Thanks to our Father

Thanks to our Father we will bring
For He gives us everything.

Eyes
Halifax Canada, a feast for the eyes:



Halifax Wharf Area



Ears
Maritime Music continues with a fireside right here in Fredericton:



Elders H. & E. singing The Holy City



Sister Echols and Violet performed




Elders Waldie and Call; Sisters Echols and Violet




Sister Ott, the page-turner extraordinaire, and Sister H




Sister Drew's amazing O, Divine Redeemer




Elder Woodward and a friend of Chelsi


Hands
So many hands of fellowship and friendship have been extended:



Hats off to the Hatts for their help and hospitality



Elder & Sister Tiffany, Melissa, Sister H at Wharf Wraps...yum!

Feet
We are BOTH enjoying the walks on the beautiful scenic paths here:

Clothes to wear
We came ready for the cold, but our favorite wrap so far was Wharf Wraps:

Best fish and chips ever

Grilled Salmon burger...so good!

Food to eat
Familiar and new, dinner appointments with members, Elders and other friends:

Fiddleheads: wonderful seasonal green at roadside stands here

Elders Collett, Willoughby, Corbett, Gross at the food house

Pickle sampling

Elder Clark back in Fredericton at the food house

Father, Mother, baby small:
We LOVE Skype and email and texting and old-fashioned snail mail to keep in touch:

Digital family photos and first piece of Canada Post mail

Heavenly Father gives us all:
We have all the happiness, satisfaction, and love that living and sharing the Gospel brings:

With the Hatts at the Halifax Temple--an 18-hour day

Happy Together

Here is a photo of Chelsi's reunion with her multi-talented owner, Sister Lee, from Las Vegas. She sings, dances, plays the cello, piano, and who knows what else. Besides that, she is charming, helpful, and a very dedicated missionary. Thanks to Sister Edwards for the photo.

 

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Thanks for the Sabbath Day

President Leavitt took pity on us and had Sister Calvert get us a room in Bathurst after the concert Saturday night. We got some much-needed rest and got better acquainted with Elder and Sister Call. Elder Call is a gifted musician and teacher from BYU-I who is directing the musical presentations here. His wife is also a talented musician and very good sport who does whatever is required for the show to go on. We were also happy to meet Elder and Sister Edwards and Elder and Sister Thatcher. We had talked with them and emailed them, but not met them in person. Now we just need to meet up with Sister Calvert and Elder and Sister Tiffany and we will have met all of our missionary cyber friends.

Today the missionaries presented several musical numbers during the church meetings. Elder H sang with the choir and I played for one of the numbers. Most of the meetings were in French so I got to wear a headset. Between the translators and the Spirit, the messages came through loud and clear. President Leavitt spoke and also had Sister Leavitt speak via Skype. I can't wait to meet her in person. She is recovering from gall bladder surgery and couldn't make the trip. The message that continues to come to me is this: We have been given much and simply must share it with others who are looking for the peace and joy that come from knowing the gospel of Jesus Christ is restored and available to all God's children. We can't hold back or stand back, but must serve with our whole hearts and souls. We know the Lord will bless us as we do this.

After the meetings, the branch provided a lovely "linger longer" meal. We met Brother and Sister Hatt who were visiting the Bathurst Branch, but are members of our new ward in Fredericton. He is in the bishopric and she has been praying for a walking partner. She recently retired as a French immersion teacher. I think we can be the answer to each other's prayers.

Tonight we came home and enjoyed our gorgeous apartment, lovingly prepared by Elder and Sister Wiebe. We don't have Internet yet, so we have been just texting our family until we can Skype and e-mail. We took the opportunity to catch up a bit on our journaling and the blog. Our hearts are tender and grateful. The Elders already have a referral for us and Bishop Sexton called to welcome us. I think we're going to like it here!

Lots of room for visitors so come see us

Looking forward to lots of dinner appointments at this table

The "food house" has moved to Canada, but the cupboards are bare

View from our back window

 

 

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Hello, Goodbye

We made it! Fredericton and our apartment are beautiful. Elders Clark and McIntyre (sp) met us and unloaded all our belongings on Friday night around 7:30. We owe them cookies, once we buy some ingredients. We organized a few things and crashed.

Saturday we got some rather expensive groceries...milk is about $6 per gallon. We also washed a few million bugs off our faithful Traverse, Travis. We then packed up for a short drive of only 3 hours to Bathurst to deliver the Sisters for a mission concert. Violet was put right to work, but Veone and Chelsi will debut soon. Their owners, Elder Waldie and Sister Lee, performed, but not with them. Apologies to Sister Lee. The pictures we took of her amazing singing were unrecognizable.

The concert was well attended and delightfully received. There were many types of music, narration in both French and English, and humorous and thoughtful remarks from our mission president, Brian Leavitt. The Lord must have sent the most musically talented missionaries here. We feel awed by their abilities and spirit. We sat next to Luke and Linda and chatted a bit. We thought they were members of the Bathurst branch. We introduced ourselves and said, "and you are Brother and Sister,,,?" Looking puzzled, they responded, "No, we are husband and wife." Not branch members after all, but members of the community who had come to the concert in response to a newspaper article.

Marathon driver by our new home

Half marathon driver

Fond farewell to the String Sisters

Violet in her 1st mission performance

 

Canada Halifax String Quartet

Veone's reunion with Elder Waldie

 

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I Saw the Sign

Good Signs:

 

• Welcome to Ontario! We just crossed the border at about 1 PM. When he saw our tags, the agent who checked our passports asked us where we were going for our mission. When we seemed surprised, he said, "I'm a Mormon. You won't have to explain to me why you are here and what you are doing." Between that blessing and a short "queue," we were given our paperwork in only 45 minutes.
• Historic Kirtland. Had a wonderful experience at the visitors center yesterday. My ancestor, Edward Partridge, had the first bishop's storehouse in part of the Whitney Store; Clyde's ancestor, Israel Barlow, had many entries in the purchase record displayed at the store. The Spirit was strong in that place where so many revelations were given. The Packers, from our MTC district, will arrive here soon for their mission.
• Falls Ahead! We also took time for a short jaunt to Niagara Falls yesterday. They are spectacular and we had a young couple, members from New Jersey, talk to us. I was here years ago on a seminary trip and Clyde had never been before.
• End construction. We have seen enough Road Work Ahead, Construction Zone, and Reduced Speed Limit signs to last a lifetime. Apparently Utah isn't the only place that loves orange cones.
• Holiness to The Lord. Had a tender time at the Montreal Temple tonight. This is close to one of Clyde's missionary apartments from 45 years ago. He was choked up that they now have a temple--something he never imagined would happen.

Historic Kirtland

Niagara Falls

 

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