November 14-20, 2022

Winter has arrived.  We have had snow on and off since Wednesday.  No snow pictures - there isn't that much yet.  The biggest adjustment has been the drop in temperature and the accompanying wind.  This morning it was 26 F but felt like 13 F with the 22 mph winds.  We were talking with our friend Alex, who is from Russia.  Someone joked about the cold in Siberia and Alex said that Quebec is actually colder than Siberia.  So no more banishing people to outer Siberia, just send them to Montréal for punishment!

On Monday we helped Brother Monette assemble his snow temple.  Not sure if that is the local slang for the canopies but all the church members call them that.

The temple frame

The temple covers their two-car parking/driveway area so it is pretty large.  He said that he and his wife put it up last year but I don't know how.  The three of us struggled with it - maybe because Brother Monette is still having chemo each week and the two of us are old?

When we got this far, we wondered what good it will do.  You can see it has been patched many times already and there are several other tears that should have been patched prior to pulling it onto the frame.  It was secured at the street end and temporarily tied onto the front while Brother Monette went to the store for more rope.  We had to leave at that point and hope he managed okay on his own.  I prefer our covered, heated parking!

We did missionary apartment inspections this week.  The Sisters reported cockroaches coming up through the drains.  I hate that!!  When you live in a high-rise apartment complex there isn't much you can do until the apartment management fumigates and takes an active role in controlling the problem.  It reminded us of the Sister's apartment in Sarajevo - once the roaches appeared, they never did go away.  At least while we were there doing inspections.

Sister Smith is back in the nursing home but was still in Covid isolation when we visited on Thursday.  She can receive visitors but only one at a time and dressed in full hospital protective gear.  We opted to yell to her at the open door.  She loves the treats I bring each week.  I held up the bag of oatmeal cookies and told her the nurse would bring them in on her next check-in.  She asked me to bring them to the table for her.  We were sorry we couldn't do it, as we know how she looks forward to our visits.  Or maybe it's just the treats...

I finally got a Covid booster and flu shot.  It was quite an ordeal.  The mission medical advisor submitted the online form for us but when we arrived for our appointment, they refused us.  The nurse told us because we are Americans, she couldn't do it.  So not true!  Honestly, I think she had no idea how to do the paperwork.  So I went online myself to register.  There is a place to mark on the form stating that you do not have a Quebec health card and that was the key.  I did have to use my passport for ID and answer a lot of questions, but I finally got both shots and they were free.  John's appointment is next Wednesday.

Bishops Storehouse was Saturday morning, then the senior missionaries had a Zoom call with Elder Paul V Johnson.  He was passing through Montréal on an Area Tour and wanted to meet with us.  We spent 15 minutes introducing ourselves and our mission assignment.  He told us about his parents serving a mission and how it had blessed their families.  He advised us to avoid the Martha and Mary syndrome, meaning that many of our missionary duties (especially the office staff) are necessary for the mission to run smoothly but may make us feel like Martha.  He counseled us to remember to also be like Mary and sit at the feet of Jesus.

Solomon and Wumi spoke in Sacrament meeting today.  They both gave excellent talks on being grateful; we owe everything we have to God; to be grateful everyday that we wake up to experience the sunshine, breathe the air, walk and talk.  He said that once we have Jesus in our life, we have everything we need.  I loved that he said, "I may not have all that I want, but I have more than I deserve."