"Canada Montreal Mission" Final Report of 2019

The Final Report of 2019                                                                                                         December 29, 2019

Two days ago, December 27, we gasped as we realized we only have half of our mission left….oh my goodness….so much still to do!! Daily we are in awe as we realize the incredible blessings of serving this mission together!!  Our marriage has never been stronger, and our testimonies of how living the Doctrine of Christ keeps us on our own consecrated covenant path has been emblazened on our very hearts and souls. Interactions with our missionaries - both young and our senior, and with devoted Church members all over the mission - from Cornerbrook to Bay Roberts to St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Moncton, St. John, Fredericton, and Bathurst New Brunswick, to Summerside, Montague, and Charlottetown, PEI, to Halifax, Dartmouth, Annapolis, to Greenwood, Bridgewater, New Glasgow, Truro, and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, from Houlton, and Presque Isle Maine, and from Ottawa to Petawawa Ontario, from Chicoutimi, to Rimouski, Quebec City, Trois Rivieres, Shawinigan and Drummondville, and to our home at 85 Henley Avenue, Ville Mont Royal, Quebec,  and everywhere in between inspire and motivate us. We feel so blessed to be engaged in the Gathering of Israel - it really is the greatest work on the earth today.  

Our resolve for the last half of this incredible adventure is to continue to do all we can to share the glorious truths of the restoration, to help Gather and Minister to Scattered Israel, and… to motivate our army of 200 strong to do the same!! 

Our 2019 Christmas advent was the best ever, and many of you were involved in this…thank you, thank you!!! December 1st through the 25th - Christmas Day, every day we opened a festively decorated envelope and read YOUR testimonies; children, grandchildren, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunt, several nieces, and friends! No better gift than to read your testimonies, to be strengthened by your conversion stories, and to be strengthened by how you are applying the gospel in your lives. Pretty much every day we teared up as we read your beautiful expressions…thank you so much! Each letter is treasured in our special 2019 Testimony binder.  

Christmas Eve, our friend Tai Adekanmbi and her two sons Amir Ali, and Baby Malik, as well as newly baptized Sam ?and his friend Simon, Elders Musaalo, and Nally, and Elder and Sister Boyle joined us for an evening of celebration and the Christmas story. Tortiere has been our Christmas Eve traditional menu for 43 years, and this year we enjoyed it right here in Quebec where the tradition began!! With actual French ingredients…it probably was the best tortiere Richard has ever made…and everyone loved it!!

Our second Christmas as missionaries was wonderful. Face timing, as well as visiting on the phone with our dear loved ones at home was just lovely…Thank you all for your cheery visiting!! I won’t comment on homesickness!!!

Boxing Day we roasted two turkeys, cooked about 20 pounds of potatoes, 9 pounds of carrots, used 50 cups of bread for dressing, and baked 9 dozen rolls. Christmas aromas poured out of our Mission Home, and we were thrilled when 30 of our Senior missionaries serving on this side of the Mission came to enjoy the feast, and festivities!!! With them, they each brought delicious side dishes to embellish the meal. Oh my, what food!!! Following dinner we laughed, and laughed as we played the 7, 11, or doubles gift exchange game!! What great people, we get to associate with…what a wonderful way to retire..

Here are some more beautiful stories…fresh from the LTP file - (shared with permission) 

Experience # 1 from Ottawa:

“It was such a good week! Lilly and Rosie got baptized and it was beautiful. Lots of the ward showed up and the primary president was there and it was really good! The ward is getting more involved with them and we are so grateful! We were so glad that we went to the church really early to prepare for the baptism because we went to turn on the font and the water wouldn't turn on! Not one drop!  So the building management guy came about half an hour later and went to look at the pipes and he told us that he was not able to get any water to the font, so we had better start filling garbage cans.!! So that's what we did. Sister Long balanced cookie sheets on the counter so that the water would automatically run from the sink tap into the cans, and then we would dump the cans into the font. And it was a miracle because after we dumped the first few cans, the water turned on into the font! It turns out that the pipes were frozen and the hot water we poured in thawed them out! We totally saw it as an act of faith. Because if we didn't start acting and believing that God would bless our efforts, the pipes would have never unfroze. It was such a testimony builder!!”  Sister Wall

Experience #2 from Hawkesbury (half way between Montreal and Ottawa);

“Sunday was such a good Sacrament Meeting. I especially loved Sister Andrus's talk. It was very well done and had the whole congregation in tears. Then  I had an experience almost as if God was talking to me personally and answering my questions. Brother Proulx spoke next and before he did his talk he thanked me and Sister Moosman, with tears coming down his face, for passing by his sons house who has been inactive for a while. This are his words:

 "my son was at my house yesterday and told me the sisters, who in the pouring rain, knocked on his  house (he has been inactive for a long time. ) He wanted to let them in but knew he couldn't because he was alone. I am so touched that he said he wanted to let them in. God is softening his heart. And my heart has been touched, thank you sisters." 

At that moment I silently broke down, tears welling in my eyes. God was speaking to me. He was telling me why I was in Hawkesbury. I'm here to help this wonderful man and his family. He is the only active member of his family. I am here to help reunite his family and help them become active again. 

I can count on one hand how many times God has spoken to me so crystal clear. I think this is a huge reason on why my attitude towards this area has changed. I've been shown my purpose. And I'm so grateful for that.” Sister Scott

Experience #3 from Montreal:

“A personal experience for me was when Sister Vargas and I were coming home from sports night, (on the subway). I was a bit tired and ready for the night. I smiled at the lady in front of me, and Sister Vargas complimented her. I just kept feeling the Spirit prompt me to open my mouth, but I hesitated. We exchanged eye contact for a few minutes, when she asked me who we were, and why we had Jesus on our tags. I responded with exceeding joy and began to tell her who we were. She told us she would see us at church the very next day, and so she did!  I cannot wait to see what will come of this. Although, my takeaway would be I was lucky this time, but next time I might not be… Do not delay on a Spirit's prompting. I learned that day, for myself, I NEED to open my mouth all the time. There is no picking and choosing; the work is critical. We are talking about souls, sons and daughters of God.”      Sister Wdaa - a brand new missionary!

And there you go..you have read another epistle from the Canada Montreal Mission!!

Happy New Year to all of you!!!

With much love,  

Dad and Mom, Richard and Gayle, Grandpa and Grandma

CTR and Keep Smiling!!! 

Merry Christmas 2019

Merry Christmas!!!!! December 22, 2019

Ottawa is a quick two hour drive from Montreal, and first thing Monday morning we made the jaunt. Interviews were great - both Richard’s…and mine.  I had a few errands in Ottawa, one of them being a visit with Grandma Hamilton’s cousin Emma Marshall (she is Jane Morrow’s sister, and today is her 99th birthday!!) Emma is in a care facility, has poor vision, poor hearing, and is a bit mixed up, but even lying in bed she was sweet, refined, and lovely. I know she wasn’t sure who I was, but she thanked me several times for coming to visit her. It is so fun to look up family when we are in Ottawa!!

Ottawa Zone Conference on Tuesday was so great…we did our Obedience and Member involvement teachings in the morning and then our afternoon portion we enjoyed a Christmas feast, had a gift exchange, and a talent show!

Two clever Elders - Elder Williams, and Elder Fields wrote a puppet show and so we helped them show their talent and puppeteerd our muppets!! Other talents showcased were juggling, musical numbers, and a quartet of Elders performing a gymnastic woven balancing act. A wonderful afternoon!

Wednesday we had Elders Holt, LeMay, and Burton departing so roast beef dinner preparations were the order of the day for me! We enjoyed a lovely evening with these outstanding returning missionaries, the highlight being a sweet testimony meeting. We will miss these stalwart, obedient missionaries.

And Thursday we combined Mount Royal and Longueuil Sud Zones so had a Mega Zone Conference - only separated when we took Zone photos. Teachings we get to give are a real highlight for us…we give talks, and scriptures as ‘prepare to learn assignments,’  and missionaries come prepared ready to share their insights.  Discussions we have are amazingly stimulating,, and motivational. Time flies by, and we learn so much from our little army! We are learning so much on relying on the spirit as we teach.

Friday we flew to Moncton, New Brunswick, and pretty much repeated our out and back routine. Interviews first day, and then yesterday - Saturday we enjoyed our final Zone Conference for this transfer cycle. Teachings, Christmas meal provided by the Taylor family and Moncton Ward members, gift exchange, and talent show. We were blessed to have clear weather, and for New Brunswick that is a miracle!!! Last year we saw more snow in New Brunswick than I think we have ever seen, and this year roads, and fields were dry - such a blessing for our missionaries to travel without any weather issues! 

Following are some sweet stories:

Miracle story December 22nd, 2019: from Sister P, a brand new missionary only out three weeks:

“This Sunday we witnessed a miracle. After sacrament meeting this ward member introduces us to this woman he was like this is her first time here. We introduce ourselves as missionaries and then ask questions about herself. Her name is Karen and she has been in Canada for 6 months but she is originally from China. She then asks where she can learn more about the church. We told her our purpose as missionaries, and we told her we would love to teach her more. We give her a chapel tour and introduced her to ward members. After our chapel tour she begins telling us how she would drive past our church building and she felt like she had to come inside. We then go to back to the sacrament room and we ask her if she wants to pray. She says yes but has never prayed in her life so we teach her how to pray. She then does a silent prayer for about ten minutes, and as we are praying I felt the spirit so strongly. Karen then starts crying because she feels so much peace. We explain that that is the Holy Ghost, and afterwards we all hugged each other. We will now be teaching Karen, and she is so ready for the gospel in her life. What a miracle !!! There is no where I would rather be, than on a mission. I am so grateful to have the gospel in my life.”

Told from her companions point of view:

“I prayed really hard for Sister P. and I to find someone new to teach together. I felt that she was overwhelmed at all the history behind each person we teach and was shy to give insight regarding lessons or plans for the day. My prayer was answered in the most incredible way!

We had just concluded sacrament meeting and were about to head over to Sunday school when a member in our ward flagged us over. He introduced us to a small lady he had seen walk into the meeting alone looking a little lost. She sat down and after the meeting was over went over and asked if she was new, she was and he told her knew some girls who would be happy to show her around:)

Her name is Karen, she`s been in Canada for only a few months since moving from China and she is incredible!

She expressed that since moving she`d felt lost and thought that religion might help guide her and give her comfort. She`d driven past soo many churches looking around and researching, then one day she drove past 58 Rue Eaton and felt an overwhelming pull. She went in and sat to listen, and heard the speaker who talked about the simple guidance and comfort the gospel had brought in his life and how blessed his family have been throughout their lives since finding God`s true church.

I had the feeling to ask if she would like to pray quietly in the chapel. She was super eager and wanted to know how. We taught her and she and quickly bowed her head and prayed for a good ten minutes. She was so happy to express her gratitude (to her Heavenly Father who she had just became acquainted with a few minutes prior) for her beautiful little family, their safe arrival to Canada and for guiding her to this place where she felt so happy and at peace.

Next thing we know she`s asking if she could bring her family next week and wanted to know what she needs to do to become a member of the Lord's church.”

Such is an example of faith-promoting experiences our missionaries have. 

Our Christmas week will be wonderful, and we anticipate many more ‘light the world’ stories!

I’ll send this off with much love and gratitude for all your love and support of us in the Canada Montreal Mission. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you. 

Much love Dad and Mom, Richard and Gayle, and Grandpa and Grandma

(Apologies for not posting this last week!)

Today is Sunday, December 15, 2019

Typically we do not do three Zone Conferences in a week, but with Christmas right around the corner we felt it important to spend time with every missionary and Zone Conferences are the perfect opportunity!!!

Here goes this weeks travelogue!!! 

Quebec City was our destination Monday morning, and the three hour drive along the St. Lawrence River through hardwood forests was as beautiful as it always is! Quebec is the largest producer of maple syrup in the world so you know there are ALOT of maple trees here!! Interviews and water-colouring occupied our Monday afternoon and evening and Tuesday Zone conference was lovely…we taught, and had a great discussion on Obedience, and then talked a lot about how to involve members in our work… Being equally yoked with members is one of the keys of effective missionary work, so we talk a lot about that!!  Lunch was made by our senior couple; The Bills who are so clever, and resourceful…placemats are pages of old Church News! Homemade whole wheat rolls are my favourite treat!! 

After lunch we had a party with fun gift exchange, and a talent show!! These missionaries are talented, and it was so fun to see how gifted they are…piano, cello, violin, flute, ukulele, guitar have been played so far, and we have had amazing singers, cute skits, and even a poet in the group!! We have loved seeing them shine in front of each other and us!!

Montreal Zone Conference Thursday at Papineau Building was great; Stimulating discussions, and fun teaching with our largest zone. Office missionaries provided a yummy spiral ham/funeral potatoes feast. Fabulous talent show, and great gift exchange! With 3 sets of die being rolled, 7, 11, or doubles happen quickly, and great laughter as crazy gifts get exchanged!!

Flying back to Nova Scotia on Friday was fun…visiting and watercoloring with missionaries, getting Christmas cards copied, eating my Wendy’s salad in front of 23 Brookdale Crescent (our Canada Halifax Mission Home - which has been sold), visiting Pier One imports, and getting my hair done at JJ Choo’s were a few of my Friday activities. 

Zone Conference was almost a carbon copy of our other two, although the participation and comments are different in each! 

Another fun talent show; this time Elder and Sister Butler did a magic show!!

Pouring rain in Nova Scotia…just like a bathtub facet on full blast!! no snow, and no freezing rain so although our flight back to Montreal was delayed…it wasn’t cancelled!! 

Two great stories to tell:

Last Sunday the Sydney, Nova Scotia Branch had a ‘Light the World,’ fireside, and our missionaries, Elder Birch and Elder Gardner, as well as our Senior couple; Elder and Sister Wilkinson had planned and prepared for this special evening. They had invited everyone they could…three other denominations brought choirs, and the ‘finale’ was the new ‘Light the World’ Nativity movie. Over 100 folks attended with half being ‘friends - not yet members.’ At the end of the beautiful movie…the crowd all stood and enthusiastically clapped. So exciting for missionaries - young and old, and such a boost for the Cape Breton’ers!!  Lighting the World is happening in the Canada Montreal Mission!!

Today after Sacrament Meeting we met a new gal named Sepideh who is getting baptized next Saturday…she is from Iran and is so converted.  She came to McGill and got her Doctorate in Linguistics!! Her brother Amir is investigating too!! They were excited when we invited them for Christmas Eve, and we are excited to have them come!!…Sepideh said the most challenging thing for her is to not wear her hijab. 

Upcoming this week; tomorrow and Tuesday we have Ottawa interviews and Zone Conference, Wednesday interviews, and Thursday combined Mount Royal and Longueuil Sud Zone Conference, and Friday and Saturday we will be in Moncton for New Brunswick Zone Conference.

Celebrating our 43rd Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday was also a highlight of the week. Dinner out on the town was fun!!

And now it is time to sign off for the week…with a little reminder to 

“Light the World!” I find having a supply of passalong cards in my pocket or in my purse makes it so easy to strike up a conversation…try it!!

Sending much love to all

Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, and Richard and Gayle

The AMAZING Rewards of Missionary Service!

Today is Monday, December 2, 2019

         and  Sunday, December 8, 2019 and tomorrow is Macie’s 2nd Birthday

What a Beautiful Day in the Canada Montreal Mission!! Maybe that is a bit plagiaristic, but I am just loving the “A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood” book I bought at the Moncton Airport. Such a lovely read..chalk full of lovely little ‘Words of Wisdom’ on everything from relationships, to childhood, to creativity and play, to discipline, to learning , and many more topics on how to live and be happy…by Mister Rogers himself.… 

“A love of learning has a lot to do with learning that we’re loved,” 

is just a sample of the profound little snippets that fill this book. Some ‘quiet night' we will look up the movie with the same title starring Tom Hanks….I know there is no way it will be as great as this book!!! 

Interviewing last week was great, and we found almost all our missionaries in great spirits!  We flew to Moncton, New Brunswick, Monday night, and interviewed Tuesday. Flew back to Montreal Tuesday night and  Wednesday was a twelve hour interviewing day…from 10am to 10pm where we visited with our largest zone of 39 missionaries!  Thursday we drove to Ottawa and interviewed from 1pm-7:30pm. 

As I was contemplating ‘my’ interviews I felt impressed to take some watercoloring supplies and see if anyone wanted to paint?!!! Sometimes the wait can be up to an hour to visit with President Low, so painting was a great way to relax as well as to pass the time!! There were only two Elders that avoided the painting relaxation exercise!! Everyone else was so thrilled to relax as they created!! I gave a short little tutorial on how to paint a Christmas wreath on a card, and without exception every single wreath was beautiful!

I had a pretty remarkable experience at our Montreal airport…

Monday night we arrived two hours early for our flight to Moncton, gate A-1 was pretty much vacant except for one cute elderly lady..(imagine about 100 empty seats.) Richard suggested I should go sit beside her…so I did. I struck up a lively conversation,  and found out this sweet, fit,  90 year old gal, from Amherst, Nova Scotia, who ice skates three times a week, was returning home to take care of her affairs as well as her recently deceased husbands, (who died in September) after being in Boyle, Alberta caring for her 72 year old daughter who just had a knee replacement. Is that enough information for one sentence?! Before we boarded I pulled our my business card as well as the new Light the World…One by one card..Gladys almost hugged me…she was so excited, and said she was a Christian, and would certainly watch the new Nativity video. After our flight while we were getting our rental car, I watched for Gladys to come through with her luggage. We met again and hugged…she said I will always remember Gayle Low…. I was happy (as I always am) that I opened my mouth. Having a little gift….like a pass along card, for me, always makes it easier, so keep a supply with you…

Well, my little story doesn’t end at the Moncton Airport where we arrived. Next morning as Richard began his interviews, I began my informal interviews..just visiting our missionaries. I shared my experience at the Airport, and asked the Elders if they could go visit Gladys in Amherst. Elder Tait, one of the Zone Leaders typed Gladys Riley into his area book, and you guessed it…..she and her husband Jim had been seriously taught ten years ago!!!! We don’t know why they discontinued being taught but…you can be sure the Elders will be heading to Amherst to reconnect, and hopefully teach her again!!! There are no coincidences…

Simply being friendly, and opening our mouths is how we start. People love to tell their stories,  so listen. It doesn’t start by passing out copies of the Book of Mormon..it starts by being a friend, and genuinely caring about people. Maybe I have mentioned that it could take 7 interactions with members of the Church for someone to decide they would like to learn more…

Ottawa interviews on Thursday were great, as was the watercolouring!! 

Our missionaries are so good, and doing so well. Sister Lee, our area mental health advisor, was thrilled that we had painted…she said she has been encouraging missionaries to paint, but no one ever did…until now!!! I was glad she gave it her rubber stamp of approval!! We spent the night in Ottawa in anticipation of the big shopping day Friday!

Knowing Black Friday sales, (which our friend Bert from Brooks Brothers says are the best of the year,) began at 7am, motivated us to get to the Factory Outlet mall and the Brooks Brothers shop first thing. All Richard’s uniform essentials were there: three beautiful new suits, some white shirts, ties, and socks. We think he might be set for the next year and a half!! 

By nine thirty am, our arms were laden with brown paper packages tied up with strings, so we unburdened back at the car, and headed back for a few more necessities…like Bath and Body liquid soap! After another hour or so we were shopped out, and heading back to our car when we noticed a TV cameraman, and announcer arriving. Thinking I could save them time hunting for the crowds, I approached them to say just head down that way to the ‘Coach’ and ‘Michael Kors’ outlets where the throngs of women were lined up. They didn’t seem to even care about that…they just wanted to interview us!!! So…we ended up being on the six and ten o’clock CTV Ottawa news, Friday night…pretty funny!! 

Even more than the thrill of getting such great Black Friday deals, was our Red Lobster lunch, visiting cousins Colleen Hicks, Alyssa Wong and Heather Hicks. It was wonderful to reconnect with these family members. We will contact them again. I’m thinking of making an appointment to have cousin Bonnie clean my teeth…

Brother Yvon Johnson from our Montreal Ward texted Richard and invited  us downtown where he would give us a tour of some landmarks..we are getting really good at pretending we are native Montrealer’s and hop the subway to get here there and everywhere!!…Our favourite landmark was ‘The Forum’ where for many, many years the Montreal Canadiens played hockey!!! It is no longer a hockey arena, but there are gold plaques in the sidewalk outside, as well as the centre ice logo right where it would have been, and there are some great old photos. We finished our touring in an old Verdun Presbyterian Church, where we enjoyed a free Christmas Korean Dinner. Entertainment was the Korean pastor enthusiastically leading us in group singalong carols. It was a delightful couple of hours with Brother Johnson. He will join us for our Boxing Day Christmas feast. 

Last Sunday we sustained our new Bishop Stewart, and counsellors Brother Schindler, and Brother Brao.  Brao’s are from the Philippines and have been trying for years to have a family. Over the pulpit Sister Brao shared their miracle..family friends in the Philippines were aware of their trial, and also knew of a young girl who was looking for someone to give her expected baby to….so the Brao’s are going to get a baby…She had us all in tears as she shared that story….oh my!! So exciting for them!!!

Our Nova Scotia fir Christmas tree makes us almost feel like we are home…I am so happy we brought some of our home with us…You can be sure we were grateful the relighting of the tree I did last year survived the move!!

Our FM friend Michel will string outside lights across the front of the Mission Home this week so we will be truly festive, along with all the other million Montrealers who LOVE Christmas and deck every neighbourhood with sparkly twinkly lights. It is the most wonderful time of the year!!

Week Six - Transfer week was great..13 new missionaries arrived on time Tuesday evening…same old menu of taco soup and fresh buns hits the spot. Because they get up at 3:30 am in Provo, when they arrive here they are exhausted…we have a brief testimony meeting, and send them to bed. 

Orientation on Wednesday was informative and exciting. Office missionaries teach, and Sister Little and Mecham plan a nutritious lunch for the new group before they head out contacting with some of our local teams.  

They all arrived back to the Mission Home for the ham feast, and for a final night before heading to their new areas Thursday morning. 

Thursday our departing group of 13 started arriving around noon and were excited to watercolour and play handbells as Richard in his Office had farewell interviews with each departing missionary, I prepared roast beef supper! Actually Richard prepared the roast…I did the rest!! With our senior office missionaries our group of 25 filled both tables…meal was delicious!! Spiritual feast at the Temple was even better. 

Richard just forwarded this to me: it was included in Elder Thackers LTP this week:

  “This last week we were able to finally meet with a referral we got named Scott and he was so awesome! When he sat down he said "Hey guys so I've been thinking about joining your church". I was so shocked I honestly didn't know what to say:) so we were then able to talk about the restoration and he really liked it and then he asked if he could visit our temple that he drives by every day to go to work. So we explained to him that to go to the temple you have to be a worthy member of the church and so then he asked what he had to do to be worthy and so we said keep all the commandments and he said so I have to stop drinking coffee? And we were like yes and he was okay I can do that! He was so cool and so then we asked him what made him interested in the church and he had met Sister Low at the airport and talked to her and it made him interested to learn more! 

Unfortunately he is not YSA aged:( so we had to send him over to the Elders in Dartmouth but it was still a really cool experience!”)

Scott is my Halifax Airport souvenir shop friend who I have visited with as often as we are in Halifax!

This morning we travelled an hour and a half to the Eastern townships to the town of Grandby where we spoke in the Branch Sacrament Meeting. Before the meetings began the Branch President took us aside, and told us English speakers as well as French were in the congregation,  so we spoke in both English and French!! That was a first for me!!

Mike and Sandy Wong, who’s Japanese Gardens we visited back in the summer invited us for ‘lunch’ after meetings today.  Sandy prepared a delicious Chinese dinner for us and three other branch friends. I can’t remember if I told you about Sandy’s quest. Her goal to visit 100 Temples, is coming to fruition and her bulletin board with photos of the almost 80 she has visited is filling.  She and Mike are an amazing team with the same goal except that Mike is not a member of the Church YET!! He accompanies Sandy on every trip all over the world, and waits outside the Temple visiting with gardeners, or temple engineers, or other temple patrons. He also comes to all Church meetings, drives with her to the Montreal Temple every week as she serves as an ordinance worker, and is an amazing support. We can see him as a Branch President or even a Stake President…someday!! 

Last Sunday we missed Baby Boomer Dee's Blessing, but were thrilled to hear it minutes after, as Brittney recorded and sent it to us. We are grateful for modern technology, and we loved seeing photos of our dear family together! Congratulations Mark and Brittney!

And today we congratulate eight year old Solon on his baptism..our newest family member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!! What a wonderful gathering of family and friend support! Great decision Solon...you are on your own covenant path now!! 

Mom’s Chemo treatments began on Friday, and we learned that her diagnosis is stage four lymphoma. Her PET scan showed cancer in her other leg as well as a spot on her spine… Thanks to many of you who are ministering angels and giving her love and support. You… are answers to our prayers.

Our new round of Zone Conferences begin this week in Quebec City, and also in Nova Scotia so… we are on the road and in the air again!!  

We feel so blessed to serve here, and are grateful for all your love and support. Missionary work is the most rewarding work we have ever been involved in. How blessed we are to be involved in the great gathering!!!

The Restoration continues.

Enjoy your Christmas preparations!! 

We send much love to all of you.

“Light the World….One by One” 

Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, and Richard and Gayle 

'Light the World'

Today is Sunday, November 24, 2019

Happy American Thanksgiving on Thursday!!!

With Elder and Sister Bassett here November 12-15,  we did super compressed Zone Conferences, but Richard did not do any interviews….so this past week, and this upcoming week, we are getting all caught up on his 193 interviews! He loves visiting individually with each missionary, and I love visiting with both individual missionaries, as well as groups of them!  Many come to their interview, notebook in hand, with questions to ask the President.  And, occasionally they even have a question for me!! My pre-interview interview is definitely more casual than Richard’s, but I love to feel the spirit guide me as we chat about their experiences, who they are teaching, how they found their ‘friends’, how they are getting along with their companion, etc. etc. Never is there a lull in the conversation. Inspiration I receive from my ‘interviews,’ along with the inspiration Richard receives is what we rely on as we make transfer plans!…which we are working on now…seems like it just was transfer week, and already we are beginning week 5, and next week our dozen new missionaries arrive. Whoever wrote “Time flies on wings of lightning,” described life as a missionary perfectly!!

Interviews at the Mission Office are really fun; our Office missionaries love to have the interaction with the young Elders and Sisters, and I get to interview as well as multitask by helping organize, and visit with our Seniors. I’ll rave again about our awesome Office team who are truly cheerfully consecrated and willing to do anything and everything. And the greatest thing…they do many, many behind the scene tasks without us even asking,…and many of them we don’t ever even know they did!! Incredible!! 

We are bracing ourselves because Boyle’s leave 21 April, Bowler’s depart 1 April, and Stewarts are gone 3 June, 2020.  Any of you who have friends that are considering serving a mission….please refer them to the Canada Montreal Mission, and to us…..we can make it happen!!! Again I will  remind you that serving a mission together is the best!! Everyday we wake up with full purpose, drive, and true joy as we serve the Lord together;  and everynight we fall into bed…exhausted, and invigorated knowing we have done our best in helping His kingdom roll forth. 

With so many missionaries coming and going at the Office, it made for tag-team Christmas tree decorating! We brought many decorations from Nova Scotia, and combined with some pretty decorations that were already here, we were able to transform our waiting room into a lovely festive welcoming area…the only thing we are missing is Christmas music…I’ll work on that tomorrow!!

Double Zoom calls this week..first with our Seniors…all 47, and the second on Thursday was with our ‘newish - (4 weeks old) missionaries. Technology is incredible..when you think of CES, and MLS seniors serving in Sydney, NS.,Ottawa, Ont., Hawkesbury, Ont., Halifax, NS., Summerside and Montague, PEI, Cornerbrook, Nfld., Bathurst, NB.,Greenwood, NS, Quebec City, QC, St. John’s Nfld., Bay Roberts, Nfld., and right here in Montreal; all zoomed in on the big screen for over an hour sharing miracles of their week. Sometimes it is hard to control our emotions as we listen to these covenant-keepers share stories of how they are ‘lighting the world’ with their incredible, creative service in their wards and branches in the nethermost parts of our vineyard. Of course they participate in ward and branch councils where Bishops and Branch Presidents give assignments, but much of what these senior missionaries do is totally guided by the Spirit. Combing ward and branch lists usually is where they start, and with plates of treats they begin ministering!! And then over the Zoom call they report highlights of their week!! We are so inspired, and dream of that missionary service!! 

Our second zoom call with our new group is always fun…they also report on the miracles they have seen that week.  Assistants give teachings that inspire and motivate, and this week I got to give a teaching on Obedience.. I love drawing on experiences I had as a Mom, and shared one of our family mottos:   do you remember?? “If I Obey I’ll be Happy all Day!”  And then I talked about nutrition, and a balanced diet. We just heard about something called “6  Months to Sexy,” which apparently has been going around the Mission. (I didn’t even want to say it) Missionaries get obsessed with having a perfect body etc., and eat poorly, and focus on something other than missionary work. We will keep teaching…oh the challenges…

Two months ago we booked appointments to get our Quebec Drivers licenses, and Friday we had our interviews. We each had our own interview, (which initially had me in a bit of a panic because my French is almost limited to gospel words!!, but my Haitian interviewer was very bilingual!!!)and paid separately, and when comparing notes discovered Richard paid $13 more than me! This is Quebec!! When he was here 46 years ago he had a Drivers License and if you can believe it…he was still in their system, and so we figured he probably paid the $13 extra just for being in the file for so many years!! 

Our Nigerian friend, Tai, who was baptized in August, delivered her baby boy Malik ten days ago and last night we got to visit them. Tai’s sister Tess who lives in Texas will be here with her for a month.We don’t know Tai’s story, and don’t know if her husband is in the picture, but we do know she needs ministering, and we are going to keep in touch with her. 

Pday yesterday was relaxing..treadmill running, and dabbling in our watercolours again! Richard is getting to be a pro at Peggy’s Cove…yesterday he included Christmas lights wrapped around the lighthouse with a wreath on the door. I keep practising wreaths…trying to get one worthy of being a Christmas card…we will see!!

This upcoming week promises to be another great one…Senior Zoom call, and Office Meetings start our week, and then we have trips to Moncton, Monday and Tuesday, and to Ottawa Thursday and Friday for interviews. 

Wednesday Montreal Zone of 38…get to have their interviews…that will be a marathon day!! 

Lots of exciting missionary stories happening all over the mission..our key indicators (sacrament meeting attendance, new people found, and baptisms) are improving, and although we are not just about numbers it helps us see where we need to improve.

We DO have challenging times…I try not to burden you down with the heartaches we have with some of our missionaries:

Here are some examples:

*this week…breaking the news to an outstanding sister that her father had unexpectedly passed away

*sending a missionary home because of transgression here in the field.

*dealing with a new missionary on a hunger strike…

*we have missionaries with shoulder, ankle etc… issues..

*we have an elder that partially severed ligaments in both legs before coming on his mission…had therapy and was well enough to come and then fell on the ice and now is in terrible pain again.

*we have elders with addictions..

*we have sisters with eating disorders.

*we have quite a few missionaries counselling with our two counsellors

..dealing with emotional baggage, some with depression

*and the list goes on and on….

Perhaps it sometimes seems like a travelogue tripping all over eastern Canada, but there is much to be done to strengthen, motivate and show love to our army of Canada Montreal Missionaries…and that is what we do!!

Oh, how we love what we do!!

We know the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for the world, and we are so grateful we are on the front lines helping  gather scattered Israel.  Our missionaries have begun this years initiative of ‘Lighting the World One by One.’ If we all do our part…imagine how we will truly 

‘LIGHT THE WORLD.’     Let’s DO IT!!!

Have a wonderful week!

Much love,

Richard and Gayle, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo