Christmas Plates

We worked most of the day making our gift plates for the missionaries in our district:

The reindeer cupcakes were so much fun and turned out so cute, that I gave the idea to Sister Howard for the Christmas Conference Luncheon.  Two days later at our District Study we gave the plates and a
Canadian "Toque"  (pronounced Too-k) :

Front: E.Boone Smith, E. Mortensen, E. Neff - DL, and me.  

Back: E.Ballard, Freeze, E. Randy Wright, and E.Mahaffey.  Of course, they wanted to take a crazy picture too:

These are some wonderful Elders!  We have loved being in the District with them.

Thanksgiving

This year we told our children that we didn't want or need anything for Christmas. Last year as we were at the Mission Home, we all worked on packages for the missionaries who would not receive any presents or anything from home for Christmas.  I'm sure each mission has missionaries who are so far away or whose parents are not financially able to send anything - so they get nothing.  This year we asked our children to take the money they would have spent on us and do something for either the missionaries in their own area, or for our missionaries who would not receive anything. They all responded wonderfully!  We especially wanted for our children and grandchildren to have the missionary experience of serving others.  Layne and Aaron and family sent us money, which we added to our money and bought ten $20.00 Walmart Gift cards and ten $10.00 Subway gift cards. This worked out well, since the gift cards purchased in the USA do not work in Canada.

(I forgot to take a picture, so this was taken  by Sister Cannon with her phone... kind of blurry... and she added a thank you note.  Then Misty and Shelli bought a TON of stuff and mailed it to the US Post office box we use:

Finally, Chad & family and Lindsay and family went to Brooke's home for Thanksgiving. They used one day to put together lots of stockings for the missionaries. They went to the dollar store and purchased many things to put into the stockings. Then they put the piles around the family room and each child got to fill one stocking:

All then kids even sat down and made a card to put into each stocking:

They made 10 stockings for elders and 2 for sisters:

The kids really had a good time and the stockings turned out so darling!!!  

Front: Keely Mahaffey, Austin Monroe, Devon Monroe, Colby Sanders.

Couch: Sydney Mahaffey, Landon Mahaffey holding Annalese Mahaffey, Tanner Monroe holding Cambria Sanders, Kaden Monroe holding Ashlyn Monroe, and Trevor Monroe.

Thank you to our wonderful family for helping the missionaries in our mission who would not receive anything for Christmas!

Good-bye to Elder McLean

Elder McLean has been a wonderful district leader and is now going home to Australia. So, at our District Study we had a good-bye cake for him!

We'll miss you Elder McLean!

The Archives

Elder and Sister Allen are called as Records Preservation Missionaries. They work at the National Archives Building in Montreal and digitally photograph old documents. They send the photos on CDs  to Salt Lake, they keep a copy and send another copy back to the National Archives. Today they gave us a tour of the building and showed us the work they do.

 Several of the senior couples were able to attend, but not all. Pres. and Sister Cannon were able to come, however.  Usually they are too busy to join us, but every now and then they get to come.

It is a beautiful historic building. It is used by many patrons as a library for all legal documents. The architecture is still amazing.

They took us through the temperature and environmentally-controlled rooms where they keep the old records:

They took us all through the beautiful building:

However, in this gorgeous building Elder and Sister Allen have a tiny little office where they do all their digitizing work.

Elder Allen gets the documents ready at his desk, then Sister Allen takes the pictures.  This is their second Records Preservation mission and I honestly don't know how they do it.  I don't think I could spend 8 hours a day/ 5 days a week for 18 months in a tiny little room with only one slit of a window which doesn't even connect to the outside world!  And then do it TWICE ! They are really wonderful people. Elder Allen also just had surgery for prostate cancer in Vermont, then came back to finish the mission! Amazing! We serve with some extraordinary people!

District Study

After District Study today we took this picture of our District because I wanted to send it in to Sister Cannon for publishing in the KALDT newsletter:

But when I sent it in, Sister Cannon replied back that they couldn't use photos anymore where missionaries are doing any hand signals, signs, or raised arms! Who knew?  So, we took another the following week so that it would be appropriate:

Front: E.Freeze, E.and S. Mahaffey, E.Boone Smith.  Back: E.Freeze, E.Randy Wright, E.McLean and E. Ballard. -  Now THAT's a good-looking group in perfect compliance. Obedience is the first law of heaven.

November Zone Conference

Today Zone Conference started with a demonstration by Elder Teuira on how to cut hair with Elder Berdechevski as the willing? guinea pig. Elder Teuira started out in our District & he wouldn't even speak at all. He didn't know English very well and was so shy to speak. Now he has grown so much and has developed into a wonderful leader.

It was also the first  meeting where President Cannon's father - Elder Cannon - came to a Zone Conference. He is a wonderful man. He is 86 years old and he and his 3rd wife have just come here to serve a mission.  (It is his 6th mission, including the one he served as a 19 year old and the one where he served as Mission President).  They have been assigned to the Mandarin Chinese branch...even though they speak absolutely no Mandarin.  He's a great example of service to all the rest of us!

Here is our Mount Royal Zone:

Front Row: E. Marcus Smith, E.Freeze, E.Hansen, E.Heinzlemeir, E. Russell, and E. Boone Smith.
Middle: E.Bagnall (AP), E.Berdechevsky, S.May, S.Limburg, S.Hill, and E.Teuira (AP).
Back: E.Shaver, E.Heder (ZL), E.McLean (DL), E.Bell, E.Ballard, E.___, E.Osorio, E.Pohue (ZL)
        E.Randy Wright, E.Baker, and E.Ellis.
And as always, the Senior Couples help to serve the luncheon:  E.&S.Conway, E&S Allen, E&S Mahaffey, S.Cannon, and S&E Howard.

Relief Society Service Project

Today the Cornwall ward sisters met together to do a service project. I was in charge of a sewing project that was fabric totes that attach to walkers. We made them for the people in the same Assisted Living place where Muriel Bower lives.

Those helping with the sewing were: Front left & around table:  Sherri Svenson, Judy Malyon, Barbara Bilodeau, and Judy's non-member friend Leonor.

Several other tables of sisters put together these hot chocolate/snowmen packets together to give to the homeless shelter- The Agape House.

These are a few of the sisters working on that project:
LtoR: around table: Gaile Hynes, Judy Willard, Agnes Greaves (standing), Darlene Brauchaud, Dianne McIntyre, Ann Gaudet, and Muriel Bower.

 Maryanne Givogue, Mary Carney, Nancy Sheedy, Felicity Svenson, and Sheila Merpaw:

 Alaina Cadieux, Connie Cadieux, Carolyn Brady, Kathy McDonnell, and Linda McCaskill.

We finished about 20 walker totes and about 100 hot chocolate packets. Good work for a Saturday morning!