Oh! The Heat!

It's was really hot here in Montreal for three days in a row. The hottest one hit 113 F for the "feels like" temperature. I don't do well with the heat. The AC in my apartment was working like crazy and could only cool my place to 76 F.

I shouldn't complain because my missionary son in Nigeria has little to no electricity to run the fans in their apartment. Often he goes to bed by 10:00 but can't sleep until midnight because it's too hot. Here he is with a washcloth on his head to provide some shade from the sun. He and his companion are waiting in a long line at an ATM on Pday hoping to be able to withdraw some cash. After an hour and a half, they found out the ATM ran out of cash so they'd have to go to another ATM. They waste SOOO much time on Pdays waiting in line at ATMs. We were chatting while he was waiting in line so that he could multitask.

I had a temple appointment to do sealings and I was thinking it would feel nice to be in GOOD AC for a few hours. When I got there I discovered the AC at the temple was broken. As I was kneeling at the altar, I started to feel light-headed. As soon as the ordinance was finished I quickly moved to a chair because I've heard many stories of people fainting at the altar while doing sealings. 

I didn't feel well the rest of the evening. And the next day I spent either lying down on the couch or my bed. Wow! The heat really knocked me out! I felt dizzy and very weak. I'm glad that's over with!

We had another false start to our vital records project this week. I'm sure we'll start...someday! 

One of the archives missionaries had a birthday this past week so we decorated her cubicle.

Last week I finished teaching a class on how to conduct music at our Chinese branch. about one fourth of the class was comprised of members of the Church. The other participants are just interested people in the community. It was a little tricky since I don't speak Mandarin, only Cantonese. So one of the bishopric counselors came each week to translate. In a few weeks I'll take the cream of the crop from the conducting class and start teaching them how to play piano.

The Harman family (think KFC owners) has a grant program that provides keyboards and manuals for students to learn how to play piano in hopes of building the musical abilities of church members. Then they can start accompanying songs on Sunday in our church meetings.

Canada culture moment...KFC is called PFK (Poulet frit Kentucky) in Quebec.

I felt like I was in Utah for several hours on Saturday afternoon. I joined a Jones family reunion via Zoom. It's always so good to be with my cousins. I'm glad they made the extra effort to include a few of us who couldn't be there in person. Thanks to those of you who planned it!!

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God's Beautiful World

Sorry, long post today since I missed doing a post last week.

My Mother's Day was spectacular! The best part was that I got to talk to my missionary son and watch him in action at the church, interacting with members, getting a free meal from one sister (who I wanted to kiss!), and making arrangements for lessons later that day. On my mission I've had the most excellent Christmas, Easter, and now Mother's Day. Does a mission enhance your holidays? It kind of feels that way!

Here's another beautiful thing that happened on Mother's Day. Both of these men are members of the branch where I attend church. The man on the right lives with and is caring for his aged mother. The man on the left painted a picture of the mother and presented it to this brother on Mother's Day. It was all very touching. And the artistry is amazing!

This persisent friend of mine invited me to her graduation. She has been training for a year to be an LPN. She's a single mom and an immigrant from Nigeria. She's worked SO HARD this year, going to LPN classes in the day and French classes at night! I was so proud of her at graduation that I felt like I could have been her mother!

Here's a beatiful little spot in the archives building where I work that has been created JUST for me to have a quiet place where I can join a Zoom call twice a week at 2 pm to teach our friend from Ghana...the man who approached me on the street. I sit on the red couch on the right for the lessons. Our friend is very diligent about being at lessons and wants to be baptized but he's having a hard time making it to church. Part of the difficulty is that he has now lived in 3 different places since coming to Montreal: a hotel, a friend's place, and now his own apartment. Hopefully, now that he has a permanent spot, things will calm down and he can figure out public transport in order to get there.

THE FISH ARE BACK!! I've been waiting and waiting for these guys ever since the weather started warming up. This fish pond is along the street that I trek daily going to and coming home from the archives. I love to stop here and watch the fish. It's a peaceful spot in a very busy, noisy city. My three favorite fish from last year were the yellow ones. I'm pretty sure that two of them are back, but they are NOT yellow. They're kind of a pale, almost translucent color. I wonder if they go pale in the winter when they're indoors and then their color returns eventually as they spend time outside. More to come on this developing situation. 

Here's one of the fish that used to be yellow. Now it's as pale as the twirly seeds that have fallen into the pond. This fish's name is June. The word for yellow in French is "jaune". See the connection?

The Montreal seniors drove 2.5 hours to Ottawa for the Tulip Festival. We saw some beautiful tulips.

This was my favorite bed of flowers because of the color combination.

But most of the tulips we saw looked like this. . .

and this. . .   
There was even an entire bed that was only stems. All of the petals had dropped off.

One of the senior couples went a week earlier than the rest of us. They came back with some incredible photos. But they warned us that by the time we got there, there wouldn't be much left. Oh well! We were with great people and the Ottawa seniors provided us with a scrumptious lunch.

Here's one of my favorite missionaries explaining the history of the Tulip Festival. During World War II, Canada sheltered the Dutch royal family. The queen was pregnant and it's important for royalty to be born on native soil so the maternity wing of the hospital was temporarily declared Dutch until after the birth of the baby. As a show of gratitude, the Netherlands sent Canada 100,000 tulip bulbs. They continue to send 10,000 bulbs per year ever since then. Cool story, eh? (Can you tell I'm picking up a Canadian accent? 😂 Actually, the only times I've ever heard anyone say eh? in Canada, it's come out of an American's mouth.)

Parliament Hill in Ottawa was stunning! This where the national government buildings are in Canada. I felt like I was walking among castles and fortresses! 

The buildings have been under renovation for many years and will be for many more years. They are adding things like air conditioning and updating internet access. They're redoing the plumbing and electrical systems and making the buildings earthquake safe. It's a huge overhaul!

A nearby hotel. . .

I got to spend lots of time with these people during my weekend in Ottawa. I love both of them dearly. They are fabulous human beings. 💕

We saw and smelled about 50 different varieties of lilacs! I had NO IDEA there were so many kinds!

I had to get this shot just because of my matching shirt. Haha

Luckily, I made it home JUST in time to go to dinner with these lovely people. This young man is one of our former APs who finished his mission last December. I knew he'd be in town but didn't know his plans. On my drive home from Ottawa he texted and asked if I wanted to go to dinner with him and his parents. They were taking an early flight the next morning! I FINALLY GOT TO GIVE HIM A HUG!!! It kills me that I can't hug these young elders that I love so dearly.

Pause for a little "Canada culture" moment. These two products do NOT taste the same in Canada as they do in the U.S. The Wheat Thins are much worse but the Kit Kats are MUCH better! The chocolate is superior.

The archives seniors went out for dinner and pie last Friday night. We ran into this beautiful feast for the eyes as well.

Here's a newspaper I found left on the table at the pie place. What we know as CMM is the Canada Montreal Mission. Apparently the greater Montreal is also known as the CMM. Haha

We will definitely  be visiting this pie place again!! The young missionaries told us about it. I've decided if you want to know the good places to eat in town...ask the young missionaries.

They're ripping up the sidewalk next to our archives building. Apparently, if you move to Montreal and you want to have job security, get a job as a construction worker!

This week our mission leaders asked the senior missionaries to assist in funneling electronic requests to the young missionaries. The office staff has been doing this but it has become overwhelming in the recent past. Just more evidence of God gathering his children in Eastern Canada! I'm thrilled to be able to help with this! It will only take me about 15 minutes each day. I go into the referral board and match the person's address to the missionaries in that area. Then I send off the referral to the correct missionaries so they can follow up with a contact. One of the sets of elders in my district had a baptism recently from a woman who requested a visit electronically!

I took a quick trip to the Insectarium this weekend. I am continually blown away by the HUGE variety of creatures and plants that God has created for us to live among!  They are spectacular!

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