LDS Missionary Newsletter, North Canyon ward

1. !1
NORTH CANYON
MISSIONARY NEWSLETTER
Elder Alex Berthelson
Mass Boston Mission
182 W Central Street,
Suite 203
Natick MA 01760
Elder Ryan Howard
Wellington NZ Mission
324A The Terrace
Wellington NZ 6011
Elder Bryan Nally
Mississippi Jackson
Mission
175 Burnham Rd
Brandon MS 83709-1869
Hermana Kennedy Coley
Texas Houston Mission
16623 Hafer Rd
Houston TX 77090
Elder Holden Bigelow
Philippines Urdaneta
Misison
PO Box 7
Brgy, San Vincente East
Urdaneta City
2428 Pangasinan
Elder Nathan Clark
Philippines Manila
Mission
PO Box 1997
Makati City
1110 Metro Manila
Philippines
Elder Brandon Nielsen
Idaho Boise Mission
1111 South Cole Rd
Boise ID 837709-1869
Sister Sarah Edwards
Mexico Cuernavaca
Misison
Avenida Palmira #35
Col Palmira
62490 Cuernavaca,
Morelos MEXICO
Elder Alex Miller
Londrina Brazil Mission
Av. Higienoppolis 1000
Sala 61 Centro
86001-911
Londrina PR, Brazil
Sister Martha Bale
Mozambique Maputo
Mission
Caixa Postal 1166
Correio Central
Maputo, Maputo
Mozambique
Elder Josh Preston
New Jersey Morristown
Mission
5 Cold Hill Rd South,
Suite 10
Mendham NJ 07945

2. !2
I got to go back to Boise on February 17th to see the
Gilbertson’s baptized! Shyanne and Athena, it was great to
see them. They all pretty much tackled me when they saw
me, haha, they’re crazy. But I can tell there has been a great
change in the family. The Gospel is definitely working in their
lives. Love going back to the old areas to see a lot of great
people!
I got to go back to the Boise South Stake again!!!!!!!! Was a
surprise to most of us that have worked with Chris Shuck. I
set a baptismal date with him when I was in the area with
Elder Alava a year ago. It’s been a long time coming for Chris
and I didn't think he would ever get baptized. But I'm glad to
be wrong! Me and Elder Brough joked that this will probably
be our last time back here because there is just no one else
to get baptized.
This week has been great! We had a great lesson with Kay and Frenchie! We taught them the Plan of salvation,
Frenchie even read the pamphlet before the lesson and had a lot of questions about the life to come. And he even
started to read the Book Of Mormon on his own! We didnt even ask him to last time. So as the lesson went on we
answered all his questions and he seemed satisfied with our answers. And he committed to read and pray to know if
what we shared is true. We taught Kay and Frenchie again. We explained to Frenchie the difference between his
catholic baptism and ours. Kay was the one that told him his baptism isn’t valid, haha. We taught him baptism by
water and the spirit. Really focused on the Gift of the Holy Ghost since that’s what has been a burning question for
him. It was cool during the lesson he said "Kay and I our leaning towards joining your congregation." So we soft
committed them to baptism right there. And will look to hard commit next.
I learned how to make rings. A lady in my last area gave me two silver ring templates for free with some raw
turquoise! Her Dad owned a turquoise mine in the four corner area so they dealt a lot with Indian Jewelry. And in this
area I live next to a stone cutter. So I went over and actually cut and shaped the
black stone on his diamond wheel myself. It’s black jade that he had laying around.
Two nice rings for free, love
the mission hook ups.
ELDER NIELSEN

3. !3
Mission News for the Bigelow Boys
Holden is in his last area. It is the fish capitol of Pangasinan
which is Dagupan. It is his favorite of his whole mission.
One reason is probably because of the mode of
transportation that is required for the area. He has to be
taken to his area daily by boat. He loves the people of the
Philippines and will be sad to leave them. However, he will
be coming home on March 11th.
Hayden is getting ready to serve the Jalapenos. (That is what the people in Hayden's mission are called.) He was
called to serve in the Mexico Xalapa Mission. (It sounds like Halapa.) It is in the state of Veracruz in Mexico. He will
be leaving only 7 short weeks after Holden returns. Hayden reports to the Mexico MTC on April 29th. He is excited to
be leaving soon.
ELDER BIGELOW x 2
http://elderholdenbigelow.blogspot.com/

4. !4
This week was really good. Elder Cowan and I exercised faith and diligence and I believe we will see
the fruit of it soon. I had a very spiritual experience yesterday, and it made me realize the Lord's
timing and the Lord's way of doing things. We have been focusing on Brother Twante a lot since I
have been here in Taytay. He comes to church and is gaining a strong testimony in Jesus Christ. He
has been ready to be baptized for some time, but he said he won't be baptized because his wife is
not ready, and she has stopped earnestly investigating the church. We have taught him many times
about the importance of baptism, and showing his example to his family to be baptized. We have
been trying to help his family progress too but they are not yet ready, and don't come to church
anymore. So I accepted the the fact that I wouldn't see him baptized. I felt sad and to be honest a
little discouraged. I felt like although I have been working so hard and have nothing to so for it for
almost 4 transfers. Elder Cowan, being a great companion, lifted me up by telling me no effort is
wasted and pointing out that the Lord's plan is not known to us, and that we will be
blessed by working hard. So we decided that we are just going to work hard and
exercise our faith in the Lord. After about two weeks (yesterday), Brother Twante
almost out of nowhere said that he talked to his wife, and he wants to be baptized,
so we scheduled his interview for this saturday, and his baptism for Feburary 7,
Which is the last saturday that I will be in Taytay, assuming that I am leaving this
transfer. Even to add to that. He works in the mountains during the week, so if he
didn't tell me yesterday, there would have been no time to schedule the interview
and baptism before I leave. So he told us on the very last appointment of the very
last day possible that he wanted to be baptized. This was a miracle in my eyes.
The Lord made me labor for a very long time to see if I would be willing to endure
the trials without seeing the fruit of my labors, then on the very last chance
possible, I get to see them, even a few days before I leave I will see the them. I
couldn't keep my emotions in when I found out this news. I am so thankful the
blessings the Lord has bestowed to all of us. No doubt in my mind this was a miracle.
Also we had all of our speakers show up at church, and we called many new callings to strengthen the Elders quorum and, which is now
functioning by it's self with the help of a strong member as president, and supporting counselors. We also reactivated a 16 year old boy
named Mondrito yesterday. This past sunday, needless to say was very good. We
also broke 40 in church attendance with 41 people there.
The following week…Unfortunately Brother Twante will not be getting baptized
while I am here, but it is alright, I am planting seeds. We also had a Family Day
(like a monthly activity we do here) and Brother Twantes wife came with three
friends. We also had two other investigators come that we started teaching last
week. And the Daughter also went to church on Sunday. that was awesome. I will
try to send you pictures of them. They are the Casipong family.
So I have been thinking a lot about what the Lord wants me to learn here in
TayTay, and there is so much. I have learned so much about, how to be a leader,
how to be organized, how to love the people and companions I serve, working
hard, and how to manage lots and lots of responsibilities. I have learned so many
things that have made me a better person. Its just weird how much you realize you
don't know, and haven't experienced. Anyways, I love you guys, and I miss you all
so much.
http://eldernathanclark.blogspot.com/?m=1
ELDER CLARK

5. !5
Elder Josh Preston has been experiencing a New England winter for the very first time. As you may have
heard the East Coast of the United States has been deluged with a series of winter storms, and New Jersey
is right in the middle of it, being pummeled with snow and freezing temperatures. At one point conditions got
so bad the bishop cancelled the Sunday block of meetings. Who knew you could call a snow-day for
church? Very different for an Arizona boy! He and his companion have become pretty handy with a snow
shovel as they serve those in the neighborhoods in their area. It has allowed them to melt the frosty
receptions of their neighbors to their
message as they labor to help them.
Always looking for new ways to find
contacts, Elder Preston and his companion
helped out at a recent funeral, setting up the
facilities and acting as ushers. He reports
they were able to contact a whole biker gang
along with several members of the family.
He is also trying new cuisine. We've
included pictures of enjoying some canned
octopus. Yummmmm. He is working hard
and having sooooo much fun. That's the
report from Morristown, NJ.
ELDER PRESTON

6. !6
So Africa! Mozambique is AWESOME! Right as I stepped off the plane, I just starred
out the window. People walking everywhere! There are cars, but not everyone has
one. They all use a public transportation devise called Chappas. They are like vans
STUFFED with people! Like 35 people in one van. They are seriously jammed in
there! Then the women wear these wrap like skirts called capulanies. And all the
women carry things on their heads. They carry EVERYTHING and all the little girls
copy their moms, its so cute! Each little parts and communities of Mozambique are
all very different. So side note. I am the only knew sister in this transfer and 5 sisters
left today! I hope they don't think that I am equivalent to 5 sisters! haha. And there
are only 7 sisters left. How in the world was I lucky enough to get this call to
Mozambique!? There are only 7 sisters here. I think 3 of us are American?
CRAZY!!! The chances are so low. Its overwhelming, humbling, and unreal that I,
little Martha Joy Bale, was called here. I sometimes feel guilt for having this
opportunity, I don't feel like I deserve this. I know I am supposed to be here and that
the people here im Mozambique are SO prepared right now!! People know who we
are. People approach you! We literally walk down the street and EVERYONE stares. The little children point at us and say mangulo! Which means white
person! The children here are so cute!!
So transfers are this coming Wednesday, so I was just kinda thrown in to some companionship this week and its been difficult. I felt like I was in the way
and slowed things down. I cant speak too well. The sisters say I speak great, but my confidence in the language is so down, TUDO BEM! Things will get
better. Everyday seriulsy gets better! I understand a lot of what the people say now compared to the first day here and it hasn't even been a week! What
a miracle! Ive been able to pray and bare my testimony a lot to families and investigators already! The Sisters in this mission are INCREDIBLE!! I am
already really close with them! One sister is from Mozambique, 2 are from Angola and 1 from Madagascar! They speak a little English, enough to help
me learn Portugese better! Sister Bow is from San Diego. They have been helping me a lot as I go through this transition stage. I will get a trainer this
week and thins will go smoother. We still have been teaching families and it has been incredible!! All the people believe what you have to say, but its the
acting that is difficult. Its a sacrifice for them to even make it to church on Sundays, they catch a ride from the Chappas.
So the area I have been with this last week is super fun! Its this small community where all the houses are brick houses with no airconditoning and
concrete floors. These living conditions are perfectly normal. Sometimes their home is one room. We take off our shoes when we enter their humble
abodes. There are no roads in these neighborhoods, just dirt so when it rains, which it does often, it puddles. So we try to dodge this water or wear
boots. One day we were needed to teach this family, but there was a huge puddle and we had no boots! So the people have people rent these boots, to
cross the water, as an opportunity to make money. So we bought a pair and I carried Sister Bow on my back as we trekked though the huge puddle. I
coulent capture a live picture but we walked through one similar today. Don't worry mom I soaked my feet that night for who knows who used those
boots..haha! We have so many rules to keep us safe. We aren't allowed to walk through the water because it is so dirty. We have to take 2 showers a
day, we eat Malaria pills, we wear special handsanitizer, we wear bug spray and so forth. Let me just tell you that I KNOW Heavenly Father sent me
here to learn to trust HIM. I KNOW that. He also sent me hear to learn how to listen better. I think I talk to much in English. Well I cant talk a lot if I don't
know how to speak. That's how it is here for me.
I still cannot believe that I am here teaching these people that I already have a deep love for!! Heavenly Father loves all of His children. It amazes me of
how many children there are here and around the world that that love is extended to. So the weather here is hot and humid. I sweat allllll day. haha! Oh
yeah, the driving is INSANE!!! I cant believe I have to drive here! I am nervous for that! haha. I know my letter is everywhere, but I am just so grateful for
this opportunity to be a missionary. I thank Heavenly ?Father everyday for allowing me this opportunity, especially because I know I almost didn't take it.
He knows us more than we could ever know ourselves. And I think I know myself pretty good! He also knows that this Gospel is the ONLY thing that will
bring us true Happiness in this Life and in the life to come! He knows that because He
knows what we need. The Gospel is for ALL. Tell of Everyone about it. And yes, my
birthday is this week, I keep forgetting! and yes I am turning 20, HOLY OLD! This
opportunity is unreal. Oh and President and Sister Kretley are great! We ate dinner at
their house the other night and they showed us that video that we have seen before on
FB. Its by Andersen, The Miracle video. Its on my FB wall if you want to watch it again.
Next week, the first Stake in Mozambique will be created! It really is a Miracle! Before
Presdient Kretley there was like literally a handful of families baptized a year and since
President Kretley there has been 500 complete families baptized! In our Mission, we
focus purely on families. We only teach families for the church needs a Foundation here
is Mozambique. Its fun teaching families! So when we contact, we ask to teach their
whole family. Its AWESOME! The gospel is family oriented! Anyways I have to go. okay
I will send a few pictures. I LOVE you all!!!!!!
Keep praying for me! :)
SISTER BALE

7. !7
Hola! Pues tuvimos una semana de milagros!
This week was crazy full of miracles. I will only share two of them though for today!
So this week we were focused on planning way in advanced and eating people to act more
and understand the importance of acting for themselves.
Well, on saturday I was driving and asked my companion to text Hermana Arcila. Because
I am a mumbler she thought I said to text Maricela....I don't even know who that is to be
honest. She then told me that Maricela replied telling us we had the wrong number. That
was when my companion told me who she had sent it to. I thought it was funny because it
is testimony to what my mom says about me mumbling ha. BUT THEN "maricela" texted
back asking what church we attend because she was looking for one. WHAT. So we
quickly replied and she was like wow I have been praying for a church and was surprised
that we had been praying to find someone. She lives down town so we are going to find the
closest missionaries and chapel by her home. I just loved how God used two imperfections
(me mumbling, and my comp sending a text to the wrong person) to create a miracle.
Then we went to la casa de la familia martinez. We read Eter 12 with them and then Hermana Martinez (who still isn't
baptized) decided to tell us about her dream she had the night before. Long story short she had a dream of waterfalls and that
she was rowing a boat with her husband to get baptized. She said that there were a bunch of members from the branch there
cheering her on. I was in shock by this point. Then she said that once she finds that exact waterfall she will get baptized. She
has taught me patience. I have learned that it is so hard when someone you love so very much wont accept what will bring
them happiness. I just smiled and shook my head. I told her that we would put plants around the font and Hno Martinez said
that he would pour buckets of water while she was getting baptized to be like a waterfall....he is hilarious. She then "got
distracted" and went to the kitchen. I was happy because we knew that she was close. We decided to ask, so when is it gonna
be. Se shrugged her shoulders. Then my companion asked her, what about the goal of March 28th. She asked what was
special about that day. My comp told her, well, it would be the day of your baptism. She tun was quiet and said nah. Then I
said what about the 21st of this month. She paused and said, whats special about that day and I said well your husband was
baptized on the 21st of december and its my last saturday here. She then immediately said yes. THAT CAUGHT ME BY
SURPRISE. I then asked questions to make sure I
wasn't dreaming. HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE! now
they both will be able to be on the path together!
She then called our mission president because he
promised he would come if she ever chose to get
baptized. I still am in shock but I also am very very
grateful for many prayers and fasting. God is
GOOD!
We also had the great opportunity to have temple
tours with our investigators yesterday! It was such a
neat experience! I love the temple.
Well, I got to go but I love you all! I know that we are
all Gods children and that with HIM we are NEVER
alone. His love is infinite.
SISTER COLEY

8. !8
Family - well, we had a baptism last week-in the ocean! His name is Soul Kropelnicki, he is 12, and has known the
missionaries for ages, he finally got to enter into the water... YES!!
something that i have been reflecting on is charity. Charity, just like faith, is a gift. You cant get it on your own. God gives it to
you. We all need more charity. To obtain it we must pray with all energy of heart that we may be filled with this love. In 1st
corinthians 13, Paul is counseling the Corinthians about charity. "charity never faileth" it vaunteth not itself is not puffed up. He
said all though he has all the faith to move mountains, and even if he gives his body to be burned, if he does this without
charity, he is nothing, he directed it to everyone, we need more and more charity. This is a spiritual gift I desire. Do we desire
spiritual gifts? What gifts does God want us to have? In D&C 46, Joseph smith recieves revalation for spiritual gifts. He says
every person has a spiritual gift, but we need to seek earnestly for the best gifts. He says to some it is given to be a believer,
they just naturally have faith, and it will carry them, to some it is given to know the gifts of administration, to carry things out,
and there is much more mentioned. I challenge you to read it! Lots of good stuff.
I feel like i will never be satisfied with the knowlege i have, i want more, and more! It can be frustrating from time to time to
realize that we still all have to learn line upon line, precept upon precept, i want to know all of it right now, but it cannot be so.
to recieve more, we have to act upon what the spirit has already told us. If we ask ourself "what is God trying to to teach me to
take me to the next level?" "what do i need to change to get there?" We all seem to know what the answer is, think about what
your answer is and do it, and than he will give you more.
Love you all so much -
Elder Howard
Elder Howard is currently an AP and will be serving in that capacity until April. Then he will finish his mission as a trainer and
return home in July. He plans to go to BYU Idaho in September - so will be here at home for a short stay.
ELDER HOWARD

9. !9
Alex is in Bauru, approximately 100 miles northwest of
Sao Paulo. He is finding great love and appreciation for
the people and the country. He has taken to the language
well, and told us how much he is enjoying preaching the
gospel. He has a testimony of the gift of tongues, and he
believes that all of our prayers have helped him in this.
We are proud of his tenacity in preaching, he tells us that
he and his companion were able to baptize 4 new
members into the church before his first transfer. We are
happy for the families he has helped, and the work that
he is doing. He is keeping all of us in his prayers, and he
feels your prayers
for him. ELDER MILLER

10. !10
So funny story, were sitting in the bus coming
home from our district meeting when a man
gets on the bus and has this snake, and he
just casually puts it into his backback, like
someone puttting a book in their bag. My
companion (hermana P.) turns to me and says,
hey should we ask him if we could hold it?? I'
m like...I dont know!! What if it bites, or what if
the man says no?? But she totally asks him
(cus she's awesome like that) and he lets us
hold it and we took some pictures!!!
SISTER EDWARDS

11. !11
I'm sure you all of you are aware of the bitter cold weather we
experienced yesterday here in NE. Church was also canceled for the first
time on my mission because of the severity of the cold. We still had a
chance to give some service though by shoveling snow for people during
part of the day yesterday. This has been honestly the most brutal weather
I have ever experienced. Anytime down the road when I have the chance
to come back to NE, I will make it a priority to visit in the summer instead
of the winter.
I can continue to talk about how awful this weather has been for us, but all
in all it has not really affected our work. In fact, we have seen tender
mercies occur in our area just in the past couple days. V____ sent us a
text yesterday saying that she does want to be baptized! She is still trying to figure out a specific date though. We are also
starting to plan for Ma_____'s and M_____'s baptisms for March 7th and March 15th. And we also plan to extend baptism for
S___ D_____ and possibly for J____ tomorrow as well. We have not been able to see J______ in a while so we will see what
happens with him.
So although we have had some obstacles occur for us these past couple days, I'm blessed to see the positives that occurred
for us. Plus by being inside for all of yesterday, it gave me the time to reflect on my mission and about my life and where I
stand. I know that the Lord has great plans for me, including the time that I have serving Him and his children at this moment. I
am aware of the amount of time that I have left as well, its crazy to think about but its also exciting at the same time. I am
finding out more and more of what the Lord wants me to do in the future and most importantly the type of person he wants me
to become.
…………………………This past week was pretty exciting! Elder Terry and I were able to set 2 baptismal dates this week. Our
first one with M___ ____ and the other with M___ A____. It was amazing because M____ has been investigating the church
since June of last year, and this past week she was able to self-commit herself to be baptized in March! It really was a miracle
for us that she was able to do that. M_____ plans to be baptized on March 7th and M_____ for the following week on March
15th. We will be praying that everything goes well for them. Also, we were able to meet with another one of our other
investigators, V____ V_____, as of yesterday. We extended a baptismal invitation for her and she simply told us she was
going to pray about a date. She knows that its true, she just needs to pray for a time when she feels like she would be ready.
This next month will be the month when all our baptisms will be in check, for everything that we have planned for. The goal of
the mission (if I hadn't already mentioned it yet) is to bring 420 people to the waters of baptism by the end of June, or when
President Packard goes home. This means that as a mission we are working our tails off doing everything we can to extend
baptism and to help these people come unto Christ. It truly will be amazing
when we will accomplish this goal. I know and the
Lord knows that we are capable of achieving it. This
has been one of the coolest concepts I've been able
to learn on my mission, how to set goals and prioritize
my time to accomplish them.
ELDER BERTHELSON
http://elderalexberthelson.blogspot.com/

12. !12
Friday was an adventure in itself. The planning we had the night before
was pretty simple. We planned to wake up study and weekly plan (which
unfortunately but necessarily takes two hours) Eat lunch and then travel
to Springhill which is about 25 miles away. We tracted for 3 hours and
found not a single person who was willing to talk with us. Lots of
awkward door exchanges though. One guy we ran into im pretty sure
was high and talked about a lot of weird things and how he was kicked
out of being a Jehovah's Witness... But that was good for our spirits I
think haha. Later that night we went to dinner at a member's home. This
particular family is so busy and this is the first time they were able to
have the missionaries over since Elder Hainsworth had been in Magnolia! We had some really good Jambalaya and garlic
bread and then of course we went to share a spiritual thought. I was expecting a normal experience but as we shared
with them how powerful sharing our testimonies can be they shared their testimonies with us.
They had a son named Logan who would have been a couple years older than me but who was diagnosed with cancer at
age 2. Now for some reason Logan was smarter than the average bear and was able to communicate almost fully with
adults by the end of his life at age 4. The O'Neals talked about how when
Logan went under medication for treatments that he was able to talk to
Jesus and with angels. The O'neals told us that they often let him continue
to talk about it but they didnt quite believe him. He was the kid that would
be talking to no one and when they asked him who he was talking to he
would tell them that he was again talking to angels. Brother O'neal told me
that he didnt believe that his son was actually doing this until one day after
a treatment and closer to the end of Logan's life. He often had talked about
things that he wouldnt have learned in nursery and they didnt recognize
that until this moment. Logan told his father that he was able to see himself
in the counsel in Heaven and that when God asked who would take upon
himself this illness that he raised his hand and he saw his parents raise
their hands as the ones who would take care of him.
I testify to you all that I know this church is true. The power of the Spirit in
that room was stronger than I felt at any other time in my life. I am
constantly bringing my testimony of Christ into peoples homes and i pray
consistently that I may be able to teach with and more fully recognize
the Holy Spirit. This gospel is no gimmick. There is nothing that
makes me more happy than to see the wheels turning in these
people's eyes and Its amazing to know how much happier we can be
if we prioritize our lives correctly. I hope y'all have a wonderful week!
http://elderbryannally.blogspot.com/
ELDER NALLY