Montréal East Week 10

An awesome Nigerian family we taught
who insisted on taking a picture after the lesson

December is finally here! Which means it's getting colder and colder, but also closer and closer to Christmas! We've already been doing a lot with the Light the World initiative, and it's been cool to start bringing some joy and happiness into others' lives at Christmas time. We started out on December 1st (designated as the day of service) by cleaning out an elderly couple's apartment. We went all out, and they were so appreciative! It was fun just to be of a little help. We don't have to do something big to make a difference in someone's life; doing service really is simple! I love Christmas in the mission!!

Exchanges with Elder Jeronimo    

Last week, I got to go on exchanges to Kirkland with Elder Jeronimo! It was fun to be together again in our area; it felt like nothing had changed. One of the families that we found together got baptized, and I was able to see them again. It was super awesome! Our ward mission leader Brother Parsons also took us out to eat which was fun. It was good to see him again. It was so great to just do missionary work together again! I've missed Elder Jeronimo; he's a great one!

Last Friday, I had a really interesting experience with Elder Ramos Chen, a newer missionary (whose mom is Chinese, dad is Mexican, lived in Mexico for a third of his life and China for most of the rest, fluent in Chinese, Spanish, English, and French). Neither of his parents are members, and he got permission to call them via skype and teach them, and I was able to join since his companion only speaks Chinese. It was such a tender experience to teach his family. It was special for their son to teach them about the importance of families and how families can truly be together beyond this life; it made a big impact on them.

Exchanges with Elder Myers in Longueuil
(City south of Montréal)    

We've been working a lot with Taiwo and our other recent converts, and they've been doing really well. Taiwo has been out teaching with us a few times already, and he's great! He's going to get the Priesthood this upcoming Sunday, and I'm super excited for him. We're also hopefully going to go to the temple with him pretty soon which will be fun. All of the recent converts are doing great!

It's been a wonderful week—things are going amazingly well over here. I'm excited for the Christmas season, and I hope we make the best of it! I hope you all have a great Christmas season, and remember to Light the World!

Elder James