Happy Easter!

Happy birthday Dad! Happy Easter everyone! Other than that, this week wasn't too out of the ordinary. One big event this week was I switched from my big coat to my lighter jacket. That's always a good sign. Today I'm back to the coat though since it's gotten a little colder outside. It's warm enough to be raining today though. We had a beautiful day for Easter, and good church meetings as well. The family we usually eat with on Sundays wasn't at church so we weren't going to have anywhere to eat (which isn't a problem except for the fact that our fridge is empty), but one of the single brothers in the branch happened to invite us over for dinner so we had a great easter dinner with him. The biggest miracle we saw this week was from one of our less active brothers. He has been struggling for a while with smoking, drinking, and some emotional problems. In the past he has only accepted visits from the missionaries, and turned away a lot of the members. The miracle was that this week two members stopped by and he let them in. Their visit with him changed his whole perspective on things and helped him gain a desire to quit smoking and drinking for good. He was reminded of the great spirit that was in his life while he was active in the church, and he realized he needs to do whatever he can to get that feeling back again. We taught him about applying the scriptures and taking things from what he reads. The spirit was strong there.

Happy Easter again! At this time I've had opportunities to reflect on the resurrection of our Savior, and remember all that he has done for us because of his love for us. Our goal should be to share that love with those around us in any way that we can. Love you all!

Love, Elder Oxborrow

P.S. The photos are from a couple weeks ago when we took the boat across the St. Laurent on p-day.

Birthday Week

Dear family and friends,

Just another week in paradise here in Quebec City. The work in the area is really starting to expand. It seems like it had been at a bit of a standstill for a while but little by little we're finding ways to hasten the work. It's been a bit of a challenge lately though since all of the students are studying for finals then leaving for Spring Break. We did have good lessons with our investigators Bin Li and Carlos.

The other day Donald, our investigator who had been in the hospital for a month was discharged. We happened to stop by the hospital a couple hours after he had left. I was immediately worried because I thought he'd probably start smoking again the second he got home. We went by his house and our fears were realized. I was super bummed since he had gone a month straight in the hospital smoke free, and had gained a lot of his strength back. He says the last few cigarettes he has are the last ones he'll smoke before he quits but we'll see. I wish there was more we could do to help him but it has to be his desire.

On Friday the 2nd counselor in the branch presidency took us out for dinner and Elder Leon mentioned that it was my birthday. He immediately started asking me what I needed for my birthday and I kept telling him I was fine and had everything I needed. He said he'd buy me a cake haha. So we walked to this fancy cafe/bakery place and he bought me a cake, then when we were walking back to the bus stop we passed a sport merchandise type store and he asked me if I wanted a jersey. I said I was good and he said we should just go look. He kept offering stuff and I kept trying to resist but he persisted and in the end he won by buying me a way nice Montréal Expos hoodie. Ah man I felt so bad but he said he's young, single, doesn't have a car, and has a well paying job so he's well off financially. In any case, it was a good birthday present. We also went out to get ice cream earlier that morning with the other missionaries. It was a good day. Thanks to all for the happy birthday wishes!

Love, Elder Oxborrow

It's Cold

Hello family and friends,

It was a fun week to be a missionary. One night when we got home it was -15 F. Boy does that feel nice haha. It's livable though. It's ok since every time we go tracting in the cold our wives become more and more beautiful. Our week started on Tuesday since we weren't allowed to proselyte on New Years Eve. We helped a less active lady move this week. She really appreciated the help. We did a lot of knocking this week but had more success visiting less actives for the first part of the week. About Thursday on we started seeing a lot more success from knocking and with our investigators. We met with our investigator Diane and since we hadn't met with her for a while we had to push back her baptism date to March 2. We're crossing our fingers that she'll keep her commitments to prepare herself. We also met with Zoe that same day and had a great lesson with her. We brought one of the young women who has really been reaching out to her. The lesson was focused mainly on resolving her concerns and questions. The weekend was when we had a lot of success in finding new investigators. We found 7 or 8 people this week who we'll be seeing again. It was a great week. One thing about missionary work I've learned is that the more energy you put into it, the more joy you take out of it (even though it's sometimes exhausting).

My condolences go out to the Mitchell family. I have no doubt the Lord is with them every step of the way.

Love you all!

Elder Oxborrow

P.S. Some photos I meant to send sooner

Christmas Skype!

(from the mom)
We had a great opportunity to skype with Brenden on Christmas day.  Aspen freaked out a little (screamed) when she saw who it was on the computer.  Since the 'call" she has been telling people Brenden is back now.  Funny how being able to see someone makes them BACK even for a little bit.

We were all able to visit with him:  Grandma and Grandpa Fraser, Aspen, Hayden, Austin and Wade.

Back and forth...

Some cute messages between Brenden and his mom (via email).

Mom:

We like letters.

Morgan likes letters.

Need stamps?

Brenden:

I made you a graph of my time usage to help explain why you haven't gotten a letter since I've been in the field. I'll try to send it soon.

Mom:

what should I put in your christmas package????

You CAN or CAN'T have an ipod with church music on it???

give me your santa list!!!

Brend:

yes i can have an ipod. that would be nice to have. Other than that I don't really know... I bought a gps already so i don't need that. Honestly the best thing would be money to buy a couple clothing items (since I'm no longer the same size).

*****

Brenden:

packages should be sent to the mission office, not my apartment address. The mission office address is:

Elder Brenden Oxborrow

470 Rue Gilford, Suite 300

Montreal, QC H2J 1N3

Canada

did you send it by local post?

mom:

I sent it via Express Mail

Brend:

Hope that works. Canada can be picky with some things, and the mission office isn't very flexible with things on their end. 

mom:

it will be... I paid more to get it there... 

Brend:

If you sent it to the mission office it has to be there by the 18th or I won't get it..

How do you make gravy for biscuits and gravy?

*****

Brend:

do you still exist? When should I call home on Christmas?

Mom:

HELLO my brenden friend!!!!

I would love to skype on Christmas if that is a possibility... if not, you know us... we are up early.  we get into utah again at midnight on Christmas eve... so maybe give us until 7 or 8am (9-10 your time).

Brend:

I don't have a skype account...

mom:

should I make one :)

Brend:

yeah certainly

Happy Christmas

Hello family and friends!

The Christmas spirit is in full swing here in Ottawa! We had an awesome week this week. Our investigator Zoe has been coming to church for the past couple weeks, but her dad has kind of been convincing her to go home with him after sacrament meeting each week. This week she decided to stay and she loved it! The young women were awesome in fellowshipping her. After the second class Mark asked her if she wanted to go and she quickly told him she wanted to stay for the third. Mark also enjoyed the meetings and is planning on coming next week and singing with the men during sacrament meeting!

Tomorrow we have district study in the morning and then we're headed straight to Montreal to do splits and stay the night. On Wednesday we have our mission Christmas party which is actually only with half the mission so I won't get to see everyone but it'll still be fun. On Christmas eve we've got dinner with the Christmas family (that's their last name) and on Christmas we've got dinner with the Verstappens who have a son in France on a mission.

Should be a white Christmas up here I hope everyone is enjoying the season back home. Have a merry Christmas!

Elder Oxborrow

Good Week

Dear Family and friends,

Happy Thanksgiving! We had ours over a month ago, but a family is going to celebrate American Thanksgiving and have us over so that's good. I don't have much time today, but thought I'd tell you about our new investigator Diane. She was a referral from her sister Darlene who is a recent convert. We met with the two of them On Thursday for the first time. Diane has had some diseases which have left her a bit crippled and some days in pain. Despite her physical disablilties, she has a wonderful spirit and knows where to turn for strength. We had a good lesson, and the spirit came in strongly on many different occasions. After talking about the restoration and the Book of Mormon, she said she's willing to be baptized without us even needing to bring it up. A few days later, we got a call from Darlene who said she'd like to come to church this coming Sunday. It's a breath of fresh air to have an investigator who is actively seeking to know more about the gospel. Hope you're all doing well!

Love, Elder Oxborrow

p.s. 1st pic- Thanks for the signed poster from the Snow side of my family!

2nd pic- we were proud of this meal...

Transfers Coming up...

Hello everyone,

I hope you all enjoyed Canadian Thanksgiving last week, I know I did. Last p-day we went to Canadian Parliament in the heart of Ottawa. For those who aren't up to par on Canadian geography, Ottawa is the capital city of Canada, and is in the province of Ontario. The Canada Montreal Mission covers all of Quebec (province), and Ottawa (City). So Ottawa is the only part of Ontario that is in my mission. The rest is in the Toronto mission. I am in the western part of Ottawa, so almost as far west as I could be in the mission. The Canadian parliament building is an exact replica of the British parliament building, and you could say it is Canada's version of the White House. We were able to get a tour through some of the rooms, and play ultimate frisbee with the other missionaries on the front lawn.

On Wednesday we had a dinner appointment at a quebecois family's home. Their native language is french, and they speak it to each other. I can tell I'm gonna have a hard time learning to understand what people are saying when I get transferred to a french area.

Our investigators are doing well. We have a baptism coming up this Saturday. It's starting to get cold ha. We hit freezing for the first time this week. 32 degrees feels a lot colder in humidity I've come to realize. I'm looking forward to seeing how -30 feels. One of the mission rules is that you're not allowed to go tracting in -40, so in -39 I'll be out knocking doors. That'll be fun. The fall has been beautiful up here. The leaves turn way red. I've started collecting maple leaves. Expect big news next p-day!

Elder Oxborrow

Two thirds...

Six weeks gone by and only three more to go. It's starting to go so fast. So Independance Day in the MTC was pretty classy. For most of the day it was just like any other MTC day but at 8:00 P.M. we got out of class early to go to a 4th of July devotional. Since all the missionaries were settled into their seats about a half hour before President Brown thought we would be, he had us sing a few songs to pass the time. Since this was a little more laid back than other devotionals, we started off with happy birthday to President Brown's wife, followed that up with "Popcorn Popping", "Once There Was a Snowman", and "Grand Ol' Flag". Then he finished the prelude music by having all the elders and sisters who had been "Dear John'd/ Jane'd" go up to the front and we all sang "Love One Another" to them. It was pretty funny haha. Then the meeting started and the first musical number was "You Raise Me Up" sang by a sister. It was also cool because this was a meeting where clapping was acceptable so she got a pretty good applause. We then had a speaker who was followed by two elders who played a mean fiddle duet. The "finale" of the meeting was composed of bagpipes playing the old tune that Praise to the Man comes from, accompanied by a snare drum (I was a little disappointed that I didn't have a chance to try out for this). As that was playing, flags from every nation, as well as banners with pictures of Joseph Smith were marched to the front of the building. It was pretty awesome.

After the meeting, we were informed that we would have the chance to watch fireworks that night. That was pretty exciting news. As I watched, I could hear the faint sounds of the Beach Boys coming from the Stadium of Fire haha. Then the next day it rained! Such a great break from the hot sun. I can't believe how hot it's been but when it really started coming down in the evening it was an awesome feeling.

Well my companion, Elder Garcia left for the field on Friday. He was pretty excited about it. It was pretty crazy though cause he didn't get there until Sunday. That would be a long trip. Yesterday I got a package from Alaska that had a couple fun things as well as post cards from my friends from last summer who are back up there. I didn't realize how much I missed it up there until I started reminiscing on some of the fun times we had. That was really exciting for me. Well I'm short on time so gotta run. Love you. Elder Brenden Oxborrow