Montréal Sud-Est Week 4

Unexpected PIZZA night!

This week was awesome! We worked really hard and were able to find a TON of new investigators! We've been trying out a lot of different ways to do contacting, and it's really been paying off. We are getting into the groove of things, which has been awesome. It's been amazing to see how the Lord really prepares those who we come in contact with. Sometimes, they're just ready, and all we have to do is find them! It's humbling when you realize how little we actually do in our work!

This week has shown me how complicated Montréal is language-wise. We had a lesson the other day with a family from Angola who speak Portuguese. The dad only speaks Portuguese and a bit of English, the mom only speaks Portuguese and a bit of French, and the kids speak in a mix of the three. So, when I was talking to the dad, I was using a bit of English and relying a lot on my Spanish knowledge to understand him. We were speaking to the mom in French. They are such a cool family but teaching them was SUPER complicated! I wished I was with Elder Durgante again, it would have made it a lot easier!

Our investigators are doing great! We had Elfira come to church last week, and Lesley and Mary came this week. They all loved it SO much and are so open to the gospel. I hope we'll be able to baptize them next transfer! It's totally possible!

The new Elder in Zarahemla got sick this week, and they had an appointment with Hermano Mendoza that they didn't want to miss. So, they called us, and asked if we could go. We were free, so we were able to see him! It was so awesome to see him again, he's such an inspiring guy. Another piece of good news—Elder Landetta told me that Guillermo is probably going to be baptized next week! He called me and really wants me to go. Luckily, since I'm still on the island, it shouldn't be a problem! I'm super excited for it!

My French is coming along well; Elder Amichia is helping me a lot. I've also been able to keep up my Spanish pretty well, as we are able to contact Hispanics sometimes and talk with the Hispanic members in the branch. I also secured us another dinner appointment with a Hispanic family! We're so excited!

Anyway, all is well, we're doing amazing here in Montréal-Est. We're super excited for General Conference—we'll be watching a session with one of our investigators, which will be super interesting. I hope you are all prepared! I love you all so much. Have an amazing Easter and General Conference weekend!

Elder James

Montréal Sud-Est Week 3

A park full of snow!

Looks like winter is back again! We got about a foot of snow a couple of days ago, and it's back to being -15 most days. Right when it started getting warmer too! Anyway, this week was pretty good. We're doing a lot better getting to know and developing relationships with the members, which has been awesome.

On exchanges with Elder Wensel

Last Wednesday I had exchanges with Elder Wensel, who lives with us. It was so much fun! We went contacting and were able to teach a few lessons right on the spot. It was super cool! We were also able to teach Lesley and Malorie again, who are really progressing well. We also got the chance to visit Charles again, who is doing awesome! He told us he'd start trying to get work off on Sundays so he can come to church. Hopefully he'll be able to soon!

We got to drive the Zone Leader's car
this week--it's been a long time!

Thursday was spent mostly doing contacting. It was super windy and cold! I didn't think it was cold enough to put on my coat, so I put on a lighter jacket, and I almost froze! I learned from my mistakes though. We also have been spending a lot of time only speaking in French, which has been helping me a lot in picking up the accent and figuring out the grammatical things I want to study. It's been weird though—it’s like I'm in training all over again! It's been an awesome experience so far though.

On Friday we were able to meet up and teach with the branch president and another brother from the branch, which was great. We also met with an investigator named Elfira, who is super cool and really solid. She came to church this week, which was awesome! And, she loved it! We also were able to eat at the familia Alfaro's house (since I talk to them a TON). It was really nice to speak Spanish again! Elder Amichia felt a little left out, but he just ate the entire time, so he didn't have a problem with it.

The First Vision ren

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were also spent mostly doing contacting, which has been pretty interesting. Elder Amichia is a super amazing contactor, and I've been learning a ton from it. He truly does talk to EVERYONE and has been a great example to me. Last night we went to a family home evening with the Famille Pierre, a Haitian family in the branch. It was so amazing! They fed us Haitian food, which was, as always, incredible. I really love our Branch so much!

The mission is just amazing as always. I'm super excited for General Conference, and you all should be too! What a giant blessing it is to be able to listen to servants called of God. It's not something to be taken for granted!

I love you all so very much, and I hope you have an amazing week!

Elder James

Montréal Sud-Est Week 2

This week has been pretty interesting; not very busy, but we've been able to see lots of miracles! This email is going to be a bit shorter, as I don't have as much time today—sorry.

Our district is really awesome! There is one sister team with three sisters, the one Elder team we're living with, and us. Pretty decent sized district! Four of us are called Spanish, so I'll be able to practice with them quite a bit, which will be awesome!

We had the opportunity to teach with one of the Haitian members of the ward, Frère Jean Pierre, who is super cool. We went with him to teach a Haitian family that we found last week. They're really amazing, are very humble, and willing to learn. Even the children were involved in the lesson, which I did not expect! The member was able to speak Creole to them, which was really cool.

We have also been teaching this couple, Lesely and Malorie, who are from Haiti as well. We have only been teaching them for a week and a half now, but they are already talking about how much the Gospel has been changing their life. It's such a humbling experience; they're awesome!

We got to start teaching Charles, who was previously being taught by the Elders we live with. He's super cool, and has as really sad history. He loves the gospel and has lots of promise.

We had a Family Home Evening with some branch members last night, which was SUPER fun. Especially because lots of the Hispanic members from the branch came, so I was able to talk to them basically the whole time! I was able to set up a couple of dinner appointments with them this week, haha. I'm so happy I won't have to say goodbye completely to the Spanish culture! Elder Amichia is super excited to eat as well!

We thought winter was over, but NO!!! 

We've really been spending a LOT of time finding. It's very, very fun, but sometimes hard. Elder Amichia and I are getting along really well. He's very bold in contacting, so he's been teaching me a lot. I've been learning a lot of French from him as well; I'm so blessed to be able to be with a French companion. We're having lots of fun together! Although it might get slow sometimes, we're in good spirits and keep pressing forward!

General Conference is coming up, and I'm super excited. You all should be too! But as it approaches, it's really important that we are prepared. Just think of the magnitude of the conference; we have living prophets who are going to tell us EXACTLY what we need to know for our unique struggles and difficulties that we have this day in age. I invite all of you in the next coming weeks to think about some questions you may have. It could be anything from, "How can I best magnify my current calling?" to, "Which school should I go to?" I promise that as you prepare for this upcoming conference, all of your questions will be answered!

I love you all so much, and I hope that you have a great week! Love you!

Elder James