"Citius, Altius, Fortius"

Dear Family and Friends, 

If February went by quickly, then March is slipping past even faster! It is already the middle of March and in our weekly staff meetings, we are looking ahead to May, thinking and planning. That has us all a little "weirded out" as there are only two more transfers to plan and work on before our dear friends, President and Sister Leavitt, will be done their term here  and returning home --- wow!  We are all being encouraged to adopt "Citius, Altius, Fortius" as our motto right now. When I first

read these words in the weekly letter, I thought it said "Citrus.." and I started thinking about Orange juice!

But No, it is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger!"  President has asked each of us to ponder our purpose and let it inspire us to be stronger, move more swiftly, and reach higher. If we thought that he was going to "Coast" out of here, in the last few months, we were all wrong -- -there is no coasting!

I was reading the blog of some friends who are currently serving in the Congo --- I have to admit that a small twinge of jealousy went through me as I saw their pictures with so much sunshine!  Then I thought to myself, yeah but they also have lots of snakes there... and so I was comforted!! Ha Ha!  There are definetly no snakes here! Barely anything alive outdoors, in fact, this winter.

February was a very busy month in the CHM. President travelled the whole mission over a period of 3 weeks, visiting personally with every single missionary in their apartments. Elder Harding accompanied him on the Nova Scotia run. Mother Nature decided to bless us with lots and lots of snow, and everywhere they went, they drove through storms  ---- here is  Elder Wilson out shoveling in front of the mission home, helping out Sister Leavitt while President was away----such good young men !!

This is the view from our balcony as another storm blew in --- every 3-4 days, all month long, storm after storm hit the Maritimes. Many people have told us it is the worst winter they can remember. We got to be here to see it!  One day, we will really appreciate that!

This person will not be going anywhere soon!

Below is our van in the parking lot outside our apartment --- we start the van from inside our apartment, about 15 minutes before we have to leave, and some days we are hooped, because we have not realized that it rained and then froze during the night! It is all very exciting and we now miss our garage back home almost as much as we miss our grandchildren!! Ha ha, just kidding of course!

Inside, however, it is a different story completely. There is so much love and support going around between these companionships , they are just full to the brim with love. Sister Sharp, who is sitting on the arm of the chair here,  has taught me a lot about how to love ! She just "pours" her whole self into people.

We  hold District meetings in the board room every Wednesday.It is a spiritual highlight of the week. Elder Blum (From High River) at the back is our D L, and Elder Henderson, near right, is zone leader.

The missionaries organized a "Farewell Party" for Sister Brown, complete with cake. She had some health concerns, and needed to return home, so....

.....the District quickly put a small party on for her

This picture is after District meeting the next  week. 

We had a visitor drop by the Mission Office with a tray of yummy squares for us, and we felt bad that the Zone leaders were not there to eat it with us, so we took a picture and sent it to them. Okay, so we did not really feel bad .. the sign that Elder Blum is holding up says "Don't tell the zone leaders!"

The most exciting thing though, since the roof fell down in the Mission Office was watching them try to get the transfer van out of the ice the day that the new Missionaries flew in, this past week, March 10th, 2015.

The van had not been moved since last transfer, 6 weeks earlier, and so all of the tires were frozen solid in about 4 inches of ice. Elder Harding, and 4 other missionaries heated up water and then poured it around the tires to free them......

Then they unhooked the trailer, and tried to push

 the "Beast" free. It took about an hour of hot water, pushing and finally hooking a truck to the front and pulling to get the transfer van out, but once again, the Mission motto held true..."We cannot be stopped!"

Good work, Men!!

It is always a tender time, to say "Goodbye"to a Faithful group of Missionaries. The longer we know them, the more we love them, the harder it is keep the tears back. We have come to know and Love them all ---we know their families are waiting anxiously for them and they are excited to see them, and the Missionaries are somewhat nervous at another "Change" in their lives.

We all go forward with Faith . I am reminded of those who pass from this life to the next --- those who remain, are sorrowing to part with them, but others are waiting who are excited  to greet them.

I know that as we stay close to the Spirit and Let God guide our lives, He will temper our Sorrows, wipe our tears, and heighten our joys. May this be so, may you all Feel and know of His infinite Love and power to Bless and help us all. I am so grateful for all the He does for me, each and every Day.

Love, Sister Harding