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Our homemade cinnamon rolls. |
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Thanksgiving dinner at district meeting. |
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Hi Elder Fisher |
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another senior couple the Hunsakers |
Saturday, November 26, 2016
A new week and raining still but at great week at that. It was Thanksgiving in the states so we celebrated by making a turkey dinner with all the trimmings for our District with the young missionaries. They seemed to enjoy it all especially the homemade pumpkin pie. I'll add a picture.
On Monday we made lots of big fat yummy cinnamon rolls for about ten non-members. We delivered them hot. We actually gave some plates to our favorite printer in town who helped us with the food drive. Also gave a plate to the auto shop who repaired our smashed car for us after the "hit & run."
It's fun being a missionary. Our neighbor Marlene , a 79 year old widow knocked on our door and asked for food. She said she hadn't eaten for two days & could we give her a potatoe ?We had her come in. I gave her two grocery bags and told her to help herself to anything in the fridge and our little pantry. She was ever so happy. She choose potatoes, chicken, noodles, apples, eggs, blueberry pie. She was reluctant but I talked her into filling the bags. Later in the week we took her shopping in downtown Hope. She had described a pretty rug she wanted for her bathroom so we bought it, a few bananas ( which by the way) she eats bread with sliced bananas on it for lunch. She doesn't have much. It's really hard for her because she is a very classy lady. While in the store, Christmas music was playing so I started dancing. She laughed and showed Stan as if he hadn't seen me. A few isles later , she started dancing herself. It's so fun to see her laughing. I love it !
On Thursday we drove the 2 1/2 hours to take Jack to the family history center. He is the only member of his family. We also worked with him and a Japanese man, brother Hara, who is a family history gruru. Success !!! We found a treasure trove of names. So we made an appointment with the temple to reserve the baptistry so we can take the branch to help Jack baptize his ancestors. He is so excited.
We talked with our mission president this week. He is working on a plan for a transfer in the future. We will see what happens. He called to tell us he enjoys reading our letters. Ha ! Fun !We also took our non member friend Lucy for a fun day in Chilliwack. We went to lunch at the Chinese restaurant and went shopping until she was tired. On the way home we stopped for a small ice cream. It was $9.86 for 3 small ice cream cones. That's Canada...expensive.
I llove the Thanksgiviving holiday. I think it is my favorite. I was quite melancholy missing the big family dinner with all our family. But, I made a long long list of all the things I'm so grateful for. Including the miracles we received when I got Cancer right before our mission. There is such an abundance of blessing we have in our life....it's beautiful. We hope you had a great Thanksgiving and that your Christmas holiday will be happy. We love you all.
Always always go forward with faith.
Love, Elder & Sister Fisher
Saturday, November 19, 2016
So it gets dark here about 4:00 in the afternoon. There is snow on the tops of all the high mountains around us but we only get a lot of rain. Because the humidity is so high even though the temperature is 40 degrees or so, we are wearing thermals. The cold drills right through a person. Maybe one day out of seven we'll get a break of sunshine. But, British Columbia is still beautiful. Whatever the season, there is beauty around ever corner. The Lord really made a beautiful world for all of us.
Last Monday we started a FHE group for the " young at heart ". Everyone is sixty or older. We take turns meeting at each other's home each Monday. We have a dinner and then Stan gives the lesson. The dinner is potluck Candian style. That is ,the hostess plans the main dish and everyone is assigned what to bring to finish the meal. How is that potluck I ask ? Only in Canada. The first time we had a sit down meal with China, Crystal & candlelight. The second time everyone brought about three things plus the meal. How is that potluck ? Well, it's a feast anyway.
So last Monday during our FHE lessons Stan asked a hard doctrinal question to the group. The members all sat there while the non-member, Jim, answered correctly. That was so awesome.
Our friend & neighbor Marlene asked for a Book of Mormon to read last week. We gave her one several months ago . She gave it back with a rubber band around it & placed in a grocery bag tied shut. She has come a long way in nine months. Also yesterday she came over and told me she hadn't eaten for two days. She was very hungry and wanted a potatoe. I took her in the kitchen and said :" Whatever we have, you are welcome to have. " "Our food is your food. ". I had her look in the fridge and the pantry and choose whatever she would like. She was very humble & grateful. I felt bad I didn't know she was going hungry. I should have guessed, she's alone on a fixed income and she is very skinny for an 80 year old.
A big & scary man walked into our building durning church last week. Big full beard, about 400 pounds, and smelled like a wet horse. Stan sat to visit with him for a bit. After greeting him, I excused myself and walked down the hall gagging from the smell. A member saw me & asked if I was alright. Anyway the man, Daniel, asked us to come by his home & teach him more about our church. So on Tuesday we drove out to this old old scary motel on a barren street not far from a truck stop. It was dirty, delapated with a invisible dog howling. People were hanging out by their open front doors and staring at us ; the street was eerily quiet like just before a gun fight at the OK corral. We counted the numbers til we found # 16. The door was open. Daniel was lying on a way too small bed for him. There was garbage scattered all over the floor and a clothes line draped crosswise from one end of the room to the other. I didn't go inside. Stan talked to Daniel, reminded him who we were, and started talking about the Book of Mormon. Daniel waved him away saying : " I've learned enough. I don't want to learn anymore. " It wasn't until later that we learned that motel was the home of drug dealers and their customers. eek !!!
I did surgery on an oversized stuffed smurf for our friend Rocky. The smurf had a decapitated head. We see Rocky every week trying to hopefully have him hear the lessons one day. He's a very interesting guy. He buys storage lockers at auctions and then sells the stuff to the locals. I've found a few good buys there. Whenever he has some religious picture or statue he shows it to us while singing a hymn of some sort trying to pursuade us to by it. It's always something Catholic.
The highlight of the week was traveling to the mission office in Richmond to personally shake hands and have an interview with Elder Jeffery R Holland. He asked that all 250 of the missionaries file pass him. We were to shake his hand, tell him our name & where we were from. No more, no less. Later when he was speaking he told us that constitutes a personal interview. In the time we say our name & our home, his eyes can penetrate our soul. Wow ! He talked with us for two hours, pounded the pulpet, yelled at us, taught us from the scriptures, and bore a rock solid testimony. He also gave us a blessing. It was quite the meeting with a ton of proper church protocol. I even think he had a body guard. Cool.
We also did our second transport of the missionaries going home with honor to the airport. It was from 2:30 am til 6:30 am after which we went back to the hotel to get a couple hours of sleep before our drive home. I tell them all : " not be the last person off the plane........their Mom is in agony waiting. But it also a time your Mom will feel real joy. " There's nothing else like the first hug from your return missionary. We enjoy this assignment to meet and visit a bit with each one. What amazing missionaries !
We love being missionaries it's a most excellant adventure. The journey is not an easy one but oh the experiences we've had, the people we have met and the things we have learned. The church is true. We have a Heavenly Father who knows and loves us. We are immeasurably blessed because we have his son, Jesus Christ to be our personal Savior. The Book of Mormon is true for sure ! Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration and Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet today. We are so blessed. We love you all,
Sister Fisher
Last Monday we started a FHE group for the " young at heart ". Everyone is sixty or older. We take turns meeting at each other's home each Monday. We have a dinner and then Stan gives the lesson. The dinner is potluck Candian style. That is ,the hostess plans the main dish and everyone is assigned what to bring to finish the meal. How is that potluck I ask ? Only in Canada. The first time we had a sit down meal with China, Crystal & candlelight. The second time everyone brought about three things plus the meal. How is that potluck ? Well, it's a feast anyway.
So last Monday during our FHE lessons Stan asked a hard doctrinal question to the group. The members all sat there while the non-member, Jim, answered correctly. That was so awesome.
Our friend & neighbor Marlene asked for a Book of Mormon to read last week. We gave her one several months ago . She gave it back with a rubber band around it & placed in a grocery bag tied shut. She has come a long way in nine months. Also yesterday she came over and told me she hadn't eaten for two days. She was very hungry and wanted a potatoe. I took her in the kitchen and said :" Whatever we have, you are welcome to have. " "Our food is your food. ". I had her look in the fridge and the pantry and choose whatever she would like. She was very humble & grateful. I felt bad I didn't know she was going hungry. I should have guessed, she's alone on a fixed income and she is very skinny for an 80 year old.
A big & scary man walked into our building durning church last week. Big full beard, about 400 pounds, and smelled like a wet horse. Stan sat to visit with him for a bit. After greeting him, I excused myself and walked down the hall gagging from the smell. A member saw me & asked if I was alright. Anyway the man, Daniel, asked us to come by his home & teach him more about our church. So on Tuesday we drove out to this old old scary motel on a barren street not far from a truck stop. It was dirty, delapated with a invisible dog howling. People were hanging out by their open front doors and staring at us ; the street was eerily quiet like just before a gun fight at the OK corral. We counted the numbers til we found # 16. The door was open. Daniel was lying on a way too small bed for him. There was garbage scattered all over the floor and a clothes line draped crosswise from one end of the room to the other. I didn't go inside. Stan talked to Daniel, reminded him who we were, and started talking about the Book of Mormon. Daniel waved him away saying : " I've learned enough. I don't want to learn anymore. " It wasn't until later that we learned that motel was the home of drug dealers and their customers. eek !!!
I did surgery on an oversized stuffed smurf for our friend Rocky. The smurf had a decapitated head. We see Rocky every week trying to hopefully have him hear the lessons one day. He's a very interesting guy. He buys storage lockers at auctions and then sells the stuff to the locals. I've found a few good buys there. Whenever he has some religious picture or statue he shows it to us while singing a hymn of some sort trying to pursuade us to by it. It's always something Catholic.
The highlight of the week was traveling to the mission office in Richmond to personally shake hands and have an interview with Elder Jeffery R Holland. He asked that all 250 of the missionaries file pass him. We were to shake his hand, tell him our name & where we were from. No more, no less. Later when he was speaking he told us that constitutes a personal interview. In the time we say our name & our home, his eyes can penetrate our soul. Wow ! He talked with us for two hours, pounded the pulpet, yelled at us, taught us from the scriptures, and bore a rock solid testimony. He also gave us a blessing. It was quite the meeting with a ton of proper church protocol. I even think he had a body guard. Cool.
We also did our second transport of the missionaries going home with honor to the airport. It was from 2:30 am til 6:30 am after which we went back to the hotel to get a couple hours of sleep before our drive home. I tell them all : " not be the last person off the plane........their Mom is in agony waiting. But it also a time your Mom will feel real joy. " There's nothing else like the first hug from your return missionary. We enjoy this assignment to meet and visit a bit with each one. What amazing missionaries !
We love being missionaries it's a most excellant adventure. The journey is not an easy one but oh the experiences we've had, the people we have met and the things we have learned. The church is true. We have a Heavenly Father who knows and loves us. We are immeasurably blessed because we have his son, Jesus Christ to be our personal Savior. The Book of Mormon is true for sure ! Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration and Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet today. We are so blessed. We love you all,
Sister Fisher
Saturday, November 5, 2016
We just returned from a baptism of a eight year old member of our branch, Tommy Tuivi. We drove the 40 minutes to Chillwack & 40 min back for the event. Our small branch in Hope doesn't have a font. Stan played all the music & I gave the baptism talk. We took our non-member friend, Marlene with us, also my friend Betty. It's pouring rain so the freeway was a mixture of fast semi trucks dousing us with hurricane force water ; other cars speeding by trying not to hydroplane. It's winter here in British Columbia. We had 28 days of rain in October. Yea ! We still do our two mile forest walk every morning sometimes in pouring rain.
Last night we drove to Langly (2 hours each way ) to the temple. Jack & Betty, our two friends went with us. They both are married to non-members. Anyway, we took our own names; I actually was able to find 6 with some help, Betty brought 27 so we were able to do 33 sealings. It was such a great experience. I just love love the temple. We have a new goal to make the six hour trip every week now. I will really appreciate the Idaho Falls temple being ten minutes away.
We found these two ugly green rocking chairs from the apartment next door when the guy living there fell through the plate glass window and then disappeared into the night. He left some furniture. Because the couches in our apartment are so uncomfortable we decided to adopt these two rockers. One is Stan's and one is mine. The trouble is , if I put my feet up on the end table next to my chair and rock back....bad idea. I tipped over backwards flat on the hardwood floor. They don't have carpet in Canada. I picked myself, dusted myself off and sat right back in the chair. Sometimes the chair scares me though.
We still have the same friends, try to be kind to everyone we see, but have found no one to teach. The combination of rainy days one right after the other and no one who wants to hear our message can get tiresome. We did go to our District meeting on Wednesday to provide a hearty meal for the young missionaries. There I can take pictures of the missionaries and email to their moms. That's fun. The mom's love the pictures & the boys love to hear their mom's comments to us.
We are looking forward with great anticipation for Nov 12th because Elder Jeffery R Holland is coming to our mission. We will travel to the mission office where all 200 missionaries will gather. Whew... I hope we get to sing : "Called to Serve " or "Onward Christian Solders." I know that will be an amazing experience. The AP called yesterday to ask if we had any food allergies. I told him :" no, we're old Cowboys from Idaho. We grew up eating dirt & cow pies.". Ha. I think he believed me.
We are so blessed. The church is true. This is God's church upon the earth. Whatever the world does if we always stay strong, keep the commandments & our covenants we will be fine. Our lesson tomorrow is on being spiritually self reliant. We all need that for the coming days. We love you all, we love being missionaries for our Savior to represent him. Keep the faith always and the miracles will come.
Love, Elder & Sister Fisher
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