Aug 12

What a week

 

I really do start these all out this way don't I? Hmm. I'll have to be more clever next week.

Well, today's already been interesting. We woke up early this morning with grand plans to go to the montréal botanical gardens (Because it's free if you show up before 8!) Problem was, that's not true during the tourist season. 30 bucks each, we opted out. No worries though, the OLYMPIC STADIUM was just across the street with a high rise restaurant! So we headed over there to get drinks (we're cheap, remember?) and look at montréal from above.

It's closed until one on mondays.

Alright, last resort, we'll go out for sushi.

Sushi was under construction. Closed until further notice.

Maybe we should just go to dairy queen and get some ice cream to soften this failure

Dairy queen's closed until noon.

We ended up just coming here, after taking a lovely drive around montréal, in lovely morning traffic. :P What can you do?

But! Putting our odd morning aside, this week was WONDERFUL!! I mean, the week itself was about the same thing that always happens. We visited people, got dropped by some, got stood up by others, had WONDERFUL lessons with others, the regular rollercoaster of real missionaries. :) Sunday was the day that made the week.

    Between the four teams of missionaries at our ward, we had 4 investigators and a plethora of not-as-less-active-as-they-were-before-we-found-them members at church, combined with a visit from the stake president and a Whopping church attendance of over 80, AND.......... WE GOT A WARD MISSION LEADER! :D The first time I came in contact with this ward was during my days in Laval, around 6 transfers ago. At the time it was a struggling little ward with average sacrament attendance of around 50, who had just lost it's ward mission leader to a calling from the stake (despite the protests of the bishop), and didn't really have anyone else to replace it. The missionaries struggled, the members were tired, it was a tough ward. Now, here we are, six transfers later, and our teams couldn't even talk to our investigators because they were too busy being talked to by all the members at the member organized potluck that we now hold every second sunday, with 30 more active members and a ward mission leader. :) Life doesn't get better than this.

I think, even more than seeing individuals progress and come towards Christ, the most fulfilling part of my mission has been seeing the GROUPS progress. The wards, branches, stakes, districts, zones, any group of people, catching the vision, and doing the will of the Lord, TOGETHER, in UNITY. It's the recipe for miracles. :)

That being said, It takes the individuals to make it happen. I've really come to appreciate, since being here, the importance of even the 'smallest' callings. Everything needs to get done. We need everyone, doing the best they can. When that happens, the spirit can work with us, and we live in Zion, no matter where we are and no matter how many members come to church.

I love you all! A big thanks to my dedicated readers for your support and prayers!

God bless.