Today is August 2, 2020
Thursday, August 7th we wish Happy 59th to Jeffrey Reed Hamilton!!
Missing a week of blogging gives me so much to report today!!
We anticipate family visits as soon as they are announced, so for months in advance we plan every zone conference, MLC, Office Meeting, and interview, so that when our dear ones come, we can really focus on them!! Our intensely busy weeks preceding family visits are always wonderfully exhausting, and we are grateful we have the flexibility to fill our days and weeks with the needful Mission activities, so when loved ones come, they can be our priority!!
Last week, on July 22, following a wonderful MLC, with butterflies in our stomachs, we headed to our Airport to be reunited with Mark, Brittney, Briar, Dottie, Vimy and Boomer. We will always remember that delightful reunion, where Briar, and Dottie came charging full speed into our arms!!! Vimy and Boomer took about a minute to warm up to we unfamiliar grandparents, but for the rest of the week, it was like they had always known us!! (it was cute for us to hear from Mark that when they arrived in the Calgary Airport on their way home, the first thing Vimy said was where are Grandma and Grandpa?!!) Such a thrill to have this darling family come experience Montreal with us!! Two brand new mission Toyota Sienna vans arrived just before Mark and Britt, and we were thrilled when Sister Little, our vehicle coordinator asked if we would like to use one; it was wonderful to travel everywhere together! Highlights of the week included iconic Schwartz’s smoked meat, an evening walk up Mont Royal, looking at the spectacular view of the city, and seeing about fifteen raccoons, a day at the Granby Zoo, playing at sandy Oka Beach, visiting the roadside farmers market on the way home, experiencing the subway train and exploring Old Montreal, shopping at our favourite Jean Talon fresh fruits and vegetable market, driving around Montreal, loving Italian gelato at a quaint little cafe right here in Mont Royal, smelling the roses at ‘our’ Rose Garden which we have affectionately renamed ‘Briar Rose Garden!’, filling ourselves with poutine from another iconic Montreal restaurant - the ‘Banquiste,’ driving out to Mont Tremblant, and luging down the mountain in cute ‘go-carty type sleds, visiting Chocolat Favoris; an amazing ice cream cafe, celebrating Mark’s 35th Birthday two days early with a barbecue feast, and candles on a banana cream pie!! (Rereading this I realize we spent a lot of time eating….oh dear!!)
New missionaries Sister Marin Williams, Sister Madison Barfuss, Elder Jake Siemens, and Elder Run Wang arrived on Tuesday, and it was so fun for Mark and Britt to see what we really do!!
Such a thrill for us to PRAY, PLAY, EAT, and READ SCRIPTURES together with this darling family, and, oh too soon we were back to the airport bidding them farewell…such a tug at our heartstrings…another tooo fast week just disappeared!
Mission wide Sunday evening devotionals have been such a highlight for us…especially since we have started involving YOU!! Several weeks ago, Aaron, Jennie, Isabelle, Luke, Maxwell, Charlotte, Jane and Peter inspired every missionary with their creative, well applied messages, and testimonies. And last week Mark, Brittney, and Dottie were our special guest presenters sharing insights and their testimonies. Tonight we are excited to hear from David, Danielle, Claire and Lucy! Thank you for your willingness to perform…all of you!! Our missionaries are so motivated, and love the variety, and powerful messages you give!! Next week Jonathan, Jordan, Liesl, Brendan, Megan, Macie, and Bella will be our guests!!
Yesterday we enjoyed our PDay adventure with our Senior Sisters - Sister Breckenridge, Sister Little, and Sister Mecham, out to the Granby Zoo - (our second time in a week!!) We so love being with these awesome friends, and love our road trips together!! Mike and Sandy Wong who we met last year live in Granby and joined us for zoo-exploring, and then hosted a delicious salmon/chicken barbecue for us!!
Again I will rave about how grateful we are for technology…today we got to participate in our Lethbridge North Stake special meeting!! How amazing to get to sustain Bruce Lamb as our new patriarch, with Margo as his scribe. We also thanked Dennis Bullock for serving almost 20 years as our Patriarch with Carol as his scribe. We loved the four Oler boys singing ‘If the Saviour Stood Beside Me,’ and Janette’s father in law Patrick Meynders singing ‘Hosanna’ was beautiful as well. It was so special to get to be there virtually. Bruce will be such an awesome Patriarch!
Read on for the weekly CMM Mission Miracles:
Fredericton Sisters:
We have seen a whole lot of miracles and I thought I'd share this one with you! On Sunday, one of our lessons cancelled. And as we found that out, we got a message from a lady named Charlene, she is a nonmember and is married to a very inactive member who hasn't attended church since he was 17. (I've talked about them before. They want us to help them stop smoking) Anyways, they just moved here from Nova Scotia. She asked if she could attend church with us this coming Sunday! We ended up going over to her house and she told us she wants to take the lessons! She is such a sweetheart! Her husband Stefan is a truck driver and he happened to be in Montreal and felt like he needed a blessing for comfort. The AP's weren't able to give him one, but as he got that news, he found out we went to see Charlene and he said he didn’t need that comforting blessing anymore. Because that was enough to comfort him! The next day, I had an impression that we needed to call him and I got a text from Charlene that said to call Stefan. We called him when we got the chance, and he asked us if we could teach him how to pay tithing online! It warmed my heart so much. And it was so amazing to see him come this far!! He hasn't paid tithing since he was a teenager which is so amazing. He said he needs to start somewhere and tithing is the place to start. He started paying tithing on Thursday and he went cold Turkey on Friday with his cigs! Continuation of this miracle: we are now reading with Charlene every other day or so in the book of Mormon! And Stefan is joining us as he drives the truck! It is such a beautiful experience knowing and feeling their love and just loving them in general! I never want to leave freddy!!
Villa Maria Montreal sisters:
We also saw some super cool miracles teaching our friends this week. Our friend Bin, who we started teaching because she wanted to practice her French with someone, has been reading the Book of Mormon. She's very intellectual, so we had a lesson about where the Book of Mormon came from and why it's important to read with our hearts rather than our heads. She absolutely loved it, and she came up with the idea for her own commitment: pray every time before she reads! It is so cool to see the Spirit working in her even as we read the book sometimes just to study the grammar and vocabulary. The Book of Mormon is so powerful! That same day, approximately 6 minutes after finishing that call, we were able to teach our friend Antoinette about the restoration and prophets for the first time. She kept calling us and the members "prophets," so we explained to her that there's only one prophet called to lead the church. Then, she asked us "but if there's only one prophet for the church, why are there so many churches?" It was a great lead-in to the restoration, and she absolutely loved the doctrines we taught. Who knew technology would help us to have such powerful lessons so quickly! We could never do so many lessons in a day before now, especially being in a metro area. »
LaSalle elders:
We also had a bible referral from Elder McCrea and this was super fun, because two days before, we got a call from Sister Gibbs asking if we were available to pick up some food, and we were, haha, but as we came to her home, we actually knocked on the wrong door and a lady told us that it was the wrong one, so we checked the address again and it turned out that it was the door next to it, so we got out food and didn't think much of it, until we got this referral. I noticed it was on the same street as the Gibbs family and I asked the person if he knew one of their sons, our ward mission leader Kalil, and he said he did! They went to high school together and played on the same basketball team! and they live right next to each other! He lives in the same house we knocked on accidentally! So that was super neat experience and we are starting a bible study with him, and we invited him to tune into the next church service!
St. John’s Newfoundland Sisters:
This week has been one of the best weeks of my mission. With finding out we could meet with people in person again; to Chrissy's baptism and everything in between. It was just a week full of miracles and tender mercies. Chrissy's baptism was so special and the spirit was so strong. She really is going to change her whole family/friends lives. With the new phase one things we were able to go over to her house after the baptism and meet her friends and build a connection with them. Sherry is the mother of Lily and Amber Spurell, they are baptized but Sherry isn't. So we were standing in the kitchen talking and she introduces us to her other daughter Kayla and when Kayla left, Sherry asked for our number and said that Kayla wants to visit with us! Also the elders said that at the baptism Sherry made the comment that maybe she will be next! We are going to go over and have lessons more often.
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Despite the crazy world around us, it is so exciting when we have these little miracles! I’m always reminding our missionaries how important it is for them to record their faith-building experiences. I tell them that the choice experiences they have while they are missionaries will continue to be choice experiences as they return home and serve as primary teachers, YW/YM leaders, SS teachers, RS presidents, Bishops or, when they are parents. Those sacred experiences will bless so many lives as they share and reshare them. So, it is something I emphasize over and over, to record in their journals..I suggest that they are writing their own ‘large plates;’ and someday they can abridge them, and create their own small plates, but if these tender testimony-building experiences are not written, those dear memories will fade.
And my final admonition to all is to daily Read the Book of Mormon….whether you are two, twelve, twenty two, thirty two, thirty five, forty, sixty, seventy, eighty, or ninety….it should be the keystone of our lives…and we make it that by reading from it EVERYDAY!! Don’t miss a day…even if you only have time to read a page..read it! The adversary is working overtime to wreck homes and families, and we have the antidote to repel his attacks - it is the Book of Mormon. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon in my life. It gives me power.
I know the words we read will bless our lives, and the lives of our families.
Let us read, and let us share this transforming book with our friends. It is true.
Have a wonderful week!
CTR and Keep Smiling,
With much love,
Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, and Richard and Gayle
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