Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I hope that you will take the time this week to remember all your blessings and just how much the Lord and our Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of you! 

This week was an interesting week. Let me start with Tuesday. Sister T wasn't getting any better. She received a blessing from the Elders and she stood up from the blessing and said she needed to see the doctor. So that's what we did. We spent the day at Hotel Dieu (one of the hospitals here and my favorite one that I have been to on my mission). We went through the Emergency and spent the whole day there. We eventually saw a doctor and then we had to go upstairs so Sister T could have blood work, a urine analysis, and an ultra sound done. Even after all that we weren't sure what was causing her sickness. They guessed food poisoning, but no one else has gotten sick that Sister T has been with in the last 2 weeks. 

At one point on Tuesday we ended up going on a split to go to a lesson. That was in our original plans, but it didn't go quite as planned. Sister T was still having tests done, so Sister P came to be her companion and Sister A and I left and picked up our member and went to our lesson. This is where another miracle happened. The lesson was all in Spanish so I didn't follow too much. But our lesson was with a less active and her non-member husband. We got to know them a little and talked about how God is our Heavenly Father and how families can be together forever. He really liked the idea. We asked him if he wanted to know more about our beliefs and if he found these things to be true would he follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by one who holds proper authority (Priesthood). And he said Yes! So we now have a new investigator. We met with them again last night and taught the Plan of Salvation. It went really well. :) 

Wednesday was another interesting day. It was Elder B's birthday. So we had correlation meeting and then we surprised him with lunch and a birthday cake that I had made. He had no idea it was happening. :) Poor Sister T was super sick through it. She ended up just laying on the couch through the meeting. We had another lesson set up for the day. So we did another split and Sister A went with a member to visit our less active while I stayed home with Sister T. That night Sister T had enough energy to visit with the Burgers and see May and finalize her program for her upcoming baptism. 

Thursday was another sick day. But this time Sister A was sick too but hers was different. She had chills and a really bad cold (stuffed nose, coughing, sore throat, the whole 9 yards). So it was a very quite day for me. I cleaned, wrote in my journal, and put up the Christmas tree. The members we were suppose to have dinner with came and brought dinner to us since we couldn't go to their house. 

Friday we had Zone Training in Quebec. We also had car inspections so we didn't get our annual ride as a district in the P's car (since they are nice enough to take us). It was a good training. The church is putting up a new video for the Christmas Initiative called “A Savior is Born”. You can get on the website now and view some of the things and there will be at least 3 more short videos to come.

We also had interviews with President, which I didn't know was happening. President and I had a great chat and we started to talk about perfectionism. He told me a new quote that I would like to share. "Don't let perfect become the enemy to the adequate." I know that I sometimes expect myself to be completely perfect and I get so frustrated when I'm not. But life doesn't work like that. If we were perfect all the time we wouldn't learn anything. We're not going to be perfect because we are imperfect people. If we do our best, God will make up the rest and in the end it will become perfect. 

Saturday was a busy day. We were able to visit with a less active, visit with a recent convert and hear her beautiful testimony and spend the day in Magog trying to contact a referral, a less active who wasn't home but we met his sister, visiting the Tepapa's (the Tahitian family) and having a lesson with a potential. The lesson went well and we shared our conversion stories and the Restoration. Unfortunately we weren't able to set up a return appointment but hey at least a seed was planted and I'm hopeful that we will see her again. That night we were able to come to the church and watch the broadcast of the cultural celebration. It was so fun to watch all the youth and to see people from all my areas participating in it. 

Sunday was the temple Dedication. They dedicated it in 3 sessions and I was able to watch all 3 from our chapel in Sherbrooke. All 3 sessions were powerful but my favorite was the 2nd session. Yes part of it is seeing people I know in the choirs and my Stake Presidents from Ottawa and LaSalle said the prayers. It was a great day! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Keep being the amazing people that you are!

Sister Gardner