Captures, Waterfalls, and Ice Cream

I'm learning more every day about how to do a better job of the assignment I've been given to accomplish on this mission. 

Ever since the day I opened my mission call, I've been dreading sitting in front of a machine taking picture, after picture, after picture of historical documents that I couldn't even read because they're in French. The reality has been MUCH better than I expected. I count it a tender mercy that I have not felt bored while doing camera captures. A missionary couple who was only here for 2 weeks after I arrived taught me to make a game of it, to set goals and try to best myself from the day before. The husband captured 3025 images in a single day during the last week of his mission! ASTOUNDING! I hit just over 1400 for a high this week. I've got a long way to go.

Another missionary challenged me to find out WHY this work is so important. He said the WHAT would become easier if I had a deep understanding of the WHY.

Here's an example of gorgeous handwriting on one document.

You may not find anything fascinating about this stamp, but any variation in the documents makes life just a little bit more interesting.

And how about these cute little red seals on this document?

A seal AND a stamp! This one is over-the-top! 

I also go to the temple every Thursday to break up the week. The Montreal Temple is about a 25 minute drive from my apartment. I love that a bit of the local culture is apparent in the design of the temple. There are fleur de lys impressions in the carpet and on the altars. And there are maple leaves on the outside. I feel very blessed to be assigned to a place where I am close to a temple. I love going to the temple every week. It is a place of solace and realignment for me.

    

Our weekends are spectacular! Sister C, another single sister, and I like to go exploring on the weekends. Work hard, play hard! The archives were closed on May 22 for Victoria Day so we headed off to see Quebec City for the three day weekend. Quebec City is about 3 hours away from Montreal.

There's a spectacular waterfall nearby called Montmorency Falls. It is 30 meters taller than Niagara Falls. When you are near it, you are stunned by the power and the volume of the falling water!

Old Town Quebec City is gorgeous and has a European flavor.

Our favorite place by far on our weekend getaway was Orleans Island. Sadly, I don't have many pictures of it because as we drove around the entire island, I was behind the wheel. We are determined to go back and spend more time on the island.

We did manage to snap a few photos at the ice cream shop where we stopped. Look how thick that shell of chocolate is!!

I'm grateful to be serving in Montreal. I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve Heavenly Father's children who are on the other side of the veil. I want them to have the chance to receive ordinances. I think of myself as a missing link to facilitate someone finding their family through historical documents. There are many blessings that come from serving the Lord! Have any of you been thinking about serving a mission?? I invite you to pray about it and ask Father what He thinks you should do.

Missionary moments:

• We talked to a young man from India on the metro. He says he hopes to go to the US someday because he has family and friends there. "Which state?" I asked. UTAH! No way! "Which city?" SALT LAKE! I told him that his family and friends have surely heard of our church. And now he has as well.
• During a lesson about patriarchal blessings a few weeks ago, a young woman who was sitting two chairs away from me scooted over and asked how she could get a patriarchal blessing. I explained a little bit and later discovered that it was her first time to church and she was not a member of the church! Surprise! Last Sunday I learned that she had been baptized.

Running total of captures: 6390