What a Week!

This certainly was quite a week in the Canada Montreal Mission.  Early Tuesday morning Pat had gone to the office just after 7.  The two elders who are serving in a little branch north east of Montreal called Alma. One of them told Pat he was standing outside with no shoes on. Pat thought the elder was kidding, so he made a flip comment. The elder then told him that he wasn’t joking; he had no shoes because their apartment had burned down! The first started around 4:40 a.m. and engulfed the entire building within minutes.  So very grateful that all the individuals in the nine-unit apartment building got out safely.  Everything they owned, except for the clothes they had on and the items they grabbed as they ran out, e.g., wallets, phones, proselyting bag, was completed destroyed.  The two missionaries had been trying to reach the mission president, but hadn’t been able to get through, so they called the office.  Pat called the mission president and had the same result as the elders, so he called the mission president’s wife.  Her comment to Pat when he told her about the fire was, “He (the president) will be right on that!”  He was.  Within 30 minutes the elders from neighboring Chicoutimi had driven to Alma to rescue the now homeless missionaries and resources were made available to them so that they could buy clothing. Elder and Sister Evans were able to locate a new apartment for them—not an easy thing to do this time of year because apparently lots of people move on July 1.  All in all, these missionaries experienced many tender mercies from our loving Heavenly Father.  I shared a post that one of the mothers put on Facebook—there are a couple of pictures of the fire there.  The two missionaries were evaluated medically to make certain everything was OK. 

After that, everything else pales!  Because I work in the Temple on Wednesdays, I take the car to the office.  We are gearing up to do the three zone conference lunches in a couple of weeks.  We had the brilliant idea that it would be so much easier if we could just order the nonperishable food items we needed and have them delivered.  Nice plan—didn’t work out that way.  I had to drive to LaSalle to pick the items up.  LaSalle is where we attend church.  Whenever possible we take the metro to avoid the nightmare of driving. Here’s why:  it took 51 minutes to drive the 12.6 kilometers (7.8 miles)!  I went to the customer service and waited in line for about 20 minutes only to be told that I needed to call a number that the service representative pointed to.  Did that.  Waited another 20 minutes. They had no bags or boxes (and I didn’t have enough bags for all of the items) so they sent me on my way with five green containers!  They are now sitting in our living room!

I am so enjoying my time in the tiny little Montreal Temple!  I am getting very close to being able to everything in French!  Yeah! I actually made three trips to the temple this week:  Once on Wednesday and then again on Thursday with the Evans and Sister Puzey, and then again on Friday with Pat—we were at the distribution center that is located at the back of the chapel on the same property as the temple to purchase clothing items that the Alma elders needed but are unavailable elsewhere.  We were going to use Canada Post to send the items up to Alma but learned about Expedibus!  This is a freight service that gets things to places much faster than the post!  Pat packaged the items and we headed for Expedibus.  Found out it is just down the hill from our apartment building!

Friday we had another interesting experience.  Two of our dear sister missionaries were supposed to be at the office by 4 so that one of them could be on a 5 p.m. bus to Ottawa.  They arrived at the office at 5:15—missed that bus!  The earliest I could purchase a ticket for her was 8.  So we took her with us!  We went to a great little place Restaurant Deno's to check it out for an activity that Pat put together for Saturday. All three of us thought it was terrific!  Then we went to the bus station and I was her companion for about 30 minutes until she boarded the bus and was on her way to Ottawa.

Saturday Pat took most of the seniors on a Montreal church tour—he loves churches and goes into lots of them. With his background, he has knowledge about they way they are build and what certain things in them mean. We visited three: Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, St. Patrick’s Basilica, and Notre Dame de Lourdes Chapel.  These churches are incredibly beautiful inside and out.  Not only do we seniors love seeing the beautiful things around Montreal, but we love being together as a group.

The plaque honoring Thomas D'Arcy in St. Patrick's

Notre Dame de Lordes

Altar in Notre Dame de Lourdes

Carves doors inside Nottre Dame de Lourdes

Seniors in front of Notre Dame de Lourdes

Here's what I saw as I walked through Angrignon Park on my way to church this morning:

Always see a couple of groups doing Chinese exercises

We were asked today during church what we like most about Montreal—without question, being with the young missionaries is the answer.  We try to be with them as often as possible.  We had two of them over for dinner tonight.  A senior couple joined us as well.  

Elder Rossi and Elder Poirier (he leaves for home next week) with the seniors!

Well, that about sums up our busy missionary week!

Happy Father's Day

For Family Home Evening last Monday, Sister Carlson had us do an activity as part of her lesson.  Using the app Family Tree on our mobile devices, we were able to identify our relatives around us—I was related to everyone in the room except Sister Puzey and Elder McGee!  Granted, the relationship was very distant, but still there!

Most of the week at the office was routine.  We are in the lull period between zone conferences and transfer week.  We have lots to do, but for the most part, we do it at the office and don’t have to be out and about.  I worked on getting the recipes ready for the next zone luncheon.   We decided we’d order the food online and have it delivered so we can get the quantities we need without having to drive around trying various stores.  I started ordering on Friday but ran out of time.  I’ll do it tomorrow.

When we arrived home on Tuesday, I found an announcement in French on my Facebook: President and Sister Nelson, accompanied by a member of the Twelve, will be in Montréal on August 18. There will be a meeting in a convention center downtown from 6 to 7:30.  We’re excited about that and are looking forward to receiving more details.

Friday we had two young missionaries over for dinner.  We invited the Evans and Sister Puzey as well.  It gets a bit tricky to have seven because someone has to bring a chair.  We brought a 7^th plate from the office so no one had to bring a plate.  Entertaining is interesting when you have a six-place setting of dishes! It worked out and we had a great time.

Elders Harvey and Poirier with Sister Puzey, the Evans, and the McGees

Yesterday, Pat left to clean the office at about 6:30 a.m. I began cleaning the apartment about that time and managed to have the apartment cleaned and most of the laundry done by the time he returned. Then we headed downtown to check out the Cathedral of our Lady Queen of the World.  That is one of the churches that will be on the church tour that Pat has put together and which the seniors will take next Saturday.  After we had scoped out the metro and figured out how to get to the church from the station, we walked to the church. This church is modeled after St. Peter’s in the Vatican. 

Exterior of the cathedral

Side of the cathedral

Interior of the cathedral

Tomb of Father Bourget

The altar

And here we are

Bishop's  Throne 

Baptistry

Statue of Father Bourget outside of the cathedral

 Pat went directly inside but I stayed outside and walked around the area. Place du Canada and Square Dorchester were right next to the church, so I walked to them.  Place du Canada had a war memorial monument and Square Dorchester had a memorial to the poet Robert Burns. I then joined Pat inside the church. We then walked back to the metro station around the area. We found a delightful little deli called The Deli Planet. Their décor and menu was Superman themed.  We had a delicious lunch before heading back home.

War memorial in Place du Canada

Statue of John A. MacDonald in Place du Canada

Robert Burns Memorial at Dorchester Square

In our roaming we found this ice skating rink. Love the little penguins holding up the little kids:

Today I had to speak in Sacrament Meeting.  Usually we take the metro to LaSalle, but today, we needed to do an apartment inspection right after the meeting, so we drove.  Oh, my! Another adventure.  Wonder of wonders, the freeway entrance was open!  Too good to be true!  So we took it.  Big mistake. The exit we needed to take to get to LaSalle was closed.  We got off the freeway, made a U-turn of sorts, and got back on the freeway heading the opposite direction. Then our ever-present GPS (Lucy) announced, “You are going the wrong way down the street!” Of course we weren’t, but she persisted in that notion! We got off the freeway when we thought we were close enough to get there using surface streets—we ended up twisting and turning but managed to get to the chapel on time.

When I was teaching and one or more students were talking and disrupting the class, I would stop teaching and wait.  Unbelievably, I had to do that in church today while I was giving my talk! (Which, by the way, was well prepared, and by all accounts interesting and well received!) There was so much noise and chatting coming from one small section of the chapel near the front that I couldn’t stay focused on what I was doing.  So I stopped.  When things quieted down, I finished my talk.  What was most troubling was that there were a couple of adults who were creating most of the commotion as they were drawing pictures and showing them to some kids who then were laughing. Quite an interesting experience. Oh, well, that’s the way it rolled out today.  As if that episode wasn’t trying enough, I managed to cut my finger with my new mandolin!  I purchased protective gloves to wear to avoid such problems.  I had the glove on the hand that was moving the items across the blade but nothing on the other hand—didn’t think I’d need it!  I wasn’t cutting anything and don’t really know what I did, but I ended up with a cut on my finger.  Next problem—not a Band-Aid in the apartment!  Luckily, the Carlsons are just across the hall.  Good news is that the mandolin works really well—just have to figure out how to use it without slicing and dicing myself!

My talk was on how the influences of a righteous father can bless generations. Preparing it gave me the opportunity to reflect on my father, my grandfathers, my brothers, my sons, and my husband.  So very grateful for each one of them.  My dad has been gone for over 19 years—miss him but so thankful for the lessons he taught me.

Either Sunday or Saturday we Face Time, usually with just Marianne and the kids because Chris is at work.  Today, we were able to Face Time with him as well!  We certainly do love those dear people—and it goes without saying that we love what we are doing

And the Beat Goes On!

Montreal continues to be cool. When we were FaceTiming with Marianne and Sarah today, Marianne said it was about 95 at home. We’re a cool 67 right now. The forecast calls for warming up to 80 on Tuesday. Also, it has been overcast much of the week. I’m hoping for some beautiful sunshine along with warmer temperatures next week. While Pat is loving the extra humidity, I’m not enjoying that part of the Canadian experience all that much! I don’t like feeling sticky all the time!

Much of this week is a blur—it happened so quickly! I made four trips to Longueuil or the South Shore this week. The first was on Monday when we drove over there for Longueuil South’s zone conference. Pat always has the same assignment – inspect cars! He had to do it in the rain this time! For this conference my assignment was to help prepare the luncheon. It was a very easy menu to prepare and cleanup. We had everything wrapped up by about 2 p.m. so the Drolets and I were able to help the new couple get metro cards and the Internet and then drive them to Walmart so they could buy groceries. 

Walmart- pillows are for the mission!

The second trip to Longueuil was on Tuesday when we went to the temple with the senior missionaries. There are 19 senior missionaries in the mission; 15 of us were in the temple together! There was a funny moment prior to the commencement of the session. There was an elderly lady (more elderly than I am) who entered the room after it had been determined that the session would be in English. The gentleman who was in charge told her in French that the session would be English. She then said, “Quelle horreur!” (what a horror!). It was all I could do to not laugh out loud when I heard that! I love this tiny little Montreal temple, and to be there with the other senior missionaries was such a joy. Wednesday I returned to the south shore to do my shift in the temple, and Friday night Pat and I returned to the temple to do some family names. I have been to the temple so often now that I don't have to depend on ditzy Lucy (our GPS) to get me there! I can do all on my own! Routinely, I find that time just flies; this week, it seemed to go so much quicker.

Yesterday, Montréal hosted a visited by Elder Bednar and two Seventies. They were here to conduct a leadership training. Those invited were very specific—neither Pat nor I were on the list. However, I was asked to go to the location and help with the meals. So, in essence, although I wasn’t in the meetings, I was able to listen to them because the sound was piped into the room where I was working. What an incredible experience to listen to these amazing individuals teach. There were a couple of things that really struck me. First, we members of the church have a tendency to talk about the restoration as a distinct event. Elder Bednar indicated that the restoration of the Gospel is ongoing. He also stressed that although the Church is known for the tremendous programs it has to support members and families, all of that is not what the Church is about. The covenants and ordinances of the Gospel are what are important and everything we do should lead to that end. Being there was an incredible experience!

In addition to the routine things we do each day at the office, Sister Puzey and I inspected four apartments. I love seeing the missionaries in their own space. I’m happy to report that we have very neat and tidy missionaries! There was not an apartment that didn’t meet muster.

This strange little fellow was in front of one of the apartments we inspected.

Pat is having a terrible time with his allergies—it is so lush and green up here that all kinds of things that he’s allergic to grown with abandon. He went to the doctor a few weeks ago to see if he could get some relief. She gave him a nasal spray which he’s been using. Yesterday he ended up with pretty bad nosebleeds from the spray. So, he’s not going to be able to use that anymore. Don’t know what he’s going to do other than buck up and move forward. Not much fun for him, though!

That basically sums up our week. Hope that each of you is doing great. Thank you for supporting us in our work in beautiful Montréal, Quebec.

First week of Zone Conferences – Done!

Pat went to three Zone Conferences this week—I went to two: Quebec City on Monday and Ottawa on Friday.  While he was at the third conference here in Montreal on Wednesday, I was at the office. Since I was the only one in the office for most of the day and the missionaries who usually come into the office were in the conference, it was very, very quiet.  I was able to get the correspondence done for missionaries returning in July. I took all of the completed letters to Ottawa with me to get the President’s signature on them. Saturday I went into the office, stuffed the envelopes, and go them ready for Canada Post to pick them up on Monday. Our drive to Ottawa was beautiful:

From our hotel room

Our trip to Ottawa proved to be interesting—because of my stupidity.  I forgot to take my phone charger with us, so I decided I’d charge the phone using the car adapter.  Nice plan—just didn’t think it through.  I sat in the car for about 45 minutes with the ignition turned on but the motor not running.  Then I tried to start the car—no go.  Yes, I had drained the battery!  But I had not just one but two sets of jumper cables in the trunk. Pat had all of the missionaries’ keys, so we pulled a mission car close to mine, enlisted the help of Elder Gordon, and got my car started.  Then I sat in the car for about an hour with the engine going to charge the battery! 

We arrived back in Montreal on Friday just in time to take the metro to the LaSalle ward building to attend a cub scout spaghetti dinner fund raiser.  Several weeks ago, I signed up to bring a dessert.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to make anything, so while we were in Ottawa, we made a trip to Walmart and bought a package of Chips-ahoy cookies.  The desserts were then sold for dessert!  We were going to buy back our lame contribution until we found out they were selling them for 50 cents a piece!  By the time we left, the price had been reduced to 3 for a buck!  We had a nice time with the ward members. We’re trying to get to know them better and figure going to the activities is a good way to do it.

While I was at the office yesterday, I received a phone call from the Andersons.  They are going to work in the archives in Montreal as Record-Preservation Specialists.  There are already six senior missionaries working there, so this is not a new program. They crossed the border at Stanstead and were told they had to prove that what they were going to be doing could not be done by Canadians. Canadians could do what they’re doing, but they would want to be paid. The missionaries, of course, do not receive payment.  They were told that they had to leave Canada immediately! I tried to call President and Sister Phillips but couldn’t reach either of them. I left messages and waited for 10 minutes then called Salt Lake. While I was talking to Salt Lake, the President called, got their number, and spoke to them. He told them to drive back to New York and cross at Champlain.  They did and they were granted the documentation necessary to allow them to work in the archives. They arrived in Montreal early yesterday evening, too late to get metro cards, arrange for Internet service, or get groceries.  They will go to Zone Conference tomorrow with four other senior missionaries and Pat and me.  While Pat does the car inspections, the rest of us will get lunch prepared. As soon as we have things cleaned up, we’ll head back to Montreal (will be across the St. Lawrence in Longueuil next to the Temple) and get all of those things taken care of. Believe me, it is always an adventure up here!

After I returned from the office, we walked to wonderful deli: Schwartz’s. It was so wonderful and not that far from the office.  The place was packed!  We sat in the middle of a six-place table and had dinner with three strangers! On the way home, we stopped in a little neighborhood market to buy bread and milk—and ran into Elder Drolet!

Old armory on Ave. des Pins - passed it on our way to Schwartz's Deli

Today we participated via Facebook at our nephew and niece’s gender reveal party—thanks to Marianne.  It’s a boy!  Today we spent a quiet day at home.  Pat’s back is giving him significant pain, so we left right after sacrament meeting so he could take a pain pill.  I made a batch of Sister Puzey’s oatmeal cookies and froze them so we can give them to the missionaries next week when we inspect apartments.  We also Facetimed with Marianne and the two kids.  When I showed Sarah that I was making cookies for the missionaries, she said that after I had given all of them way to the missionaries, I could make some more and send them to her! If only it were that simple! 

The Andersons and the Carlsons took the metro with us to attend the LaSalle ward because none of us could get our cars back into the garage if we took them out today. Montreal had the Tour de l”Ile (Island Bike Race).  It went right up our street causing rue Bérri to be closed off to automobile traffic. The Carlsons drive across the St. Lawrence and attend church in Greenfield Park—but not today. The Andersons haven’t been assigned a ward, so they came with the Carlsons, Sister Hyde and Sister Iverson, and us.  

That is the gist of what happened here in the great Canada Montreal Mission.