The Language

One of the many fun things about serving in Montreal is that even though I'm in an English ward right now, I get to use all of my three languages and more! For example: Last Wednesday was transfers, and we spent the morning in a trio with one of the Spanish sisters while she waited for her new companion to arrive from Ottawa. We went to a lesson with her in Spanish. We later had a member lesson with someone from our ward in English. Almost everyone I talked to on the metro was a French-speaker that day, AND we had a dinner appointment with a Haitian family, so it was like 75% Creole and 25% French. Whoo! 

Strangely, I think it's actually easier to contact people in Spanish than in English, mainly because the fact alone that I speak Spanish is a conversation-starter. The other day, a Peruvian woman sat next to me on the bus. I started talking to her in English, but she didn't understand so I switched to French. Then I found out she was from Peru and I switched to Spanish and she nearly fell off her seat! Surprise! :) 

Anyway, on to more important things. We found a few new investigators this past week. One of them is this amazing Filipino man who has known the Church for years. When we called him up, he basically said, "Yeah, so I want to get baptized and join your church. How do I do that? Is there some kind of procedure..?" Pure. Gold. We are so excited to start working with him!! 

As a zone, we started a few weeks ago having a "theme" for each week - something our teams can focus on that we've noticed people may be struggling with to help motivate and inspire them to improve. For example, other weeks it's been asking for referrals, planning and goal-setting, finding new investigators, etc. They're all things that we should all be doing all the time anyway, but it's kind of a reminder. This week our theme is faith in Jesus Christ. I felt the Spirit very strongly last night as we were at the end of a lesson. I bore my testimony to this woman, who is going through a hard time, and I know that the words I spoke are true. I explained to her that Christ loved her. That when no one else understands, He does. When no one else cares, He does. When no one else is listening, He is. When no one else is praying for you, He is. When no one else is there for you, He is. He will always be by your side, and He will always love you. Could there be anything more miraculous?

Sister Shaver

Look who came by the mission office!

(The family I lived with last summer in St Jerome)