June 30, 2014

Hi Everyone,

This week was really uneventful. It rained a ton this week. It stormed most of the week and it was just super wet. We got so soaked. We walked 25 kilometers in the rain and I’m surprised we didn’t get pneumonia.

So I had to give a talk this week. It was crazy, all the power went out in the building, so I had to use a flashlight, and give my talk in sacrament meeting in the dark. It was really strange experience.

We’ve been trying to do our best to find people to teach. Hopefully we will start to see some more success soon. This week was kinda tough because we couldn’t do much because of the rain. 

Not seeing the sun, and not much to do can get me down sometimes. I just had a good talk with Elder Olguin though, he’s a great friend and going through the same thing and he knows exactly what I needed to hear. I’m looking forward to this week and know it will be better. I love you all. Thanks for all the support and the prayers on my behalf. 

Love you all!

Elder Porter

Just some kids playing in the rain

A tree that blew over in the rain

June 23, 2014

Hey!

Wow it seems like your ward is doing really well at being member missionaries. I love to see that, and I’m sure Dad will have fun at Philmont and it will be a good time with uncle Dave.

This week was really incredible! We had a lot of great opportunities. First of all, we set a baptismal date with an investigator named Noah. He’s 10 and his mom is a less active member. We had a great object lesson and then had a super fun nerf gun war after. It was a really good experience. His date is for the 12th of July.

We went and had a crazy lesson with this guy named John Bartell. We went to teach him and he just ranted to us about the church and stuff and it went back and forth for 2 hours. It was exhausting, but it was an okay lesson.

We taught a less active here again named Brad Peters. He’s a really great first nation guy from Longplain Reserve. We go over every week. It was lots of fun. He boxes, so we hit the bag after our lessons for a bit.

We volunteer at the soup kitchen every week and on Thursday there was a big fight there which I started to break up, but there are rules where we can’t touch the people and they just get to fight it out until the police get there, so I got yelled at, but it was 4 girls on 1. What am I supposed to do? It all worked out though..

We went and put in posts for an investigators fence. I dug 9 3ft holes and cemented them in. My shoulders are super sore, it was fun though.

We went to a super fun pow wow on Saturday, lots of good dancing and drumming. We met a ton of good people and just had a blast. At the end, these three little african kids came up to us, the oldest was like 9 and the youngest was like 5, and he was crying and asked us to walk him home cause some other kids kept beating them up whenever they tried to leave. So we walked them down the street, and stood on the corner while they biked home. It was super sad. 

We helped sort through winter coats for a service project this week. It was super hot outside, well mainly humid. sheesh the humidity is killing me. Riding bikes, I just get totally drenched, but its all good.

I love being on a mission and the experience I get from it. Don’t get me wrong. It’s hard. You get companions you don’t like. You go through stuff you’ve never been through before. You get so much put on you, and it’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and because of that I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I love this gospel. It’s true. I love you all and hope you all have a great week!

Your favorite Elder, 
Elder Porter

Sis. Olenick is a caterer and fed 6 missionaries as much as she feeds 26 people

She made us eat til it was all gone, So we totally fell asleep on the couch with full bellies.

June 16, 2014

Hey Everyone,

This week has been pretty good. We've been working super hard and just come home exhausted as can be. We ride our bikes like 30 miles every day all around Brandon. It’s been really fun and my legs are getting super strong haha. We hit the gym every day at 5:30 so I’m always sore. Its really good though.

This week was pretty good though. We stopped a lot of people on the street this week. We talked to this native guy named Wayne. We taught him right there on the step. He wants us to visit but I don’t know if he will pro

gress at all, but it was still good. 

We were riding bikes by the skatepark the other day and I dropped into one of the bowls. haha it was funny. I went off this little jump and then just messed around for a bit. It was way funny.

We’ve been working with this less active named Brad Peters. He’s a good guy and were going to have FHE with him and his daughter tonight, so I drew up all these faces on a big paper and were going to play don’t eat pete and have a little lesson. It would be good for her to be baptized. 

Oh, we were at church yesterday and these 2 less active ladies came to us and asked us to teach their boys and baptize them. They said they were really trying to come back to church and their boys needed the gospel so we were like, heck yeah we will come teach your boys. It was good.

We've seen some miracles this week. We were stopping by a former investigator that my old comp. Olguin was teaching in Winnipeg who moved to Brandon. Anyways, the buzzer didn’t work but this lady came to the door and asked if we needed in. So we went in and he was at his apt and was interested in learning more, so we set up an apt for today but he might move it cause he’s super busy.

We were biking in the rain the other day and I got super muddy. I was pretty ticked, but it was fun hahaha.

We went on an exchange with the assistants the other day and we were street contacting and I was on one side of the street while Elder Turner and Hindes went on the other side. It was nice to be by myself and be able just to do everything on my own. I could still see them but I was just doing my own thing and relying on my self. It was really nice, I talked to  a bunch of people and got into a little bit of a situation but it all turned out well in the end. haha Maybe there’s a reason we need to stick together, haha

We had this really weird zone conference where President just talked to us all about marriage and stuff. It was super weird. It was in Winnipeg so we had to drive in. My old ward mission leader met me there so he could come see me and Olguin. It was so much fun.

We went to a members house for dinner all soaking wet and he made us wear his pajamas haha it was really funny. There’s a lot of spanish speaking people here in Brandon and there are 2 spanish speaking Elders here who are our zone leaders. They’re the only spanish in the whole mission. They’re super good guys.

Okay Mom, you would not believe how bad the mosquitos and gnats are here. It is out of this world. I held out my arm and 18 of them landed on my arm. It’s just a swarm of bugs. It’s absolutely crazy, and when you smash them, you just get blood everywhere so it’s a lose lose situation haha it’s crazy!! Ask dad about the time we went to check out the trailhead at west clear creek, and tell him that was kiddy stuff compared to the bugs here. It’s ridiculous!!

Anyways, I’m doing well. I’m loving it here in Brandon. I’m working my tail off to help these people end the search that they don’t even know their on, and help them find the truth that I have found. I love being a missionary. It’s tough. Some days stink, I’m not going to lie, but over all I love it and wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. I love you all.

Elder Porter

June 9, 2014

Hi Everyone,

So this week was full of good things. We got permission to get bikes from Pres. Thomas and some members gave us one and Elder Hindes bought one. So we’ve been biking around. So yesterday after church we went out to the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation reserve and went around locating less actives. We had a family come to church from out there and it turns out I was teaching her brother in Winnipeg. Anyways so we went out there and we talked to a bunch of people and just knocked on random doors trying to find people. The reserve out there was so spread out. We found a family out there and I got to know the sons super well. Both sons each had 8 guitars and since they lived far from any of their friends they were pretty starved for attention cause they have no friends on the reserve. So anyways I was talking to them and they were demonstrating all of their guitars for me and they were super good at playing. We were out there with our ward mission leader and they were locating people while I was just building the relationship. They want us to come out in a few months for a pow wow, and on june 20th we’re going out there for this giant walk to end violence against Aboriginal women and the kids from the family are going to walk with us. It will look so funny with two white kids in goofy clothes walking around but it should be super fun. It was a great experience and since its only 26 miles away were going to bike out there every other week or so to teach, and were trying to get a sacrament meeting started out there for all the less active members. It should be super great. oh and President said if we can find a reliable member to stay with out on the reserve that we can stay there overnight. It will be way fun. I love these people!

I called a friend up on the Waywayseecapo reserve about 2 hours from here and I talked to her about us coming up and visiting on the 21st of June and she freaked out and wanted us to come up so bad and said that she wants her 12 year old to be baptized. So were going to teach him hopefully over skype after we meet him and visit, and we would go up each month. I’m super excited about the whole thing. 

I got to box with this less active member named Brad Peters. Brad is a super good guy. He’s gone through a lot and he was a good fighter. We will teach him every week. We’ve been talking to everyone everywhere and it’s been great. I saw a less active member unloading drums on his yard and asked him some stuff and he said he was getting rid of boxing equipment and he had me go into his house with him and he just gave me this really nice speed bag. It was nice. We even talked to his twin sister and his mom. They want us to come back on Wednesday and they even gave us another less active lady to stop by, who we did, and she talked to us for an hour without taking a breath. 

Well it was a super good week and I’m loving it here in Brandon. I miss all the close friends I made in Winnipeg but I know ill see you all again. I love you all and thanks for all the support. I know this church is true. 

Elder Porter

Elder Hindes and I on the Reserve

June 2, 2014

Hey Everyone,

So Brandon is good. The work here is moving along. We taught a native man this week named Les Paul and it was a really good lesson. The Spirit was strong. We also taught another native man named Brad Peters who is a less active. He’s a boxer, so we get along pretty well. I called this family that lives on the Sioux Valley Reserve about an hour away and they have a lot of families for us to visit out there and service to do. So were going to try and get permission from President to go out there, and stay the night for a few nights. It should be really fun.

This week has been tough for me. I was in Winnipeg for a long time and I really miss the people there. I made such great friends with so many people and I sure miss it, but I’ll keep that friendship alive and I’ll stay close. It is just really sad to be gone. yeah I’ve really been struggling these past couple days. I’m the new kid on the block here and don’t know anyone or anything about this place. I miss the members who need my help. It was really sad to leave. I had members calling me right before transfer meeting just saying how they needed to hear my voice one last time and thanking me for everything I had done for them. I feel like I left a part of myself in Winnipeg and it’s sad. 

We just got told that we won’t be getting a car so we will be bussing around Brandon for a while. That’s okay. I just wanted to go out to a reserve about 2 hours away called Waywayseecapo and visit some people out there and teach some more. I really love the first nation people and love working with them and gaining that friendship. 

This week I’ve been able to gain more of a testimony of Christs love for me. He knows my struggles and he is the only one who knows what each and everyone of us is going through. I’ve also been studying a lot about the creation in the old testament. A great friend let me borrow a book on the old testament and it’s been helping me learn a lot. 

Anyways, all is well and I’m enjoying it out here in Brandon. Love and miss you all!

Elder Porter

Saying our goodbyes