"To Dream the Impossible Dream"

Things have been going pretty well in Greenville. I had an interesting experience with my zone leader on exchanges on Tuesday. It was the first time that I was leading the area in Greenville. I really don't like leading the area because I feel like I can't come up with enough to do in order to keep us busy all day. I am really glad that I was with my zone leader though. He helped me a lot that day. He helped remember that we make plans for a reason. God intended us to be there at that time so that we could fulfill our purpose there. So we found our purpose everywhere we went. Almost everywhere we went, the people we intended to to see weren't home, so we knocked on the doors around the house. That day we found 4 new investigators. Usually we find that many investigators in a week, if that many. My zone leader was a huge help because he pushed me to be more diligent in finding our purpose everywhere that we went. He also helped me see the potential that I have as a missionary. Everyday can be like that as long as I am diligent and find my purpose everywhere that I go. 

The day after that exchange, we had a training with President Porter. I had a thought come to me that I can't be satisfied with mediocrity. I thought it was a weird thought because I have never thought of myself as mediocre. I was always rather happy with myself being above average, not the best, but still above average. I liked where I was because I was comfortable. That was the problem right there, I was comfortable. Because I fell into comfort, I wasn't really moving forward at a rate that was worth much. Because of the slow progression, I am mediocre. The comparison is not with others, it is with me in the past, me in the present, and me in the future. I can't be satisfied with my mediocrity. I have to always be getting better or else this will all be in vain. The reason that I titled this "To Dream the Impossible Dream" is because I am constantly singing it and because of that, it has given me a chance to think about the lyrics. The song is about doing things that are impossible because it is going to make us better in the future. If we are "willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause" we will be happy with our lives and so will Heavenly Father. That song I think is a very good representation of missionary work because we are doing things that the world sees as irrational and impossible and Satan is throwing absolutely everything into our path to try and stop us. But...

I know if I'll only be true 
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest

I love this gospel, and I know that Heavenly Father is with me every step that I take as long as I work diligently and do all of the things that "The Impossible Dream" suggest. 

Thank you, I love you.

Elder Hayden Cannon

No Blog post this week. Elder Cannon had a good week. It is cold!!! He ran out of time and sounds busy while on the Lord's errand. Thanks to all of you for your support!!

It took until Mid January but we finally got snow!!! ugh...

We finally got snow!!! dang it... Oh well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. As we were driving to the library today, it was 11 degrees outside! The car doors have been frozen shut a few times! Needless to say, it is cold. 

I don't know how much I have talked about this, but Elder Spagnolo got sick once again! We don't know what is up with him. We think it must just be a stomach virus. The weirdest part about this is that it hasn't touched me at all! He has had this for the last 3 weeks and I still haven't gotten sick! This I think has been a huge blessing to for me. 

Something really interesting happened though because my companion has been sick. One day, Elder Spagnolo stayed in a member's home and then I went out with another member and continued doing missionary work. We expected the member to come out with us for 2 or 3 hours and then go home and then we would be stuck back in the apartment. The member was out with us from 1 in the afternoon and then took us home at 9 that night. He was out with us pretty much the entire day! We were able to get quite a bit done that day, even thought Elder Spagnolo was sick. That was an enormous blessing from Heavenly Father and we are so grateful that it happened. 

I am loving being here in Greenville, even if it is cold and snowing. There are some great people here to teach.

Thank you, I love you!

Elder Hayden Cannon 

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!!! 

Just like the other holidays that I have experienced as a missionary, New Years was just as weird. Especially since we were quarantined for 42 hours... (We got in at 6 New Years Eve and didn't leave until noon January 2nd) We were given plenty of homework though. We were given 10 envelopes that had different assignments in them. Most of them were just talks that we were asked to read and questions to answer but the most interesting assignment was the one we were supposed to open at 6 in the morning on the first. We were challenged to read the entire Book of Mormon, starting at 6 in the morning until 10:30 that night. AHHH!!!! I am not a good reader! So we spent the whole day reading the Book of Mormon. That was a long day. I love the scriptures, but trying to speed read the whole thing was not very fun for me. We only made it about half way through Alma. That was an interesting day. 

There were some really good things in the envelopes that I really liked though. We were asked to do a "Purification Challenge." With yesterday being fast Sunday, everyone in the mission fasted and prayed that we would be able to know what it is that is keeping us from being more powerful missionaries and to make a list of all of those things. Once we have our list we then have a 40 day fast of those things that are keeping us from the power of God. This is going to be difficult becuase one of the things that I think is keeping me from more power is daydreaming, which is something I do quite a bit without even thinking about it. I am excited to be able to focus and consecrate my thoughts and efforts towards this work. 

There was another talk from Richard G. Scott that I really liked, specifically a quote from it. "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day." This is something that I think is really going to help me get with this purification challenge. As I keep from doing the things that drive the spirit away, even if it is a minute amount, I will be able to become what I want to be, a powerful missionary. 

I am excited to keep working and doing these things that will help me and the people that I teach, progress in the gospel.

I love you all, thank you so much for all you are doing for me.

Happy New Year!!!

Elder Hayden Cannon

Merry Christmas!!!

The weather here is really weird... It has been in the 50's all week. The last couple of days it has just started raining and hasn't stopped. Everyone is saying that this is still really weird for the area. People are also saying that we are just going to get dumped on with snow in a few days... This should be fun...

This week was just weird in general. We had a really good Christmas meeting with the whole mission. It started off with an interesting talent show. Of course, I was volunteered to get up and beatbox. I didn't argue... After that we had a concert and devotional. During the devotional though, Elder Spagnolo got really sick and became best friends with the toilet in the church where we were. He is now just getting over feeling gross. Because he wasn't feeling good, it made missionary work rather difficult. We are supposed to get at least 20 lessons every week. By Saturday, we had 9. We were playing catch-up on Saturday and Sunday. We did make it to 20 lessons though. We were zooming around all of Greenville to make sure that we got in all of our lessons. We definitely wouldn't have gotten them in if it weren't for the grace of God. We are so grateful for the enabling power that Grace gives to each and every one of us. 

Christmas was interesting. Holidays are still just weird as a missionary. They just seem like regular missionary days where we got to talk to our families (which was great to be able to do) and got a bunch of packages. I still don't know what to think about holidays. It was still very fun and a great experience. I love doing this work and I am very grateful to be out here serving the Lord.

Thank you, I love you.

Happy New Year! 

Elder Hayden Cannon

Merry Christmas!

A Note from the Cannon family -
 Our Skype session with Hayden was amazing!!
It was great to "see" him. He is happy and so excited to serve.
We feel so blessed by his example!
Thanks Elder Cannon!!
We Love You!!!

Merry Christmas from Greenville!!!

Things are going pretty well in Greenville. I am really liking it here. My companion is Elder Spagnolo (pronounced spawn-yolo). He is a really good kid. He is a wrestler, football and rugby player from Idaho. He is a SPAZ!!! The other day he just picked me up out of no where! This should be fun! 

So of course, I'm in a new area so the first Sunday that I am here I had to give a talk in sacrament meeting, Yay! I was given the opportunity to speak about Christmas. It was actually really fun to prepare for and I am grateful I got the opportunity to give the talk. After the meeting was over, a sister from the ward came up to me and said that, just based off of the way that I speak, I am going to be a politician or an apostle. I was appreciative of the compliment.

It has gotten cold here and it is a wet cold the just goes through everything! Luckily, I am a warm body, but there have still been a few times where I have gotten rather cold. It is to bad that we have to share the car with another area... So this week we have been biking in the wet cold. I got a new bike, so I don't have to ride the broken one that got hit. I inherited it from the last Elder who was here.

I am really enjoying this area and I am looking forward to what Heavenly Father has in store for me here in Greenville, Ohio!

Thank you, I love you! 

Merry Christmas!

Elder Hayden Cannon

        Transfer Day. Hello Greenville, OH

Elder Cannon and his new companion - Elder Spagnolo

I worked on a farm this week! (Also, I'm getting transferred.)

I am going to be honest, never in my life did I expect to be in Kentucky, nor did I think that I would ever work on a farm. But this week, I got to work on a farm in Kentucky!!! We went and did some service for one of our investigators on his farm. It has been really nice because it has been rather warm this week so it wasn't miserably cold out while we were working. We spent most of the time driving posts for a new fence and taking out the old fence. It was something I had never done before and it was rather fun to do! 

We met an interesting family this week. They live next door to a less active member in our branch. He took us over there and it was quite the conversation with this family that are born again non-denominational Christians. Both the husband and the wife were talking at the same time, the wife was talking to me about how we are all God's children and as long as we have accepted Jesus we are going to Heaven, and the husband was talking with Elder Woffinden about how the Book of Mormon isn't the word of God because it was written by man. It was loud and very confusing. They strait out said that they probably wouldn't become members of our "denomination" (the wife didn't like us using the word "religion" to describe the church we belong to) but they would love to learn more about what makes us different. After we were done working on the farm we went to go visit the less active member to see if he or his family needed some service because we were still in our service clothe and thought, "why not?" We ended up helping the family we had talked to earlier in the week moving some wood and then talking to the wife and daughter. It was a great conversation and we were able to teach all of the Restoration to them. It was a little weird for us because were weren't in our suit and ties, we were in jeans and t-shirts teaching them the gospel. We are not used to that at all. But it still was a really good conversation and they are still interested in learning more. Because we showed up at their home in jeans and t-shirts and helped them out a little, they warmed up to us quite well. I just goes to show that sometimes the best way to share the gospel is through serving others. 

Thank you, I love you, Merry Christmas!

Elder Hayden Cannon

Cool frosty leaves

This is transfer day.