training week

Today  is Sunday,September 8, 2019

What an exciting week!!! 

Labour Day Monday we told our Office Missionaries, as well as our Senior Missionaries to have a holiday, so our normal office meetings didn’t happen, but, we loved visiting over Zoom with our fresh new batch of thirteen missionaries…arrived just last week!! “Adjusting to Missionary Life” is an excellent companion to Preach My Gospel, and is full of inspired tips, and strategies for new and old missionaries. My training always focuses on some of these tried and true recipes for success. Richard and our Assistants all give wonderful trainings that inspire, motivate, and teach. We learn so much everytime, so we are convinced it does help all of our Mission!! They are all to read from this resource booklet everyday…

Monday afternoon we also have ‘call-ins,’ where zone leaders and STL’s from our eight zones call in, and report on their area book numbers which include number of new friends found, number of friends at Sacrament Meeting, and number of people on date for Baptism. We also get reports on Baptisms, and hear about who our new friends are. Hearing the ‘miracles’ around the mission is one of the highlights of these calls. And of course it is wonderful to ‘see’ our missionaries -even if it is on a computer screen!!

Tuesday was an errand, baking, and getting ready for our visitors who were arriving later in the week. Richard had researched and found an authentic butcher shop and was so excited to get PEI rib eye steaks cut for our Saturday night barbeque…that was his favourite errand!!

Kenneth Boyd Packer -(our MTC trainer), and his trainee David Young arrived in Montreal Tuesday night, and were here at the Mission Home first thing Wednesday Morning to begin training for us, as well as our missionaries. It was pretty intense from 9 till noon, where we zoomed in and watched companionships do their daily, and weekly planning;  and from 1 till 4’ish where we evaluated, and discussed how to improve!! A lot about planning, and prioritizing the Lord’s time, Both men were so very positive, and kind, but we both realized we need to be way better. They encouraged our missionaries to be diligent and devoted, and to ask as we plan ‘if we are having a revelatory experience?’… haven’t done that before, but now will try to do that. We were so grateful to have these great teachers come…both returned Mission Presidents - Brother Packer and his wife served in Kiev, Ukraine, and Brother Young and his wife served in Brazil - Vitorio, both from 2014-2017. We felt very validated…they made us feel like we know what we are doing, and were very complimentary (although we both still feel like we have so much to learn!!)

Going out with the sisters on Wednesday night, was definitely a highlight of the week, and the first time since moving to Montreal.  Sisters Brennan and Chonger are great teachers, and were so sweet to let me join them visiting Nathalie - and Vicky. Nathalie has been to Sacrament once and we invited her to come again today…(I did exactly what Brother Packer suggested, and texted her twice after our visit to say I’ll save a seat for you) but this morning she texted me to say she needed to relax. Sister Brennan is going to deliver the bag of Church DVD’s and fun little pamphlets and we hope that will inspire her. 

Vicky’s visit was ok…she is a pretty new convert, who doesn’t really find her patriarchal blessing inspiring. That was a bit of a challenging appointment. 

Remember Katya that we met at the airport last week …well I have been wanting to have another contact with her, so put some fresh caramel buns on a plate, and with the sisters, we delivered them. Because we were late getting there we gave them to her husband…because she had gone to bed…I’m not sure what my next move should be…

Wednesday we had more zooming watching missionary planning, and more training with Brothers Packer and Young. Together we planned our New Missionary Training for Friday, which was great. Brand new recruits, as well as any newish missionaries joined us at the Mission Office for trainings on Goal setting, planning, processing, and seeking and receiving revelation - we were all saturated by the end of the afternoon, but came away inspired and motivated!! Such keen, wonderful missionaries. 

We dropped Brother Packer off at his hotel (Brother Young had left after lunch), and headed to the Airport to pick up Elder Haynie who came for our MLC on Saturday, and for Coordinating Council today. It was delightful to have him here..last fall he and Sister Haynie came for a Canada Halifax Mission tour so it was great to spend time with him again. He is an enthusiastic effective motivational teacher, and missionaries love to hear him speak!!! It was coincidental that we had planned a Barbeque with all our Stake Presidents and their companions for last night so it was fun for they, and our Office team to get to visit and rub shoulders with Elder Haynie! (New Brunswick Stake President Sprage drove ten hours to be here and also spent the night with us.) Richard’s fancy PEI rib eye steaks were yummy!!

Many mission miracles occur every week, and we are so grateful to be cheerleaders in this great work of gathering. We still are overwhelmed at the magnitude of the Canada Montreal Mission, but daily feel the blessings of our service here. What I feel most is a real change of heart…it’s almost imperceptible, but nevertheless…a change - and I know it is for the better.  

Your examples, your love, support, and prayers do sustain us so thank you all.  

Oh, we are happy and grateful to report that everyone is safe and accounted for in our Canada Montreal Mission….and that includes all our missionaries in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland….you probably saw or heard on the news that Hurricane Dorian hit right there…the eye of the storm was in Halifax,  Richard flippantly said yesterday…'we just missed getting to be in a hurricane!’ Sounds like there are lots of damaged trees, and kind of a mess to be cleaned up but it could have been way worse!! 

Have a wonderful week all of you!

with much love ….Richard and Gayle, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma

xoxoxoxoxoxoo  and Keep Smiling!!!!