James was baptized!

     This week was just full of miracles! Well James Goheen was baptized this Friday and was confirmed this Sunday. So that was amazing! I am so grateful that I was able to stay here in Victoria and finish my mission especially so that I could see James get baptized. He has been so solid! The day after his baptism he went and helped the ward weed the church and is going to help a move this Saturday! So he is pretty much become one of the members! He also get interviewed to receive the priesthood yesterday so he is doing pretty awesome!

       I have never noticed, before my mission, how much the Gospel can change someone's life and how powerful it can be. Being a missionary you see that a lot and you make the Gospel the center of your life because all you do is preach the Gospel and everything is focused on that. I guess that is how life should be more or less, in the sense that the Gospel should be the center of our lives. I have seen how when people make it the center how much it changes them and how much joy it brings into their life! I have seen that in my life as well over the past two years and how much the joy the Gospel has brought me and how much it has changed me and molded me more into the disciple that Heavenly Father needs me to be. Now, don't get me wrong I still have a long way to go but the Gospel has helped me so much in my life. I have seen first hand how if you put the Lord first everything else will work out for the better and he will provide a way for all things that we need and will bring joy into our lives. That is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is meant to do. Bring Joy into our lives that will last forever.  It is not meant to restrict us or make life more difficult but to allow us to have the best experience while we are here preparing to meet God.

  

      I can testify that this Gospel is the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and that this is the way to lasting happiness in anyone's life. I have felt this for myself and have helped others who have been able to experience it as well. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and will strengthen our testimonies of our Saviour and help us to grow closer to him and to learn of what His will is for us. I know that because I have felt and seen it in my own life! 

Love Elder Slack

ps I don't know if I will be able to email next week so this might be the last one, which is kind of sad but it is part of the Plan.

{7/11/16} Final Farewell to Elder Kelly

This week has been really different from most in Victoria but still really good! Saturday was transfer calls and both Elder Cowley and I are staying here in Victoria. Which I am really excited about because we have some really good Investigators that we are working with and I really did not want to leave. We were not able to teach as many of our investigators this week but we where able to set up quite a bit of lessons for next week.

  Ryan is still doing really well and is progressing towards his Baptism in July! He came to church yesterday and brought one of his friends with him so it was really sweet! He is already doing missionary work even before his Baptism. We also had a lesson in priesthood about the Temple and about how important is is and we told Ryan a little more about the temple because he was pretty confused and we told him that our hope is and what we want to prepare him for is to not only to get baptized but to also go to the temple and he told us how he wanted to make that a goal to go to the temple after he is baptized! He is so awesome and has changed so much since when I first met him. The Gospel has truly changed him for the better and has seen how much joy it has brought him! I am really excited to be here for his baptism and it is going to be so Cool!

  We also have found some new investigators that we are working with and we have a lesson with a family that Elder Cowley and I found at the beginning of last month but they went out of town for the month and just got back so we are going to be seeing them this week and they are really cool! We met that dad and his name is Kyle and when we first met him he told us how he was really interested in what we believed and they just started to go to a new church but are not too sure if they want to stay there so we hopefully can get them to come to ours! We also have a guy named Doug that has met with Missionaries a few years ago and we just re connected with him and since we first saw him a couple of weeks ago he has read all of first and second Nephi and told us how much he has enjoyed reading the Book of Mormon and feels that he has received an Answer that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God! It was really cool and he is really been prepared since the last time that he met missionaries!

  The last eventful thing that is happening is the Elder Kelly is going home! This is his last couple of days in the Canada Vancouver Mission. If you do not know, Elder Kelly was my trainer and we were together 21 months ago! It is crazy to think that it has been that long since I got to Canada! It has been Amazing and I am really glad that I still have 3 months left to serve the people here in BC!

Elder Kelly and Will

{4/24/16} I have been able to get out of my comfort zone a lot here

Well another crazy week on the Mish. It has been a pretty crazy week like it always is with transfers. Monday was pretty normal though. We got invited to an empty nesters FHE and had some really good food. I got to say good bye to quite a few of the members in Kelowna and then we went and saw Dez and taught him about the Book of Mormon and really emphasized him reading it to find out for himself and that was pretty much my last night in Kelowna. On Tuesday I left and flew down to Vancouver with Elder McCown, who also got transferred after only one transfer in Kelowna. So we flew down and I got picked up and driven to the ferry but I got there too early so I had to sit outside the ticket office for 20 minutes before I could buy a ticket and wait for the ferry to come and then I took the 2 hour ferry ride to Victoria by myself which was pretty boring but the ferry does have good poutine so that made it ok. It was a pretty uneventful ride except I got to see some killer whales while riding on it so that was pretty cool. Then I finally got to Victoria at 5pm and I met Elder Ringheim there with the Zone leaders and then we got dropped off at the church to go teach a lesson to a guy named Paul who Elder Ringheim has been teaching for the last couple weeks and he wants to be baptized and he comes to church a couple times but just needs to quit smoking which is easier said than done but we were able to make a plan with him so that he could over come it and begin the process to quit. 

   Victoria has been very different from other areas that I have served in, one big difference is that we do not have a car...we just have bus passes so that has made it a lot more interesting but luckily Elder Ringheim knows the bus system pretty good so I rely on him a lot to know what bus we need to catch and when it would get there so that has made it a lot of fun. Also Victoria is a pretty big city and we cover the down town so we get to meet a lot of interesting people here especially when we go to the down town. It has been really fun though a lot of people especially members have gotten a kick out of my last name. Most people think that it is pretty funny  but sometimes we meet people on the street who think that it is my first name so the are usually very confused why someone would name their son Slack but good because it is usually a good conversion starter.

   I have been able to learn a lot here and I have been able to get out of my comfort zone a lot here because everything here is very different than what I am used to and it has caused me to have to do things that I would not be comfortable doing but that is where that growth comes from and I am learning a lot here and relearning a lot here too. Victoria is also a very beautiful place and the weather here is amazing so I am pretty lucky that I got here right before summer! Also a really cool thing is that Elder Bonfield, one of my old companions ,lives in Victoria now so I get to see him quite a bit!

 Well I got to go but....Love you bye!

Elder Slack

It was really cool because he answered my prayer from a long time ago

Well, this week has been really crazy! A lot because of transfers. Elder Hunter is getting transferred to Powell River and yep that's right, I am getting transferred too, to Kelowna 1st ward. They are going to bring in two new missionaries to replace us so we have had to write a ton of things down that the Elder staying usually knows and it has been really crazy and kind of stressful over the last day. We told the ward council that we were both leaving and they were so shocked that we were both leaving because they have had a ton of missionary changes in the last 6 months so it was a pretty sad day yesterday but everyone was joking that I will be back in a few months so I hope that comes true! So, we spent most of the day yesterday telling people that we were leaving so when the new missionaries come and try to go teach them they won't be confused when two new missionaries come by. I am really sad to have to say good bye to Abbotsford again but lots of the members were telling me that they would see me in a few months so maybe I'll come back before I go home. 

   

   Anyways besides transfers. We were able to stop by to see a former Investigator named Carlos and we set up a time to come by the next day and when we went by he told us he was still a little busy right then so we just talked to him for a minute at his door and told him about the restoration and how that is what we like to share with people and then he invited us in to tell him more and we were able to teach him about the restoration and while I was quoting the first vision he started to cry and after he told us how he felt something and how he wants to start to change his life and to follow Jesus Christ. So we set a baptismal Date with him for March 26th and we told him about the Book of Mormon and he told us how we wanted to buy it and we told him that we would give it to him for free and he told us how he really wanted to read it. It was amazing! It was one of the coolest lessons that I have ever had. It was so cool and we went and stopped by last night and talked to him again and he has been reading a little bit of the Book of Mormon and he said it has helped him especially to overcome some of the challenges he is having.

  This week has been really weird because I really felt like we were both going to leave but earlier this week I was looking at my planner I had right after I left Abby for the first time and I wrote down areas that I wanted to serve in and I wrote down Abbotsford 2nd and I remembered right after I left here the first time I prayed and asked if I could come back here before I went home. It was really crazy because I totally forgot about that and It was really cool because he answered my prayer from a long time ago and I am really glad he did because I have learned so much since I came back here. It has really helped me to grow and to change more into who I need to become. I know this sounds really cheesy but it has really helped me to come back here so I am not just saying this to look cute but this is real! Well, I have to go and pack and clean up our apartment and do some other "fun" stuff.

Love Elder Slack

{August 3 & 10, 2015} On to Brookswood after a fond farewell to some great friends

     These last few weeks have been awesome! One of our investigators came to church yesterday; he loved it. We went and saw him later that day and he told us how he feels like our church is the one he wants to join! So that was pretty cool to hear but he missed church this week and has been really busy but we are going to see him today so that should be good and hopefully he will continue to progress. 

  

     Well, we got transfer calls on Saturday and found out that I am leaving again to go to Brookswood, which is in Langley, and my new companion will be Elder Matingly and he has been out 6 weeks. Elder McCown is going to be training a new missionary here in Surrey. I am pretty sad to leave here but it has been good and I am excited to go to Brookswood. For some reason I can't stay in an area for more than 3 months or keep a companion for more than 6 weeks but I guess there is a plan!

Elder Matingly's sweet flag

     So the last few weeks have been pretty similar and we have been continuing to meet with our investigators. Valentino is the one that told us he wants to join our church and he is really cool. He has come to church 3 times and is reading the Book of Mormon like crazy! He loves it and really enjoys meeting with us. 

      Another one of our awesome investigators is Sonny. He has been doing really good. He has been reading the Book of Mormon a lot and it has really changed him. He was not too happy last night when we went and told him one of us was leaving. 

Elder McCown, Sonny and Will

He is so awesome and has really shown me that the Book of Mormon can change lives drastically! We have been working with quite a few other people too. One of the coolest lessons we had this week was on Sunday when we met with a guy we met at Surrey Central named Egor. We taught him about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and he really liked it. He told us that he was going to come to church and really wanted to read the Book of Mormon to learn for himself. It was so cool because it was all the spirit that taught him and he is someone that has definitely been prepared!

      This week was kind of sad because Elder Lawlor and Elder Woolf are going home so we got to see them for the last time last night. It stunk because Elder Woolf has been around me for 6 months, 3 in Kamloops and 3 here, we became really good friends and Elder Lawlor has been here the whole time I have been here and he is going back to Japan so I probably won't see him for a while.

 I have loved Surrey and I am really sad to leave but I am really excited for Brookswood and to go where the Lord needs me!

Elders Nelson, McCown, Maloy, Kelly, Will and Elder Hall

Elder Hall, Will and Elder McCown at the Vancouver Temple. Their chapel is right by the temple. 

Janet (investigator) and her son who is a recent convert 

Will & Bro Brown (his mission president's uncle)

Love Elder Slack

Farewells...Reunions and new adventures ahead

      Well this week has been crazy because of the transfer this week. Mostly because we where scrambling around on Tuesday trying to pack and visit members and investigators before I left Clearbrook and then we had to travel to the Mission Office to meet our new companions and we didn't have a map to the mission office and Elder Boehmer and I had only been there once so we were using our memory and the spirit to get there on time and we only got lost 3 times but two of them were in Vancouver so that was an experience and not a very fun one but we finally made it there a half hour late but we did make it. I finally got to see Elder Kelly again after 4 months so that was pretty sweet and really fun. I finally got to meet my new companion Elder Bonfield who is from Ontario Canada so I still have a Canadian companion so I am still the only American when we go anywhere.

      Anyways, Surrey is very different from my last two areas in that it is a lot bigger than Clearbrook and Kamloops and it’s more of a city with a down town so we do a lot more street contacting especially at a place called Surrey Central where there are thousands of people walking through because there is a mall, university, bus loop and a sky train station so there is a lot of people there and it was really overwhelming the first day we went there but it got better the longer we stayed there. 

     On Friday we went on an exchange with the Assistants, Elder Englestead and Elder Cottingham. I went with Elder Cottingham and we went to Surrey central for 4 hours just talking to people and it was crazy and very busy. We met a ton of crazy people and a few Jehovah Witnesses, which are always fun to talk to. 

     Sorry I have to go but our time is cut short because we are emailing on Tuesday so I have to go. 

Love Elder Slack

                                                  Saying goodbye

Elder Boehmer, Will & the Bumbys 

Will and the Noftles 

Will and the Vidals

Will and Brother Newman

Will & Garry (baptism date set for next month)

I'll go where you want me to go dear Lord, I'll be what you want me to be...

Well this week has been really good and very crazy. If you didn't know I am being transferred to the first ward in Surrey, which is about 20 minutes from Abbotsford, and my new Companion is Elder Bonfield. I don't know too much about him but that he has been out for almost a year and a half. So, I will be leaving Clearbrook on Wednesday.

       I am really sad to leave Clearbrook because the members here are awesome and we have some really great investigators here that have been prepared by the Lord! Garry, who we have been meeting with a lot lately, has really progressed and has also gone through a lot of struggles too. He recently broke up with his girlfriend and she is moving out soon and he has almost completely quit smoking! So, he is very close to being ready and he really wants to. He talks about it all the time and loves come to church. He is very awesome! Katrina is someone we found at the beginning of the transfer and has been coming to church and has been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy! She is amazing! She has been completely prepared. She just needs to be taught. Clearbrook is amazing and I’m sad to go but I know that the Lords needs me to be in Surrey and that is where I will be the most effective and will help him hasten his work the most. So I am really excited! Oh, and Elder Boehmer's new companion is going to be Elder Kelly!! He was my trainer so that's stinkin’ awesome! I actually got to talk to Elder Kelly last night and it was really cool.

       Another really cool thing that happened this week was Elder Crapo (Crape-o) got to go on exchanges this week, so now I have gone on exchanges with two of the Elders in my MTC district.

We went to a dinner appointment and they were telling Elder Crapo about how the socialist group took the majority in Alberta and Elder Crapo said he was happy and then this member who was obviously conservative told him why it was bad. So, that was pretty funny and a very interesting dinner appointment.  

       Well, not much else happened this week except that I got to Skype home which was awesome even though my sister is growing up and is scaring me, but that’s ok because we all have our agency.

Anyways I gotta go and do some packing! 

Love Elder Slack

New transfer...new companion...new adventures ahead and it's going to be Awesome!!

Man this week has been Crazy! We where supposed to get transfer calls on Monday night but we didn't so we thought we were in the clear until like 7:30 in the morning on Tuesday when we got a call and I was told that I was leaving and going to Clearbrook, which is in Abbotsford. I was kind of surprised because I felt like I was going to stay but I guess I was needed somewhere else.

Will and his old Zone Leader, Elder Anderson

Saying goodbye to the Mortensons

   At first I was really sad because I didn't want to leave Kamloops because I had been there for a while and knew all of the members and the town really well. I was really comfortable there but I think that is why I left because we don't grow or progress as much when we are comfortable so I guess the change was needed. When we got that call it meant I had to be packed and ready to go by that night, which at first I didn't think would be a problem. I didn't think I had that much stuff. So we decided to go do some service and visit some members until 3:30 and then I would pack until 5. 

I quickly realized that I did not know how to pack all my things into 2 bags and that I had accumulated quite a few things since I got to Kamloops and I needed to fit it into 2 suitcases both under 50 pounds, which doesn't sound hard but weight builds up fast with coats, scriptures, books and a bunch of other junk that I need to take so I had to leave a few things back in Kamloops; Nothing big, just some shirts, hangers and a sweater that another missionary gave me. So it wasn't too bad but I ended up playing Tetris for 2 hours trying to get everything in and under weight.

  Finally I got everything done and we went and did normal missionary stuff and stopped by a few more members’ homes before I had to leave in the morning. It was sad to leave. It almost felt like I was leaving home again because that was my home and I was never transferred before so I had no idea what to expect. The next morning we left to Kelowna to catch the greyhound and to pick up Elder Persson and Tolman’s new companion. When we got their new companion they dropped me off. Then Elder Woolf, Maurer and I took a 5 ½ hour greyhound down to Langley and we didn't get there till 8:30 because we were running behind schedule. It was so long and boring! So I pretty much did no missionary work the whole day but I did get to catch up on my sleep; but it was a pretty boring day.

The tripanionship's last photo together

Kamloops Elders last group photo (L to R) Tolman, Persson, Woolf, Will, Hawkes

   My new area is really awesome and my new companion is sweet. His name is Elder Johnson and he is from Ephraim, UT and he has been out a little over a year. We have a few really awesome investigators that came to church yesterday. Theresa and her son Daniel came for the first time yesterday! They seemed to really like it and Gary came too but it was his 5^th time. They are really cool and are progressing towards baptism so I'm really excited for this new transfer. It’s going to be awesome!! I am really excited to see what happens this transfer.

The Sikh Temple across the street from the church

Well I have to go see ya next week!

Love Elder Slack

Oh yeah One thing that I forgot because i was in Kamloops so long is how funny people think my last name is. I got so many jokes it was crazy! and it was really funny how many people came up to me and told me not to slack off.