This is my fun English, Scottish friend , Lucy,who always has tea parties for us.

          Happy Easter !  What a marvelous glorious day for all mankind. How blessed beyond measure we are because we have Jesus Christ to be our Savior. I love this holiday because it reminds me that  we are a forever family so we will see our Matt again. I look forward to that indescribable joy.  I love my Savior & what He has done for each of us.
          This week I made "boomerang " bread. A friend of ours in the branch gave us a freshly ground bag of wheat flour so I made bread & rolls. Everyone we gave them to gave them back & said "no". So I call it boomerang bread. Ha.
           Stan taught a lesson in district meeting  about the reality of Satan. He did a really good job. He sang to them...... "Jesus Savior Pilot Me " .
           The sun came up on Monday so Stan washed the front window. Because we live in a fishbowl, our neighbor Marlene came over to bring him a squeegee . I poked my head out the door & she pretended to wash my face with the squeegee & laughed. She is the non member who we first met who was so unhappy & angry at the world & everyone in it. She came to church once. She  is softening right before our eyes.
         I went on a fun, I say fun because it included shopping, trip with a member & non-member (Lucy ) to Chilliwack for lunch & shopping. It was so fun. . We found a most delightful store with amazing "one of a kind  " finds.
         Stan  & I went tracting again. One lady opened the door, looked at our tags, and started ranting & raving at us. She told us she was going to call the police. She said the neighbors were talking about us & not to knock on any doors on this street or that street or that one.  When she finished we walked away & promptly knocked on the next door. We found a young father who said his whole family was sick. We asked if we could come in and say a prayer to bless his house. He let us in , we prayed with him . He said we could come back another time.
   Stan played "I Stand All Amazed ". For a special musical Easter number today. I taught sharing time in Primary along with three more lessons on Reverence.  One eleven year old girl started singing out loud while the chorister was talking about a song we were to sing. I said to her " you are being rude. You are not being reverent. It is time for you to listen so everyone can listen as well." She gave me an ugly look that if it was frozen on her face it would have been the face of an eighty year old in great pain. All the primary children were then on their best behavior.
        My new friend Michelle called last night & asked if she could come to church. She came & said she loved it & could she come again ?  She said she has a bunch of questions about God so we are going to see her again tomorrow. So exciting. She was the woman on the street who was selling bird houses.
         Last night all the women of the branch were invited to Shirley's home. We had a potluck dinner & watched the Women's conference together. It was such an uplifting meeting. We sat around & visited for awhile afterwards. This small branch is just like a family, no one is left out.
          We taught Jack two more temple preparation lessons. He is almost ready to go to the temple & we will get to go with him.
          Tonight we went to an Easter feast at the home of my friend Betty.  There were eight of us. We had scalloped potatoes & ham, corn, sweet potatoes, salad, baked Parmesan cauliflower , rolls, pickles (always pickles ). And English Trifle for dessert.
           The day I wanted to make bread I found we didn't have any butter. Stan went to the store for butter & came home with one pound for $7.34. Ouch !
         That's our week .  We pray for you & miss you all. Being a missionary is a one of a kind experience. Everyday is different...always something new.  It's getting spring here. There are many many beautiful trees & bushes blooming & coming out. Birds are everywhere & rain. I can't wait to see the forest in the spring in full splendor .
        Heavenly Father is real. Jesus Christ has more love & compassion than we will ever be able to comprehend . The church is true. We are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives. I am so excited for conference. We will be going to a members house to watch it with them.
       We love you.   Love a Elder & Sister Fisher

                                                   An example of a toppled tree.

                                       All of these last few pictures are in a walk very near our apartment. I's dark green. unlike the pictures. Trees topple over whenever they get tired of standing up. And bears appear now & then.

                                                     on the walk by our apartment.

Really ?  Another week already.
          We were invited for three interesting meals.  One from Tonga, one from East India and one from Russia.  Can't say I loved any of them. I have posted pictures of two of them. It's not only the food here that is interesting, also the names of streets, shops & cities. Most of them are from the First Nation people who lived here when the area was settled.This week we knocked doors again. It's not very pleasant .Many people have a sign on their door that says : "No salesmen, or clergy, "others look out the window at us but won't answer the door.
            We did meet a nice lady on the street, Michelle. She had a little dog wrapped up in a baby blanket. There are no panhandlers or hitchhikers here as it is illegal.  She was selling little wooden bird houses she had painted & decorated. She was hungry I could tell.. I bought one of her bird houses.  I made a mental note to see if I could  buy more wood items at the craft store to give to her to paint & sell. She said I was very pretty so I took that hook, line & sinker. I explained what we were doing in Hope & asked her if she knew Jesus Christ. She said no but would like to know him. So I invited her to come to church on Sunday. She wrote down the name & address & said she would see us there.  Stan & I went home for lunch & brought back some homemade beef stew, a tuna sandwich, banana & a couple of cookies for her & her dog.. She cried & thanked us. Hopefully we will be able to teach her.
               This week was our Branch Relief Society dinner. The Relief Society President & I put it together & pulled it off. We had all 10 of our branch sisters, five non members & two from the young women's. We had roast beef, kale salad, rolls, roasted potatoes,carrots,onions & trifle for dessert.
              We were able to buy & transport the nice piano from Chilliwack to our branch. Stan is thrilled & so is the branch. Last Sunday the Primary children were heavenly and remembered the lesson I taught them on Reverence. Several adults commented that this was the first time they could hear the primary singing from the Sunday School room. Yea !
             Tonight we had my dear friend and her husband who is a non member over for dinner. We had a great visit. She entertained us with stories from her checkered family. Insurance fraud, alcoholism, drugs, Hell's angels gang members  & Betty.  She is such a sweet lady & the Branch Relief Society president.
              Tomorrow we have an appointment to go back to see Peter. He has been reading the Book of Mormon. I hope he has a bunch of questions for us. We have been praying for him.
             We went to see Lucy again. Stan played her piano & she taught me how to knit. Of course she always serves us tea .It's the social thing they do here.  We talked about family history & next week I will teach her how to crochet. I really wish she would soften her heart & listen so we could teach her the Plan of Salvation.
              At District meeting this week, I took homemade vegetable beef stew & homemade rolls for the  missionaries. One of the zone leaders taught me some words in Tongan so  I can talk to my friend.
           The sun  was actually shinning yesterday. First time in a month. So Stan went for a 20 mile bike ride. He was so happy. I went for a walk in the forest . I will post pictures of that. It's amazing.
           We hope you are all doing well.  Share the gospel with your friends. They deserve a chance to hear the "good news ". Of the gospel.  We love our Heavenly Father & His son Jesus Christ. We love being missionaries !!!!
             We love love you.
         Elder & Sister Fisher
       

                                                         The East India Temple.

                                                   A pretty lady from East India.    

                                   This was our dinner at the World Religions Conference.
                             Kindly prepared from the East India Religion. It was very spicy.

We attended a World Religions Conference.There were representatives from: Baha'i,
Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Sikhism.  It was interesting to listen as each faith explained their beliefs. As you can see from the Cultural Hall; The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latterday Saints represented Christianity.

                                         We were invited to a Russian dinner. "Burukaa" (or something like that).
                                      It is actually Bear and Beet soup. Stan said "eat it " so we did.

                                      My new best friend Betty Smith..We're clones.

                                                        One of many waterfalls.

                                       The lighting is off on my camera. It is really dark green here.

                                           This is a forest walk near our apartment.

                                             "I love to dig in the dirt."

                                      A unusual hour without rain. Stan beginning his "would be " garden.

                                               on our way to teach a lesson.

                                                 From our bedroom window

                                         This is our back yard. Much different from our Idaho Falls home.

                        This is our U shapped apartment complex. We are standing on our front porch looking out. It's pretty much living in a fishbowl.

           We just finished another hike through the forest. One sign warns "Enter At Your Own Risk ". Because of all the rain the gigantic trees only have short roots. So when the winds come, the trees topple over roots on top. The other sign says :  "Bears .....beware " & keep all food locked.  The trail follows right along the Cocahalilla river rushing tumultuously over the rocks. The huge cedar trees with their moss covered branches sway & bend. I will post some pictures ,it really is beautiful.
            I can't believe another week has flown by. We went tracting again. The neighborhoods here are very interesting. There is not a middle class at all. So one house will be a home of poverty while the next house to it is a very large $7000.....to a million  & above house. Next to that house is a motel. In our small town there are five liquor stores. Anyway, tracting is always very interesting. Most people are very rude & turn us away. But occasionally some one will be nice but we are usually never invited in. We are not discourage by their actions because we know what we have to share with them is so important to their eternal salvation. We have to give them an opportunity to hear our message. Also we know the Lord sent us here for a purpose so we need to keep trying to find that one person who is searching for the plan of happiness. And there is so much work for us to do to support and help this small struggling branch. We love love being missionaries.
        .   Stan has found a small 9x 20 ft space behind our apartment to grow a little vegetable garden. He has been out working the dirt in the mud. It keeps him happy. With all the rain here it will be interesting to see if anything grows. If anyone can grow a beautiful garden, it is Stan.
           We are still working with Jack, Marlene & Lucy.  Also trying  to find others. Oh ,this week we went to a Relief Socity birthday dinner in Chilliwack. I met a wonderful lady from Iran. I am surprised at how many different nationalities are here. I keep meeting people from Iran. I really love the Iranians. This woman & her husband are horticulture professions. They have been commissioned by the government to grow an organic farm. She invited us out to see & learn about their farm.
        We finally got to attend a district meeting with the young missionaries. They are so amazing. Very impressive missionaries. They hold their district meeting from 11:00 to 1:00. So I decided next week I am going to make homemade beef stew & hot homemade rolls to serve them after our meeting. I hope that's okay. Stan said I could.
         Oh we were invited by Lucy ( our non member friend) to an authentic English Tea.  It was so fun. We had a beautiful gold tablecloth, a glass teapot, herbal tea in beautiful English China tea cups & saucers. I asked her if we were supposed to hold out little pinky finger out as we drank. She said :"of course ". She also served little fancy cookies with chocolate on them.  I told her next time I will wear my tea party hat with roses & feathers. She laughed.
          Tomorrow we are going to  themulti-faith event of Canada. There will be: Islam ,Hinduism,      Christianity,  Baha'l,  Slkhism.  It will be a wonderful cultural meeting. We will be having an authentic meal from India. I hope there is something I can eat.
          Last Sunday at our branch Primary I was asked to substitute  a primary class. I was appalled at the lack of Reverence in opening excerise . The children were bopping the microphone with their heads, standing on chairs, laying under the Sacrament table , plunking on the electronic piano as Stan was trying to accompany the primary song. When we went to class the President said the other teacher did'nt come & could I teach all the children ?  So I began class by putting my chair in front of the door & sitting on it. I then proceeded to teach them about reverence & how sacred the Lord's house is. Then I had them practice being reverent. I told them I would teach the lesson after they could show me that they learned what reverence was. One little boy about five years old raised his hand. "Teacher I'm hungry ". I said I hope everyone can quickly practice reverence so we did'nt have to practice all day. He raised his hand again " I'm afraid I'm going to die ".
       Great blessing have come to us. We were able to find a beautiful Kiwai piano for the Branch building. We found it on Craigslist. Ha. The branch only has an electronic piano which Stan really dislikes . So yahoo !!! We just need to find a way to bring it from Chilliwack to Hope. It will really help with the reverence for Sacrament meeting. The entire branch is so excited !
      Life is good. God lives. Jesus Christ is the savior of the world. We all need him desperately.
We are so blessed as members of His church. We are so blessed to understand how families
can  be together forever. I'm so happy happy that we have a forever family. I'm not homesick for home, but I do miss my children & grandchildren. Families are really what it's all about. That is joy.
      Keep the faith, keep the commandments, this life is just a speck of time in all eternity. Keep your testimonies strong.
      Lots and lots of love,
      Elder & Sister Fisher

Just an average day. We drive between one to 3 hours to get where we need to be on any given day. 
Our little blue car is serving us well. So happy it came along.

There  are lots of tunnels & lots of rain here.

 One of the roads by our house in Hope.

The other side of our living room. Stan's famous bike.

our kitchen

 The Washroom , as it is called here.

This is a better picture the scary staircase leading up to our bathroom & bedrooms.

This is part of our living room. notice the floor. Everyone has these kinds of floors; not carpeting.
Yet everyone removes their shoes when entering a home.

This is the dinning room of our new apartment in Hope.

Week two in the forest.

Already another week
. Wow !   We have been blessed with a wee bit of sunshine here & there but mostly rainy days.
          On Monday morning Stan says :"lets go knock on some doors." It was pouring rain. We knocked on 13 doors. Two slammed the door in our face. Some did not answer. One woman told us she had a pit bull. We did talk to a man from Russia. I pretty well convinced myself he was a spy or at least the grandson of the family that held Stan captive when the children & I were working in the pretend canning factory so many years ago. Also, a nice lady visited with us a few minutes but did not invite us in. She told us she doesn't need God. She worships in the forest. She believes in reincarnation & hopes to come back as a tree.
           We drove to Bellingham to take my new friend to lunch. Laia is going to school & working. She is from Iran & wants to bring her two daughters to America. We gave her the Joseph Smith pamphlet & a Book of Mormon to read. She is a beautiful person. Because of my friendship with Parsa's mom, Leila, I am very drawn to her.
           Wednesday after dark we had a Relief Society activity. It was a walk through the forest called "Suckers Creek ".  Flying ticks , bears, beavers & who knows what else were out there with us. It was about an hour long. I tried not to act scared. I'm sure it's beautiful in the day & when it's not raining.
           We are teaching a man named Jack. He is an older guy who was converted to the church 50 years ago. He said when he was offered the gospel the first lesson, he knew it was true. He wants to go to the temple. He & his wife love each other but they live in different cities. They visit each other now & then. We are teaching him the temple class. He is a dear heart. I like him a lot.
         We took Lucy, the non member who tells me I will not convert her, thrift store shopping & to the library. She is quite a character. She owns eight canes. Each one has a unique carving on the top. Talk about carving; we are living in the chainsaw capital of the world. Every summer people come from all over the world for a chain saw competition. They carve trees. I will post some awesome pictures.
         We also visited Marlene, a non member. She came to church last Sunday.When we went to pick her up & she said "I'm not going."  Then after church had begun she walked in. She told us she had her drive herself to church because the neighbors were making fun of her for having the "Religion" people over.  Today we visited her again & gave her a Book of Mormon to read.
          Tonight we are driving  to a party for senior missionaries. We drive at least an hour or more to get anywhere from our home to anywhere else. We are hidden away in a mountain resort. Anyway, it will be fun to be with other missionaries and to hear of their adventures.
          The church is true. We are so blessed to have our Heavenly Father & Jesus in our lives. Many many people try to navigate this hard life on their own. It 's so much easier & happier when we choose the gospel to help us. There is much missionary work to be done so many can learn what we have been blessed with to have all our lives. That is our goal...to help those who don't know what wonderful blessings are waiting for them.
          We hope you are all well & happy. We love you all !
We only get our mail once a month. ( that's what I get for complaining that our mail did'nt come until 5:00 in Idaho). Ha !  If you want to write you can send it to the following address. We will get it faster at least for now.
                                         #3     489 Thacker Ave
                                          P.o. Box 1211
                                          Hope British Columbia
                                          VOX  1 LO

           Share the gospel with your friends.....their Eternal life depends upon it !
                       Love, Elder & Sister Fisher