Remembrance Day Tomorrow!

Today is Sunday, November 10, 2019 

Maybe the speeding bullet analogy is getting old, but it is such a great way to describe our days, weeks, and months!! Just when we thought the train was in full throttle mode…someone added jet propulsion!! We love being able to push our old minds and old bodies to full capacity, and feel invigorated, and rejuvenated…we just love being missionaries!!! I probably have told you that before!! 

Thaine and Terry Olsen from Southern Alberta are our newest Senior couple arriving Monday afternoon just in time for our monthly Seniors potluck supper…in fact they performed two cute barbershop duets…wow what talent!!! While serving in the Philippines, Terry developed eye problems, which necessitated them returning to Canada. She had her eye problems corrected and had clearance to return to the Philippines, but they felt they wanted to stay in Canada…so Thaine who is Richard’s old friend from many years ago called us about a month and a half ago to check if we were in need of any seniors. ANYONE that makes that call is guaranteed a spot in the CMM!! Visiting and having them spend Monday night at the Mission Home was so fun!! I think they thought they had hit the mission jackpot when first thing Tuesday morning they were raring to head to Summerside, PEI!!

And while they headed to PEI, we packed our bags (we do this in about 5 minutes or less!!) and we headed three hours east to Quebec City where we interviewed and visited our dedicated, hard-working Longueuil Nord missionaries. It is so much fun to just chat, chat, chat with these great young men and women who are doing the best thing they could possibly do to transition from teenager to adult…serve a mission!!! I tell them that all the time! 

Rosalee Savard, our new ‘Marriott’ cleaning friend that we met in August, has been attending Church with her husband Gaetan. They along with our Quebec City MLS couple, Elder and Sister Bills joined us for supper on Tuesday night.  We hope our visit with them will strengthen them. Rosalee reported that she is heading home to the Philippines the 27th of December, and will be there until mid March. Her family in the P’pines are all active church members so she will be strengthened by them while she is there. 

Back to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia for interviews on Thursday and Friday, and for my lovely visit to hairdresser, JJ Choo!! I'm so grateful that our interviews and zone conference schedules jive with my hair schedule, and that JJ always makes time for me!! 

The first time we attended the Halifax Temple last year we met this most remarkable couple…Phil and Linda Thompson. Linda has suffered with MS for many years. I wish I knew their conversion story, but the incredible thing that we saw at the Temple, and at church was how tender and loving Phil was with his beloved wife. Linda’s funeral was Thursday afternoon so as I visited with missionaries,  I listened to some of the tributes to Linda.  What a teary funeral. 

Friday night we joined our new friends Jim and Vicki Cameron at ‘Il Mercado,’ a fun Italian restaurant in Bedford, Nova Scotia. We had great time visiting and getting to know each other. Vicki is an incredible gardener, so we always have something to talk about!!! Jim is a Church member, and Vicki is being taught by Sister Hall and Sister Shultz. It is exciting to watch Vicki’s faith grow. 

Our flight back to Montreal had us home by 7:30am. LaSalle Stake Conference was yesterday and today, and we each had four minutes to speak!! With so few minutes, we had to choose our words carefully!! I’ll try and cut and paste my four minutes worth!!

Montreal Mount Royal Stake Conference

November 10, 2019

  “REMEMBER”

Good Morning!!

My husband and I moved to Montreal from Halifax the end of this June, so for the past four months we have served in the newly merged Canada Montreal Mission, where we have missionaries serving here in Quebec,  a portion of Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and in a tiny bit of Maine!! We are from Lethbridge, Alberta, and back home, our six sons with their sweet wives, our one daughter and her wonderful husband along with our twenty two grandchildren love to hear our missionary stories, and we love to share them!!

We are so appreciative of your warm welcome, and thank you for your sincerity, and kindness to us. 

Thank you also for your love and support of our outstanding army of obedient, enthusiastic young missionaries…currently we are 193 strong, with an additional 40 consecrated, covenant-keeping senior missionaries who you love and support as well!!

Tomorrow, November 11th is Remembrance Day, the day we commemorate the ending of WW 1 and WW11. We remember with gratitude, the millions who lost their lives in the cause of our freedom. 

The concept of Remembering is so important to our Heavenly Father - and so important in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Weekly as we listen to the Sacrament prayers and partake of the Sacrament, we covenant to remember Jesus Christ.

That is what we are all about …we are all about Jesus Christ , and striving to remember Him, and be like Him. 

Helaman 5:12 reminds us: “And now my sons, Remember, Remember  that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation;  that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

One of the best ways we build our own foundation on the rock of Jesus Christ is by sharing the gospel with our family and friends. And that is one of the reasons we are here…to help you do that!!

I love the applying the beautiful Bible story of Queen Esther to us as missionaries.  One portion of verse 4 in Esther 14 gives me great strength and motivation… “And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Repeat… “And who knoweth whether THOU (with arms outstretched referring to everyone)art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?!” 

Brothers and Sisters we have the fulness of the gospel..and we are come to the Kingdom for such a time as this. I know this. I know that each one of you have people within your circle of influence that would be open to the message of the restored gospel. We are excitedly anticipating this years “Light the World One by One” Campaign! AND we invite you to invite the full-time missionaries into your homes, and let them help you make a plan to Light the World!!! A suggestion today is to go to “ComeuntoChrist.org" to get more information, and soon lighttheworld.org will take our phone numbers so we can receive daily text message reminders and suggestions on how we can Light the World One by One.

I have a firm conviction that as we REMEMBER Jesus Christ, and Remember our covenants to Him, we will find JOY and PEACE in our lives. Remember, Remember that it is upon the Rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation.

Let us share that JOY with our family and friends, and help them find that same joy and peace is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ…

And...there you have it!
I was so excited to meet Uncle Don Crawford (who was married to my Mom's deceased sister Alice), and his wife Annette.  He didn't recognize me, but knew I was Pat's daughter. 
We will have them for dinner sometime.

Our General Authority, Elder Bassett and his wife arrive tomorrow late afternoon, and we will spend until Friday afternoon touring our mission, holding Zone Conferences, our MLC, and travelling from Montreal to Moncton to Halifax, and then, when they fly to Toronto, we will head to Newfoundland!!! It will be a marathon week, but so exciting to see all our wonderful missionaries in the period of three days!! Our first Zone Conference of the week on Wednesday is a mega one, where we are having five zones all come into Montreal, and Thursday, our New Brunswick Zone Conference includes PEI, and Friday,  our Newfoundland Zone are flying to Halifax to join the Nova Scotia Zone for our Conference there. Our planning is complete with “Light the World One by One" training, as well as a training on ‘An Eye Single to the Glory of God.’

It will be a wonderful week!

And now I will sign off sending love from the ‘Canada Montreal Mission,’ 

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

Keep Smiling and CTR!!