Tuesday again!

  We arrived in the mission one week ago today.  I carefully recorded this evening what we have done thus far to fulfill our assignment of growing the branch so it can become a ward.  It is going to be slow-going, I am afraid, but nothing worthwhile happens without effort.
    For preparation day, we thoroughly cleaned the apartment. It had been left very clean by the previous couple, but because it sat empty for two months it needed some attention.  I was happily surprised at the capabilities of my companion; he provided some elbow grease which made the job easier.  He's been holding out on me all these years!
   After completing our household tasks we went on a lovely walk part way around a little lake here in Victoriaville.  It was about 64 degrees with a slight breeze, which made for perfect walking weather.

     In the evening we went to the apartment of a sweet sister who is confined to a wheelchair.  Another single man attends, and mostly we read a chapter from the Book of Mormon and discuss it.  He is originally from France, and doesn't speak much English, but Sister Levesque speaks it quite well. When we first met her last week she spoke English to us.  At FHE, however, much of what she said was in the strongest Quebecois accent I have yet to hear.  I could barely discern a single word! Paul was of little help because there was a fan going in the room and that background noise was a disaster with his hearing deficit.  Despite all this, it was a nice evening and the Spirit was there.

   Today after studies we set out to try to see some less actives.  This entailed quite a bit of driving, and no one answered the door.  In the evening, however, we stopped by a member's home to drop off cookies, and they were very nice.  We also met with a man who was the former Young Men's president, but who has become less active.  The Elders had told us he had moved, but we confirmed he is still here. We can pass this on to the branch president so their records can be accurate. We didn't get into his home, but he was nice enough as he told us he wasn't interested. I think we will send him a note with a spiritual thought for the next few months.
  We then went on another walk, on another path through town.  There is a "fete" (a celebration) going on for a couple of weeks and a concert was in progress. Along the path we saw many of these:

    I think the government must pay for these for nearly everyone who wants one, handicapped or not, for we see them all over town.  They are legal on the sidewalks and people use them as transportation to the store, etc.  We find it a little humorous to see these tearing down the sidewalks and paths at break-neck speed.