Christmas is nearly upon us. We haven’t seen a lot of snow, but we did get a nice little snowfall on our way home from the mission office in Montreal the other night. They don’t do a lot of lights at Christmas around here, but this was one street that was lit up. We actually have our balcony lit up with lights and it’s the only Christmas lighting showing on the front of our apartment building. It’s been really cold this week also. This morning it was 2 degrees. I hear that it can get much colder than that. I recently bought a nice warm coat and some furry boots, so I am set. Fortunately, we don’t spend a lot of time outdoors, but Elder Glenn has done some service in our ward for dead batteries outdoors, including our own.
This year is the first time that the Light the World Giving Machines have been located in Montreal. They are set up in two locations in the city of Montreal. Apparently, it took a lot of convincing to get them placed. We had dinner with the coordinators, a former stake president and his wife, and heard all the details and miracles in getting placement locations in Montreal. When we visited the machine yesterday, we had to take off our missionary badges while standing around them as the deal was not to bring religion into the mall. It seems sort of silly to be concerned about not showing your religion while giving to charities, but this is a very secular part of the country. We were able to sponsor several local charities with these Giving Machines and hope that we can make this a regular event every year here in Montreal, Canada.
It has also been a rather restful week for us after the frenzy of getting ready for the Ward Christmas party last week. We were so pleased with how that went. This week we have been teaching our regulars and preparing for our talks in Sacrament meeting today. We are looking forward to the Christmas holiday and plan to spend it with some members here and with our young Elders. The postal strike is over, so hopefully the stuck mail (my winter sweater package) in Toronto will get moving along again soon.
The highlight of my week was at the temple when the shift leader asked me to do an ordinance in French. I didn’t know if I was ready yet, but I did it very slowly and with some very sweet French sisters who knew me. They said my pronunciation was great and so I think I will be doing that again and again. It sure gave me a boost of confidence in French.
Well, this is a bit short and sweet, but we are loving our mission and still missing friends and family back home. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and may you feel the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ in your lives each and every day of the year.
Love,
The Glenns