a mission in Chile 3 weeks ago. All he wanted to do was go out and work with us, so we had a great time! He came dressed in his missionary attire, just no name tag. So we took him up to Wabasca and went tracting. We knocked a lot of doors, talked to a drunk dude and got a new investigator! quite eventful. Afterwards we got to go meet with Lyle and he and the family he's with fed us supper. We had a great visit with him and he has really been doing well. He's been reading his scriptures and keeping the commandments like a champ! He was really touched by Alma 40:11 and he told us that the scripture gave him hope. He went in for surgery today and he is expected to be very weak after. But we came and gave him a blessing with President Park on Sunday so that was good. I got to bless the sacrament with Lyle for the fist time as well, and coached him through it!! It was super cool! Recent converts are such a joy and blessing, especially when they are so committed like this guy. 

Along with the great things that have happened this week, Satan has been particularly active. We met with Len this week and he informed us that he has been scheduled by his employers at the mill to work the Saturday of the baptism, basically for the whole day. This is the first Saturday he's been scheduled to work in the last 18 months. Infuriating. I'm starting to get confused on just how much Satan is allowed to mess with. He is suppose to have no power over the living God, but really though!? If we move it to the next Saturday, I will be transferred and miss it by three days. Why cant things like this just work out?? We are pushing to have the baptism the following morning or even after church, but it hasn't been decided yet. Well, whatever at least he's getting baptized still. We'll just have to cheerfully do all things that lie in our power for the time being. 

I was reading a talk yesterday by Elder Renlund. He had some interesting insights to share and I thought I might share a portion of it. 

Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are the ultimate Givers. The more we distance ourselves from Them, the more entitled we feel. We begin to think that we deserve grace and are owed blessings. We are more prone to look around, identify inequities, and feel aggrieved—even offended—by the unfairness we perceive. While the unfairness can range from trivial to gut-wrenching, when we are distant from God, even small inequities loom large. We feel that God has an obligation to fix things—and fix them right now!

I've seen this my whole mission and more now than ever. We encounter folks on occasion who seek signs and fail to recognize hardly anything they receive to have come from God. They live in sin and feel like God still owes them. Meanwhile I am over here recollecting the repentance before God that morning for getting to Studies at 8:01. Certainly not saying that I'm anywhere close to perfect, but I recognize the gap and I keep trying. The whole talk was really insightful and I'd recommend it. Should be on the main page of LDS.org right now.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week, and remember to take time everyday to stop and listen for the still small voice. It will tell you what you ought to do and bring peace to your troubled soul.

sincerely

Elder Higginson 

Greetings from Canada!!!

We've had some good success this week! Investigators are coming out of the woodwork and Old ones are coming back to us! I'll just share a few highlights.

Firstly, the Temple was great. We got to stay overnight at the mission president's house with his son and wife. Wonderfully hospitable people. The youngster, Jacob has a lot of Nerf Guns. He likes to bring them out when the missionaries come. Didn't get a chance this time though. Interviews with the mission president are always a good thing. Longest one I've ever had, clocking in at about 35 minutes. President Pattison is a good guy with a good sense of what we need to do in the work. I've been working the Tagalog angle with him pretty hard haha. I think he might put me back in Language work for the remainder. But who knows. 

We had a great visit with Lyle up in Wabasca this week. We are just starting to reteach him the missionary discussion after baptism, starting exactly 5 months to the day from when he was first taught. Now here is the cool part: he is working on one of his friends from Hockey, who has recently found out that he will be a father. He want's to straighten out his life and he approached Lyle about it. Lyle told him it wouldn't be easy and he'd have to come to church and take the discussion but he reported that this fellow is sincere and agreed to do it. Lyle is an A-1 Style boss. He set us up an appointment for this Friday and he'll be making us supper as well! We really couldn't be more blessed. 

We have been teaching the Fam regularly and we finished teaching them about the Life of Jesus this week, from the Mount of Transfiguration to the Ascension.

The spirit was really strong and the kids were under control so It was great. One of Bev's daughters, Rita told us at the end that she feels different when we come share messages with them and she feels like it's time to start again to make the necessary changes in her life. Similar thoughts from Dusty, another of Bev's daughters. "It would be a good thing for Noah to grow up in." Noah is such a great kid haha. So we will be teaching the lessons to the girls starting this week and recommitting them to baptism. 

The highlight of the week was when we were greeting people at the church and we see Little Noah outside the doors in his white shirt, slacks and tie! We were so happy to see him! He was followed by Blake, Bev, Stevo, Blake's granddaughter, Rita and Ezra, Rita's 11-month-old baby. Them plus, Len, Seth and Kevin made for 10 non-members at church and 7 of them technically investigators! Booyaa! It was so great to have that many people at church. 

Well, I've gotta run, but I love all of you and I look forward to hearing from you next week! Oh yea, I got my trunky call last Thursday at 11:43 A.M. Looks like I'll be flying into Boise International airport come December. :)

Love,

Elder Higginson

And then may we stand still...

Well, we have a fun day planned up here and I don't have a lot of time but I'll give you all the update. We have Zone Conference and interviews with the mission president tomorrow so I decided to pull a few string so us and the Parks could go to the 5:30 session at the  Temple tonight and stay over at the mission home. It will be a fun couple of days! 

This week was incredible. I've never had so much success and been so exhausted by the end of it. We exceeded the standard of excellence in all major and important categories. 16 lessons taught, including 4 member presents and 2 in members homes. We picked up 6 new investigators, from our own efforts and through contacting referrals from members. I definitely feel like boasting in the strength of the Lord right now, but I'm gonna try and be humble so the Lord will continue to bless us with continued success. It has truly been great though. The Lord has been answering our prayers and guiding us in what to teach each of these precious souls.

First off, We got our man, Len on date for the 10th of September!!!!! It's finally coming to pass! He will make a fine addition to the branch. And the best part?? That is my last Saturday in this area most likely! What a way to finish off strong! 

We had a great time with the Fam this week. Bev, personally invited us and the Parks over to celebrate the birthday of Blake's daughter who passed away 3 years ago at the age of 20. Ever since then, they always let a bunch of balloons into the air on that day. It was such a sweet visit and Bev showed all of us her pictures of her family and Blake's. These are real people that have all been through so much. They have been prepared by God to receive the gospel. And it is OK that it doesn't necessarily happen while I'm here. It will happen and these folks will experience the blessings that follow. 

We were walking down the street on Thursday trying to contact an old potential investigator who ended up telling us to come back in another month. Some potential investigators we find don't even really deserve to be called "potentials" because they are so lukewarm. But anyway, we decided to talk to the neighbor next door who was out gardening and she had no interest and was frankly a bit rude. But I asked her for referrals anyway and she straightway pointed to the house across the street. "That guy over there. His name is Mike." We figured that she was probably sending us to go talk to some Lucifarian dude who would drive us away, but we opted to have faith and see who this was. We talked to him and his wife and they were very much interested in having us back! Haha, who would have thought.

We came back the next day and had a great first lesson. The wife told us that no one had ever come to their door before and they wondered what it was that we were sharing. She was full of great and honest questions about the work we do. This family is trying to start fresh. They've gone through a lot but they are great people and we all agreed that it was God who led us to them. They are excited to read from the Book of Mormon and come to church. They have 2 young children and we told them about primary and they seem genuinely interested. Both parents agreed to the soft commitment to be baptized. Serious tender mercy of the Lord. We will give you an update next week, but we've already got the perfect fellow shipper for them and we think things will be great!

Have a great week everyone! 

Love, 

Elder Higginson

P.S. y'all made an exceptional sand octopus. 

 

Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.   

                    -Doctrine & Covenants 123:17

 

                                    The sky is better in Slave Lake, than in Redfish.

 This is the Fam. We love these people so much! Except those two people standing on the far left and the little girl with green dress. We don't know them. 😏

Scatter sunshine

Hello everybody! I'm glad to hear that you're all preparing for an adventure at Redfish Lake! I must say, I envy you all, That place is so wonderful this time of year. As I told Aubrey before, I vote you make a Jabba the Hut sand sculpture. Everyone play nice and do your darndest to not receive major injuries. We all felt really bad for Isabell losing a chunk of her leg last time. 

The work of the ministry progresses steadily up here in Slave Lake. We have been able to do some good quality work and many of our investigators are making progress. Firstly, Blake and the fam. We have really been pushing for them to read the scriptures together as a family each evening and say family prayer. I can say it really made a difference in our house and I know it will help these people. They moved across town this Friday and Saturday and we offered to help out. We did a few trips, got the couches out and the Parks came over to shampoo the carpets off the old place and help with additional cleaning. They were totally out of the old house and into the new in just a couple days! And the new place is much nicer. They will be here for a few years most likely and they are planning on buying the place. And the best part? It's like two minutes from the church. Sunday morning, Blake, Bev, and two of there sons came to church! and about an hour ago, Bev called us and invited us over for supper and to a family gathering. We've been doing our best to reach out to her and make her feel comfortable and she's responding. Sister Park was able to have a good visit with her and She is on board to be baptized. But the marriage might not take place until September or maybe even later. I've waited so long, but I don't think I'll be around for the baptisms. But that is ok. As long as it happens, I've done my part. 

A cool experience from the other day. We were coming down the elevator with some other folks including an older, rough looking gentleman with a beard, ear ring and a large tattoo on his arm. We'd talked to him in the hallway a bit and he was nice. We started chatting with him as we made our way to the Parks, on the first floor. Just after President Park opened the door, the man told us he was actually a member of the church, who had held the Melchizedek priesthood, but because he moved up to Red Earth, far from any chapels for 20 years, he had not had contact with the church hardly and had kind of lost his way. He told us he'd been thinking of coming back and getting active again! I asked if he'd like to meet but he wasn't ready for that yet haha. But he'll keep thinking about it he says. The Parks actually park next to this fellow in the parking lot and they have talked with him a bit over the last year but he had never divulged that he was a member. I really hope he decides to come back, we could use him in the branch!

The work really is delightful out here and there are many great miracles yet to come. Spiritually I have been down on myself lately and overly self critical. I've worked hard to overcome such feeling but they keep coming back. Today I feel cause to lift up my head and rejoice. God loves each of us and we are that we might overcome sin and have joy. My love to each of you and enjoy the festivities. 

Sincerely 

Elder Higginson