Montréal Est Week 2

Exchange with Elder Alejo​    

This week has been pretty crazy! We've had lots of appointments and business to attend to. I've said it before and I'll say it again, keeping busy is the best! So I'm happy!

Last Tuesday, after P-day, we met with Canje again. And he fed us one of the best meals I have ever had on the mission. It's called "Mais Moulure" in French, "Mayi Moulen" in Haitian Creole. It was so good, but also one of the fattening things I've ever eaten. They had a mix of a bunch of cooked marinated meats, and you use the grease from that to pour over the Mais Moulure to add extra meat flavor. It was so good, and he will be making us more food tonight!

Mayi Moulen ak Vyann (Creole)

Mais Moulure avec de la Viande (French)

We also had the opportunity to visit lots of district meetings this week. On Wednesday, we visited the Repentigny (an area east of Montréal) district, which was super fun. It was awesome to see Elder Cortez, Elder Alejo, and Sister Stanley, who all were in the MTC with me! The next day we went to to Laval (an island just north of the island of Montréal) as well. In Laval there is a restaurant called Le Poutine Bar that reputedly has (among missionaries) the best Poutine in Quebec. I was not disappointed. It was the best poutine I've had! Then the next day we had our own district meeting in Montréal Est. It was very busy, but super fun!

Also on Friday we had exchanges with Elder Cortez and Elder Alejo. Elder Alejo came with me to Montréal Est, and we had an awesome time! It was cool to catch up with him after not seeing him for so long! He has been in Ottowa for a few months now. He's doing great! We had an awesome miracle that day as well. We had an appointment with an investigator, but when we got there, he was not there. So we left and as we were about to go downstairs, someone coming up stopped us and asked if we were the Mormons. We said yes and asked how he knew, and he said that he had had visits from the missionaries a long time ago, and still had a Book of Mormon and everything! He said he was still interested in learning more, so we got to teach him right then in his apartment. It was so cool to see the Lord guide us to meet him! Sometimes when we miss out something we plan or count on, whether it be an opportunity like a job or in our case an appointment, at first we may feel unfortunate, sad, or even angry. But, sometimes, the Lord guides our lives to bring us something better! All we need is to have faith and ask the Lord to guide us to where we need to go! It was great to be able to share that miracle with Elder Alejo.

Le Poutine Bar

The work is going great, and I'm loving my life here in Montréal. I realized, as we were leaving the island to go to district meetings, that I had stepped foot off the island for the first time in over 8 months! Then I realized how much the time has passed by and, even though I have a lot of time left, it made me a little stressed out! I already don't want to go home! Being out here in the mission field and being able to serve others is the best place I could possibly imagine. As you lose yourself in the service of others, you really do find a lot of joy and happiness in your life. "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for [Christ's] sake shall find it." Matthew 10:39.

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

Elder James

Montréal-Est Week 1

Ice storm

Well, winter is still not done. We had an ice storm yesterday, and now everything is covered in ice! It's been super windy and cold, but it's warming up slowly! I have hope!!

Well, as I said last week, I got transferred already! But it's a minor change so I'm doing well! It was sad to say goodbye to some of the investigators we've been working with, but I'll be able to see them at church and stuff which will be awesome! My new companion is Elder Sorenson, and he's super cool. We've been having fun already!

Elder Amichia and I got Haitian food one last time together

Elder Amichia and I got Haitian food (as usual) for our last dinner together. Said goodbye to some investigators. Sebastian continues to do super well in quitting smoking, he's very motivated. Elfira has been struggling with health issues, so we sadly weren't able to see her for a while. But she's doing well. Leslie and Mary came to church again, they are still doing great as well! It's sad to stop working with all of them, but I'm excited for my new assignment.

This area is basically the exact opposite as my last. Last transfer we had a blank slate, but here there are SO many investigators, that's it's hard to keep track of at times! We will be spending a lot of time cleaning up the area. It's been great so far though! There are a lot of people to work with, which keeps us busy! We've been working with Isabel, who got baptized two weeks ago. She's super cool, and already has such a strong testimony. We will plan on going to the temple with her very soon! There's also a super cool investigator named Conjé that feeds us Haitian food EVERY time we visit. I'm always super excited to meet him!

Sorry for keeping this email short this week, I don't have much time. But, I'm doing great and I'm already loving this new area!

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

Elder James

Montréal Sud-Est Week 6

Guillermo's Baptism

I didn't mention it last week, as I did not expect it, but transfer calls were this week, and I'm being transferred! Sort of... I'm in the same branch, the same apartment, and the same district, only now I am going to be with Elder Sorenson in a different area of our branch. Super surprising, although it's not a big change so it's not a very big deal. Pretty crazy!

Anyway, this week was pretty great, even though our 3rd winter just started. On Wednesday, winds were insanely strong, and it snowed pretty hard for a few hours! It was warmer last week, but now it got back to around -8 this past week. You never know what can happen here in Montréal!

Montreal-Est District

We were able to see a lot of progress from our investigators. Here are some updates!

We have a new investigator (S.), who I don't believe I've mentioned yet, is a Quebec-cois man who we met street contacting a few weeks ago. We've been working with him fairly frequently. He came to General Conference at our chapel for the second session and priesthood session and loved it. He has kept every single commitment we have left with him! He is extremely receptive, although he does not come across as such. He is also very addicted to cigarettes (smokes about 50 a day), and we committed him to start to stop smoking. He will be smoking two less cigarettes each day until he completely stops. We made a little calendar and everything to help him keep track of his daily limits, and he's actually very committed to stop. Although it will be hard, and since I have no idea how hard it will be to completely stop we will probably have to change his plan, he is very committed. He is super awesome. It's been amazing to be able to be an influence in helping other people change for the better. I have never felt so fulfilled in my life!

Elder Amichia

We have also committed Elfira to baptism! She has been super solid. Just by hearing the gospel message with an open heart has allowed her to feel strong assurances from the Spirit that it is true. Teaching her has been so humbling realizing that we really aren't the teachers, it's all the Spirit!

Lesley and Mary are also doing great. Mary just told us yesterday of an experience she had while reading the Book of Mormon. She explained how one moment when she was fervently praying and specifically asking if the Book of Mormon was true, she felt an overwhelming wave of peace and joy that just caused her to start crying for no reason. She kept telling us how much the Book of Mormon has already changed her life, even though she has just started studying it. I can testify that it really does change lives, no matter our circumstances!

Elder Wensel in the snow storm

I also had the amazing opportunity this past Sunday to attend the baptism of Guillermo, one of the people I taught in Zarahemla. It was so very special! During the service he bore a very strong testimony and talked about how much his life has changed since he met the missionaries. He is such an amazing and kind man, and I'm so happy to be able to see him make this important step in his life. He also asked me to do the confirmation, which was another great experience. I was able to go to the Zarahemla sacrament meeting, say hi to a lot of the members, and of course speak Spanish again! It was one of the most memorable experiences of my mission so far.

It's been a great week. Although I am a little sad that I'm already leaving my area (sort of) after finally getting used to it, I'm super excited for the experiences that lay ahead! I know that this is the Lord's work, and that he guides it. I know there is a reason that I will be with Elder Sorenson this transfer, and I'm excited to work closely with him.

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

Elder James