Philosophical Musings and Our Week

Just before Christmas I had a conversation with one of the telephone consultants that we use for phone service in the mission.  We spent a delightful few minutes together talking about being a missionary.  When she found out that we leave our homes and family at our own expense to serve a mission, she asked, "Why do you do that?"  I've thought about that question many times since December.  Why are we doing this? The answer is both simple and complex.  The simple answer is that we feel that is what Heavenly Father would have us do.  The complex answer is that we both have testimonies of the Gospel. We both have strong histories of the importance of missionary work.  For me, I grew up in a home where both my parents served full-time missions prior to their marriage. I can't remember a time when my family didn't talk about missionary work and how important that service is. Nearly 50 years ago as a twenty-something I had the incredible opportunity to serve a full-time mission. The experiences I had then prepared me in so many ways for the rest of my life.  My parents served a mission together after they retired.  As a convert to the Church, Pat knows first hand how important missionary work is.  As I look back on my life, I see how richly blessed I have been.  Why wouldn't I want to serve a mission to thank a loving Father for all He's done for me.

Missions are hard.  They are hard when you're young; they're hard when you're old.  Just because you're a missionary, you are not spared trials--sometimes I think the trials increase!  As a senior missionary, the hardest part of being here is being so far from our family. The last 10 days have been one of the hardest trials we've experienced since coming to Montreal.  One of our sons and his wife experienced a devastating loss.  We couldn't be there to help them.  We couldn't be together to bolster each other up as we all came to grips with what had happened.  In November Pat had a stroke.  On that day, November 16, 2018, our lives changed.  Every day is a challenge for Pat as he fulfills his missionary responsibilities with a body that doesn't function like it used to.  Everyday he fights fatigue as he pushes to support the missionaries. A year ago Pat had a bout of kidney stones.  Fortunately, that problem was not a long-term one.  I have had my issues as well. My diabetes numbers climbed way too high last summer, so I had to make major adjustments to my lifestyle.

So, missions are hard.

But they are so worth it!

In what ways are they worth it?  We have met individuals—the senior missionaries, the Phillips, the young missionaries, the members of our ward, our neighbors— that have enriched our lives. We have seen more clearly how the Gospel changes people for the better.  We have had to exercise faith like we haven't had to do before.  We have fallen in love with a culture that is unique and so different from our own.  Oh, yes, missions are so worth it.

End of my philosophizing!

Monday morning Pat left for the office before I did.  A few minutes after he left, there was a knock at the door.  Two workman were there to try and sort out the problem we were having with our kitchen sink.  They decided the problem was in one of pipes leading into the apartment.  So, as I left for the office, this is what the hall looked like:

And this is the view from under the sink.

When we got home from the office, we had the Carlsons come and see the mess.  Elder Carlson was aghast at how they repaired the pipe!

Later in the week, they gerryrigged the pipe again:

We have been told that there are codes that are supposed to be followed; somehow Place de Cercle gets away with non-compliance!

I  have said many times how wonderful our young missionaries are—that's a fact; they are amazing. But they are also kids.  We are constantly reminded of this, sometimes in quite humorous ways.  Tuesday was one of those funny examples.  Pat got a phone call from a couple of elders up in the Quebec City area.  They had a problem.  They ran out of gas in the middle of an intersection!  Then they called 911!  When the police responded, the elders were told to call a tow truck. Hence, the phone call to the mission office.  They wanted to know if they should leave the car in the middle of the intersection!  We had a really good laugh about that one! Later in the evening they called Pat to report on the situation.  We found out then that their first attempts at moving the truck out of the intersection met with failure--it was too icy and all they did was slip and slide.  Then they enlisted the help of people in the area.  One fellow said he'd help but said, "You're going to pay me, right?"  They gave him $5.

Later in the afternoon, a team of sisters called Sister Evans, the housing lady, with a problem:  their sink was falling off the wall!

Wouldn't you know it, one of the missionaries who ran out of gas on Tuesday, lost the car keys and apartment keys on Thursday, and earlier in the morning, the member of the team that was transferring missed his bus! Never a dull moment!

We live near a patisserie.  Decided we needed a treat, so I stopped in the bakery and bought two Mille-feuilles (Napoleons). 

 The had some very adorable marzipan figures available:

It has been COLD in Montreal!  This is the temperature in the bedroom on the window side of the bed.  Burr!

This week was transfer week—so we had lots of missionaries coming and going in the office:  Sister Evans at her desk, Sisters Anand, Zaharioudaki, Rollins, Mau, Jules, Stanley, and Hepburn, and Elders Capello and Roskelley.

 Elders Petit and Crowder, Sisters, Jules, Stanley, and Hepburn with Elders Durante and Torres

And these precious sisters went home on Friday:  Sisters Hepburn, Peterson, Jules, and Stanley with the McGees

The zone conference cycle starts tomorrow.  On Friday I drove to Costco on the South Shore to purchase the food for the luncheons we're responsible for.  I had to take a mission car because with Pat's walker, my car isn't big enough to hold it all.  The mission car was at another location, so we had to go get it, leave my car there, do the shopping, and go back to the mission office.  When we arrived at the mission office with all the food, the Swensens and Randalls were there to help prepare what will be needed tomorrow.  I headed back to pick up my car after the office closed—just in time for rush hour traffic!  Finally made it home after 7:00 p.m.

And here is the food in the fridge!  So grateful it can go in the mission office now that we have a large fridge there.  Prior to getting the large fridge, it had to be farmed out to the missionaries who live in our building.  Our apartment looked like a staging area for 3 weeks out of every transfer!

And we finished the evening by FaceTiming with Christopher, Marianne, Sarah, Michael, and my sister.  They were celebrating Chinese New Year—they were all decked out in their Chinese outfits! Certainly do love these people! 

And that wraps up the details of this week!