December 5-11, 2022

On our walk through the park this week, we were dismayed to find this again!!  John tried to do a quick count and figured there were around 150 in the area where we walk.  They are leaving gifts all over the walkway again and followed us down the trail, hoping for snacks I guess.  Shouldn't all geese be in the Bahamas by now?  Maybe this gaggle is coming from Nunavut or Baffin Island and got a very late start this year.


Transfers were last week.  We have a set of Elders in the ward again, yeah!  Elder Vang transferred from the Mandarin Branch and is training Elder Holder who came directly from the MTC.  Sister Larson remained in Lasalle and is training Sister Schaffer, also directly from the MTC.

Sister Larsen, Elder Holder, Sister Schaffer, Elder Vang

We learned some fun things about the two new missionaries.  Elder Holder is from Taylorsville, Utah and lives next door to our good friends on the old canal road, where we used to walk daily.  It is about three blocks from our previous home in Taylorsville.  A different ward and stake, so we had never met the Holder family but we probably waved to Elder Holder or his family members while walking past their home.

Sister Schaffer if from Cardston Alberta, where I was born.  Her great grandparents lived across the street from our family in Cardston.  Her great grandmother and my mother were close friends and I was named after her grandma Helen (my middle name) Schaffer.  And here we are serving together in Montréal!

Solomon and Wumi continue to be great missionaries.  John said that in Elders Quorum today, Solomon had 12 friends with him.  Ten from Nigeria, one from the DRC and he couldn't remember where the other brother is from.  Solomon was able to baptize his friend Festus Friday evening and stand in the circle today when Festus was confirmed.

Festus Okoye

Solomon and Festus

Sister Larsen, Solomon, Festus, Sister Schaffer

When it was time for the baptism, Solomon entered the font and Festus followed.  They both had strange looks on their faces and then quickly came out of the font.  I thought, oh no, there must be a huge bug or critter in the water with them!  They said the water was icy cold!  So we proceeded with the talk on the Holy Ghost, a musical number and the welcome from the Elders Quorum President while hot water was added to the font.  They even asked John and me to bear our testimonies about our baptisms, just to take up time.  The water was finally warm enough, Festus was baptized and all was well.

In our mission and other travels over the years, we have experienced some awesome Christmas markets in various countries.  Our favorites have been in Budapest and Zagreb.  We heard about the Christmas markets here in Montréal and expected the same fun experience.  We were sorely disappointed.

Late Friday afternoon we visited the Jean Talon Christmas market (Jean Talon is a huge market place and I covered it in a previous post).  There were only about ten outdoor shacks with candles, lotion and maple candies.

Jean Talon Christmas Market

This was the best display!

Christmas trees for sale

We left Jean Talon and went to Atwater Market, another large market place.  It was better but not much.  It was dark by the time we arrived at Atwater and the Christmas lights helped with the ambiance, but the products weren't any better than at Jean Talon.

Entrance to Atwater Christmas Market


The first booth, I didn't take any pics after this one

We decided to try one last market on Saturday morning - it was advertised as the grand, premiere Christmas market of Montréal.






It was so cold and windy (17 F when we left our apartment Saturday morning) that we didn't stay long at this market either.  We made our way over the Centre Bell, the large sports arena and home of the NHL Montréal Canadiens.  I understand this arena is the largest ice hockey arena in the world.



There are four figures in the plaza of famous players: Howie Morenz, Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau and Guy Lafleur.  I don't follow hockey so the names meant nothing to me, but I'm sure they are beloved to avid hockey fans.  The only Canadian hockey player I recognize is Tim Horton and I think of him as a doughnut guy, not a hockey player.

Our main purpose in going there was to shop at the Canadiens sports gear store.  John asked Santa for some Canadiens attire for his Christmas present this year so Santa went shopping a little early.



Comments

  1. Don and Bonnie AndersonDecember 12, 2022 at 12:51 PM

    Merry Christmas you guys
    have a merry Christmas in Canada on your mission I guess you got to spend 2 Christmas is there huh I hope you have a merry Christmas I am looking forward to the time you come home we miss you here in UtahNothing much to tell you about except it snowed today a little bit and it's supposed to snow all nightThe price of everything has jumped tremendouslyInflations gotta go awayI hope yours did as well
    God-bless you I know that God does bless you and I want him to keep blessing You keep up the good work
    Love your lots
    Donand Bonnie Anderson

    ReplyDelete

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