Happy belated Thanksgiving! For only the second time in my life I went to work on Thanksgiving. The first was my first Thanksgiving in France 47 years ago. My companion and I spent the day tracking in Roubaix, France. Our Thanksgiving dinner consisted of watercress soup! First and only time I've had that delicacy! This year, although we worked, we managed to pull off a lovely Thanksgiving meal--more about that later.
As a result of the Renlunds and Buckners visit, all of the missionaries, including the McGees, experienced a continuing spiritual high as we worked this week! That was truly an amazing experience.
I marvel at the behind-the-scene work that must be done when missionaries are either coming or going and for their continued support here in the mission. When we were at stake conference last Sunday, one of the members noticed we were missionaries and asked what our assignment was. When we told her that we were office missionaries, she thanked us and said that because we do what we do, the younger missionaries can increase their contacting time. I recalled who did all of the necessary work when I was a missionary—it was done by missionaries. I remember a mission secretary, financial secretary, travel secretary, all positions that were filled by the missionaries (we didn't have senior missionaries), but I hadn't connected that reality with the loss of contacting time. We didn't have a fleet of cars in the France-Belgium Mission, so Elder McGee's responsibilities would not have been needed. Believe me, they are needed here! He is a very busy office missionary; he receives multiple calls each day about a variety of vehicle-related issues ranging from lost gas cards to accidents. We are kept busy doing all of the tasks that must be performed to make the mission run. And, yes, by having us and the Holts in the office, we do make it possible for the young missionaries to do what they were called to do.
Last week Sister Perez and Sister Allred, two of the missionaries in the Hochelaga District, the one we are assigned to, texted me and asked what we were doing on Thanksgiving. I texted back and asked what she had in mind. Her response: I thought we could have dinner together. So after work on Monday, we went Thanksgiving-grocery shopping. On Tuesday, I made a pumpkin pie, prepped the ingredients for the stuffing while Pat set the table. Before we left on Wednesday, we put a turkey breast in the crockpot. We hustled from work and finished the meal: mashed potatoes, yams, and gravy. (I thought about doing the Thanksgiving cocktail that the Adams family enjoys so much, but decided that trying to find the recipe and all the ingredients would take more time than I had available!) The sisters brought bread and a salad. It was a wonderful dinner, and we had such a good time with these beautiful young ladies! The mission is very careful to limit non-contacting time, so the elders in our district couldn't join us for dinner. Feeling sad for them, we fixed plates for the two of them and they picked them up on their way home at the end of their work day. What better way to observe a day of thanksgiving than to work for the God who gives it all to us. I don't have pictures because I left my phone at work! And to make the day even better, we took the sisters home and didn't get lost! Our GPS worked perfectly! (We're going to come up with a name for this contraption. It's a very important part of our life here in Montréal and deserves a proper name!)
I was so hoping I would escape the dreaded office cold. When Elder Holt came down with it last weekend, I thought the chances were pretty good that I would get it as well. I did. After the festivities were over on Thursday, I was pretty sure it was going to hit—it did! I woke up Friday feeling horrible. I spent all day Friday in bed, and Saturday and today mostly down. I'm hoping to be able to go back to work tomorrow because I have a huge project I have to complete this week.
The world is indeed small. This week one of the Elders came into the office and said, "You know my grandparents!" I do know his grandparents. They are Carolyn and Nathan Adamson. Brother Adamson was my teacher and mentor. I was in his 9th-grade English class oh so many years ago. It is because of him, Faye Meier, and Luella Okeson that I chose to become an English teacher! Another connection: We have an elder here who is the grandson of my parents' mission president!
We were going to move to an apartment across the hall but have decided against it—we love our view of Mt. Royal, the busy street in front of the apartment, and the park at the end of the street directly in front of us. We inherited some plants and Pat bought a couple more—our little place is becoming more and more ours and is warm and cozy. We are very comfortable where we are.
Plants Pat is lovingly tending.
We inherited this beauty from the Burnahs.
Winter is making its presence known! It snowed enough to cover the ground. Here we go!
This is looking down the street directly in front of our apartment to a little park on the next block.
Although we miss our family terribly, we're so happy to be missionaries! Much love to all of you.
