Here are free resources about the Canada Calgary Mission:
- Mission address and phone number
- Mission map
- Missionary blogs
- Facebook groups
- LDS Mission t-shirts and gifts
- List of past mission presidents
- Cultural articles written by returned missionaries
- Survey with RMs
*Other Mission Pages: Canada LDS Missions.
Canada Calgary Mission Address
Here’s a recent address for the Canada Calgary Mission. We try to keep this info up to date, but it’s a good idea to check the address with several sources, including your mission packet or the mission office.
Canada Calgary Mission
7044 Farrell Rd SE
Calgary, AB T2H 0T2
Canada
Phone Number: 1-403-252-1141
Mission President: President Stephen P. Miles
Canada Calgary Mission Map
Here’s a link to the mission map for the Calgary Mission (LDS). To access the official, up-to-date LDS.org map for the Calgary Mission:
Canada Calgary Missionary Blogs
Here’s a list of LDS missionary blogs for the Calgary Mission. This list includes the missionary’s name, URL and when their blog was updated.
Canada Calgary Mission Groups
Here are Calgary Mission Groups- for LDS missionary moms, returned missionaries, mission presidents and other alumni of the Calgary Mission.
- Canada Calgary Mission Facebook Group (614 members)
- 06-09 Canada Calgary Mission Facebook Group (419 members)
- The Canada Calgary Mission Facebook Group (335 members)
- 09-12 Canada Calgary Mission Facebook Group (295 members)
- Calgary Mission (Presidents Lakes, Berkhahn) Group (136 members)
- Canada Calgary Missionary Moms Facebook Group (118 members)
- Calgary Mission — President O. Don Ostler Group (113 members)
- Calgary Mission (Sterling Spafford Years) Group (78 members)
- Canada Calgary Mission 1979-1982 Facebook Group (76 members)
- Calgary Mission (Pres. Melvin C. Green 1982-85) Group (45 members)
- Calgary Mission Moms and Friends (LDS) Group (8 members)
Canada Calgary Mission T-Shirts
Here are T-shirts for the Canada Calgary Mission!
Shirt designs include Canada Calgary Mission logo/emblem shirts and Called to Serve shirts. The shirts make great gifts for pre-missionaries, returned missionaries and missionaries currently serving. LDS Mission shirts come in all sizes: Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, up to 4XL. The mission designs are printed on white shirts and are shipped to you.
*Simply click on a shirt design to view the details and submit an order. The designs on mission t-shirts may also be printed on other LDS mission gifts, including: Canada Calgary missionary aprons, Christmas stockings, ties, pillow cases, teddy bears and Christmas ornaments.
*Click here to browse Calgary Mission gifts
Canada Calgary Mission Presidents
Here’s a list of current and past Mission Presidents of the Calgary Mission.
- 2015-2018, Stephen P. Miles
- 2012-2015, Howard J. Nicholas
- 2009-2012, Alan Archibald
- 2006-2009, Gene Priday (Listen to an interview with the Pridays)
- 2003-2006, Hal Arch Gardner
- 2000-2003, President Garrett
- 1997-2000, Don O. Ostler
- 1994-1997, Peter Berkhahn
- 1991-1994, Jake S. Lake
- 1988-1991, Thomaas J. Young
- 1985-1988, Sterling R. Spafford
- 1982-1985, Melvin C. Green
- 1979-1982, B. Darrell Call
- 1976-1979, F. Wayne Chamberlain
- 1973-1976, Raymond E. Beckham
- 1970-1973, Nelo E. Rhoton
- 1967-1970, Bryan A. Espenchied
- 1964-1967, J. Talmage Jones
- 1961-1964, Carroll Smith
- 1958-1961, Parley Arave
- 1956-1958, Moroni Larson
- 1951-1956, Scott Zimmerman
- 1947-1951, Glen Fisher
- 1945-1947, Joseph Card
- 1941-1945, Walter Miller
Canada LDS Statistics (2016)
- Church Membership: 193,850
- Missions: 7
- Temples: 8
- Congregations: 486
- Family History Centers: 186
Helpful Articles about Canada
Canada Calgary Missionary Survey
Here are survey responses from Canada Calgary RMs, to give you a snapshot into what it’s like to live in the mission.
When did you serve?
- 2013-2014 (Victoria)
- February 2013-September 2014 (Hannah)
- 2013-2015 (Spencer)
- 2013-2015 (Tanner)
- 2013-2015 (Devyn)
- 1987-1988 (Karen)
- 1997-1999 (Brent)
- 1995-1997 (Jeff)
- 1985-1987 (Brad)
- 2013 – 2015 (Ryan)
- 1996-1998 (Anonymous)
- 1987-1989 (Anton)
- 1984-1985 (Angela)
- 1995-1997 (Chad)
- 1995-1997 (Craig)
- 2003-2005 (Dey)
- 1995-1997 (Anonymous)
- 1988-1990 (David)
- 2004-2006 (Bart)
- 2001-2003 (Brandon)
- August 2014-February 2015 (Amber)
- 2007-2009 (Scott)
- 1989-1991 (Marlen)
What areas did you serve in?
- SE Calgary, Stirling (twice), Crowsnest Pass and Cardston (both stakes). (Victoria)
- Calgary, Lethbridge, Raymond, Creston, BC. (Spencer)
- Chestermere, North Calgary, Downtown Calgary, Creston, Lethbridge, Taber (Tanner)
- Coutts, Calgary, Lethbridge, Cardston, Warner, Milk River. (Devyn)
- Calgary – NW, SW, Edmonton, Rocky Mt. House and Clairsholm. (Karen)
- Edmonton, Dawson Creek, Innisfail, Calgary, Red Deer. (Jeff)
- Calgary, Lethbridge, Edmonton. (Anonymous)
- Lethbridge, Calgary, Olds, Medicine Hat, and Peace River. (Brad)
- Calgary, Edmonton, Calgary, Edmonton, Calgary. (Anton)
- Olds, Red Deer, Edmonton, Calgary. (Angela)
- Whitecourt, Calgary, Spruce Grove and Lethbridge. (Chad)
- Calgary, Edmonton, Ft McMurray, Westlock, Barrhead, Grand Prarie. (Craig)
- Calgary, Brooks, Trail BC. (Dey)
- Calgary 2X, Raymond and Magrath, Red Deer, and West Lethbridge. (David)
- Calgary downtown, Cochrane, Lethbridge, a few areas in Calgary, Pincher Creek, Claresholm. Toronto Downtown, Ajax, Scarborough, Oakville, A few others. (Bart)
- Calgary Spanish (entire city), Calgary Spanish North, Lethbridge 6 Ward, Calgary Spanish South, Shawnessy Somerset…there is no longer a Spanish area that covers the whole city. I was the first Spanish companionship in the Calgary mission. There are at least 3 Spanish areas and 6-8 Spanish missionaries now. (Brandon)
- Chestermere (East Calgary), Raymond (Cardston Zone), Royal Oak (West Cagary), Park Meadows (Lethbridge), Prarie Winds (East Calgary). (Amber)
- Lethbridge, Golden BC, medicine hat, claresholm, fort Macleod, north Calgary, foothills of Calgary, and Creston BC. (Scott)
- Edmonton, Calgary, Cardston. (Marlen)
What were some favorite foods?
- Anything made by Filipino families. (Victoria)
- Meatloaf with maple syrup. Tim Bits- from Tim Hortons. Alberta Beef! Lots of cultures in Calgary- Filipino and African foods are yummy. (Hannah)
- We got lasagna a lot. And when people could make good Mexican! (Spencer)
- Indian food, Middle Eastern food (Tanner)
- Poutine, apple crisp, spaghettini, sushi and most casseroles. (Devyn)
- Pot Roast, Peas and Carrot mixture, potatoes and salad. (Karen)
- Perogies, poutine. (Brent)
- Roast beef and potato. Mexican food prepared by Spanish members. Biscuits and gravy. Moose and elk steak. (Jeff)
- Anything the members would make for us! (Brad)
- Probably my favorite would be pozole and tres leches cake (I went Spanish speaking). Tacos with barbacoa de lengua (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it), or other dishes with tinga (form of chicken) or chorizo (Mexican sausage) are fantastic. Along the same lines as barbacoa de lengua, you may want to be wary of Menudo and Mondongo. I didn’t really have a strong opinion either way with Menudo (the dish I had), and it was bearable, but it wasn’t anything too exciting. For the Canadian food, holy cow poutine is fantastic, but typically you don’t get it from members. There should probably be a warning label attached to it – dangerously unhealthy and stunningly addictive (if you find yourself prone to eating really tasty food). Other than that, Canadians are probably par for the course when it comes to providing dinners (I also served in some English areas). Typically salad (almost always Caesar). Possibly a pasta dish (though the way they say it, the “a” sounds like the “a” in “disaster”). Sometimes mashed potatoes and roast beef or something. Sometimes they order pizza. Usually a dessert of ice cream, though some members made their own desserts. (Ryan)
- Nothing particular. (Anton)
- Mandms, Seven 11, member meals. (Angela)
- Moose meat. (Chad)
- Everything except Rhubarb and Balut. (Craig)
- Salmon, Salad with Raspberry vinaigrette, Funeral potatoes, taco salad/soup. (Dey)
- Perogies, Beef and Potatoes, Pie. I liked the differences at Taco Bell and KFC from their American counterparts. Subway was everywhere too. (Anonymous)
- Perogies, DQ Blizzards. (David)
- Alberta roast beef. Yum. (Bart)
- Pupusas, poutine, anything that was made for me really. English areas you get a lot of meat and potatoes but the food is all pretty good. (Brandon)
- Nanaimo Bars, the different herbal teas, Canadian Pizza (cheese on top of the toppings), Perogies, Yorkshire Puddings, Donairs, anything with Saskatoon berries, Kinder Surprise, Cookies and Cream Corn on the Cob. (Amber)
- Poutine, strawberry rhubarb pie, pot roast, perogies. (Scott)
- Nanaimo bars. (Marlen)
What was a funny experience?
- Having to go to the bathroom and running through a field to a member’s home in knee-deep snow…in a skirt. When you gotta go, you gotta go! (Victoria)
- It’s really cold and snows often. I would slip on the ice often. It was always something funny to laugh at. (Hannah)
- Just being with other missionaries is always funny. You play pranks on them and just have a good time! (Spencer)
- Someone on the street stopped us to warned us about a cyborg attack (Tanner)
- When I got the Boarder Patrol called on me for them thinking I’m an illegal immigrant and yes, I am part Hispanic. (Devyn)
- Only funny if you were there. Elders were playing floor hockey at the church on P-day. I wanted to play but my companion didn’t so she sat on the stage and wrote letters while I played. First time I swung my hockey stick it hit another elders stick but his finger was between the two sticks. Needless to say I broke the elder’s finger. I didn’t even know it happened until later on in my mission. (Karen)
- A certain elder had to just “had to go” while driving home. They pulled to the side of the road and he returned without his tie. Guess it was the most expensive TP he ever used. (Brent)
- Living Dawson Creek BC. Shoveling a lot of snow. Seeing wildlife. Visiting Banff. Members. Driving a car with frozen tires. (Jeff)
- The two I remember was when the screen door of a home we were knocking on got caught by the wind and knocked my companion off the porch. Also, when another companion turned to the fence that was eye level and came face to face with a dog. Yes, it was a big dog. I never saw someone run so fast! (Brad)
- At the start of my mission, my trainer and I had a hard time getting along. It wasn’t terrible or anything, but it wasn’t very enjoyable. A little less than a year later, we were put back together. I was really worried that I would be miserable. It actually went fantastically well. It was incredible. Now we’re practically best friends. Maybe not “hilarious,” but now I look back and think it’s kind of funny how I was so worried about how things were going to go, but there ended up not being anything to worry about. (Ryan)
- Praying over a map to find where we should go door to door. Felt good about one street. When we got there, there weren’t any houses built yet. (Anton)
- Went bowling and went to throw the ball, slipped and landed on the floor. (Angela)
- Going with members to pick up road kill, so they could eat it. (Chad)
- Visit the naked Lakers in Calgary. (Craig)
- Getting hailed on while tracting. It literally came out of nowhere and we we’re in short sleeve shirts…we ran to Dairy Queen but the air conditioning was on full blast so we went from being warm and hailed on to being freezing inside the Dairy Queen. (Dey)
- Going to a member’s home talking politics. (David)
- Listening outside whenever there was a win for the local hockey team. Honking and cheering. (Bart)
- I had a lot if funny experiences but you had to be there, so when you go, I will let you have your own funny experiences haha. (Brandon)
- I processed beef cows. Gave a bunch of pregnant cows shots. Bent at least three needles doing this. Had to scrub my boots for an hour that night to get the cow crap off. (Amber)
- I lost my voice during the winter one day and went to a dinner appointment, and the member asked me to give the blessing on the food… a squeaky whisper of a prayer and some tears of silent laughter from my companion. Later, we all burst into a fit of the giggles! (Scott)
- A zone conference where we used newspaper to dress up one member of the group. Among others, we had a cave man, and at least two brides. It was a riot. (Marlen)
What was a crazy experience?
- Driving after dark (5pm) in a blizzard, in the mountains. (Victoria)
- The High River flooded. Houses were under water and so many people lost so much. I was able to help clean out basements and give out clothes to those who lost everything. I learned so much. (Hannah)
- The drunk natives downtown are nuts. If your chill with them, they’re cool, but if you blow them off, they get super mad and will threaten you. I had a few pull a knife on me. (Spencer)
- I almost got beaten up by a drunk homeless Native American (Tanner)
- Seeing a person die in the hospital. (Devyn)
- When my companion and I went to teach at a man’s home who designed and made the movie “The Godmakers.” Had a terrible feeling and neither one of us could get up to leave. Finally we left but the things that were said and Satan’s influence from that meeting lingered on with my companion for quite some time. She received a blessing to help her overcome her doubts. (Karen)
- Driving the icy roads when a moose walked in front of the car. (Brent)
- Canadian road blocks. Driving. Being in -40 weather. (Jeff)
- Driving in freezing rain from Peace River to Edmonton! (Brad)
- In Canada, not too much is dangerous – possibly a preparation day activity gets out of hand or something. One time we went on a hike and an elder slipped off the trail and just barely caught himself (it was a steep ledge, not exactly a cliff, but still scary). The most I’ve felt personally threatened is when we were knocking doors and accidentally knocked on a “Do not contact” door, totally coincidental. It was a freak accident. He cursed us out pretty bad. I would suggest if you run by any such “do not contact” doors listed, leave them alone. They will probably drive the spirit very far away from you. (Ryan)
- Seeing a missionary jump off a bridge about 15 foot up into what turned out to be about 3 foot of water. (Anton)
- When it got so cold the tires on our car froze and caused a flat spot. When we drove it sounded like we had a flat tire. It was negative 60. (Chad)
- Coming down the mountain into Creston from Trail, the hood of our car flipped up and smashed our windshield. It spiderwebbed the windshield and I drove looking underneath the hood until we got to a safe place to pull over. (Dey)
- Got caught in a wind storm in first area. Ended up in ER with companion having a cut cornea in his eye from some thing blowing into it. Trees all over town had fallen. Gets windy out on the plains. (Anonymous)
- I jumped a mission car and broke my leg. This happened in southern Alberta. Was home for a few months and went back out to the Toronto East Mission. (Bart)
- I didn’t really have any dangerous situations that weren’t self made. I did have a bike wreck after sliding on loose dirt when we went riding through Fish Creek Provincial Park on preparation day and landed in my head… but I had my helmet on, so I was fine. (Brandon)
- I wasn’t driving, but we almost T-boned an Elder’s car at the bottom of the hill. So remember, don’t do a three point turn at the bottom of a icy hill, and go down the hills slowly…ice exists. Don’t be a stupid driver. End result of the incident, we drove into a ditch, the bumper snapped off, but we were all okay. If we had hit the car, I would have gotten the brunt of the collision. I also found out the hard way, I am allergic to cats. My throat started to close up. Nasty experience. (Amber)
- While driving on the snow packed mountain roads of Golden, British Columbia, we were coming down a steep hill and lost traction. We slid sideways down the hill for about 25 feet, coming to a stop just inches away from the snow bank at the bottom of the hill. (Scott)
- Our apartment complex had parking stalls with plugs to keep your car battery from freezing overnight, but the snowplow always pushed the snow into our parking spot, so we couldn’t park there. We parked on the street one rainy night, and woke to 3 feet of new snow on top of the ice from the now-frozen rain. The plow hadn’t made it down our street, and we were out with a broom – the only thing close to a shovel we could find – trying to dig our car out so we could make it to an 8:00 Zone Conference. We made it, and strangely enough, ours was the only car without a frozen battery when Zone Conference ended! We spent about and hour and a half jump starting everyone else’s cars. (Marlen)
What was a spiritual experience?
- A less active member’s first prayer for his investigator wife. (Victoria)
- Every day there was something to be able to see God’s hand in His work. The one that came to my mind was when my companion and I were about to go home for the night when the spirit brought a name to my mind. She was an active lady, but when I tried to dismiss the thought, it came again. So we stopped by this lady’s house and it was the year anniversary of her husband’s death. She was so happy that someone came to see her and we brought the first smile to her face that day. Heavenly Father is in charge! (Hannah)
- While helping at an assisted living center we met a woman who had been taking the lessons for nine years, who told us right off the bat she wouldn’t get baptized. We baptized her two weeks later. (Spencer)
- Having the opportunity to testify of the reality of a life after death after an investigators mother died (Tanner)
- Struggling for 6 months and suddenly wanting to go home and realizing it’s where I am meant to be. (Devyn)
- Tracting to a ladies home that had two year old twins and another child that was five. She said she couldn’t talk to us right then but to come back. I told my companion “That lady is going to be baptized.” About three months later and after I was transferred, she was. (Karen)
- Teaching and baptizing new converts. Seeing families sealed for eternity. (Jeff)
- After I left my last area, reading a letter from one of the people I baptized. She told me that if I see her in Heaven, it was thanks to me. She was an amazing person! (Brad)
- I only got three baptisms my whole mission, but it was a part member family where the dad had been less active for several years. The fact of the matter is that I only happened to be in the right place at the right time. They were baptized a little over a year ago, and we’re still in contact. They’re working on going to the temple. That’s really what it’s all about, in my opinion. That alone made the whole two years more than worth it. Even without it, it would still have been worth it, though. (Ryan)
- Sharing the gospel with an investigator who was from Taiwan. His brother was translating for him when we asked him to be baptized, he understood. (Angela)
- Baptizing an entire family that I still talk to today. And to see their son serve a mission. (Chad)
- Everything. (Craig)
- Getting sic by an owner’s dog. Bashing with a Jehovah’s Witness. (David)
- Morning studies set the mood for the day. Having spiritual experiences in solo and companion study was great. (Bart)
- Anytime I was able to preach of Christ. Also sharing the First Vision and seeing how these things changed people’s lives. (Brandon)
- They expect me to choose one? I only planned 1 baptism. It was an amazing experience watching the one person I helped enter the waters of baptism and hear his own testimony once he was baptized. I knew that he would stay active, which he has. This was huge for me, because my mission was mainly about cleaning up areas, starting up new work in the area, less active work, and helping my companions, so I was grateful to have this one experience. (Amber)
- Answering the prayer of a special family in my first area by knocking on their door the day after they had prayed together for spiritual help from Father in Heaven. They had been prepared for that day and to enter the waters of baptism. (Scott)
- We had an investigating family who all wanted to be baptized, but the dad – who was an excommunicated member – was holding out. He wasn’t there when we taught them the discussion on fasting, and so we challenged them to fast that he would allow them to be baptized. Almost immediately after they finished their fast, he called and not only wanted to allow his family to be baptized, but wanted to be rebaptized himself. He was, then had his priesthood reinstated and baptized his family. It was amazing! (Marlen)
What are some interesting facts about the Calgary mission?
- Lots of church history. Lots of different terrain. Lots of beautiful areas including Banff and Waterton. And a whole lot of open spaces. (Victoria)
- So many amazing people!!! It has the largest car fleet. I got to do lots of service projects- such an amazing way into people’s hearts. (Hannah)
- Canada is full of immigrants. There is so much culture there, it’s unreal. It’s not as cold as everyone makes it out to be. (Spencer)
- There are dozens of different cultures that make Calgary a fantastic place (Tanner)
- It has the first temple built outside of the United States in the mission boundaries. (Devyn)
- In February 1988 the Winter Olympics were held there. (Karen)
- I was called to the Canada Calgary mission. I came home from the Canada Edmonton Mission. When I first arrived, they said the mission was the largest North American mission as far as an area goes. (Brent)
- It had the most cars of any mission. It was a huge geographic area. (Jeff)
- At the time, it was the largest mission area wise in the world. (Brad)
- My mission has the first temple built in Canada – the Cardston temple. There’s a lot of LDS members in southern Alberta (the providence containing Calgary and Edmonton – kind of like an enormous state). It’s not quite as dense as Utah in most places, but there are a few areas that are incredibly tiny. If you’re in Calgary during the Summer, you’ll probably also get to go to Banff. It’s so beautiful there. (Ryan)
- About the CCM, it was claimed to be the largest land mass mission in the world (only because it included the North West Territories, which had been 0 and 2 missionaries). On my mission, I only served in the same two cities Calgary and Edmonton. (Anton)
- It was very cold in the winter. Members were great. (Angela)
- It was the largest mission at the time and we had the largest fleet of cars in the church. (Chad)
- At the time, it was the largest mission geographically in the entire church. (Craig)
- Seeing a son baptize his mother after we taught them and she didn’t want to be baptized at first but after his baptism, she came up to us in tears and said she wanted to be baptized. Once he received the priesthood, he baptized her. (Dey)
- Seeing 5 investigators getting baptized. (David)
- Calgary mission has 2 awesome national parks to visit! Banff and Waterton. I was lucky enough to visit both as members had to take us there. As for Toronto, the CN tower is awesome and also the road thought as the longest in the world (Younge St) originates in downtown Toronto. (Bart)
- Chinooks! If you don’t know what they are, look them up because they’re awesome! Not only that but southern Alberta is one of 3 or 4 spots in the world that has them. You can drive there from Salt Lake City in about 15 hours so if you’re in Utah, it’s not hard to go back and visit. There are a lot of beef and dairy farms as well as oil fields. Hockey is life. 1988 Olympiad was in Calgary…you can still visit Calgary Olympic Park today. Two temples in the mission…one in Calgary and one in Cardston. It’s a beautiful country and there are national and provincial parks in the boundaries of the mission Waterton, Banff, Jasper and other things. Visitation to these things depending on regulations set by Mission President. (Brandon)
- Our mission has the most cars out of all the missions in the world. We cover three provinces. Everything is in English and French. Temperature is in celcius. Roads are in kilometers, and you drive a lot slower than in America. Shoes come off at the door. (Amber)
- When I served, it was said that we had the most cars of any mission in the world (due to the extreme weather and large areas that we covered). (Scott)
- Canada Day is the best. They have Thanksgiving on 10 October. When I was there, it was illegal for stores to be open on Black Friday, because it is a federal holiday, but it was worth it to the stores to open anyway and pay a hefty fine because of the revenue it brought in. (Marlen)
What’s the weather like?
- All over the place. Blizzard one day, sunny the next and a hail storm or two in July. (Victoria)
- It’s Canada- it’s really cold, but dress in layers and you will be fine. If the mission president says don’t go outside it’s to cold, listen, he cares about you. (Hannah)
- My winter in 2013 was horrible. There was a week colder than -50 Celsius and one day it was colder than the planet Mars. The summers are beautiful, and the perfect temperature. (Spencer)
- Random…it could change every 5 minutes. (Devyn)
- There was one week when it was minus 32 degrees. My companion and I were out tracting and came home for lunch. Several messages on our answering machine from both our district leaders and zone leaders telling us not to be outside because it was too cold. They suggested calling people on the phone to get appointments. (Karen)
- Cold. (Brent)
- Chinooks. Cold. Pretty temperate in the summer. Winters always had long periods of extreme cold. (Jeff)
- Um…COLD! (Brad)
- I got there in the summer, and it felt kind of cold. Not that it was freezing, but it was fine with long sleeves, generally. The winters were freezing. Occasionally drops to minus forty, and it doesn’t matter if you’re in Celsius or Fahrenheit, it’s just plain cold (literally it actually doesn’t matter, though, minus forty is the same in both scales). The next summer felt hot – perhaps due to being acclimatized? Anyway, Canadians sometimes do not have AC. This was not good in the summer. Unfortunately, I also was living in an apartment that did not have AC. Going to sleep is uncomfortable. Then I went through another winter. It was cold again. (Ryan)
- Cold winters! And warm summers! (Anonymous)
- Hot in Summer, cold in Winter. Perfect weather really. (Anton)
- Very cold. (Angela)
- I got stuck north of Edmonton for both winters and it was cold. It was around 20 below zero. The summers are awesome because the highs were like 80 degrees. (Chad)
- You’ll get all 4 seasons in Alberta, plus the occasional Chinook that comes through and the Northern Lights north of Edmonton in the winter. (Craig)
- They say if you don’t like the weather, just wait 10 minutes. Chinooks were nice. It snowed every month. (Dey)
- It was cold, but Chinooks were awesome. (Warm wind in the winter) (Anonymous)
- It was very cold and warm. (Chinooks) wait 10 minutes. (David)
- COLD. But you get used to it. No big deal. You better learn how to drive in snow, ice and dirt. (Bart)
- The weather in Alberta is different. If you don’t like it, wait 10 minutes and it will probably change. In southern Alberta, there are Chinook winds you may be at about -40 ish celsius but when Chinook wind comes through it will warm up about 40 degrees or so. It will be right at the freezing point but will feel like about 60 degrees celsius. (Brandon)
- Really hot summers, really cold winters. Like, expect blizzard and digging your car out of snow. Expect to dig yourself out of snow, especially if you serve in the country side. Chinooks: a warm wind that comes in off the mountains that melts EVERYTHING and turns it into slush. So you will walk around in slush that day and then it will freeze over night and HELLO BLACK ICE AND MORE ICE AND MORE ICE! Also, you might get a Chinook headache, which is the result of the sudden temperature difference. Ibuprofen is your friend. *Note* Canadians can’t drive. They will go fast on ice. So be SUPER CAREFUL while driving, I got side swiped once (on the last day of transfers) and going through all the paper work for a car wreck (yeah, got totaled, couldn’t drive my car) is a pain in the BUTT! (There is physical paper work and online paperwork…trust me you don’t want to deal with it). It is super dry, so if you are from humid areas or have sinus problems, invest in a humidifier, like $20 in Canada at a Shoppers Drug Mart (the Walgreens/CVS of Canada) (Amber)
- There were weeks when it would stay -40° Celsius in the winter (same as -40° Fahrenheit), and then get up to 40° Celsius in the summer (very hot). They do get all four seasons, but there are definite extremes. (Scott)
- My first winter was in Edmonton and they had the coldest winter they’d had for 200 years. It averaged 40 below. When we would call to see what the temperature was, the recording would say “exposed skin will freeze within one minute”. They closed the schools because it was so cold, but someone would have to go unlock the doors so that kids whose parents didn’t know wouldn’t freeze outside the school. When spring came and the temperature got above 10 degrees, we were in our summer clothes. I remember one hot summer day just before I left for home. We were walking down the street in Calgary and I was sweating like crazy. The bank said it was 20 degrees. When I got home, the bank here switched between centigrade and Fahrenheit and apparently 20 degrees is only 68 Fahrenheit. (Marlen)
Any things you really like about the area/people?
- There will forever be a capacity to provide service to others. If you’re willing to work, they’re uuuuusually willing to listen… At least once. (Victoria)
- SO NICE!!! BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY!!! Yummy chocolate :D. (Hannah)
- Canadians are the friendliest people on earth. Calgary reminded me a lot of Salt Lake City. I served the last part of my mission in British Columbia, and I’m sure it’s the most beautiful place on earth. (Spencer)
- I liked the culture, the openness and I liked the lay out of it. (Devyn)
- Served 14 of my 18 months in Calgary, Northwest and Southwest. Loved the people. They were so very friendly in each area. The members were so into being member missionaries, it was great! (Karen)
- Some of the nicest and most genuine people of the earth. (Jeff)
- The Canadian people are the most amazing people! So friendly! Even if they didn’t want to hear what we had to say they would invite us in for hot chocolate on cold days tracting. (Brad)
- The food was amazing. Now that we have that out of the way… It was also a very different perspective on life. I learned about a perspective I was initially very afraid of. A lot of these people were really struggling to make ends meet – members included, plenty of times. Hispanic people are fantastic. They’re very friendly and welcoming. Not always open to letting you teach them about Christ (for non-members, of course), and if they are, they will probably resist change when possible. But they are REALLY nice. (Ryan)
- People in Alberta are so friendly and nice. Ward members were kind. (Anonymous)
- Almost all friendly people. I always felt safe. (Anton)
- Experiences I will never forget. (Angela)
- The people and the culture. You are on a foreign country, but get to speak English. (Chad)
- Everything. (Craig)
- The members are amazing at feeding the missionaries. We rarely went without having a meal. The people. (Dey)
- Most everyone was nice. polite. Beautiful country too. (Anonymous)
- We were one of the highest baptizing missions in the area. Many of the member’s were very intelligent and spiritual. The people are very warm and friendly. (David)
- Western Canada had so many nice people, they had time to listen and were great people. In Toronto, people were busier and did not listen as much, but it’s a much more diverse area. Many different races and ethnic groups. Met people from all over Asia, South America, Middle East and Europe. (Bart)
- I love the people in southern Alberta. If you go speaking Spanish, there are more than 10,000 Spanish speakers up there and the majority of them needing the gospel. There are people from all over Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, and Central America. There are Huttarites and Mennonites and many other religions there. It is a melting pot. Great people wherever you go. (Brandon)
- It is a lot like Texas, where I’m from. Fall is very nice! Lots of people have dogs, so don’t be surprised if a dog jumps you out of happiness (happened all the time to me and I’ve never had dogs, only hamsters). People are fairly polite and there are lots of members in this mission. It it like the Utah of Canada. You get fed a lot (especially sisters) and I only got food poison twice. Shoppers Drug Mart is AMAZING! Usually, there will be one in every area in the Calgary part of the mission. There is usually a post office inside if you need to send packages or letters. *NOTE* Canadian postal service isn’t the best….soooo, good luck with that. They lost one of my bigger packages home once. Write legibly or it will get lost or sent back to you. Mail boxes are in Groups. Usually if there are mail boxes, you can drop off a letter there too. (Amber)
- Diverse people, beautiful landscape, rich history, lots of Canadian pride. (Scott)
- It was enough like the USA to feel comfortable, and different enough to make it interesting. The people are amazing. It took a while to remember that they expect you to take your shoes off when you come in the door, but now I try to get people to do that at my house. (Marlen)
Any packing/clothing advice?
- Layers mostly. Don’t get long or thermal layers (especially the ones you can’t remove) because then if it gets warm mid day or in someone’s house you’re stuck in hot clothing. Also don’t waste money on big expensive snow boots. Just something warm and probably waterproof. In the smaller towns and villages your shoes will just get muddy on the wet dirt roads so even rain boots are a good idea. Just remember you can get literally everything you need while you’re there. You’re not in the Philippines. They have WalMart 😉 even though you’ll probably want to go to Super Store. (Victoria)
- Bring clothes to layer: long johns, leggings, tights, undershirts, and sweaters. You will gain things as you move area to area, and you will most likely get sick of the clothes you brought so just know it’s normal to accumulate stuff. You might have to send some things home. If you need to, it would be best if you serve in Cardston or somewhere close to the border and find out if someone has a mailbox in Babb, Montana, and they can ship it for you, it is a LOT cheaper to do that. Canada Post is super expensive. (Hannah)
- Buy your coat in Canada. The States don’t make them good enough. Bring a few lightweight jackets- it can get pretty rainy. (Spencer)
- Slip on shoes, winter boots that go above your ankle, many layers of coats not one big winter coat. (Devyn)
- Don’t take all the required books. Borrow them from ward libraries or members. (Karen)
- Don’t buy all your suits or most of your clothes until you get to Canada. The United States clothes aren’t made for the extreme cold. (Brent)
- Buy your cold gear in Canada. (Jeff)
- Keep to one suit case, and a garment bag. Or just the garment bag, it makes transfers easier. (Brad)
- You may want to bring a coat and boots, but if you don’t you can still grab them up in Canada when you get there, which saves room for packing. People tend to take their shoes off at the front door, which makes sense particularly in the winter so you don’t track snow everywhere. So try to bring shoes that slip on and off. Maybe bring some sunglasses, because the glare on the roads is awful, especially in the winter. (Ryan)
- Lots of long underwear! And other layerable clothing. I wished I would have had regular boots, not just snow boots. (Anonymous)
- Don’t buy so much junk, you don’t need it. Same for church books. (Anton)
- Be prepared for any kind of weather…don’t take loads. (Angela)
- Buy your winter clothes there. Go to MEC and get your winter clothes. Buy a hockey bag when you get there to transfer. Much easier then luggage. Buy cheap luggage because the buses during transfers beat it up. (Chad)
- Bring a Burka and Sorrels. (Craig)
- Buy your winter clothes in the mission. No need to pack from home. (Dey)
- Buy coats and boots in Canada. They know what works and make it right. and its priced better. (Anonymous)
- Buy your warm clothes up there. It’s cheaper. (David)
- Buy your jacket when you get there. Get a good hat/toque, I bought my toque in Arizona at an REI and it was the best hat ever! A good hat to keep your head warm is really important. Also a scarf is a must. Lots of missionaries had really nice ski jackets. I mostly wore a thinner trench coat and that was enough. But having your head, neck and hands warm makes the biggest difference. Toronto was a more humid cold that felt like the wind blew to your bones so a better wind resistant jacket was good there. (Bart)
- Take everything that is suggested by the mission and the missionary department. I would get any winter clothing up there. They have stuff better suited for where they are. Oh and especially in the winter, be prepared to take your shoes off when entering a home. The rest of the year, be sure to ask if you should. Some people prefer you to do, others will be fine if you don’t but always ask. (Brandon)
- For sisters, buy your coat at Mark’s. Boots: don’t get boots with rubber on the outside, your feet will freeze. Your hands will freeze in gloves, use mittens. Get the $10 Canada Olympic mittens, super warm and cute. Tights, long boot socks, then fuzzy socks on your feet. (Fuzzy socks for the really cold days). A good place to get long socks is Arden’s. It is like Forever 21, mainly accessories. To get comfy sweat pants for $10: Bluenotes. It’s like Forever 21 without accessories. First aid kit: many missionaries will not bring it. Sewing kit: sisters….elders are fairly helpless when it comes to this. If you can mend, you will mend many pants and shirt pockets. If you follow the clothing instruction in your call packet, you should be fine with clothes. Bring 10 sets of garments. Shoes: I used Naturalizer, cute and comfy. I never had blister problems. Watch: have two. I went through 3 bands, so while one band is broken, you have your other. Glasses: bring your spares. I didn’t need mine til 3 weeks before I went home. Baby grabbed them off my face and my bow broke. Luckily I had my spares. Makeup: learn how to do it fast, or don’t do it at all. Cheaper make up: Maybeline- color tattoo eye shadow, super quick and looks nice. Make up can be pricey in Canada. (Amber)
- Unless you are arriving in the winter, you might as well wait to buy a winter coat while you are out there. Bring short sleeve shirts for the summer. (Scott)
- Pack for cold. You may think you know what cold is, but it’s a whole different cold than you’re used to. At least, it was when I was there. (Marlen)
What blessings did you receive from serving a mission?
- All of them. More than I can count and more than I know. (Victoria)
- I am now married, and a big one is I know how to talk to my husband. If there is something that bothers me, we talk about it. We always make sure to work together and make sure that God is in our marriage every day. (Hannah)
- Far too many to count. Mostly an increased testimony, but also great people skills, and a desire to serve complete strangers. (Spencer)
- A greater understanding of the relevance of the gospel in my life (Tanner)
- I learned the most about myself. (Devyn)
- Lots of incredible friends. More knowledge of the Gospel and a true understanding that everyone is a Child of God and needs to be treated the way Christ would treat them. (Karen)
- I learned that when I serve others, it is the most blessed I could be. My faith was increased through study and prayer. (Jeff)
- Besides the blessings of serving the Lord and being able to spread his word, I would say the friendships, not only other missionaries but the members and non members. I still keep in contact with many people from many areas I served in. (Brad)
- I’ve mentioned a lot of them already. But I guess here’s one I haven’t yet talked about. When I came to my mission, I didn’t really have a very strong testimony. I probably should have waited – I did have one, but I should have done a lot more to prepare. But at least I did seriously improve my testimony. By the end of my mission, I think I got the testimony I needed that will help prepare me to be a father and husband someday. I also made a lot of friends. I’ve never been the most sociable person, but it’s very easy to make a lot of friends. (Ryan)
- Being able to make decisions and spiritual experiences. (Angela)
- A smoking hot wife and a testimony of the church. (Chad)
- Lots. (Craig)
- So many! I grew closer to my Savior and Heavenly Father. I learned to love everyone and see them for who they are. (Dey)
- I was able to see the gospel in action and learn to read the Book of Mormon. (David)
- An increased testimony, the knowledge of helping people. (Bart)
- Testimony, learning to serve others, selflessness. Life is not always about me, love of Christ. (Brandon)
- A better understanding of discernment. Better communication skills. A stronger love for the gospel and Jesus Christ. (Amber)
- Confidence, friends, memories, a firmer testimony. (Scott)
- I learned to know my Savior to a degree I don’t think I could have any other way. Being a savior on Mount Zion teaches you more about that role that he played than you can learn any other way. (Marlen)
What are some skills you gained?
- Planning. Listening. Patience…a little. How to find gospel answers and spiritual strength. How to love strangers and how to talk to someone you have nothing in common with. (Victoria)
- Cooking. Communicating. The ability to appreciate the little things and find joy in the scriptures! Heavenly Father answers every prayer, even silly ones. Some day I will be able to teach my children the gospel because I learned how to teach it simply on the mission. (Hannah)
- Communication, teaching, recognizing and understanding the Spirit, and focusing on specific needs of people. (Spencer)
- I know how to make something out of nothing (Tanner)
- Packing and building some things and branding cattle. (Devyn)
- Rely on the Spirit especially when you are nervous about saying the wrong thing to investigators. Know that He is there and will not lead you astray. (Karen)
- Spiritual. Persistence. Leadership skill. Relationship building. (Jeff)
- I know it sounds weird but I learned how to drive a D-10 caterpillar tractor and how to help birth a calf. Oh, the things you learn when you are snowed in! (Brad)
- I learned Spanish. Midway through high school I became seriously disinterested in learning it (I got a B in my class). But I overcame my distaste for the language and I actually really like it. I also learned how to use Calgary’s public transit. During the month of August, we didn’t use our cars, but we frequently had dinners in a distant part of the city. The congregation we were in covered half the city, and so we sometimes would have to travel about two or three hours by public transit to get there. By the end, it was kind of fun, because it would pretty much make planning the day very simple. (Ryan)
- I learned to be myself and how to make friends with different personalities. I learned how to be organized and how to study. I gained confidence in my abilities, to work, speak, study, not to mention gospel knowledge. (Anonymous)
- Empathy. (Anton)
- Being able to budget my finances. (Angela)
- The ability to communicate with others. (Chad)
- Independence. (Craig)
- People skills. How to interact with others and how to teach effectively. (Dey)
- Learned to drive well in winter weather- driving in snow does not scare me at all. (Anonymous)
- I was able to learn how to walk long distances. (David)
- People skills. Public speaking. Effective study. (Bart)
- I am so much better with people than I was before my mission. I am not as shy I would say…communication is a major skill I gained. If I ask people to do things, I always follow up. (Brandon)
- Detailing a car. Learned how to detail a car. Used the spray on wax, not the hard stuff. Midway through my mission, they provided car cleaning supplies, but who knows now. Pushing a car out of snow and ice. It is an act of service you can do and it works wonders sometimes. Also useful skill to have. To avoid slipping on ice put your boxes of Books of Mormon in the trunk of your car. Use your rubber car mats to put behind your wheels to give your car traction in case you are stuck. HAVE A SHOVEL IN YOUR CAR (trust me, I wish I did), also for traction you can use kitty litter or sand. How to communicate better with people (Companion Inventory people). Patience. Knowing the scriptures better. Reading a map. (Amber)
- Testifying, teaching, leading others. (Scott)
- How to listen to and be led by the Spirit. How to teach with the Spirit. How to live with people I would never choose to live with, and how to love (or at least tolerate) people I didn’t really like much to begin with. (Marlen)
What do you wish you knew/did at the beginning of your mission?
- It’s not going to be easy and it won’t even be fun sometimes. People are amazing but sometimes agency is a real pain. NO DAYS OFF. No mission is long enough to waste time. Don’t worry about home- it’s not as great as you think and be sure to gather all necessary contact info for everyone you’ll ever want to talk to again. (Victoria)
- Little by little, day by day, you will learn and grow and as you are obedient Heavenly Father will mold you into the missionary you are to be. BE OBEDIENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Take it one day at a time, sometimes you will hate it and have to take it minute by minute, but you will make it and you will never regret serving the Lord as a full-time missionary. (Hannah)
- There are lots of Mormons. It’s the Utah of Canada. (Spencer)
- More of Preach My Gospel and more experience with a roommate before hand. (Devyn)
- That not every companion will be compatible or want to work as hard as you do. Do the best you can and the Lord will make up the rest. (Karen)
- Be as spiritually and mentally prepared and focused as you can be. (Jeff)
- Take more pictures, get more addresses of members and home addresses of companions and other missionaries. (Brad)
- I wish BEFORE my mission I had gotten used to eating other foods. I used to seriously struggle to eat any vegetables. I liked corn on the cob and french fries, and that’s pretty much as far as it went. Much to my surprise, the first day we had tostadas with lettuce and tomato on them. Oh, boy. I was struggling so much. It took about a month, but after that I was pretty much used to eating different things. At that point I actually started enjoying trying new things (which was probably the thing that scared me most pre-mission). Now I like sushi. How about that. Also, use The Book of Mormon to learn your mission language (if it’s not your first language). Midway through my mission I started reading it out loud to imitate the Spanish accent, and I also looked up unfamiliar words. This helped me get a much better grasp on Spanish. This may not exactly be a perfect way to study at the start, but if you already have some understanding of grammar and know plenty of vocab, you’ll get it down eventually. (Ryan)
- That just because my trainer did it doesn’t mean that I had to do it. Use your common sense. Make your Mission President your friend; they are there to help you. I felt like I couldn’t bother them because they were too busy, but I wished I had trusted them more. (Anonymous)
- I wish I had a more accurate view of church history. (Anton)
- Being a good missionary. (Angela)
- Work hard, it goes by so fast. (Chad)
- Role playing is crucial to improve a teacher. I wish I had done that a lot more. (Dey)
- I wish I thought more than I talk. (David)
- I wish I knew the lessons a bit better before I went. Being a better teacher before you go, saves a lot of time. (Bart)
- I wish I had a stronger testimony. I wish I was better prepared. I left before the bar was raised so not as much was asked of me as of today’s missionary but the work is so important, make sure you know that before you get there. (Brandon)
- Canada is expensive compared to America. Green produce isn’t that big. For vegetables, you will often eat potatoes, carrots, and corn. As a half-Filipino, this did cause me stomach problems a year into my mission and I had to eat more rice when I ate food at the apartment to balance out my diet. You will often eat pizza, pasta (lasagna), roast beef and mashed potatoes, and buns (rolls). McDonald’s chicken nuggets: Nope, don’t eat them. Not good. To get a Calgary library card, it cost $12. Lethbridge, the internet card is free. Have at least $5 in change to wash your car once a transfer. Recycling bottles brings in money (thus the change for the Car Wash). buns= rolls, washroom= restroom, tuk= beanie, garburator= garbage disposal. The MTC will give you a large Preach My Gospel. The Mission Training Center is/was more strict about dress code than the field was, though that changes from President to President. Missionary work is also about retention. Doing less active work is a huge part of missionary work. How you feel the Spirit can change as you grow in your understanding of the gospel. (Amber)
- Understand that we’re all different, and that my mission and companionships wouldn’t be anything like I imagined they’d be before I left. To have more tolerance for the fact that when someone does something differently than I do that doesn’t mean they’re wrong, just different. (Marlen)
Any advice/testimony for pre-missionaries going to Calgary?
- You can’t do it by yourself, so don’t bother trying. A good missionary REQUIRES the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost and must never put themself before the will of the Lord. (Victoria)
- “In His strength I can do all things.” Alma 26:12 Realize that you can do the mission because God is with you! Christ knows how you feel, he knows how much you miss your family, how hard it is to have no one to teach. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (Hannah)
- Study Preach My Gospel! (Spencer)
- Don’t believe everything your trainer tells you. They sometimes like to prank you. (Devyn)
- Become friends with all the missionaries in the mission and learn from them. Know that everyone of them has something you can learn from and maybe that is why you are with them. Realize you will be assigned to them until you learn what they have that you need to learn. Once you learn what they have to give you or they will be transferred. (Karen)
- Forgot yourself and serve and love others. (Jeff)
- Bring warm clothes, be genuine, be yourself. Love the people and they will show you love in return. (Brad)
- Try to love the people you serve. If you love them and do your best, you have nothing to be ashamed of. It’s not about the number of baptisms you have, but remember that if you do get baptisms that it is absolutely vital to keep them on the path. Not having many may actually be somewhat of an advantage in that regard. Keep in contact with them. Make sure they know, and always know, that the church is true. There were a lot of nice things about the living conditions in Canada, but spiritually it can be a struggle. Be prepared for it – but don’t come with negative preconceived notions. Try to stay positive. (Ryan)
- Everybody has access to the Internet. You need to know the facts. Just bearing a testimony will no longer convince anyone. Missionaries must up their game on the knowledge front!! (Anton)
- Do the best and cherish every moment. (Angela)
- Have a positive attitude and try every way to find people to teach. (Chad)
- Yes. Practice, practice and practice your discussions. Become extremely familiar with the lessons and principles and how they apply to you. Application of the principles in your life will come across as a more powerful testimony. (Dey)
- Read the Book of Mormon daily, graduate from Seminary, and talk to us about how the people are. (David)
- It’s really scary before you go but once you are out there, you get comfortable quick. Everyone is scared before they go but know that it’s going to be great. It’s not always fun but it is always a good thing. (Bart)
- I know the church is true. I know we have prophets. I know Joseph Smith is the prophet of our dispensation. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life. I truly do not know where I would be without it. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Advice notice I kept it simple with my testimony and that is okay. There is no reason to use deep doctrine with investigators…keep it simple let the Spirit teach using you as a mouthpiece. (Brandon)
- A mission is hard work. People will say it is the best two years of your life, which is true, but that does come with challenges. Learn proper communication skills. Don’t assume, get a clear understanding of what the other person is saying. The missionary you think you will be, is probably not who you will end up to be. I planned on being a very to the book missionary, but I realized that caused me stress, now I didn’t go out breaking rules but I couldn’t let myself do every single little thing I thought I had to do. Relax! I said that to many companions: RELAX! TAKE A CHILL PILL! Just do your best. Don’t let leaders walk over you, and as a leader don’t walk over others. You will get frustrated with leaders, it is a fact of the mission, your District leaders and Zone leaders are 18 year olds, which means they are asked a bunch of questions, they (or you) don’t know the answer to. It is okay to say “I don’t know, because you don’t know everything. Just because a person is in a leadership position, doesn’t mean they know what they are doing. They are having an experience to help them grow. UPDATE YOUR AREA BOOK! I have updated and reorganized every area book I came in contact with. Yes, it is a lot of time, but it is important. When you leave an area, you are not just leaving behind work, you are still doing, but also past work. If you get purged from your area, a detailed area is what is left the the new missionaries, that is all they have to go by. You don’t want to be that missionary who doesn’t up date the area book because future missionaries will be frustrated. With an area book you leave behind, a piece of yourself will always remain in the area. It is evidence that you did serve in the area and did your calling. Don’t let others’ expectations dictate how you do your missionary work. Every area is different, and you are inspired how it should run. Beware of Koryo (Korean take out place in the mall, got sick after eating that). I think they are almost all gone, but the Subaru Impreza 2011 and 2012’s are EVIL! Get use to hugging if you are a sister. Other sisters in the ward will hug you a lot. If you are Filipino: If you are open about being Filipino to Filipino members, they will feed you Filipino food usually if you need a Filipino food fix. There is also one Filipino restaurant in the East Calgary Zone and also a Sari Sari Store some where in East Calgary too. And one Filipino grocery store in Lethbridge, small, but it has some great stuff. Before your mission read/listen to: The Miracle of a Mission by Holland. and Life is a Football game by Troy Dunn. Chances are you will get in a slump half way through your mission: Re-read The Miracle of a Mission by Holland to get through personal study. I often read the Ensign (which you will get from the mission office every month). Get the small Preach My Gospel…I never used my big one. Get used to quick change. I had 11 companions and 5 areas. Carry emergency medication on you. Once I found out that I as allergic to cats, I carried allergy meds on me the rest of the mission. Weekly planning is important. Do it! (Amber)
- Trust in the Lord. Remember that you are where He wants you to be when He wants you to be there. Through every trial, whether it be with investigators, lack of people to teach, trouble with companions, homesickness; whatever it is, take it to the Lord and trust that He will help you through. Remember that the answer to every question is love. “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matt. 22:37-40 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (Marlen)
What was a funny language mistake?
- Don’t say Huh!? Or what!? If you don’t hear someone…. Say pardon. Also don’t bother debating on how to spell Savior, color or favorite. (Victoria)
- Don’t let a sister missionary tell a member they are stuffed! (it means pregnant) Also, don’t ask for a napkin while you are at a member’s home that has French heritage, you will get funny looks! (Brad)
- Don’t try to talk like a Canadian, you’ll fail and they’ll notice. (Craig)
- The word dragon when someone from eastern Canada says it. And even when things are hard, the Lord will always be there to help you or comfort you. He sometimes sends you to hard areas so you may grow spiritually. There is no growth in the comfort zone. (Devyn)
- Well, kind of an unusual experience was when another missionary was teaching a guy that was going to get baptized, he just couldn’t understand what the guy was talking about – it was something about his brother having the Priesthood and technically being able to baptize him, I think. Even though he had been out for months longer than me (I hadn’t been out very long), I pretty much understood him. It wasn’t during the baptismal invitation, though. THAT would be pretty funny. (Ryan)
- I taught the elders some Spanish. Just funny conversations. (Dey)
- Some “innocent” words mean something much different in Canada. I had a friend call a sister in the ward a “bugger” meaning she was teasing him and bugging him. It’s a bad word there. I asked someone why my piece of cake was so “dinky”… Also a bad word. (Anonymous)
- I served with many Brits. They always blame us for not speaking properly. (David)
- In a testimony meeting, I was trying to say estoy agradecido por la expiación por Jesu Cristo. ( I am grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ) instead I said estoy agradecido por la apostacia de Jesu Cristo. Which means, I am grateful for the apostasy of Jesus Christ. Yeah, don’t make that mistake… Haha that was near the end of my mission too haha. (Brandon)