Zarahemla Week 2

On the top of Mount Royal

This week has been awesome! So many cool things, I don't even know where to start!

This week was focused mostly on finding investigators. We don't have a car, so we walk, bus, and metro a lot. I've been struggling with finding a little bit, mostly because it's sort of scary to talk to random people who seem like they want to avoid you, especially in a different language. We try to talk to Latinos when we run across them, but most of our contacting is in French. My trainer is super good at French though, and is fluent in Spanish, so he's really been helping me a lot. For language study, I read the Book of Mormon in French aloud to him, and he corrects me when I make pronunciation mistakes (which is probably the hardest thing in French). He's really great.

Elder Tueller and Elder Brenchley are in our apartment, but in a different zone.

We also have had quite a few lessons, and we have a few people we're trying to get baptized who are pretty close. We have been teaching this family, Jesus and Yeni and their kids, and they are really close. They have some issues that need to be resolved before baptism though, but none of their problems are within their control so it's frustrating to just wait. But when everything is resolved I'm sure they're going to be baptized! When we taught them earlier last week, they took us out to a Haitian restaurant which was SUPER GOOD. I had never had Haitian food before, but it was amazing. The restaurant was a bit sketchy, of course, but it was super authentic. There are a TON of Haitians out here, especially in the areas that we usually teach. Their French is hard to understand, and a lot of the older Haitians only speak Créole. But they're all awesome and super friendly (and of course make AMAZING food).

The cinnamon muffins I've made (three times) - they're a hit!

We also are teaching the husband of a member, Daniel, who is also pretty close to baptism. They had us over for lunch the other day and they are super nice. They're both from Mexico, as is my companion, so they love each other. It's funny being the odd gringo out, and a lot of investigators and members joke around with me about it, which is funny. They're all super helpful and patient with me learning Spanish.

One amazing thing about living in the Spanish area is having all the food appointments. They all LOVE feeding the missionaries, and it's always super good, authentic food from tons of different Latin American countries. This week we're eating at a Mexican's, Honduran's, and a Dominican's house, and I'm super excited to try their food. French areas usually only get one or two dinner appointments a month, so we're super lucky to get a ton. I hope I don't get fat!

The exact spot that I took a picture with my family a few months ago-crazy!

Everything is going super well. I'm loving Montréal, it's so diverse which is awesome. I'm loving my trainer and my other roommates, and we all get along well. Although it's really hard and tiring sometimes, I'm so happy to be here.

Love you all so much, hope everything is going well.

Elder James

Zarahemla Week 1 - First week in the field

(The keyboards are a little different so please pardon any mistakes)

This week has been super busy, but things are going great!

After saying some last goodbyes at the MTC on Monday, we finally set out early Tuesday morning. After a full day of travelling, we finally made it to Montréal! The Mission President and his wife are awesome, and they were so cool to finally meet. That night we ate homemade food for the first time in SO long, and it was amazing. We each had a short meeting with the President that night, and we were all super stressed and excited to find out which area we would go and which language(s) we would be speaking! We weren't going to find out until the following afternoon.

That next morning, we got up early, ate another great homemade meal at the mission home, and then headed down to the mission office where we would have a short orientation and then get assigned an area and a trainer! We were all super excited. After the short orientation meeting, we went into a chapel where the President announced each missionary's area, language(s), and trainer. You'll never believe where I got assigned. I'm in the Zarahemla North area, speaking Spanish (and French most of the time)! The Zarahemla ward is coincidentaly the same exact ward that we visited in April! Isn't that crazy? Yesterday at church I told a few members that I remembered that I had been there only a few months ago, and they actually remembered! Hermana Lopez, who lent us a Spanish hymn book and who my dad talked to for a bit, says hi! The members are super nice, and I'm super excited to get to know all of them.

My trainer is Elder Colunga and he's great. He's super good at French, and he's fluent in Spanish, so he's been helping me a lot in the languages. When we go contacting (which is when we basically go out in the city and find people who are interested) we mostly do it in French, and he's been helping me a lot with that. It's scary to talk to people in another language that you barely know! I've tried a few times, and they don't usually understand me well, but it's good practice. It'll come, I just have to be patient. Most of the time we just ride the metro back and forth and talk to people, which gets a bit awkward, but I'm sure I'll get used to it 

At my apartment we have 2 other Elders, Elder Tueller and Elder Brenchley, and they're awesome. I was looking through the cookbook that I brought with me, and I was craving these cinnamon muffins that my mom sometimes makes, and surprisingly we had everything I needed to make them so I did! The other Elders loved them and they were gone within only a day. Since we have limited money, usually we just eat super simple things at the apartment each day and don't have enough money to eat out at all, so food gets bland pretty quick. Good thing I have the cookbook and most of the things are pretty cheap to make! I only need enough time.

Anyway, everything is going great. I'm so excited to be here, and I'm super happy with the experience so far. Love you all so much! Hope you are doing well!

Elder James

Montreal Mission Home

Dear Family,

​Elder James has arrived!!!  We are so pleased to welcome him into the Canada Montreal Mission.  We met him at the airport and spent time getting to know him at the mission home before introducing him to his new companion.  His first companion is Elder Colunga, whom we have prayerfully selected to be his trainer.  We are excited for this companionship and know that the Lord has great things for these missionaries to accomplish together!

​We want to thank you for entrusting Elder James to us.  It will be a sacred privilege to share in his experiences as he serves the Lord.  We know that Elder James will work hard both mentally and physically, build relationships of trust with companions, members, and investigators, and experience miracles in his life.  We are excited to watch the growth that will occur in the next two years!

​We will stay close to Elder James throughout his mission through personal interviews and other meetings. We will work shoulder to shoulder with him as he serves the Lord.   

​May you share in and feel the blessings of Elder James's service!

Sincerely,

President Robert L Philips & Sister Michelle L Phillips

Arrived in Canada, eh!

{We got to talk to Elder James while he was on his way to Canada today, and we sure loved hearing his voice! We especially loved his excitement he had to get to the mission and get to work!}

Family,

Just got into the mission home and everything is going great! First homemade food I've had in a LONG time. The President and his wife are amazing! We're all super excited to be here and get started! We don't know which area we'll be in yet, but we'll find out tomorrow morning. Love you all so much!

Elder James