Best Week Ever?

Hey! So this week was pretty crazy. To save time and space, I'm going to share a few highlights in point form:

- We gave a Greek Book of Mormon to a man named Cristus. His name is literally Christ, in Greek. 

- We started volunteering at a food bank/soup kitchen! It's so fun!

- I did an exchange with Sister Shelley. She's the bomb. We didn't teach any official lessons but we talked to a lot of people and invited them to come unto Christ. Some of them even said yes!

Sister Shelley and me at the orange ball

- We taught a lesson on the street downtown to this sweet old lady, but we were interrupted halfway through by a public protest, and since we're supposed to avoid those, we had to hide in an apartment building until they passed. 

- Our stake participated in an interfaith service project yesterday, so most of the missionaries in our zone got to help clean up parks for a few hours. It was really cool. Sister Clement and I managed to be the only missionaries in our group, and we found a muslim who wants to go to YSA this Sunday and a former investigator (from 30 years ago) who was just sitting at the park. He told us he had lost contact with the Church, but now that he's found us, he wants to be baptized ASAP! He's in the elders' area though, so they're excited!

- We dropped by someone on our ward list we didn't know and she turned out to be elderly and totally deaf. Fortunately, Sister Clement knows some sign language, and I know a few basic words, so we were able to communicate. :) She's hopefully going to email me soon!

- We had interviews with President Patrick and went to the temple on the same day and we almost didn't make it from one to the other in time. Interviews went late (but were SO wonderful) and the bus dropped us off by the temple 5 minutes before our session started. When Sister Clement started running, I said, "I really don't think they'll still let us in!" She just yelled back, "Have faith!" So we both sprinted to the front doors and, miraculously, we made it in! 

el templo!

more fun at the temple!

the Longueuil sisters

- We didn't have a phone for 24 hours (we left it at the mission office when we were in a hurry to get to the temple). Someone we were going to teach cancelled, but since we didn't see the text we went over anyway. She was there, and we had an awesome lesson!

- We helped a man in our ward quit smoking. He's gone a whole week without a cigarette! Next stop, temple recommend! :D He also got himself into a one-sided argument with my companion and tried to make up for it by kissing her on the head and giving us strawberries. Sister Clement was not impressed, but I was too busy laughing to help. Sorry! We're seriously so excited for him though!

Well, it still turned out to be a long email. I'll end with one of my favourite scriptures: Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. Doctrine and Covenants 6:36

Sister Shaver

  My companion with a sword plus some members... 

the husband works in movies and he's about to start working on the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie. 

Also, a member of our bishopric did some kind of effects in Gravity, so he's won an Oscar and everything. 

Cool, right? 

  A mother's day gift from my greenie (inside jokes)

 Me with the new scarf from you! :)

View of Montreal 

Oh, I forgot to mention we also went to a potluck with a bunch of single adults on the roof of a 14 story building on Sunday. That was cool. There were members from several different wards at varying levels of activity in the church and we shared a message about temples with them :)

Jay

Hi everyone!

So this week was pretty great. We started it off with exchanges in KIRKLAND, my last area. It was so fun! I got to spend the day with Sister Thomas. Love her! It was strange to be back. I knew the members that came with us to lessons but I didn't know the people we taught, and driving their car to the apartment without Sister Schuerch was really weird. I've never had the experience of having two different companions in the same area, so in my mind each area is inseparably linked with the companion I had when I was there. So yeah, it was weird. But awesome.

Another highlight from this week was meeting with a new investigator! Well, new to us. He's a former investigator that was recently picked up by another team of elders before they got flushed out of the ward and we took over their area. He's so cool! He's in his 60s and is a really good pianist. Something Sister Clement and I have been focusing on as a result of our zone training meeting a while back is 1) having a vision of what we can accomplish and what our message can do for those we teach, and 2) helping others catch this vision, which gives them the motivation and desire they need to repent and progress. So with this man. that's what we did. And it was crazy to see how well it worked! We sat there and testified of God's love for him and promised him blessings that we know come from accepting the restored gospel, including eventual salvation and exaltation. As we did so, we saw his face lighting up, and he eagerly began asking, "Okay - so, how does this work? What do you want me to do - should I read? Or -" and we were able to explain that finding out if this message is true and being baptized would take time and effort. He would need to meet with us 2 or 3 times a week, read and pray daily, and attend church. And he was excited about it! Do you know how often that happens? Almost never. It was so great!

We also had stake conference this weekend. I loved it! We heard from President and Sister Patrick, a recent convert, a YSA, and a couple of other members. I especially liked a story shared by a woman in our ward. She and her family recently moved to Montreal from Newfoundland in order to get more intensive health care after she was diagnosed with cancer. More difficult than the cancer though, was the effects the move had had on her children. One of her teenage sons had decided he didn't like anything about Quebec, and every day he asked if he could stay home from school. At break, he would text and ask to come home at lunch. At lunch, he texts to ask to come home now. Every day. Someone in the ward invited him to a leadership camp (or something like that) to see if it would help him break out of his shell. the first day there, he texted his parents, asking to come home because he didn't like it. His mom remembered an earlier time when one of her other sons had felt very out of place at a youth conference in Newfoundland until a sweet 17-year-old girl named Jay befriended him. She prayed that the Lord would send her son someone like Jay. The second day of the camp, they didn't hear from him. they thought his phone must be lost or broken. But in the evening, they texted him to see if everything was okay. He replied, "Yeah, I have a new bestie! Her name is Jay." Prayer answered.

When I heard this story, I couldn't help but think that Jay, whoever she is, probably had to go out of her way. It probably wasn't her first choice to hang out with someone with a negative attitude who didn't want to be there. But she did it anyway. And that boy's parents were so grateful. It reminded me that no matter who it is, behind each person we see there are loving parents who want the best for their child. They pray for them, and hope that someone will come along who can make them feel loved, valued, and welcome. Whether those parents are here or on the other side of the veil, or whether the only "loving" parents this person has are their Heavenly Parents, it doesn't matter. Every effort we make to love one of God's children will be worth it.

Sister Shaver

Power of Members

Hi everyone!

So this week was pretty good. There isn't a ton to report. We had zone training meeting and an exchange, both of which were great. :) We have another exchange starting tonight in my previous area! I'm looking forward to it! Oh, and actually, a few crazy things happened. One of the two sets of elders in my ward got transferred out last week, and we inherited half their area, INCLUDING downtown. Woohoo! So we've been starting to meet with their investigators and less-actives, and we're having a blast! And of course, Mother's Day was yesterday so we got to call home. That was great. :)

I have a cool story to tell! there's a girl in the Spanish branch that just came home from her mission (in Vancouver!) like two weeks ago. She is the best member missionary I have ever met! She brought someone to our sacrament meeting last week that she just met on the bus, and was supposed to bring another one yesterday but they didn't show up. There was one day maybe a week ago that she was walking home and felt impressed to knock on a door. She was like, "Are you kidding me? I don't even have a name tag, plus I'm alone!" But a spiritual prompting is a spiritual prompting, so she did it. A kind woman answered the door, and now she's one of our most promising investigators. Moral of the story: Not knowing people who are interested is no excuse not to be a member missionary.

I can't think of any other major news, so I think I'll leave it at that! Have a great week everyone! :)

Sister Shaver

The Language

One of the many fun things about serving in Montreal is that even though I'm in an English ward right now, I get to use all of my three languages and more! For example: Last Wednesday was transfers, and we spent the morning in a trio with one of the Spanish sisters while she waited for her new companion to arrive from Ottawa. We went to a lesson with her in Spanish. We later had a member lesson with someone from our ward in English. Almost everyone I talked to on the metro was a French-speaker that day, AND we had a dinner appointment with a Haitian family, so it was like 75% Creole and 25% French. Whoo! 

Strangely, I think it's actually easier to contact people in Spanish than in English, mainly because the fact alone that I speak Spanish is a conversation-starter. The other day, a Peruvian woman sat next to me on the bus. I started talking to her in English, but she didn't understand so I switched to French. Then I found out she was from Peru and I switched to Spanish and she nearly fell off her seat! Surprise! :) 

Anyway, on to more important things. We found a few new investigators this past week. One of them is this amazing Filipino man who has known the Church for years. When we called him up, he basically said, "Yeah, so I want to get baptized and join your church. How do I do that? Is there some kind of procedure..?" Pure. Gold. We are so excited to start working with him!! 

As a zone, we started a few weeks ago having a "theme" for each week - something our teams can focus on that we've noticed people may be struggling with to help motivate and inspire them to improve. For example, other weeks it's been asking for referrals, planning and goal-setting, finding new investigators, etc. They're all things that we should all be doing all the time anyway, but it's kind of a reminder. This week our theme is faith in Jesus Christ. I felt the Spirit very strongly last night as we were at the end of a lesson. I bore my testimony to this woman, who is going through a hard time, and I know that the words I spoke are true. I explained to her that Christ loved her. That when no one else understands, He does. When no one else cares, He does. When no one else is listening, He is. When no one else is praying for you, He is. When no one else is there for you, He is. He will always be by your side, and He will always love you. Could there be anything more miraculous?

Sister Shaver

Look who came by the mission office!

(The family I lived with last summer in St Jerome)

The Farmer's Son

Transfer calls came and.... we're both staying!! :) We are SUPER happy about it! This is Sister Clement's last one, so she'll be my third "kill." Mwahaha. There are relatively few changes in our zone. It's nice and quiet. 

This week has been good. We're still doing lots of finding and not so much teaching - but we are successful! We've gotten two new investigators, lots of referrals, and many phone numbers from people we talk with. I've gotta say, even though I'm not always very good at opening my mouth, talking with strangers is one of my favourite parts of missionary work! Especially here in Montreal because there's so much diversity! One minute I'm talking to a Haitian businessman from New York, the next it's some 20-year-old from Korea, then later it's an elderly Iranian woman who's lived here for decades. It's awesome!

We've had a couple of unfortunate things happen this week too. My companion got really sick and spent a whole day in bed. The power went out and the fire alarm went off while one of the other sisters was in the shower. We're losing two great elders from our district this week.

But! It's all good. I gave a short training in district meeting this week, and I wrote a poem. The 8 elders really liked it and asked for a copy, so I guess it's okay. I figured I'd share it:

There used to be a farmer’s son

Whose dad was always gone.

He worked ‘til late, came home to sleep

And left again at dawn.

The son grew up not knowing much

About his parents’ lives.

It led him every now and then

To question, “Who am I?”

‘Experiment’ became his theme.

‘Adventure’ was his goal.

“To find myself,” he thought inside,

“I’ll travel every road!”

As time went by and carelessly

He threw his time away,

Confusion was his great reward;

No satisfaction came.

One day Father sat him down

To ask, “What’s in your heart?”

The son replied with teary eyes,

“I don’t know who you are.”

The farmer smiled and kindly said,

“Because you always leave.

Forget yourself and go to work –

Come, and follow me.”

At dawn the pair arose and left

To work just as they should.

The day was long and hard, and yet,

The son somehow felt good.

Weeks and months and then two years

Flew by and something changed.

The farmer’s son now found his life

Completely rearranged.

His outlook changed; he didn’t feel

The need to search for more.

Each hour spent by Father’s side

Had changed his very core.

Working arm in arm with Him

He really learned a ton.

In knowing Him, he knew himself,

Because he was His son.

The answer he’d been yearning for

Impressed upon his mind:

He couldn’t find his place until

He left himself behind.

In connection with this poem, I shared Matthew 16:25: For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

One of the greatest things about serving a mission is that we get an inside look at how God works with His children. We get to know Him personally. As we move along the ladder from sacrifice to obedience to consecration, we "lose ourselves" in the work, but in so doing, we learn who we truly are: eternal beings with divine destinies to one day become like our Father. That is beautiful.

Sister Shaver

PS  I FORGOT SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT! AT MISSION LEADERSHIP COUNCIL PRESIDENT PATRICK TOLD US THAT BECAUSE SOME OF US HAVE SCHEDULING PROBLEMS WITH GOING HOME, HE TALKED TO THE MISSIONARY DEPARTMENT AND CHANGED OUR DEPARTURE DATE TO A WEEK EARLIER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'LL BE HOME AUGUST 25TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!