Honestly...how did I forget to mention the fact that I went to the temple last week?? It was AMAZING. The Calgary Temple is honestly so so pretty! I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to go. :)

N had to cancel our lesson this last week but that is ok...we have it rescheduled for next Thursday, so I'll let y'all know how that goes when it comes about.

This week, even though it wasn't as busy as I was kind of expecting, was great! A less active and her roommate (non member) who we have been meeting with came to church yesterday! Although they only stayed for sacrament meeting, it was awesome. They both really enjoyed it. We have an appointment to meet with them again this week.

 Sister Clarke and I got into a few less active homes that people in the ward haven't been too successful with seeing and they all said that we could come back! :)

So...for the first time since being here, I have had someone bash me! (its happened before...but this is the first one that I could actually understand what they were saying...) We were tracting and we came to a home and a guy answers, we introduce ourselves and all that, in which case he invites us in. Okay I'm not going to lie...at this point I'm a little skeptical because he tried to invite us to his church first....but we accepted anyways. Anyways, we sit down at the dinner table and in the nicest way this guy was able to, I guess (because he kept saying that he didn't want to offend us...blah blah blah...yeah right.) said that we were "being deceived" and that the "Book of Mormon can't be true because God didn't write it" and that "the bible doesn't mention the Americas at all" and of course...that we may claim to be Christian, but we "don't worship the same Jesus Christ." and a whole bunch of other nonsense. Let me just tell you all something right now...normally, I would get frustrated at someone like this and possibly very angry.  But at that moment I was calm. As he asked questions wanting us to explain how we could believe such lies, I was able to answer every single question without hesitation. I know the Spirit was with me...because honestly, I had scriptures coming to mind that I haven't studied in a long long time and was able to quote them...scriptures that I never took time to memorize...Anyways, it was interesting.

 I want you all to know that I know this is Jesus Christ's true church. And that it was through the Prophet Joseph Smith that Christ was able to restore it to the earth once again. I know the book of Mormon is true. I know we have a living prophet today. And of course, I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I worship the same Jesus Christ that died on the cross after suffering for my pains, afflictions and sins in the Garden of Gethsemane. I love him, and I know that he loves me, and you and is aware of all of us.

Well...now that we are done with that. here are some pictures!!! YAY

First picture is Sister Clarke and myself walking on a frozen lake. It was pretty cool. 

Second picture is Sister Clarke and I at the Calgary Temple...as you can tell the wind liked to mess with my hair just before taking the picture. Oh well, I still like it. :) 

I love you all! 

-Sister Meri Wagner

Hey Everybody!

How are you all doing?

Let me just say that this week has been great! I honestly can't stop smiling. :) We met with one of our investigators a few days ago..(I'm going to refer to her as "N")..it was awesome! We talked about the restoration, and the Holy Ghost. The discussion was going really well; after I had said the first vision I asked her what her thoughts were...she started out by saying that it wasn't fair of me to ask her a question after something like that, because she was confused as to why she had tears in her eyes yet she felt good. (you can imagine my happiness when hearing that!) We began to explain more about the Spirit and how it testifies to each one of us. N has committed to read the Book of Mormon, and said that once she finds out that its true she will be baptized! Yay! We have another appointment with her this Thursday. Sister Clarke and I are both very excited. :)

 We received a referral from a member in one of our wards. He has been talking to a lady that he knows about the Gospel, and she asked to meet with us because she has a lot of questions. So we called her and she wants to meet this weekend! WOO! What a great way to start off a new transfer! Honestly, all of the knocking on doors, rejections, and hard work pays off...the Lord will bless us when we do our best, even if its in a way we aren't expecting!

 Aside from those two appointments, we have a lot of other plans that we are excited for. All in all I think this week is going to be great. :)

 Anyways! Guess what guys! It was warm enough for me to wear a short sleeve shirt outside! (see picture below) We went to go do some service and it was probably about 54 degrees F...it was fantastic. :)

The second picture is me right after our appointment with N...I was pretty happy as you can tell.

I love you all and think of you often! I hope everyone is doing well!

-Sister Meri Wagner
*Favorite Scripture of the week* Alma 26:11-12, 36-37

This week has had its ups and downs. One of our investigators cancelled our appointment and said we can start again in the new year...I really hope she follows through and we can start teaching again in the new year like she says

 As for our other investigator, we met with her and she is awesome! We didn't even have a chance to ask if we can meet again or if she would go to church; she just said it outright that she wants to meet with us on a weekly basis that she wants to come to church. YAY! Sister Clarke and I are very excited, and can't wait to meet with her again.

 The rest of our week has been full of knocking on doors, stopping and talking to people on the street, and of course...getting rejected. However everyone is usually nice about it when they do reject us....we have yet to be yelled at. So that's good.

 So, Sister Clarke and I took our car to the repair shop today because of some damage done previous to our arrival...here we are thinking a few hours with no car...HA! more like a few days. Looks like we will be getting plenty of exercise this week because we will be walking, EVERYWHERE. Thankfully it hasn't been too cold and it has yet to snow. (and to think I wanted a white Christmas....I'm good with this weather now!) 

Speaking of Christmas...can anyone else believe that it is THIS week!? Man, time is going by so fast...I can't believe it is so close. I'm excited to talk to the familiy in just a few short days,(I'm pretty sure I have said this before in another update...but its true!) but I am so happy that I get to spend this time out serving the Lord. I can't think of a better Christmas!

 I'm sorry that this update will be short, but to make up for it here are a couple of pictures!

The first one is of Sister Clarke and I at the bowling alley last monday, (we get to go again today! Woo!) and the Second one is just me taking a random Selfie...cause I can.

One month out!

Imagine this: A nice warm, fresh baked sugar cookie, covered in warm melted milk chocolate. Sounds good right? This is a desert that a family was having when they had us over for dinner. And let me just tell you that is tasted great! That is until their five year old son had one. Now don't get me wrong...he is a nice kid...but there is something about a five year old wiping his chocolate covered hands on the sleeve of your new grey cardigan. Yes. That happened. Thankfully, I was able to get a wet rag to it immediately and get most of it off. After putting it in the washer it came completely clean. Anyways....that's just a small part of my week. 

The rest of the week has been pretty good! You know how I mentioned last week that there was snow and it probably wouldn't go away soon? HA, two days later it rained. All of the snow is now gone. It's ok though! I'm enjoying the "warm" weather right now; and I might as well enjoy it considering everyone who lives here says that it will get a lot worse. But how ironic will it be if I end up not having a white Christmas after all? Oh well! 

Sister Clarke and I were able to meet with an investigator and her husband (who is a less-active) and got to know them. We officially start teaching her the lessons this coming Wednesday! We are both very excited to do so! We also have an appointment with another woman on Wednesday as well. I have a feeling this week is going to be great. :) 

By the way! Do you guys realize that I have been in Canada for two weeks now?! and that later this week, on Friday, I will have been on the mission for a whole month!? Meaning only 17 months left! Time is already going by so fast. It seems like yesterday that I was in the MTC and only a few days ago that I was at home. It's crazy...

Anywho, I'm learning a lot here. After a few situations of someone either bashing us on the street or coming across a less-active who is against the church because the the wrong doing of their ex...I could not be more grateful for my personal testimony of the Savior and his Gospel. The people in the Church are not perfect by any means, but the Gospel is. And I am so grateful that I know that. No matter what or who comes across my path, I'm glad I can say that I KNOW this is Christ's true church. That through Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ was able to restore his full Gospel on the earth once again. And no one can change my mind concerning the matter. 

I love and miss you all! I hope everything is going great and I can't wait to be able to talk to the Family on Christmas! 

Love, Sister Meri Wagner

Finally in Canada!

Hello Family! and friends,

This last week I arrived to Canada! From the moment I arrived to now there has been nothing but snow and ice on the ground! (I don't think it is going away anytime soon....) So far I am loving the area and I think my love for it is only going to grow as time goes on. The people here are incredible and I love meeting and talking to them. My companion and trainer, Sister Clarke, is very nice and has been helping me a lot. We cover two wards, Mahogany and Auburn Bay. This is the first time that she has served in this area as well, so for the last few days we have been doing our best to get to know the area (we have gotten lost a few times...but we are quickly figuring it out) and getting to know the members of the wards. We have spent lots of time trying to uncover as much information as we can about less actives and investigators. The last two Sisters didn't leave us with a whole lot of information concerning any of them, so its been difficult. We have not had the chance to do a lot of teaching because we are both new and there were no appointments set up already when we had arrived; however! we have a couple of appointments with investigators set up for the next couple of days; I'm excited!

Christmas is quickly approaching and it is weird to think that I won't be home for it. However, I couldn't be happier to be here in Canada. I can't think of a better way to remember the Savior this Christmas than to be serving and teaching his children about his restored Gospel and the love that he has for them. Also...I get to have a white Christmas. ;)

I hope you are all doing great! I love reading all of your emails and letters. Thanks so much for all of your love and support!

Love, Sister Meri Wagner