Good day!

Good day!

Sorry you didn't know about Victoria Day. Canada has SO many holidays, and the celebrate ALL of the on Monday. America probably has just as many with things like president's day and such, but everything in Canada shuts down for every single holiday so it's alot more noticeable. Best moment of Victoria Day- we were at a member's house, and they were explaining what the holiday was for, and I asked Sister Casner if she'd noticed how patriotically I had dressed that day with my red skirt and white top. She said "What? I don't see any blue..." The Canadians were not pleased with that!

So this weekend was really exciting! First of all, no idea if I told you about this but as a mission we're trying to have 65 baptisms in the month of June. Last year when the missions combined both missions worked super hard to have the best month ever right before they joined so the new mission would start off with a high, and together they had 62 in the month of June. So we've been praying and working for 65 this year. So this week, as the first week of the new transfer we had a mission wide conference call because June is this transfer so it involved all the missionaries that would be a part of that goal. It was crazy, the first few times sounded like signs or something with alien noises coming over the phones, but they finally got everyone muted and we had a really powerful talk about working to achieve it. President Scott quote Elder Eyring's talk about the danger of the word someday, because what it really means is not this day. he talked about how
 someday a group of missionaries would have 65 baptisms in this mission so it's not a question of if it's achievable- it's a question of when, and if we're going to stand on the sidelines or step up and be involved in achieving something great. You can predict how many people will be baptized based off of the number of baptismal dates that have been set as goals at the end of the month of May, so to have 65 baptisms in June we need 90 people set with a date when May ends. So with 180 missionaries here this transfer, exactly 90 companionships, everyone needs to set a date- which works out really cool!

So we've been determined to not be on the sidelines and to have a baptism in June, and this weekend has been really exciting! We were able to set a baptism date for June with 2 people this week! Josh is 11, he's wanted to join for years but just got permission. He is the best, he asked if we could teach him Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and baptize him Thursday- I wish everyone I taught was that determined! But his aunt told him he better wait till June 10. We also taught Kathleen, who we actually taught our first Sunday in this area and is really interested, but because she's in a boundary grey area for the missionaries we weren't sure if we'd be able to teach her. Then she had health problems, then her family had a crisis- so a month later we were able to actually teach her again! She's so amazing, she has SUCH serious intent. Her friend who introduced us is a member and she's trying so hard to not push her that she didn't even realize that Kathleen had
 tried to tell her earlier that week she wanted to be baptized so she was shocked when we committed her to June 17 and Kathleen said yes. It was way fun.

I love you story about Dad's eloquence. Sister Casner and I have been joking this week about that actually- there's this quote from Brigham Young about how a man with eloquence can't teach the gospel as powerfully as a man who humbly bears his honest testimony, and there's a doctrine and covenants clip of him saying that quote and he says it SO eloquently and dramatically, the irony is hilarious! So basically, what I got from your story is that dad is Brigham young. Love it! Thank you for lining up your life with our inside jokes.

Sounds like everyone has some pretty cool summers planned! Hopefully EFY works out for more than 1 week Mel, that would be sweet if you and Joe get to work together! Erin did you ever hear back from DB about a job? I guess y'all haven't gone to France yet, which is disappointed because I had multiple dreams about France this week- in one of them I just walked up the stairs of the Eiffel tower for hours with Dad and Joey, so I was hoping you guys were doing that the same day I dreamed it. Unfortunately, I guess my dreams continue to be nonprophetic. Lame. Sorry you have to work Mom, but I'm glad you can get the hours you want to! I told a girl this week my mom works for an airline and so we fly for a discount and she looked at her mom all upset and said "When are you getting that job?" So thanks for continuing to have the sweetest job in the world!

Btw, I saw a doctor this weekend- Sister Casner and I drove to Oshawa to meet with a member who's retired. She was prescribed an inhaler with a steroid in it and I was put on a stronger antacid, and both given strict orders to see him in 2 weeks. So hopefully we'll stop being the most sickly companionship in the mission! We spent 3 days inside last week, we were going stir crazy, so managing to still get 2 new investigators with baptismal dates was an EXTRA tender mercy of the Lord.

Dang, long letter, and I probably have told you like half of this already lol oh well! Love y'all bunches, talk to ya in a week!