Zone Conferences Begin

This is coming out a couple of days late.  We were in Quebec City on Sunday when I normally send my weekly email—so here it is on Tuesday. r.

Last week was transfer week.  Let’s just say it was crazy!  There is always so much to do that week.  For me, my big responsibility for the transfer itself is to purchase bus tickets. I didn’t get the list until late Monday afternoon, so I had to stay and accomplish that task.  Thank goodness it wasn’t as complicated as it was last transfer!  Everything went smoothly—just had to buy a lot of them!

As the missionaries transfer from one area to another in the mission, many of them stop in at the office so we get to see them.  Love that!  We love seeing those that have been in this area and moved on and we love getting to know the new missionaries that are assigned to work in Montreal.  Honestly, you can’t find a more wonderful group of young people.

I spent two nights in the Temple this week.  Wednesday is my usual night to serve, so I was there that evening. I was also there on Thursday to be with the departing missionaries. This is always a very bitter sweet experience for all of us.  One of the memories I will treasure  of that evening is being seating waiting for the session to start. President Phillips came in after all the missionaries were seated.  He walked in, looked at them, and flashed a huge smile and gave them a thumbs up before he sat down.  He and Sister Phillips work so incredibly hard to serve all of us.  I can only imagine the joy he had to have felt as he saw this group of young people he had shepherded so faithfully and so well.

We had a pretty funny thing happen on Friday. We decided we would walk to the Banquise Restaurant. The missionaries rave about this and since it is within walking distance of the office, we’d go there for dinner.  As we left the office, Elder Harvey and Elder Roskelley followed us out.  I said we were headed to Banquise. Then Elder Harvey said, “Oh, can we come?” So they went to Banquise with us—we had a great time with them. It has been so fun to see the growth and development in these young people.  Elder Harvey has been in Montreal for a long time so we’ve seen him blossom and shine.  So much fun!

Poutine at La Banquise with Elders Harvey and Roskelley

Sunday was an interesting day.  We planned to leave for Quebec City right after our church services ended. True to Montreal driving conditions, we couldn’t get on the freeway. Instead, it routed us back home and out another way.  Unbelievable.  It is impossible to plan with any degree of accuracy when you will arrive. As we use Lucy, we watch her recalculate our arrival time.  I left for the Temple later than usual on Wednesday. Lucy had me arriving within 30 minutes when I pulled out of the parking lot. Then she kept adding minutes.  I made it with moments to spare!  From what I understand, road construction is horrible during the summer—if it is, that will make a very difficult task—driving—more difficult.  However, once we were on our way, the drive was beautiful.  Quebec is lush and green.  Coming from the desert, I’m not used to such sights.  I wonder if it will stay that way all summer or if it will turn brown like it does at home.  Since we make that trek every six week, time will tell. (It's hard to get good pictures while we're driving!)

Two other things happened on Sunday that had a huge impact on me.  One of the speakers in Sacrament Meeting spoke on the importance of forgiving those who have wronged us.  I have rarely heard such a powerful talk in Sacrament Meeting. Both Pat and I were amazed at what we were taught.  I sought out the sister and asked her if she had a copy of the talk—she handed me the one she had used!  I scanned it today and emailed it to Pat, the two senior sisters and myself.  The second things was that my dear friend Sandy LeCheminant whom I have known for about 20 years and with whom I worked at Indian Hills helped our family in such a loving, kind way.  She is certainly one in a million. I am so very grateful for her and her husband.

Yesterday, Monday, we spent the morning at Zone Conference in Quebec City so that Pat could do the car inspections. He is supposed to do that for each zone conference. I go along as the chauffeur! I love being able to see the missionaries that we have known in Montreal and who are now in Quebec.  All in all it was a busy but enjoyable week.

Tonight Pat had to go back to the office to help a couple of missionaries and I had to get the supplies ready to go to the Mount Royal Zone Conferences.  I still need to do the dishes before going to bed and it’s already 8:30!  Miss my dishwasher!

Thanks to all of you for supporting us as we serve here in Montreal.