"Time Flies on Wings of Lightening"

Unbelievably, we have come to the end of another transfer cycle.  Most of the week, it was quiet in the office.  Next week it’s “Gird up your loins, fresh courage take” time as we welcome new missionaries and bid adieu to those returning!

Tuesday and Wednesday evenings were spiritual feasts for me. Tuesday was the seniors monthly trip to the temple. The Carlsons, Drolets, and Gordons were the only seniors who were not with us.  I love the senior missionaries that we serve with in this mission!  They, like the young missionaries, represent the cream of the missionary crop.  Each of us brings unique talents to our work in Quebec and Ontario. Together, I think, we accomplish a great deal.  

Before we begin our shift in the Temple each Wednesday, we have a brief prayer meeting. During prayer meeting on Wednesday, the small group that we are sang “I need thee Every Hour.” This is one of my favorite hymns and expresses so beautiful how I feel—I do need constant help from my Father in Heaven. We always sing a capella. President Carter, the Temple president, was conducting both the meeting and the music. He has a gorgeous voice, and he sings all the parts. Others began singing parts as well.  The result sounded like a choir and was absolutely beautiful! It was a lovely spiritual high for me.

Wednesday afternoon, I actually had a missionary moment at the office. Two little French-speaking ladies came into the office looking for a specific genealogy book. They knew that we do a lot of genealogical research and thought maybe we would have what they were looking for.  We didn’t, but I was able to talk to them about the Gospel. Although they didn’t leave with the book they wanted, they left with copies of the Book of Mormon. 

We had two speakers in Sacrament Meeting that were excellent. The first spoke on the need for second chances and connected it with our constant need for repentance so that we can take advantage of Christ’s Atonement. The second spoke about raising a righteous generation.  We enjoyed the company of Elder Ritchie and Elder Menzel and Sister Puzey for a simple spaghetti dinner with Sister Puzey's unbaked cheese cake this evening. We have a tie to Elder Ritchie.  His grandfather was the mission president when my mom and dad served their mission in Virginia. We finished Sunday with FaceTiming with Chris' family.  Both kids were having a rough go of it, so the visit was cut short.  We're so excited to have them come and visit us next month.

Sister Puzey and Elders Ritchie and Menzel

Spaghetti dinner with salad, Upper Canada Village Bread, and unbaked cheesecake served in classic senior missionary serving bowls.  It was delicious.

There isn't a week that goes by without a craziness moment.  Wednesday was the day. Pat and I had driven to Costco to get what was needed for the Mission Leadership Council to be held the next day. I was stopped at a red light in the lane closest to the parking on the right behind another car. There was a car to my left who was first in the line of those stopped to my left.  When the light changed, the driver of this car sped ahead of the car in front of us, cut across our lane and headed into the parking lane!  That's why, my friends, you always, always, always have to drive defensively in Montreal!

When I came home from the Temple on Wednesday, I was prepared for some delay because I couldn't go across the Jacques Cartier Bridge as it was closed for the fireworks. What I wasn't prepared for was not being able to get onto our street.  When I tried to go onto the section of Berri that we live on, there were workers putting barriers up, closing the Sherbrooke entrance to rue Berri.  I had to turn left on Sherbrooke, right up St. Denis and right again on Cherrier while I tried to figure out how I was going to get the car into the apartment garage.  When I arrived at the intersection of Berri and Cherrier,  this is what I saw:

Where the car is coming up the street on the left is where I needed to be only a few feet further down the road so I could get to the garage.  I saw that there were no other cars coming up the road, so I quickly drove to St. Hubert, turned right, and cut through the alley. Luckily, there were no cars parked in the alley. I inched to the edge of Berri, saw that the coast was clear and turned left—and made a beeline for the garage door, heading the wrong direction on the street!  I made it! I was so frazzled by all of that that I didn't bother with the last day of the fireworks. The reason for the road closure: The workers were moving the barriers that they put up a couple of days ago closer to the building.

In the morning, this is what I saw as I headed to work.

By Thursday afternoon they had taken down the retaining wall separating the two parts of the road.  Friday, I saw a sign saying that they were going to redo this part of the road and it would take until August 2019. So, for the duration of our stay here, we will have to deal with road construction in front of our apartment !

As senior missionaries, we try to do something together at least once a month.  On Friday, 15 of us went to the Bistro Tôt ou Tard to have a farewell dinner for Elder and Sister Gordon who are returning to Alberta, Canada, on August 22.  We will miss them so very much.

Earlier in the summer the Gordons told us about Upper Canada Village, a living-history site. The village depicts life in this part of Canada during the 1860s.  Period homes have been moved to the site, furnished as they would have been then. Additionally there are other buildings that would have been found in mid-19th Century Canada.  Individuals portray citizens of the time and do the work as it was done in that time. Nine of us hopped into two cars and headed for the Village on Saturday morning. It was amazing!  In many ways it reminded me of Nauvoo. The setting is gorgeous and is right next to the St. Lawrence River. A member of our ward said that the movie, Joseph and the Restoration was filmed at this location (and members of our ward are in it)! After an almost two-hour drive, we arrived.  (Lots of pictures of the village to follow)

We followed the traditional route on our way to the Village, but on the way home, we took the Long Sault Parkway. This is a highway linking a series of 11 islands that were created from high points of land left after the flooding of the St. Lawrence River during the construction of the Seaway in the 1950's. As I was driving, I couldn't very well take pictures of the islands, but I found a couple of images online. It was a beautiful, beautiful drive.

Now the Village:

As we walked from the entrance into the Village, we crossed a bridge and this is what we saw:

The first stop was the saw mill.  It is water powered. We watched as the blade sliced through a massive log, as the two men working at the mill removed the cut board, and as the process started up again.  They have wood for sale this is milled here.

The saw at work

Removing a cut board

Looking into the Village from across the lake

The next stop was the flour mill.  We listened as the worker explained how the wheat was stone ground. This is driven by water and steam engine. The milled flour is picked up by a horse-drawn wagon and taken to the bakery where it is made into bread. The bread is used at the restaurants in the Village and is available for sale in the visitor's center. It is delicious! The next three pictures are of the flour mill.

Then it was on to the woolen mill.  We listened as the workers explained how the wool is collected and washed . . .

. . . carded, made into thread, and . . .

. . . eventually woven.

Spinning jenny

Spools of spun wool

Table of tools in the woolen mill

Loom in the woolen mill

Here's the broom maker's shop:

Next it was the fire house:

Then onto the blacksmith and wheelwright shop:

Here's where the flour ends up—the bakery!

We passed the Willard Hotel and then returned here for a delicious lunch of beef stew, Village bread, and salad with an apple cider vinaigrette.

The next three images are of Crysler Hall. It was once the home of John Crysler, a prosperous landowner. It is now a museum.

Loved this window . . .

. . . and the piano!

We see lots and lots of squirrels, but this was the smallest one I have ever seen.

 T
he Louck's Farm - exterior and interior

Only sewing machine in the Village:

Barn

 Museum in one of the buildings by the Louck's Farm.

Small push sled

Making an animal drinking trough

One of the gardens at Upper Canada Village

 What we saw as we walked to the Signal Tower

Dickensen Landing Lighthouse

 View of the river

Views from the top floor of the signal tower

Interior of the Willard Hotel where we had lunch

 The Chrysler Store

He had the most clever apron - it buttoned on to his vest! 

Most expensive thing in the store $7.50

 Robertson House

Cook's Tavern - women would go into this room to have a drink because they couldn't be seen drinking in public!

Post office in the tavern

 From the upstairs of tavern: a course drawn wagon and the Robertson House

Christ Church for the Anglican congregation, one of the main Protestant denominations in Upper Cannada

Local Lutherans built their pastor a comfortable home. There were many German Protestants in the area who wanted a pastor who could provide moral and religious guidance. Inside the pastor's home:

This lady was sewing a  moss motto - I had never heard of it.

Another piano

Look at the size of that sewing kit!

Another garden

 The Masonic Lodge

The shoemaker's shop

Looking across the river

The tin shop

Stagecoach in front of the Robertson House

Providence Chapel a meeting place for the Episcopal Methodists.

Cabinetmaker

Using a horse walking in a circle to power a saw

Swings at the rear of the McDiarmid Home

The interior of the McDiarmid home houses an exhibit of quilting and spinning.

Printing Office

And here I am in front of the school house.

Interior of the school house

And our last stop - the cheese factory

Happy Birthday, Elder McGee

This week I participated in three events that were very special and spiritual. The first occurred on Monday at our Family Home Evening. When missionaries are called, most of their home wards prepare a plaque with the outline of their mission and a favorite scripture. This plaque is displayed while the missionary is gone from the ward. When the missionary returns, it is presented to him/her.  Sister Howe gave the lesson this week and asked each of us to bring our mission scripture. We then had a discussion about how that particular scripture applies to our mission. Pat’s and my scripture comes from John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should to perish, but have everlasting life."  As I reflected on this scripture, it became very obvious that everything, everything we are doing is because of that.  We’re here, charged with the responsibility to bring souls to Christ; we work in the office doing the important, yet mundane tasks we do so the young missionaries don’t have to do them thus allowing them more contacting time, more opportunities to bring souls to Christ. The other missionaries’ scriptures were equally relevant.  It was a great discussion.

The second event happened yesterday. We were able to attend the baptismal service of Queen-a beautiful young woman. She was absolutely radiant! Today in Fast and Testimony meeting she was confirmed.

The third event happened today in Relief Society. All the sisters were asked to ponder the question, “What keeps you up at night?”  This was not a call to reveal details of personal problems but rather to see if there were concerns or problems that others might offer suggestions and help.  One of the things that I have noticed while in Montreal is that there is a heightened spirituality.  I believe that this is because most of these individuals are converts—they know what it’s like not to have the Gospel in their lives. Earlier in the morning during Fast and Testimony Meeting, several of them spoke about what it was like to find the church and what a difference it has made in their lives. I, on the other have always had it in my life—I don’t know what it would be like without it.  That is a dual edged sword:  I am so blessed to have been a member always but must work to not take it for granted. I commented that trying to have a higher level of spirituality in my life while doing basically what I’ve done since 1972 (when I returned home from my mission to France), e.g., go to work every day, is a challenge.  We had a wonderful discussion about ways to make life more spiritual.

The other significant event of the week happened on Pat's birthday:  my visit to the dietician.  We actually made it to the right place and before the scheduled appointment. Both of us were impressed with her knowledge and her genuine concern for my health. Diabetes is such a complex disease because it affects so many of the body's systems. When I had my last blood tests, my triglyceride levels were slightly elevated—something that had not happened before, so the doctor wanted me to talk with a dietician to know what I needed to do to bring that level down. We walked out of there loaded with information and very detailed plans that will allow me to lower all my diabetes-related numbers!

Sunday we invited Elders Clark and Petit for dinner. We had lasagna—this time I had the proper ingredients and didn’t have to substitute tomato soup for the tomato paste and sauce that the recipe calls for! Makes a difference. Before they left, they taught us the lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They do such a great job of testifying to the divinity of Christ, His Atonement, and the need to continually improve.

We so enjoy our association with the young missionaries; it's what we love most about our mission!  Regardless of where we are, they always make us feel appreciated and loved.  For example, this morning as I was walking through Angrignon Park on my way to church, I saw in the distance, three men in white shirts. They looked like they were in the missionary-age range. Sure enough, two elders and a member. As the missionaries’ introduced me to the member, they said such kind things about the service we render as office missionaries.

Since deciding to do a blog rather than emails and Facebook posts, I needed to get the blog updated--accomplished it this week!

I have posted lots of pictures this week—so many beautiful, interesting, strange things in Montreal!

St. Hubert Chicken is a Quebec restaurant chain with delivery. We've had it delivered to us. Here's the delivery car. Saw this on my way home on Wednesday.

Someone planted this flower in a hole in the sidewalk!  I've seen several of these.

On Tuesday the seniors walked from our apartment complex to the Bistro Tôt ou Tard.

And here we are:  Sisters, Howe, Chatterton, Puzey, Iverson, Carlson, Elders Carlson, Drolet, and Sister Drolet. On the other side: Sister Anderson, Elder Anderson is hiding, Sister McGee, Elder McGee, Sister Evans, and Elder Evans - that's all 15 of us. Because the Drolets work with the YSA wards and teach English class on Saturday, they don't always get to be with the rest of us, so it was especially nice to have them join us.

Entrance to the restaurant.

 Sights along the way home from the restaurant:

We see lots of these large flower pots.

 The architecture here is so lovely. We saw these on our way home from the restaurant.

 On Wednesday, I walked down St. Denis from the office. Here are some sights:

An interesting seating area

The interior of the seating area

In front of a shop

A church repurposed into a gym!

Finished the evening by going out on the roof of our 18-story complex with Sister Carlson to watch the fireworks. While they were nice, I didn't think they were as lovely as some of the other exhibitions we've seen. While we are up there, we have a terrific view of the Jacque Cartier Bridge and a green building-don't know what it is, just think it's pretty. I didn't take my phone up, so thanks to Sister Carlson for the photos!

Jacques Cartier Bridge before the lights are turned off

No idea what the building is-just think it's pretty!

On Thursday we had to go to Westmount to consult a dietician. Interesting things along the route.
Because the roads are so narrow, deliveries are interesting. The delivery vehicle puts on its hazard blinkers and stops. The delivery takes place and then the vehicles continues on its way! Most drivers realize the problem and simply patiently wait—can't see that happening at home!

 Here are some of the houses we saw. It was just a beautiful, calm neighborhood!

There are many universities and colleges in Montreal. We walked past Dawson College on our way to Sherbrooke.

 They make tiny front yards beautiful:

Row of brownstones

Cabot Square near the dietician's office.

These are the view from the dietician's office. More evidence to the beautiful of Montreal.

Jewish Temple across the street from the dietician's office

More buildings on our way back to the metro station.

Base of street light bearing the name of the city: Westmount

We ended up walking through a mall to get to the metro and found a Canadian Tire store. So interesting that a tire store is really a department store! This is one of the nicest ones we've seen!

Love this sculpture and yard on Berri down from the office.

Another red-accented yard on Berri

I see lots of flowers in many places as I walk to and from the office:

I like this blue-accented apartment building.

Roof top garden on Avenue Chateaubriand

We are learning interesting facts about the metro.  Each train (composed of 9 cars) can hold 1250 passengers when at capacity (think sardines in a can!). There is a three note sound that is made by a piece of machinery that moves from 0 to 50 k/h as the doors flash red from green and close—and you don't want to get caught in those doors (been there, and it hurts). Those are the first three notes of Aaron Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man. The metro also has it's own fire hydrants, colored blue as opposed to the city's red ones. While these two didn't have it, most fire hydrants have something attached that extends several feet above the hydrant; I suppose that is for identifying where it is when the snow is so high.

Metro fire hydrant

City fire hydrant

And on Friday we said good by to Elder Chung as he heads for Taiwan - looking dapper, Elder! (This is the Elder who said he likes to listen to my cute French accent!

The Lasalle Ward picnic - the picture doesn't show it, but we had quite a bit of rain!

With Elders Petit and Clark

Sunday Dinner