Merry Christmas!

Symposium pic

A picture of Pres. and Sis. Cannon at the religious symposium in Quebec City, Nov 2010

Thanks Bro. and Sis. Hawker for the great photo!

Merry Christmas Letter # 20

Hello and Merry Christmas to one and all dear family,

Oh what a week it has been. It is pretty outside with lots of snow so it will be a white Christmas indeed unless we have some type of bizarre heat wave. I should be in bed right now, but the Assistants are still here recording numbers for the week. which should not be very good as we had lots of missionaries traveling to get to and from the BIG Christmas gathering we had for them on Tues. and Wed.

Nous vous souhaitons tout qui un très Joyeux Noël et un Nouvel An heureux et prospère.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year. We love and miss you very much but love what we are doing. I am so grateful for the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and for the impact and influence it has made in my life.

It is now Monday the 20^th, TAY’s birthday, Happy Birthday my brother. Hope you have a very nice day. I love you. I will attempt to call but today is the first day of transfers which lasts three days.

Just a quick letter this week. We had two wonderful Christmas gatherings on Tues and Wed of this week for our missionaries. We all had such a great time together. Both days started with our mission Dr. administering Flu shots which by the way turned into a bit of a hassle for 6 of our senior couples as the Dr. while cleaning up scratched herself with one of the needles and she is pregnant and freaked out cause she thought someone might have a horrible disease so she asked each of them to go get a blood test at the hospital to calm her nerves. This was so kind of them to do as they are in busy mode. I know she appreciated their efforts and understand her wanting to take precautions. They all assured her they were healthy but she found it hard to believe that everyone had stayed faithful to just one spouse etc.

Back to the party. We moved into watching Toy Story 3 which by the way they voted on, had a wonderful full meal of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, strawberry spinach salad, mixed veggies, rolls and butter and gravy. We also passed around appetizers during the movie which they loved instead of popcorn. We had brownies a la mode with a candy cane stuck in the ice cream for dessert.

Then came the entertainment. We asked each Zone to prepare a musical number or two. We have some real talent within the mission. So many play instruments, have beautiful voices and even acting abilities. That was a joy to hear them perform songs they had planned and practiced together.

After the entertainment we had a white elephant exchange which was hilarious. This is the way we did it with so many. Our decorated dining tables were set up in a big rectangle. We asked everyone to pick a gift. Then we played a game by reading a story with the words right and left in it. Every time I said the word right they would pass the gift right and so on. I read pretty fast so they were passing left and right and laughing as they tried to anticipate which way they would pass. After that we had them quickly stand and open their gift and show it to the group. Once that was finished the fun began as they were given the option to steal a gift from another. The gift could only be stolen twice. It was so fun. I ended up with a knit hat one of the missionaries knit by himself. His name is Elder Foster. He just became a Zone leader. He taught himself how to knit and he was also wearing a knit tie he knit for Christmas. There were some fairly funny things like old statues three feet high, a bottle of some type of food that legend says has been in a fridge for over four years, the bottoms of some cut off jeans along with a candy bar, an authentic Sombrero and so on.

We closed the Christmas gathering with a Christmas hymn and prayer. And then we had a surprise visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. We had each companionship sit on the chair wings with Santa. Mrs. Claus snapped a picture with their goodie bag in hand. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful day. It was our gift to them for all they do. They do not ask for thanks but we wanted to show our love and appreciation for their goodness. Oh how we love these young people. They are so remarkable in every way. Going out day after day and experiencing the things they do both good and bad. I love them.

We also had a big Senior Couples dinner the night after the parties and three weekend guests, our first assistant with his father (Elder Pearson) and a young lady Josee Ann who is going to serve a mission and dad had to interview her. The night after that we had a special dinner at the house here for Elder Lionel Occolier who will be leaving us to go home to Martinique on Wed. We will miss him so much. He has been stellar in his work with dad and I. So responsible, so kind, so noble. He is one of the older missionaries and it shows in his behavior and simply the way he carries himself. He is a prince of a man. He will be such a blessing to his family and friends when he returns. I hope to be able to see him again some day. Maybe the pres. and I will have to make a visit to Martinique some day….sounds pretty good to me.

Well, I need to go cut up a ton of onions and mushrooms and start frying them and peel potatoes. It is stroganoff over mashed potatoes on the menu tonight for 18 for the main dish. I can leave it in crock pots to stay warm while we go pick up our new missionaries this afternoon. I have their snack bags ready as they come in exhausted, thirsty and hungry. They arise at 4:00 a.m. to make it here by evening. We take them directly to the office to collect visa’s and passports to put in the safe then we drive back to the mission home for dinner and sleep over etc.

I most likely will not have the time to write another letter before Christmas. So I want to tell you how much I love each of you. You are everything to me. As we serve here in Montreal, I work and serve, full well knowing the Lord will bless you in our absence. I work and give my all because of my love for the Savior. I love my Father in Heaven. I know they love me, they love each of you. We are all children of a loving Father. I am grateful for the gift of the Savior and his exemplary life. I only hope I can learn to be more like Him every day. The gift I can give Him for Christmas is to be a little kinder, help a bit more, reach out to those in need, be as the Savior would have me be. That is not always easy for me and I fail. And when I do, I am so grateful for the Atonement that enables me to repent, to be forgiven and still loved unconditionally, and allows me to pick myself up and try again. I love Christmas and this year has been filled with Christ as it should be.

Much love,

Mom,Shir, Mema

p.s. pictures of the week, visit with Santa with Elders Corbett and Occolier our assistants, by the tree with Sister Hamula who with the help of all the missionaries made us the most beautiful scrapbook of photos of all our missionaries. It made me cry. It is a labor of love. Then a pic of Elder Foster who knit the hat and tie, he is wonderful and lastly a picture of feeding time at the Christmas gathering

letter #19

Letter #19

Sunday Dec.12, 2010

Mission Home Office then,

Quality Inn, Quebec City

Dear Family,

It is Sunday night and we are awaiting the arrival of the Assistants. They come each Sunday night and call all the Zone leaders, who call all the District leaders who have called everyone in their district. We get an accounting of lessons taught, new investigator's, baptisms and confirmations, contacts, people who are committed for baptism etc. It gives us an idea how the Mission as a whole is doing. It also helps us see where are weaknesses are and how we might help strengthen the mission with our trainings. We usually have a snack with them like fruit, or ice cream. I am nearly falling asleep as I write.

Hello and skip to Dec. 8, 2010 where we find ourselves sitting in a Quality Suites in freezing Quebec city. We are here for interviews tomorrow. My favorite meeting of all time. I get to sit with the missionaries and simply chat with them. Each interview I come up with questions about health, diet how they are doing in general,their investigators etc. But tomorrow I am going to ask them to tell me about their families. They always love expressing their feelings about their families and I love hearing about them.

Currently, in the car we have Costco muffins for our break time tomorrow (they love the chocolate muffins), I have my shoe shine kit to shine their shoes. They are mortified when I ask them to put their feet up so I can shine their shoes but I love being able to offer a tiny act of service for them. I also sew for them. That is also kind of a funny thing as I hear about the ways things were torn. I love these missionaries. They will also write a paragraph to their companion expressing the things they love and admire about them. So far, they have all had things to write to their companions, without too much hesitation. Even if they are not the best of friends they all recognize the good in their companion. That is a good thing. I always have my jars of red licorice and some other type of snack they can much on while we chat. It is a pleasure for me, these interviews.

Well, I woke up this morning and took three hours to plan, organize then write down, in Romanian, how to make Chocolate dipped Rice Krispie Treats and other instructions for the day for our dear new helper in the home. Her name is Valentina, she is about 58 years of age, an accountant by trade, she speaks Romanian, Russian, a bit of French and a sprinkle of English. She is great, as far as I can tell. I set everything out along with the instructions, she came in the house after trudging through the two, yes two feet of snow we just received, removed her outer wear and got to work. I had her helping put 100 bags of goodies together for our missionaries. I asked each Senior missionary couple to provide one small thing to put in these bags. So far, we have a bag of three homemade caramels, an envelope of instant oatmeal, a Christmas story with 4 choc. kisses, and a Rocococococcco (whatever they are called) chocolate. I am making them a recipe book and we have a cookie and some caramel corn coming in as well. I set it all up in an assembly line and showed her how to do one, that was clear. Then she read the note I wrote about the Rice Krispie treats. Her face went ashen, I am serious. She looked very concerned. “Wat iiz dis? What is Rice Krispie treat? I don’t know. I afraid.” She was worried she would mess them up. So we went through the motions with all the things I had set out. For the birthdays I make Rice Krispie Treats that are about two inches thick, and about 3 inches wide and 5 inches long. I then dip half of it in chocolate and put sprinkles on the choc. and let them set. Then I wrap them up with a little card and give them out at Zone Conferences. This was so new to her she seemed alarmed. Maybe she was alarmed because of the strange ingredients of cereal, butter and marshmallows. She was so stressed about it I told her on the computer via Google translator, to wait till I arrived home and we would do it together. There are so many things she does not understand about, not only the culture in Montreal, but the Mormon missionary culture and the American culture. She is very willing and I pray I have the time and communication skills to help so it works for both of us. I realize this will take some time and training. I feel she will be such a blessing to me and I hope I will be a blessing to her. I am very grateful for the generosity of the church to offer help to mission presidents and their wives. We do really need it and that is difficult for me to say. We are never home. And when I am home I am knee deep in stuff I am trying to catch up on. I simply can’t do it myself. There I said it. I am learning humility and how to accept help with grace. I am grateful.

This has been a very busy week for me in the department of health. Oh my we have had a lot of sickness, colds, sprained ankles, stomach aches, flu and our sweet new Elder who suffers from such severe headaches that he cannot function is down and out. He tries but it is very difficult for him. He is from Tahiti and is so good and anxious to serve the Lord. He has a solid testimony and just wants to be a missionary. He was in the MTC for 16 weeks. I may have mentioned him in my last letter. He has had the very best medical care in the MTC and every possible test given him. They can’t find one thing that would be causing his headaches. He said he knows Heavenly Father did not call him to stay at the MTC and he was not called to go home. He was called to serve a mission in Montréal, Canada and that is what he wants to do. I don’t think he lets on how bad it is most of the time unless he has a really bad bout with it as he did starting two days ago. I keep in constant contact with them as they are 45 minutes away in Mascouche. When he first came out, he had a slight headache but nothing that stopped him from doing the work. He is in a wonderful threesome and his companions are both Canadians and the best companions you could ask for. They are kind, helpful and concerned about this new Elder. They support him and do everything they can to keep him going along with the work. As I speak to them two to three times a day the one Elder said, after I had just complimented him on being so nurturing, responsible and careful with his companion he said “Oh yeh, wow, tell my mom that” so I said OK I will. I plan on calling her and telling him what an awesome job he is doing with the two new Elders he has been entrusted with and how well he is doing as a trainer. And he has only been out for three transfers himself. Oh in case you don’t know what a transfer is, it is 6 weeks. We have transfers every six weeks.

Well, I really need to get going as I would like to get my recipe book put together. I wish I were savvy enough to do this on the computer but I don’t have the time to try and figure out how to do it. So I will do the old fashioned way. The REAL cut and paste, cut recipes out and paste them on the pages, then Xerox those pages and staple them together. This may not be completed by the Christmas party next week but I will give it my best shot. If not, I am going to make some new kind of candy or cookie with the help of Valentina. I will use one of her recipes from Moldova. I am not sure what that will be but I look forward to finding out. I plan on learning all I can from her. Lots of Moldavian recipes. Sounds fun.

We finally, not that I have been holding my breath for this to occur, “got dumped on” terrible grammar. I mean snowed upon greatly. It snowed for two days and I think it is still snowing sort of like when you turn on the mixer, your Bosch I hope, and you have powdered sugar in the bowl and it makes kind of a misty cloud of white. That is what it is snowing like now. We were gifted with just under two feet. I took a picture of the little table on our patio, just outside the office glass sliding doors. I will include it in this letter. Tons of snow. They have to cart it out of the city. Good thing we have the park across the street to dump snow in. Today after two days the tractors came. Yes, three tractors and a baby tractor for the sidewalks. I have to hand it to them, at least the city takes care of the side walks. But you have to wait a few days for clean up. I think everyone pretty much resolves themselves to just driving on snow packed streets except for the very major highways and freeways. I love the people here though. They don’t complain, you see them out there shoveling and cleaning, sweeping and scraping, trudging through knee deep snow and pushing strollers, prams covered with clear plastic covers to protect their little ones. The children they cart behind them are so dressed up from head to toe they can hardly move their little feet from one place to another. They lumber along through the snow, the sleet and the freezing temperatures. They are hearty, strong and uncomplaining. I really admire that. And somehow the women still manage to look good. How do they do it? As you know, I have said it before, the women have a saying here, they “dress to impress,” even in the storms of winter. I have to take a picture of these make shift plastic garages they fabricate. They are very serious about preparing for winter. I am thinking that should make me a bit concerned for what lies ahead.

I am so grateful for this time of year. This year in particular. I have read much about the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ as of late. I must say, this season, void of anything commercial, in the mode of serving, has been one of the sweetest experiences. I feel that this is how Christmas should be. Less fuss in buying and more fuss about serving others. I don’t mean to sound self- righteous as that is certainly not my intent. I simply want to say that in making memories for you and your families, the Christmases we will remember will be the years we served others. I will NEVER ever forget my favorite Christmas of all time was when mom and dad had each of us 7 kids chose a gift from under the tree and we carted bags of food, a turkey and a tree to a German man’s home on the West side. He had a bunch of little kids and a wife. I remember he cried and hugged my dad and spoke in such a thick accent that I did not get half of what he was saying. However, no words were needed. I know how he and his kids felt by the look on their faces. We took the stuff in and left. I remember all of us complaining about it on the way down and how we did not want to go. We did not know this guy and on and on. Dad and mom ignored us and we delivered the goods. As soon as we entered that humble home, I was struck with how much I had. And how little they had. We were all quiet as mice on the way home as we drove through the snow in our blue station wagon and all of us were laying in the back, looking up, out of the back window. I remember driving in the dark, then we would drive near a street light and you could see the huge snow flakes making their way to the ground. For me that was a very spiritual awakening. It was a time I learned that doing good things for others brings great joy. Not just momentary happiness but lasting joy. I still feel joy as I think of that night so many years ago. Thank you mom and dad for that wonderful lesson you taught us. As we give ourselves to much thought of the Savior, then do what He would have us do, that is when we find the true meaning of Christmas. At least for me anyway. I am so grateful for His birth. His birth was the greatest gift of love, from a loving Father in Heaven. He is our pathway home. I love this gospel. I love this work. I love each of you. I am filled with gratitude beyond my ability to express. You are what is most precious to me in this world along with my testimony.

Make it a GREAT week and I will do the same.

Much love,

Mom, Shir, Soeur Cannon, ShirCan, momcan or whatever you would care to call me….like MEMA! Love and miss you Clara and Eli and little one with the chubby cheeks.

letter #18

Hello there family,

Well, I don't remember the last time I wrote. It was probably somewhere between here and some other city. We are home now, having arrived in Montreal from Ottawa. We do a lot of traveling to visit the missionaries and today is the first day in what seems likes months, I have been home, other than the few days you kids were here visiting for Thanksgiving.

Speaking of that, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We did with all the help from James and his amazing pies, Libby and her amazing pumpkin cheese cake and Wynn and Mark's help with everything else. Acadia was the biggest help as she provided the most joyous entertainment of all. She was the center of attention and actually the center of our table. She could have been because she has gained so much weight, she weighs in at 10 pounds now and is 22 inches long. She is a little Butterball. And because she is such a little chubster, her mom made her a Turkey suit complete with brown hat for Thanksgiving. We placed her very gently in a big roasting pan (this is sounding strange) and she looked scrumptiously adorable. It was so cute and she was very patient with us as we snapped pictures of her very cleverly made (by Wynn) Turkey suit. I will attach pictures of her in this email. So thanks for coming and thanks for all the help and joy you provided. Oh we missed Dane, Tracie and Jessie, Ben, Em, Clara and Eli our precious kids.

Our very sad news is that my dear, sweet, loving, guileless, wonderful mother in law passed away the day after Thanksgiving early in the morning. She always made me feel so loved. Everything I did was good...to her anyway. She was a cheerleader in every way. I always felt so important around her. That was a great gift of hers. She, with her angelic smile, always took an interest in what I was up to and genuinely wanted to help with anything. I can with all my heart, I feel so privileged to have been loved by her. I feel it was an honor to be a very small part of her life. I will miss her sweet voice on the phone and I will miss her when I return to find her gone...for the time being. I am so grateful for the gospel and the knowledge I have that we will see each other again. I am grateful for the peace of knowing this is not the end for her but a new beginning of the eternities. She lived such a remarkable, wonderful life.

Right now I am in the middle of a number of things. First, I have wanted to get this letter out now, for a few weeks. Next, I have a new lady here by the name of Valentina from Moldova who is training to take over for Sister Morais who helps me in the house once every two weeks. I am allowed 20 hours a week for help in the home. I can't even imagine how heavenly that would have been to have that kind of help through the last 3-4 transfers of 20 missionaries. Now we will settle down to 12 or so at a time. Until 2 years from now and we will repeat the same difficult process. But next time I will have Valentina to help me. I think I will have Valentina come 3-4 days a week for fewer hours so it is not so taxing on her. She is an accountant by trade but could not bear to live in crime ridden, corrupt Moldova any longer. It must be pretty bad to want to leave your country, career and family to work for 12$ an hour. She is so grateful to be here. So grateful to be working. I am grateful to have her. We do have a problem communicating however. Her native tongue is Romanian. She speaks Russian. She speaks a bit of English and more French. My dear Sister Morais speaks Portuguese, French, English and something else. I live in a world of talented people. Smart and courageous...all of them. I am so blessed. And so we communicate via google translator. If I need to ask her something, I will attempt first in French and when that fails, which is every time, I run to the computer and write something, she runs over, puts her glasses on and reads it, then sits down and types out, with two fingers, her response. I think we will get it down pretty quickly, don't you think?

I was in the kitchen attempting to finish up some yummy caramels I made a few days ago. I did not have time to cut and wrap them in wax paper so I brought them in from the garage where it is nice and cool and dumped them out onto the counter. I cut the whole thing in two big strips and began cutting thin pieces about two inches long and wrapping them. There have been many questions and oh so many phone calls since, so I left the caramel logs sitting there. Now the caramel has spread out and I must gather it up and roll it into another log. I have repeated this four times now. I just need to get in there and finish it. My favorite saying "just do it" is something I need to tell myself.

OK, I am back and am finished with the caramels. The other thing I have going right now is trying to get some Christmas gifts online purchased. I am feeling a bit pressured by time as we have so much planned for the next three weeks that I hoped to use today to complete this task. You my kids, have been helpful by giving me ideas about what you might want. Thanks family.I think the most difficult to buy for is mom, dad and grandpa. I tried however to order Acadia (shhhhh, please don't tell her) some books from a website Wynn told me about but they would not let me order them as I am living in Canada. Even though the card is from the U.S. So I will have to figure out something else. I have never exclusively shopped online for Christmas before but it seems like it will be very convenient. Except for the out of the country, no you can't buy from us thing. I could get used to this, maybe.

The other thing I should be doing at this very moment is compiling a recipe book for our missionaries. They always complain about not eating decent meals because 1. they don't have time 2. they don't have money for expensive ingredients 3. they don't have recipes and 4. they are too tired by the time they drag themselves in the door to eat. HENCE, the crock pot. Oh I love the crock pot. I have made sure that every one of them has a crock pot in their apartments. So, they can take inexpensive ingredients, it takes one minute to throw stuff in the pot and turn it on and they will have a meal waiting for them when they walk in the door. Voila! Yes, that is French! Imagine walking in the door each night to the smell of food. At this rate, any kind of food would do for them. You could dump a couple of cans of beans and heat them up and that would smell good. Love that crock pot, now I just need to get all those recipes together. Emy, I think you gave me a cookbook now that I think of it. I will go find that and share a bunch of those with them. I wish I had the energy and time to feed them all every day. Not going to happen. Nels and I eat cereal or a sandwich when we don't have the missionaries around. I have never cooked so much in my life, but I love it as the recipients are the most grateful I have ever encountered. I love "feeding time" at the mission home. It is a delight. And they are always so helpful. I love the mission.

And the last thing is the Christmas card. Now, as you know, we have not sent out a Christmas card for 3-4 years I think. The last year was the year Turpy was alive. Now that she is dead, have we nothing to write about? Me thinks not. We have much to write about. Like the amazing, wonderful Elders who hit black ice and rolled their car three times and landed in a ditch and the car started filling up with water or possibly sewer water. Or the sweet Elder who fell asleep at the wheel because he had to get us so early to attend zone conference and had been up all night coughing. Or the Elders who help a members non member husband collect dead beavers from traps only to become the recipients of their very own beaver hide or fur...skin. Or stories of missionaries who are fed so much they are forced to use their imaginations to concoct ways of sneaking out excess food they can't possibly consume without the member knowing it. Or any of the other myriads of stories that come in from day to day. The missionaries have miracles that are worthwhile sharing. I had one call me last night so excited I found out he did not get much sleep. But he had been reading a missionary book about miracles that happen, every day simple things that happen to missionaries each day. This got him to thinking. I will pray for a miracle. So he said his prayers and while in the shower, the Bishop of the local ward called about someone who wanted to be taught. They went and taught this guy and he wanted to be baptized. He was so golden, as they say. He committed to baptism the first lesson. This area has not seen a baptism in a very long time. This was his miracle and he and his companion were so happy. I am so happy for them. The Lord sends tender mercies, miracles, blessings and good things our way each day....it is up to us to recognize and acknowledge them. And show our gratitude for them as well.

Well, my heart is full. I feel so grateful for you. I love you, each of you. I am so blessed. I do not deserve all that I have. I know that. I am in His debt. I will continue to give my all. I will wake up every day and do my best for my Father in Heaven, for His Son and for the good of this mission however small an impact it makes. I am so happy to be serving here in this amazing mission. I love the gospel for what it has given me and my family. I love the truths that guide my life every day I live. I love the scriptures and in particular the Book of Mormon. I cannot sleep without first reading from it each night. I am grateful for our present day prophet. He is a good and kind man. He is a prophet who is God's mouth piece on this earth. Joseph Smith was and is a prophet, the first prophet in this dispensation. He, by the Hand of God, restored Christ's church on the earth today. I want to share the plan of happiness with all I meet. Because I love others, because I want them to have the blessings I enjoy. I am so happy to be a missionary.

Where did that come from? I just felt like telling you all that. Oh and we found out this morning that Grandpa fell while on his walk today and injured his shoulder. Clint came to the rescue and took him to the VA Hospital where they told him they would need to replace his shoulder? Or maybe it was replace something in his shoulder. In any event it is not a good thing. I hope that goes smoothly. Hope you feel better Grandpa, you have had a tough year. Please know you are in our prayers.

Know that I love you and miss you but I am so busy...it is not as bad as it could be. Make it a great week and I will do the same.

love,

mom/Shir/Soeur Cannon

hello letter #17

Well, I worry about myself sometimes, I could have sworn I attached that letter but I hear all you received were three pictures, this time I will cut and paste. Dane told me one time that cut and paste was by and large the best invention ever...I am starting to get it. Love you all!

Nov. 21, 2010

Webb’s Motel Ottawa, On.

Letter # 17

Dear loves of my life,

Here I sit in a funny little hotel room in Ottawa. The weather has turned and we were pelted with hail for a few minutes yesterday morning. That caused me to put an emergency bag of blankets, flash lite, shovel, first aid kit, clothing and food in the car in case of a mishap because of the snow we are anticipating. I pray it does not snow while you kids travel from Portland and NY to Montreal next week. We can’t wait to see you but if it is snowing and dangerous we would understand if you changed your plans, seriously! Please watch the weather.

It is early Sunday morning and we are to speak at a Stake Conference at 10:00 a.m. We drove in yesterday as dad had a meeting at 3:00 and then I was to speak in the p.m. meeting of the Ottawa Stake conference. They called us about three weeks ago to ask dad to speak in a Priesthood meeting at 3::00 on Sat., me for 15 minutes in the p.m. and then both of us in the a.m. session on Sunday. It was reconfirmed and then once again as we met with one of the leaders, reconfirmed again.

These are such wonderful men who serve in these Stakes. We love the Stake president, President McAteer, in this Stake as he loves missionary work. He wants to attend all our Zone Conferences with the missionaries, he owns 5 Subway stores and offers one free meal to all our missionaries each week, he constantly reminds the Elders he wants to go out and teach with them and he makes missionary work a priority in this Stake. He is such a great man.

Anyway, what I was going to say was, we attended last nights meeting, I took my talk with me prepared to speak for 15 minutes and they announced the agenda of speakers. Not paying too much attention, however in the deep, dark depths of my mind, I had not heard my name announced on the list of speakers for the evening. I asked Nels if he had heard my name and he wasn’t sure either. So I asked the Temple Pres. and his wife (The Galbraith’s) sitting next to me if they had heard whether or not I was speaking and they hadn’t heard either. That is because they are a bit hard of hearing. And the most wonderful couple ever. So we waited….and waited, I was not able to just sit back and relax but still rehearsed in my mind what my message was. In the end I never had to speak. Not sure what happened but I count it as one of those tender mercies. We will see what happens today. I am prepared.

Just before the evening conference we attended a baptism. The Elders who taught Nicole were Elders Vail and Jepperson. They are both such wonderful Elders. Elder Vail has the most wonderful laugh, he is always enthusiastic, he positive and works hard. He wanted to be sent up in the boonies where the weather is brutal, the work is hard and the landscape is rough. He is a cowboy from ID. And he loves the outdoors. Give him a horse and let him go. Elder Jepperson is from Ut. and is a new missionary. They, together make a marvelous team. They just washed and waxed their car and were so proud of how it shined. They love to go beaver hunting with a member’s non member husband to help him gather the dead beavers, mink and other varmints. All our missionaries give four hours of service each week to anyone who needs it member or non member alike. They found and taught this wonderful woman the gospel and she loves it so. She has wanted to be baptized for some time but she is very afraid of the water. She finally made the decision to be baptized last night before the conference. It was held in French. After the talks we all walked to the baptismal font and waited. We waited and waited. She had to gather the courage to go down the steps into the water in the font. The President of the Branch was asked to baptize her and the Relief Society President was there at her side to help her down the steps. They stood there for some time as he sweetly, gently talked her through it. She is a tiny person. Once he started the baptismal prayer, you could see he was all about getting her in and out quickly. He plunged her into the water so deep and so quick that when she came up she let out a yell. She was so happy it was over. She was overjoyed after the baptism. She was confirmed a member of the Church after a talk on the Holy Ghost, and then was given the gift of the Holy Ghost by Elder Vail along with the priesthood holders, the men, gathered around her as she sat in a chair. They placed their hands on her head while surrounding this wonderful little lady. As soon as the prayer was over and she had been given the gift of the Holy Ghost, she popped up out of her seat so fast, that she either fainted or lost her balance, but non the less she fell over. Good thing there were all those men around. They helped her up. As she stood up again she said “L’esprit est fort” wow, the spirit is strong! I love converts. They are so full of love of the Gospel, so enthusiastic and they have experienced such a change in their lives that they almost radiate light. I love this work.

Speaking of conversions, as we see the missionaries work with people, there is such a drastic contrast between those who embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ and those who do not. We see their lives change for the better. On the other hand when they do not embrace it, their lives remain unchanged and they continue to struggle without the help of the Lord. For example a young man from Russia, who the sisters are teaching is a great concern of mine. I have taught him twice. He was coming along so well. He tried to quit smoking cigarettes, pot, drinking, having sexual relationships outside the bonds of marriage, and doing other hard drugs. His face, you could see it in his face that he was changing. He physically looked better. He was clean shaven, he smiled. He started reading the Book of Mormon, praying, attending Church. He was so happy. He loved being around the members. Then his girlfriend started “dissing” the church and harassing him because he was meeting with the sisters. She was not a good influence on him and threatened to leave him if he did not start living the life they had had before. They were both in a downward spiral. Their lives were going nowhere, it was very depressing. We could sense the pull of both forces on him. Then the other day, he went missing. The sisters called me upset because no one knew where he was. No one could find him. He had not attended school and had not gone home. He lives with his sister and brother in law and they had not seen him for two days. They were upset. He had no one else other than the girl friend. She did not know where he was either. She was freaking out as well. After two and a half days he showed up again. We saw him at a Stake Conf. just after he had returned. He looked wasted. He had such dark circles under his eyes, and his skin was ashen. I was worried. We still don’t know where he was. Not sure he knows either. He went on some kind of binge or something. He is now throwing up blood and does not want to go to the hospital. His girl friend came with him to a lesson with the sisters at church. They talked it out and she started crying saying, “we have to stop this life, we have to stop, we can’t keep living like this” and she made him take the dope out of his pocket and throw it away in the garbage can along with the cigarettes. I think she realizes that this life that the sisters’ are trying to teach them to live will be one that brings much joy rather than continue in the hell they are currently living. He did it. He emptied out all his pockets and threw everything away. I hope to see him again this week. I am going to encourage him to go to the hospital. I pray for this young man who lost his parents when he was young and has not had any parenting in his life except for his dear sister who does her best to take care of him. I know the teachings of the Savior would heal him physically and spiritually. He is such a dear young man. He has his entire life ahead of him. So does she. I pray for them both, that they together will embrace the gospel. Imagine what that will mean for them, for their children and their children’s children etc. Not to mention all his family who have passed on including his parents. I know Satan does not want this young man to overcome. His power is real, his influence great…but not greater than that of our Father in Heaven. However, we all have agency, the freedom to choose. That is one of the greatest gifts given to man from a loving Father in Heaven. I hope and pray for Leon and his girlfriend.

This was a serious sort of depressing letter. Sorry, I did not mean for it to be so, it was just stuff that was on my mind. There are so many wonderful things that happen from day to day. Miracles the missionaries call me about, kind acts of service etc. I wish I had the time to recount them all. I love this life right now. It is very taxing, very hectic and we run…from sun up to sun down. But, I would not trade it and I feel it a privilege and honor to be out here serving as a missionary. Oh how I love this work. It is true. I am grateful for the love and support of each of you. We feel of your prayers and love. We simply could not continue this pace without your love and support. Thank you, all of you. We love you dearly and pray for you daily.

One more thing, in our search for the perfect or even just decent hotel here in Ottawa, I must say our efforts have been futile. We are so spoiled in the States. Even the Marriott has problems here in Ottawa. So instead of paying silly prices for a room there, and have to pay for internet and parking, we opted to stay in a funny little motel with what we hoped would be firm beds. I must say I was a bit worried as the lady who was checking in with me at the same time was saying she and her friends were going to “booze it up”. They were given the room next to ours. We turned up the volume on our sound machine. No problem. After 5 hours of trying to sleep, on a bed with springs that have sprung, I figured I would just get up and write a letter. As I showered yesterday, the water turned scalding while I was in the shower so I jumped in and out. This happened so many times, I decided to get out. It did not matter how I turned the knobs, the water would stay hot then burst into scalding. Maybe they were working on the plumbing or something but I think we will try another place next time. It was cheap, very basic but sleep is vital. I hope I can stay awake for two hours on the stand today, and through my own talk as well.

Love you all, at this time of Thanksgiving, I give thanks for each and every one of you and for your influence in my life. You are the loves of my life. How could we be so blessed? I am in debt to my Father in Heaven for everything. I love you. Make it a great week and I will try to do the same. I give thanks for all my blessings and YOU are at the top of that list.

Love,

Mom, Shir, Soeur Cannon

letter #16

Nov. 5, 2010

Somewhere between Quebec City and Montreal in our Acadia, I love that name

Letter # 16

Bonjour ma famille,

We are just returning to Montreal, after having been in the beautiful, magnificent city of Quebec City. Old Quebec should be on everyone’s TO DO list of places to visit. There is much histoire/history to experience. So many ancient, lovely buildings. We, along with 22 of our missionaries participated in a week long Symposium on Mormonism at the Local Jr. College. It was amazing. Before the Symposium, we flew to Kirtland, Ohio for a seminar. And now we are in the car on the way home to Montreal to prepare for a Stake Conference this weekend, Libby and Mark who will come tomorrow thru Monday morning as Mark is interviewing in Burlington, VT. and finally, and we feed and house them as well. Tons of food will be served in those 5 meals. Amidst all that we received notice that our chief couple who run the office informed us they must leave the mission this Wed. as they have a sick daughter. We are so sad for them and very sad to see them go. We pray for the Kite’s daughter Kelly who is 7 months pregnant. I know this letter should have gone out last Sunday but frankly…NO TIME.

We flew to Kirtland, OH. for a mission President’s and their wives seminar. We stayed for four days. We stayed at a Marriott Hotel close to the old Church historical sites in Kirtland where the very first Temple for our church was built. We visited many sacred sites and were privileged to partake of the Sacrament in that Temple.

Incidentally, Willard Marriott is an area Seventy and he passed us the sacrament. It was a sacred experience to partake of the sacrament in the very first Temple built in this dispensation. I am sure Nels will write about this so I will move on.

Well, skip 10 days and I am back again. I have not had a minute to write. So, this time we are in the Acadia, I just like saying that, driving to Ottawa. We have a zone conference up there with our missionaries tomorrow. We do training with them, meet with them, get feedback from them and eat together and generally enjoy being with them. I still have to prepare my training for tomorrow. It is on qualifying for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

We usually stay at a Comfort Inn or something like that when we go. We have yet to find a hotel where we would like to stay at each time we travel to Ottawa but I am sure we will find something.

So, we are invited to attend every single Stake Conference in the mission. That is so nice. However, if I were asked what my preference might be, I would vehemently reply, “Oh thank you, but I would not care to sit up on the stand but rather sit in the audience”. For some reason, it is felt that everyone would like to see us up on the stand. As a result, I am very aware of how I might appear to a congregation of 100’s. At least 800 people we are talking about. And because we are new, everyone is curious to see and meet us. Once again, this is the closest thing to being celebrities that your dad and I will every experience. And let it be known, I would NOT like being a real celebrity. That would be a very tough life. Anyway, as we were sitting on the stand the other day at a Conference in Hochelaga, QC. which was in French of course, I was horrified as I realized I was exhausted.

We had had 4 hours sleep the night before as we had a bit of an emergency with an Elder who jumped down some stairs…10 to be exact during a zone activity at the church. He had only been out for 6 weeks here in Montreal. Someone suggested that he do this and apparently he is a jumper anyway, so he jumped. He is a sweet, obedient Elder who just wanted to serve. I took he and his companion to the emergency room and after spending 6 hours at the hospital with him, then Nels and I took them to their apt. and waited for them to pack all his stuff up as he had to return home for an emergency surgery the next morning. We then returned to our home and made dinner for everyone, dad and I cleaned up and had to get up at 4:30 a.m. to get ready and feed him breakfast then take him to the airport…there was no time for sleep that night.

So, back to sitting up on the stand. As the meeting started, I realized I had a very warm outfit on. They cranked up the heat in that building and with the numbers of members there, it turned into a sauna. That was the first strike. The second strike was that I was not able to understand much as the Quebecois accent was running amuck in this meeting. I simply sat there in a vegetative state trying to keep my eyes opened. That was my goal for the evening. And third, we had just eaten a big meal as we missed all the others that day…so I was fighting with all my might to stay awake. Three strikes and I am out! I watched the minutes tick by. I tried lifting my feet off the ground, biting the sides of my cheeks, pinching my fingers, nothing was helping. And then it happened…the dreaded head bob. My head dropped slightly and then jerked up. This was a time for desperate measures. I pulled out my journal. I started writing furiously. I would look up at the speaker on occasion so as to appear as I was listening, and I was, I just did not understand anything. But I continued to take copious notes. You may ask yourself on what it was that I was taking copious notes on? Well, here is an excerpt of what I wrote. I only wish you could see the manner in which I wrote. It appears as if a very drunken sailor wrote in this journal of mine. There are words that go off the lines, that veer down the page, that turn into long lines. It is hilarious. Here we go…”I am sitting in a stake conf. It is 7:40 p.m….We are not speaking tonight but if I don’t write, I will seriously fall asleep. I can’t fall asleep, it would be rude and disastrous. Unless I keep writing I fall asleep. I guess it looks like I am taking notes. Mark and Libby came tonight. This is going to be impossible. It’s ten to 8 and we have an hour and 10 minutes to go. Every time I stop writing I fall asleep. WE are now on the fourth speaker. Oh help. People are laughing the speaker must have said something funny. One of the speakers just asked for some tissues, I think she asked again, and again. So one of the counselors went to get her those tissues and she has yet to use one. There is some sniffling going on. She just sat down without taking a tissue. A man is speaking and everyone is chuckling, something is funny. I don’t know what it is. Dang, just fell asleep. Nels just feel asleep. We are pathetic. I won’t last….. Anyway you get the idea. It was so funny after the fact. My friend said I need to keep chocolate in my purse and eat little bits during the night but that would be rude too. Anyway, looking back it was very funny but at the time, I can’t remember when I was that tired, not even on the road home from Portland to Montreal my first try.

We try to attend all baptisms, which are most always on the weekends. We attended a baptism on Saturday. There was a young man being baptized by the name of Patrick. He is from Haiti. He was a member referral. This elderly member who had only been a member for a month was asked by his friend, Patrick, to baptize him. After the talks, we all went in to witness the baptism. After the baptismal prayer, the man then proceeded to baptize Patrick . They descended the steps into the water and got into position for the ordinance of baptism. We were all gathered around the baptismal font. No one in the Bishopric or none of our Elders thought to practice going through the motions of the actual baptism with either of these two men ahead of time, so Patrick not knowing he was supposed to bend his knees, remained stiff as a board. As a result they both fell into the water. It was very funny and everyone started laughing including Patrick and his friend. They just tipped. So they tried it again by saying the baptismal prayer and down again Patrick went. Once again, they both fell into the baptismal font because Patrick failed to bend his knees as if her were about to sit in a chair. It was so funny as they fell into the font in slow motion this time. It was hilarious and every one broke into laughter again including Patrick and his friend. After much instruction from everyone, including the two witnesses, they tried it yet a third time and this time very slowly, very carefully and very successfully. When Patrick came up out of the water he had a huge smile on his face and the entire crowd erupted into cheering and Patrick raised his hands and said aloud "oui" which means yes! It was a wonderful time to be together and it will go down in history as one of the most joyous baptisms I've ever attended. I love this work, it was a joyous experience. I love how the members here in this mission support each other as well as all new members who are baptized.

We are looking forward to seeing our little grunting Acadia, Wynn, James, Libby and Mark for Thanksgiving. Can’t wait. We will miss the rest of you so much as we think of all the many things we are grateful for, you being in the forefront of that list.

I love each of you for so many reasons.

The gospel is true, whoop dee do. As said by my good friend Lynette M.

Love,

Mom, Shir, Soeur Cannon

letter #15

Oct. 24, 2010 Sunday

Somewhere between Cornwall, Ontariao and Montreal, Quebec in our Acadia

Letter #15

Dearest precious family who I love,

Greetings, on an overcast day in Ontario, Canada. It is a time of great beauty as the dense, tall trees that line the side of this road to Cornwall are blazing with color. I can’t describe the beauty of the hues we are seeing but suffice it to say, it is most certain, Autumn. The sun illuminates the leaves in a way that takes my breath away. I am constantly pointing out amazing sights as poor Nels tries to drive…safely.

It is also, MOST certain that the winter freeze is upon us. We finally had to turn on the heater. We have kept it off because our basement flooded three weeks ago and they (Frere Houde) are still sanding, patching walls and installing a new floor. The mould was in the walls, carpet and padding so by turning on the furnace I was afraid it would spread the mould. In addition to turning on the heat, we have pulled out the scarves. Yes, even dad stole one of my gray scarves. You all know I am not a fashion icon and never have been. However, I may be forced to resort to what Quebecois women do ALL year long and that is to throw or arrange a scarf around their necks. It was odd to me that in the heat of summer, women of all ages, while sweating profusely, wore scarves in every configuration known to man. They wear them with a scanty tee shirt, with a jacket, over one shoulder, and with and dress and any other outfit they may be wearing. A very hip woman at a garage sale tutored me in the culture of “female fashion” in Montreal. She taught me that the women here have an unspoken motto…“We dress to impress.” That…could be a problem for me. So in an effort to stay warm rather than dressing to impress, I brought out the scarves. Thank you Shirlene. I actually received a compliment from one of our young sisters. She loved my scarf and ohhhh where did I buy it? The next problem for me is this. HOW does one arrange these scarves on your person? Do you realize there are more ways to wear a scarf here in Montreal than there are ways to skin a cat. Where did that saying come from any way. It seems to me there would only be one way. As we were driving down the street in the city, I counted, in two blocks, eight different methods of hanging a scarf around your neck. There is the fold in half and thread the two ends through the loop look, the throw it over you neck so both ends hang down in the front look, there is the one loop around the neck and one tail hangs in front or back or both tails in back. There are variations of all of these and more. And the trick is, you must make it look like you didn’t really care how it looked when you put it on. It just ended up looking natural, as if the scarf just spontaneously landed that way. I will work on this until I get it right. Right now, I look as if I am trying to hang myself. Sou, you have the scarf thing down. Where are you when I need you? And my girls, you all know how to arrange the scarves so they look cool. I think there must be some correlation of not being able to walk in high heeled shoes and arranging scarves to look impressive. I can’t do either. Anyway, my neck is toasty warm.

In my kitchen, I have been blessed with yet, another lovely view of nature. We have a very small backyard but full of trees and the neighbors have large beautiful foliage as well. As a result, the colors are framed in a large bay window, a pretty view from my sink. I never sit down to eat unless I have someone over for dinner or unless Nels and I eat together…which is not very often. So, I stand at the sink, inhale my food and drink before launching into yet another task or chore. Yesterday, the day was glorious indeed. The sky was cloudless, clear and the temperature brisk. Many people were out walking dogs or biking. It seems that one of our neighbors was out with his dog. As I stood by the sink taking in the scenery, from out of nowhere a beautiful, young Huskie with ice blue eyes shot past my view. He was running as if he were toying with someone. You dog owners know that wild look. And no more than a minute later, my neighbor who is very tall and lanky burst through the bushes only to come to a dead stop in order to muster the strength to yell at his dog. He was pointing here and there, stomping his foot, but to no avail. The dog was nowhere to be found. So he took off running across my backyard in pursuit of this cute dog just feet from my window. I laughed as I knew exactly what he was going through. I have done that very thing with Turpy. She was so naughty every time she escaped. She darted and would not come back. No matter how I waved and yelled. I would have to run all over the neighborhood looking for her. Anyway, I chuckled as I thought back over those fond memories. Two minutes later, I see the dog darting back across the yard again. A minute later, the neighbor is racing after him. I started laughing so hard. It was like a cartoon or almost staged. And then a third time. The dog shoots through the bushes with a grin on it’s face. Seriously! And for the last time, my neighbor sprints across my eye sight again. It was hilarious. Maybe you had to be there. As I pulled out in the car, I saw him with his wife on a bike walking the dog on a leash headed home. Oh I love dogs.

I am headed to bed but before I do, I want to tell you about the miracle hotline. I love the miracle hotline. The missionaries call me and report their miracles to me on occasion, when they remember. I received a funny call last night. It was from an Elder in Chicoutimi. He told me of the woes of the shower head that has never, no never worked in that apt. Apparently the Elders have chosen to live with it the way it is. The shower head is stuck in one position and that is almost straight across to the opposite wall. It shoots over their heads. They have to jump up to get some water. Or lay flat against the wall to get their backs wet. Apparently the landlord who is LDS wanted to do an apt. check, thank goodness, and he asked if there was anything they needed fixed. Elder V. told the man to come and see the shower. The man was shocked. Why hadn’t anyone all these years, ever told him about this? Good question. So he fixed it and the Elders were SO happy about their miracle they called me and every Elder that has ever lived in that apt. They were in awe at this miracle. Sometimes it doesn’t take much. Just ask. It is a good lesson to learn.

I taught a few times this week with the sisters. Actually three times but the one I want to tell you about is with a young man by the name of Leon. He is 21 years old and he is from Russia. He has been in Montreal for 13 years. When he was 4 ½ years old, his parents died. He did not tell us how. He had such sadness in his eyes the first time we met with him. It was the second lesson that I was in attendance for. He has one dear older sister who has raised him since that time. She is married to a wonderful man who has become Leon’s older brother. They have two kids and one on the way. They all take care of each other. Leon has many things that are tough in his life. He is going to school to become a chef. People make fun of him there because he lives with his sister. They tell him she is ugly because she is pregnant. Odd! That hurts his feelings. He is so innocent and kind. He would not hurt a fly. He does not understand those who are unkind. He loves the Book of Mormon and wants to be baptized. The only problem is, is that he has a girlfriend who wants to move into an apt. with him, he has friends who want him to smoke pot with him, he does some heavy drinking and smoking and drinks a ton of tea and coffee. That is fine except for if he wants to be baptized he has to cease with all of this. At the last lesson we told him all about these commandments. He said he would stop them all. He wants this so badly. It is amazing to see how he chose to walk away from it all. He said he might have to have our support in helping him to stop smoking. We are there for him. He is such a wonderful young man. He has been to church twice, and he says the sweetest prayers. And when we sing hymns, I have never in my life heard anyone so tone deaf as dear Leon but he sings and does so out loud and with gusto. He makes me laugh. He is so wonderful. It is such a privilege for me to witness the change in these investigators. To be present in these lessons. It is remarkable how happy they are. I love this work. It is true. I am so grateful to be a missionary again. I am so blessed.

I love you all, good night, sleep tight, have sweet dreams and don’t let the bed bugs bite.

Love,

Mom/Shir/Soeur Cannon

p.s.I finally found a French tutor and I start up tomorrow. Yipee…I think!