The Office

When I come to work on Mondays, I often find little notes taped to my computer like the ones I found this week.  It is always so heartwarming to get a little thank you note.  I am grateful that the missionaries write to me.  We do have some wonderful conversations together.

 Because some have asked, here is a  photo of me at work in the office.  Sister Conway faces me and we are so happy that we get along well and enjoy each other's company.  We like each other and like working together.  We can talk about the good things and also we can discuss the frustrations.  When needed we always help each other out.  It sure makes for great working conditions.

 This is a photo of an order that has arrived.  I will open (have opened some) each box and then I will count and check off each item that has arrived.  Then I need to compare it to the order that I submitted to make sure each item has arrived or if there is a back order.  I have several papers that I have to go through for each item.  If I receive 50 forms, for example, I need to count each form.  If I get 10 packs of 25 brochures, I need to count each one to make sure that the order has been correctly filled and processed.  Then I file each paper in a certain designated spot.

 My next task is to put each item in the correct spot in the supply room.  Each stack of Books of Mormon is in a different language.  The English, French, and Spanish books are in a different area because we use so many of them.  I think it's interesting to look at some of the books and see the different languages.

                      I have gone to a lot of work to make everything orderly in the supply room.

 We work really hard here every single day.  We begin soon after 8:00 and work till after 5:00.  We are busy every single minute.  We take about a 15 minute lunch and often it is only 10 minutes.  The work is just never done.

Rideau Canal

 When we got to Ottawa, the capitol of Canada, we took a little drive to look around.  What you see in the photos is the Rideau Canal.  It is 7.8 kms and is the "largest skating rink" in the world.  It is very beautiful.  We saw lots of kids skating home from school and the university which is right there too.

Here we are at the Prince of Wales chapel.   Papa pointing to a broken fender which one of the missionaries got when she went through a pothole.  There are so many potholes all over and some of them are huge.  When they are covered with snow it is almost impossible to see them.  The Sisters were afraid to drive the car with this damage, so John and I drove a different car up there and traded with them.  We drove the broken one home and we will have it repaired in Montreal.

When we were driving up the day before we hit a little storm.  It was so bad that we had to use the windshield washer fluid to clean the windows about every 4 to 5 minutes almost the whole way.  It took us about 3 1/2 hours to get there and we had to stop to buy more fluid.  Luckily the next day it was cold, but hardly any wind so inspecting the cars went much nicer.

 Here I am in 6 layers of clothing, looking like a big bear,  standing in the parking lot of the church.

                                                    Papa likes to point out things.

The St Lawrence River

It has been so cold here lately!  We were driving by the St Lawrence River which totally surrounds Montreal the other day.  I was surprised to see it frozen.  I don't know how deeply it is frozen and I saw that it is not totally frozen.  Nevertheless it is frozen.  You can actually see the ice.

More Zone Conferences

 Wednesday we had zone conference for Isle de Montreal and Rive Sud zones.  As usual we had to be outdoors checking the cars.  You should have seen John and my outfits.  He was wearing his underclothes, then long johns, a pair of pants and windbreaker pants that Alec gave him.  On top he had a shirt and a sweater.  Then he had on 3 jackets in graduating thickness and warmth.  He had on big snow boots, a scarf, the hat Lana gave him with ear flaps and gloves.  I actually cut the fingers out of one of the glove so that he would have the ability to hold the gauge to check the tire air pressure and the treads of the tires as well as all of the fluid levels.  I was lovely in my own undergarments, long johns, sweatpants,  t-shirt, a turtleneck and a sweater.  Then I had on a scarf, my huge puffy fake fur, hat and gloves.  The best part of my outfit, however, was the men's snow boots about a size 12 when I wear an 8.  They were heavy too so that I had to make an effort to lift my foot up to hoist myself into the trucks.  When we came in a couple of times to warm up I was told that I was setting the trend for the height of fashion. HA!
The luncheon for these next 2 conferences was a lovely array of fruits and veggies, authentic Texas BBQ pulled pork sandwiches and ice cream sundaes.  We stayed to eat on Wednesday, but Thursday we went home right after inspecting the cars because I was so worn out.  It was really, really tiring going in and out of cars and trucks and fighting the cold and the wind.

Here is a blurry photo of the "Car Tzar" training the missionaries.  As you can see he is bundled up, but  not yet wearing his huge warm, hooded eskimo jacket.  I did my training part after he finished.

                                          Some of the missionaries listening to the assistants.

                                                           Smile Elders

Thursday we had the Mount Royal conference which went well.  I always love teaching the young missionaries.  They are all so attentive and polite.  They are always so warm and friendly when talking to me too.  I have developed some good friendships with these awesome young people.
With the new age requirements announced at the last church conference, we had a lot of new missionaries coming in.  The president expects at least 50 in the next 6 months.  We know we will be getting 17 new cars within the next couple of months.

Orchids and QC Zone Conf

 As I mentioned before, I am now growing some orchids.  I am so excited over how well they are doing.  I have 2 plants and I think the blossoms are just beautiful.  Every day when I go to the office, I check them out to see how they're doing.

                                                   The color is just magnificent in person.

 Monday after working for several hours at the office, we drove to Quebec City for zone conference on Tuesday.  The drive takes about 3 hours.  We were going to go and do some sight seeing, but it was so cold and the wind chill factor was so high that we just relaxed in the hotel room, watched some TV and read.  The next morning at conference, we did some training and then we had to go and do the car checks.  It was freezing and the wind was blowing so hard.  It was so cold that the ink in my pens froze and I couldn't write.  I had to go and borrow a pencil from one of the missionaries to fill out the paper work.  We had to come into the church 2 times to warm up before we finished those cars.  We checked about 8 cars and 4 trucks.  I could barely get into those huge trucks and then I practically had to lie down to push on the brake pedal so that John could check the brake lights.  We worked really hard and I was so tired by the time we got done.

 We did have a nice lunch waiting for us and the young missionaries.  I always love the spend time with them.  They are so nice and friendly and just fun to be with.  The missionary on the phone is Elder Pihatarioe.  He is from Tahiti.  He is a big guy and so nice.  We have quite a few missionaries from Tahiti.  I think we have about 6 Elders and 2 Sisters.

 Elder Teuira is also from Tahiti.   I don't have favorite missionaries, but if I did, he would definitely be one of them.  He is a lot of fun.

                         There are only 3 Sisters in this zone.  They are so cute and also so nice.

Caitlyn and transfers

 Last Saturday Caitlyn got baptized by her friend.  Elders Baker and Ellis, two awesome missionaries, have been teaching her for about 3 months.  I was lucky enough to teach her also.  These two Elders have been coming to the office every day.  Elder Baker is from Canada and Elder Ellis is from Utah.  Elder Ellis is an apple guy.  He has been working at the apple store in SLC since he was 16 years old.  He has whipped our office here into shape with all of his computer skills.  Whenever we have a problem, he solves it for us.  He is also very spiritually inclined and he and Elder Baker are great gospel teachers.  Caitlyn is a wonderful girl.  She has applied to and is now waiting for an acceptance letter from one of the top universities here in Montreal to study for her Masters degree.  Caitlyn grew up a Catholic and said that she was always a believer in Jesus Christ and God, but that she always felt something was missing.  Her friend invited her to sports night and that is how she became acquainted with the missionaries.  She had the lessons, studied a lot, read the Book of Mormon and when she prayed about it, she knew the truthfulness of the things that she read and of the truthfulness of the book.  She has had quite a bit of opposition in her life, but she has overcome her trials and is looking forward to a full and happy life.

 Today is transfer day again in the mission.  New missionaries arrived last night and 2 missionaries have gone home.  Everyone is excited about the changes and some have a few sad feelings about leaving one area and going to another area.  All will be well though.  Elder Heder was one of our favorite Elders.  He actually lives just a few miles from where we live at home.  It was always fun to talk to him when he came into the office.

 These five Elders came into the office often and we really grew fond of them too.  They are always so pleasant and upbeat.  I loved talking to them each time they came to the office.  The missionaries are the best part of being on the mission.  They are all such awesome young men and women.

Elder Rasmussen is from our city back home.  He taught me how to use John's Blackberry and how to transfer pictures from the camera to the computer to the printer.  Next to him are Elder Bagnall from Arizona and Elder Teuira from Tahiti.  They have been the AP's.  Elder Babin, from France is one of the new AP's.  Elder Bagnall will be leaving next month to go home.  Elder Olsen is fairly new to the mission, but is already proving to be great missionary.  It is so interesting to know that one of our most favorite young adults from France, Eduard, is now the brother-in-law to Elder Babin.  In fact, Eduard and his wife just had a little baby boy and so Elder Babin is a brand new uncle.  It has been fun to talk to him because he knows several of the young adults that we worked with on our other mission. I love talking to the young missionaries and feeling of their spirit.  I love to help them in any way that I can and they are always so appreciative.

Marc Andre

 Last Sunday Marc Andre got baptized.  This young man is from Haiti.  He left Haiti and lived in Mexico and then moved to Canada.  Amazingly enough the missionaries met him on the Metro.  They began teaching him the gospel only one month ago.  He immediately felt it was true and after studying and praying about it, he wanted to be baptized.  Marc Andre is very friendly and very nice.  He is so excited to continue growing and learning more.  He had a huge smile on his face the whole time we were there.  Elders McMurrin and Fronk are awesome missionaries.  They too had smiles on their faces all day. It is so exciting when someone finds the truth and changes their life for the better.

 When we first came to the mission office, Sister LeVitre told me that she was given this orchid that she didn't really like but that she watered just to keep the sister who gave it to her happy.  When she left she gave it and another one to me and said that I could keep them or throw it away.  They were just little plants that had the roots growing out of the soil.  Sister LeVitre started cutting them off and I asked her not too because they needed to be there, but she snipped them all off anyway.  I didn't know if the plants would survive.  I really never took care of an orchid before, but I started taking care of them.  I am excited that this one has bloomed and has several buds that will bloom soon.  The other plant is doing well too and I'm hoping it too will have pretty blooms.

 Every Monday is P-day for the missionaries.  Quite a few of the companionships come into the office to sent e-mails to their families.  We schedule a companionship for every hour.  They like to start coming in about 10:00.  While some type the others are chatting with each other or with us.  I love to talk with the young missionaries.  They are always so much fun and we get to know each other quite well.  Above are Sisters Nielsen and Lopez.  They work with the young adults.

Here are Elders Umana and Reid.  They were looking at something very interesting.

 Elder Heder is from Pleasant Grove just next to where we live.  He and Elder Reid are one of the zone leaders for this transfer.

Elder Umana is from Chili. He has just received approval from the University there to keep his scholarship and to continue his studies after his mission.  He is studying to be a research engineer in the medical field and work in a lab.  He is half way done with his studies.  Elder Fernandez wants to be a surgeon.  They make great companions.