Today is Sunday, September 27, 2020
Welcoming our new five missionaries, Sister Gottenbos (Spruce Grove), Elder Barton (Magrath), Elder Chin (Vancouver, BC), Elder Comin (Cardston), and Elder Scott (Kingston, Ontario) on Tuesday, is probably the most exciting day of our six week cycle!! Because we aren’t allowed to go to the airport, we have teams of Elders and Sisters assigned to go pick up individual missionaries, and bring them to the Mission Home so we can officially greet them, take a photo, have an interview, and then send them on their way. We anxiously wait for the Canada/US border to open; hopefully our predicted tsunami of missionaries will arrive soon…(since we still have 30 empty apartments as well as 30 snazzy Nissan Rogues ready and waiting!) But we are thrilled with our five new arrivals!!
We do still find it hard to not have the big welcoming meals and getting to know you gatherings, and, we so miss our traditional farewell feast, Temple session, and interactions with our departing missionaries. With our eleven departing this week, Richard did get to do in person interviews here at the Mission Home, and we were able to take photos, and our final zoom Testimony Meeting was awesome. Hearing their powerful conversion stories; and highlights of their 18 month or 2 year service is wonderful!! We always conclude the Testimony Meeting sharing our testimonies and then challenging each to go forth committed to staying on their own covenant path. Reading, and studying the Book of Mormon, praying, serving are key!! Already we look forward to Mission Reunions where we will reconnect with these amazing friends who have taught us so much. President Boyd K. Packers statement, which I have shared before…continues to ring in our minds… this is a paraphrase…”you won’t know the effectiveness of your service as Mission Leaders until you see the grandchildren of your missionaries, and whether THEY are on a covenant path.” We keep teaching, testifying, and loving.
Friday afternoon we got to accompany Elder Scott(Kingston, Ont.) and Elder Harding (Stirling) to the Temple. 16 in the session is our maximum, and that is exactly what we had. Brother and Sister Harding joined their son in the session, and that was so special for him. His twin brother is serving in Winnipeg, so he was endowed in Regina, and his parents drove to be with him. Missionaries in Atlantic Canada will have the opportunity to attend the Halifax Temple in the next couple of weeks, and although we can’t be with them, we know our kind Temple friends will take care. The Atlantic bubble doesn’t allow us to travel there.
Besides excitedly anticipating new missionaries arriving; for about a month we were also excitedly anticipating yesterdays Pday, because we had booked a hot air balloon ride which was to take off in St. Jean... but Friday afternoon we received a text, and a phonecall cancelling our booking….due to covid (of course). What a disappointment for us and Sister Mecham. One of the balloon operators tested positive, which cancelled all rides for the rest of the season…boohoo….We hope to go in the spring!
Our spirits didn’t wilt though, and our Saturday adventure with Sisters Breckenridge and Mecham was a delightful scenic drive up Mt. St. Hilaire to ‘Petit and Fils' Apple Orchard, where we joined hundreds of families enjoying the incredible autumn day. Many of the families hopped on the hay ride around the orchard, where they could jump off to pick whichever apple variety they wanted. ‘Honey Crisp’ are our chosen favourite, but because they bruise so easily they are the only variety not listed on the ‘U Pick list.’ So....we were happy to buy a basket of already picked. We spent the day ‘looking at the ‘magnifique’ view’…native maple, oak, birch, willow, spruce, apple, apple, and more apple trees surrounded us, with lush shrubs and undergrowth making it truly an enchanted forest. Although there was a slight smoke haze, (yes the California smoke has made it clear across the continent), the view from the bench of Mt. St. Hilaire still took our breaths away!! So many cute fruit and vegetable stands lined the back road back to Montreal, and you can be sure I wanted to stop at every one, and buy a trunkload of pumpkins and gourds to decorate our front step!! Maybe next week!!
Our dear Elder Hawk’s Mom’s funeral was yesterday at noon, so in the apple- picking parking lot before our apple-buying excursion, we were able to zoom into her funeral, and hear the tributes to this remarkable woman. Tomorrow, at a small airport where the jet returning him from Boston will land, we are praying the customs official will readmit him into Canada. So many possible complications….keep your fingers crossed!
This week promises to be another great one, with office meetings, interviews, more interviews, and our next round of zone conferences begins!! And like you we are so excited for General Conference next weekend!!
Tonight we are anticipating our special Devotional with John Bytheway. Elder Heninger from Calgary has a twin brother serving in Vancouver, who reached out to Brother Bytheway, who did a devotional for the Canada Vancouver Mission, and also volunteered to spend an hour with our mission tonight! We feel so grateful for these outstanding members who know how much our missionaries need an uplift, and are so very happily willing to serve. That is such a good life lesson for all of us…Always be happily willing to serve!!!
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Read on for the:
Miracles of the Week - September 27,2020
Mandarin Montreal Elders:
This part is for Sister Low:
I recently finished the Book of Mormon. After I finished I began to ponder on some questions that I would focus on my next time reading through. I had a feeling that I should wait until general conference where I would receive more inspiration; in the mean time I would study by topic and story. Friday, I was praying to know where I should study. I had a feeling that came out of nowhere saying I should study Esther. I took this surprise thought as inspiration from the Holy Ghost. I began to read through the story with this question in mind: "Why did Heavenly Father direct me to this scripture." As I read, I tried comparing myself to the King, but it didn't quite fit, and neither did Mordicai. As I got to your favorite scripture, I felt an urge to reread and ponder what it must have meant to her, and why she was there. I felt a connection with her and felt that Heavenly Father had also prepared me for such a time as this. I prayed to confirm these feelings and felt the Holy Ghost strongly, telling me that everything in my life was to get me on this Mission. The choice that lay ahead of both me and Esther is whether or not to forget ourselves completely. I hope to follow her example and my Savior’s in forgetting myself completely and following the path that God has prepared me to walk on. I know with his help through much prayer and fasting I can make this path into a deeply worn trench. Thank you for sharing this story with us. I think it played a part in this experience that I had.
Riverside Ottawa Sisters:
Holy cow I don't even know where to begin! This week has been so powerful and definitely one for the books! I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to go to the temple this week. Thank you so much for coming to the session with us as well. Ever since I've been able to go through (for my own endowment) I have noticed I have had so much more confidence with myself! My eyes have been opened to my eternal potential and God’s personal plan for me! I have felt strength and power ever since I went! It seriously is the best thing ever!
Riverside Ottawa Sisters:
We have seen so many miracles this week! I won't make this super long and share them all but I do want to share one! One of our friends who has been trying to quick smoking dropped us this week! We were pretty sad about it but then the next day she called us back and told us that it had been the worst decision in her whole life! She bore a strong testimony on how she knows this is the right church for her and we were able to put her on date for October 17. The coolest part about it is that night that she dropped us she went to go reach for a cigarette and instantly felt sick! Since then everytime she thinks about a cigarette she feels like she is going to vomit, so she hasn't smoked since! I definitely know this is a miracle that God blessed Jody with and I'm so grateful that I was able to witness it! God truly is still a God of miracles!
Trois Rivieres sisters:
After District Council, we had to do some things in our apartment in Shawinigan that the mission office asked us to do and then we decided to stop by a restaurant and order take-out for our dinner since we had not been able to eat. So we searched this restaurant on Google Maps, we went there. Then we saw and the door of this place was closed. As we saw that it was closed we decided to go to another restaurant, but when we turned the corner we saw the panel with the name of the restaurant that we had chosen to go to at the beginning. A man took our order, he was very kind, he saw our nametags and he looked confused, our nametags were in Spanish so I think that's why he couldn't read the name of the church, he asked us if we were evangelists but we said no, that we are missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He briefly told us that he had been studying in other churches and that he was studying the Bible, we told him that we used the Bible and the Book of Mormon so there he knew who we were. When I paid, the system did not accept my card, so I was going to pay with cash but he did not want to accept, he told us that God bless us for all the work we do, it really touched me a lot, he was very friendly and we did not have any card to give it to him but we will go again and offer him a Book of Mormon and one of our cards.
I know that God works through small and simple ways, sometimes we do not know who he can put in our way, I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I am grateful for his sacrifice for each one of us.
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We are so grateful for the opportunity to represent the Saviour Jesus Christ, as His missionaries. Keeping our eternal view in perspective, our consecrated covenant-keeping choices help us become more like Him. Let’s open our mouths and share the message of the restored Gospel with those around us…it is the message of HOPE, JOY, and PEACE.
Have a wonderful week!
With our love,
Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, and Richard and Gayle
CTR!! Keep Smiling!!
What a great fireside indeed! A great blog entry as well
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