Rays of Northern Light

While I was writing for this blog last week a good friend of ours was getting baptized. Geralda, a woman that our sister missionaries were teaching and we were helping to teach has been ready to make the commitment, but her life was a little unsteady in her brother’s home here. So, she moved to Ottawa, and our sisters connected her to the sisters there where she was able to be baptized. Geralda is from Haiti and is a sweet, gentle lady. She really loves the gospel and is doing well in her new home. We are so happy for her and glad that she is safe and secure in the faith. We also have a recently baptized brother who has a son still in Nigeria who wants to learn more about his father’s newfound faith. So, our Elders are connecting him to elders in Nigeria. It is so amazing how we can make all these wonderful connections to help gather Israel around the world. 

    This week has been pretty routine with another zone conference on Tuesday. Our menu was pulled pork over rice (our staple) with toppings like bean, guacamole and sour cream and a salad. Finding some of our ingredients we are used to is sometimes a challenge here and at the last minute we couldn’t find Adobo sauce, so we substituted Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce.  This made it a bit spicier than we expected, so we toned it down a bit with molasses and everyone seemed to enjoy it. This one was for our zone, so we got our district elders to help clean up the kitchen afterwards. They are always fun and so willing to pitch in. The only problem is that we only have one sink and more than enough help with drying dishes. We also started our first session of English Connect with our native French speaking elder. Elder Tamarono, from Tahiti, is not very conversant in English, but he can read and understand it well. He scores well on the tests that determine his level. I can totally understand that as I can read and understand a lot of French, but speaking it is the hard part for me too. We had fun asking him questions about his family and his likes and dislikes. It was a little awkward at times, but with effort and limited help from his companion we got through. We made some ground rules that his companion, who is from the US, could not translate for him. That put the angst on Elder Tamarono and us to really try to find the words and practice the pronunciations. This will be our Friday lunch date every week for the foreseeable future. That is until there is a transfer for him.

    We are gearing up for Fall as the temperatures here are cooling. I want to get outside as much as possible to enjoy the beautiful autumn colors here before the long cold winter begins. It has been the loveliest summer with flowers blooming in every yard and along the streets. I think people here love the outdoors and nature more because the winters are so long and cold. We are so glad that this winter we have a covered garage. 

Au revoir,

The Glenns

(Gigi & Papi)