Montréal Sud-Est Week 5

The cakes! 

Family,

This week has been great! It's starting to get very busy as we've been getting lots of new investigators, which has been such a blessing. Here are some highlights from the week!

Elfira, who I believe I've mentioned before, is doing awesome. We had another great lesson with her, and she's progressing a lot! She really surprised us—we had asked her to pray to know if what we had taught her was true, and she basically said, "Yeah, I pretty much already know it's all true." We were shocked, although we shouldn't have been! It's been crazy to see how just being willing to hear the message allows the spirit to testify of its truthfulness. It was awesome!

We were able to have interviews with President Phillips this past Thursday, which was great. He was able to help me know how to better work with a couple of our struggling investigators, and I had the opportunity to ask a few good questions to him. He's great!

I was sad leaving Zarahemla, for the most part leaving the culture and food, but this past Friday we got to eat at a Peruvian members house! It was one of the best Papas a la Huancaina, and Peruvian Chicken and Rice I've ever had. I was so happy, you have no idea! She taught me how to make it (as many members have, but they never use measurements so it's hard to follow and replicate), and I hopefully will be able to try sometime! I love the Hispanic members so much.

Priesthood dinner before conference

Saturday and Sunday, of course, was General Conference! It was so amazing, I learned more than I ever had during any other Conference! I was able to prepare a few questions that I had before the sessions, and ALL of them were answered! It was really awesome to see. It was also amazing to watch the Solemn Assembly since I don't remember the last time it happened. It's such a blessing to always have a living prophet to guide us during these troubling times! I'm also super excited for the temple in Richmond, and all of the missionaries FREAKED OUT when we heard of a temple being built in Russia! The work really is hastening along! Before the Priesthood session on Saturday, we had a little potluck thing with all the Priesthood holders. I ate so much homemade Griot, and it was the BEST! Probably one of the most fattening things you can possibly eat though!

Easter Sunday was very special, one reason being General Conference, but also the fact that members gave us A TON of food! The Relief Society president in our branch made EACH team of missionaries a whole chocolate cake! We also got TONS of candy and chocolate from lots of the members and took home a lot of leftovers from the Priesthood dinner on Saturday. I honestly don't think I've ever eaten so much in my life! I absolutely love our members.

Things are going great over here, we're really getting broken into our new area. The members are amazing, there's already a lot of work to do, and we're enjoying every second of it!

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

Elder James

Since snow never melts here during the winter, they have to just pick it up and
put it somewhere else and wait until May. Here is one of the
dump sites, that, now that it's somewhat melted and looks gross,
I always mistake for a hill or mountain in the distance.    

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