Life is an echo, what you send out comes back; what you sow - you reap; what you give - you get; what you see in others - exists in you.  Remember, life is an echo; it always gets back to you, so give goodness.  "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-2)

The common cry at this time of year is that we act differently during this holiday season than we do most of the rest of the year.  How many times have you heard that said?  As we near the day we celebrate as the anniversary of the birth of the Christ Child, let us resolve to have charity towards all, and malice towards none during the entire year, that we may emulate His life and purpose.

Samantha, Kristen, Erin, Shannon
a part of the Bridgewater institute class

Our fall semester in institute is coming to a close.  We taught our final fall class at Dalhousie University today, and we have two more classes in Bridgewater before Christmas break.  We really enjoy teaching and meeting with the youth, and our assignment with the YSA Branch is very fulfilling.  Our time in the YSA ward in Salt Lake City was a good primer, and we hope we get it right this time.  Engagements are happening and girls are becoming left-handed to show off their rings.  As one YSA Bishop said: "The hardware has been installed!"

Bro. Rick Cartier,
an awesome individual

We met with Bro. Cartier, our CES supervisor, last week and have been given a somewhat different road to follow.  He travels a lot (the entire mission) to keep tabs on all seminary and institute classes that are being taught, trying to give direction, train, and what not, besides teaching two or three classes here in the Halifax area and trying to maintain a family and serve in a bishopric.  He has asked that we teach two classes at Dalhousie each Tuesday, and cover all CES classes in Nova Scotia, less the Halifax area.  This means we'll be fine-tuning our own teaching methods, then training instructors throughout the entire province, as well as tracking attendance, motivating non-attenders to attend, and whatever else he's been doing, besides working with the YSA and their branch, and attending the temple on Thursdays.  We also will be doing a little service in the mission office.  It sounds like a lot, and maybe it is, but it keeps us busy and our time and efforts become more fulfilling.  We would rather be busy and doing, than trying to find things to do and feeling unfulfilled.  Occasionally we will have an opportunity to travel outside of Nova Scotia for mission or CES work, which will give us a chance to see some of the countryside.

This past Friday, November 23, we had an opportunity to go to the temple with a large number of YSA to do some ordinance work.  We've never had as many youth attend the temple in one night, and it was a very rewarding time.  We're going to see if we can change our YSA temple visits to Saturday so more youth can come from outlying areas, and we'll have more time for them to be involved and to feel the spirit that dwells there.

Elder Fisher, Jimmy Adamson,
& Elder Hardy

Sister Rust, Raju, & Sister Kowalski

The next day was baptism day.  We had the great opportunity to witness three baptisms.  The first was Jimmy Adamson, a new member of the Halifax 1st Ward (family ward).  He was baptized by Elder Hardy who is going home this coming Friday.  He is one of our favorites whom we love dearly and we'll miss him a lot.  That was in the early afternoon.  That evening we witnessed the baptism of two YSA - Raju, baptized by Bro. Green, the father of Raju's friend, Ricki.  The other was Stephanie Kenney, baptized by Elder Hunt.  We were thrilled and believe those who were attending were fed well by the Spirit.  We met with Stephanie and her mother (a devout Catholic) the Tuesday before, and her mother was very apprehensive of her daughter joining the Mormons!  The Spirit calmed her fears and she attended both the baptism and Sacrament Meeting the next day to witness the confirmation.  We met again with them on Monday night in their home, and Mom was completely warm and friendly, and the spirit was again very strong.

Elder Deem, Stephanie Kenney,
Elder Hunt, & Catherine (Steph's mom)

We are loving our time  in the mission field and are witnessing some wonderful things going on in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Our Savior is definitely in charge and directing His missionary work.  He is hastening His harvest, as is witnessed by the adjustment of missionary ages and changes He has made for senior missionaries to serve.  We are challenged to search out those He has prepared, to teach them and let them feel the spirit and receive the blessings we often take for granted - to become as He is.  Elder Richard G. Scott, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, has said: "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day.  Righteous character is a precious manifestation of what you are becoming...Righteous character is more valuable than any material object you own, any knowledge you have gained through study, or any goals you have attained."

We chose to chew at the Choo's

Bro. & Sis. Hartling

The Canadian Thanksgiving Day is the second Monday of October and we were invited to a couple of homes for wonderful dinners - JJ and Sheldon Choo on Sunday and Bro. and Sis. Hartling on Monday.  We had more invitations but two were plenty filling.  For the American Thanksgiving we were invited to a dinner at the "empty nesters" in Dartmouth on the Monday previous to Thanksgiving Day.  They invited all the American senior missionaries, and we had a lot of good food and great company. 

A couple of shots of the Mahone Bay harbor in November - beautiful no matter what month!

"The Barber" - Sister Tiff, giving Elder Hardy his last haircut in the mission field.  We want him to look good when he arrives home this coming Friday!



 

"There is absolutely nothing in this world that will provide more comfort and happiness than a testimony of the truth.  If you feel that you do not yet have the depth of testimony you would wish, I admonish you to work to achieve such a testimony.  If it is strong and deep, labor to keep it that way.  How blessed we are to have a knowledge of the truth." Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Oct. 2012

A few of the Lord's representatives

It is such a privilege to serve as representatives of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to share our testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel with the people we meet in the Canada Maritime provinces.  They are friendly and caring, and many are willing to take the time to listen to the message of the the restoration of His church to the earth in these latter days.  Many struggle with day to day challenges and temptations, looking for some kind of relief.  When the truths of the gospel are shared with those the Lord has prepared, a "wilderness" is left behind and peace, joy, and happiness shine brightly ahead.  Someone has said, "You have to go through your own wilderness to get to the Promised Land."  We testify that the Savior wants everyone to come to Him and enjoy that "promised land" with Him.

Our mission experiences are fitting into a routine now that doesn't change much from week to week.  But that is about to change.  With the Christmas Season closing in on us, school will take a break and so will our classes.  We have one more week with the students at Dalhousie University in Halifax, and two more weeks in Bridgewater.  In the new year, we will continue with Dalhousie classes, but we are being replaced in Bridgewater with a local member as the instructor.  The goal of the Church Education System is to have all institute and seminary classes taught by local members, with CES missionaries and coordinators training them in instructional methods.  So our new assignment will be to cover Nova Scotia (and occasionally other wards and branches) in training their instructors.  We're looking forward to the new challenges and experiences.

Sister Tiff with one of our favorites -
Sis. Bentley

Sister Tiff had a birthday not too long ago, and we celebrated by going to dinner at Bishop Wentzell's home, then to a "Trunk-or-treat" at the church.  We're real party animals.  There were a lot of phone calls from well-wishers, expressing their love for her and wishing her the best.



A small part of the Friday night
institute class

Our Friday night institute group is fairly large and Bro. Rick Cartier teaches a really dynamic lesson.  He really knows how to get us into the scriptures and see how important and easy it is to get answers to our challenges and problems through the scriptures.

Last Friday night after institute class, we had a stake talent night for YSA.  There is a lot of talent, from dancing, to theater arts, to singing, and all kinds of instrumental music.  They are a lot of fun and keep us on our toes trying to keep up with them.  Our talent is to be an appreciative audience.

Sis. Wiebe, the Foley's, Sis. Calvert
(Elder Wiebe is freezing behind the lighthouse)

Sister Tiff catching a few rays.

Elder and Sister Wiebe arrived in our mission a couple of weeks ago, replacing Elder and Sister Pierson.  They are living in the same apartment building next to us as the Piersons were, but we don't see them very often because they are training to take up some of the mission office activity when Elder and Sister Foley go home next month.  We went with the Wiebe's, the Foley's, and Sister Calvert to Peggy's Cove on a very sunny and beautiful day, but the wind was VERY COLD.  The North Atlantic is a very cold host.

Watching "Cars 2"

Dave, Nat, Norah, & Keegan
(Sister Tiff's Nephew & family)

This past weekend President Leavitt gave us permission to spend with Sister Tiffany's family in Liverpool.  It was a very nice visit with a lot of time to catch up on family notes and laughs.  They have been very supportive and ask a lot of questions about our missionary work.  One of the activities of the weekend was building a Gingerbread House at Karen's, our niece.  It's an annual family affair, but Sister Tiff hasn't ever been here to join in, so we were excited to be there.  We also took a drive out to the local beaches to give John and Lil a break from the house.  John has Parkinson's so neither are able to get out very much.


 At right is part of the "construction crew", preparing to build their Gingerbread House, with our niece Karen checking out the building supplies.
Below is the finished product.  As they say on Nova Scotia's south shore: "Some good, you!  Ain't it?!"

Joni at Beach Meadows
on a friendlier day than at Peggy's Cove

John, Joni, Lil
At White Point Beach Lodge
 

 

We are truly blessed to be here at this time. Though we aren't trudging through thick jungles (like Elder Tiffany's brother and sister-in-law in Guam) nor through deep snow (like Pres. and Sis. Pitt in West Virginia), we have the same challenge: to be representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ; to do what He would do, to say what He would say, to be a living modern witness in word and deed of the divinity of His great and marvelous latter-day work. A major focus of the gospel is to put families together. To quote Elder L. Tom Perry, a living Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ: "Through all the fast-paced changes occurring around us, we earnestly pray and work to ensure that the values of the gospel of Jesus Christ endure. Already some of them are in jeapordy of being lost. At the top of the list of these values and, therefore, prime targets of the adversary, are the sanctity of marriage and the central importance of families. They provide an anchor and the safe harbor of a home where each child of a loving Heavenly Father can be influenced for good and acquire eternal values."
(General Conference, Oct. 2012)