We met President Scott this week! He is amazing, just like we expected. He served his mission in Ireland. He was a CEO of a Fortune 500 company but he left it all to be a mission president. There are so many amazing, successful people in our church that seek the Lord first, and financial success follows. But since he sought the Lord first, he knew what was most important in life and didn't look back. He and his wife grew up in Idaho and they got married shortly after he got home from his mission. He's a great, humble leader.
It's starting to feel like Fall now. This week I was overwhelmed with a wave of nostalgia. All the great memories from last year at this time came back into my mind. I remembered working with Elder Bennett, eating 3 Thanksgiving dinners with my 3 favorite families in Walkerton, and the beautiful Autumn leaves of rural Ontario. What a great feeling that was! I hope these memories of my mission will last forever. And I hope that winter will never come!
I went on exchanges to Oshawa this week. Oshawa is the city to the east of us. Under Oshawa is Whitby, which is where Elder King is serving. I got to serve with a man named Elder Merill for the day while our district leader worked in Ajax. Shortly after we switched companions, we walked into an apartment building to go to a teaching appointment. I got a phone call; I opened the phone and no one was there. The phone was still ringing. Elder Merill and I exchanged looks of horror as we realized that I had both cellphones. Elder Wheeler and our district leader were phoneless! We quickly made arrangements to meet up with the other elders to give the phone back. Luckily, they were going to play hockey at the Pickering chapel with some member and nonmembers, so we were able to get ahold of them. Later, I learned that Louis played hockey there, and in the next appointment he showed us a bruise on his eye from where he had been hit in the face with a hockey puck. When asked about the bruise at work, he said, "Oh yeah, we play pretty tough in the Mormon church, haha."
Louis and Edgar are getting baptized on Saturday. I can't believe how fast this all has happened. They are both so prepared; Elder Wheeler and I can hardly take any credit. The Lord has been working to get them to this point from day one. We taught Louis the Word of Wisdom last night. He was inspired by his wife to quit smoking 1 or 2 years ago. He has always enjoyed a glass of home-brewed wine every once in a while, but he readily accepted this commandment from God to give that up. Louis told us last night that before he started meeting with us, he felt as if he was wandering through a desert looking for something to drink, and now he has finally found what will quench his thirst. He has found the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. He has found the Living Water, and he will never thirst again. Edgar has been taught almost all of the commandments and, as expected, didn't have any problems with any of them. He is being fellowshipped very well and will be welcomed among our ward's youth.
