Wednesday, December 25, 2013
December 23 2013
Merry Christmas everyone!
Oh what a wonderful time of year it is. I have always loved this
time of year and believe it or not being a missionary at this time of year is
ten times better. We get the privilege of celebrating the Savior’s birth and I
get to wear his name on my chest every day! The weather has really cooperated
with this holiday season as well. We have received so much snow this week it’s
amazing! One day it was raining straight ice it was so cold.
We started our week off with the mission Christmas party both Ottawa
zones met together with president Patrick and his family. We didn’t have a
fancy dinner or a special holiday thing, but President Patrick split the
missionaries and his family in half and sent us down two different roads to go
and carol. It was so much fun when we knocked on doors the peoples faces were priceless
too see 20 missionaries standing at there door singing. It was better than any Christmas
party we could of had. We were doing what we have been sent out to do serve the
people of Canada and I know we touched some of those people’s hearts by bringing
the true spirit of Christmas at their doorstep.
Teaching was tougher this week seeing how every young
single adult thinks they can go home for Christmas =) We were still able to see
some people and help them understand the true meaning of Christmas. We taught
an investigator the Plan of Salvation this week and he told us that he didn’t
want to die because he is scared of heights and he doesn’t know how to fly yet
so he is not sure if he will land on heaven with out a big thud. We got a good
laugh out of that and explained to him that he won’t have to worry about that ha-ha!
Tomorrow for Christmas Eve all the missionaries
in our ward are putting on a Christmas party for all the Chinese that don’t
celebrate Christmas or some of the people that we teach that live in shelters
and don’t have families to celebrate Christmas with. I’m so happy that we are
able to help these people celebrate Christmas and feel at home. I wouldn’t want
to celebrate Christmas in any other way!
This Christmas Holiday I ask all of you to reach out to someone
in need and help them feel Christ’s love. Read Luke Chapter 2 and get into the
true meaning of Christmas. Christ's birthday is significant because of what he
accomplished for us in his life. For many of years prophets prophesied that Christ
would come and his birth was that proof that those prophets were really receiving
revelation from our heavenly father! The Book of Mormon is our proof of the
restoration of the true gospel. Prophets prophecy of Christ’s coming again and
we must be ready for that day and always trying to be our best! I love you all
so much and I hope you all have the best Christmas ever. I would like to
challenge you all to give your favorite sin to Christ for his birthday this
year. I promise it will be the best gift you give this year! Merry Christmas OR
Joyeux Noel!!
Love,
Sister
Dick
Monday, December 16, 2013
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December 16, 2013
Happy Monday!
I don’t know if the states are cold, but Canada is! This week
was very chilly. Most of the week it was at -30 you would go outside and immediately
your nose holes would freeze! I have never been in crazier weather. We were
waiting for the bus stop this week and Sister Houdes eyelashes were completely
white! I may look like the little boy off of the Christmas Story, but I don’t
care because I bundle up with as many clothes as I can fit! This next week doesn’t
look much better the member we live with told us that it’s suppose to get to
-35 with frost bite warnings everyday. On a better note we had the ward Christmas
party this week and all the missionaries got up and sang a Christmas carol at
the Christmas talent show. It was a lot of fun and the best part was between
the eight missionaries in the ward we had 30 non-members there! I finally caved
in this week and had my first ever Poutine. Its this Canadian special. It has
fries with gravy on top with cheese curds. It was an interesting dish. I ate
it, but the whole time I was thinking, okay scratch the gravy where is the fry
sauce!!
As a service project we wrapped Christmas presents for charity.
It was so much fun and it allows you to feel the real spirit of Christmas when
your serving other people just like our savior Jesus Christ did. Taylor our
most amazing investigator that I talk about every week came with us
to wrap gifts. She expressed to us that she told her parents that she was going
to get baptized and her parents told her she wasn't allowed to come home for Christmas.
She is going through a lot of hard things right now, her friends are sending
her non-Mormon articles, and even her sister mocks her when she calls. On Sunday
we asked bishop to have a meeting with her and he was able to give her a
blessing. She said she felt so peaceful and felt the spirit so strong. We were
so happy for her, but unfortunately five minutes ago we got a text from her
saying that her parents are packing her apartment up and moving her back home
and she is never coming back here. Sister Houde and I are heart broken because
the miracles we have seen with her are unbelievable. I have seen first hand how
Heavenly Father prepares his children, and now I have also seen first hand how Satan
so badly wants to turn those people that are so close to finding the gospel
away. I love you all so much and hope you have a great week!!
Love,
Sister Dick
Monday, December 9, 2013
December 9, 2013
Hello everyone!
It sounds like everyone is freezing in Utah! We have been
getting lots of snow lately, but it hasn’t been at its coldest. This week was a
very busy one starting with a trip to Montreal for a trainers meeting for all
the new missionaries. Montreal is sooo different from Ottawa it’s like you
travel to a new mission or something because it’s a different language, look,
people, everything. As soon as I stepped out of the car at the mission home in Montréal,
I bumped into an old man and started apologizing to him of course in English. Very
confused the man started talking to me in very fast French, but what I got was
"beacoup de Mormons, beacoup de Mormons" which means a lot of Mormons,
a lot of Mormons. I just laughed and realized I was definitely not in Ottawa
anymore. The training was so great by President Patrick. He made sure that the
new missionaries or their trainer’s didn’t have any questions and were getting
use to the missionary life style. He shared a video with us from the new
mission presidents training he attended in the MTC in July. It was Elder Perry
telling the new mission presidents that this time with all the new missionaries
goes at the top of the list with, the Book of Mormon, The First Vision, and the
Restoration of the Gospel. This time with all missionaries going out is so
important because we are the ones telling everyone about the Book of Mormon,
the first vision, and the restoration!! Why are those events important if
nobody knows about them?? I got to see all the missionaries I came in with from
the MTC and it was so great! All the sisters did a huge group hug. President
Patrick couldn’t believe how close we were and he told us we couldn’t move
because he wanted a picture of it. I was so fun to hear all the crazy stories
they had already accumulated from their different areas. They all told me I was
lucky to be in Ottawa because all there companions told them Ottawa is the land
of milk and Honey and I couldn’t deny it! This area is the best and I feel so
lucky the lord chose me to be here. Sister Houde and I have been very busy this
week tracking down all the students with their finals. Taylor, our amazing
investigator that I have been sharing awesome experiences with every week told
us just yet another miracle. This girl is so amazing she was so prepared to
find the true gospel. She told us she had been praying really hard to have help
from her Heavenly Father because she was struggling in life. The next day she met us in the street and she
new it was a sign from her Heavenly Father. This week when we met with her she
told us that she had done what we told her to do. It is what every missionary
tells all their investigators: if you
read the Book of Mormon and pray about it the Holy Ghost will testify to you
that it is true! Sounds easy right? Well its not, we struggle a lot getting
investigators to actually do it. Taylor told us she read some scriptures from
the Book of Mormon, and then prayed. She said she felt the spirit so strong and
was so happy. She said she went on with her day and she said she felt the spirit
leave and she was sad, but at the same time so happy. I testified to her that
when we get baptized and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost we have the opportunity
to have it with us all the time!
This week I have been thinking a lot about Mosiah 15:28
"And now I say unto you that the time shall come that the salvation of the
Lord shall be declared to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people." When
we went to Montreal at the mission office I went into the room where they keep
all the Book of Mormons there were shelves and shelves of Book of Mormons in
every language you could think of! there was so many Book of Mormons in
different languages because were able to give them out in this mission because
of the diversity. Missionaries are not allowed in most of China and Middle East,
but here in Ottawa I have already had the opportunity to teach many people from
China, and Afghanistan… you name it! Some times missionaries here will just go
out with a different language Book of Mormon each day and find someone that can
read that language. Heavenly father knew this time would come! President Patrick
in the trainers meeting shared with us D&C 33:2 "behold, the
field is white already to harvest; and it is the eleventh hour, and the last
time that I shall call laborers into my vineyard." I feel so lucky that
before I came to earth that I agreed to do missionary work and now I have
stayed worthy enough to do what I promised the lord I would do! I love the
gospel so much and love you all so much and I feel so lucky to have so much
support! I wish you warm thoughts and I hope nobody freezes!!!
Love,
Sister
Dick
Monday, December 2, 2013
December 2, 2013
Happy Monday!
I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving and is not still groaning
to bad from eating too much. Sister Houde took me out for a beaver tail on
thanksgiving to celebrate that I am definitely in Canada and not in the U.S.
anymore. This week we got a lot of snow. On Tuesday we went to bed with no snow
and on Wednesday we woke up with snow to our knees, so…We decided to play in
it! We got to meet all the new missionaries that came into our zone this week
from the newest transfer and our new district leader is really awesome and can
really bring the spirit. He is going to be so great to help this district with
missionary work! A funny story of the week was when we had a lot of
appointments cancel on us on Wednesday so our back up plan was to do street
contact for four hours in negative degree weather I was a little skeptical, but
Sister Houde said that it was going to be just fine because we would just find someone
on the street and we could teach them in the park. Sure enough the first person
we talk to said he had time right now and we taught him on the bench in the
park! He is a really great guy who has been through a lot in his life. He wants
to stop smoking so we got him on this 15 step program the church has set up and
he is already doing great because he has been in foster care his whole life he
told us he doesn’t even know the feeling of love or family. Sister Houde told
him if he comes to church he would be able to know that feeling. Yesterday as
we were walking out of sacrament I turned around to see this investigator
surrounded by 15 members shaking his hand and welcoming him to church. He had
the biggest smile on his face and I knew that he was realizing the feeling of
love. Members are such a big part in missionary work. The Missionary’s can't do
it alone. We need the members to be there friends and to show them that Christ
like love so they feel welcomed! We had nine investigators come to church
yesterday! No one could wipe the smile off my face. We had a very powerful
testimony meeting and they all walked away feeling something. The girl that was
able to feel the spirit at the baptism last week came to church yesterday and
thanked us again because she said she had never felt so close to god before and
NEVER so welcomed at a church before. Sometimes I don’t even know how to react
when i see miracles right in front of me all I could do was give her a hug and
tell her that what she felt was heavenly fathers love for her!
This week will be interesting because its finals week so all the
students we teach are very stressed for those. On Tuesday Sister Houde and I
are taking a road trip to Montreal for a new missionary training from President
Patrick. I will get to see everyone i came with from the MTC, so I’m very
excited! I hope everyone has a great week and is getting ready for the Christmas
season!
Love, Sister Dick
November 25, 2013
Hello Everyone,
This week I hit my third month on the mish and that means my
first transfer in the field! We had transfer calls on Saturday and Me and
sister Houde are..... Staying! We weren’t surprised because we figured we would
be. We were surprised though when they told us our zone is splitting. The
Ottawa zone has become to big with 40 missionaries so they split it. All the
leaders in our zone got transferred so we have new zone leaders district leader
and new sister training leaders. I am very excited for this zones progress. We
had a lot of interesting lessons this week. One with a guy from Madagascar he
just wanted to bash on the Book of Mormon and every other religion except for
him. We had to remind him of his great love for Christ and that if he truly
believed in Christ then he wouldn’t being saying this about other people. Its
amazing to see even if the spirit is so strong in a lesson if you don’t want to
receive the spirit you wont! As Sister Houde and I testified to this man about
the love we have for the Book of Mormon and how it can bless your life the
spirit was so strong but you could just see the spirit dying right when it got
to him. The Highlight of the week was when we went to an appointment and they
ended up not being there we were bummed out because it had been like that all
day it seemed. We sat on the curb making phone calls and discussing what our
next action was. We decided we would go contact some more. The first people we
saw were two girls. Sometimes it can be intimidating when there is more then
one because no one is willing to stand up for them selves with there friends.
We told them who we were and the first girl was very rude and said I am atheist
I don’t care to talk. Her friend exclaimed I am Christian i would love to meet with
you guys! When we met she told us that she had never had the opportunity to
learn about Christianity growing up but she always believed in god. We invited
her to a baptism that Saturday. She came and the baptism was all in Chinese,
but yet she felt the spirit so strong she started crying! She asked us if she
could get baptized! It was so amazing to see people that have the desire to
learn more about our heavenly father!
We had a great opportunity to go with a guy in our single adults
branch family for dinner. They are from Guatemala he is a very special kid! He
knows French, Spanish and English. He isn't able to talk but he is an amazing
typer on his Ipad. They fed us lots of yummy Spanish food and we gave them a
lesson in English/ French slash very broken Spanish, so hopefully they could
understand most of it! I was able to bear my little Spanish testimony my MTC
companion taught me and you could tell there eyes lite up even though I only
said like three sentences! I love all the cultures I get to know here in
Canada!
This week I woke up on Thursday and thought it was Thanksgiving.
The member we live with even made us thanksgiving because I told her happy
thanksgiving from the US! Later that day someone had to inform me it was next
Thursday! Since I have been celebrating Thanksgiving so much with Canada’s
Thanksgiving being in October and mine being a week before the US I thought I
would say some things I am thankful for!
* The gospel of Jesus Christ
* Heavenly fathers love that everyone can feel if they open
their hearts to him
* The Book of Mormon and bible that can always help us in our
lives if we just read and apply it!
* My family and all the love and support they give me
* Warm coats, boots, scarfs and gloves to keep me warm!
* My companions French so that i don’t always say the dumbest
things to people in French!
* Hot chocolate
* And everyone who is reading this! I love you
I hope that everyone has a fantastic thanksgiving week and hope
you all give thanks to heavenly father for what he has given you! Alma 7:23
Love
Sister
Dick
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