In Preach My Gospel, there is a section entitled "Talk to Everyone". One day a couple of months ago we were at an A&W, treating the young Elders to lunch after district meeting in a city about 45 minutes from Victoriaville No judging please, about the fast food choice. Paul is insistent on eating as quickly as possible so the missionaries can get back to work after the meeting each week. Fast food fits the bill, and, unfortunately, expands the waistline, but that is a topic for another time. Anyway, one day as we sat to eat, each of us, as usual, bowed our heads and said a silent prayer to bless the food. A man observed us and said a few words to Paul, in English. Paul and the young elders struck up a conversation with him. He really liked to talk, and knew both French and English, so the conversation was fluid (ha, ha!). Paul explained a little about what we were doing here and the young elders spoke to him also. We asked if he would like to talk to the missionaries who live in that city and he agreed to give us his name and phone number. Just like that, we had a referral for the other missionaries and they began to teach him. Today he came to a child's baptism here in Victoriaville and as we visited with him he told us he had been studying the Book of Mormon and meeting with the missionaries for 5 or 6 weeks. He said he is going to be baptized on December 6th. We told him we would come to his baptism. This was a great experience- to see that a simple conversation with a friendly man has led to someone receiving the fullness of the gospel. See, we have done some missionary work here!
As a side note, it is interesting to hear this story from the young elders here in Victoriaville. They have essentially re-written the event at A&W so that Paul is out of the picture. In their young and eager minds, they are the ones who talked with him and got the referral. It really was Paul, with them chiming in appropriately, but oh, well, we don't care. We are just grateful to have been able to further the work in some small way.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
This time I know!
Yesterday was November 15th. Last year, in early October, we visited friends we met in Switzerland who now live in Quebec. They told us that, without fail, the weather changes just about exactly on November 15th. Truly, last year on November 15th the temperature took a dive and we had snow. This year we had the first flakes on the 14th, but today we had enough to cover the grass. And, it goes without saying, the temperature is now in the low 30's during the day. The anticipation of the coming winter last year has been replaced with shear dread because I know what is coming. Thankfully, we may be out of here before the frightening negative double digit "highs" become common place.
We often drive on a particular street enroute to a member's apartment, and have loved seeing this cute statue in a yard:
One day in mid October as we drove by we saw this and now knew why the owner goes to great lengths to protect it:
We often drive on a particular street enroute to a member's apartment, and have loved seeing this cute statue in a yard:
As I put on my tights, scarf and boots today, I am not smiling very much...
Monday, October 13, 2014
Maple Syrup is a big deal
I always knew that Vermont was a big maple syrup producer so it stands to reason that nearby Quebec would be too. One day last winter we were traveling out to the country to visit a family who lives, literally, in the middle of nowhere. It was very cold and the trees had no leaves, so it was easy to spot the long plastic pipes strung from tree to tree. We didn't know what they were, so we asked the family we were visiting. They are used to collect the maple syrup from the trees. The pipes connect to each other and run to a huge collection station, somewhere miles away. The old movies depicting someone going from tree to tree, tapping into the trunks to get the syrup represent a bygone era. Now we have these high-tech blue pvc pipes to do the job (sarcasm, if you are a little slow). There is no question, however, that no matter how they collect it, the syrup truly is divine. I plan to bring a case of it back with us.
Here is a picture we took today- not really clear, but hopefully it gives one the idea, and a glimpse of the beautiful fall colors we have been enjoying:
Here is a picture we took today- not really clear, but hopefully it gives one the idea, and a glimpse of the beautiful fall colors we have been enjoying:
Silence is golden?
Last Saturday we volunteered to take a young mother and her 18-month-old to the Montreal airport, about 2 hours away. I tried not to be grumpy about it because it was during the second session of General Conference, and to a missionary, young or old, General Conference time is an event to be savored in an undisturbed environment. Nevertheless, I put aside my initial resentment to do a good deed. We picked up the young woman and her child and realized, too late, that because they do not have a car, they do not have a car seat. There was no time to do anything except buckle her into an adult seat belt and hope it all worked out (which it did). This woman was going to Cuba to presumably pick up another one of her children, a twelve-year-old daughter. She has been in Quebec for five or six years, but she speaks very little French, and of course no English. Since I can count to ten in Spanish, and say "hola and adios", and Paul can say "vamonos muchachos" (which I think means "get out of here you boys"- learned from watching spaghetti westerns as a kid) our ride was a very quiet one. Once at the airport, Paul went inside with her and tried to find a Spanish-speaker at her airline counter, Cuban Air. Wouldn't one imagine that someone at Cuban Air would speak Spanish? Not so. Finally an employee said to Paul, in French "How about if I tell you in English and you tell your friend? Because my Spanish is about as good as your French, but I do speak English." (What a blow to his ego!) He then told her that would be fine except his friend didn't speak French or English. Finally, through a series of hand signals, he helped her realize she must pay for her extra bag, which she did, and then he directed her to the security entrance. We hoped she got on the plane. She had no cell phone.
This last Saturday night, we drove back to the airport to pick her up. Her boyfriend wanted to come with us, so again we drove mostly in silence except for the Tabernacle Choir CD I played for part of the trip. Paul and the guy went into the airport and I went to the cellphone waiting area. She arrived without incident, but with no 12-year-old daughter. I do not know what happened, except that she told Paul, in halting French (which I can relate to!) that it was very hot in Cuba and she never wants to return. We have no idea where she got the money to fly to Cuba and back for she does not work, nor does her boyfriend. She apparently has three children with different fathers, and the other two, other than the baby, are still in Cuba. Why she was planning to just bring the 12-year-old back I do not know. I wonder where the Elders find these people.... Another adventure in our missionary life.
This last Saturday night, we drove back to the airport to pick her up. Her boyfriend wanted to come with us, so again we drove mostly in silence except for the Tabernacle Choir CD I played for part of the trip. Paul and the guy went into the airport and I went to the cellphone waiting area. She arrived without incident, but with no 12-year-old daughter. I do not know what happened, except that she told Paul, in halting French (which I can relate to!) that it was very hot in Cuba and she never wants to return. We have no idea where she got the money to fly to Cuba and back for she does not work, nor does her boyfriend. She apparently has three children with different fathers, and the other two, other than the baby, are still in Cuba. Why she was planning to just bring the 12-year-old back I do not know. I wonder where the Elders find these people.... Another adventure in our missionary life.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
In the Limelight
August 30th was our 43rd anniversary. We had Jaclyn here for the weekend, which, in and of itself, was cause for celebration. We have missed our family terribly and only Jaclyn has been able to come to see us while we have been here; due, in part to the fact that Quebec, and especially Victoriaville, is understandably less of a draw than Geneva, Switzerland. But, I digress.
Saturday, August 30th was the day of an annual branch activity- a corn-husking of sorts. Due to the fact that Paul had mentioned the Sunday before in his talk that this was to be our anniversary, everyone in the branch knew. We were really pressed for time that day because we had the food boxes, donated weekly, from the IGA grocery store to sort through and distribute to the 14 or more families who need food every week. Wouldn't you know that on this particular day, the store gave us about triple what is normal? We left the Branch activity to rush to the store, pick up the food and bring it back to our apartment to do the sorting. The young Elders and Jaclyn helped us. We were grateful for Jaclyn's help! In the middle of the work, Paul was told by the counselor in the presidency that we really needed to go back to the church, so we left the young missionaries at our apartment and went back. There we were honored by being presented with a beautiful three-layer cake, made and decorated by the wife of the other counselor. Everyone sang to us (the same tune as Happy birthday, but in French it is, apparently, used for both birthdays and anniversaries.) The following day we were also given a huge home-made card, signed by most families in the Branch.
After quickly eating a piece of the cake, we ran back home to finish the food box work.
In reflecting on this event, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of both gratitude and love for these people. They don't really know me because I can't communicate with them very well, but I hope they feel my love for them. They are diligent, hard-working, and humble people trying to live the gospel and be an example of Latter-Day Saints in an area where most people do not share any religious beliefs. In fact, the government here actually rewards, financially, those who choose to live together rather than marry. But, I digress, again. These are really nice people.
I am truly going to miss our association with those we have come to know. This kindness shown to us on our anniversary is but a small indication of their goodness.
Here a couple of pictures that Jaclyn took. Please try to focus on the cake, not on the recipients.
Saturday, August 30th was the day of an annual branch activity- a corn-husking of sorts. Due to the fact that Paul had mentioned the Sunday before in his talk that this was to be our anniversary, everyone in the branch knew. We were really pressed for time that day because we had the food boxes, donated weekly, from the IGA grocery store to sort through and distribute to the 14 or more families who need food every week. Wouldn't you know that on this particular day, the store gave us about triple what is normal? We left the Branch activity to rush to the store, pick up the food and bring it back to our apartment to do the sorting. The young Elders and Jaclyn helped us. We were grateful for Jaclyn's help! In the middle of the work, Paul was told by the counselor in the presidency that we really needed to go back to the church, so we left the young missionaries at our apartment and went back. There we were honored by being presented with a beautiful three-layer cake, made and decorated by the wife of the other counselor. Everyone sang to us (the same tune as Happy birthday, but in French it is, apparently, used for both birthdays and anniversaries.) The following day we were also given a huge home-made card, signed by most families in the Branch.
After quickly eating a piece of the cake, we ran back home to finish the food box work.
In reflecting on this event, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of both gratitude and love for these people. They don't really know me because I can't communicate with them very well, but I hope they feel my love for them. They are diligent, hard-working, and humble people trying to live the gospel and be an example of Latter-Day Saints in an area where most people do not share any religious beliefs. In fact, the government here actually rewards, financially, those who choose to live together rather than marry. But, I digress, again. These are really nice people.
I am truly going to miss our association with those we have come to know. This kindness shown to us on our anniversary is but a small indication of their goodness.
Here a couple of pictures that Jaclyn took. Please try to focus on the cake, not on the recipients.
The card: (and no, I don't know how to crop or take a decent picture- remember who my mother was!)
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Work, work, work
For the past month, we have been heavily involved with work, of the physical kind. Basically we have been day laborers, but without being paid (other than a mountainous pile of blessings to us and our family). Some of the activities we have been doing include putting up a shed, taking it down, and then putting it up again. After working one day for a few hours to put up the walls of the said shed, we realized the floor was not level. In fairness to us, we didn't construct the floor. Paul went a few days later and disassembled it and then some men from the church spent a half day re-constructing the floor. A few days later, Paul and I returned and put up the walls again, and added the doors. Later, we also put on the roof. I am, of course the invaluable assistant, fetching tools and steadying things while the mastermind assembles.
At this same home, we also cut down three dead trees and hauled as many of the branches as would fit to a trailer. Because we are not permeant residents, we couldn't take the load to the dump and had to wait until the following Saturday when the owner could do it. We then hauled more branches to the empty trailer. One more load awaits us later this week.
In our spare time from these jobs, we searched for a new apartment for a member of the branch who has terrible allergies and had to move out of her current apartment because she can't smell cooking meat. This was a new allergy, which suddenly appeared, has been added to the countless others she already has. She wears bracelets up her arm, warning of life-threatening allergies, including one to cat dander which can cause her to break out in a rash and stop breathing in a matter of minutes. The restrictive situation she required made our search time-consuming, but we were able to find an upstairs apartment with just the owner living below. The former tenant had had a cat, but the owner assured us he had painted everything. Just to be sure, Paul and I went over before she moved in, or even came to the apartment and washed all the windows and blinds, all surfaces inside and out of the cabinets, and put contact paper on the shelves. We also washed all the baseboards, some of the walls, etc. We hung heavy plastic over an unfinished portion of a closet. She still had and continues to have some problem with the allergy, but we are hopeful it will dissipate over time (apparently the dander will lose its allergens after a year).
After the cleaning, it was time to do the actual move. The young elders did much of the heavy lifting, along with some young men, so we were able to preserve our fragile backs. Paul had three dressers and two armoires to assemble. Once again I was the ever-attentive assistant. Her old apartment was 25 minutes from Victoriaville so we added some more miles to our vehicle. I was just grateful for the beautiful weather which made the moving so much more pleasant. I am already fearing our own move out of here in mid-December. Maybe we will be lucky and have a mild winter!
Once she was settled, we spent some time to help paint the apartment of another branch member who was moving to a larger apartment. We also have helped her do some of the moving.
Wew! Not bad for two old people with bad backs and other physical ailments, huh?
At this same home, we also cut down three dead trees and hauled as many of the branches as would fit to a trailer. Because we are not permeant residents, we couldn't take the load to the dump and had to wait until the following Saturday when the owner could do it. We then hauled more branches to the empty trailer. One more load awaits us later this week.
In our spare time from these jobs, we searched for a new apartment for a member of the branch who has terrible allergies and had to move out of her current apartment because she can't smell cooking meat. This was a new allergy, which suddenly appeared, has been added to the countless others she already has. She wears bracelets up her arm, warning of life-threatening allergies, including one to cat dander which can cause her to break out in a rash and stop breathing in a matter of minutes. The restrictive situation she required made our search time-consuming, but we were able to find an upstairs apartment with just the owner living below. The former tenant had had a cat, but the owner assured us he had painted everything. Just to be sure, Paul and I went over before she moved in, or even came to the apartment and washed all the windows and blinds, all surfaces inside and out of the cabinets, and put contact paper on the shelves. We also washed all the baseboards, some of the walls, etc. We hung heavy plastic over an unfinished portion of a closet. She still had and continues to have some problem with the allergy, but we are hopeful it will dissipate over time (apparently the dander will lose its allergens after a year).
After the cleaning, it was time to do the actual move. The young elders did much of the heavy lifting, along with some young men, so we were able to preserve our fragile backs. Paul had three dressers and two armoires to assemble. Once again I was the ever-attentive assistant. Her old apartment was 25 minutes from Victoriaville so we added some more miles to our vehicle. I was just grateful for the beautiful weather which made the moving so much more pleasant. I am already fearing our own move out of here in mid-December. Maybe we will be lucky and have a mild winter!
Once she was settled, we spent some time to help paint the apartment of another branch member who was moving to a larger apartment. We also have helped her do some of the moving.
Wew! Not bad for two old people with bad backs and other physical ailments, huh?
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
"After 50 it is just patch, patch, patch"
I haven't written much because, honestly, we haven't been doing much missionary work. Paul came down with what we thought was a normal old virus, if there is such a thing, but it quickly turned into a rather deep cough. Because he has had pneumonia a couple of times, we thought we should seek some medical advice, which means a drive to Vermont. I also developed, overnight, a rash on my arms and something weird on my lower legs, so off to the urgent care in Burlington we went. Paul was diagnosed with bronchitis, and my rash was probably a reaction to sun, although I have never had that before. The dots on my legs required a blood test to ensure that it wasn't something serious, which it wasn't, although they couldn't really say what had caused it. Oh, it is so fun to be in one's 60's and have the excitement of new health issues popping up often! The quote in the title is something Marjorie Hinckley, the prophet's wife, used to say often, and it is extremely apropos.
Anyway, we were confined to the apartment for about 10 days while Paul recovered. Wouldn't you know the weather was glorious the whole time, warm and sunny with a nice breeze. A few times we went on a ride, just so that I wouldn't go stark raving mad. I pumped him and me up with vitamins and some essential oils (snake oil is what Paul calls it), but the pesky cough hung on and on. Finally he was pretty much recovered and then it was my turn! I haven't been nearly as sick as he was, but we have continued to take it easy so I can, hopefully, improve more quickly. A two-bedroom apartment feels pretty small after a few days of confinement, let me tell you. After reading Preach My Gospel ad nauseam, and of course, the Book of Mormon, I worked on my personal history and started a biography of Henry Eyring. We are very, very hopeful that by tomorrow I will be much improved!
Anyway, we were confined to the apartment for about 10 days while Paul recovered. Wouldn't you know the weather was glorious the whole time, warm and sunny with a nice breeze. A few times we went on a ride, just so that I wouldn't go stark raving mad. I pumped him and me up with vitamins and some essential oils (snake oil is what Paul calls it), but the pesky cough hung on and on. Finally he was pretty much recovered and then it was my turn! I haven't been nearly as sick as he was, but we have continued to take it easy so I can, hopefully, improve more quickly. A two-bedroom apartment feels pretty small after a few days of confinement, let me tell you. After reading Preach My Gospel ad nauseam, and of course, the Book of Mormon, I worked on my personal history and started a biography of Henry Eyring. We are very, very hopeful that by tomorrow I will be much improved!
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