Middle of May – How Can that Be?

Lovely, fickle Montreal!  It was so beautiful last Saturday and then we had rain on and off this week.  Today, it is absolutely beautiful.  We walk through Angrignon Park it was sunny and warm with lovely light green touches all through the trees.  What a glorious morning to be alive!

Our week was quite routine. It was week five of the transfer cycle, so most of the major tasks that we have to do are completed—now we “gird up our loins, fresh courage take” as we head into next week and then transfers.  We did have one rather unusual day—Tuesday.  Tuesday is the young missionaries’ preparation day and many of them come into the office to use the computers to write home.  This week we were told that our carpet was going to be cleaned on that day, so we “closed” the office although the five of us were there.  I arrived at the office around 8:30-8:45 and found the cleaners cleaning away.  They had blowers all over the office, so the racket was bad, but the inconvenience was almost non-existent!  We certainly got a lot done that day because we had virtually no interruptions!

Yesterday we were up early to get our Saturday chores done, then we off to St. Joseph’s Oratory.  It is the largest church in Montreal; it is massive. It sits on the top of a hill and it is a hike to get to the top of it!  The grounds outside are beautifully kept. The inside is large enough to hold thousands of people.  I have been in many beautiful churches.  This one was impressive, but it was a bit too modern in décor to be classified as one of my favorites—it doesn’t compare at all to St. Patrick’s or Ste. Anne de Beaupré. We were famished by the time we finished exploring St. Joseph’s so we stopped at St. Hubert’s for lunch.  Delicious.   We had to race home to prepare for hosing two sister missionaries.

Looking toward St. Joseph's Oratory from Queen Mary Street

 There are many stairs to climb. The stairway in the middle is reserved for pilgrims who climb on their knees—it was all I could do to climb them on my feet!

Looking toward Queen Mary Street from the bottom of the church—still many more stairs to go to reach the top!

 A bit higher up—still more to go!

 Magnificent organ loft—there was a concert being played while we were there.

Altar—the picture does not show the massiveness of the altar and the crucifix.

 Sculptures, wooden, I believe, adorn the walls of the church. Again, the picture does not capture their massiveness!

One of the sculptures in the Garden of the Cross, a meditative garden east of the church. It depicts the Stations of the Cross in sculpture. (The Stations of the Cross is a 14-step Catholic devotion that commemorates Jesus Christ's last day on Earth. The 14 denotations, or stations, focus on specific events of His last day, beginning with His condemnation.)

The Redemption pool and fountain in the Garden of the Cross

Today we invited two sister missionaries to come over so that one of them could Skype with her parents who are serving a mission in France. The other office couple knew this couple when they were in the MTC, so we invited them and Sister Pusey as well.  Each senior missionary contributed something to the meal and we enjoyed a feast.

Sister Puzey, Larson, Hicken, McGee, and Elder McGee. Interesting side note: I was Sister Hicken's assistant principal at Indian Hills Middle School. She was never in my office!

To make the day perfect, we were able to talk to Chris, Marianne, and our precious Sarah and Michael. Now it is just after 8 p.m. We are sitting in our little apartment with the door leading to the patio open. We’re listening to the street sounds that float up the three stories to us.  Soon it will be time to call it a day and a week and get ready for Week 6 of the transfer cycle!

Love to all of you.