Canadian Thanksgiving

 In the Canada Montreal Mission there are 7 zones:  Ile De Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Rive Sud, and Mont Royal.  The Mission Home and our apartment are both in the Ile De Montreal zone.
Today is Canadian Thanksgiving. It is also P-day for the missionaries.  Imagine my surprise when first thing this morning these two sisters showed up to do their e-mails dressed up like this.  They were so cute.  They arranged a Thanksgiving celebration to which we were invited even before we got here.  Everyone had an assignment to contribute to the feast.

 These two sisters showed up next.   Every Monday the Elders and Sisters in this zone come to the mission office to do their e-mails home and their letter to the Pres.

 Here are Brother LeVitre and Elder Arhets at their desk training.  Elder Arhets is trying to learn all there is about running a fleet of 43 cars and 1 van.  There is a lot to learn.  Today the fleet manager for all of cars in Eastern Canada and through Rochester N.Y. in the US, Joe Paul, came.  Tomorrow he will be getting together with the men to get all kinds of records, receipts, reports, etc.  I met him briefly and he is very nice.

                                                           More Elders

                                                     Sister Conway is the other sister in the office.  Both she and her husband have been so nice and welcoming to us.

 Sister LeVitre is a most wonderful woman.  She has been patiently training me in my multiple duties.  They are leaving on Thursday and I hope I will remember what she has been teaching me.

 Elder Conway is the financial secretary.  Here he is in his office behind glass.  His office is separate from the other three of us.

                                                  These Elders went all out in their dress.

                                                           These not so much.

 After these 2, Elders McMurrin and Mortenson arrived there was lots of shooting of the arrows.  Boys will be boys even if they are missionaries.

 Elders Blank and Foster came to the mission home before seven to put the turkey in to cook.  Their own oven is way too small.  They had never made a turkey before, but it turned out just great.  When I told them that now they could be the official turkey cooks after they got married, they both said "Oh no.  This is our one and only time cooking turkeys."  Haha.

 The Elder in the middle is Elder Sam Lopez.  Next to him is Elder Gamez from Spain.  It's so funny that he knows the Correa family. They are from the same stake.  He said he knew Pedro best.  It is a small world.

                                                 Elder Arhets began carving the turkey.

   Pretty soon Elder Conway joined him.  The kitchen is on the main level of the office building.  The building has 3 floors.  The top floor is the office and the office for the CES guy. The middle floor has classroom and conference rooms.  The first floor has classroom, a huge gym/multi-purpose room, and a kitchen.  The basement has a very large chapel and some classrooms.  The church purchased this very nice building approximately a year ago.

                                              Here are the missionaries who dressed up.

 And here is the entire zone minus a few senior couples and me.  I am the photographer.

                                                  The table was laden with food.

 Missionaries from all over the world:  France to the left, Vanuatu in the middle and USA on the right.

                     Everyone  ate a lot, talked a lot and laughed a lot.  I am sure they had a great time.

                                                             Here  we  are.

                                                            The dessert table.

  

 More missionaries.  Elders Bagnall and Romero were purposely serious and wanted to be sure that I included their moccasins.

                                  These two, Elders Osorio and Yunack, were just happy.  Really they all were just happy.

Sister Cannon and houses

 The mission president's wife is Sister Cannon.  She has a very interesting story or rather her parents do.  Her Mother was born in Denmark.  As a young girl she wanted to go to the United States, but her parents wouldn't let her.  Then one day the missionaries came to their house.  They taught the family the gospel and actually said that the church was wanting people to come to the U.S. towards Zion to help build up Zion.  So she got baptized and told her parents that now she had to go to the U.S.  The parents agreed and off she went.  Meanwhile her Father who was born in Iran was sent with several other young men to go to school.  Her Grandfather knew several men who were Mormons in Iran and when he was looking for a school for his son they told him that in Utah and at BYU there were lots of young men who were just like them.  The Grandfather liked that and so he sent his son and the other boys too to go to school at BYU.  While there Sis. Cannon's Mom attended church, went to school, and had a calling, but really didn't know a lot about the church.  She soon met her husband to be.  They began dating and after some time he proposed to her.  The Mom's friends told her that she could not possibly marry because she was not supposed to marry outside of the church.  So, the Mom told that to her future husband.  He then studied about the church, got baptized and they got married. So Sister Cannon grew up with a Danish Mom and an Iranian Father.  They really didn't attend church, but when she became 20 she read the Book of Mormon, studied the religion, prayed and got a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and of the gospel.  When she turned 21 she went on a mission to Norway.  She met President Cannon at a Monopoly party.  They were both BYU students and both returned missionaries.  It was not love at first sight, but they started dating and the rest is history.  President Cannon is a descendent of George Q. Cannon one of the Apostles of the Church and also a counselor in the First Presidency.

 I am posting more photos of homes.  Many of these homes are so lovely.  We see them on our drive to the office every morning.  We are still living the Mission home, so our route will change once we move into our apartment.

 One area has these very long and steep stairways.  I hope to post more, but it's hard to get a good photo while driving.  There is a lot of traffic too, so we can't really slow down or stop.  The speed limit here is 60 miles and hour and you better not go 1 mile over or you will get a ticket.  There are police everywhere and they are very willing to stop and ticket anyone breaking a law. Gas prices are $5.40 a gallon

                             Look to the side of each house to see their stairs leading to the house.

                                This is Rue St Joseph, one of the large, important streets here.

                                               

                             The colorful box is the mail box.  All of the mailboxes here are very colorful.

MTC photos and stories

 The halls of the MTC are lined with lots of fun pictures.  I took a few while we were walking to lunch one day.  The top photo is of two missionaries in front of the St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square in Russia

 Can you imagine being baptized with a chunk of ice taken out of the water to make room for you?

        This is the hallway leading to the cafeteria.  At lunch time it is swarming with missionaries.

We met many wonderful people while we were at the MTC.  We met Elders and Sisters and Senior Couples from all over the world.  We met them from Haiti, Australia, England, France, South America and Mexico, Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, Hong Kong, and even Nepal.  There were many from other countries too.  The atmosphere there is so friendly and happy.  Everyone is polite and respectful.
One evening we were sitting outside getting some evening air and waiting for a devotional to begin.  A couple walked up to us and sat right next to us and we began talking.  To set the stage, I must go back a bit.  When we first decided to go on a mission we were then asked to serve in Salt Lake as part time guest service missionaries. (I think I posted about this before, but right now I'm not sure).  Anyway we told them that we were thinking of serving a full time mission.  We were told to go home and pray about it and then to let them know.  Well, just at that time we left to go to Maryland, Palmyra, New York, Oregon and then back home.  We were gone for about a month.  We couldn't decide and finally on a Thursday we decided to go to Salt Lake. The next day, Friday, Alec called and said that one of his patients was there that day and that after talking and discovering that both he and the patient were members of the Church, the patient told Alec that he and his wife were going to be mission president and wife in the England, Birmingham Mission.  He told Alec that he would love for us to serve in his mission.  That week-end he got permission from the area authority to request us to serve there.  Monday we spoke with him and his wife on the phone and Pres. Rasmussen said that he had permission to request us if we agreed to it.  We were excited and said yes.  He also told us that we had a 95% chance of serving there.  Imagine our surprise when we read that we would be going to Canada Montreal Mission.  Okay, back to the story.  As we talked the couple told us that they were going to be serving in the England Birmingham Mission.  Out of over 2, 500+ missionaries that were at the MTC, what were the chances of us meeting this particular couple?  We also found out why they were called and not us. (Besides the fact that the Lord wants us to be in Montreal at this time).  It seems that England has a new rule or law that whoever goes over there to proselyte must have formal ecclesiastical training.  We have never had that.  This couple had 4 years of seminary while in high school and they are also both graduates of BYU where they take a religion class every semester that they attend.  I found that very interesting.
Another fun story happened one afternoon.  We had a class where we heard an older senior couple tell of their experiences on their mission.  It turned out that they have served 4 missions together.  He had served as a young man in Tahiti and always wanted to go back to serve again.  They ended up serving in Tahiti 3 more times and one time in Australia.  The Australia mission was a change from Tahiti because Sister Tall had a stroke before one of the missions and so the church did not want them in Tahiti without close medical help available.  Instead they served that particular time in Australia.  Sister Tall said that on their first time over there they landed on Tahiti and reported to the Pres.  He asked them to go to one of the surrounding islands.  The Talls got on a boat and traveled for 8 hours to get to this island.  Sister Tall said that about 15 minutes into the ride she became very, very sea sick. She was sick the whole trip.  When they arrived, Elder Tall had to practically carry her off the boat.  He then sat her down next to some guy who was selling animal innards, roe and other smelly things that she did not want to be near, but was too sick to say anything or to even move.  Elder Tall went to find the Branch Pres.  Finally he found him and together they came to get Sister Tall and to take them to their home.  The home turned out to be a shack to which the Pres could  not find the keys.  "We've been searching for them all day, but we just don't know where they are," he said.  "You can just sleep in the driveway until we find them."  At that point, you can imagine that Sister Tall wanted to turn around and go home.  But they did not.  Their next week was spent in trying to find the members.  They had no addresses or much information except for their names.  As it turned out the members did not want the missionaries to be on the island and were hiding from them.  As they searched someone or another would occasionally say to them,  "You looking for the Mormons?  They are hiding in the bushes over there."
The first Sunday came and the Talls went to church.  They arrived and no one was there except one old man.  They waited and waited and no one showed up.  Finally after 1/2 hour the Branch Pres. showed up.  They all sand a hymn, said a prayer and had sacrament.  After that, the Pres. stood up, said a closing prayer and they all went home.  The Talls looked at each other and said, "We have a lot of work to do here."  They ended up staying on that little island for several months.  When they left, they left a congregation of about 70 people attending regularly.
Bro. Tall said that their only transportation was a rickety bike that he showed us a photo of.  It has a basket on it, but Bro. Tall said that his wife was too big for the basket so she had to run alongside him.  (He was teasing, of course.)  They later on another mission baptized a very large family who currently has  2 grandsons serving missions.
After that meeting we went out into the hallway and who should say hello to us but an Elder from, you guessed it, Tahiti. We asked him if he knew the Talls and he said no, but when we asked about the family, he answered that of course he knew them.  He said that all of Tahiti know about that man and his story and that he is the "Papa Missionary of Tahiti"  Another coincidence??????

I am sorry for some of my spelling and grammatical mistakes.  I have not had a chance to go back and edit my work and I am actually appalled at some of my mistakes in the last two posts.  It's just that we are so so busy right now from early morning to late at night and I am so tired that I barely have enough energy to even write.  Those of you who know me know that I am a night owl.  Well, this night owl has been going to be between 9:00 and 10:00.  Ha!

The last of the good-bye parties

 

 Lana left of Saturday and so friday we had a joint farewell for her and us.  I wanted to spend more time with her, but with Penny and us being at the MTC, we just didn't have a chance.  At least we got to see her.  Everyone wanted to spend time with Lana.  I know all of her siblings love her a LOT.  It's so sad that we all live so far apart.  Val was nice enough to have the party at her house.  She is always so good that way.  She is always very hospitable and she's a great cook too.  Val is the person everyone wants to spend time wit

 These two sisters had a fun time together.

 Greg was the chief bar-b-cuer.  He made yummy hamburgers and hot dogs. Papa was the helper.  Greg is always a good sport and always willing to help out.

                                                        Three sisters together.

                              Here they are again with the addition of a mom and a little one.

     Everyone loves baby Penny and everyone wants to hold her. J is an expert baby holder. :)

                                              Who wouldn't want this kind of love?

                                                                   J  relaxing.

                                                     Mimi with her little Penny.

                                                       JaNee wanted a turn too.

                                                                I love these two.

                                                          and these two

                   and of course this sweet little bundle.  I am sad not to be able to hold her and cuddle her.

                                 Two beautiful girls; auntie and niece.   Gotta love them too.

 Here we are at Yoho's parent's house.  It was our last dinner in Utah before heading out to Montreal.

                                                       Flavia is always so nice to us.

 The Monday before our neighbors had a little farewell for us with the some of the Empty Nesters.  Caroline brought this diving strawberry cake. it was absolutely delicious and look how beautiful it is.

                          The De Witts have been wonderful friends to us.  Chuck is the High Priest Group       Leader in our ward.  Sorena head up the scripture study and book club group.  He served a mission as a young man and they served a mission together at the Washington D.C. Temple.

                             Mary Gayle and her hubby started goofing around and being silly.  He served a mission as a young man.

 Our neighbors Nelda and Art are the best neighbors.  We are sure lucky to live right next door to them.  Art is a retired judge and once when the Supreme Court members were on vacation, he was their substitute and had to make an important decision which influenced the entire nation.  Nelda is a Southern Gal who was the secretary to some of the congressmen in D.C.  She is also a fabulous homemaker, seamstress, and cook.  She likes to tease us with her little southern accent.  They served a mission in the Dominican Republic.

 Carolyn and Harold are our exercise partners.  While John went to the gym at the crack of dawn 3 x's a week, the 3 of us would do water aerobics.  This dear couple have served 3 missions.  He also served a mission as a young man.  They served in Navoo, Salt Lake, and a Temple mission.

 And here we are.  I can't believe that we are serving our second mission.  Really, I still can't believe it.

 The Cheney's were so welcoming to us from the moment we moved in.  She has had so many health challenges and yet they both remain cheerful, optimistic, and confident.  They served as a couple at the San Diego Historical Center Mission.  He also was a young missionary.
The table was set so nicely and the food was great.  I am so grateful to these couples for welcoming us so warmly into the ward and for always treating us so well.  We have been really blessed.  Actually our whole ward is extraordinarily nice.  They have all been so friendly and welcoming to us.  They have treated us as friends from the first day we met.

I am a very lucky and blessed woman.   I have the best family with great kids and they have wonderful spouses.  I have awesome grandkids and now even beautiful great grandkids.  I have the most wonderful friends.  I have a terrific husband and I have the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Especially I have the gospel of Jesus Christ who is the Savior and Redeemer of us all.