Grandma's Arms

A few days ago, a loved on was undergoing major surgery back home. We had the date of the operation on the calendar for some time, and  had fasted and prayed many times that all would go well, and it did -- -yet on the day of the surgery, I was so rattled!  We were only two weeks from coming home, and I felt so useless being here, and wanted to be there. It was a very difficult day---- several times during the day, I felt a calming presence come right into the room and close beside me, and as I cleared my mind, I felt that it was my Grandmother there, coming to comfort me, sort of putting her arms around me. 

I was so grateful!! My tears of  concern and worry stopped and I felt, strongly, her presence and love, for me and for my loved one, and I knew that everything was okay. Later I learned that this same Grandmother had also been with my loved one, offering comfort and reassurance.

As I tried to keep my mind on the feelings of peace that my Grandmother was bringing, I felt so much calmer, but as soon as I allowed thoughts or feelings of worry and fear to creep back in, I was again in tears ---- when others are in need of faith or strength, I find it easy to reassure , but when I am the one in the middle of the struggle, then I am tested and feel weak. 

I am so grateful for those who strengthen me when I am in need, and have been reminded of the scripture in Jacob 3: "Look unto God with firmness of Mind, and pray unto Him with exceeding faith, and He will console you in your afflictions." I later found out that my dear Mother was also praying that help would be given to us all.

What would we do without our Grandmothers and Mothers love?

The surgery went very well, recovery for our loved one is now well under way, and things are good.

SO grateful for the knowledge that we have, that our loves ones do not cease to exist, that they are still very interested in us and can reach out to us in times of need.

One of the things that I have loved doing here on our mission is

Family History research with our young Missionaries for family members who have passed on.

It was a real treat to  find these headstones in an old cemetery in Halifax.

They are some of Sister Sharp's ancestors. She was so surprised to discover that she had family from here!  She had no idea~

Walking through graveyards holds a strange appeal, and this one was especially sobering.Many of the victims of the Titanic disaster are buried  in Halifax as it was one of the closest ports. The headstones are designed to represent the shape of a ships' bow, slightly rolling to one side, with some headstones higher on the left and lower on the right.

The numbers on the headstone represents the order in which the bodies were pulled from the water --what a difficult task that would have been. This one that says J. Dawson is visited more frequently than the others as many people think he is the real person in the movie "Titanic"..... interesting, eh!

 So my testimony this week is that the veil can be very thin sometimes, and that we can feel our loved ones close by. God's plan of Salvation is real, He intends for families to be together, our Savior Jesus Christ has made this possible, by performing the  infinite and incredible atonement, He knows our joys and sorrows, He has made all things possible for us.
            How grateful I am for the His Great Love for me, and for all of us. 

Heroes In the Gospel

   Last Fast and Testimony Sunday, a sister who was visiting in Dartmouth Ward commented in her testimony that she saw so many "Heroes in the Gospel" here in the Maritimes, converts who had the courage to join the church, often going against friends and families to do so, and many single women who came faithfully to church every week on their own. There are   many situations that require courage and strength to face, no matter where you live. This Sister  said that where she was from, some of the church members had less adversity in their lives than many people here, BUT they were also less welcoming and kind to each other --- I do not know if that is 100 % true or not, but that is what she had experienced. That is  an interesting insight --- it made me think!

Here are some of the wonderful single sisters that we have come to Know and Love. We went out for a "Sisters luncheon" one Tuesday and had the best visit. As we sat and shared and listened,  we all realized more fully what the others were dealing with in their lives,  and felt bouyed up and strengthened by each other.

Here is a picture of President Pratt  and the Elders in PEI.

They are going street contacting together during a recent road trip that we did --- President said that he felt like he failed miserably at  street contacting!!  It is not an easy thing to do, to go up to complete strangers and talk about religion! Don't we all feel like President sometimes, that we are just not doing as well as we had hoped. Some advice that I heard a while in our of meetings comes to my mind.

It is the words of Winston Churchhill. When it seemed like the war was going against England and that there was no way they would ever win, it seemed hopeless, but he did not quit.  He said,

 "Never give Up! Never, ever, ever give up!"

And they did not give up ----- and the tide of the war changed and they were eventually victorious!

There is powerful lesson in that.

These Young Missionaries are also "Heroes in the Gospel" to us-- they go out of their comfort zone daily and they are being challenged in many ways, yet they are rising to the challenge and making a difference throughout the world. We love them!

This is Elder McNabb and Elder Craig. 

They were in Dartmouth one P-day and called us up to see if Elder Harding could come and play Basketball with the group!  Gotta have balance in your life, gotta have fun on the journey !

We love the Lord, we are learning tons, and we see the Lords hand in our lives, daily!

Love to you all and may you know that you are a Hero in someones life as you stay the course,  and never give up!

My Last Bike Ride - Symbolic of our Mission Journey

Rode my bike this morning and hit 7 lakes/ponds. 1.5 hours.   I did it because it represented one of the great things about this place.  Dartmouth is  called the city of lakes.   They are everywhere and then the Halifax harbour is a 10 minute drive away.   Water, Water everywhere.  

My ride symbolized our Journey of our Mission.  I rode the complete length of these lakes.  Ephesians 3:18  That I might “comprehend…the breadth, and length and depth and height”   I reflected on the last years journey as I did so.

Lake MicMac.     Beautiful and serene.   That is if you took the time to stop the hard work you were doing and enjoyed the experience.  (Missionaries, Senior Couples and Members)

 Lake Charles     A Huge lake that seems to go on a long time.   You get there through persistence and taking the time to stop at beautiful places of rest and restoration.   (Like the temple, and daily scripture study.)

Lake Banook :   A famous lake for paddlers of all kinds. How we admired and loved these good Sisters and Elders who stay in the Gospel boat, striving to stay on the straight course representing Jesus Christ to the World.

 Sometimes there is some steep climbs and the only way to succeed is to keep pedaling.

"Consider the Lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin"    We were successful when we relied on the grace and tender mercies of our Father in Heaven"

Oat Hill Lake    We recognized the Lords handiwork and hand in our lives on a daily basis.   He is so good to us.

 Penhorn Lake    “All things denote that there is a God”  Alma30:44

 Shubanacadie Canal    There are some many cool names in the Maritimes and the joy of a Mission is meeting so many good people who's names we will never forget.   By the way try to pronounce this common name. Musquodoboit  -  You will never get it right unless you hear it.   Took me one year.

 "Streams of Mercy never ceasing"

"He restoreth my soul"  Psalms 23:3

I forgot my map and missed one lake that was 5 minutes off the path I was taking.  This is part of our journey as well.   There is always a feeling that one could do more and that we might have missed some opportunities.  Maynard Lake will need to be left for the next set of Missionaries.  haha

Sullivans Pond  (Sometimes that best is left for last)   We trained our replacements in the office and then spend a good portion of our last month doing more Member Missionary Work and we were able to meet and develop relationships with a variety of people represented here by geese, ducks, dog and some people. 

The Fountain represents the overall feeling.    Back to Ephesians 3: 19  “And to know the love of Chirst, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now unto him that is able to exceeding abundantly”   God has fulfilled his promise  Malachi 3:10  “I will pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it”   Psalms 23:5  Our "cup runneth over”

It's A Small World!

It really is a small world, isn't it!

Last Saturday, we took the day and went to the beach with our Nepal friends, Archan, Pusza and their children Pratush and Prawna. It was a lot of fun!  They invited another Nepal family that had moved into the area about 10 months ago. Bimal and Samikshya Aryal. Wonderful families! Our other neighbor, Barb Blakely, was out in the parking lot as we started to load everyone into the vehicles and she was telling us about a lesser known beach that would be ideal for the children, then she decided, spur of the moment, to just come with us!  So I jumped into her blue volkswagon  and the others followed as she showed us how to get  to the Beach. We had the best chat as we drove --- there was recently a death in Barb's extended family and she needed the chat. We had a great talk, it was meant to be!

Barb is an elementary teacher and she loved talking to these two young boys who are going into grade two this fall. They met at school and now their families are good friends.

But what really grabbed my attention was the Bimal's  story, which he told us as we drove home from the beach. Bimal grew up in a very poor family in Nepal, He described it as "Terrible", often not enough food to eat for the family. He was able to get into a Mission school, worked hard and got scholarships every year so he could keep attending school. A professor from the Dalhousie University here in Halifax went over to Nepal for a 3-4 month stay, several times, and taught in the Mission school. He met Bimal and wanted to help him. Over the years, they stay connected and now this Professor has invited Bimal and his family to come here to Halifax and live with him while he gets his Masters Degree at Dalhousie!  I was humbled to hear his story!

Bimal, in the red shirt, said that he so appreciated everywhere we took them that day because it was the first time they were seeing any of these places. He said that they lived a "simple life" here, and could not afford a vehicle until they had gotten him through school.

After he is done his schooling, he wants to send money back home to help others who need help to get an education!  I think we take a lot for granted in life! 

He also told us that he met the LDS missionaries when he lived in India in 1995 (a few years after my parents were there on a mission) and he went to church there and back at home in Nepal. 

I said to him, "It is such a small world, isn't it!" and He agreed!  

We invited him to meet with the missionaries here and to come to church with us, and he said maybe! He is pretty busy with school right now, so who knows where this will lead but we will see.

We had a great time at the Beach, and  then went to this second beach where the waves are higher and stronger ---- very windy, but a beautiful view. As I was sitting next to Barb in my t shirt and capri's, applying lots of sunscreen, Barb looked at me and said, "You are Some White!!"   Yes that is for sure! We Missionaries do not get to the Beach often and next to our Nepali friends and Barb, who just returned from 4 months in California, we are definetly, "Some White!"

Sister Mangelson crocheted these ties for Elder Stewart and Elder Harding, She taught herself how to make them and now everyone wants one!  We figure it makes Elder Harding look more tanned, yes!

Our young family that we hometeach has had what seems on the surface to be a dreadful couple of weeks, but I keep feeling that it is the wind that is blowing them to a better "land". They found a mouse in their apartment and she is so terrified of Mice, she refuses to go back in. Then  a week later, he lost his job !! Crazy ! As we were praying and fasting for them, and counselling with them, I clearly felt the spirit tell me that she needed to go home to her family in New Glasgow, so I dropped the idea into her mind, and that is where she is now ----- looking for a new job, a new apartment, and possibly getting into some schooling for the future. 

We do not always see and know what is coming in our lives, but we have a Loving, Kind and Wise Heavenly Father who does, and who wants the best for each one of  us. I keep learning this over and over.

I know that He lives, I know that He loves us and can help us do difficult things.

It is a Small World, and a Beautiful World that God has created for us. 

The Blessings Of Service

 We recently contacted our home ward back in Calgary to see if it would be possible to have our homecoming talk on the same weekend that our granddaughter, Kyla, will be getting baptized, so as to save our family from having to travel two weekends in a row.  Our  new Bishopric is organized, off and running, at full speed no doubt, and they were happy to put us in the schedule for September 20th,  and have already assigned us a topic to speak on ---- the topic is  "The Blessings of Service".
As I have been pondering about this topic, so many thoughts have flooded into my mind about the  blessings that come into our lives from serving. They are too numerous to list, but here are a few.

Below is a picture of a family that stopped by the Mission Office recently for a visit, as the mom had been a missionary here in the Maritimes about 20 years ago!
You can be sure that these parents interest in and connection with Missionary work is having an effect on their 5 children and they continue to be blessed for their service, years later. We also feel blessed to come from families who have been involved in Missionary work, with both sets of our parents having served missions, plus our children and their spouses having either served missions or are preparing their children to serve when they are old  enough ---

This picture below reminds me of the Sacrifice and Blessings of service ---- our new Mission President and his wife  packed up and said goodbye to their family for three years --- one of their daughters had her first baby the week after they arrived!  It is no small sacrifice for the Pratt's to be here!  

In the centre of this picture are the "Watson's", one of our senior couples who are finishing their mission as the CES couple here, reporting their mission in Saskatchewan, and then returning  to live in PEI. Sister Watson's mother is in a nursing home there and the great Blessing of their service is that they were able to be placed in an area and serve their mission close to her.

I have been reflecting on the personal stories that many of our young missionaries   have shared with us, particularly Elder Waldie, who had only been a member for one year before he decided to go on a mission. His non member parents struggled to understand why he was leaving them, and for two whole years. At the airport as they wept and said good bye to him, his mom kept saying "You don't have to go!!". It was SO hard for him to leave, but with each step he took, the spirit confirmed that he was doing the right thing. So it is with each of us. This week, "Elder" Waldie, who has been home from his mission for about 6 mnths, was sealed in the Temple to his sweetheart!

We continue to meet with and love our good friend, Lesly,(below), who is feeding a duck on her front step in this picture. It has been a real  Blessing in both of our lives to be able to meet people from different backgrounds and religions. We are all better for our association, for coming together and understanding  and talking with each other.

In Between appointments one Saturday, we stopped and watched the boat races on Banook Lake, and had a hot dog --- yummy!

It was a lovely summer afternoon, and we were able to take it in and enjoy the sunshine. 

Meeting these friends has been a real blessing to us here. The Buott's and the Pitt's have opened their homes and their hearts to us and we value their friendship.

Going out for dinner with the Stewart's and the Pratt's once in a while keeps us all young.

Sometimes the girls shop too long, but hey, that is all right. Another blessing of service  as Seniors is  that you find some sweet little shops around to browse through.

  Sleep on Brethren!

Most of all, we feel that our family has been such a blessing in our lives!  They have never held us back from serving a mission, only encouraged us to go, and supported us the whole time. We love them so much and are grateful to them.

                                                                                   

Relationships

As I was thinking about our Mission experiences, and what we have learned, what we have done, and all of that, it came to my mind that one of the  most important things  is the relationships that we form in life, with family, friends, our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. I have seen that as we build upon the sure foundation of the Savior and strive to become more like Him each day, all of our relationships will be better

We are just so proud of this little family who continue to work on their  important relationships and have allowed us to be a part of their journey, We love this little girl, Lilly, who gives us hugs and butterfly kisses, and lets Elder Harding take  her into Nursery.

I had to include this picture below because the Ipad regularly cuts off Elder Harding's head in the pictures that I take..... oops!!

I have to remember to to centre it better. Anyways!

Relationships take time and effort, and our relationship with our Companion is so important. One of the advantage of being Senior Missionaries is that we get to go do "stuff", like taking time to eat at this fun restaraunt on the Halifax side of the Harbour. We need these times to connect with each other and just "smell the flowers" once in a while.

Our friend Lesly, has also become dear to our hearts. She likes to have us over for supper, so we can visit and connect.We sure like it as well and stir up some fantastic salads together. I was thrilled to learn that Lelsy  is an art teacher, and she has agreed to give me some  art lessons!  Love it!

The relationships we have made with the young missionaries here is an absolute treasure to us!  One day, Sister Mangelson was teasing Elder Harding and told him he needed to  "get it right", the thing that he was working on in the office... he immediately said, 'Those are fightin' words....we need a planking competition, next transfer, see you then!"

She loved it!  So we had them over for lunch and a friendly little planking competition....  ask Elder Harding next time you see him who won!

As we gathered in the front of the Mission Office for a final picture of our District, the door opened and the mail man came in. We all laughed and encouraged him to join in with us, so he jumped in on the picture. It was pretty funny.

After our last Transfers, we set up the ping pong table and played games....It was great!. Sister Pratt has a fun competitive side! We love her and President Pratt, who was unfortunately sick this week and unable to join in, but he will be back!

We love these departing Missionaries so much and wish them all well.... Sister Shannon, who would drop by the office for a chat and a laugh and to check for mail.

Sister Drew, who loved to call up Elder Harding every day and ask for advice on everything,

 Sister Gochnour, who was always full of smiles and love ...

and Elder Erickson, one of the AP's, a stellar young man who stepped up and stepped in, with a smile and a laugh that was contagious.

Most important is our Relationship with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  All of these wonderful individuals that we have met here on our Mission have added light and love to our days, and have taught us more about how to Love as Jesus Christ and God do. We may have done some teaching, but we have also done a whole lot of learning!