Our janitor may be getting a new job elsewhere soon so we made sure we got a picture with him (far left in the dark shirt.) We really enjoy seeing him every day at 2 pm when he comes to empty the garbage in our room. The other 3 are the missionaries I work with at the national arcives every day. We have a great team! Often we listen to audiobooks or music while we capture photos, but lately since we're all in the same room now, we just end up chatting while we work.
I ran across these two darlings and their mama one day when I was walking home. It was a particularly difficult day and these two golden retrievers were like healing salve for my heart. And their owner could not have been more friendly! Now I watch for them every day when I walk home. They'll be moving in a few months but they're only moving a few blocks. I said they have to be sure and put the yellow potted flowers in front of their new home so I know where to find them. The owner said, "Heck, I'll give you the address!" Woohoo! These two dogs are snugglers and help relieve my longing for my own Indie.
When we moved into our new room at the national archives, I organized the closet and labeled each shelf. They include labels such as "office supplies" and "capture supplies." Do you like the label for this shelf?
Here's a project I recently completed. Each box represents about 3 hours of work. There are 37 boxes. You do the math. You have a real sense of accomplishment when you finish a project.
One of our "archive missionaries" finished a humongous project last week. It contained 90 boxes! And it took nearly 8 months to complete! I decided we needed to start a traditional celebration when each of us finishes a project. Click on the link to see the inagural celebration. It's pretty hilarious!
Celebrating completion of a HUGE project!
Yep. This is what every Sunday is like for me. . .bewilderment. I attend a Mandarin Chinese speaking branch. Actually, it's not really this bad. Someone translates in sacrament for a few of us English speakers and we wear headphones. And the branch takes very good care of me. Someone always sits next to me in the 2nd hour and translates for me. But the Mandarin I studied in college a million years ago is starting to come back to me! Not quickly enough, but I have begun studying it again too. Line upon line, right? Be patient with the process. BUT I'm speaking in sacrament meeting this coming Sunday so the roles will be reversed. I'll speak English and many in the congregation will need the headphones. It's such a blessing that there are many who can translate and I'm grateful for their kindness.
We had transfers recently and got two new elders in our Chinese branch. I feel like this is a solid set of missinaries. I truly love these young men. I admire them for putting their young lives on hold to serve their Father and His children.
These missionary shoes will be going home next transfer. I love missionary shoes. They are a testament to hard work and diligence of young people. . .wearing out their lives, and their shoes, in the service of God.
Admit it. You want this vintage furniture in your living room. I found these in the national archives building where I serve every day. I was exploring and ran across them. It's such a fun building to explore! And because I have an employee level access badge, I can go just about anywhere.
Another picture from the national archives building in Montreal.
Our mission office just lost two senior missionaries and the office is frighteningly understaffed for the myriad of responsibilites that need taking care of. Therefore, I've been going into the misson office twice a week for a few hours to help take up the slack. Here are some of the lovely people I am getting to know in the mission office. Not pictured: a senior elder who has been nicknamed "Casper". . . he's always taking off to attend to some task and no one ever knows where he is, not even his wife. Soon after this picture was taken, a little frivolity broke out in the office. It may, or may not, have involved Nerf guns. Hehe. I love serving in fun, happy environments!
HERE'S A SHAMELSS PLEA FOR MORE SENIOR MISSIONARIES! Every mission in the world needs them! Two mission leaders simply cannot do it all! Have any of you been toying with the idea of serving a senior mission? **hint, hint** Seiously think about it!
One evening while walking home from the mission office, Avenue Du Mount Royal lured me onto it. There are several streets that are blocked off during the summer and this is one of them. They become pedestrian streets only and have a very festive atmosphere.
I ran across these fun and entertaining drummers. Click to see the video.
Montreal Drummers
This may well be one of the most joyous human beings I've ever met. A few of our missionaries take the bus home every day and for weeks they kept telling us about "the singing bus driver." This guy plays his music while driving and belts out the tunes. And he's a good singer! He warmly greets everyone who gets on the bus and seems to genuinely care about each rider. This man is a legend! OK, at least with four missionaries who serve in the national archives in Montreal.
I was curious, so I rode the bus home with my fellow missionaries one day so I could meet him. Just a few days before that, someone had broken into his car and stolen his device that he uses to play his music. So I didn't get to hear him sing, but at least I got to meet this spectacular human! He asked why I decided to ride the bus that day since he hadn't seen me with the other missionaries before. I said, "Oh, I'm not going anywhere in particular. I just wanted to have a ride on your bus." Really, I was going home with the other missionaries because we all live in the same apartment building.
He told us that once a week a woman gets on his bus with a bunch of flowers. One time he jokingly said, "Oh! Are those for me?" She told him that she visits her godmother every week and takes flowers with her. Lo and behold, last week the woman brought some flowers for him! I wasn't surprised to hear that at all.
He also told us that one time he had a whole group of teenage girls singing with him on the bus to a Justin Beiber song. He said the bus was really crowded that day so the girls had to stand at the front of the bus near him. He was singing along and one of the girls started to sing with him. Then one by one, all of her friends joined in.
But we got some sad news today. His schedule has been changed. He'll drive a different route most days and will only be on our route on Sundays. I'm thinking about going for a bus ride occassionally on Sunday mornings just to hear his happy singing.
Here is a picture of the famous singing bus driver. I think that sunshine just shoots out of his face. What if every single person in the world was like this man?? Wouldn't we have a fabulous world?!?
The sun setting on Montreal. . . What's with the string and the Ziploc bag, you ask? Why, that's the "orange line." Our metro has an orange line, a green line, and a yellow line. So the name is a nod to the Montreal metro. This string runs between my apartment and some of my senior missionary friends who live a floor above me. Sometimes we send things to each other on "the orange line."
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Can I tell you of a beautiful tender mercy from my loving Father in Heaven? For four long months I've been looking for the other purpose of my mission here in Montreal and it finally came the other day. All missionaries know that their purpose is to bring others to Christ. And my specific assignment is to capture historical documents to help people find their ancestors. But I've had this "divine discontent" for 4 months knowing that I had not yet found my personal ministry for this mission, something that only I can do with the unique combination of gifts and talents that I have been given. It came to me in a very powerful way and was very specific. I recorded the directions that flowed from heaven and I have four written pages of notes. I'm so grateful that I finally understand my complete purpose here in Montreal. Now I can go after it with zeal! I'm very excited! And I'm extremely grateful to Father.
Running total of captures: 84,053
