Keeping Your Fishing Line In The Water

   My Dad and Mom used to take us kids fishing and camping in the mountains quite often as we were growing up. I really enjoyed those times, as we walked along the mountain streams, and enjoyed each others company while we fished.  Maybe that is why this quote, on page 152, of  "Preach My Gospel"  stood out to  me--- it reads, "None of us should be like the fisherman who thinks he has been fishing all day when in reality he has spent most of his time getting to and from the water....Fishing success is related to how long you have your line in the water, not to how long you are away from the apartment."

     I have been thinking about this concept and how it relates to our time here in Halifax. I want to be sure that I "have my line in the water" here.  As we have been learning new tasks in the office, it often requires a lot of concentration, and because I am on the front desk, the phone will often ring or someone will come up with a comment or a question and I would struggle at first to re-focus and be gracious about changing tasks. Then I realized that I needed to change my perspective about what I had been called to do --- I wasn't really there to enter data into a computer, or least that was not my primary purpose. I was there to greet and welcome people, show an interest in them. I think of this in relation to how we were trained in the Temple, we were to be "the face of the Temple", to welcome patrons and assist them in any way we could so they would feel Gods love for them, through us.

We are all , in a sense, called to be "Fishers of men."  Just this past week, I answered the Mission office phone and there was a man on the other end who wanted us to pass a referral on to the missionaries on behalf of his friend, who had accepted the invitation to have the missionaries come over and teach him. Moments like that are a treasure!  Or, the other day when two young Elders came into the office, looking sort of downcast, and were sitting with a slouched over appearance, but after a long visit with their Mission President, they both left smiling, heads up and shoulders back, and as they walked out the door, one of them turned back and thanked me for visiting with them while they waited. It touched my heart, I knew that I had done very little in reality, they were feeling better because of what their Mission President had said, but it had all worked together. 

I Love, love this picture! It was taken in the front entrance of the Mission home,  and was posted on the facebook page, "Mormons of Atlantic Canada,". Underneath it  was written, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings unto them, that publisheth peace" (3 Ne 20:40) .  Do you notice how these shoes are getting a lot of miles put on them? Doesn't it make your heart melt, to see the shoes of these young Elders and Sisters. It does mine.

I was thinking about how the Savior, how wherever He went, people wanted to talk to Him, question Him, touch the hem of His clothes, draw strength  and healing from Him. He always had time for people, He had so much to give. I know that we are still mortals and so we get tired, but I am learning, again,  that we can be stretched, we can do more than we thought possible. It is not always a pleasant process, this stretching business, but God is there to help us along, and the results are pretty great.

It is a beautiful world that we live in, we have been blessed with an amazing gift, the knowledge of the Restoration, to know that God speaks to mankind, and has provided a Savior for us, so that we can repent and return.  

Here are some pictures of this beautiful corner of the world we live in right now. The top one is the view from the balcony of our second floor apartment, the second one is a duck pond we stopped by two weekends ago, for some fresh air. and the third one is down by the Harbor, were we went for lunch one Saturday

One last note about the yellow flowers.  I had seen these dead looking plants in a planter on our balcony, they were there when we arrived in September. I basically ignored them, as I do not have a green thumb and they stand a much better chance of survival if I just stay away!! Ha ha!  Anyways, I thought about uprooting them and throwing them out, as I thought that they were dead. Then the rains came and the brown stems turned green and began to sprout buds and one week, these pretty yellow flowers opened up. I was so surprised--- I love them, they remind me that you just never know what is inside of people, never give up on people in your life, in your family... there is beauty, waiting to blossom. Love to all!

A week in the Life of a Missionary

We have very busy weeks with lots to do in the office to keep everything going.   An enormous amount of detail and desk work that allows all the Missionaries to have a roof over their head, food in their belly and of course phones to communicate with etc. etc.   We know this work is important.   We do this Monday to Friday peppered with some great experiences with the Missionaries that are so full of life and enthusiasm.

The other couple working in the Office, Elder and Sister Hendrickson from the valley in Utah, left this week but we have two couples from the local congregation,  Bill and Alice Green and Merlin and Diane Wentzell that are volunteering to help out.

I sometimes get an opportunity to ride my bike home from the office.   I take a backpack in with helmet and a pair of runners and a rain jacket.   With my white shirt and tie,  I pull my socks over my dress slacks to keep them from getting in the chain, put on the helmet and rain jacket and head home.  30 minutes through Shubie park past Mic Mac and Banook Lake with a couple of  30 second stops to take in the beauty and thank God for the beauty of this place.

Saturday we buy groceries, Laundry, and view some more of the scenery.   Yesterday we went to all three Lakes that are within 10 minutes of our place   Charles Lake and Schubienacadie Canal were beautiful with geese at our feet.    There are literally 5 other lakes within another 10 minutes of these and of course Halifax Harbour front.  No end to places to connect with nature.   The fall colors are breathtaking.

The people here are very friendly.  Tonight we visited a family that live in our complex from Tibet of the Hindu faith.  It was a great experience to share our faith with each other and learn that there is much common ground as we all try to promote peace and goodness in this world.

"The Covenant Path"

    I amazed at the energy of the young missionaries in the Halifax Mission, and their joyful countenances. They come into the mission office each day with a smiling face and a warm greeting. We were able to gather at the mission home this past weekend and watch a session of General Conference together, then eat some of President Leavits' homemade chili, made from a secret family recipe ----- ie, open a Can of Chili from the local grocery store, add some more corn, stir well, don't stress about meals, and eat!   It is more about being together than slaving over a hot stove!  I like that, I get that, and that is how I cook!  I still have my friend, Blanche's, cookbook right here on the counter in our apartment, and I do promise to use it, but I also like these "Secret Family Recipes"!
   Another thing Elder Harding and I have learned as we get together with these wonderful, fun young missionaries, is to never leave your ipad just sitting around, because young people love to take "selfies"! Here are a few  that we thought it only fair to post, after deleting the other 20 or so that mysteriously appeared on the ipad while we were doing dishes in the Kitchen and had our backs turned!! Ha Ha!!

   Apparently Elder Jason, who appears in the most of these picts, was the main culprit!  He is one of the AP's and  is in and out of the Mission Office a lot ---- we love him, as we love all of the Missionaries! Elder Jason is from Guadalope, and he is never quite warm enough here in Canada. I also am never quite warm enough, and so when the heat in the office somehow gets turned up, the two of us are very happy, but everyone else starts shedding layers and wondering what is going on with the heating system!

    As we listened to General Conference this past weekend, Sister Carol McConkie's comments about being on the "Covenant Path" really struck a chord with me. What does it mean to be on the covenant path?
I have watched these young missionaries put their best foot forward, be patient when making endless phone calls trying to get someone to come out to church, working through companionship stuff, and trying to represent the Lord in the best way that they can. They are a good example to me of what it means to be on the covenant path. Here are some more thoughts about what it means to be on the covenant path.

 When we are on the "Covenant Path" we have power given to us in our lives to help us do the things that are challenging or difficult, and as we exert our Faith, and turn to our Heavenly Father for His light and help, as we uphold and honor our covenants that we have made with Him, God has promised us that He will sustain and assist us.

It has been a real learning curve  to prepare for and then to come on a mission. As we have persevered through each stage,  we have found joy in the journey, joy in being on and striving to stay on the Covenant Path. 

 It was a real joy and a great blessing to be able to return to Alberta last week and spend a few days helping our daughter and her husband with their first baby, little Sarah Lynn.  She is a real treasure, what a treat to be able to be there with this family. This is one of the blessings of being a Senior Missionary -- there are times that you Can return home, if needed --- And Yes, it was hard to say Goodbye to them, BUT we are all on the Covenant Path, them and us.  

 Elder Harding and I trust our loved ones to the Lord, and thank those that have stepped in, in our absence, to bless and help not only this little family, but all of our family.  We are so Grateful!

Now  I am  Back in Halifax, associating with the fine people of Eastern Canada and rubbing shoulders with some wonderful young people, and we are getting our feet more firmly under us in the mission office. It has taken us time to get our heads wrapped around the many details in the office and sometimes we felt like we were swimming in deep water, But as Elder Harding said, President Leavit just kept throwing us a life line and eventually we came out of the deep water and got our feet on more solid ground. Here we are below at the Halifax Temple and the Mission Home --- this is one of  the Blessings of serving in the Mission Office, getting to participate in these events.

So, Life is good here in the Mission Field. There are sacrifices made by many, no question, but there is also a lot of  joy and unexpected bits of sunshine one the Covenant path. We are looking forward to more!

At the Mission Office

We were greeted warmly by our Mission President and his wife, President and Sister Leavitt, when we arrived in Halifax. They had us over to the Mission home for supper on  our first Sunday there, and introduced us to the Hendrickson's, the other office couple who are training us before they leave in 4 weeks.
We had a really good visit, chatted it up, watched a few mission videos, and got to know each other.
Next day, we went to the office, plugged into the "fire hose" and turned it on!

Elder Wiebe is pictured here with Elder Harding, as they tackle the finance and apartment end of things in the office. The Wiebe's, also from Calgary, were released two weeks before we got to Halifax, but Elder Wiebe very generously flew back to train Elder Harding for 5 days, as there was no one else who could do it.  They had 5 glorious days of uploading data into Elder Harding's head!  Right in the middle of the week, just to keep things interesting, the church auditor, who had not been to the office for several years, scheduled a visit and came by for a couple of days. You wouldn't want things to be boring in the office, now would you! But, in the end, Elder Harding said that it turned out to have its benefits as the auditor changed the way they did a couple of things and cut down on the work load, so there you go!

This is Sister Hendrickson with Sister Harding, and for good measure, we have the First Presidency and the 12 apostles right behind us --- that is a good feeling, as we need all the help we can get!  Sister Hendrickson is trying to teach me how to do the million and one things that come with the front desk. She is a lot of fun. President Leavitt adds a good deal of humour  to the office and is regularly checking in, and seeing how we are all doing, reassuring us that this is the Lords work, and we just have to do what we can, and trust that He will make up the difference. The learning curve is steep and there is a lot to figure out.  President Leavitt is working on getting some local help in to lend a hand, plus some of the young missionaries to come by and help us Senior Missionaries out, as the Mission Office is going from 3 couples down to just us. We enjoy rubbing shoulders with the young missionaries who come by the office. The AP's are working their hearts out with Transfers coming next week, and the "Tech"  Elders just have to walk in the room and our printer starts to work properly. The "Tech" Elders are called to take care of any technical problems and to do any technical things that Senior Couples can't seem to figure out... thank goodness for Tech Elders and AP's.

I read that the Halifax mission, like many Missions, had a large increase in the number of missionaries serving last year. That is  awesome, lots of young missionaries from all over the world who are excited about the work....to go along with that, and to lighten the load on the mission president, more Senior couples are needed everywhere.  We are called to be the "Leaven" in the mission --- we decided we will just try to not do too much damage -- ha ha! 

On the weekend, we decided to "unplug" from the fire hose at the office, and go sight seeing. We stopped at this farmers market and picked up some delicious and fresh fruit and veggies at a steal of a deal.

We stopped by this harbor for lunch --- beautiful, beautiful scenery here in Nova Scotia! Then we drove on to Peggy's cove. It was a super windy day, but I held onto Elder Harding and managed to not get blown away. Everywhere we go, Elder Harding tries to hand out a pass along card and get into a conversation with people about the Church. We are challenging ourselves to get better at talking to people, and during our companionship study,   we are talking about how we can be better listeners to those we meet, listen to them first, get to know people, see what is happening in their lives that is important to them, THEN share with them a short message that will strike a chord . For example, our waitress talked about her family quite a bit and how she missed them, and  a group of Mennonite ladies at Peggys Cove commented on my dress, seemed surprised to see another woman wearing a dress. It was fun to chat with them.... when you show a sincere interest in people, they will generally open  up and talk to you. Everywhere we go, people look at our badges and read "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints"... we want to be sure that we let people know something about the church, about God and His interest in them.  The spirit leads us, we just have to have the faith to open our hearts and our mouths. 

Funny side note ---- people have the greatest sense of humor here! Elder Harding and I were asked to say the opening and closing prayer in Sunday School class .... the Class President, Brother Neiforth,  announced that we new , and they wanted us to say the prayers just to see how we would do!  Afterwards he gave us a 10 out 10! 

Time To Get Out of Dodge!

You never quite know how your prayers will be answered!  I was not looking forward to leaving Calgary, and was praying for the Lord to help me feel calm and settled, when an August snowstorm hit Calgary. Elder Harding and Fred Layton were, luckily, already well on their way out to Halifax with a loaded van, and I was making a few last visits around southern Alberta, after being at the MTC, when the storm came along. I returned home to Calgary to a real mess. The Large tree in our back yard had split in half and fallen!

The Challenge --- I was on my own to figure this out, or at least, it felt that way. In reality, I was not , as God was watching over us the whole time! We were so blessed that this tree fell the way it did. Nothing on our property was damaged, when it could so easily have fallen right onto our house, delaying me from getting  to the mission field and causing a lot more frustration.  

The Blessing -- God sent us an angel, in the form of "Monte", a friend of our daughter and her husband in New Brighton ward, who came and helped me out. He spent 2 hours cutting the damaged limb, and getting it off the fence and refused any payment.

Then, as Elder Harding and I spoke about who to call to remove the rest of the tree before it fell onto our home, we both felt impressed to call T. Strothers, who has a landscaping company. We did not know at the time that he had any connections for tree removal, we just felt we should call him. He said that he did have a guy, and when he checked it out, this man had only 2 days open that he could work.

Challenge --- it was Wednesday when the tree fell, and I had to fly out Saturday, plus, every other  single tree removal company that I called was booked solid for two weeks, or were not taking on any new jobs!

Blessing, or should I say Miracle --- this crew that Strothers knew had Thursday And Friday open and were able to come over and completely remove the entire tree.

Here is what the back yard looks like, just before I left!  So.... the Lord was watching over us, AND instead of being sad to leave Calgary, I was just so relieved to be "Getting Out Of Dodge" so to speak, with the tree taken care of and before anything else could come along to hamper me getting to the mission field!

The other part of the story is that our neighbor to the North of us heard a huge cracking sound as our tree split and fell at 5 am, Wednesday, Sept 10th, and so he got out of bed to see what had happened. When he saw our tree had fallen, he went and checked on his trees, and saw that a large crack was developing in a tree in his back yard, and it was starting to fall towards his house. If our tree had not fallen and woke him up, he would have gone off to work, and come home to a damaged roof and more. As it was, he had time to get a lift in, and cut down the tree before it could fall.   God works in mysterious ways!

Thank you to all who helped us deal with this --- good friends who let me lean on them, giving me emotional and physical support. You  are guardian angels. We are in your debt!

Cross Canada pictures

We hit construction all across Canada but especially in Manitoba and Ontario

Ontario was full of lakes and cottages and beautiful but two full days of driving to get through the province. 

There was some pressure on the trip.  A few stops to relieve.   That was nice of them to build this for us on the side of the road.

Unbelievable thunder and lightning storm.  Drove for 3 to 4 hours in the dark almost every night.  Dangerous with lots of watch out for Moose signs. 

Regina Temple

Montreal Temple.  Renovated because of mold

Before and after of Bay on Fundy tide in Truro Nova Scotia.   Amazing to watch.  It came in like a wave and turned this area into a lake.  Changed this creek literally 6 feet.

 After 6 days and 60 hours finally made it. 

Trip across Canada

The trip across Canada was quite an experience.  60 hours and 5 days.  Three of the days was over 15 hours each.   We saw the whole beautiful country.   My friend and Son in Laws Dad,  Fred Layton was my traveling companion.  You couldn't have asked for a better one.   He spoke to everyone and was a friend to all.   A terrific example to me.  I now have a new term.  The Fred Factor.

 The Van was packed to the hilt.  It was amazing what we fit in there.   Attached picture before and after of tire well.   We named the Toyota Sienna Van,  affectionately  Sister Yota and was grateful that we didn't have any problems.