"When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them.  Sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you."

We don't have many sick days here, as the Lord watches over us continually to help us spread the Gospel.  But last Sunday Sister Tiffany was not feeling well at all.  We made it through the first Sacrament Meeting in the other ward (Primary presentation with Anisa), then Sister Tiffany went home and the rest of the day Elder Tiffany was without a companion (senior missionaries can do that).  She had a good day of rest and was feeling well that evening.

We get to talk to our children on the phone quite often, and sometimes we Skype with them.  We love them and miss them, so talking to them helps us get through our challenges here.  They are all actually doing fairly well, with a few highs and lows, but nothing out of hand.  They are all so supportive of us, it is very helpful in keeping our spirits high.

Part of the
Bridgewater group

We're teaching from the Book of Mormon this year, and it's really quite gratifying and humbling to learn the messages of the Savior which have been written there.  The Prophet Isaiah, from the Old Testament, is quoted often, and his writings are sometimes quite hard to understand.  We know that Heavenly Father had Isaiah's writings inserted in the scriptures to teach us some gospel principle, but often that teaching goes unheeded because his writing is on a higher plane than we are thinking.  We're studying the book of First Nephi right now, and Elder Tiffany thought he had his lesson prepared.  But as he looked back over it, he realized there wasn't a lot of "meat" there.  After a quick prayer asking for guidance, he was prompted to search the scriptures, using the footnotes and references, and found a gold mine of doctrine there.  It was very inspiring.  When he thinks of all of the times he skimmed through Isaiah and never really studied him, he's sad to see how much of the things of the spirit he's missed.

Dalhousie University classes are getting better, we believe.  We have a great group of students there, and they are pretty intelligent in every way, especially gospel-wise.  We really enjoy their spirit, and they always have valuable input to our lessons.  Getting to and from the university is much easier, also.  Maybe we've mentioned it before, but the bus picks us up a half mile from our apartment and drops us off right by the building where we teach.  And the day that we teach there (Tuesday) is free day for us seniors!  No driving, no cost, no time spent looking for parking space - it doesn't get much better than that.

We finally met Bro. Cartier's family.  They are a lively bunch who love their mom and dad.  Six children age eleven and down to just under a year.  A lively group with a great loving home atmosphere.

The temple is still very much a part of our work here.  We actually had an opportunity to serve there twice last week.  Thursday was our normally scheduled day, then we went Friday evening with the YSA Branch.  We had a good representation there of the youth, and it was good being there with them.



Saturday was Baptismal Day!  At noon we had a baptismal service for Haibin Liu, a Chinese student at Dalhousie.  Elder Tiffany was asked to perform the baptism, which was a great honor.  Haibin is tall, Elder Tiffany is short, and the water was a bit low, so it was a bit of a challenge to make sure it went well.  It did!  In the evening, two ladies, Carmelita and Lynne, were baptized.  The spirit was very strong!



Elder Tiff &
Haibin Liu

Elder Jensen, Carmelita, Al (a member friend),
& Elder Baskin

                       



Elder Hardy, Lynne,
& Elder Fisher

                               

On Monday, October 1st, we took four young missionaries to Peggy's Cove.  Was that a brave move on our part, or what?  Actually the day went very well, and it was quite refreshing to be with all of that youth and energy - much like being at a YSA Branch activity!  The weather was absolutely beautiful, a bit windy, but not raining as it has been for two or three days.  We all took a lot of pictures, watched the waves crash against the rocks, wormed our way around all the tourists (five cruise ships landed in Halifax today), bought some souvenirs, had an ice cream cone, and made it back home in safety.  We were very happy we didn't lose an Elder or two to the pounding surf.

That evening we had Family Home Evening at the Mission Home, with Pres. and Sis. Leavitt conducting, teaching, and serving goodies.  We had over twenty people there, and Pres. Leavitt decided he wants to do that as regularly as he can schedule it.  As often as possible, we try to feed the poor, starving Elders.

Elders Fisher & Hardy




Pres. Heber J. Grant,
Prophet, Seer, & Revelator

We all are striving to be the best we can be, and our Heavenly Father is always there to help us.  A former prophet, President Heber J. Grant, said: "I do not believe that any man lives up to his ideals, but if we are striving, if we are working, if we are trying, to the best of our ability, to improve day by day, then we are in the line of our duty.  If we are seeking to remedy our own defects, if we are so living that we can ask God for light, for knowledge, for intelligence and above all, for His Spirit, that we may overcome our weaknesses then, I can tell you, we are in the straight and narrow path that leads to life eternal.  Then we need have no fear."