May 9-15, 2022

We have had a week of hot summer temps here.  It went from the 60's last week to the high 80's and low 90's with no warning!  We finally got the air conditioner turned on Friday and are enjoying a nice, cool apartment.  It rained a little during the night and off and on today but the temperature has dropped into the 70's where I am more comfortable.

A couple dressed in their beautiful African attire walked into Sacrament meeting about half-way into the meeting.  We noticed the sister on the bench next to them was showing them how to find the words as we sang the closing hymn.  We rushed over to meet them when the meeting ended.  We introduced ourselves and welcomed them.  In their broken English, they told us that someone had described this building to them and that they should come to learn of Jesus.  They needed (not wanted, needed) to learn everything about the church so they could be baptized.  We waved the Sisters over and introduced them.  We saw the Sisters taking them to the library to get a Book of Mormon and they have a teaching appointment later today.  We later learned that it was Solomon and Wumi who told them to come to church.  Solomon and Wumi are the best missionaries we have!

Transfers were the previous week.  The STLs (Sister Training Leaders) were moved into our district.  They are not assigned to our ward, just our district.

Elders MacDonald, Neesom, Cooper; Sisters Cooper, Shumway (from Blanding, UT), Ulloa (from Houston, TX), Giustini (from I don't remember), Pollock (from California)

We were in Laval all day Wednesday doing missionary apartment inspections.  We were pleased to see improvements since our last inspection.  Most of the items we referred to the housing senior couple have been taken care of, including many that the landlords were responsible to repair.  All of these apartments are in different districts or zones and this gives us the opportunity to get to know missionaries outside our area.

The mask mandate has been lifted in Quebec, except for public transportation and hospitals.  Today was the first day at church without masks.  I introduced myself to a sister that I already know!  In my defense, I have never actually seen her face and she has cut her long hair off.  And she was with a gentleman friend today, so nothing clicked.  It's probably not the last time this will happen to me!

Most of our days have been spent finding and visiting ward members.  One of the first members we visited here is Sister Micheline Giguere Catalini.  She is 82 years old.  She is French (Giguere), her husband is Italian (Catalini) and she speaks four languages.  I think I talked about her in a previous blog.  She always wants to "make a prayer" as soon as we arrive and she always says the prayer.  Then she asks one of us to prayer before we leave.

She asked me to send her the photo.  I wasn't sure she would know how to find it in a text but she called early Saturday morning to say she got the photo and loves it.  We shared the video "I Feel My Savior's Love" with her and she wanted to know how to find it so she can watch it again and again.  We love this sweet sister.

We had a little extra time before our Thursday evening appointment in Lachine.  We found a park we had previously driven past.  We discovered it is the Lachine Canal National Historic Park.  Here's what the website says about it:

A link between the city and nature, the Lachine Canal is located in the southwest section of Montreal. Its 13.5-kilometre urban route runs between the Old Port and Lake Saint-Louis, a navigable waterway punctuated by five locks. Along its banks, a linear green urban park is lined with vestiges of the industrial era when the canal boomed. Throughout the year, a varied schedule of activities makes this historic site a great place to experience with family or friends.

It is a beautiful park with separate walking and biking paths, lots of trees and benches to sit and enjoy the view.

The Saint Lawrence River is on the left; the benches are facing the canal.

This is the Saint Lawrence River, looking toward the Mercier Bridge we cross almost daily.

We had a senior outing on Saturday to the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa, Ontario.  It was a 2-hour drive.  We had a nice lunch at a nearby chapel and spent about two hours wandering through Commissioners Park looking at the flowers.

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands royal family opened the festival shortly before we arrived.  During our tour we learned that the royal family took refuge in Ottawa when Hitler invaded and they were forced to leave their country.  Princess Margriet was born at the Civic Hospital in 1943.  By tradition and law, one must be born on Dutch soil to be a royal so the Canadian government ceded the one hospital room to the Netherlands and officially declared it to be part of their country.  When the royal family returned home after the war, they sent Canada 20,000 tulips bulbs as a gift.  They have continued the gift of 20,000 tulip bulbs each year for 70 years.  There are over 250,000 tulips in the park now.

This is Jessica, our tour guide.  The festival opened on Friday and Saturday was her first day on the job.

This monument in the park is called The Man With Two Hats.  It pays tribute to the crucial role Canadian soldiers played in the liberation of the Netherlands in World War II.  The Ottawa Man with Two Hats is a replica of the statue found in the Dutch city Apeldoorn named De man met de twee hoeden.  The twin statues exemplify the strong ties between the Netherlands and Canada.  

Elder and Sister Parker from North Carolina, serving in Ottawa; us; Sister Corbett from Oregon, serving in the mission office.

Dow's Lake is a small man-made lake on the Rideau Canal and borders Commissioners Park.  No swimming is allowed but you can take non-motorized water craft onto the lake.  It looked very refreshing on the scorching hot day we were having!

Sister Corbett lived in Montana very close to where I grew up and knows some of the same people.  She moved to Oregon several years ago but says her heart belongs to Montana.  She is an office specialist.  We have become good friends.

Thought from the scriptures: "And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh repentance; and now surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy and he that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved" (Alma 32:13).

I hate to be compelled to do anything, but I am grateful for repentance.  I am trying to get better at it willingly rather than to be compelled.