KEEP SMILING!!!

KEEP SMILING!!!

Today is Sunday, May 3, 2020.

Wednesday, May 6, Jane gets to blow 5 candles!!  Happy Birthday Jane!!

Two weeks ago today my dear Mother passed from this mortal existence. Barely a minute goes by without me thinking of her, and the many quiet life lessons she taught, without speaking a word. Her larger than life Christlike ministering efforts were most profound, and I continue to marvel at how selfless she was. Days were filled walking with friends and family, visiting with folks, some she knew, and many she didn’t, at extended care facilities or at the Hospital, attending grandchildren, or great grandchildren performances whether on the athletic field or on a musical stage, chatting with dear friends on the phone; all the while cheering up these loved ones. Weekly baking eight loaves of bread, was a sweet gift of service for friends and family!  ‘Happening by’ on baking day, was such a treat…double-buttered bread for grilled cheese sandwiches, and; always we’d leave with a take home loaf!! In November 2018, she was our guest baker in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and that was the last time I had her famous white bread.  Just Thursday, I pulled out my copy of her Bread recipe, written in her own hand, and baked eight loaves. Following her ‘unwritten’ bread-making instructions…six of the eight loaves are give away loaves!!  Her genuine interest, care, and love for all of us was remarkable! Her effervescent personality, and her sincerity endeared her to everyone. Being a transplant from Ontario, she didn’t have the advantage of knowing Southern Alberta family trees, but once told, her remarkable memory kept that genealogy stored!! What a beautiful legacy for all her family to remember, to cherish, and to emulate! 

Every letter, birthday card, or note was not complete without her admonishment to ‘Keep Smiling!!’ Mom smiled, she was happy, and she encouraged us all to do the same! What a legacy of JOY!!

Actually the ‘Keep Smiling,’ motto originated with my Grandpa, Mom’s Dad,  William White McCormack. Serving in the First World War as a Signaller in the 14th Royal Irish Rifles, B.E.F.  from September 12, 1914 - November 11, 1918, Grandpa  faithfully recorded experiences in his little five by seven inch navy leather bound diaries, where each was prefaced by “‘Keep Smiling’ (my motto).” His tales of marching through Belgium and the North of France, wading through muddy trenches, Fritz shelling, and sleeping on beds of hay in barns never dampened his spirits. He loved and lived his motto ‘Keep Smiling.’ Theo Gracey, an Irish watercolour artist, and dear family friend created a beautiful piece which hung in Mom’s home growing up. Years ago Dad and Mom had the original “Keep Smiling” piece colour copied for each of us.  Dad made lovely oak frames to display the motto, and now the perpetuated motto is five generations strong!!!

I loved that she lived her motto ‘Keep Smiling,’ and have been inspired to replicate it as one of my life’s mantras. ‘KEEP SMILING;’ two simple words of admonishment that really have power to change our lives. Having a happy attitude about life,  and simply smiling will help us each create satisfaction and contentment,  and will help us look for things to smile about!! 

One of the first things I wanted to translate into French was ‘Keep Smiling,’ and was happy to learn ‘Toujours Sourir,’ actually directly translated means ‘Always Smile.’ Life is so full of ups and downs, happy events, and disappointments, and being able to always smile especially through challenging, sad, and difficult times helps us develop an attitude of gratitude. Looking for reasons to smile, and consciously smiling, can change us from the inside out!  Smiling countenances are often the way we as missionaries make our first impression. Over and over again we have heard stories of how glowing, happy missionaries have engaged people on the street, on the metro, or at Church, and then, have had the opportunity to share the Gospel!! It works!!  When we read, ‘Man is that he might have JOY,’ we know that ‘Keep Smiling’ has eternal application. As we DO IT, we bless our own lives, as well as everyone around us!

OK there is a portion of my latest musings!  Now, for a ‘brief’ report on happenings in the Canada Montreal Mission! 

Missionary work post COVID 19 will never be the same, and we are thrilled with all we, and our missionaries have learned. I can’t even express how very sad we were as we experienced the mass March exodus of both our Senior and Junior missionaries. Still awaiting new missionaries; our Transfer Board is filled with massive holes, but we know there are 350 missionaries in Canada, and 13,000 in the USA  waiting to be reassigned, so, any minute we will begin our trips to the Trudeau International Airport to collect our new CMM missionaries!! And, our transfer board will start looking like it should!! Instruction from the missionary department to use hotels until we can get enough housing organized, and to rent vehicles because we won’t have enough makes us think we will be receiving MANY reassigned Elders and Sisters!! Can’t wait!!  

When we first arrived in the CHM in 2018, it was almost a badge of honour when missionaries reported knocking (tracting) for forty plus hours a week. It was the ‘way’ they showed their obedience. We knew there were many, many ways to contact people that are far more effective, and along with instruction from our Area Presidency, and visits from Elder Hamilton, Elder Haynie and Elder Bassett, every zone conference, MLC we have taught, and taught to use different ways to find. During our isolation time, the Missionary Department began a new FaceBook initiative, which we are so excited about, and are finding it to be really successful. Using the variety of ‘finding’ last week our Key Indicator report showed great results….36 friends on date for baptism, 54 friends at Church, and 39 new friends found! Pretty amazing considering all this is done on Sansung phones!!! 

This past week was one of the best so far!! Monday meetings were happy and productive. It was the Boyle’s last Office Meeting, since they left to return home Friday…oh how we will miss them. Stewart’s left the week before last so we are without any senior couples in the Mission, and oh how we miss them too! Sister Little, Sister Mecham, and Sister Breckenridge are still in the office, taking care of vehicles, teaching supplies, referrals, and nursing needs.  Elder Nipko is managing the front desk, with his companion Elder Hawk who is doing all the accounting, and Elders Brown, and Pinkney who take care of Housing needs, and, are bracing for the arrival of who knows how many…(someone guessed maybe 200 new missionaries!!)

Tuesday through Friday Richard and I stayed home and interviewed two and a half of our five zones over Zoom and Messenger technology. Maybe you recall that we used to have eight zones, but with the departure of 60 plus missionaries, we had to reconfigure our zones, and now have five. 

Richard sets his zoom interviews up in his Office, and I get all set up at the kitchen table with messenger, so, as he interviews with one companion, I get to have a great one on one visit with the other companion. I just loved doing that. Pre-isolation, as Richard was conducting his interviews, which he does every six weeks,  I did visit with the other companion, but there were always many others waiting their turn, so one on one didn’t happen. We did lots of watercolouring, and had lots of fun visiting, but this past week I had such a delightful time really getting to know our amazing band of consecrated, hard-working, obedient missionaries. I learned so much about each one of them! I think we might continue doing our interviews this way!! Thanks covid!

Pday yesterday was delightful! Our run around Mount Royal Town centre was the perfect start to a sunny, warm spring day.  Buying a native tree, shrub, and flower reference book is near the top of my ‘to buy’ list when businesses reopen!  Our teeny backyard has an eight foot cedar hedge on both sides, a two foot green picket fence across the back, and no trees, but our neighbours on all three sides have gorgeous back yards with many, many trees… the neighbour behind has this gorgeous tall three with swollen pinkish buds, and we are thinking it might just be a magnolia!!?’We are hoping it will pop tomorrow!!! There are so many unfamiliar trees, shrubs, and flowers, many in bud, and some are leafing out…I just want to find out what they are!! We spent time grooming our pretty, sweeping front flower bed, and found lots of little spots to plant more perennials, and annuals. Johnie the gardener will be excited to purchase my list which includes clematis, echinacea, roses, as well as proven winners bubble gum pink and fuschia (of course!!), bacopa, lobelia, delphinium, and geraniums. I can’t wait to start planting!!! Dad said I don’t know when you are going to plant…I’ll get up at 5:30am if I need to!! 

Our bike ride to Provigo - our Grocery store was fun…Richard’s filled backpack probably was 50 pounds, and my cute pink wicker bike basket probably had 20 pounds of food for the week!! So glad we brought our bikes!! What fun!!

And last night we escaped into the realm of watercoloring, and are probably are addicted to this newish hobby! Richard is painting such a gorgeous Montreal Temple, and I do my little flowers! It is a lot of sitting, but so relaxing! 

Daily we express gratitude for the blessing of being able to serve here. We are learning and growing so much. Our lives will never be the same. The more we learn, the more we realize how much we don’t know.  But we do know how our lives, and our families lives are being blessed. 

We are striving to become more consecrated, and to align our lives with the Savior’s. It is such a precious time.

Thank you for your prayers, and for your love and support. We are so grateful for you. 

with much love,

Richard and Gayle, Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma

KEEP SMILING!!!