What a week...

Hey everyone!

So this week was a bit insane. It started out on Monday with the Ghost tours of Quebec, and that was SO much fun. It started at 8 pm and we walked around all of Old Quebec and the guide (who was a VERY good story teller) told us about different deaths and ghost-sightings and everything in Quebec. Definitely worth going to if any of you are up in the area :) Then on Wednesday we had Elder Boyd's last ever district study (he's going home tomorrow) and so we decided to do a little funeral of sorts for him, and it was SO fun! We went in the morning during language study and kidnapped him and then brought him to the Institute Center where we put him (blindfolded, of course) in a wheelchair and took him all around the center. In each of the areas we re-enacted parts of his mission: opening his mission call, at the MTC, first time contacting, first lesson, dying, and at the airport coming home. We had music to go with each of them and instead of words we would randomly break out into interpretive dance. It was so funny...I'll have to get the video and show it to you when I get home.

So that was really fun, and then on Thursday evening we went on our split with Victoriaville. We met up and went to St. Hubert's (a restaurant) first, and it was wonderful, and then it ended up being too late to drive to Victoriaville so Sister Leonard and Sister Hamula decided to stay in our apartment and then drive down first thing in the morning. During studies that day we (Sister Verdeja and I ) went to the institute center because the zone leaders had asked me the night before at the restaurant to play a song on the piano for the baptism they were having on Saturday and so I needed to practice it. So our split ended up only being about 3 hours long (just enough time to watch "The Testaments" with Lyse...she loved it!) and then we headed down to Victoriaville as well. We got back just in time for sports night and Sister Leonard and I had filled up some of the water balloons that Becca gave me for my birthday and we got the Bohmondas children (along with us) to throw them at the zone leaders just after sports night. It was so fun :)

Saturday morning was the baptism but I went only to play the song (it went pretty well...I messed up once but no one heard because the kids were singing too loud) and then after wards 3 of the students (Martine, Michel, and Jean-guy) took us out for lunch at Chez Cora's. It's one of my favorite breakfast restaurants, and it was so much fun! Also one of them, Michel, said the prayer and blessed me that I would be able to be safe and fulfill cheerfully the rest of my mission, and then Jean-guy had written a little note that he read at the restaurant that told me how much they had a appreciated me (we were all pretty sure that I was going to be transferred). It was so sweet! I'm really going to miss them.

Then Saturday night we had our transfer party and we actually had a really good time. We played midnight football (you turn off all the lights - or most of them in our case since we're missionaries and that's kind of sketchy to have them all off - and you play football on your knees.) It was so much fun! Except now I have HUGE rug burns and bruises on my knees...but it was definitely worth it. Then Elder Williams came (he was my zone leader my first 3 transfers here) and it was so great to see him! He's been in Maschouche the last 2 transfers so I haven't heard anything from him at all, so it was great to see him. Then FINALLY at 10:30 we got our phone call saying that our area is closing and that Sister Leonard was going Spanish in Monterey with Sister Tschumi (my last companion) and I was flushing in the elders who are in Hochelaga right now. It will be different, that's for sure. But it should be fun. And hopefully they'll reopen the area soon. It was a huge surprise for us that they were closing the area, but I know they prayed about it, and I have President's promise that they'll open it again soon. But yesterday at church was really hard...so many people were crying and I was crying the whole time. Then we spent the afternoon visiting investigators/members and giving them all the elders phone number. We stopped by Serge's house and they have a pet rabbit with incredibly soft fur so I petted it a lot, and then in the car on the way to dinner I started sneezing and could not stop. WE got to the Belanger's house and I still couldn't stop sneezing and then Sister Belanger pointed out the fact that my eye was swelling up. Luckily though it stopped and went back mostly to normal before we stopped by Patrick's house and took a picture with him, but then it started up again right after. So crazy. So I took some allergy medicine and I think it's better now :) But anyways, so that was our week. I've packed mostly and we're leaving tomorrow morning early for MOntreal. So crazy. But anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful week! Love you all!

Love, Nicole