September 26-October 2, 2022

After feeling uplifted and inspired, I always feel such a let down Sunday evening after conference weekend.  How can it be over so quickly?  We tried to listen carefully, as we have been asked to speak in Sacrament meeting (again!) next Sunday and to choose a topic from one of the conference talks.  How to you choose from such a delicious smorgasbord?

It's been a fairly routine week.  Tuesday morning we helped an 88-year old sister pack her apartment.  She is moving into an independent living high rise that provides some meals and has medical personnel on site.  She has been stressing over this move since April.  Her daughter and granddaughter were here over the weekend to help with the actual move.

All of our district attended Thursday district council in person.  The Cornwall Elders are about 90 minutes away but were in town on exchanges.

LaSalle District on October 29

Last week I posted a picture of the lovely path we walk on our way to service at the food bank.  This week when we came up from the metro, we could hear a train on the tracks parallel to the path.  We walked the five blocks to the tracks and the train was still passing.  It was a very long freight train and two passenger trains that required another ten minutes of waiting before we could cross the tracks.


We had a date for dinner with some other seniors Friday evening.  We had time between the food bank and dinner so we stopped to see Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral.


The cathedral was built between 1870-1894 in a then largely Protestant area of the city and proudly asserted the presence of the Catholic Church.  It was based on the model of Saint Peter's in Rome.  If you have visited Saint Peter's you will recognize the familiar façade, dome and interior decoration they modeled.  It is the third largest church in Quebec - and we have visited all three now!





Dorchester Square is across the street from the cathedral.  There are several memorials in the square  The one below is the only equestrian memorial in the city and atypically, it is not mounted.



It is a memorial to lives lost in the Boer War, which was widely unpopular in Quebec.  The inscription on the pedestal reads:

In grateful recognition of the patriotism and public spirit shown by Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal in raising and equipping a regiment of horse for service in South Africa as evidence of his sympathy with the cause of imperial unity.'; and on the opposite side, 'To commemorate the heroic devotion of the Canadians who fell in the South African War and the valour of their comrades.

When we came out of the cathedral, we heard drums beating and encountered a mass of people marching down the street to an area across from the cathedral.


Orange Shirt Day is a day to honor the survivors and intergenerational survivors of the Indian residential school system, and to commemorate those who didn't return home.  September 30 is called National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada.  I had not heard of it before and am not sure if it is Canada-wide or a Quebec thing.

Here are a couple favorite lines from conference.  "Giving away your favorite sin" (President Nelson) and " You don't have to wear the tag to bear His name" (Elder Lund).

As of today, we are halfway done!  See you all in nine months!

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