11-30-15

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a great week. I don't have a time to write today so I'm just going to paste what I wrote to President. 

Hello President! I hope that you had a good week. It was a pretty good week. We met with a referral we had received from the Mont St. Hilaire missionaries. Her name is Mads and her sister is a member over there. It was a really great lesson. We talked a little about the Book of Mormon and gave our testimonies. We tried to set a return appointment, but she kept telling us she would learn everything she wanted through reading the Book of Mormon. But she did say in 2 weeks she would come to church. 

We had a Cornelius moment. We had stopped at a grocery store to grab lunch and this person named Marie started talking to Sister T while I was paying. At first she was asking about Sister T`s flower. We walked out with her and she looked at Sister A`s tag and switched into English and said, "Oh you're with the Mormon's? I used to have boys come and visit me and I really liked our visits." So we were able to get her address and phone number and she said we could stop by. So we're going to call her today and see in the week when we can stop by. 

We tried finding at a park this week. We were able to give out some cards but no one wanted to give us their info. It was a little discouraging.

Our split this week went well. Sister A and I were able to go and teach 3 lessons while Sister T was in her Auxiliary meeting.  We now have a new investigator. His name is Sam. Sister Bess invited him to come to the Primary Program yesterday (which went really well!). We had a lesson with him after church and he is a very sweet kid. He's only 16 and he wants to know more about God and what happens after Death. So our lesson was on the Plan of Salvation and at the end Sister A asked him when he knew these things were true, if he would be baptized? He looked at her in the eyes and said yes. We will be seeing him again on Tuesday. 

We are almost ready for May's Baptism. We are just waiting to hear from Bishop tonight to know if Frank can baptize her and she has her interview with Elder Rudy on Tuesday. But based on her answers to the questions last night she should pass. :) 

So that just about sums up our week. Hope all is going well for you! Thanks for all you and Sister Patrick do! Sister Gardner 

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 

11-16-15

Hello everyone!

I hope that you all have had a wonderful week. This week was pretty good here. We had 3 really great miracles. 

The first is we now have a new investigator. His name is Mack and he is the boyfriend of Sara (they are the couple who lost their 1 month old recently). It was a really great lesson. We asked Mack some questions about how he felt when we came, at a family home evening with Sara's aunt, after praying and going to the temple open house. He said he felt good and calm. We talked about how that was the Holy Ghost and how he could keep felling these things by taking the lessons. Then we even soft committed him to baptism and he said yes. :) 

The 2nd miracle is a small one, but big for me. As many of you know I have been struggling with French. It has been so hard for me. But this week I was able to basically teach a lesson on the sacrament in French. :) I had a little help of course but I did most of the talking. The woman we see is so kind and patient that she just waits and smiles while I'm working on trying to figure out how to say something. 

The 3rd miracle this week was at church yesterday. We had 2 potentials come to church yesterday and they agreed to meet with us again later this week. They both came with their spouses (who are less actives). I'm really excited to go and see what will happen. 

The last eventful things happened this weekend and this morning. Sister T got really sick again this weekend. Sick enough that Sister A and I didn't want her to go to church. So on Sunday we went on a split and Sister A stayed home with Sister T and I was companions with Sister P. On our way to church I looked at our car and noticed the front passenger tire was flat. So this morning Elder P came out with us and taught us how to change a tire (none of us know how to change a tire). Eventually we got it changed but I'm sure it was entertaining. Sister P took pictures of us. There was one point we couldn't get one of the lug nuts to move. Sister A tried, then I tried, Sister T tried, and then Elder P tried. We couldn't get it off. So Sister P yelled out to us to try standing on the wrench like thing. Elder P did but he kind of had to jump to get it to go. But eventually we got it off and took the car and tire in to be fixed. They said a nail had caused it. The things you learn on a mission, and they don't just have to be spiritual. :) 

One last thought I would like to share. I've been talking recently about the fear of failure and I heard this quote this week that I would like to share. "Don't let fear of failure discourage you. Don't let the voice of critics paralyze you- whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside." Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf. I thought this was a really amazing quote. I know from personal experience that most of the time that little voice comes from the inside. We have to change our thinking. Focus on what we can do and not what we can't do. 

I hope you all have a great week! Sister Gardner

11-09-2015

Hello! I hope that you have had a great week! 

This week was great. I spent the entire week in Montreal at the temple for the open house. It was a lot fun and it was fun catching up with people I haven`t seen for a long time. :)  

So the miracle I would like to share this week is Frank was able to bless the Sacrament yesterday! This was a huge step!! 

May is set on being baptized. She told everyone in Gospel Principle`s that she was being baptized on Dec. 5.  

I hope you all had a good week! 

Sister Gardner  

Pics from the temple, Zone Conference with Elder Golden and all the Sisters in the mission with Elder Richards

11.02.2015

Hello everyone! I hope that you had a great week. This week's email will be short because I'm off to Montreal for the week for the open house. We got transfer calls early and the good news is we will be staying together as a trio!! :) 

Yesterday was Sister T's birthday! As a district we through her and Elder Sorensen a birthday dinner. It was fun. I love my district and I hope that the Elder's will be able to stay with this transfer too. 

The week went normal with lessons and everything. Marylene is progressing well and will be ready for her baptism in December. :) 

I hope you all have a good week!

Sister Gardner 

Pics are a couple of the district that I had to

steal from Sister Petersen. One is from our trip to Quebec and the other is from our German Party with Hans. 

P.S. I asked a couple of weeks ago if Hans looked like anyone to you. Your answer is the man from the Disney Movie Up. Han's was the inspiration for him.