Almost 3 Months!

Herrooooo famiryyyy!!

how is everything going?? Sounds like you had a good week and you got a a nice round of golf in. Dad im loving all the pics you have been sending me! Tell cars im lovin that mullet, that thing is greasy haha. Im glad Blue Devil has finally gotten finished, took long enough. I cant wait to play it when I get back though. I love

the pic of Wilde and all the boys haha, isnt he gonna be finished soon??

My week was pretty decent. We struggled on the missionary side of things we only had 1 lesson. It was with 2 guys with Bible College degrees so it was kind of a mess. I kind of just sat there and nodded my head the whole time acting like I knew what was going on haha Ya i basically know nothing about the bible. It kind of sucks being in the bible belt for my first area, but it will prepare me for the rest of my mission. Nothing too exciting happened this week, we basically just did a lot of trackting. We were able to go to the Haras last night for dinner which is always fun. Elder Lawter and I are gonna play tennis as much as possible this week so we can work Brother Hara next Monday. I think he beat us in 6 straight sets last Monday it was a gong show haha. 

Transfers are coming up soon they are on the 30th and The L dog will probably be out of here. Im hoping I stay here in Abbotsford for another transfer though. Im really starting to like the ward and getting to know people. Brother Noftle is gonna get us more involved with the young men which should be fun. I figure once Im senior companion I can make the work a lot more enjoyable. I will get way more involved with the ward, and look for ways to enjoy missionary work. I know this is the hardest part of my mission, so im just trying my best to get through it. As the biebs puts it "we can go no where but up, from here my dear"

I would love to see Auntie Kim and Abbey,  I will ask the zone leaders then I can get a member to text you to tell you its alright. Then you can text Auntie Kim my number or something. That would be awesome seeing them though, I could give them some of my stuff I dont need as well! 

Ya Pres Tilleman just changed the rule on dinner appointments. We are allowed to have them, but there has to be a less active or non member there. We cant just go over and eat with a family. Thats one of my favourite things about missionary work.

As far as Pdays go ive been looking for some hikes or something cool we could do in the area. 

But were gonna play some more tennis today which should be sweet! I also try to play as much bball on the new mini hoop as possible which keeps me sane haha that thing is the bees knees!! 

Well I gotta roll, hope all is well in the YYC i miss you all soooooo much and love you too the moon and back. 

Peace and loveeeeee

Your Favorite Son

Elder Spencer Steele

His companion in the MTC!

He got to spend some time with his best friend Josh Garry!! Such a blessing!

March.11/2013

Helllloooooo family

How is everyone doing? First off thank you for all the emails and letters its really nice hearing from you!!

Im glad you found out where Im living and stuff, it seems like Dad knows more about Abbotsford then I do haha. ill give you a brief overview of how my first few days were.

So after I talked to you guys on the phone I borded the plane despite my tears and wanting to jump on the first plane I could see to Calgary. The flight went well we didnt crash or anything, and they provided some nice salted nuts. When we arrived in Vancouver, we had to wait like 5 hours for the Americans to get there visas. So that kinda sucks, but then we got to meet Pres Tilleman and the APs who are pretty sweet. We ate dinner at the mission home and we got to hear Pres and Sis Tilleman speak. They are really great people and I can tell they are going to be awesome mission presidents. I talked to them about Grandpa Steele and Uncle Kendall which was pretty cool.

So we stayed in a hotel that night, and I roomed with Elder Snelgrove, we then got up and went to the mission home with our luggage to meet our trainers and figure out our areas. Also Josh showed up at the mission home as well cause he was getting a new comp it was sooooooooooo sweet seeing him! We are even getting to go on an exchange next week for a day! Special permission from Pres Tilleman ;) So ya that will be really cool!

So after that I met my companion whos name is Elder Lawter. Hes a really cool guy from Las Vegas Nevada and hes been out about a year. We get along good! Im gonna try to send some pictures of everything next P day cause I dont think I can today. Anyways so we drove out to Abbotsford that night, and Hayden Ockey and his comp stayed at our apartment cause they were going to Kamloops. We ate dinner at the Seik Temple across from the Church the food was pretty good, and it was a fun memory haha.

Abbotsford is nice though. Hopefully I can baptize Sven Bartshi haha I forgot the Heat are the Flames farm team that is pretty cool (as Miley Cyrus would say it ;))

But things are good here our ward is small but theres some great people in it. Ya I had to give a 5 minute talk on Sunday which wasnt too bad. I used some of my fairwell talk in it haha but keep that on the DL. I talked about Si again and its amazing how many people knew him. A couple in my ward I forget there names but they knew him. Hes really an inspiration to all of us!

Mom, I love that story of Ethan, im glad I can set an example for him, and tell him I love him a lot.

I know when things get hard here I just remember how great of a family I have, and how much Heavenly Father has given me. Im just glad I have such an awesome family, and I cant wait to see you guys in like 1 year and 50 weeks haha Im gonna try to write you all individual letters, but I dont get a lot of free time :(

 March.18/2013

Herrroooo famirryy

How are you guys doing?? My Pday is going good, apparently the rule just changed where we can now email for 2 hours instead of 1 which is sweet. Dad I havent gotten your letter yet but I will probably get it today. It might be best to just send letters and packages to the mission home, because we are switching apartments soon, because our apartment always smells like weed. I swear im like high half the day because of it haha

Abbotsford is a nice town, its really green, and the weather is usually good. It rains a lot though which kind of gets annoying but usually its pretty warm.

I'd rather not comment on Cardston winning both provincial finals that kind of makes me physically ill and will probably ruin my week.

Good for them though thats pretty impressive winning it two years straight, and im happy for Tate and French. Im kind of sad that I missed Selection Sunday I wish I could have watched it. Salt Lake is going to be so sweet and the draw looks really good. Dad are you serious? you can't go to Regina and miss the first day. The first day is always the best!! Gonzaga sounds really good though that is sweet they are number 1, I think im gonna have to pick them to win the tourney. Pangos will have to light it up! Haha thats awesome Ethan thinks hes going to see Centennial play hopefully he will be able to figure it out soon..

Thats sweet Tyler is going to Montreal for the week. Hopefully he can pick up a cute french gal! ;)

Angelas fairwell sounded like a good time, I do feel bad for her though cause she will be in Aushwitz for like 2 months. Hopefully she will come out alive..

I havent been able to see Josh again but I will be going on splits with him on the 29th I think. I will be sleeping at his place so it will be super fun haha I cant even wait. My comp is doing good, we get along well and he helps me stay obedient. He also took cooking classes in university so he makes some sweet dishes. Theres also tons of food at our apartment so i dont really have to buy a lot. I mostly just eat eggs and toast though haha He was in the ward for like 3 months before I got here. The apartment is sweet its pretty big it just smells like weed 24/7. We have a couple investigators were working with, and a members husband that my comp worked with is getting baptized this week which is pretty awesome. We do have a car its a Chevy Malibu, even though its american it gets the job done. I havent played bball yet which kind of sucks but we do have a stake center in our area and we should be playing soon.

Im not too big of a fan of trackting, im kind of the guy that just says "have a nice day" before they close the door. My comp does all the talking then when they say no I just toss a quick "have a nice day" in. At times I feel like Chris from the Bachelor haha I dont really do much but its a real fun job. I dont know what im gonna say when someone actually lets us in. We get dinner appointments pretty frequent and theres some awesome members in our ward. During the day we usually just tract, or go around and meet with members. Everythings great though Im gonna let Mom know in a different email some stuff she could send me.

Thanks for those tips I really like them and I think they will help me be a good missionary. Also thank you for the pictures you send me, and I am looking forward to recieving one every pday haha

I love you all so much, and I hope you have a great week. Salt lake is gonna be so sweet and I am super jealous. Make sure you keep me updated on the results of the tourney and if the Flames are gonna make the playoffs cause Im kind of out of the loop.

Thank you for everything

Peace and love

Elder Steele

Spencer has offically finished his 2 weeks in the Missionary Training Center and is now in VANCOUVER! He had the chance to call us from the airport before he boarded the plane. It was soo nice to hear from him! He sounded really happy and excited to get started in Vancouver!

Here are some pictures and parts of his letters during the past few weeks!

My companions name is Elder Snelgrove and he is from Layton Utah. Hes a cool guy and we get along good! The guys in my room Elder Owen and Elder Nelson are also really sweet. The classes are interesting at times but also can get really old and boring haha but i like to think im becoming a better teacher

Dad, I do get to call home on Wednesday, and my flight leaves at about 11 AM. So make sure everyones home until 11 cause I really really want to talk to you guys. Mom, don't worry I didnt need the tape or two sets of flat sheets. I also wont need those grey vans, just keep them safe and dont let the boys touch them haha.

But everythings worked out great. Im just thankful I have parents that love and care for me so much. I guess thats why I miss you more then anything.

One thing thats helped me is just always finding ways to serve and forgetting about my self. Dad, Im always trying to use your advice and just get lost in the work. I pray as much as I can because I realized very quickly that I wont be able to do this on my own. I try my best to forget about home, but its really hard at times. I think im getting better though and just recognizing that this is what Im supposed to be doing right now. Reading your letters and realizing how proud you are in me has helped me so much. Thats what keeps me going. Im pretty sure ive gotten a dearelder.com from you guys every single day so thanks so much for that. It helps me knowing that you guys are thinking and praying for me.

Its awesome Josh is in Vancouver, and i am praying I will be able to see him that would be so awesome! I hope he is doing really well.

Lauren, thanks so much for that note you wrote me and all the letters you have sent me. You are an awesome older sister and one of the main reasons Im here! Im trying my best to "shine bright like a diamond" haha

 

If you have time please thank Grandma and Grandpa Steele, Abbey, Uncle Colin, Becca and Tayor for there sweet letters. They have helped me so much!!

Stay classy! Xoxoxoxo Love, Elder Steele 

 It was so nice for Spencer to be able to see Brett around the MTC!!