Unimaginably  frightening ugliness.........I managed  to only hear about the huge Norwegian rats that live in the hedges here in Hope. That is until last Sunday morning. Stan always takes out the garbage for us. It's in a huge rusty metal dumpster with heavy metal lids sitting behind our apartment building.  I thought I could take the small box of garbage out Sunday before church. As I rounded the corner of the building I saw that someone had propped the metal lid open with a stick. That should have tipped me off.  While singing to myself "welcome welcome Sabbeth morning ", I walked to the dumpster to throw in my box.  He was more ugly than you can imagine, beady starring eyes,  brown hairy creature, long beaver-like teeth and he stunk, really bad. I didn't wait to see his tail. I couldn't take time to pull the stick to slam the lids either. I held my breath run into the apartment screaming and jumping, shaking my arms at Stan who was sitting on the couch. After He was able to discern what all chaos was about; he went to the dumpster to see the rat for himself. I stood there trying to shake off the ugliness I saw.  A terrible experience I was able to avoid for six months anyway.
          To finish the extortion spy story from last week about Marlene and her sweet dog ;  the Royal Candian mounted police were able to recover the dog.  We told her it was because God answers prayers, because we know it to be true & to hopefully help build her faith in God. It was wonderful to see the joy on her face to have her little puppy back. I'll post her picture.
         There have been several sightings of bears in town picking the berries which grow wild everywhere. They aren't that good but I guess the bears really like them. So Stan and I have been practicing how to drop to the ground and act like a dead rock. Our favorite excerise trail is one of the popular sightings. We walk it every morning before I'm really awake. Stan says,: "just keep talking & you'll scare the bear away ". I wonder if that's for the benefit of the bear or Stan. Ha !
        We had a wonderful missionary experience with our non-member friends Hussain & Fetima. They had a broken dishwasher but no-one would repair it. Anyway..long story short, the repair man came, we went, I stood there and asked a hundred questions about everything he was doing and why. It wasn't an easy call for him but he did leave with the dishwasher working wonderfully. Bam ! Durning our visit we gave Hussain & Fetima a Persian Book of Mormon to read and had a great religious discussion. Hussain asked the famous questions every missionary longs to hear. "Where did I come from ?"  "Why am I here " " Where am I going? " Stan taught a great lesson, we answered many questions and left them with a commitment. Wonderful. I was going to get two llamas for Hussain for his farm but Stan studied and found out they don't do anything but stand around and spit. So I didn't arrange to get them.
      We had a big week of service. Stan and the zone leaders dismantled an old building for Jack. I provided the picnic.
      Stan mowed the lawns for our non-member friend  Martin who has arthritis and can't do it. I sat in the lawn chair and listened to Martin tell me how he used to grow olives in Italy. He taught me how they had a special stick that shook the branches so all the olives would fall into a net. The nets were gathered and taken to a warehouse where they were put into a vat. The donkey would grind the olives to mush. After that they were pressed into oil. The oil is put into a cauldron of boiling water. The worker scoops the oil off the top and it is bottled. Whew. He gave us a fig to try. They taste like a mushy plum.
        I made breakfast for the missionaries at district meeting this week. They loved the hashbrowns, ham & cheese omelet, poppyseed muffins and orange juice. It was a hit. So this week I think I will do sausage, milk and  waffles with strawberry, blueberries and whip cream.
        A non-member put on Facebook he needed some help for a day & was paying minimum wage. So we went out to his place and volunteered to do the work he needed. Stan painted a trailer and I cleaned boxes. He was very grateful for our help and wanted to pay us. But then, it would'nt have been service.
          We love being missionaries. We love our Heavenly Father. We are so grateful for all He has done for us. I am so thankful for the many miracles he has given me  to allow me to be here. We love our Savior. That's why we're here . We are here  just trying to give people a little hope in their lives, a little faith that God does exist. For some people that a start they need.
        We love you all always,
        Elder & Sister Fisher