On this past Sunday evening there was a broadcast concerning our missionary efforts throughout the world.  God is definitely hastening His work and giving new revelation about how to reach all of His children with His pleasing word.  Basically, the plan is to Pray, Look, Speak, and Invite, and it is the members of the church who should be doing that.  It was a very inspiring meeting.

Much of last week was spent traveling some of the mission.  Whenever we're traveling we try to make contact with priesthood leaders, CES teachers, and missionaries.  It is part of our assignment to be there for whomever we can give a boost to.  All other senior missionaries are assigned to a specific area, whereas we're assigned to the entire mission, under the direction of our CES Coordinator, Rick Cartier, and our mission president, President Leavitt.

Our son and his wife, Nathan and Marcie, came to visit us last week.  What a pleasure that was to have them here - again!  They drove out with us last summer at this same time, as we began our missionary assignment.

The day Nate and Marcie arrived, Albert, Sister T's brother, had surgery to remove cancerous tissue from his liver.  I was asked to give him a blessing by the power of the priesthood.  This picture was taken the next morning, and he went home that afternoon.  How great is our calling!

After we left the hospital, we went to the Halifax Harbor Boardwalk.  It was just a little cool that morning, but we welcomed the sunshine we hadn't seen for a couple of weeks.  These two must have brought it with them from the west.

On Father's Day, Nate prepared a really great dinner, which we enjoyed after church with Milford, another of Sister Tiff's brother, and his family.

This group is Milford's family - Dot (a sister-in-law), Ruby (his wife), Oxana (a daughter-in-law), and Jeff (his son).  They were filled to the brim and loved it.  We were really happy to share the meal and day with them.

We took a couple of days to go to Prince Edward Island.  Marcie prepped for this part of her trip by viewing and reading as much of "Anne of Green Gables" as she could.  This shot was taken on the ferryboat ride to the island.  While crossing, we watched fishermen coming in with their boats laden with lobster.  We also saw a couple of pods of Dolphins, but didn't get pictures of them.

Sister T with a P. E. I. lighthouse in the background.

Not a great picture, but you can see Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, close to where our boat docked.

These are "lupines", mixed with "lilies of the valley."  These grow wild and abundantly around the Maritimes and, mixed with the many shades of green countryside, are another example of God's artwork at it's best.

We have the north Atlantic Ocean in the background at Brackley Beach, on the north side of P.E.I.  It is a little cool here, but note Marcie's winter parka.

Sister T was the only one of us who dared step into the north Atlantic ice waters!  She did it again, later in the week at another site.  Wow, she's brave!

While traveling around the mission we have the opportunity to visit with other missionaries, old and young.  While in P.E.I., we stayed overnight with Elder and Sister Tibbits and had a chance to converse about what was going on missionary-wise in their area.  It helps to have these visits so we can return to our own area with some new, fresh ideas to push the work forward.

Okay, here we are!

Elder and Sister Tiffany and Marcie at Anne's home.  To our left was "Lover's Lane," and to our right was the "Haunted Woods."  While here we met a couple of families from Utah.  Their son/daughter were married in the Halifax Temple, and it was good to talk to them of their spiritual experiences there.
 
We always carry "pass along" cards to hand out to the non-members we meet and introduce ourselves as missionaries (always with our name tag showing).  The card has web sites they can go to to learn more about the Church.  It's actually quite fun to introduce the church to them.

Returning home from P.E.I., we crossed Confederation Bridge.  This connection to the mainland is eight miles long and is the longest bridge over ice covered water in the world.  It is high enough in the middle that ships can go under it.

Brother Greg Lambert (Sister T's left) is a delightful and amazing chef and host.  We enjoyed dinner with him and brother and sister Bezanger, and brother Chris Palmer (not pictured) all members of the Halifax First Ward.

This is Brother Lambert's home on an inlet from the ocean.

Here we are looking down the inlet from the opposite end toward Brother Lambert's.

This is a Pilot boat returning from a ship coming into harbor.  When large vessels enter or leave the Halifax Harbor, they must have a local "pilot" steer or guide the boat.  The ship's captain or crew may not.  This boat takes and retrieves the pilots.  The same rule applies to all large harbors.

This is an ore freighter entering the harbor, as seen from Brother Lambert's home.

This and the next picture are utility boxes.  Almost all utility boxes in the Halifax/Dartmouth area have varying scenes painted on them.  We have yet to see any graffiti on any of them.

Not all of our time is spent traveling, though there are a lot of teachers we like to spend time with around the mission.  Here, at the temple, we have an opportunity to spend a couple of hours with missionaries preparing to leave for home.  As missionaries are released to return home, the mission president takes them to the temple then to the mission home for a dinner and testimony meeting.  Elder Baskin (next to Sister Tiffany) and Sister Ott went home last week.  Elders Nzojibwamie and Clarke, the Assistants to the President, joined us.

At the dinner we were joined by Elder Morin (in the back) and Elder Loussier-Houle, who also went home.  We were very close to these missionaries and were invited to share this final evening with them in the mission field.  A very special treat.

Elder and Sister Thatcher and Elder and Sister Wiebe, mission office staff, and Sister Leavitt join with us in our testimony meeting.  It was a very spiritual affair, and we felt honored to be there.

We're enjoying lobster - after the mussels and before the crab and shrimp.  Sound extravagant?  It's really not, but very delicious, very fresh, and cooked and served by Chef Nate.

His recipe was superb and his dining instructions easy to follow, which everyone did.

DIG IN AND ENJOY!!  It was a very nice evening spent with Sister T's family.  They seem to have overcome their apprehensions and false ideas about our church and our voluntary service as missionaries while we have been here.  We try to share our testimonies as often as we can about the church and the things we believe, and they are more receptive than ever.

The flowers here are in bloom everywhere.  Lilacs are just fading, Irises are still in bloom, and here we have Rhododendrons - they are everywhere in large bushes!

Another fascinating and picturesque fishing village on Bush Island, close to Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.

On Saturday afternoon we attended a devotional for all temple workers.  A spiritual feast, after which we mingled among the snack trays.  Serving in the temple is a spiritual boost for us on a weekly basis.  Everyone is very loving and kind, and their testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the need for the work performed in the temple for our eternal salvation is inspiring.

Sister T, trying to make sure Sister Anita DelaCruz is getting enough to eat.  We love this lady and her husband, Rudy.  They are temple missionaries from Hawaii, and go home in a couple of months. 

President and Sister Robinson, temple president and Matron.  Really wonderful, down home people from Tory, Utah.  They will be leaving here in November.

Brother and Sister Fox, both retired physicians and a very loving and spiritual couple from Dartmouth, will be replacing the Robinsons as temple president and matron.

We've made another trip to Peggy's Cove, with Sisters Dougherty (brand new), Drew, Echols, and Lee.  The sisters are a boost to our spiritual side and we really love working with them.  They are a real strength to the members and others here.

A piper at the Cove!












As we mentioned, we do travel around the mission a lot, but it is part of our assignment, and we are constantly in the missionary mode and meet with the missionaries as often as possible - the young to get a boost of enthusiasm, and the seniors to get more ideas of how we can improve our own service, even though we are the only CES couple in the mission.  Whatever we can learn from others, we try to put into our own area of service.  And of course, we meet with the teachers and priesthood leaders, if possible, to teach and learn.