Monday, January 10, 2011

The Chinook winds are very common in southern Alberta and bring a little warmth to Calgary

What up!? Everything is going awesome here in the 407. Yes it is way cold. Right now is -30 C with the wind chill!!! I am so grateful we are on the way out for winter. Summer is approaching!!! At least that is what I want to believe. Things are going great and Elder Nielsen is awesome. We have very similar personalities (we are the 2 most sarcastic elders in the Spanish zone) so we are just having a blast with that. He is a really cool and funny kid. We are just loving the missionary work here. My tiredness left so that's good. I woke up so happy and refreshed today, probably for pday haha!

This week I had one of the sweetest miracles of my mission! So we got a call from the English elders and they tell us they are at the hospital with a man named Abel. He had a stroke on Sunday and was resting in the hospital. Apparently he has been attending an English ward with a friend for the last 3 months, but he is Spanish and has not understood much. He asked the English elders to send Spanish elders to him, so Elder Nielsen and I went over to visit him! We went into this expecting to maybe give him a blessing and maybe invite him to learn more about the gospel from us. So we show up and meet him, he's Abel Arteta from Peru. Like I said he has had little contact with the church the last 3 months, but with an English ward. He told us his life story and told us how he is looking to change his life and follow Christ. He asked if we have a ward in Spanish and we said yes, of course. So right then and there I receive the craziest prompting to invite him to be baptized. I thought that was so weird because I had just met him 5 minutes earlier. So I did it, I invited him to be baptized the 23 of January and he says "Yes sign me up!" Haha I was like "Are you sure?" because I was so shocked. He said that is exactly what he wants. So, we got a baptism right!? Turns out, Abel lives right next to downtown Calgary, which is the Central area. So, I got a baptismal date for Elders Davies and Estupinan. They are stoked for it though! We are going on exchanges to teach Abel either tonight or tomorrow. Me and Elder Estupinan will go teach him, to make the transition to those elders smoother. But still such a sweet miracle! I honestly did not have to do anything with Abel's conversion besides opening my mouth and challenge him to be baptized. The Lord prepared him completely, and I just extending the invitation. That is the cool part about missionary work I have discovered. Our job is actually pretty easy. We shouldn't have to convince anybody. We find the chosen, already prepared by God, and we simply invite them to do things they already want to do...whether they know it yet or not.

You guys are my number 1 support! Thank you for all the advice I really appreciate it. I really want to hear more about your mission dad! I feel like I don't remember you telling enough about it. But again thank you, you are an awesome example to me and I don't know why but the Lord has blessed me so much the last 8 months. It really has not been bad being away from everyone. There is a time and place for everything and I would not want to be anywhere else except right here in West Calgary. Things are sweet.

This week is going to be amazing!! Expect us to have 2 baptismal dates set. We are on fire and ready to turn the west side around. Thanks for all of your love and prayers. I hope you all have a crazy week too!! I love you!!

Elder Draper