The End at Last

Kitchener - Last photo of the Three Muskateers with the Destro/Francesconi Family.

Oi Familia Tudo Bem!

    Well we had transfers last night and after a long 7.5 months Elder Nelson and I have been torn apart.  He is returning to the Blessed Land of Kitchener and I will be staying here and Training Elder Herculano a new missionary, he is from Fortaleza Brazil like Elder Martinez.  We have known about him for a while and he finally got here. It is going to be sad to leave Elder Nelson and probably a little strange to not just always have him around but it will be good.  It has been a fun past five transfers but it is time to move on and grow and learn from other companions. 

    Other than that it has been a pretty great week.  Since we Last talked not too much has happened.  Elder Nelson and I had some fun times this week meeting some new people and throwing so many parties.  Friday we went on Exchanges with the Toronto West Elders and I got to be with Elder Olsen.  He came out on his mission around the same time I did and he will be going home in July just like me.  He is from Alberta and is a super cool guy.  WE had a great exchange and had some great talks about the missions and the lessons we have learned it was pretty great.  We also went and saw the Coolest Castle Ever.  It is called Casa Loma and it is super cool.  It has secret tunnels and towers and everything just in Downtown Toronto not in Europe.  It was interesting.  Also of note we did service for this place right next to the lake that is like an assisted housing complex for actors and entertainers.  it is super cool.  I worked in the kitchen doing dish duty and serving the food along with the chef Roberto and we just helped these super cool people that were older but hilarious. 

    Then on Saturday we just jumped from Party to Party.  In the Morning we had a party after ESL that was pretty cool and we met some super awesome new Brazilians that we look forward to working with here in the near future.  Then we met up with my friend Russell from the mission who is visiting from Alberta.  He is dating one of the members here and he came to visit her for the next little bit.  Afterwards it was straight to the Birthday Party of one of the members.  We went there and we ended up having the most productive Birthday party in the world.  We were able to meet all of the new members in the Weston Ward we didn't know and we received like 5 referrals and we are going to start tracking them all down this week.

   Well that is it for this week I am excited for this week and to see what happens. So on to some questions...

1. What are your transfer plans?

I am Staying and Training. Elder Martinez with Elder Nelson, Elder Gomez is going into Spanish Work and Elder Madrigal is staying in English. 

2. What are your p day plans?

We are going to the Scarborough Bluffs and then Journal Signing. 

3. What is the strangest thing you ate this week?

I don't think there was anything weird. Maybe Kibi it is a middle eastern food kind of like falafel. 

4. What was the most exciting thing that happened this week?

Exciting probably Transfer Calls.

5. What are you looking forward to for the new week?

I get a new companion and then we are going to hopefully see a busy week with a lot of appointments. 

6. How are your ESL classes?

We have seen a drop in students that are there when class starts. 

7. What did you do for service this week?

I did the Food Depot and I also worked in a café.  Ooh I also wrote a letter to Brazil. 

8. How are your investigators this week?

Still sick or busy.  We had a good lesson with one of them last night but other than that a little slow. 

9. Tell us about the most interesting person you met this week....

The most interesting person I met this week was probably this one guy that was drunk on the bus. He was a rich Kid from Maple that is now 35 and has four daughters with four different women and was out drinking with another one while we were talking with him.  He started talking to us which is always weird but he ended up having some good questions and we were able to help him out a bit which was good. 

10. What are some of your favorite places/sites/stores in downtown Toronto?

CN Tower and the Rogers Center are cool,  Jurassic Park, the Eaton Center, China Town, MUJI, Kensington Market, The Island, and probably more that I haven't seen yet.  I love it all here. 

Well I will talk to you all again next week!

Loves,

Elder Smith.

Feliz Pascoa and a Joyeuses paques!

Oi Familia Tudo Bem!

   It has been a wonderful week here in the big city. Elder Nelson and I have had so many fun adventures and I am so excited to see what this week will bring. This past week has been such a blessing as I have studied the last week of the Savior's life.  It contains some of his greatest miracles and some of his most amazing teachings and I would highly recommend it as a topic of study for anyone at this time of year.  It puts everything in perspective.  It has also set a tone to a wonderful week. 

    This week we had the opportunity to go on exchanges twice with the Spanish elders and the Toronto East Elders.  It was an amazing time.  First I went on Exchanges with Elder McDevitt he is from Utah and he has been out for around 10 months. He is a great elder and works really hard.  Then two days later I was with the Davis County Crew.  I went on exchanges with Elder Dixon and Elder Burton from Centerville and Bountiful respectfully.  It was such a fun exchange and we talked to so many interesting people.  One lady was an ex-Jehovah's Witness that holds a Bible Study Class for Women off the Street and another was a Biker with a ferret.  I got to hold the ferret and then later in the week we found him on the street playing a guitar and he sang a song about me.  I just love Toronto!  it was all super fun this week and it ended up with a wonderful holiday.  We made cookies and delivered them all to the members and just shared our testimony and love for the Easter Holiday.  (We also had a sick Easter egg hunt that Elder Nelson and I set up for District Meeting so don't worry.) 

   The only other cool thing is that yesterday was Elder Nelson's Birthday!  It was super fun, we went and ate at the 360 Restaurant at the top of the CN Tower and it is the coolest thing ever.  Really expensive but it is the only way to go to the CN Tower.  It is 56 dollars for a two course meal at a five star restaurant and as well as a free ticket to the top of the CN tower which is normally 36 dollars.  So it was really only about 20 dollars extra and it was probably some of the best food that I have ever had in my life.  It was great and after we were able to hang out with some other Elders and generally just enjoy a wonderful P-day.

Well that is it so on to some questions....

1. What did you do for Easter?

We went to church and then had dinner with the Haddocks and the Pereiras.

2. Did you dye any eggs this year?

nope we baked cookies

3. What did you do this week for service?

the usual service at the food depository. 

4. How are your ESL classes going?

slowing down we are working on it and putting up more flyers. 

5. What was the highlight of the past week?

Easter and then probably Elder Nelson's Birthday. 

6. What are you looking forward to next week?

Well we have transfers.. 

7. How are your investigators? Did you have any at church for Easter?

None came to church and it is just the usual problem of meeting with our investigators.  We are working on it though. 

8. How are the ward members?

Amazing as usual.

9.What are your pday plans?

see above for today we are on our way to a lunch appointment and then to plan an activity for the Portuguese group and then we are going to service and ESL. 

10.What are you focusing on this week as a goal?

This week making solid appointments with everyone.  Especially investigators but also Less actives and others. 

Well love you all!

Loves,

Elder Smith