Zarahemla Week 45

Old Port

Another week has quickly gone by here in Montréal! We are already in week 3 of the transfer which is still boggling my mind... I feel like I just got back to Zarahemla a couple of weeks ago! We've been busy, which for sure helps us stay focused, and training has helped a lot with that as well. It's been fun! Here are a few quick highlights from the week!

I went on exchanges with Elder Toledo,
and we saw Horacio! It was a fun day.

We had a cool experience going finding the other day! We've been working at being bold as we talk to people, and as we were passing by someone in an apartment building, we noticed an open apartment door with a large group of Spanish speakers having a party. It'd be pretty awkward just dropping in on the party and preaching repentance to them, but we decided to do it anyway! But, it was a miracle! The mother ended up being a member who used to go to church a long time ago with her dad, but stopped when she was about 13 years old. She was interested in coming back though! She has two kids that may have potential as well! It was awesome to see that as we just got over the awkwardness of some situations, the Lord makes miracles happen! Super cool!

We ate at Hermano Farfan's house!

We had Zone Conference, and it was President and Sister Phillips' (as well as my) last zone conference. There were many tears; we will all miss them a lot! We talked a lot about Spiritual Gifts which was very informative and uplifting. We discussed a lot about what spiritual gifts we had, and it was very interesting! I think what hit me the most were two principles that we learned... One, that all spiritual gifts are to be used to bless the lives of others, and two, that the Lord desires us to have ALL spiritual gifts; we just have to work for them. We were able to identify some specific gifts that we have the capacity for, and set some plans on how to develop them! It was a very uplifting experience.

Made Pizzas with Elena again 

Well again it's been a great week, things are going well, and Elder Salvador and I continue to have fun together! It's great being here in Montréal, and I'm excited for all the miracles the Lord has for us! I hope all of you are doing well as well, and I hope you have a great week. Love you so much!

Elder James

Found a public ping pong table in Old Port 

Today's P-day activity

Montréal East Week 3

It was sad to hear about Grandpa Cozzens' passing; I hope you all are doing well with the news. Like I shared with mom, if there is one thing I've learned on my mission, it's that the gospel is true, and that the Plan of Salvation is real. The peace that I feel with that knowledge is indescribable. It is the reason I am out here; to help others to feel that same peace in their lives. I hope you all can find peace through Jesus Christ during this difficult time.

Exchanges with Elder Rossi in Quebec    

On another note, this week was pretty good! Zone Conferences are over, which means that we get a lot more time in our area which is great. We got to visit Quebec City which was really cool. The trees up there and on the drive were absolutely amazing. Fall in Canada is a magical time. We got to go on exchanges up there as well, and I was with Elder Rossi. For some reason, basically the entire exchange was all in Spanish! We had tons of Spanish contacts and a lot of Spanish lessons as well. It was amazing to feel like I was in a Spanish area again!

Exchanges with Elder Fourie in Kirkland    

We also got to go on exchanges with the Kirkland Elders this past week, and I got to spend a day back there with Elder Fourie, Elder Jeronimo's new companion from South Africa/New Zealand/Australia. It was super fun to be able to be back and see lots of people that I miss. I'm surprised I miss them so much after only being gone for a couple of weeks! 

Got to see Brother Parsons from Kirkland    

We had a cool finding miracle together while we were knocking. We happened to run into a guy who has a lot of members in his extended family. He talked about how his cousin in Chile was trying to "convert" him which he thinks is funny. Then I asked, "well, why aren't you baptized yet?" (Something I don't usually ask). He laughed, but when he saw that we were serious, he thought for a second then invited us to come to his home. We had an awesome discussion. He doesn't believe in God, so we talked a lot about how he can know for himself if he is there. It was an awesome lesson, and he seemed to have taken a lot in. He recognized that his life would definitely be different for the better if he were a member of the church due to what he has seen in his family. The Elders are going to go back tomorrow which is so cool! It was cool to see how his family had softened him enough to be open to receiving us. It was a great example of how we can prepare others to receive the gospel just by being good examples.

Beautiful fall leaves up in Quebec City    

 Life is good as a missionary, I'm loving every second of it. I hope you all can find that joy that sharing the gospel can bring as you share it as well.

I love you all so much, have an amazing week.

Elder James