Elder Jordan Ferg

January 18, 2010

Elder Ferguson says that 30 degrees Fahrenheit sounds pretty good. The temperature in High Prairie has been from -5 to -15 degrees centigrade. He says it isn't too bad and that he get too hot if he wears his winter coat over his suit.

He had a bit of a scare the other day. He and his companion joined in with the young men at the church to see how fast they could go through the obstacle course the young men had set up. Elder Anderson was first and made it through in two minutes and six seconds. Elder Ferguson went next and finished in two minutes and sixteen seconds. He commented that it wasn't too bad, but had to sit down because he was winded. Then he got really dizzy and nauseous and went pale. One of the leaders is an EMT and checked his pulse and blood pressure. He took Elder Ferguson to the emergency room at the hospital. They put a monitor on his heart and were checking his pulse and blood pressure. They drew blood to be tested, but in an hour they came back with no negative results. They took x-ray of the lungs, but they were fine. The blood pressure was up a little so they kept him over night. The next day, the doctor prescribed an exercise and diet regimen for Elder Ferguson. He was glad that all seemed well. Elder Ferguson was glad that he could now have a medical excuse for not overeating at the members homes.

He wrote about an experience of a 2 o'clock Sunday meeting with an investigator. The Branch mission leader was with the elders when they approached a door. The lady of the house opened the door and was "absolutely drunk. She asked us good and bad questions. She first asked us if we were all virgins and if we had to be virgins to be members. Then she asked how Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. She told Elder Roberts that he had clown shoes. Then she kept glancing weirdly at me. She stared at me for a second and then exclaimed loudly, "Oh! I though HE was a GIRL!" Since then one of the members in the area, Brother Coward has jokingly called him a sister missionary. In fact, Elder Anderson and Elder Faber wrote a song all about the adventure. It was recorded at Brother Coward's home. He put it on You Tube. You can view it at Elder Sister Ferguson. It is a scream.

Elder Ferguson said that since the baptism of Kim Smith that the missionary work has been a little slow. They are working through it and are currently trying to find more people to teach. It is hard because the recession has hit that area pretty hard. Two of the three saw mills have shut down. Many people have to look elsewhere for work. Church attendance at Peace River is between 50 and 60 people while at High Prairie the average is about 28. There must be a lot of possibilities for investigators, but the work is hard.