Nate and Elder Clarke taking shelter from the storm.

Taking shelter at the church house.

Lots of hail.

So here's the update of the week!

Starting with the Hail: It was EPIC. The hail was about the size of marbles for us and we got hammered pretty hard, but we made it back to our flat so it was okay. The REAL crazy storm was the one that happened on Tuesday! It was literally like... INSANE amounts of rain and hail. Elder Clarke and I cover basically the whole Calgary South Stake, and we were biking on the furthest end from our flat when it hit. It was NUTS. We were near a chapel, but we didn't have the keys, so we had to huddle ourselves and our bikes in an arch of the church and basically wait for help to come. The power went out for an entire community in our stake! I KID YOU NOT. There was a family that literally pulled a canoe out of their garage and canoed down the streets because the flooding was so bad. It was absolutely amazing. We had so much fun running around in it!
So the next thing is kind of a funny story..... Elder Clarke has some hippy things that he does, and one of them is growing Kafir. Kafir is a Russian Grain that grows all by itself as long as you have it in milk or water. It loads the milk or water that it is in with pro-biotics, and apparently it's super good for you. So he was growing his Kafir in some water and he had forgotten about it. It had been left there for pretty much 3-4 weeks. Most likely 4. He finally remembered it..... He decided to give it a sniff... I swear I almost witnessed the death of my companion..... The smell contained within the jar resembled something of rotting corpses and death. I shot a video that I'll be sending where you will see Elder Clarke and I running like girls away from the stench. It was seriously probably one of the top 5 most horrible things I have ever smelled. Anyway. Moving on.

P.S. The reason I'm emailing on Tuesday is because it is Transfer week. Speaking of which!

So the transfer news is in. I will be staying here, but I'm unfortunately going to be saying goodbye to Elder Clarke.... I'm really actually kinda bummed out that I'm losing him because he is seriously one of my most solid companions..... I hope that I get someone good for this upcoming transfer. I'm going to need him. Elder Clarke will be going south, and we're losing two other really good missionaries from our Zone. But it's all good! We'll make do with what we've got. It won't faze the Lord's work.
Zone Conferences are coming up, and I'm not going to lie, I'm kinda stressed out. President Miles asked me to train 2 Zones of missionaries on Personal Refinement through the Holy Ghost. It's going to be pretty insane. I hope I can make him proud.

Anyway, that's really pretty much all of the big news from this week. Other than that, I am having a BALL out here. I love every second of this mission. Even the hard times! I've been thinking a lot about self-mastery and doing hard things, and I'm learning more and more that anything is possible. I am becoming the person that I want to become through Christ. One step at a time. Minute by minute.

ALSO! I love my cousin Josh. I think he's finding out how the mission is. I am so glad that Aunt Jen is sharing the messages from Josh with me, because I love them. Just like him, there are some days when the only thing that carries you forward is your Faith and Knowledge that you are where you need to be. But you know what? That's really all we ever need to know. If we have that knowledge, we can do anything. Josh is a strong kid and he's going to do amazing things. And I'm glad he's getting along with his Trainer! Some missionaries don't, and that's always a sad thing..... I loved my Trainer. I saw him just the other day and we had lunch. Nothing has changed ;)

I love you! Thank you so much for all you do!

-Elder Warenski

So I just need to do a shout out for Tara Greenwood this week. Your Facebook message was hilarious. I was actually laughing pretty darn hard at my computer and really just thinking about how hard I hit my head on that screen door, hahaha. Only some will understand ;)

This week was pretty normal. Something exciting, though, we are working with this member.... He's incredible. He was in the Arizona Tempe mission. He has become a huge role model for me. Everything that I want to be. He was trained to use facebook by the head of proselyting of the church, and he's been meeting with President Miles about Facebook. President is using him and it's so exciting! Just to give you a taste.... Last week, we found 8 New Investigators, Taught 10 Member Present Lessons, and 3 Less-Actives on Facebook. That was in 3 HOURS. That's it! It's like lightning! And all but one of those people is from Calgary! But the dreaded news has finally come. Due to some pretty stupid disobedience and some missionaries who just can't get their crap together, Facebook is to be shut down completely by this coming Monday.... Which is really sad.... Because we were seriously TEARING IT UP on Facebook. But it's okay. Sometimes our obedience is more important than our understanding. This decision has really led me to think a lot about faith. C.S. Lewis said "Faith is the art of holding on to things in spite of your changing moods and circumstances." I thought a lot about that quote when things went sour with Facebook. Clarke and I were super bummed out because it is such an amazing tool. But we don't need to understand. We are going to hold on to the fact that we KNOW that President Miles is inspired and forget the rest. Because that's what we decided and we're stickin' to it! :) We'll have to see how things go.

I think the same thing happens all the time in the world. Elder Clarke and I were talking the other day about how it seems like there is no one in the world today who stands on principle. I look on all of the great stories that I hold in my heart and all of the amazing people I've met in my life and I think that one thing unites them all. They are all men and women of principle. It doesn't matter what happens. They stick to their guns. They stick to what they know is right. And that is inspiring! So we are trying to be more like our heroes this week, and I invite you to do the same thing! 

Now to say some things about Banff!

Banff was absolutely GORGEOUS. Breathtaking. Sad to say, it was pretty rainy when we went, but it wasn't bad because we had the most fun in the Hotel. Basically we got into some mischief in the hotel with Spencer, the member who took us. He is absolutely crazy! We went into all the back rooms and took a ton of goofy pictures! The pictures of us in sombreros was taken in a storage room in the back of the hotel that I'm pretty much 110% sure that we weren't supposed to be in. It was amazing. I haven't had so much fun in a long time. Spencer is a ham. We would walk into the fanciest parts of the hotel and he would randomly just start singing Phantom of the Opera songs at the top of his lungs. When asked why he did it he just said he felt fancy, hahahaha. He also loves to yell things out the window while he's driving, but that's another story ;)

In other news, I have found myself saying "eh" a TON more. It's actually kind of alarming sometimes.... I'm becoming.... ONE OF THEM...... 0.0

Sorry I had to write a quick one today... It's getting really really hectic.... But I love you so much!

-Nate

I'm SO psyched today - and this is the reason I'm writing so early - because we are going to Banff today! It's going to be awesome! It's supposed to be a GORGEOUS national park west (I think) of Calgary, so that's awesome.
I'll be taking loads of pictures so I'm sure you'll all be waiting with baited breath (lol).
No, I really can't believe that it has already been 11 months. In 1 more month I will be halfway done.... It's so weird. I will have been away from you guys for a YEAR. Now THAT is something I never thought I could have ever done. How crazy is it to think about that.

 
I love Scott Smith! He's such a good guy. What a boss. That commitment to the Lord is important. Scott is a smart guy and I'm so happy for him. Tanner Hale also got home from his mission, and I am so psyched about that. He was one of my greatest friends when he lived next-door and I can't wait to see him again. And say hello to Torres for me! I love that guy. He had a lot to do with my testimony and with my desire to go on a mission. He's such a good guy and I look up to him a lot.
Tell Sadie congratulations! I'm proud of her and best wishes from Canada;)
That's awesome that Nitsua, Ginger, and Natalie took Cierra to that concert. Good to know they're still taking care of my Sister! I love Nate Elliot so much. He's a good guy.

So glad to hear that Sunny is getting better! That's such a relief! She's such a good dog and I look forward to seeing her when I get home. Even Paycee, haha. 

Grandpa is a trooper. He's strong as an Ox. He's been more fit than me my whole life. He always has his funny things - like dropping knives in his feet, and driving himself to the hospital for things - but those things just show how tough he really is;) I brag about my Grandfather on a daily basis. He is one of the greatest men I have ever known. 

Alright! Now for my update!

So let's first of all go over the exciting things that happened this week:

The Tornado:

Truth be told, it sort of passed us before we could see the funnel cloud form. But the clouds that formed the funnel did indeed pass over the top of us. The wind was howling and it was awesome. Don't worry, I have pictures and even some videos. We were riding our bikes when the hail hit, though. And we weren't in a housing area. We were in Fish Creek park. It's a patch of nature right in the middle of the city. We were with some other missionaries and we all had to take shelter under the bathroom pavilion thingy. Except for Elder Anderson. He's so freaking funny. He just decides to walk right into it and lay down. And he got hit. So yeah! That was the big Tornado craziness!
Also, I got in an AWESOME bike wreck this week. I got some pretty big cuts on my hand and knee. I also ripped a huge hole in my pant leg. I'll shoot you the picture so that you can send it to Jenni Theobald. I was riding alongside a sidewalk, and we needed to get back on the sidewalk to get to the crosswalk at the next intersection. I tried to jump the curb, but my tire caught the curb and I wrecked sideways. Then my head hit a fence and I ended up grinding my face against this chain link. I know, what a clutz, lol. 

Other than that, we have been experiencing some MAJOR success with Facebook. We have got some tips from this member who is SUPER adept at it, and now our work is BOOMING. We've picked up 3 new investigators within 2 days. It is insane. 1 hour each day. It feels so good to be effective. Hopefully this will catch fire in the mission and we'll be able to get some awesome work done. 

Another awesome thing we did was at a mall called Chinook Center Mall that we went to. We brought a Ukulele and some hymns and we sat down with 2 homeless men and played next to them. We gave them each a Book of Mormon and by the end of the hour and a half we were there, we had earned them $50. They were so grateful and it almost put them to tears. It was an amazing experience. I'm happy to be putting my voice to use:)

Just another week up in the Great White North! Loving it up here, and I love biking. We get to bike through Fish Creek Park all the time and it is some pretty gorgeous scenery. I'll bring you to it one day and we'll walk the trails. Thank you for all of the love and support! I love you all!

-Elder Warenski

Yes, I received the box. And it was AWESOME! I think I almost literally wept like a child. I love dream bars. Gosh I'm going to be fat..... Who am I kidding? I already am!
Isn't Laura and her fiancee awesome?!(Just a side note: Laura Stringham and her fiancé came to visit a relative in Orem. They are in Nate's ward in Calgary. They brought me a box of books from Nate and I sent a goody box back with them.) They're both such good people. He gave me the hug that you requested. He told me it was a mom hug, and so he hugged me. His whiskers brushed against my cheek, which made it kinda hard to think of my mother, but it was still very tender;D
I absolutely LOVE Robinne for making those rolls. I LOVE her rolls.... Everyone up here calls them buns.... I don't really understand that, but whatever....
Thank you to Kathy! I miss that lady so much! I'll always be her Ellard and she'll always be my Betty! She and Arlene;D Miss that good lady as well!
Yeah the fireworks wouldn't have made it..... Mama McIver (Beth McIver, Ginger's Mom) sent me a "Patriotic Box" this last week (picture to come) and the box had been torn open. The only guess we or the mission office had was that they were looking for fireworks because the customs statement said "Patriotic Trinkets". So yeah. Don't send fireworks;D We'll just have a member drive to Saskatchewan if we need them, haha.
Elder Clarke was absolutely Ecstatic to get the stuff you sent. He kept on telling me how much he loved you all. So there's a lot of love going on;D
That is so cool that 3 women from China came to Gospel Essentials! That is seriously the coolest thing for missionaries. We love it when that happens. We actually were tracting last week and we ran into a Mandarin family that I was able to chat with in Mandarin. They said I have an excellent accent! So thank you to Hong Lao Shi (James Hoopes) and Gong Lao Shi (Jo Kung) for all the tutelage;D We'll be following up with the Mandarin Elders this week to see what they did with the referral.
That's cool that sister in our ward is in Halifax. Nova Scotians are odd, but cool;D I saw on Facebook that Megan Hanks from middle school just got called to Edmonton, just north of Calgary. That is great.
Alright, now for my update:
Well the time has come. We are officially a biking area! It's going to be super fun. We have already been biking a few days this week, and we are super blessed to be biking in our Zone. We regularly get to bike through Fish Creek Park, which is a super gorgeous area. We have to go through it to get to the other areas. So choice. Not to mention, I'm hopefully going to lose a few pounds doing it;D
I've been taking lots of pictures with Dad's new camera, so that has been really fun.
This week in YSA, we've been pretty busy. Lessons with Delano, Bernard, and the like. It's been going really well. We had an amazing lesson with Delano. We watched the Prophet of the Restoration movie with him, and it really touched him. He thought it was incredible that Joseph Smith built a temple just as Solomon was commanded to. He thought it was also cool that he was doing it in the way that Solomon had done it. With the finest materials, and the like. I've never had lessons on my mission where I felt so much that Christ was fighting SO HARD for someone. He really wants Delano to be a part of His church. We feel it every time we visit.
President Miles is really something, Mom. He is the greatest. We woke up this morning, and he just sent us a random text telling us what a good job we were doing. That kind of stuff means the world to us. It shows us that he cares about us and that he is thinking of us even when we wouldn't think he would be. He's an inspired man.
Well we lost Sister Joseph today.... She is the Kiwi Sister that served with me in Magrath. She was in our Zone when I came up. She has been emergency transferred to help another area.... Really really sad.... Elder Clarke and I were really beat up to see her leave. But all will be well. There's not a lot of chance now that I will see her before she goes home. She's so awesome. We'll just have to take a trip to Auckland sometime;D
Other than that, things are really going well. I'm loving the mission and I'm having the time of my life. Clarke is a fantastic, Golden companion, and it's so great to have someone who wants to push to greater heights. Thanks again to everyone for all of the things in the package. It was VERY much appreciated.

Love you all!

-Nate

I was so excited when I saw Mark Slik's picture come up on facebook page for Merit and I was so happy. He is an incredible man that will do incredible things for our school as Assistant Director. So grateful for him.

I miss Cierra so much..... Geez I can't even articulate. I'm going to send her a letter soon, so be watching the mailbox. I'll try and mail it within the next couple days, but I'll also send an email. In just over 13 months she and I are going to be in the basement having a Office/Parks and Rec MARATHON. So tell her not to O.D. so that she's not sick of it by the time I get back, hahaha.

You have been asking for more pictures. Well, it's a great time to take photos up here. I'm meeting so many people and just LOVING the area.
As for President Miles: I am seriously one of his biggest fans. The man is just inspiring beyond all measure. He's always happy to see us and he loves us all so much. You can feel it so strong. He is definitely here for a reason. He is exactly what this mission needs to get it cracking. Speaking of which, here is my update!

The zone is doing FANTASTIC. We seriously have not seen this good of numbers in an EXTREMELY long time. We went from having almost no numbers at all to having like...... 20 lessons reported from the Zone. If we can keep this up, we'll be doing fantastic. It means so much for the zone. It's been dead for a long time.
Now I need to tell you about Elder Clarke and I! We are as thick as thieves and that is really helping us be unified to help the Zone get working and to get our own area running. The fruits of this effort have been a miracle that has happened to us!
So a couple weeks ago, a man just wandered into the church building right before sacrament meeting. His name is Delano Evans. He is from Jamaica. He wandered in and the Bishop's wife caught him. She immediately began asking him where he was from, what his beliefs were, etc. She introduced him to the whole ward and made him feel so at home. It was great member missionary work. So she invited him to meet with us. He came to FHE in the YSA and was able to hang out with a bunch of people close to his age (he's 29) and he had a ball. We taught him a lesson last night that was STELLAR. He loved it. He is very Christian and loves the message of our church. He said that the day he came to the church, he was just looking for somewhere where Christ's name was on it. He saw the sign on the church and walked in. He says that in Jamaica the church is regarded as a cult, and so it makes it pretty difficult to warm up to the idea of going to church. But apparently they're tight with the missionaries there. But at one point in the lesson, the spirit was just BOOMING and he just said to us that he had a lot of respect for us. He said that we should treat his home like a second home, and that we were always welcome at his house. It was amazing. Just the bond that we experienced. Pray for him, please:) OH! And what's REALLY exciting is that President Miles wants to come to a lesson with us to go teach Delano! It's going to be so sweet! That lesson will be on Tuesday, so I hope all goes well. It will be so cool to teach with President.
Bernard is doing well. We haven't been able to meet with him in awhile because he went camping but we should be able to meet with him tomorrow. Which is exciting:)
Anyway, things are going really well. I love it. I love serving God. I love serving Jesus Christ and working with Him to help so many people. The mission is going fast!

I love you all! Thank you for everything!

-Nate