Corner Brook, Newfoundland

     We  had a great  District Conference in Corner Brook, Newfoundland this past weekend, April 11th-12th, 2015.  Elder Harding and I flew over to NFL with Sister Leavitt, while the rest of the Senior Couples planned to drive and then take the ferry over, with President Leavitt, a 12 hour process.  We were all sort of holding our breath that the weather would hold, and we thought that we were "home free" until about 10:30 am Friday morning, when President saw online that the ferry was cancelled due to a strong wind forecast for that evening!  Disappointing for the 10-12 missionaries scheduled to come on the ferry, But we saw the hand of the Lord helping us as we were able to get to NFL with Sister Leavitt, plus President was able to book the last seat available on the afternoon flight and get there as well. This was a small miracle! The Leavitts' were the ones most needed that weekend to run the Conference, and the Lord got them there.

This ferry ride might....

......have become this ride!  Hi ho Silver!

We loved meeting the wonderful Saints in Corner Brook. They are quite isolated there, not only from the rest of the church but from many things. A boat brings in the fresh produce and food each week, so if the boat can't get in, they have to be able to manage. I think that this is why the Saints here are known  are known for being so kind and Helpful and good to others. They know that they have to take care of each other, there is no one else. They were so good to us and we felt that we had known them for a long time, so easy to talk to, lots of hugs and smiles, and sincere conversations.
   When a friend back home in Calgary heard we were going to be in Corner Brook, she asked me to look up some people she knew --- she had grown up here, which I did not know before!

Here is Brother Hicks, and Sister Watson.

They sent their love to Elaine.

   Both Elder Harding and I were asked to speak in  Leadership Training, which was a good expereince. There were about 20 members attending, plus Grand Falls, Bay Roberts and St. John's joined us via Skype.

During the Weekend, I kept feeling prompted to follow Presidents example and spend one on one time with individuals. Since most of our Missionary group could not make it, the training for the Young Womens and Primary organizations did not happen as planned. I did not feel like an expert in these areas, but I felt that I could share with the women what had benefitted our children, so I took the Primary President aside and we had a good chat ---- she showed me their Primary room, told me all about what they were doing in the Branch and how she was not only the Primary President, but also the chorister and one of the two teachers! I don't know who was teaching who! I think what was most needed for her, was to "share" what she was doing and have someone listen to her.
Then I found the YW's president and she told me that she had been a member for only a few months, and the YW's president for 2 months --- she was looking forward to getting some help that weekend, so I told her some of the things that were done in YW back ho me with our 3 girls as they were growing up.  Then the spirit told me to tell her that the most important thing was to just keep showing up each week -- her young women would notice that and follow her example, and maybe one day, they would go on a mission as they remembered their YW president who was a faithful convert to the church --- this was what she most needed to hear and she smiled at that.
So it did not take any preparation to do that,  and even though those who were prepared to teach were not able to be there, the Lord still provided a way to strengthen and help these Saints.


 We  had lots of fun doing things like

eating Moose meat.

A family in the Branch hunted and cooked it ... down the hatch she goes, matey!

We sang "Happy Birthday" to the Leavitts,

and placed our bets on who would win the arm wrestling challenge.....

And best of all, five of us were "screeched in".

You have to declare that you  really, really want to be an honorary Newfoundlander, drink cod liver oil,

Kiss the cod fish, dance a scottish jig,

and say, "May your jib always draw", as you down the cod liver oil. Elder Alger, Sister Pearce and Sister Leavitt joined us in this time honored ritual. What a bunch of crazies!  I am not sure, but I think that perhaps the Corner Brook branch enjoy watching the CFA's (come from away) do this --- I know I would!

To finish, you eat bologna on a cracker and drink some home made syrup!

We got our official certificates. Could not be happier!

We even had a little time to shop for souveniers,

being careful not to step on this big Newfoundland dog, "guarding" the store.

The scenery was rocky and beautiful, the amount of snow still here, in mid- April is mind boggling.

We saw and did many things ---- most importantly, we helped to lift the Saints, share our testimonies, and hopefully gave some encouragement along the way. We left tired but satisfied. We would go back again, in a heart beat--- thank you Corner Brook, for a memorable weekend!

Easter and the Promise of Spring!

     What a great combination, Easter and General Conference, both on the same weekend!  As we were getting ready to go to the Mission Office on Good Friday, Elder Harding and I were talking about how the Halifax Temple was  open from 8 am - 8 pm that day, and we both just felt that we wanted to attend.

We changed our plans for the afternoon, called and booked a time to do our family names for sealings, and had a wonderful experience in the Temple. It just feels like "coming home" to be in this building, regardless of how much snow there is laying on the ground.I am just saying, it IS April ... snow, you can go now!  As we visited with some of our friends over supper  the next day, they told us that the Temple had done a record number of 1,000 ordinances on Friday and everyone was just so pleased. We are truly the beneficiaries as we were able to participate with the Saints here in Atlantic Canada.

Of course, Mother Nature had a late April Fool's joke up her sleeve, and we got yet another blizzard on the weekend --- I guess it really does not matter who delivers the chocolate, so long as there is chocolate, right?!?  

One just has to keep their sense of humor, and their shovel handy --- spring will be here soon, Maritimes!!

Food for thought ---- do those who wait longer for spring, in many different ways, appreciate it all the more? I would give a resounding "Yes" to that!

On Easter Sunday, we gathered at the Mission Home with about 16  other missionaries to eat and laugh together, and to watch the closing  Conference session. It was a really nice afternoon!!

I cannot say often enough how much we love these missionaries!  Their combined light and testimony is like a lighthouse on the shore. Their faith shines from their countenances and it lifts and strengthens my own.

We also had the opportunity to teach our friends from Nepal on Easter weekend, Archan and Pusza. We had ordered in some Church literature written in Nepali for them, and they were pleased and surprised to recieve it. They said it was the first time that they had seen their native language in book form since coming to Canada.  We hope this leads to more in-depth discussions with them. Elder Harding felt that we should teach them about the meaning of Easter this weekend, and as we got settled in and ready to teach, we first asked if they had any questions. Archan said that a family member from Nepal had asked him just the other day what Easter was all about over here--- he said he had no idea, so he asked us and, because Elder Harding had listened to the spirit, we were prepared to teach them. The thought went through my mind how this doctrine that we were sharing was being shared with others, across the world in Nepal, and it left me  sort of breathless.  I thought again how much God loves all of His children, around the world and wants them to know  Him. Humbling to be a part of the Lords work.

On Easter Monday, we got permission to take four  of our lovely District Sisters out to Peggy's Cove -- -three of them will leave for home in 2 1/2 weeks.

We had Such a lovely afternoon together!

These are the moments where time freezes...

and you remember the people and the place...

....for the rest of  your life!!

We ended by treating everyone to a warm bowl of clam chowder soup. This was the first time Sister Heritzler had ever tasted clam chowder soup --- she polished off the bowl, so I would say it was a success!

We love the Lord, we see His Hand in the work  and even though there are days when we wonder ...... will spring ever come, am I making a difference, there are also days when we feel that we are drinking from our saucer, 'cause our cup is overflowing.

"Land Ho!"

I am so excited!  I saw the first bit of grass today, emerging from the snow ---- yes!!!

"Land Ho, me maties!" Spring is coming.

We have actually been quite fortunate and have  never really had any trouble driving around in all of the nasty weather until last weekend. Several Sister Missionaries gathered at the mission home to watch the General Women's Broadcast, and while we were inside being spiritually fed, a good old blizzard blew in. When we walked out afterwards to go home, all of our vehicles were buried under 4-6 inches of snow--- surprise!
 Did not see that coming! Out came the snow blower to clear a path, and a broom to clear our vehicles, then I hopped into  my van to make the 5 minute drive home and got stuck in the snow twice. Each time I had to reverse, with little to no visibility and try another route, the worst being the downhill bit, and into oncoming traffic. I was finally able to get back to the mission home and President gave me a ride home in their 4 wheel drive vehicle -- no problem at all, and we even got around the city bus that was stuck on the hill, blocking our lane.  Fantastic!  The Lord watches over His missionaries, doesn't He.  We now want our own 4 wheel drive vehicle!
 
   Another  exciting thing happened, just as good as getting safely home in a blizzard. I had the  wonderful experience of doing Family History with one of our District Missionaries, Sister Sharp, from Cole Harbour area. She and I have met together about 3 times now, trying to reserve a family name for her to take to the Temple. Today, for our District Meeting, we were given permission to spend half of the time, one hour, on FH, throughout the whole mission.

Sister Sharp and I dug into her family file again. We both felt that she needed to contact her aunt, who had reserved some family names in Family Search several years ago, which we did, but with no results.The spirit told us to keep trying, so we looked up the 1-800 number, called it and got help from Salt Lake. They agreed to work on releasing the reserved names to Sister Sharp, only because she has already contacted her aunt! Awesome! 

But this process will  take a while and Sister Sharp really wanted a name for the Tuesday Temple session  next week, so we got back on the computer, even though I was feeling a bit tired after  2 hours of FH. As we again put our shoulder to the wheel, we found that her great-great-grandmothers name was not entered into the system, but the husband and children were. After some research on ancestry, we found that name, supported by census records, and we were able to enter and reserve it, so Sister Sharp now has a name for Tuesday!  Incredible!  AND she discovered that this side of the family is from..............Nova Scotia!!! What!  She and I just looked at each other with wide open eyes and mouths, then started laughing, and hugging!  Her ancestor was born here, then moved to California  --- smart move, given the weather we have just had!  SO amazing --- now we are going to look for headstones in a grave yard and see if we can get pictures. Wonderful! Love it!

We continue to have fun with "our" Missionaries, and love to work with them. We have lots of good times together, and many learning experiences. It keeps us young, being with this age group.

We Love the Lord, this is His work. There is lots of work to do, but also many experiences that we will look back on and treasure.