If you ever get a cough that comes from the ends of your toes and won't go away, go to Dr. Buckley!  After visits with him, your body will beg for mercy and promise never to cough again.  Actually, Buckley's Cough Syrup is so yucky tasting that you do whatever it takes to stop the cough so you don't have to continue taking the syrup.  It tastes a little like liquid mentholatum mixed with gasoline - or something like that.  But it works!  Elder T is back in the saddle and healthy again.

Our Heavenly Father is quick to bless, no matter how slow we are to be obedient.  As it says in the Book of Mormon, before we even finish an act of obedience He is blessing us.  In fact, even while we are in the act of obedience we are being blessed with the ability to act.  Oh, how great is the plan of our Father in Heaven to make us eternally happy.  All that is required of us is to follow Him and keep His commandments.

January!
At the river by Lil and John's

October!
Same place.

We visited with Lil and John, and Dave and Nat this week and spent a great day chatting, eating, and enjoying their company.  We always try to share a gospel message with them, and let them know how happy we are to be serving a mission for Him.  The family seems to be in good health and spirits are very supportive of our missionary service.

While in the South Shore area, we visited Bridgewater and some of the people we love so dearly.  We had an opportunity to visit Laurie and Althea Wentzell in their new home.  They have moved in from the country to a nice apartment in Bridgewater town.  They have always been stalwarts in the area, but because of ill health and other complications, they haven't been able to get to church, so this will be good for them to be nearer to the chapel.

The Bridgewater institute class is in good hands.  We attended the class on Wednesday evening and were well fed spiritually.  Bro. Mackenzie is doing a very fine job sharing the gospel with the YSA.  The class is now confined to just YSA, so they are responding to questions and teachings much more readily than when their parents and other older adults were there.

Part of our class at Dalhousie-
Heidi, Chris, Samantha, & Sis. T.
Chelsea's added below.



Thursday's institute class at Dalhousie went very well.  We took the time to discuss Alma 31-35, in the Book of Mormon.  The Prophet Alma is teaching the poor people about how to gain faith in Jesus Christ by experimenting on the words of  Christ.  It's like planting a seed of hope, patiently nourishing it until it sprouts, nourishing it further with faith that it will bring forth good fruit, then enjoying the fruits of the gospel and the good word of Christ.  It is not enough just to have faith, though that is an absolute must.  We must then act - faith without works is dead.  Alma then goes on to talk about having a prayer in our hearts always so that we may remain closer to our Father and be more easily taught by the Holy Ghost.  Also, that we must be obedient to the commandments NOW, and not put off our obedience and repentance.  He says: "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors...do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end...for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world."  There was a good spirit in class and the students were quite receptive to it.
That evening we had the opportunity to be at the temple and work with the youth and YSA who came to the baptistry.  It's always good to be there with them.  They always have such a willing attitude to do whatever they can to be of service.  We were at the temple again on Friday evening to work with another group of YSA at the baptistry.  We love to see so many of them worthy and willing to be in the temple doing things that will bring families together in the eternities.

Sunday evening we had the Sister missionaries over for dinner.  They're both Americans, Sis. Rust from Vernal, Utah, and Sis. Hart from Idaho Falls, Idaho.  They are such great ladies and we love working with them.  Sis. T took some time to be a mother for Sis. Rust by sewing a button on her coat.  Just like home!

 

A few of the sisters at the YSA branch - Katie, Samantha, Emma, and the Sister missionaries - Hart and Rust.

 Elder and Sister Wiebe - very capable office/member support missionaries.

Our mission president's wife, Sister Leavitt, in her   P-day outfit!

 

We had an opportunity to do a little service project for the stake this week.  Anna Davison, our friend from Mahone Bay, came by for lunch and she is a public relations person for the stake.  We put together some envelopes for handing out to members for a special fast in February that the stake is sponsoring for feeding the poor.  The envelopes are for inserting money saved from the fast to give to the Food Bank.  A monotonous task, but a worthy one.

Joni's brother Milford,
one of the three uncles!

The picture we took of Milford at Peggy's Cove we had framed and took to him.  We don't think he was as amused as we were.  But he took it in stride and thanked us for thinking of him.  Ruby, his wife, thought it was pretty funny, but didn't say much.  He is such a good and humble soul.

The classes at Dalhousie are small, but we didn't expect a large group.  We hope what we are doing there for them is worthwhile.  It is a real challenge to try to put together a lesson that will get them into the scriptures and into their hearts.  We pray for direction in preparation and presentation that will build testimonies and strengthen their conversion.  As we are preparing our Book of Mormon lessons our testimonies are strengthened more and more that Joseph Smith could not have made this stuff up.  All of the precise and exact things that are in the Book of Mormon are things he could not have known or had access to, especially with his limited background and education.  Joseph Smith was a prophet of God!

Pres. Leavitt asked us if we would consider changing our assignment from CES and move to a small branch somewhere in the mission.  We appreciate his confidence in us that perhaps we could be of some assistance out there in one of the struggling areas, but we feel that our call to work with the YSA and the CES program was an inspired calling from the prophet.  We are now accepted and feel comfortable with the youth, as well as with our teaching assignment, and to disrupt that confidence and love we feel from the YSA and the seminary and institute instructors we work with would be detrimental.  We are very happy where we are and love our work.

 We had an opportunity to go through a session at the temple on a Saturday with a number of Bridgewater members.  To see these people in the temple that we once served with and lived with when there was no temple within thousands of miles of us is very heartwarming.  We felt like Alma in the Book of Mormon, when he met his friends, the sons of Mosiah, at the end of their missions to the Lamanites after 14 years.  To see them still friends in the gospel, still with a love of the Savior and His work, is so joyful and satisfying.


Winter in Nova Scotia this year is very different from winters we've witnessed here before, and from almost any winter we've lived through elsewhere.  There was no snow until after Christmas, with temperatures generally mild and with a lot of sun.  Since the end of December we've had a lot of snow, a lot of rain, a lot of sun, frigid winds, temperatures from sub-freezing to low 50s F.  Sometimes all of this in one day!  Because of the continuous changes in weather and temperatures, a lot of flu and sickness has been felt.  Elder Tiffany picked up a cough a week ago that came from the bottom of his toes, and rocked the apartment.  That is starting to calm down now, but it has delayed some plans we had to visit early morning classes and do missionary apartment inspections.  Hopefully next week we'll be back to normal, whatever that is.

The Halifax District

We did have an opportunity to attend a district missionary training meeting with the young missionaries last week.  We really enjoy getting together with them, to feel their enthusiasm for the work, and to listen to their testimonies.  In our district we have four Elders and four sister missionaries, Elder and Sis. Wiebe, and us.  Technically we're not part of the district because we aren't proselyting missionaries, but we live in the area so we join in when we can.  We do love to go on visits with them when asked.

After that meeting we drove to Truro (about 40-50 miles north) to inspect the sister missionaries apartment.  While there we visited some non-member friends we stayed with there last summer.  Donna and Ronnie Singer are friends of Sister T's that go way back to her single days as a telephone operator in Truro.  They are very nice people that treat us like family.

From their home we drove to the chapel to attend an institute class.  The teacher, Sis. Brogan, is a young mother with lots of things to do, but she loves teaching the class of two or three, and she does an excellent job at it.  She is very well prepared and has a good spirit with her and about her.  Her lesson was taken from Elder Boyd K. Packer's General Conference talk of last October, "The Atonement."  Very briefly, he said: "It was understood from the beginning that in mortality we would fall short of being perfect.  It was not expected that we would live without transgressing one law or another...so a way was provided for all who sin to repent and become worthy of the presence of our Father in Heaven once more...That is the promise of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Atonement...that at the end of their life, they can go through the veil having repented of their sins and having been washed clean through the blood of Christ."  That is the message we share with the world.  It is not new doctrine, it is not our doctrine, it is not false doctrine, it is His doctrine, and we testify of His divinity and His love for us - no matter what!





John Caulfield - 6'8" -
physically & spiritually





Linda Caulfield -
a really great woman (and cook)

We drove down to Bridgewater on Wednesday to inspect the Elder's apartment.  They rent a nice little cabin from one of the members, that's very nicely kept and tucked away in a grove of trees.  We took Elders Steed and Woodward (from Centerville, Utah) to lunch, where we visited with a waitress whose brother is a member of the church in Halifax.  We gave her a pass-along card for more information on her brother's church.  We visited with the Davison's then went to dinner at John and Linda Caulfield's.  They're members who recently moved here from British Columbia and lived in Pres. Leavitt's stake when he was Stake President there.  It was a wonderful evening and we were going to stay for the institute class at the church, but it was cancelled because of a very heavy snowfall.  Because of that snowfall we headed for Halifax.  All-season tires and unplowed roads make for slow travel, taking us two hours to get home, but we were safe.

Thursday was class day at Dalhousie.  Because of the snow, a lot of students didn't get to class, so because of Elder T's cough, we left early.   We did meet with Gordon and Judith MacMichael and Wayne and Pat Jewers for a late lunch at Wharf Wraps in Eastern Passage.  That was a very pleasant time.  Gordon was the doctor who delivered our daughter Kirsten just 39 years ago - oh, sorry Kirsten.  They're from Nova Scotia but are now living in Ontario - very good people whom we love dearly.  The Jewers' live in Lunenburg.  We were supposed to go to the temple that evening, but because of E T's cough, we came home instead, not wanting to share that with temple workers and patrons.

Elders Woolsey, Johnson, Fisher, & Moss
(back to front)

The only time we went out on Friday was to inspect the local Elders' (4 of them) apartment.  The wind was freezing!  They had spent the previous day cleaning, so it looked pretty good when we got there.  We bought them a couple of pizza's and came back home.  Elder T has been inside since then, and Sister T has been babying him along through his cough.

We will begin teaching at Dalhousie University again this week, for the Winter Semester.  We will have two classes on Thursdays, the first being the Book of Mormon, and the second being Teachings of Modern Prophets, using the Ensign magazine edition of last November.  Our first selection will be the talk given by Elder Quentin L. Cook, titled "Can You Feel So Now?"  We've heard and seen this question come up a lot in our missionary journeys, so we thought we would address it.



Elder Quentin L. Cook,
Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ

This question comes from Alma 5:26: "If ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?"  I quote from Elder Cook's talk: "This question...rings across the centuries.  With all that we have received in this dispensation - including the Restoration of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the outpourings of the spiritual gifts, and the indisputable blessings of heaven - Alma's challenge has never been more important." If we have felt the love of our Savior and had a desire to be more like Him, will we strive to get that feeling again, so we may continue to follow the straight and narrow path which leads back to Him and our Father in Heaven?!

Winter has arrived in Atlantic Canada, at least for a few days.  It has been snowing on and off for the last week.  Yesterday, Sunday, we had a big snowstorm that left a lot of white stuff on the ground.  But the winters here can be deceiving.  On any given day we can receive snow, then rain, then wind, then sunshine, then snow again.  Not necessarily in that order, but fairly consistently.  So, we may have 5-6 inches of snow by noon, a little sunshine in the afternoon, maybe some rain in the evening, and lots of cold wind, and tomorrow there may be no snow left - but wait until the afternoon.  Maybe!  Anyway, the humidity and wind make it very cold here.

At least the sun was shining!

Joni's brother Milford -
postcard picture perfect!

Peggy's Cove on December 30th is beautiful but the wind and temperature is wicked!  We picked up Sister Tiff's brother, Milford, and drove out there.  He is a former Mounted Policeman in the Marine Division, so she thought he might like to go for a ride out by the seashore, and Peggy's Cove is the most picturesque spot she could think of.  We were almost blown away by the Arctic wind.  We took a couple of pictures, went into the gift shop for a hot chocolate, then huddled back into the van with the heater on high.  Milford said the next time we want to go out there, be sure to not ask him to go along, "Only crazies do that"!.  We mentioned all of this to Sis. Robinson, the temple president's wife (from Utah), and she thought it would be great.  So she and Sister Tiff may be making a trip out there some stormy day while Elder Tiff and Milford stay at home close to a fireplace or something else that's warm.

Well, some were dancing -
some were not

On New Year's Eve we danced the night away - well, the young single adults did.  We were at the church for the evening, chaperoning them at their dance.  A recent convert, Carmelita, is living here by herself while her family is in the Philipines, and we invited her to come with us instead of sitting home by herself.  She's older than the YSA, but she enjoyed being there very much.  She even joined in with them (these days you don't need a partner to dance, you just go out there and join the crowd).  We volunteered to take her home early, but she wanted to stay, so we were there for the countdown.  Senior missionaries don't have the same schedule as the younger Elders and Sisters, so at midnight we cheered, then headed for home.  I think we were in bed by 12:30.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Rick Cartier, our supervisor, came to our apartment for lunch last Friday.  Sis. T made a fabulous fish chowder that can't be beat!  We've had fish chowder quite often since we arrived, which Elder T doesn't mind at all.  With the price of chicken and other meat being so high (chicken breasts at $6.99/lb - on sale), and fresh fish so available, it's the only way to go.  How about fresh lobster right out of the ocean at $4.50/lb?  Anyway, we discussed our spring schedule and expectations with Rick, and we are excited to get under way.  We'll start next week as we go to Yarmouth and up the Fundy shore inspecting missionary apartments, we'll also try to make it into a few seminary classes for observation and inservice. 

Snacks at our district meeting
provided by Sis. Wiebe

Our District Leader Elder Wolsey &
Our Zone Leader Elder Moss

Our temple assignment is a spiritual high for us each week.  We love serving there with those who attend, as well as the other temple workers.  We now have just one temple session on Thursday evenings, so we go a little later and come home a little earlier.  That will help when we start teaching on Thursdays at the university so we're not pushed for time.  We still spend a little time with the young missionaries at District Training Meetings at the chapel.  We love the time we have with such great young men and women and other senior couples.  Elder Jensen, one of our favorites who has been here since arriving in the mission field, was transferred last week.  He'll be a leader before he goes home - fantastic young man!

Sister missionaries!

Elder Jensen and two anonymous
folks

Yesterday, Sunday, we had a very long day.  Starting with church at 9:30 with the Halifax 1st Ward, a family ward we attend just to keep the feel of families young and old, then into the YSA church meeting.  Being Fast Sunday, we heard some beautiful testimonies of the gospel, that helped buoy our spirits.  The first Sunday of every month we fast from eating and drinking for 24 hours, and pray for extra strength through the Holy Ghost.  The money we would have spent on food for those meals is instead  contributed to the poor and less fortunate.  Church meeting is then used for sharing the added spirit we feel through fasting and prayer by bearing our testimonies of what blessings we have and our love for the Savior and His redeeming love for us.  It is our opportunity to express appreciation for the part the Gospel of Jesus Christ plays in our lives.


After church we picked up Stefan Aulenbach (a son of our friend Melissa) and his girlfriend, Sharlene.  They were stranded in Dartmouth after a week or more on the road, they hadn't eaten for a few days, were very cold,  and needed a ride to Kentville (about 50-60 miles away).  It was snowing very hard when we picked them up, but we took them to a restaurant for a meal then headed down the highway.  By this time it was dark and the snowplows had not been out.  We made the journey on slippery roads in a much slower than usual speed, and delivered them safely at their home.  After getting their car started with our jumper cables, we headed for home.  It was quite an adventure of about 6 hours time, but we're glad we were available for them.  As it says in the Book of Mormon, in Mosiah 2:17 - "And behold I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God."  Or, in Matthew 25:40 - "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."  Missionaries or not, this is our responsibility and blessing as children of God.

We hope everyone had a very enjoyable Christmas season and their new year will be better than the one just past, Mayan calendar and all.  We and our family have been truly blessed this past year.  A bike accident, a few surgeries, some tangles with rosebushes, football injuries, etc., but we're all still alive to talk about it.  May our Heavenly Father bless everyone at least as much as He has blessed us.