WHO Created This??

This is the street where I walk every day to get home from the archives. I've been watching them paint the side of the Hyatt Hotel for several days now. One of our Canadian missionaries tells us that this is typical for "Québecois", Québec people. They like whimsical things. 

A woman in my ward from home sent me a website telling of musical swings in Montréal where you make music as you swing. DEFINITELY going to go in search of THOSE next week! It's these kinds of things that make Montréal so fun!

Here's my food bank dream team. I love these gals. When I showed up to help with the food bank drive last Saturday, a service missionary approached me as soon as I walked in the door. She said there were some young missionaries who needed to be hooked up with a driver. Lucky me! I got to spend the morning with these lovelies. I was inspired by the people of the LaSalle neighborhood. They were incredibly generous with their food! There are still many, many good people in the world!!

Don't you love this row of God's army??

Don't worry, they aren't really yellow elders and sisters. It's the lighting from the stained glass windows in this circular church where we gathered to get instructions for gathering the food.

This sister is ON FIRE with missionary work! She has a goal to knock 100 doors in one week!

We ran into some cool homes while gathering food. See the beaver and the maple leaves at the top?

I am the queen! I finished a project. But it was an awful one. Many of the documents had ancient cellophane tape on them which cracked, fell off, and made the project just plain awful to work with. I wrote a song about it. . .

Sing to the Rubber Ducky song from Sesame Street:

Cell-o-phane tape

You're the one.

You make captures

Not so fun.

Your inventor should be drawn and quartered. . .posthumously.

(You have to just say the last word because I ran out of notes in the tune for it.) 😂

Whenever I broke out into this song in my cubicle, my archive teammates knew that I was fighting with old, old cellophane tape.

See what I mean? UGH.

This was a smallish project, one with only 24 boxes.

I went to district council with these lovely people this week. I didn't even KNOW I could attend district council with the young missionaries until I started poking around and asking questions!! I love being with the young missionaries. I'm going to start attending two district meetings every week, 1- the Lawry District (this is what I call our senior district because President Harkness says we should be called "seasoned missionaries" instead of senior missionaries...seasoned SALT is Lawry's so I just borrowed their name for our district), and 2- the La Plateau District council.

This is the first picture we took where Sister Jones has a look of shock on her face because Sister B just held  her hand up in the air and the phone camera clicked. I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD DO THAT!!! #newtechnology/oldmissionary

This missionary! Ohhhh, how I love this missionary! He is our district leader but I have known him for several months now because we both serve in the Mandarin branch. Early on, we were sitting at the same table for a linger longer to break the fast. He is an incredible young man. The Spirit told me that in a powerful way as we sat and talked that first time. He is kind, gentle, and a diligent missionary. He has a powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon. He decided to read it while he was in his first year of college to "prove his parents wrong". Oops! He didn't figure on the power of that book sucking him in! That exercise in faith is why he is here today serving a mission in Montreal.

I am blessed to have been able to attend the very last district meeting he will ever preside over in this mission. He'll be going home next week and I'm going to miss him terribly. I cry every time I think about it. But I best get used to comings and goings because that's what missions are all about. Well, that, and bringing our brothers and sisters unto Christ. These young missionaries had better watch out at my first mission reunion after I get home because I'm going to give them the hug of a lifetime next time I see them! I really hate that I can't give them a hug when they go home.

This woman had the most fascinating story to tell. . .

And then I poked her eyes out. Which made a man who was walking by stop and talk to us. We asked him if he wanted to come to church with us. 😂 

The young missionaries inspired me at district council as I listened to them talk about their weekly goals. I realized that I've been missing a piece of goal setting! I have a goal to find one person, ONE PERSON, for the young missionaries to teach. I know it's a tiny goal but I'm going to reach it first and then I'll broaden my horizons. The young missionaires told me that they think they talk to about 20 people before they find one that is willing to have a follow up appointment with them. I realized that I need to have a goal of talking to 20 people about the gospel in order to achieve my goal of finding one person for the missionaries to teach. So far I've talked to four. Gotta long way to go!

. . . reminded me of my childhood

I have a whole new apprectiation for the Creation after today. Sister C and I visited the botanical gardens this afternoon. It's huge! We only saw half of it in 2 hours. We'll go back another day. Now I know where my 15% taxes are being used every time I buy something.

These are not manmade. They are some kind of huge lilypad type plant...fascinating!

This spot in the garden reminded me so much of the Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. I was nearly alone so it was very quiet...except for 3 mosquitoes.

I have plans to visit the Sacred Grove on the way home from my mission. It's a place I've always wanted to see.

Don't miss the turtle in the upper left in this photo. This is my first glimpse of a Canadian goose IN Canada!

OK, I look at this plant and think, "WHO designed this??" Let's combine pink, purple, and orange and then to make the individual leaves stand out a little more, let's put a tiny, white scalloped edging on them. See what I mean about being in awe of the Creation?!?

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My Crackers Are Soggy! 😟

It was a humdinger of a week for weather in Montréal. The whole week was blistering hot. On the worst day, the high temperature was 88° F but the humidex (what it feels like when the humidity is factored in) was 106° F. The rain finally rescued us on Friday. I've never been so grateful for rain! Some of the senior missionaries have a de-humidifier and they've been pulling a gallon of water out of the air in their small apartment every 5 hours. The air has been so heavy this week! And I'm just not used to having crackers that don't crunch...they feel like they're wilted in my mouth. This desert girl is not accustomed to all of this moisture in the air!

One of the things on my bucket list is to attend a professional football game. I just never thought that it would be in Canada! A bunch of us "seasoned missionaries" went to watch our home team, the Montreal Alouetts, play a game a week ago. I love that their mascot's name is Touché. 

The next day I headed out for 2 days away from the big city since the archives was closed for Labor Day, which happens to be the same as Labor Day in the U.S. I wanted to go to church so I drove to a small town called Granby. I was surprised when Google maps took me to a strip mall and I nearly missed it because I've never been to church in a strip mall before!

I sat through testimony meeting and understood next to nothing since the meeting was in French. But I was amused to watch a 4 year old boy's set up on the row his family was sitting on. Do you see how he creatively used hymnbooks as corrals for his animals? Brilliant!

The branch was friendly and inviting. But my favorite part was meeting these two missionaries who are both stellar young men. We didn't mean to, but we ended up having Sunday School in the hall. The Spirit was soooo strong as we discussed important aspects of being missionaries. It was very apparent to me that one of these elders was being taught something powerfully by the Spirit as tears streamed down his face. I was supposed to be at the Granby Branch that day!

This sign says "I am unpredictable." Apparently Canadian moose can talk!

This! This is why I flee the city as often as I can. My dream home would be in a setting very similar to this. The beauty and the peace do wonders for my soul.

As I was on my way to the AirBnB, I came across a car rollover so the police officer was diverting all traffic onto a dirt road. A detour in the back woods of eastern Québec? Yes, please! I got so lost and GPS was freaking out as I drove in and out of cell coverage. I could have cared less. I knew the general direction of the main road I needed to find and I saw some absolutely beautiful settings.

Here's what the AirBnB looked like. The original part of the house (the right side) was built in the late 1800s. The left side was added as a garage but the current owners have remodeled it into their living space. As soon as I arrived I was told the power was out due to the car rollover which had hit a powerline. So the hosts lit candles throughout the house. I thought it very apropos since that's probably the way the house looked in the evenings when it was first built. The power was back on by 11 pm. I spent the evening in the backyard where it was cooler. Click on the link for the backyard scene.

Much-needed serenity

The AirBnB property came complete with chickens, geese, and the most well-mannered dog. I spent quite a bit of time getting to know him. I loved his gentle personality.

I have fallen in love with the Abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac (the Abbey of Saint Benoit of the Lake.) It's a monastery in a beautiful country setting. It was founded in 1912 by some monks from France who came via Belgium. Today there are 40 monks living at the abbey. More history here if you're interested: https://www.abbaye.ca/en/learning-about-the-abbey/history/#:~:text=The%20foundation%20of%20Saint%2DBeno%C3%AEt,construction%20of%20a%20stone%20monastery 

They allow guests to stay. Men can stay in the main building with the monks and women stay in a nearby house but take meals at the abbey. Silence is required at all times. I tried to book a room but they're full for the next 3 months! I'm going to plan ahead and find a weekend to spend in contemplation and silence while staying at the abbey. 

I love how simple their chapel is.

I attended mass one day and heard the monks singing Gregorian chant. It was beautiful as it echoed throughout the chapel. One of the things that stunned me was that the people who were visiting and were asked to participate in the silence COULD. NOT. BE. SILENT! I was a little shocked because I felt like it was disrespectful. However, it may have been easier for me to be silent because there was no one in the chapel that I knew so I wasn't tempted to want to talk to anyone. People were quiet and talked in whispers. But to me, the word silence is an all or nothing kind of word. There's no such thing as being mostly silent. You're either silent or you're not.

I'm inspired by two things from my Catholic brothers who have dedicated their lives to the Lord: 1) I've been trying to build quiet time for pondering into my schedule this past week, and 2) these men gather for worship in the chapel 7 times every day. I have made covenants to always remember Jesus Christ so I want to be more intentional about remembering Him each day.

This cheese! Ohhhhhh, THIS CHEESE! It cost me $10 and it was worth every penny!!! Coaticook is a small town in Québec. I bought this cheese to eat with some plumb, crunchy green California grapes. What a grand meal THAT was! The other missionaries and I have been really impressed with the dairy products in Québec. The milk stays fresh longer. The cheese tastes better. The ice cream is richer and creamier.

It's staaaaarting! The leaves are just beginning to turn up here in the north!

The last stop of my weekend trip was this charming tiny town called North Hatley. An owner of one of the antique shops (who just so happens to be a cousin of Ervil LaBaron!) told me that there are a lot of Americans who spend the summer in this tiny town because their families have owned cabins here for many generations. And we're not talking New Englanders. . .Southerners! Apparently the Southerners didn't want to spend the summers with the Northerners after the Civil War so they went further north into Canada. There even used to be a train that went from the South and its route ended in the tiny town of North Hatley, Canada! Who knew??

I went to Primary this Sunday. It's so much easier for me to understand the Mandarin spoken in Primary than the adult class! We were talking about how Heavenly Father is Jesus' Father. One of the kids asked, "Who is Heavenly Father's father?" Oh wow! I've actually never thought of that! It floored all of the Primary teachers and they simply said they didn't know. But it kind of makes sense to me that Heavenly Father would have parents also. After Primary I told this boy that the reason we don't know is because Heavenly Father hasn't ever told us. I told him that Heavenly Father knows everything but He has only shared some things with us.

I can only assume that the young missionaries in the Canada Montreal Mission are serious, hard-working missionaries. Every Sunday night we have a missionwide Zoom meeting called "Joy and Success". We hear each zone report about their goals and accomplishments for the week. We also get to see photos and hear some quick thoughts from missionaries about each of our friends who have been baptized during the previous week.

Check out these numbers! Our missionionaries find about the equivalent of an entire ward of friends every week who are potentially interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and His restored gospel! And you'll notice that boils down to approximately 10 baptisms per week. A few weeks ago I heard that we were among the top 5 baptizing missions in the entire world! What?!? We're not an African or South American mission! . . . or ARE we?? Most of the people who are being baptized in our mission are immigrants. Our mission leaders tell us that these people are being led to Canada to find the gospel.

I'M SO PROUD OF OUR YOUNG MISSIONARIES!!!

President Harkness told our young missionaries last night that they brag to their family all the time about the missionaries in our mission. And then Sister Harkness quickly added. . .RIGHTEOUS bragging! 😂

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Zone Conference and RS Campout

It never ceases to amaze me how little I know about this mission 4 months into it. I went to my first zone conference last week. Oh wow! What a spiritual feast! I've been told by other "seasoned missionaries" that senior missionaries can go to mission meetings "if you want to, but you don't have to...and no one goes." Well THIS senior missionary is not going to miss another one the rest of my mission! What's good for the goslings is good for the goose. And it's just one more chance for me to be around young missionaries who I love.

These two fabulous people are our mission leaders, President David Harkness and Sister Lisa Harkness. They are both amazing teachers and it was very obvious to me that they had prepared very carefully for zone conference.

Zone conference also allowed me to watch young missionaries practice teaching with each other. It brought back lots of memories from my mission in Hong Kong nearly 40 years ago.

Here's one of my favorite elders reading a printer's copy of the Book of Mormon. He read it in a reverant voice and when he finished, he said, "I testify that that's true." Oh wow. Young missionaries amaze me.

There was an annual stake Relief Society campout last weekend. I got to know these lovely ladies at dinner but wimped out and didn't stay overnight because there was a threat of rain. I felt good about that decision when I heard at church that it had been a cold and miserable night. I became good friends with the woman on the far right when she invited me to eat dinner at her house on Mother's Day. She is a warm and wonderful daughter of God.

I don't know this woman but she was ready for  the mosquito battle! I admire her determination.  Apparently mosquitoes have been an awful annoyance in years past. I killed a few but came away with no bites from the night.

Even senior missionaries have to brave the weather sometimes. . .

Missionary moment: I met a darling dog on the metro platform named Rookie. She was with her mama and we started talking about dogs while I petted Rookie. She mentioned that she'd had a dog that she was so close to. She wondered if it was a favorite uncle reincarnated. I thought, "Well, there's my opening." I asked her if she believed in reincarnation and then if she believed in life after death. I told her that we DO continue to live. I left her with a pass along card that says on the front "Where do I go after I die?" She is a lovely young woman and I'm grateful that she allowed me to drop a little seed with her.

Running number of captures: 90,180

For Me, It's All About PEOPLE

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.

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