Christmas and all that good stuff.

We were able to talk to Taylor last week on Christmas Day over Skype.  Best day ever.  He is so mature and so grown up!  We are so proud of him.  He has sacrificed his time and energy for a year and a half now, to helping serve others and teach people about our Saviour.  He has brought so much happiness to the lives of so many...that even those slammed doors...well, it's all okay.  Well, as the mom, I wish people wouldn't be slamming doors on him, but the big picture is what's important.  He has only 7 months left on this part of his journey and he thinks that's too short!  He loves it so much.  Taylor, thank you for blessing our lives with your service to others and your love for people in general!  And thanks for making us laugh as you acted out some of the reactions of people when you randomly ask them if they speak Chinese (in Chinese...lol).  Priceless...I mean you can imagine...a 6' 2" white guy blurting out that question...it definitely stops people in their tracks!

Here's his letter for this week.

Hey mom,

I am so eager to hear Jenna's call, that would be sweet if I can watch it at the Piper's. (Been waiting patiently for Jenna's mission call and wouldn't you know it, we haven't even gotten ANY mail delivered for almost 2 weeks...so she called today and they are putting in a special note to make sure we get our mail tomorrow so I'm hoping it arrives and video her opening and then send it to his Bishop's wife...he's eating supper there on New Year's Day so he can watch the video of her opening while he's there.)  

Ya so Ben and Delphine and Egide and Beatrice (our wonderful friends from Cochrane) were all at Church on Sunday! They went to the ward before ours, and we were at Church early, so we saw them. It was so great. Beatrice was reminding me how amazing you are mom! It was funny, Ben taught a lesson with us in Chinese! They are just visiting and going to Montreal today. Totally random to have seen them. When I saw Beatrice, she was talking with someone, she looked up and I waved, and she just kinda noticed, then she did a double take and her eyes got so wide! It was awesome. She said I got thinner.

I love the pics! They are so pro! The Christmas tree is beautiful! And everyone in their scrubs is sweet. (Got everyone scrubs this year for their Christmas Eve jammies...including Taylor).

Christmas dinner was great, we decided on Korean after all and had this great food, that comes on these hot metal plates so it is sizzling when it arrives. We went with Steve and Charles and we texted everyone Merry Christmas and someone we met on the street says he didn't have anything to do on Christmas and he felt lonely so we invited him, and he came too! This week was pretty slow missionary work wise, with people being gone and what not. We still had tons of meaningful experiences. We had 6 friends come to Church yesterday, and got fed by a super cool member named Rex. Oh I remember something sad. Our friend Lei Xin, we have been teaching for a few months, and he moved to Windsor on Saturday, so we ate with him on Thursday night. 

Have a Happy New Year!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

A week in the life of Elder H.

Hey mom,

That will be so cool for Jenna! I'm so excited! That's gonna be the best Christmas present, I hope it does come before so I can know on Wednesday instead of having to wait until Monday. (Jenna's mission call is in the mail and should arrive around Christmas Eve.)

The un-birthday was great, (his birthday is Dec. 20th so I sent his package early so as not to blend too much with Christmas.)  I love the pressies! (...and that's Aussie for presents! lol)The Mont Blanc things smell soo good! The shirt is really cool, and it is nice to have a fresh pillow case :) The tree is in the other apartment, but Elder Laboulaye has a cute little nativity we set up, so it is a little Christmassy, at least with the true meaning of Christmas.

That would be sweet if we all worked in medicine. (I told him that both Jenna and Lewis are thinking medicine...Jenna nursing maybe and Lewis surgeon.)

I was thinking about Mac today, visiting him will be one of the first things I want to do when I am back. Thinking of him does put me in a more somber, or serious mood, but I feel good. I am managing for sure.

I can't wait to jam with Lewy and everyone. I love to sing!

I am still with Elder Mataoa, I guess I could talk about my companions for once. Elder Mataoa is a great missionary, he learns really quick. He has a lot of red in him, (he's referring to a personality type from the book The People Code which all of our kids read and take the test once they are old enough to learn more about their own personality and how they can 'blend' well with anyone else) which is great, I don't need to be pushy for him to be motivated or aware of what needs to be done. I like that. Oh the four of us were talking about the Color Code and the 5 Love Languages the other day. Can we get the tests? Elder Mataoa loves to develop his talents. He loves to draw, he loves anime and manga. He is pretty funny, likes laughing and having fun, oh and he is a great dancer! He likes to party, not that we ever do haha. Transfers are the 8th on January, we are about half way through this one. Anything is possible at this point. There might be some shuffling in the Chinese Elders, because we have all stayed for 2, but I could stay out here. I really love our area, we have great friends, a lot of people seem to like us. Our ward gave all the missionaries stockings yesterday for Christmas, it was super nice! I haven't opened it yet (Elder Mataoa peeked at his) mostly goodies, which is great! Oh ya, our ward has 8 missionaries in it; us, English/French Elders and Sisters, and a Senior Couple that teach institute. We are one district, and we are pretty tight. Last Monday night was our ward Christmas Party/Talent Show. Elder Castrejon wrote a poem and we all sang a Christmas Hymn. Then one of the 15 Chinese friends that we brought got up on stage last minute (I asked if anyone had talent and that they could perform) and he beat boxed so well! This guy is a champion, and definitely star of the night! It was sweet. There are so many activities for Christmas, especially with 3 wards in the same building. There is a big Stake one, they do the Nativity with live animals right outside the Church on the 20th and 21st this year. We are planning a potluck for the Chinese folk on the 21st just before the Nativity. Should be fun! It has recently snowed a bunch out here. Something else fun this week. 2 things actually. The Stake does service around Christmas time, gift wrapping at the mall, to raise money for a charity, so Elder Mataoa and I went this week. My presents almost look like Dad's... almost. Then we went to Shu Ling's (our member) house for dinner and she made this awesome special Chinese meat balls, they were delicious! All in all, that makes for a pretty good week.

My favourite part about this time of year is the Spirit that is felt. I love the time we have to reflect upon the Saviour's birth, that wonderful gift to the world. He is central to our whole being. Without him, there would be nothing. His love lifts us up, and pushes us onward. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ, and the chance I have everyday to remind the world that Jesus Christ is our Saviour, that He lives, that He loves us. The peace these simple phrases bring to my heart are worth more than all the presents I get at every Christmas. We have been challenging the people we meet to be kind, and extend a loving hand to someone in need this Christmas season. I love that we can come together in the cause of right. Even if the people we meet don't know what God has done for them, the light of Christ is strong and I really feel like we can make a difference.

Thanks so much for everything mom! Have a good week!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

Patience

Was Grandma's Christmas party for work? (The kids went to my mom's work Christmas party on Saturday) That is cool that Lewis put up the decorations by himself, I guess he is 16 now. I am starting to feel old! I bet calling on Christmas will be weird, seeing everyone so big now. Oh and I can still Skype this year. So no problems, but just less than an hour for the amount of time.

I can't wait for Jenna to get her call! That is so exciting! She should come here! Or France. Where does she want to go?

 I think I'll get you to apply to U of C and McGill, and maybe BYU too, if it isn't too complicated. That would be cool if Aaron went. (A friend on his mission planning on going to BYU) I get Jason's e-mails every week. I think he is in South Carolina, or North. Seems to be doing well, it's crazy that we are on missions. Has Joe Pickett left yet?

Oh hey mom, I was thinking of an awesome adventure! Do you want to go to China? One of our members here, Jeffrey is going back to China in the summer and said if I want I could come and stay, he would find a place to stay and provide food! I told him that you would naturally need to come with me, and he said sure! I thought it would be cool if like you and Dad and I went. Although I don't want to be selfish, I know it would probably be too expensive for everyone to come. But it would give me a chance to use my Chinese! And you could get a chance to take great pictures of things like the Great Wall! What do you think? There is a member here, Kevin, from Toronto, and he lived in Beijing for 1 year on a scholarship from the Chinese government. I thought that would be sweet, seeing as it would help me in my dream to be a pop-star in China, but I don't think I could leave for that long again. So maybe a few weeks would be fun.

I got the birthday package, but I haven't opened it yet, but I guess I can now! Thanks mom and dad.

The car looks so cool! I like Toyotas.  (We bought a car.)

We have our ward Christmas party/talent show tonight. Should be fun.

This week wasn't too bad, all of our people are busy with finals, so it was a little slower, but that's alright. Chinese class at church is great, a lot of people have been coming out.

Oh ya, on Tuesday, we road-tripped to Montreal for a meeting. It was great! The Spirit was so strong, and I renewed my resolve to be the best I can be (that happens a lot on the mission). We tend to go on emotional cycles, and when we are on a low, we are self-conscious and realize we make a lot of mistakes, maybe in teaching or in following the missionary schedule, or whatever. But then we resolve to improve and great things happen. I guess this is a life principle, not just a mission thing. But it's great.

This week I gave a training on Charity, I LOVE giving trainings! It is definitely important to think about Charity, and trying to follow the example of Jesus Christ in love and service to others. Also this week I have been studying Patience. I have a lot of room to improve here. I realized I had always thought of patience as the ability to wait. I have now discovered that a more accurate definition would be to endure trial/hardship, while maintaining peace and avoiding frustration... easier said than done. Luckily we can use our faith and rely on the Lord to strengthen us and help us endure (see Alma 31:31).

Well hope you have a fantastic week! Lots of love,

Elder Heinzlmeir

Even missionaries get a little stressed...

Woah mom! That is sooo coool! That is amazing!  Awesome! I'm down with coming to the next one for sure! (I filled him in on our trip to Central America).

All those pictures you took are really pro mom! Look how the Lord is using your talent!

Sister Pieper came to me yesterday and said "I had the greatest talk with your mom!" That was pretty cool. (She messaged me on facebook last week--see previous entry on this blog) We had a Stake Christmas devotional after Church on Sunday, and we sang a hymn. It was pretty cool. I love Christmas. This year feels more Christmas-like than last year, probably because I am in Ottawa with a ward full of Christmas-celebrating people. It's sweet. We got snow this week, I was definitely enjoying the extended summer.

This week was great we had a good time. A couple of our friends invited their friends to church, so we had 12 people in  our Mandarin class! It was so cool!

On a more personal note, my stress peaked this week. We have been taught a lot about stress. We categorize it into 4 colours, green, yellow, orange and red. Green is good, normal levels. This week I hit orange, not so good. So I have been struggling my way back down to green. I don't know why I am more stressed than usual, definitely not the work load. Maybe just some internal pressures, but I think I have been managing okay.  I feel kinda yellow-green today. I really find relief in studying the scriptures, like really studying. At institute, Brother Turner taught us there are 3 ways to study, swimming, snorkeling and SCUBA diving. I used to be a swimmer, and throughout the mission began snorkeling so to speak. This week I have been focusing on really going slow and diving in to the scriptures. It has been really rewarding. I am learning so much about the Saviour and emulate his example more fully, even in stressful times. Guess I am getting some good habits. (Wow!  He really is human...a little stress!  I love the analogy with swimming, snorkeling and diving!)

Tomorrow we are going to a meeting for trainers in Montreal. I'm pretty excited to go. I always love the chance to learn from President Patrick.

Oh and I did think about school a little bit. I am really leaning towards Calgary, I guess I need to apply there and I had the thought this week that McGill would be kinda cool to try and get in to. It would be funny living here not being a missionary but just a thought I had. (We've got to get him registered for school for September so he's deciding where to continue his Neuroscience degree.)

What do you think? Also I have thought about living in China to teach English. Just crazy thoughts on my part, looking for your feedback. Hope you have a great week!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

Transfers and Baptisms

Happy Birthday Mom!

That sounds so awesome! What a cool trip! That's cool how they converted the church like that! You brought your equipment? That would be awesome to come next time! I guess I could be a dentist lol, but mouths aren't really my thing haha. Where did you go for the humanitarian excursion? Thats so long ago, what is that lady's age? You met a Seventy too? That's so cool!(You can find the explanations for the above on my blog at www.heinzlmeirhaven.blogspot.ca ) 

We just had another transfer call, and it is no surprise that I am staying in Dows Lake with Elder Mataoa. I will be finishing his training, yay! This week was definitely crazy! We met with Nick on Wednesday, we have been teaching him our whole time here. He was preparing to be baptized, but a week before his date of the 16th, he told us he didn't feel ready. So coming to Wednesday, we met with him, and we asked him how he was feeling. He paused for a moment, then said "I changed my mind, I want to be baptized." This caught us a little off guard, I managed to peep out "When?" He said "Sunday?" I said, "We can do Saturday" and he said "Great!" So we set our plans in order. 

Saturday was amazing. Snow lightly falling, it was just right. Nick was just beaming the whole day. Kevin baptized him, I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost in both English and Chinese. The Spirit there was so strong. Then yesterday at Church he was confirmed, and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. This weekend was just perfect. I am so happy for the decision Nick made to be baptized. I know it will bless his life, and the life of his family. 

I am happy for transfers, we are working with great people, and I get to be here for Christmas. Can't believe Christmas is so soon. We have already started singing carols and things. 

I need socks for Christmas, I am down to like 6 pairs. I asked Grandma for them too. Some Tylonel or something would be nice too haha. 

I hope you keep enjoying your time in Nicaragua! :) 

Love you lots!

Elder Heinzlmeir

The best gift ever...

Today I'm starting with a letter that Taylor's Bishop's wife sent me yesterday.  It was my birthday and I consider that letter the best gift this year!  I want to share it with all of you.

• 
  

  Hi Kelly. My husband is the Bishop of the DOWS Lake ward in Ottawa were we have the pleasure of serving with your son. He is the most incredible missionary. When my son was on his mission I wanted so much to be a fly on the wall so I could see him in action. So I thought I could be your fly on the wall for a few minutes and give you a peek into your sons missionary service.

  He radiates the joy of the gospel to everyone he meets. He's obedient, faithful, enthusiastic, and working very hard with our Chinese members and investigators. Because of this he and his companion are experiencing great success. I don't know how we would manage without him.

  Yesterday they had another baptism, a nice young man . At the baptism your son gave a talk on the Holy Ghost in which spoke fluently in Chinese and English , flowing smoothly from one language to another back and forth flawlessly. I was very proud of him and felt an overwhelming feeling of love for him....just as though you were here in my place. Only a mother would understand what I mean. He was also leading the music for the baptism and during the closing song he spontaneously sang the 3rd verse in Chinese while we sang in English. It was very touching.  

  I just wanted to let you know how blessed we are to have him serving here. Thank you for all you have done to raise such a fine young man, and for all the sacrifices you have made.,..believe me it was worth every bit Emily just let me know of the passing of your other son. We are sorry for your loss. We had no idea. Elder Heinzlmer didn't miss a beat. He just kept serving faithfully. If you have any concerns or if there is anything we can do for him while he is here, please don't hesitate to ask. Love and hugs Sister Piper (and Bishop)

Another week...

Hey mom,

This week was actually pleasantly warm here. No snow yet. Your trip will be so great! Enjoy it! I'll pray that all goes well. Poor Reg and Dane, I hope they start to feel better soon.(Reggie and Dane often speak of Mac and cry and question...they were very close to Mac and it's just plain hard.)

I love the picture, that's a really cool thing! Thanks for showing me! Too bad we can't wear jewelery or I might be tempted to get one.(I sent him a picture of my locket I made for Mac.)


As for my side of things, health has been alright, not sick or anything, that's a great blessing. Physically I've been a little sore, and I did have a headache yesterday, probably just because I didn't drink enough water, but morning exercise is great! Mentally, I'm improving I guess, still get side-tracked easily, but overall focus is good, and I am really learning a lot! Language is good, it improves slowly with time, I do get complimented, although I think they compliment any white guy that can speak Chinese. Frustrations come and go, all part of becoming stronger I guess.

This week was really cool though. We had a mission conference! Elder Pieper from the First Quorum of the Seventy came to visit our mission. We got to spend a day with him, being taught and trained. It was so cool to have a general authourity right there, teaching us what the Apostles directed them to teach. He taught us how do break down what he are doing into the application of principles coming from the doctrine. It was really enlightening. In our teaching we try and teach doctrine, followed by principles related to this doctrine, and invite those we teach to seek the answer as to how to develop their own faith and learn how to seek out on their own. The Spirit was so strong. We were using the Priesthood as an example doctrine, and we learned a lot about how the Priesthood blesses us and our families. After he taught us, they selected a few missionaries to have personal interviews with Elder Pieper. I was one of those chosen. That was probably one of the most incredible experiences I have had! We spoke for a short time but the Spirit was largely present. Elder Pieper wanted me to tell you that he says hello and that I am doing a good job.(How cool is that!?)

That was one highlight of the week. The other was yesterday we had a potluck for all Chinese people in Ottawa. It was great! We had about 30 people come and everyone had a great time, and were able to feel the Spirit being in the Chapel. I'm sure this will lead to teaching opportunities in the future, which means the lives of these people will be blessed. The food was delicious!

I am grateful to be here serving the Lord. I love you so much! Have a safe trip!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

A little snow...and a little stress. But it's all good.

Hey mom, 

Thanks for the update from home. I love your books, they are like journals for our family, we can show our kids what we did when we were younger! (I was telling him how I've been catching up on my digital albums...and in particular, my blog books.  I write my blog as a living journal of our family events and experiences, and at the end of the year, I 'slurp' that year into a volume of "Heinzlmeir Haven" through a company called Blurb.com.  I then have a hard copy 'yearbook' for each year and we love looking back at the memories.  I started in 2007 so I have 6 volumes, plus I did one to cover 1989--he year we got married--up to 2006.  That volume is a bit bigger as it covers more time, and the images in that book are from scanned photos.  I'm so thankful for the digital photography world today!  Makes things much easier AND faster to process!  I also do a smaller book for trips we take as a family or individually with more detailed photos and descriptions.  AND, when each child turns 18, I do a book for them...'The First 18 Years' as a keepsake for them.) 

What a brave little dude. (Reggie had a tooth just hanging from a thread and we have some sadists in the house who like to pull teeth out of the little kids' mouths!  Last night Reg was brave enough to endure the coatings of Jenna, Dad, Lewis and Shannon...and in the end, decided it would be way better for him to pull it himself, and so he did.) 

Cool stuff, when do you leave again on your trip, it seems like you are always around the world!(We leave on the 21st for Nicaragua for 12 days to help prepare pre-missionaries for their application process...I'll be taking their pictures and helping clean dental/medical instruments and Dennis will be sterilizing the instruments.)

This week has been pretty good actually, first snow fall for Elder Mataoa. And some firsts for me too. We taught the Word of Wisdom to one of the people we are working with, and he loved it. He decided this week he would stop smoking! What a great blessing for his life, and what a great way to see the the Gospel of Jesus Christ changes our hearts, and really helps us to conquer our hardest trials. 

On Wednesday we have our mission conference. Elder Pieper of the Seventy will be visiting us, I can't wait to be inspired and learn! Pretty great experience. 

What else is new, had a pot luck after church, that was yummy.

Oh and for the mission conference I am singing with some Elders, How Great Thou Art! That will be exciting, I love to perform.

I have been a littler stressed lately, but we have these new books called "Adjusting to Missionary Life" and it is all about managing stress, so that has helped a ton. Just gotta be positive.

Hope you have a great week!

Lovwe Elder Heinzlmeir 

Skills!

Hey mom,

The costumes look great, you truly are incredible! I like the quilt idea. (I'm going to try to make a wall hanging quilt from some of Mac's favourite clothes/ties) That's awesome about Jen! (Her papers for her mission will be sent within the next week or so because her last doc appointment last week was needed...heart specialist...and he said that her heart is 'gorgeous' and that there are no signs even of the previous issues with the mitral valve!  We feel this is nothing shy of a miracle.) I did get the package! Thank you, and thanks Josh for the ties. (His friend Josh P. had me send a couple funny ties...one that can be inflated so if you MUST fall asleep during church with your head on the pew in front of you, you can place the pillow tie between your forehead and the bench so as not to leave an obvious dent in your head...thus giving away that you were indeed dozing off during church!  lol--Taylor doesn't do this...but you never know! And the other was a camelback tie with a hidden water pouch for those times when you just can't stop for some water! lol  Funny boys must come up with these.)  Definitely handy. We ate a bunch of the candy and stuff already, the cookies are great, how did you make the swirly ones?(Jenna made swirly pumpkin/sugar cookies and we sent some to T.)  Your trip will be so amazing! (Dennis and I are leaving in a couple weeks for a service trip to Nicaragua.  It's for Smiles for Central America...a large group of dentists, doctors, hygienists, offer their services to pre-missionaries from Central America who can't afford the proper medical and dental requirements for missionaries.  Dennis will be working with the dental equipment - washing/sterilizing and I am the photographer for the trip.  I will be taking around 800 pre-mission portraits and some family portraits of people who would never otherwise have a family picture taken...ever.  We feel grateful for the opportunity to give back after being the recipients of so many acts of service over the past couple of weeks.)  Better start aprendir espanol. Es el mejor! Me gusta los tacos. Anyways...

I'm really happy to hear about all that support. It is so heart warming to hear the Christlike acts of service towards our family. I would like to add my gratitude to those that helped the family in our time of need.

Service is most definitely the best medicine. It fills our lives with charity, and our hearts with the love of Christ. When we serve others, we are serving God, and he blesses us with promised peace and happiness regardless of our circumstance. I know that has been keeping me afloat in stormy waves of emotion that rattle me occasionally. I hope this writing sounds good, and shows I am smarter than before, and doesn't sound weird, indicating the goof-ball I am. Haha. (Here lies Taylor's awesome sense of humour!  I told him that he does sound smarter...if that's possible for such a smarty-pants anyway...but that he'll always be my goof-ball.  ;o) )

I have been doing well though, we went out for sushi today, I LOVE CHINESE FOOD. And yes I recognize Sushi is actually Japanese, but only Chinese people work there so its close enough.

There is a lot to focus on as a missionary, especially now, as we are focusing on working with others to help them in their missionary efforts. It requires a lot of thought processing and time. But things really couldn't be better. I feel you all close by and your prayers are being answered.

What else is on my mind. I need a haircut, I've been neglecting it the last couple weeks, and I like keeping it short, did I mention I have been cutting my own hair? New found talent! It doesn't look quite as good as when you do it. But it's a pass at least. (He always has the right answer...ie...making sure he gives me credit, AND let's me know he still needs me...even though he's all grown up.)

We had another good turn out at Church on Sunday, despite the illnesses ravaging our friends. Must be the change in weather. It's been nice out here too, but I feel like I am getting colder more easily, I didn't get a good couple weeks of minus forty last year to train my body.

Love you so much, have a good week!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

Acceptance. Growth.

Hey mom,

Thanks for the email. I love you so much. I'm glad to see all the support from family and friends. I teared up when I saw the picture of you and Brent, Rob and Dave. I'm so grateful for our family. Thanks for letting me know how the day went.



I think the Lord gave us extra blessings to help this week. We are meeting with some great people. On Sunday, 9 of our friends came to Church. Everyone made jokes about our Chinese gang. Our Mandarin class was packed. Doubled in one week.

It still hits me sometimes that he is gone, which is hard. But I cry when I need to. The Lord is definitely supporting me. I know this is right, you know that feeling you get when you miss out of something, like missing a Sunday at Church? It's the worst. But I don't feel that way. I know my place, and you are right, Mac would want me to stay.

The weeks are going by so fast now. Hard to keep track of what we did. I've been rapidly improving in Chinese. I teach better. I did an exchange with Elder Mortenson this week which went well. I have been learning a lot about ministering, the why and how. It is a great way to feel like I am serving the Lord. This week on Wednesday we gave a Sister in the ward a blessing for her health and comfort. When we saw her again on Sunday, she said she felt much better. What a privilege it is to serve others.

I miss and love you all so much. Sorry if my mind is scattered and I don't have much to say, especially to express myself. But I love you!

Have a good week!

Love T

New stuff.

Hey Mom,

Week was really great! First of all, I live with Elder Jules, he is Elder Laboulaye's companion. (A guy from Calgary who just arrived in the same mission as Taylor) My companion is Elder Mataoa! He is from the Gold Coast, and grew up in Tahiti! Yes, another island companion! He is great, and so is his Chinese. It is cool to be back in Dow's Lake. Saw Kyle again, and they invited us over for Thanksgiving. We have been walking around the University, looking for the Chinese students. There are so many. We already have a group of people to teach.

On another note, Elder Smith is training again, maybe he will be with Elder Pilling! That would be sweet!

Oh and I talked to Sister Piper and she told me that the McAteer's are moving back up, that's so cool. It's a small world.

Saturday Elder Mataoa and I got permission to go back to Montreal for the baptism of Jhonel and Diny, the family I was teaching in Montreal. It was so amazing! The Spirit was there so strong, I know it is right. The opportunity we have to make a covenant with our Heavenly Father is so great.

I feel like I'm spoiled, I get the best area, I live with the coolest missionaries, life is great!

Time for a change!

Hey mom!

Yes Congratulations to Shannon! And Brianna, it`s a big day!(Shannon and Brianna are getting baptized this coming Saturday).

My mandarin is ok, no practice really, but speaking of that... EARLY TRANSFER! So normally transfer calls would be this Saturday, but I got a call yesterday from Elder Williams, I am going to be transferred early... I am going back to Dows Lake Ward in Ottawa, the YSA.. but this time.. CHINESE! I will be training again! This time it is another Chinese Elder, they are coming a week early from the MTC so I got an early call! It`s exciting because I get to go back and see old friends, and be in a Chinese area, but I am a little sad to be leaving Hochelaga and Elder Fontaine. Elder Fontaine is so cool! We are going to keep in touch him an I. It`s also a little sad because I won`t be here for the baptism on Saturday of the boys we have been teaching, or the Ruiz family in November. But maybe President will let me come back for those. We will see. So thats some exciting news.
I`ll keep an eye out for Elder Pilling. (Friends of ours...their son will be arriving in Taylor's mission next week!)

My time here in Hochelaga went by soo fast. Met some great people, and made some new friends. A new chapter begins soon. I`m really excited to train again. Working with a new missionary. It is a great learning opportunity.

I loved how the prophet emphasized the importance of missionary work. (2 times a year we listen to great speakers on all topics relating to the gospel and life in general...how to improve and find peace in an ever-changing world...can't help but feel uplifted.  Talks are available to anyone at  http://www.lds.org/?lang=eng )  In Doctrine and Covenants 88:73 it said the Lord will hasten His work in His time... the prophet said on Saturday... the time is now. We need to be united in doing the Work of the Lord. Members and missionaries need to be united in their efforts. I wish I shared the Gospel better with my friends, it really is the most important thing in the world.  Knocking on random doors unfortunately is no longer the best way. We have to pray for and be on the look out for opportunities to invite people to learn about the Restored Gospel. I LOVE being a missionary, and will be for life. It is awesome!

Well there are some of my thoughts. Have a great week!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

Bed Bugs????!!!!!!

Hey mom,

How is everything? And Happy Birthday Dad!! The big 5-3. Pretty cool.

So to be brief today has been pretty crazy, our apartment is being fumigated so we had to wait for the guy to come and everything, basically took the whole day, but got this chance to send a quick message. This week has been great! So many incredible experiences. We got a referral from the missionaries in Trois-Rivieres, this sweet Colombian family, and they came to Church on Sunday, everyone loved them and after church were like, hey lets have them over for dinner with you! YES! It`s so powerful to have the member support.

I love you lots, have a great week!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

P.S. It's just bed bugs...
P.S.S. Great pics
P.S.S.S. I don't have them, they are just in the apartment.

Love you!

Bonjour!

Hey mom,

Thanks for all the updates, the kitchen looks great! Cool new look. (sent him pictures of the reno) That's cool about dance, (filled him in on all the kids' dance lessons and Jenna's 2 jobs she's cramming in to earn heaps of $$$ for her mission and school) Jenna must be dead doing all of that! Hope Grandpa is ok. (my dad hit a giant moose going to work a couple weeks ago...on the airport road going only 35 km/hr--came right through his Cadillac windshield and in his face...he had to push it out and it fell and staggered off in the bush!  Gramps is shaken badly, but physically fine.  It was a miracle for sure!) 

The apple store is closed so we are at the sony store. We had a pretty great week. 2 of the boys from the miracle family came to church! It was amazing! They loved it, and the Spirit was so strong.

We did an exchange with the Spanish Elders, always a good time. Elder Fontaine and I are two peas in a pod. We get along so well, which is great. teaching is a breeze. We had a miracle last night too! We were knocking doors a few days ago and came across a nice Hatiian lady, she said come back tomorrow. When we came back, her daughter was there, but she also said come back tomorrow when her husband is home. The next day we went back again, and none of them were home, it was the cousin, she said come back tomorrow. So finally last night we went, and three of them were home, we had a great lesson, really following the Spirit. They are great and really interested in doing what God wants them to do. We are visiting tonight again!

Thanks for the quilt again mom, it keeps me warm at night. It is starting to get chilly. 10 today.

Well everything else is tickety-boo. (a phrase from my grandparents...passed down all the way to our kids!) Hope everything continues to go great! Love you!


Love, Elder Heinzlmeir

Elder H. is Awesome!

Hey mom,

Have had a cool week! This week it was tansfers, sad to see Elder Yunack leave me. He is training a new missionary in a Spanish area. My new companion is Elder Fontaine! He is from France! We are great friends already, we have a lot of fun, and work well together. It is cool because we started our missions at the same time, and our skills have really progressed, we teach really well together, it is easy for us to switch off between each other. We have a lot to talk about with each other, and I have a great place to stay whenever we want to visit Normandie!

This transfer, the other Elders we live with`s car got switched to a new area, so we are sharing, we have had great contacts though on the street and public transportation! We are at a point in our work where we have a lot of people to work with/teach and have plans to change the way we are working with them to meet all of their needs. It is great to work closely with the Bishop and being on the same page with the members in the Ward. We are also being backed up by great direction from President Patrick! The Lord`s work is progressing here for sure. Can`t wait for Jenna to get her call!!

Elder Fontaine and I had a very spiritual experience on Friday. We were invited to give a spiritual thought at a funeral. It was just a small family one, for the father of a member. It was in a nice place. We had the opportunity to bear testimony of God's plan of salvation. I know that life doesn't end with death, but we will live with Heavenly Father and the Saviour again. I know families will be reunited. The Spirit really touched all present, they thanked us a lot after the service was over. I was very grateful the Lord allowed us to have that experience.

Elder Fontaine bore his testimony at Church on Sunday and it was great, we are ready to do anything the Lord requires of us.

We went for a run the other day too, that was good. Much needed.

Hope all is going well with school starting. All is well here in Montréal.

Love you!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

Teaching, teaching, teaching.

Hey mom!

Oh yes, because of Labour Day our preparation day changed to today. Made for a very productive day yesterday. I had so many things to talk about but I am forgetting them. Lets see, oh yes transfers! We received our transfer calls on Saturday... I am staying in Hochelaga! As for my companion... Elder Yunack has been transferred. He is going to Monterey, which is a Spanish Branch here on the island, so I will see him still :) My new companion will be Elder Fontaine! He is from France! We came in at the same time. It is sad that Elder Yunack is leaving, but such is mission life. We have had a great three months together. A lot of great experiences, a lot of fun and work. 

Transfers will be tomorrow. Then we have a Zone Training Meeting on Thursday, thats where we give trainings to all the missionaries in our Zone, which is 28 now! Pretty excited for that.

So we taught the Louis-Jean family yesterday, so Elder Yunack could say good-bye. We had a great lesson about the Plan of Salvation. They are so great! They have a date to be baptized on the 28th of this month, so we will see if they are ready for then. That would be cool.

We also taught Eddy again! The one we walked by 4 times then took a Book of Mormon. He is sweet! He accepted to be baptized on the 12th of October if he is ready! SO excited for the work in our area, Elder Fontaine and I are going to keep it up! 

What else is new, we went to the Bishops for dinner, and it was so fun, our Bishop is a young French man, and loves missionary work, he actually served his mission here 10 years ago. He really does a lot to support us and gets the ward behind him. I love when we can be unified as a ward to do missionary work! 

Speaking of... President Patrick has just given us these "Our Family Mission Plan" sheet, they are super cool, the goal is to teach someone in our home, and the plan is up to the family, maybe you could give it a try?

Love you so much! 

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

Lol.  This is a funny pic.  Someone who really doesn't want to talk the Jehova Witness folks...at least Taylor's not one of them!  Wonder if they let him in. ;o)

Reminds me of a sign we saw beside the front door of a cabin we rented (well, on the owners house beside the cabin we rented) that said "Chien Bizzare!"  For non-French folks, the above sign in English would be 'no Jehova Witnesses', and chien bizzare would be 'strange dog'.  Which could be a joke...like "A crazy dog lives here", or "Our dog is bizzare and crazy so watch yourself."

I love this shot.  Good thing there was no traffic at that moment!

Busy = Lots of awesome experiences...with the odd weird dream thrown in...

Hey mom!

Thanks for the updates! The kitchen looks great! Is that a new fridge?  I love how sleek and modern it looks. Cool stuff!  So I just looked back at the picture and noticed the words underneath :P I like the lighting on top of the cabinets idea, it`s like the lights at church above the lip in the chapel, I was just looking at those on Sunday and said to myself, wow those lights really light up the room! (we did get a new fridge after our old one died back when we were in Africa...and we are getting new lighting to finish off the renovated kitchen...including LED above cabinet lighting and the florescent under cabinet lighting we already have will be switched out to LED as well.)

I had a LONg and weird dream last night. It invovled hoveboarding and teaching a man that had a pet mouse that tried to attack me. Anyhow, things have been great!  (This wasn't as random as it seems...I told him about I dream I had and we had a 'chat' about it...so then he offered me this...which is pretty weird alright!)

That would be cool if I could just transfer, Elder Smith said we could live together too! (He's thinking of transferring to the Y (BYU) when he gets home next summer and he and Elder Smith are great friends who already know they can live in the same apartment together and remain friends!)

We saw him again ya!(I asked if he saw the Haitian fellow again...) He has a wife and little son, we haven`t seen them yet, but next time hopefully. We are also teaching a family; mom, dad, 8 year old daughter, and another on the way! They really want to join a church but want to pick the right one... yes! And then mom with 4 sons, 15, 13, 10 and 8. Oh and a family of 7 that we found this week. They are really cool, all of the above are from Haiti. The mom with the 4 sons lived in Florida for a while, so they all speak English, which was great becuase we showed them videos on mormonchannel.org which are all sweet! Things are great in our area, the more we become committed to the work, the more the Lord blesses us with great meaningful experiences.

Food situations great, we figured out last week, if you buy a variety of vegetables, cooking is easier and more fun, also we don`t have to eat just rice plain... who knew? (now that is just crazy talk...like he didn't know these things before?  Okay people, his mother DID teach him about veggies, rice and everything else that goes with them and MORE!!!  Thanks T!  lol) We are eating really well. I am also excercising every day, I do a combo of streches and push-ups and sit-ups. 

Well have a great week! Love you!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

Good Morning Montreal!

Hey mom!

Love you! We had an incredible week! We did see the Haitian guy again! He is super nice, we are seeing him again this week! We found like 3 families this week! unreal eh?! I love it! Teaching families about the Gospel is what it is all about! We have just been so blessed :) 

Anyhow! I'm so proud of everyone! Yay! Front page! Picture in colour, thats amazing!(Lewis made the front page of the paper last week so I sent T the jpg copy so he see his little bro in action.)  And Jenna! I'm beyond excited for her, seriously mission = best use of time! So at this point I have just been talking to the Senior Missionaries in the office about Lewis and Jenna and how they are awesome and going to serve missions! 

I love you lots!

I forgot all I wanted to tell you... and e-mail time always runs so short! 

I have a new friend in the mission. Elder Regnier, it is his first transfer, he is Elder Smith's companion and they live with us. He is from Weyburn Saskatchewan. He is a great missionary, we have tons of fun in our apartment. Mission life is hard, fun, and rewarding! 

We helped teach a primary class about missionaries on Sunday. Although primary kids make me think of the kids...

I think the thing I love about the mission the most is that your perspective changes, becoming more and more eternal and it is just amazing they way I see things now, compared to before. 

I love you so much! Have a great week!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

A great update from Elder H.

Hey,

Love you so much! The kids can swim??? That's so cool! DisneyWorld?? I'm down, maybe we could stay at the Patrick's, except they are from Tampa Bay. That floor is the same floor we have in our apartment. Cool uh? wasn't expecting THAT though. Hopefully all goes well with the renos. Can't wait for the insoles. I was just thinking about how I want better posture! And I'll have more energy to knock on more doors! 

Soo ya Zone Leader is a pretty fancy title, not too crazy though.  Any missionary can do it. There are 6 Zones in our mission: Ottawa, Mount Royal, Montreal North and South, and Longeuil North and South. Elder Yunack and I are the Montreal South Zone Leaders. Our area is the island of Montreal, for French and Spanish. There are 3 Districts. Every district has a District Leader. Our role is mostly to help them. We meet with them regularly to discuss needs in their districts and we go on exchanges with them. They report key indicators to us and we report those to the Assistants. I love working with other missionaries. The mission is incredible because it isn't just helping people who aren't in the church to come unto Christ, but EVERYONE, including other missionaries. I'm grateful to play a role where I can work with them. Pretty cool.

This week has been crazy! Transfers were Wednesday, staying with Elder Yunack! He is the best. But it was crazy because we had 6 new missionaries in our zone! We spent the day making sure everyone was getting settled in appropriately and had a meeting with the Bishop to meet the 2 new teams of Sisters in our ward! There are now 10 missionaries in the ward! Cool eh? Could you ever imagine that? It's a lot, but it's great! 

Friday we had Missionary Leadership Council.  Thats where all the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders have a meeting with President and the Assistants. (We have 4 teams of Sister Training Leaders. They go on exchanges with all the sisters and help them with stuff, not really sure, they kind do there own thing.) But ya, we all met and President gave great trainings on his vision of the mission (it was our first with President Patrick) and on how to work with Ward and Stake Leaders, it was super interesting.

Saturday we had a ward activity, a free car wash! It was fun, but I got sun burned on my neck and arms, next time I'll remember sunscreen. 

Yesterday we had a cool experience. We were out knocking and met a ton of people from Haiti, who had family members that were members! Then we knocked into a bunch of older Italian people, they are usually not interested, so we prayed to know where to go and felt it would be good to go to an apartment building down the street. On the way we passed a bunch of Haitian guys on a porch that weren't really interested. The apartment building was all Quebecois and they were all very frustrated. We finished the building and were heading back, past the Haitian guys, but before we reached our car, there was a lady struggling to walk with a bunch of heavy bags, so we stopped to help. We passed the Haitian guys for the third time, and they were joking like "Oh looks like you found a job to do!" and stuff. They lady was super grateful, and then on the way past the guys for the 4th time they stopped us and said "Hey, you guys really are disciples of Christ, do you have any books?" so we gave one of them a Book of Mormon and had a nice chat, we will be going back this week. Super cool how service can soften the heart, and how the Lord works His work.

Looking forward to another great week, hope all is well for you!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

Another week in the life of Elder H.

Hey!

Looks like your having a good time, you should go to Guadeloupe and visit Elder Jason's family! You are in the neighbourhood. Cool stuff, hopefully everything is going well at home as well.  (I sent Taylor pictures of the cruise Jenna and I were on last week.)

This week has flown by! It was super busy, but great! So much has happened, lots of little blessings everyday, well not little...huge! We went to teach Marie-Betty and we had planned to bring the Bishop with us. We got there before him, and as he was driving up, Elder Yunack said, oh hey, I'll get the Bishop and then Marie-Betty had told me that she was just thinking that she wanted to speak with the Bishop right before we got there. We didn't tell her it was the Bishop that was coming with us! Super cool right? I went on exchanges into the Spanish district on Wednesday.  Elder Arias and I had a blast, and I got to use the Spanish Elder Gamez taught me back in Ottawa. 

One of the coolest things this week was service. On Thursday night, we got a call asking for volunteers to help the next day. It was for Red Cross collecting money in Metro stations for relief for the people that live in Lac-Mégantic. There was a train that derailed and exploded there this week, destroying the town, and many people were killed. It was last minute preparation but it was so cool, we stood in the Metro station for 6 hours, we were so sore, but it was really cool to see the generosity of all the people! Crazy that a tragedy happened so close to here.

Saturday was a full day of lessons, and when lessons fell through, we were blessed with other lessons to take their place.

Over all a great week. Oh and we had cake for Elder McCook and Elder Smith's year marks.

Well have a great week!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

Canada Day = Moving Day

Hey thanks for the e-mail! Sounds like everything is going well! Can't believe Jenna is done with High School! That was fast. The pictures reminded me of my own Graduation which feels like it just happened. Congrats Jen! Also mission papers in??? You are coming here! I love the Reggie stories, he is so smart! Happy Birthday Mac and Kaitee! Ya it is super humid compared to Alberta, and really hot recently!

So this week has been interesting. Apparently in Quebec, everybody moves on Canada Day, like no joke! It was CRAZY-- moving trucks everywhere. We have been doing a ton of service, just helping everyone move recently, which is nice because when you serve someone it opens their hearts. It is cool to see people so grateful for such a little thing as helping them move. Also I have gotten pretty good at installing washers and dryers. Pretty cool. Also church has been great, I have really been learning by the Spirit and understanding the beauty of the Gospel more and more each day! Oh and Elder Yunack and I met 2 families last week that are interested in meeting with us! I love teaching families! That's what its all about anyway, helping families live together forever. 

Well, a little short on time today, love you so much!

Have a great week!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

The Humble Zone Leader

Taylor never told us this...he's so humble...it's a pretty big deal so we are so proud!  If you click on the letter, it will open in a window large enough to read if this is too small (it is too small for my blurry eyes!)

East Island Adventures begin.

Hey!

Crazy to see all that flooding in Fort McMurray. Has there been a lot of rain recently or what? Can't believe dad was stuck there. Happy Father's day Dad!! And Happy Birthday to Lew!! 

This week is crazy. We used Monday and Tuesday to say good bye to everyone, and got a lot of work done! Wednesday bused back to Montreal... it's good to be back.  Nothing quite beats Montreal. I really love it here. The East Island is so cool! Not really what I was expecting, which makes it all the more interesting. I found out we cover the Hochelaga Ward (French) and the Montreal East Branch. My companion Elder Yunack is amazing! He is just the nicest guy, always serving and working hard. We have had some great experiences already. 

We both caught a cold on Friday, so the weekend has been a little tough, but making it through!  Have met a lot of people that are interested in learning more about the Gospel. It is cool to see how the Lord prepares people and uses us to help them come unto Him.

I'm really happy! President told us today happiness is a choice, so true, so even with a drippy nose, I'm still happy I get to go teach people the Gospel. (I just won't shake their hands.) 

I hope the flooding goes down... or you can rally the masses and get the kids to build an ark. 

I love you! 

Elder Heinzlmeir

Transfer time!

This week has been incredible! A lot has happened that has been so great! Also, Lewis' arm... ouch, but ya, so good!

So Tuesday, everyone switched companions and contacted all day! I was with Elder Thia from France. We had such a good time! We talked to more than 250 people and got 3 new people to teach in one day! We also met some really interesting people. one guy we met took away our name tags because we weren't carrying a bible with us. We were like a block away from the car, so we took him with us, grabbed our bible and he gave us our tags beck. It was kinds weird, but also kinda funny. Doesn't happen everyday, or ever for that matter! Super cool!

Then it all flew by to Friday. Friday was a special day... one I will remember my whole life! Bryan was baptized on Friday! Actually there were 2 baptisms, Elissa at 4:30 then Bryan at 6. I think nearly 40 people came to his baptism. Everything was just perfect. 

So we found Bryan about 6 weeks ago. It was when Elder Gamez was in a trio with us. We had just taught a lesson and were hurrying to another. On the way we would talk to people, but we were in a rush. I saw a group of three people coming and said something like "Hey we are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have you ever met missionaries before?" And so this guy stopped and told his two friends we would catch up later but wanted to talk with us. This is Bryan. Heavenly Father has been preparing him his while life. He started reading the Bible when he was 8. It was so cool to see the way he "feasted" on the Scriptures. Every lesson we taught was more like him teaching us, and he readily accepted to be baptized to get closer to our Heavenly Father and our Saviour. It was a happy day for me to see the progress he has made and I have made in 6 short weeks. Heavenly Father blesses us as we follow him. As we do his will. All we need to do is try our best.

So it's been a crazy week. Transfer calls are always so exciting! It was surreal when President called and told me I am going back to Montreal, but I am excited for this new Chapter in my mission! Here I come French speaking family ward!

Love you so much! Have a great week!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

There's always something about food!

Hey week went.. pretty amazing actually. I miss Reg, lol. (I just filled him in on some recent 'Reggie-isms')Ya I'll try to check it out, we have a bunch of Ensigns so I can look for it. (Just mentioned a Conference talk I re-listened too that was excellent.) Transfers are the 12, we get the call on Saturday! Crazy how fast it has gone by! Anything could happen really so next week I can let you know. That's super cool that you are getting the Family History stuff up and running.(I've started a Family History Night for ladies that is starting next week). So cool to find our history! I love it. Can't believe Nate gets home, I remember him leaving. Feels like not too long ago. Time flies by out here, and everyone says the second year is faster. Yikes! 

But ya this week. We talked to a lot of people, had a lot of time to contact. We met some really nice people. I love people that take a minute to talk with us in the street. Also this week I went to Orleans (kinda like the Sherwood Park of Ottawa) on splits with Elder Rangel. He is originally from Vera Cruz, Mexico, but moved to Montreal 3 years ago. He is super fun, and we went to a family's house for dinner. The first time on my mission! Crazy eh? But also cool because Sister Larson is actually from Barnwell and my friend Luke in Guatemala is also from there, so we knew a bunch of people in common. It was cool being on the flip side, being the missionary in a families home. Cool stuff, probably won't have too many experiences like that on the mission. I'll just have to find some cool Chinese families when I go back to Montreal. The next day we volunteered at Ottawa Mission again, it's super fun getting to serve the food.

This last weekend was super busy, but awesome! We ate with a member and his roommate, they made us great Chinese food! Then Friday night we went to Gatineau Park with Bryan! It was so beautiful! Bryan is great, his baptism is this Friday, can't wait! He even shared his testimony at Church yesterday!  Saturday was also full of lessons, got some good help from the members too. Blair and Jasen both helped us out. Which is cool because they have both been baptized within the last 2 months. 

Yesterdays testimony meeting was just incredible. Bryan's testimony was so cool to hear, and everyone was like woah who is this guy? His baptism is going to be great! I really felt the Spirit through the meetings yesterday. And Elder Jason and I are becoming better teachers every day! I LOVE being a missionary!

Have a fagulous week!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

And some of the beautiful things in and around Ottawa!

Surprise visitor...

Hey,

Ya it was unreal to see Andrew. (Andrew Willmott went to Ottawa this past weekend and surprised Taylor at church.) At the end of Sacrament meeting I looked at the door and he was standing there looking around, I got up and went and gave him a big hug! It was really cool. Yesterday was just all around amazing.

Lets see, highlights from the week. On Wednesday we had lunch with our friend Wang Xian Ke at is house. He cooked us great authentic Chinese food. I absolutely LOVE Chinese food, it is so good! We taught him about the Plan of Salvation, it was great, he really has such a desire to find truth. He is also quite sensitive spiritually, and keeps telling us of new experiences he has with prayers being answered. He tells us we are awesome all the time, it's all Heavenly Fathers work though. Oh and I have been showing everyone the picture of our family and they all freak out like "WOAH" it's awesome.

Oh and then on Saturday, the missionaries we live with, Elder Gamez and Elder Williams, a person they have been teaching got baptized! It was just nice, everything went well, and the Spirit was really strong. They had a little time too where Catherine, the one who was baptized, shared her testimony of the Gospel. It was incredible :)

What else made yesterday awesome was Bryan! We met with him after church and we talked about his baptism, he is really prepared, so we moved his day to the 7th of June! It's so exciting! I'm so happy for him. So more news on that to come soon.

Life is great, loving the work, no problemas. Si yo hablo espanol. Te quiero mucho! Wo ai nimen!

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

Busy, good times.

Well this week was an interesting one. For starters, yes President and Sister Cannon leave at the end of June or beginning of July (his mission President and his wife are finished their time and he'll be getting a new President for the area).   Also yes we met Andrew's friend on Sunday, she is the ward pianist.(Andrew Willmott knows a young lady in Taylor's ward in Ottawa!)  Good to hear you are getting healthier.  Can't wait for the calls to come in!(A bunch of friends are heading out on their missions and awaiting their assignments.) Heard about Mitch going to Vancouver with Aaron! I hope he trains him! Super exciting news.

So... this week... well... hmm... many appointments cancelled on us this week, which just meant we got to go out and talk to people! We contacted 399 people last week! We just started counting in the mission to make sure we are on track. We did get to meet with our friend Wilford. We first met Wilford on the street in March, and saw him a few other times, finally got to meet! He is cool, but just moved back to China for the summer.

I think the highlight of the week though has definitely been Friday. Friday was a great day! There was a baptism in our ward for one, a guy the Sisters have been teaching. He is incredible, really changed his life around, and even might serve a mission! So Friday after studies we went to Williams house to eat yummy Chinese food! Then we watched the Restoration with two of his friends.  After some planning we went to the baptism. We had 5 of the people we are teaching come to the baptism! It was unreal!  It was also one of the most spiritual baptisms I have been to on my mission. The speakers were excellent and the atmosphere was right. After the baptism we mingled. One of our friends who came to the baptism...this is his story, very cool.   We were at a park with a few members, as we were leaving there were to guys that came playing Frisbee, we recognized one of them and they asked if we wanted to join them. We agreed and had a great time, we invited them to church afterwards and the one we didn't know accepted! He came to church and loved it! He has such a strong desire to follow the Saviour. After mingling, we watched the Restoration with him as well. It was great! We all felt the Spirit. It brought such a feeling of relief, comfort, and peace. I could see he was feeling it too. He told us he wants to find out for himself by praying! That is all we ask people to do, he gets it! He came to church yesterday as well and stayed for the pot luck. Cool to see because 8 months ago coming from China he had no religion, but has found that God is there and answers our prayers.

Another one of our friends that came to the baptism and church is also so cool. We met him on the street, he was with his friends but left them to talk to us. It was awesome! He understands all we have to teach so clearly, like he has already known them from his experience with the Bible. Just goes to show how beautiful the Words of the Lord are.

Well, hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love you!

Elder Heinzlmeir

Great Mother's Day Chat

Mother's Day this year was especially...well, special!

Taylor Skyped with me for a while in the afternoon and it was just perfect.  He's so happy and so funny (as usual) and it was just awesome!

This was his letter for today:

Hey, 

Well seeing as we talked yesterday, not too much to report. But I'll write some thoughts I have been having lately. It seems like on the mission that challenges are always around the corner. I guess it's the Lord's way of testing us, pushing us to the next level. Things get tough and you have no idea how you can overcome, whether it be a personal problem or something with the people we are meeting, but whatever it is once you put it in the Saviour's hands, He lifts you up and makes you stronger. It is really an incredible pattern of personal growth, and helping people find it in their lives. Cool eh?

Still have week points I'm working on, but that's the important thing, I'm working on them. 

I have writer's block now, probably the worst time to have it is Monday's during e-mail time but what can you do right? 

Love you!

Love, Elder Heinzlmeir

The staring contest...

I wonder who won...?

Tender Mercies

Hey!

The pictures are fantastic!!! I love them, could you send me some for my picture book? I like the one with all the kids. Grandma and Grandpa are looking good!  You and dad look pretty good too mom! The boys are so cute!  Cali is so cute!  Glad I wore the right tie! (In his video message to Ryan and Kaitlin, he was wearing a blue tie, just like the rest of the guys in the wedding party!) Happy stuff, cool to have a Brother-in-law now. Funny, we actually saw a wedding on Saturday and it reminded me that there was one going on at home.

We have been having great weather here this last week, like mid 20s everyday! Short sleeve season! Just found out Elder Jason's little brother is going to Calgary for his mission! He was going to go to Halifax but he hurt his hand at the MTC and today he is going to Calgary, cool eh?

This week has been incredible, a real week of miracles! The other day we were at the apartment planning, and we had an appointment with a time but said we would call about location, but the number we got wasn't working, so ya we were sitting in the apartment and we thought well lets go to the place we met him to see if he is there. We went, he wasn't there, BUT, we started talking to this lady, and she was being super nice to us, and then she started crying. Turns out she had just recently moved to Ottawa from a really small town in Ontario. She was having a hard time adjusting, especially being away from family. When she lived in the small town, she met missionaries and gave them juice and stuff, so we reminded her of home, and she said it was just what she needed. We were then able to testify that she has a Father in Heaven that loves her and will comfort her. It was a touching moment, and I am so glad Elder Jason and I were able to follow the Spirit and be instruments in the hands of the Lord. This pattern has been reoccurring this whole week! Incredible!

Really cool to see the Lord's hands in the work. Makes me pretty happy :)

Well hope all is well, aka get better soon,

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

Busy guy.

Hey!

Super excited about the wedding this weekend :) Hope it is a blast! I myself will be cleaning the chapel this Saturday, the YSA are doing a spring clean up around the whole chapel, outside and in. Should be fun. 

This past week was really hectic, with Elder Williams going to Montreal, we have had Elder Gamez as our companion! He is super awesome and comes from the South of Spain!(He speaks English, Spanish, French and is learning Portuguese!) We have been so busy covering both of our areas, but it is good. Saturday was all booked, we were literally running back and forth! We found a cool house of Japanese ladies that gave us homemade ice cream! And everything else just fell into place perfectly, it was incredible to see the hand of the Lord in His work. Made for a great week.

We also received our transfer call...... STAYING in Ottawa with Elder Jason, I'm glad because I get to finish his training. :) We have tons of work but it's great! 

Oh another note. We were walking on the street talking to people. A group of 3 people were walking my way so I was like "Hey have you ever met a missionary before?" And a guy stopped and left his friends (They kept walking) to talk with us, we are seeing him later this week. Pretty cool for just opening your mouth right? 

The Dows Lake YSA ward is great. The members give us a ton of food, which is so nice. And they are always willing to help us out.

Well all is well in Ottawa.

Love Elder Heinzlmeir

 Road trip to Montreal from Ottawa.  Boys will be boys.  Sleep, work, play, eat...not necessarily in that order!