I FINALLY Feel Like a Missionary

My BEST news this week is an amazing miracle! I GOT TO DO SOME MISSIONARY WORK!! Here's the scoop. I was walking home from the archives on Monday and I see someone catching up to me from behind. He says to me, "Are you going for a walk?" I'm thinking, "Who wants to know? And what's your motive for asking this question?" I cautiously told him that yes, I'm going for a walk. Then he saw my nametag and asked if I was a latter-day saint. He said that he came to our church for about 3 months in Ghana and because of the help of the missionaries he stopped smoking and improved other things in his life. I got a lot more friendly in the conversation after that. 😂

We talked for a while and I learned that he came to Montreal for a professional conference last week and stayed on because he has a 6 month visa. He is hoping to immigrate to Canada. I was able to TESTIFY to him that his life is already better because of the knowledge he gained from the missionaries in Ghana and the changes he chose to make. I TAUGHT HIM A PRINCIPLE that this is God's church on the earth. Other churches are good but they were started by men. This church was restored to the earth by our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. I INVITED him to come to church on Sunday and he said he'd come! It turns out he couldn't come today because of some unpredictable circumstances, but he's coming next week. I also sent him an electronic copy of the Book of Mormon and INVITED him to read it along with the Bible.

After we had been talking for a bit, I asked why he even spoke to me on the street. I asked if it was because he saw my nametag. He said that he couldn't see it because he was behind me. He just had this thought that he should talk to that lady. I TESTIFIED to him that that was a message from God in his thoughts. 

The young elders in my district, the elders in my  branch, and my missionary son would be so proud of me! I testified, taught a principle, and gave an invitation! What a huge blessing it was to me that this man stopped me. I yearn to have chances as I serve a mission to be able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  This was a cherished tender mercy for me. We'll see what the future brings for him. I have a goal to find one person for the missionaries to teach. I don't even have an expectation of baptism for that person, just that they will be willing to listen to lessons. I wonder if he will be the one. And then if I ever achieve that goal, maybe I'll go for something bigger.

This is the beautiful chapel where I go to church, right across the street from the Villa-Maria metro stop. And, yes, it's very common for a Montreal sky to look like it did that day.

The National Archives of Quebec where we work installed a new sign outside of our room! The last one we had said The Genealogical Society of Utah...a little outdated.

I have to get out of my chair every hour at the archives and take a walk or my legs stiffen up and I get too bored sitting in one spot. On one of my excursions, I found this great book with historical photos of places around Montreal. It has "then and now" shots. This park is across the street from the archives building.

We had a little outing on the weekend with the senior missionaries to Old Port.

This is so cool! You could squat down and look through these huge glasses at the sun on the day of the eclipse if you didn't have a pair of your own protective glasses! Brilliant!

At one point I was walking past this funny lady hoping to get ahead of everyone so I could have a clear shot of the cityscape. She, at the same time, had other plans for the group and wanted to get a casual shot of everyone walking along. As I tried to pass her up, she stuck out her palm and planted it on my chin to stop me. 🤣 We took this hilarious photo to commemorate that moment.

As I finished another reading of the Book of Mormon today, I was struck with a profoundly deep gratitude for all of the men and women who have labored, protected, cared for, translated, scribed, printed, donated money for, and put their lives at risk so that it could be safely brought down to our day where we SO DESPERATELEY need it! I LOOOOOOVE this book! I love the teachings of Jesus Christ that I find inside. They make my life better. I love the peace and the power that I find from this book. I need the hope that this book teaches me about my Savior. I need the healing and comfort that come from this book. I need the peace that I find in this book. I love how this book compels me to continuously strive to be a better person. Where would I be without this book?!? I NEED this book!!

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