The names of all members and investigators have been changed.
Hello everyone! So just a quick observation... I feel like I think at least half the time in French now... I think I'm on the verge of starting to lose my English... It's quite exciting really haha :) But this week has just been absolutely wonderful!!! Seriously the work is picking up so much! We found 5 new investigators and people just keep showing up in our path! And then the highlight of the week was going to the Montreal Temple Open House last night with Everett. It was the best! But I'll give you more detail on that a little further down.
So I would just like to start off by letting you know how much I love the Temple. It really is the House of the Lord like it says on the facade of every single one. The covenants or promises that we are able to make inside bring so many blessings into our lives and truly help us become more like our Heavenly Father and have a stronger connection with him. I know that if we keep our sights on these spiritual light houses in our dark world, we will be able to better weather the storms of life and have that sure hope for eternal life.
Monday the 26th:
After all the logistics needed for the week we actually had an activity!! We went to the St. Joseph Oratory on Mount Royal and it was super cool :) I really admired all the work that was put into it. It's a special place that is quite awe-inspiring. So I took lots of pictures there and I hope you enjoy them :) The crypt though was a little creepy... But if Chris Brousseau reads this, it totally reminded me of Amnesia. It gave me some chills haha :)
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| St Joseph Oratory |
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| Great views :) |
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| The Basilica |
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| The Crypt |
But then that evening we got to teach Raul with the Jaegers. We watched the Restoration movie and then introduced him to the Book of Mormon. We were amazed how quickly he latched on to it! We told him he needed to read and pray to know if it is true and immediately he put his hands together and bowed his head touching his forehead to the Book of Mormon. We let him finish and then he told us that he's going to read everyday multiple times a day He was so excited! We followed up with him a couple days later and he had read 13 chapters!!! He's only 11!!! It's amazing!! :D
Tuesday the 27th:
We went on exchanges with the Mount Royal Zone Leaders and I got to take Elder Bengtzen around in our area :) We had a great day! We first taught Fr. Esteve reading from Alma 37 about the importance of scriptures :) Then right after we got to visit Sr. Alleman who was in the hospital from a small stroke. We got to teach her a little lesson but then we pulled the curtain closed around her bed and gave her a blessing. I was amazed how much the Spirit was present and how the outside noise just faded away :)
Then we had dinner with Sr. Loudin with her son who's been less active for a long time. We were able to focus on the Book of Mormon with him and he committed to read it! :D To finish out we saw our new investigator Sid from Sri Lanka. He is of Hindu background and after he opened up his entire life to us we taught him basic truths and testified powerfully. Then to nothing we did, he accepted to read and pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true and then accepted to be baptized too. It was amazing! We were blown away how easy it was for us and that the Spirit did all the work :)
Then we followed through with our plan to pass by some people and in doing so the Lord put someone in our path and we got his info and are going to teach him in the future! :D
Wednesday the 28th:
We started out doing Transfer Planning with President. He had already done all of the sisters so then we just had to figure out all of the elders. Such a privilege especially since it went very quickly. Things just worked out very nicely :) After district meeting we took a district picture which was fun trying to put it on timer and all haha :) But that evening we had dinner with the Narcisos as usual. But afterward we were able to talk about the temple with them and help them be more excited for it :) Then we got to do the same with Fr. Katanga :)
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| The District: Elder Lund, Me, Sister Kinghorn and Gammon, Elder Brown and Critchlow :) |
Thursday the 29th:
That morning we had mission leadership council (MLC). It really was a great meeting full of inspiration. Then right after I was on an exchange with Elder Rodriguez. He's from the Dominican Republic and he's a just full of energy. He's at the end of his mission with only a couple weeks left. We just ran hard all day though. Right after we went and did service for the Desselles, coming to the rescue on a move.
Then later we got to teach Martin for the first time. He's from Haiti and he's very believing. We were able to get to know him and his mother who are both very serving. So then we read out of Mosiah 2:17 which was great! What's more is that we felt inspired to talk about Tithing and they loved it too! It was remarkable!!! By the end of the lesson they were both committed to be baptized and read the Book of Mormon :) That night in passing by someone according to the plan, we were able to be in the right place at the right time and help someone with a fridge. It was great :)
Friday the 30th:
We had a great study together and we were able to help each other figure out ways to improve (seeking correction with humility) and it was just very edifying :) In the afternoon we went up to Trois Rivieres to unexchange and then back down. We got so much work done during the drives though by calling people and getting things set up with them :) It was great! But that evening we got to do some home teaching with Fr. Rakotomalala. We had a great experience sharing the First Presidency Message and it was amazing how well it applied to this sister we were visiting. She shared how she was struggling with her health and that this idea of finishing with our torch still lit really motivated her to push forward. We ended by giving her a blessing and the Spirit was right there with us :)
Saturday the 31st: Halloween
Our day was Ridiculous! We started out heading down to LaSalle to help out with a move but on the way we saw someone have a tire blow out so we got out and helped them out for which they were grateful. Then right when we got back into the car, the move got cancelled. We felt that the Lord had put us in this man's path so we could help him :)
In the afternoon we were just going from one place to another. We got to teach a former named Jonathan who was so receptive and ready to listen to us so we shared a message about finding true happiness in life through the commandments of God. It was great! :D Then we taught Martin again with Fr. Bonville. So great!
But that night was the best. We got to meet Ismail from the Ivory Coast. He is currently studying and working at the School of Superior Technology. He has two masters and is working on his doctorat and he is looking for the truth. He was so excited to have a Book of Mormon and we just got to know him for most of the lesson but then we committed him to find out for himself is this message is true. He really loved all that we had to say and the Spirit was present. Towards the end we showed him Moroni 10:3-5 and then he kept reading in that chapter. The Spirit just swept over us all and he could feel it. It was awesome!!! :D Then he went on to explain that if we want we can come teach people at the school in a small room there or if we had enough people he could get us a big one... I couldn't believe it! This man was setting us up to find tons of people at this school where he works in the administration. Soooo coool!!! But I was so grateful to see a man who is so intelligent but still rooted in humility with God knowing that he is the source of all good things.
Sunday the 1st of November:
Sunday was the best!!!! We had fast and testimony meeting in church which was just full of the Spirit. Elder Lund and I both shared our testimonies and right after us our bishop got up and testified that we are servants of God. He said that "we were the best missionaries" before Elder Golden's visit but that we had gotten even better since. It's such a blessing to have the support of our Ezequiel Narciso :) After church we had a supplementary choir practice. Next week is Stake Conference and I'm going to be singing a solo! Should be a great opportunity to bear testimony through my talents! :)
Then we took off with Everett and Fr. Rainier to got to a special session of the temple open house for people invited by the missionaries. We got ushered into a room in the stake center next door where we sat down to watch a movie. But who walks in the door right after us? Oh just some people that I worked with in Granby!!!! :D It was such a sweet surprise!!! But then they decided to wait for the next video to be with all of the Granby group that came. During the introductory video, my love of the temples just took off. I have been so temple deprived!!! It has been way too long. The last time I got to go to the temple was in July 2014. Yeah more than a year ago. But when the Provo City Center temple came into view I was just overjoyed. I'm so excited to be close to so many temples again when I come home. To have two temples in the same town is just too many blessings :)
But after the video we went inside the temple. It's a small temple but as I walked in the front doors I knew I was home. I felt a closeness to all of you because a House of the Lord is the same as any other and that familiar feeling was ever so welcome. All of the work in the temples decorations are so beautiful and customized to the Montreal and Quebec area. It truly is a temple for the Quebecois and Quebecoises :) Afterward when we went back outside to the reception tent, Everett said that it truly is the House of God and that just made it all the better :)
Then in the tent it was a huge reunion with practically all the Granby Gang!!! The Gasniers, Valerie and her daughters, Fr. Donovan, and even Armand who I found and started teaching. It was beautiful and one of the happiest moments of my mission to see that they were all still doing very well :) It was fun to take pictures with all of them and talk about how they're all doing. Some of them laughed at how Quebecois my French was at times by saying things like "Bain le" and so on haha :) Such a tender mercy though :)
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| The Granby Gang :) Back: Gasniers, Me, Armand (kinda hidden), Donovan, another Frere. Front: Valerie, Shelly, Shelly's sister, Simeon :) |
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| Fr. Montagne |
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| The little printouts I got of them :) (One of Everett and us :) in matching ties too!) |
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| The Granby Gang |
Then before turning we stopped by the Patricks home to pick up some air matresses. They invited us in and offered us some witch hat cookies that are very similar to our turkey cookies. Sister Patrick said that we must be related or something haha so I promised that when I make the cookies I'll bring some over to show them at least :)
So there's my week! It's been great! Life is going so fast and I love the work so much! This week we found a lot of new people and we're going to continue to do so and find even more! The work truly is hastening and I'm just trying not to get in the way :)
I love you all so much!
Love,
Elder Brooks :)
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