Autumn has reached us here in Quebec. I absolutely love the colors of this season. On one of our walks last week, I found this little miracle of nature. The color on this leaf starts out yellow on the left side and then changes to orange, red, brown and green. It reminded me of our ward here in Greenfield Park. We have such a mix of cultures. I put it in a book at home to preserve.
Later in the week we came in contact with a woman who is from Taiwan and is a member of our church, but not actively attending. She was willing to attend a session of our General Conference with us on Saturday and then came with us again on Sunday for the afternoon session. She speaks Mandarin and English. I asked her to come to church with us next Sunday and she said she would, but that she doesn’t know anyone and has no friends in the ward. Well, we can fix that because we are the ward of letting no one sit alone. From one of the talks last weekend, I found this message.
“I see the Savior’s declaration “ye are my friends” as a clarion call to build higher and holier relationships among all of God’s children “that we may be one.” We do this as we come together seeking both opportunities to unite and a sense of belonging for all.”
Elder David L. Buckner, Oct. 2024
She committed to come and on the same evening I got a call from a really remarkable sister in our ward who is from Zimbabwe. She told me she wanted to help us in our work in any way she can. She is a communication specialist and a returned missionary. I told her about our new Taiwanese friend, and she was immediately interested in helping. We met with her later and she already has a sister in mind who is also looking for a friend and is about the same age. We hope to rally around our new friend on Sunday and welcome her to the ward again.
I knew when I picked up this leaf last week that it had a story. And there is my story, like the variety of beauty in nature there is such a beauty in the people here.
Here are a few more photos of the colors of fall in Quebec. We have not peaked yet, so I will be as much of a leafer as I can before winter strikes.