Mount Royal- Week 3

大家好! 

Being a missionary in Montreal, Canada is a joy and a delight. 

Every week, we have a basketball activity at our church with a group of local teenagers. Basically, it's just a room full of yelling Chinese with little old me from America. 

This past week a member from our branch took us out to eat at this "all you can eat" sushi place for lunch and then later that day another member took us out for pizza. I've never eaten more in my life. It was so good. 

For proselyting, we usually ride the metro and talk to people and then go to a city park where there tends to be a lot of Mandarin speaking people. However, something else we tried this past week was that we talked to people during our exercise. We ran roughly 6 and half miles and stopped along the way to talk to people waiting at bus stops, it was pretty fun.

Elder Tung and I have a baptism for someone we have teaching coming up this week, which is very exciting and happy. The person being baptized is pretty excited and she always has some many questions when we meet with here which awesome because it really shows that she thinks about the church and the doctrine and making sure it is sound and is just curious to understand everything and why it is the way it is. 

One funny thing about the people here, even though most of the Chinese population here recently immigrated, they call everyone who is not Asian looking a foreigner even like the Canadians who have lived here there whole lives. The usual response when I start talking is 啊! 老外会说中文!

For some reason, I find it harder to contact on the metro because there's so many people and everyone is so quiet and keeps to themselves and on top of that I have to speak mandarin. I do fine in other places like the park where it's more peaceful and everyone is relaxed. 

So, I have been praying for some more confidence for when I ride the metro and cultivating a deeper desire to serve and love God and others. I was searching the scriptures mainly for some comfort in this, but instead found this in D&C 60:2.

"But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them." 

My whole life I feel like people have told me I am kind and friendly and likable and connect with others, so this are really talents or gifts from God and he expects me to use them and not hide them. And I definitely don't want anybody to have their anger kindled against me. 

After I read that, we rode the metro later and my companion tends to find someone to talk to and then I'm left by myself, so I sat down. It is only a few seconds until I just couldn't handle not doing anything so I stood up and saw this Chinese looking guy three cars away. (All the cars are connected on the inside so you can walk between them) so I walk through the crowded three metro cars to get to this man and start talking to him and end up giving him a Book of Mormon. I still get anxious about the metro contacting but it'll be fine. 

Thanks for everyone who has written me emails, so great to hear from everyone!

Love you lots, 

Elder Pinkney