FOUR BAPTISMS!!!!

Today is October 25, 2020, 

and this week we celebrate Happy Halloween! 

We can’t believe it really is the end of October..monthly whirlwinds are the norm around here!! 

Our Monday office meetings are inspiring, and we are always so thrilled to see all our leaders, and hear their zone reports. I’m sure you have thought about the challenges of being a missionary in the midst of covid…; and you are right…it IS so hard doing all your contacting, and teaching using a little hand held sansung phone, but our teams are doing the very best they can. Mission wide key indicators, which although we don’t measure our success by the keys, we do report them every week and…last week we found 54 new people, had 76 attend sacrament meeting, have 16 friends on date for baptism, and had 4 BAPTISMS!!!  We were thrilled with those ‘numbers,’ knowing how they represent so much obedient, creative, diligent hard work. With winter around the corner we do have concerns about how isolation, and restrictions will affect all of us. This ‘divine reset’ as many are calling covid, has opened our eyes and hearts to the many ways we can contact and find people, and even with that being said…we all wish, and pray for the opportunity to visit face to face with friends…

Mount Royal in person interviews/visits at the Office were definitely highlights of our quick week. It is so fun to just chat with these dear friends about folks they are teaching, about members and their support (or not), how things are going with their companions, if they are getting enough exercise and eating the right foods, and drinking enough water, their families, and sometimes about girlfriends or boyfriends back home. We never have enough time to get all our visiting done, but it sure is FUN!! 

Area training was all virtual, and was great!! We had sessions Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and were thrilled to hear from Elder and Sister Christofferson, Elder and Sister Gay, Elder and Sister Bennett, Elder and Sister Bassett, and Elder and Sister Johnson, as well as many Mission Presidents and companions who also serve in the North America North East area. We had a sisters break out session where sisters shared things they wish they had known before they arrived here….and yes my list was a mile long. One sweet sister emotionally shared how had she known what she was in for….she stated that she would NOT have boarded the plane. Others agreed, and although I didn’t ever have that exact thought; when I struggled with shingles twice; my body and mind did react to stress in a way I had never experienced. This evening sisters session was a sort of purging of our hearts, and everyone felt ok to share how overwhelmed they have felt serving in this calling. Since Friday night, I have thought a lot about the challenges, and the hard things….(not that I want to dwell on them.) Having my Mom deal with lymphoma and her chemo treatments, while I was clear across the country; and then have her pass away was the definitely the hardest challenge for me. Not a day goes by without thinking of, and missing her. 

Trying to learn French has also been a challenge. Daily French study is part of my routine, and I do see little glimpses of improvement in my ability to communicate. Almost all our prayers are in French, and I faithfully read one page of my French Book of Mormon everyday. My 114 day Duolingo streak keeps me learning, and every Monday night I meet with Alexa, my MTC tutor who is positive, and hasn’t given up on me!! I am determined to make this old brain keep working, and if French is the ticket for a healthy brain…I will keep at it!! 

Other emotionally draining times for both Richard and I have been as we encourage, and teach; and encourage and teach; and interview with missionaries who are dealing with anxiety, depression, food disorders, disobedience, and other challenging life experiences…it is a miracle we have as many missionaries as we have considering all the stuff they have had to deal with in their short time on earth…I have no idea how many of these stalwart missionaries come from homes with single parents….I’m rambling….

Zone Conferences, Stake Conferences, and all the teachings we do that used to get me in a knot, have actually become highlights!!  I have found that having a few really good stories, and some really great scriptures are the keys to keeping folks listening and engaged!! Plus you have to talk pretty fast, with lots of expression!!

Because of our area training, we split our PDay, between Friday and Saturday, and loved our relaxing afternoon activities! Bike-rides have become our favourite way to explore Montreal, and areas near by, and Friday we loaded up the bikes, and headed down to Atwater Market to park. Bike trails parallel the Lachine canal which parallels the St. Lawrence River, and oh my goodness what an incredible 18km ride we had with spectacular views of the city, of the river, of people, and of dozens of dogs! I especially loved riding along side ‘Habitat 67’, as well as the massive ‘Five Roses Flour Mill!’  It was so fun to be pedalling tourists, finding and seeing places our vehicle would never go!! Montreal is rated among the top 20 cycling cities in the world….a very bold, believable claim!!

Most people in Montreal do not own cars;  and bicycles or public transit are their main modes of transportation. (during freeway gridlock at rush hour, with about a million cars almost at a standstill…that is hard to believe!!) Beautiful bike trails crisscross this province, and people stay fit as they pedal everywhere! It is inspiring!!! Cycle etiquette is real….lanes are marked on these trails, and accidentally weaving into the wrong lane there is a real risk of a crash so you must stay in your own lane, and use your bell when approaching a walker, runner, or a corner. Breathing the fresh air is as enjoyable as seeing new sights!!

I think I mentioned that cycling has become one of our favourite pday activities!! Yesterday we drove up to Mt. St. Bruno to have another ride, and were so disappointed upon arriving to discover we had forgotten to book our entry tickets.  Maybe next week we will get to cycle in that provincial park!!

Speaking about cycling reminds me of the cute wiry woman whose perfect posture we admired as we rode behind her for about 20 minutes last week! She wore a full grey skirt, had a cute green boiled wool jacket, and had her grey hair pulled back in a bun. I knew either the basket in the front or the one in the back must have a carpet bag tucked in!!  We pedalled like crazy to stay right behind her, because I was convinced she was  Mary Poppins. She reminded Richard of the neighbour lady riding the bike in the Wizard of Oz who took Dorothy’s little dog Toto!! Anyway we so enjoy our lovely adventures!!

And there is the report for this week!! Our internet is having issues so I will publish it tomorrow ..hopefully with a few photos!!

Have a wonderful week Thanks for your love and prayers.

Grandpa and Grandma, Dad and Mom, Richard and Gayle

Canada Montreal Mission October 25th 2020 Missionary Miracles

Ottawa Chapel Hill Sisters:

« We had another prayer miracle!! We were trying to find a woman’s apartment so we could drop off a letter for her. It was dark and we were really lost. We drove around in circles for probably 10 minutes and were about to quit when I suggested we say a prayer. Literally 20 seconds later we find her apartment stretch so we parked and got out of the car and the first door we checked was hers!! It was such a cool moment just to have such an immediate answer to prayer. The woman we dropped the letter off to also ended up reaching out to us a few days later! « 

Ottawa Riverside Elders:

(« okay so on Wednesday I lost my wallet. Now that was troubling because it entirely stopped me from driving. And me and Elder Orrego were praying like mad about it. And it didn't turn up except on 3rd night (I think) we took a suitcase each to start moving into our new apartment to stay there for primetime. And I almost took one of the suitcases but felt a prompting to take the other. And as we did that the stress waned completely and this reassurance that my wallet was in that bag crept in. And it was! So a mini Miracle there!) »

Montreal Zarahemla Elders:

« We've been trying to use our 6 to 9 in the most productive way possible and yesterday, we saw a miracle come from this. Which we wouldn’t have seen if we hadn't been doing what we could be to help and use our time productively. We were calling members and trying to set up lessons with them and in the process share a very quick spiritual thought with them with a scripture. And in doing so we started to call a sister who didn't answer but called us back. We started to share our quick message which was 2 Néphi 2:25 and then telling them to have a joyful day! And after doing so with this sister, she told us that she was having a difficult day. We shared some more scriptures with her and tried to brighten her day a bit. By the end of it all she asked how we knew that she was having a bad day. We told her that we didn't, but that the Spirit did. It was really cool to be a help to someone and to make their day a little better. It was cool to follow the spirit. »

Ottawa Chapel Hill Sisters:

« This was a miracle filled week for us.

We decided to write letters to people in area book with an address. We were dropping off a letter to someone, and it was pitch black outside with no streetlights. We drove around for 10 minutes looking for the house with no luck. We were about to leave and come back when it was light, but we had the prompting to pray. So we did and got out of the car. And within a couple minutes we found the house. It was special.

Also, we were able to find two new friends this week through bible ads which was exciting. One of them, James came virtually to church! Part way though he texted us asking if he will always cry when he watches these sermons. He said he was feeling something that he has never felt before. We were able to identify the spirit. Every speaker at the devotional was something that James needed to hear! We will talk to him again tonight« 

Ottawa Riverside Sisters:

« We had a busy but really good week! One highlight is a miracle that came from teaching an English class. On Saturday we had our first call with a lady who we are teaching English. This was the night before our stake devotional. She expressed interest in what church we were from and asked if she could come the next day with her family! We were so excited. The family came to the devotional and want to come back next week. I'm excited to see what happens with them! We have a lesson set up with Feras this week that we're excited for! This week I had some really awesome moments where I felt like Heavenly Father is aware of me and my circumstances. »

Longueuil Victoria Spanish Sisters:

« Another awesome thing that happened this past week is that a friend back home in Edmonton had his first lesson with the missionaries. He actually works at Classic Landscape, is surrounded by a lot of members and I had actually invited him to like our mission page in English, which he did! A few weeks ago he came to my dad with some questions while they were at work, and said he wanted to know if he actually had a purpose in life and if God really did hear and answered his prayers. My dad told me and also to this friend, that he had been praying for missionary opportunities for a while now, and to be able to share the Gospel, so he told him that him coming to him with this questions was proof that God does hear and answers our prayers. This friend has another lesson with the missionaries tonight I think, and I'm praying that he will keep growing on that desire of learning more about the Gospel and finds answers to his questions, which I know he can! It's amazing how our efforts as small as they may seem, are magnified to such degree that pretty much anyone anywhere in the world is now able to come in contact and hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ! « 

Laval Elders:

« This week was pretty miracles filled. The Lord is just bringing people to us. We just put forth a little effort so that God has something to work with then he just magnifies it. So we keep refreshing our adds on Facebook marketplace of picture of Jesus, The book of Mormon, and we even put the pamphlets us there. So one of the new men we are teaching, Patrice, saw the pamphlets and was like, <<If it speaks about Jesus I want it>> so he asked for the pamphlets, then he asked for the book of Mormon. And after a couple of lessons he is no in 1 NEPHI 15 and he comes with the most sincere questions. It's amazing. We gave him a church tour and he watched Sunday school online this week. We also offered to help him learn some more English. We are now working to find someone who can be a solid fellow-shipper. »