Letter # 27
Mission Home Office
May 1, 2011
Bonjour ma famille sa va?
Can it be…that I am in Montreal and the weather is this glorious? YES!!! Hello and how is everyone? Can it be that the end of June we have been here a year? CWAZY !!! We are doing very well considering we have just emerged from a VERY CWAZY month and look forward to another, back to back. But c'est la vie here in Quebec and we still LOVE it.
In April we received a new "VISA waiting" Sister from Quebec. I may have mentioned her previously. Her name is Soeur Emilie Levesque. She will be going to St. George and will serve in the Visitors Center there. If you are ever there, please stop by and give her a greeting and hug from us. We love her dearly. She is so solid and is a missionary for all the right reasons. Her dad died a few years ago, her brother is not a member and she has only her mother. She saved up to pay for her mission and is such a gem. We are so blessed to have her.
Speaking of her, we also received three new missionaries. One, we have been waiting for, for over six months. He had some stuff to work out but he is here and is the sweetest, most mature, genuine young man. We are grateful he is here and with us. The other we have also been waiting for over six months. I wrote about him when he broke his leg here in Quebec. His brake was so bad they sent him home for surgery and intensive care. Usually the missionaries are not assigned to go back to the previous mission but again, we were blessed to get Elder Mendoza back. He looks great, he is strong, his leg is healed and he is SO ready to work. We wept when he returned. We love this young man so much. And the third wonderful missionary we received is Elder Reid. He is a sandy blonde, tall young man who used to do a lot of competitive swimming. He is a delight and we look forward to getting to know him. We are so blessed with the most wonderful Elders and Sisters. LOVE, Love, love them.
And CONGRATULATIONS is in order to Libby. Libby dear, we are so happy for you. When I received that text saying "I'd like to tell everyone that I am OFFICIALLY DONE WITH NURSING SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!" I jumped for joy. And nice going on the straight A"s dear. We are so proud of you and very happy for your success. I am grateful you are finished with the books after ALL these years. Congrats Libbit.
So, I think I wrote at Easter, but Easter was so wonderful for so many reasons. First and foremost I was feeling extraordinarily grateful for my many blessings. And on top of that, the Resurrection was on my mind and I felt great gratitude for that and on top of all of that, Wynn, James and the baby came to see us. That was the icing on the cake. Thank you again for coming and making our home a bit of heaven for a few days. It was so kind of you to make the trek, incur the expenses, and take the time to come and visit grammah and grammpah. I think that is who we are to Acadia. We loved having you and enjoyed every minute of your company. We love you all so much.
I heard that Sos, Mormor, Bedstemor is going in for a full knee replacement on her other knee on May 11. I know the family will be there for her. It is a very difficult and painful surgery. I know from mom's last surgery how tough it was. I will pray for Dr. Rosenberg and for mom.
I also heard Babajun will be going in on May 9th for some more eye surgery to clear up some remaining cataract in his good eye. We must all pray for his Dr. and for dad. I know all will be well with both mom and day. Prayer is a VERY powerful blessing we have been granted in this life. Best of luck mom and dad. I love you both so much!!!
We also heard some VERY exciting news, that Emy is coming here to Montreal to visit ALONE. Yes, we get Em all to ourselves. Ben, this is right up there with the time you brought Clara for a day. That was the BEST. And now your wife. You are so wonderful. Thank You Benjamin from the bottom of my heart. We will sorely miss you and Eli and Clara and know you will have your hands full. So thanks Em and thanks Ben for this wonderful Father's and Mother's Day GIFT!!!! We can't wait to see you Em.
We have just come out of Zone Conferences for the entire mission, Stake Conferences, A mission Presidents Seminar as I spoke of in the last letter, a visit from the Stewarts, and right into Transfers for three days then right into Zone Counsil, and another Stake Conference. Next week we head into a month long schedule of interviews at each individual missionaries apartments. This serves many purposes. First, a quiet, intimate, unhurried atmosphere for Nels to interview each missionary and I get to spend time with the other missionary while he interviews the companion. This is a treat for me as I really get to know them. They chat about their families, any health problems , the folks they are teaching, the hard times, the funny things that happen to them, and anything else they may feel like talking about. I usually shine shoes if I can find them, sew any small holes or buttons on, have them write a paragraph of gratitude to their companion and I of course offer them red licorice from Costco and a snack/breakfast bar. I love these young men and women for who they are and what they go out and do every day, day in and day out. The week we finish interviews we have a General Authority from the church coming to stay with us for three days. His name is Elder Per Malm and his wife, from Sweden. We are to feed them, house them, and take them around to our missionaries in order that they might teach them. We also will teach along with them. Then another (final) week of interviews and the week after that is transfer again. Then comes the bonus, the reward of our long schedule…..Emy comes! Yippeeee!
I want to tell you a little about our experience picking up our missionaries at the airport. It is a very fun and unique to Quebec experience. It is tradition that when people arrive here, they are greeted with either (and mostly) flowers or balloons.
I must admit, in any airport I have ever been to, have I seen nor heard more dogs and wailing cats than I have in Montreal's Trudeau Airport. They are in carriers , adorned with little skirts, collars, sweaters and bows. They are large and small. They are in crates, howling and barking away. The Quebecqois, love their chicken, Poutine, cars, flowers, meat pie, meat sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, AND their dogs/pets. They walk them constantly. They are every where. This is definitely a very dog friendly city. It is great. I have also seen other types of animals of which I was unable to discern their "make," walking down the street. I really do love this people. Back to the airport. You can tell ALLLLL those, and I mean ALL, who have been to Florida and back. They are adorned with dark faces and legs, puka shells (do they still wear those), large sun glasses, Disney shirts, Mickey Mouse stuffed animals, sun BURNED skin, skimpy strapless dresses, shorts, t-shirts, bizarre hats, and flip flops or strappy sandals while the rest of us are waiting for the arrival of those arriving, wearing light jackets, sweaters and some in hats and boots. I love the airport. It is a wonderful place to watch people greet those they love. The reunions make me cry every time we go. We usually wait from some time for our missionaries as the Canadian customs can be a BEAR. It took us THREE hours to get out. We apparently look like terrorists. They went through every single pocket, sock, zipper and bag. So I love having the time to stand and watch as these loving reunions go on and on and on. It is wonderful. The other thing I think I have mentioned before, but when you greet someone here, you greet them by kissing both cheeks. The problem is knowing which way to go first. Do you go left first or right. I have crashed faces with many a woman here in Quebec. They all do it differently. And the men do it with the women and visa versa except with the missionaries. Most men do not give me the two kiss and most women do not give dad the two kiss. The thing that mystifies me is when I see them do three and some four. How on earth do you know. I guess, I just need to stay relaxed and stay loose, and let them take the lead. I can be ready for anything. That is the way it is done her in Quebec. I love this place.
I just realized I am on my third page. Sorry about that. It is so pleasant right now. It is about 5:10 in the p.m. and the sun is heading down. It is that timeless part of the day when everything seems still and so beautiful in the rose colored light. I love this time of day. I should go shoot some pictures but alas I must work on a few talks. We are scheduled for six talks in the near future.
Please know how much I love each and every single one of you. I think of you often and know you are living good lives. I am so grateful for that. I am one blessed mama. And I am so happy to be here with dad, serving in Quebec. It is a privilege and honor to be here. I love this work. It is true. Where would I be without it? I know not.
Make it a productive, happy, loving week and I will do the same. I love you,
Mom, Shir, Soeur Cannon Mema, Grammah
PICTURES OF THE MISSION ETC. CLICK BELOW: First two pictures are of DAD and I when we were "young" missionaries and the third one is of our baby getting some driving time in. See more at:
http://flickr.com/gp/canadamontrealmission/5PNoj2
Sister Shirin Cannon
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