I'm Glad He Types Fast!

I guess I did make it sound like we have a laid back mission. A lot of it has to do with the Eyres going home today. It was our final barbeque with them. The soccer game was on Saturday. It was a ward tournament and the missionaries were invited to play and bring investigators. We had a couple show up, but ultimately, it was more building the members trust in us. We learned in the MTC that if the members don't trust you, you will not have much success in an area.

We are so busy right now. We baptized 2 people yesterday. Doug Bristow, who has been investigating the church for 2 years. His wife threatened to divorce him if he was baptized. We fasted and prayed for him. He talked to his wife and she agreed. We dunked him fast so she couldn't change her mind. Ha! Ha! The other was Audrey Dover. She is a single mother of a crazy little Ethan like 5 year old (Ethan was a little boy in Braidens primary class before he left). She is the first baptism that I actually count because I taught her for the past 2 weeks. Now, we hand her over to the ward for the new member lessons.

We still have 7 baptismal dates and the AP's just left our area so now it is all on me and Elder Duce. We need to pick up quite a bit of slack, but we have a few potential investigators we haven't contacted. I think we are shooting for 10 by the end of the week. There is something like 7 million people just in the east mission. Now that we have combined (today makes it official) we have a ton more. There is no end to it.

So the other day me and Elder Duce were walking down the road and this man called us out from the other side of the road. He almost got hit by like 6 cars crossing the road. When he got to us, I was getting drunk off of his breath. He started to tell us we relied on God too much. I laughed because we believe and rely on God and Jesus Christ completely. We could tell he didn't know what he was talking about. Man I hate people that waste the Lords time.

On the bright side, I talked to a man on the subway (which is awesome by the way:) named Muhamed. He is from Saudi Arabia. I talked to him about Jesus Christ and our message and he agreed to meet with us this week. I am excited to teach him. He used to be a Muslim, but he didn't like the religion.

We also committed Michelle yesterday. Michelle is a very interesting woman. She is a single mom of a nine year old boy (there are a lot of them here). She originally was taking the lessons only because Elder Dewey (one of the AP's) is a good lookin fellow if you know what I mean. The other day she started reading the Book of Mormon. Now she is coming to church, singing at baptisms and praying for those who are being baptized. She is uncertain about herself and her son being baptized, but as we continue to meet with her, she will come to a knowledge that this is what she needs to do. I have seen that change already in the last two weeks. She was on of the first people I taught.

Something interesting that they do here is that they perform their baptisms on Sundays after church. It gets more of the members there so they can support the newly baptized. It is also crazy being in a ward where practically everyone is a convert. Its funny, a lot of people have tattoos, earrings, sing like a Baptist or Pentecostal, but they are all members of our church and I love them.

So one thing I think I need to tell everyone. It has been an eye opening experience for me to serve a mission. You don't teach every now and then. I teach every single day, and not just once. There was a day last week when we taught 6 lessons. You are constantly talking to people. You need to learn to be bold in what you say and learn the scriptures and stories. I have ordered a book from Deseret Book called New Testament Made Easier. It goes into a lot of depth, verse by verse. I am excited to get it for personal study.

Oh, I almost forgot. The Toronto Ontario Temple is an awesome temple. We went through as a zone last Thursday. It is all going to change now, so we got a lot of things done beforehand. It is interesting though, the temple is only 1 level above ground. It is very flat. I enjoyed it. I get to go about 4 times I think.

So we found out who our third mission president is going to be. His name is President Scott. He is from Utah. He is the CEO of Stephens Hot Chocolate. I am excited to hear that. Maybe we will have free hot chocolate during the winter or something. Ha ha.

Mom, you asked a lot of questions. Lets see if I can answer them. The sun sets at 10ish and rises at like 5. There are no mountains, so it just kinda goes from dim to dark way fast. I have yet to see color out of one, but who knows. I also have not seen the stars since I left Utah. Its always light here.

Its not breaking rules to keep in contact with Sonya. I keep my mind on the work. I am so busy it doesn't faze me. Its also a good way to get quick info to you if I need it.

So can you believe I have already been out a month? I can't. It is just cruising by. I have come to a point where now I get into bed and thin, "what am I doing here already? I just got up!" However short it has been though, it has been packed.

We get to move into another apartment in a few weeks. It is on the 17th floor of a building right across the street from the church. It is so much nicer than the ghetto apartment we live in now and it is actually in our area. I have also got to take pictures of the Don Mills Chapel. It was originally going to be a high rise, but they got up 8 floors and went bankrupt. The church picked it up for pennies and downsized it to 3 floors. It is a huge building. I keep forgetting my camera, so you won't see them in the pictures, but that's o.k....yes you are getting pictures. I am going to send another email with pictures attached. I will tell you some of the people in them. Figured you would want some pictures. (It did work)

Cade hit a roadside bomb huh? (Cade is Braidens cousin in Afghanistan) I laughed when I read that. I figured if I hadn't got a phone call all was well with him. That nut. They said it was his last mission though eh? That's good. You give him a huge hug for me. Tell him that he needs to go to church. Make sure all the Moores are still doing my challenge.

Well, another week come and gone, and I am still in Canada. It is great here. If I had to live in a city, this is where I would live. Say "hi" to everyone for me. Love you all. Down the road. Elder Ashton

Can I Cry Yet?

So the newspaper lied. I tried Fed Ex and they want $15 just to mail a letter. UPS can't even get into Canada! All I want to do is send my baby a letter! If anyone has any ideas let me know. Frustrated. Need a vacation!

Mail Strike

Due to the mail strike in Canada, the US Postal Service has quit accepting mail to Canada. I did read an article that said Federal Express (Fed Ex) would send a letter to Canada for 80 cents. Thats about the same price so we are going to try it today. Braidens mission office address is at the bottom of this page. We'll keep you posted.

We've Got News!

Where do I begin? Monday is my P day so expect things coming on Monday K? Also, do me a favor and print this off and give it to Alexandra (I don't think he remembers that I post all his letters). There is a postal strike going on and nothing is moving. We heard rumors that they might be going back to work today, but I don't trust them.
We3ll, the plane ride was awesome and a really coll experience. Parker is going to love flying if he can keep from throwing up. It was cool. I got a window seat and as we picked up off the ground I could see dry mountain, Spanish Fork Canyon and about where our house is. It was kind of a goodbye moment and it was really cool. I love flying.
We spent the night at the Eyers house. They will be going home next Monday. We also found out that when the missions combine, President Brower will only be here for about a month and a half. His wife is really sick. I will be one of the few missionaries to be called to a mission that no longer exists and have 3 mission presidents. Ha. Ha.
Last Wednesday I met my trainer. He is Elder Duce. He's a rancher from Cardston, Alberta Canada. He does rodeo and all that jazz. He is awesome. He has no fear of talking to people or anything. I have already opened up and talk a lot more with other people thanks to him. The funnest people to talk to are Muslims and people that don't want to talk to you. I love it.
I guess I should explain who Sonya is huh (Sonya friended me on facebook last week). Sonya is a member that was baptized a few months ago. She is always teaching with us and is a great support. You don't realize how much members make a difference until you use them. I would encourage you all to help the missionaries out some. I know they don't get that in Payson.
I live in the most ghetto apartment. I will send pictures later. Sorry I am so all over the place. There is just so much to tell you and I can't tell you everything over an email. I will do my best though.
Dads gonna flip when he hears this. Right now, in my area, we have 8 baptismal dates. Overall as a mission we have 104. We will be baptizing two people next week. The work here is soooooo much. There is no way that we can even scratch the surface of what needs to be done. Everyone we talk to on the street is a non member. It is just crazy.
Toronto...is awesome. There are no mountains, but I still know which way is north. I am currently serving in the Don Mills North Area. Its just north east of downtown Toronto. I have never lived in a city before but I adjusted really fast. This is a great place. There are people from all over the world. I have met people from Greece, Bosnia, Jerusalem, Pakistan, Afghanistan, South America, Korea and all parts of the world. There are a ton of Muslims here. Some of the nicest people I run into on the street are Muslims. They love the missionaries. We will talk with Muslims forever. I really like them. I need Cade to tell me some APPROPRIATE things to say in Farsi. Ha. Ha.
Well, I am getting ready to go to a mission BBQ right now. We do a lot of cool things like that. Next Saturday we will be having a soccer tournament (did he just say SOCCER??? He hates soccer!) with all the other wards in the city (by city I mean Toronto, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Ossington, Don Mills, Scarbourough, and the Yorks). There are also some huge wards here. Our ward alone has 2 missionary areas in it.
Lyza, there are what is called ASL missions. I actually had a few deaf missionaries on my floor at the MTC. If you want it, go for it. I can get you a spoon but I have 2 years. Don't expect it right away because we have something around 16 investigators. I have a lot of work to do if you know what I mean.
If you want to see more of what happens at the MTC just go and volunteer to be investigators at the TRC. Just if you do, don't tell them you are members until after they have taught you. If you do, it ruins it.
I think you would all love it here. Every time I think of home or anything, I always wish you were here with me to see all these people. Some of them have a few screws loose, but overall, this is an amazing place. There is even a scripture about this area. D & C 100 talks about upper Canada, which is Toronto. Read it when you get a chance. I miss you all, but I don't want to be anywhere but here. Tell Alexandra, Aunt B, Grandma Ashton, Grandma and Grandpa Spencer and all the rest of the family that I love them. Stay out of trouble. You are all in my prayers.
Always, Elder Ashton
P.S. People really say "eh" here a lot. It's more like a question mark though and not used as often as in Strange Brew. Course, I don't know how it is out in the country...

New Mission/New Address

We have not heard from Elder Ashton since he called Tuesday but we did receive a friend request on facebook from a lady in Toronto who said she knew Elder Ashton. I'm assuming that means he arrived safely.
On June 27th his Mission President is going home. When this happens the East and West Missions will become the Canada Toronto Mission. I am going to give you the address to the new mission home as of the 27th. One reason is because it takes 7-10 days to get a letter to Canada. Second is because there is a postal strike and if you sent a letter in the next few days it probably won't make it to him for a while. Just his luck but he will sure love the bag of mail he will receive when it's over!
Thanks to you all for your support!

Canada Can Keep Him

Tuesday morning around 5:50am the phone rang. Anytime it rings before 8am or after 9pm my heart skips a beat. Braidens Father was in the bathroom getting ready for work so I answered it. I was kind of annoyed when the person on the phone casually asked for Bishop Ashton. I got up, knocked on the bathroom door and handed the phone to the Bishop. As I walked away to go back to bed he started laughing and said, "If your mother knew it was you she never would have handed me the phone." I ran like a crazy person for the other phone and headed downstairs to wake up Braidens brothers while his dad woke up his sister. We all crowded around the speaker phone and listed to a very happy, excited missionary. He said he couldn't talk long but had been planning his little prank since they told him he could call his family from the airport. He is soooo happy and was ready to get to work. It was nice to hear his voice but also hard. He was heavy on our minds the rest of the day. I wish they had let him call or email from the mission home so we knew that he had arrived safe. Heaven help Toronto, Braiden has arrived!

Travel Plans

Hello, My what a week this has turned out to be. We have a new Elder in our district. He had to stay behind when his group left yesterday. I was so shocked to hear he would be with my companionship, because he has pars planitis (Braiden had this eye disease between 2-5years old and went through several surgeries. Finally they drained the vitrious in his eyes and refilled them with saline solution). He is undergoing steriod injections right now. He is officially companions with Elder Saucy from Quebec, but he is English while Elder Saucy is Romainian. I don't know if I spelled that right and really I don't care.

So something really cool happened the other day. We were talking about the first vision and learning to memorize Joseph Smiths words and how he described it. We were practicing with a new companionship and we had all gone through except for Elder Green. The two missionaries are going to his area too. Forgot to tell you that. All of a sudden Elder Green just shuts his preach my gospel and starts bearing his testimony to us about how we are in it till the end and there is no going home until we are finished. The spirit was so strong that everyone was crying. Then one of the new missionaires told us that he had a meeting earlier that morning with his branch president to go home. He is now sticking it out even with an upcoming tonsilectomy. I didn't tell him my story though...thought he wouldn't appreciate it:) (Braiden had a lot of problems with his tonsilectomy with hemorraging and bloody noses. Spent a lot of time in the ER).

Just a little FYI, I only get 30 minutes on the computer and then it kicks me out. I like letters more than I do emails as well because I can't print.

So I got my travel plans last Friday. I leave Tuesday morning at 4am. My plane leaves Salt Lake at 7:30. I have a lay over in Detroit for an hour and then I should be landing in Toronto at about 3:30pm their time. I am traveling with a Chinese companion. I don't know if he even speaks English. Elder Hornberger and Elder Green leave Monday so I get to move into the "infirmery/outcast ward" with Elder Bowerman and Elder Saucy for a night. The rest of my district is going to sac town at 8ish I think. I am going to miss them. They are so cool.

I am learning so much about the scriptures. Brothers Murray and Smith are my teachers. They are so amazing. I feel the spirit so strong every single day. I write in my journal every night and I am so surprised to see how much I have grown in two weeks. I looked in the mirrow the other day and I scared myself. My eyes have changed, my face has changed, I have changed. I got a tape recorder and found out even my voice has changed. I will be sending a tape in a few weeks or so. Tell Alexandra I got a tape for her too.

I love hearing from you guys. Tell Dad thanks for the letters. I LOVE THE MTC AND I LOVE THE MISSION FIELD!!!! You guys are always in my prayers. When you get a chance, look at section 130 of the Doctrine and Covenents. Also look at section 87. We found an investigator proof of revelation. Joseph Smith knew about the Civil War before it started. Kinda cool.

Well, got to go. Thank you for everything. I love you all. Elder Braiden Paul Ashton

First Email From Our Missionary

Hello Family!!! My P day is on Wednesday, so I was finally able to write you today. I am enjoying the MTC. The spirit here is just incredible. I don't know how much I put in my letter, but I am in a trio with Elders Green and Hornberger. They are goin to the India, New Deli mission. The rest of my district is going to Sacramento California. Needless to say, I need Uncle Shanes address. I am sicking all 8 in him cuz he didn't come to visit me. Ha. Ha.
Parker, I need pictures of the room. It sounds like you didn't waste any time at all ripin down my bed. I know it may be hard to believe, but my room is clean and my bed is made. It helps too that Elder Green has been a Marine for 2 1/2 years. Ha. Ha. You are going to love it here. It is a blast. The food is awesome. I will send you a picture of an average but small serving at the cafeteria. You won't go hungry. But just to let you know, the weight room sucks.
Lyza, Thanks for everything. I hope that now you are able to connect with everyone that has had missionary brothers out there. Thanks for helping Alexandra. She needs a friend like you. Keep up the good work. Stay out of trouble and away from Cole Slaw (Lyza's boyfriend). Good luck at Girls Camp.
Gammon, Your a stud, Special!!! I keep thinking about all the ways you used to make me laugh. Thanks for that bro. You keep working hard. It will get easier. Make this your goal. It is all worth it. I walready know that the mission was a great decision and I am going to love every second of it.
Jex, NO JOKE BOOKS!!! (Jex was going to send a joke book to Braidens companions so they could bore him with jokes like he liked to). I told my companions about it and they just laughed. I hope you know that I am doing this for the Lord. It's all worth it. Oh, by the way, get your pig (basketball) skills going cuz when I get home I'm gonna tromp you:)
Mom and Dad, Thank you so much for helping me get to this point. Dad, this is the most incredible feeling. I have not suffered any home sickness and I don't plan on it. It is a lot of work and teaching. There is a place called the TRC that we go to teach investigators. Soemtimes they are real and sometime not. We are teaching Bobby Jamason and James Sinquefield. They are really cool people. It's weird though. I can't find anyone else going to Toronto. I don't know if there is anyone. I might be all alone.
You guys have fun and stay safe. I'm doing great. Don't worry about me. The Lord is watching over me. I have the best district. There is even an Elder Nalesoni from Australia that is teaching me a little Tongan. I love you all, and I am praying for you, which we do a lot here.
Love, Elder Ashton
P.S. I am getting used to answering to that. Kind of strange though. Whever someone says it I start looking for Dad. Ha. Ha. Love you all.