Tuesday, July 27, 2010

"...what comfort this sweet sentence gives..."

Hey everybody!

So this was another fun-filled week in the mission...I really do love being out here :) It started out on Tuesday (well, I guess Monday but we didn't really do anything too special for p-day) when we stopped by a potential that we found last week, Serge. We weren't sure if he would be home or not since we didn't have an appointment or his phone number, but he was there and the lesson was WONDERFUL! :) We talked with him a bit at the beginning without really an order, and then he started talking about faith and showing our faith. I mentioned that one way that we can do that is by praying and asking God for help and then started talking about how Joseph Smith (we had already read a scripture in the D&C so we'd kind of introduced Joseph Smith) had shown his faith by praying and asking God which of all the churches was true. We talked about how there are millions out there that all claim to have the truth, but we learn in the Bible that there is "one Lord, one Faith, one baptism" and so he knew that there should be one that was perfect for everyone, but he didn't know where it was. We then told the Joseph Smith story and he was realyl touched. He started talking afterwards about how when he was little, he was Catholic and the Catholic church was the ONLY true church, and his mom told him that if he even looked at a protestant church, he'd be damned. Then he took an intro to religion course in college and found out that every religion believes that they have the truth, but what he LOVED about our church is that we asked God directly and we encourage everyone to ask God directly. We then started going through an actual first lesson a bit more with "God is our loving Heavenly Father" and how we're blessed with families and prophets to help and guide us during this mortal existance. We also talked about the Book of Mormon and he didn't quite understand at first, but then we were sitting in the garden and Sister Leonard explained that if I closed my eyes and she described the garden, I'd have one view. But if he described the garden, I'd have a different view of it. It was through both explanations (or both testimonies...the prophets in the Americas and in Jerusalem) that truth is known, or an accurate description is given. He said he found it really intriguing and he doesn't like to read very much, he has a hard time concentrating, but he was going to try and read anyways. We then asked if we could set an appointment for the next time and at first he said we could come back the first week in August, but then I explained that there wasn't very much time in the trasnfer and for purely selfish reasons (I enjoy his insight) we'd like to meet with him more often. So he suggested this Tuesday, which is PERFECT because we're going on splits with Victoriaville that night and we were supposed to set up extra appointments. I'm so excited for him...he's in his 50s probably, his parents both died within the past year, and he has a wife and 2 college-aged children who both still live at home, and one of them has attended church in Montreal before. It was so neat :)

Then on Wednesday we went and visited Lyse and taught her about temples and geneology and she is SO excited to do the work for her parents and grandparents. We committed her to have all the work ready so that in December (the next trip for baptisms) she can do the work for them and she said she would definitely do it. She is so set. Then I guess yesterday in Sunday School she bore her testimony about how she met the church (I don't exactly know what she said...we weren't in the class). She said 2 weeks before she had prayed and asked God to show her if there was a true church and if so, where it was. 2 weeks later we showed up and at first she was just happy because of the companionship. She had been so lonely that she was excited to just have people over to talk to, but then it actually grew into a real testimony and now she is so pleased with the friendship she has with us, with the members, and the knowledge that she has of the truthfulness of the Gospel and she knows that she will never feel lonely again. it's so neat. I wish I could have heard the whole testimony, but we just heard the highlights from our neighbor, Frere Caron. We were in the nursery helping because there was only one adult in there and like 7 kids, and that's a bit difficult. So we were there and it was SO much fun....there was one little boy that reminded me a lot of Jacob (only a lot younger than Jacob) and it was so cute. It was fun :)

Then also this week we had English class, which is always fun. And it was pretty neat...we forgot to start with a prayer which we normally do because we got distracted talking about things. Usually we talk a bit, say a prayer, and then have the lesson that we prepared, but this week one of the woman's boyfriends had surgery for cancer and so we ended up talking about different medical terms for a really long time and then there were only 10 minutes left and I had forgotten. But then at the end when I was asking what they wanted to talk about next week, one of the woman, Guillaune, stopped me and said "Before we finish, can we please say a prayer? I think it'd be good for Martine." It was really neat that we've been an example to these people and they know that because of our faith, we can pray to God and ask Him for help in our lives and in the lives of others. I love it.

Then we also did another little service project...one of the couples in our ward, the Lefebvre's, got sealed this weekend. She's been a member for about 20 years, they've been married about 15, and he finally joined the church last year and they just got sealed. So On saturday, while they were at the temple, we went up and heart-attacked their house. Then yesterday we were invited to their house for dinner with the elders and they were asking who had done the heart-attacking and we denied it, and so did the elders, but they ended up thinking that it was the elders who had done it, and the elders were just very confused until afterwards when we told them it was us. It was so fun...I loved it :) Then last night the Victoriaville sisters came up...we're having our zone activity today (we played foo-foo ball but it got cut short when Elder Wilson kicked the ball accidentally hitting a woman and they went crazy and said they were calling the police...interesting experience.) and then tomorrow we're having the first half of Zone Conference. Then in the evening we're going on a split, and Wednesday we're having the second half of zone conference. It should be fun! I'm excited for this week :)

But anyways, I hope you all are doing well! Have a wonderful week! I love you all :)

Love, Sister Nicole Lindsey

Monday, July 19, 2010

"I know that my Redeemer lives"

Hey everybody!

So this week was WONDERFUL! :) LYSE GOT BAPTIZED!! We were a little stressed and had to make a million phone calls this week, but it turned out great and the ceremony was wonderful. I did sing; Elder Boyd practiced a lot and learned how to play the song for me. I ended up singing the words to "I know that My Redeemer Lives" to the tune of "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief". I sang 3 verses and it turned out pretty well...I realized I'm a bit out of practice with singing, but it was fun to get into it again. I've also been practicing the piano a bit more recently and realized that I really do like it now that I don't HAVE to practice, haha...so we'll see, maybe I'll take that up again when I get home.

So other things for this week: we helped Sr. Laflamme again with her move, and it turned out well. I'm so glad that we were able to help; she was really stressed and it was nice to be able to go over and spend the time helping her. We also had another member, Seour Belanger, who's from Guatemala who taught us how to make empanadas, and that was really neat. I loved it; we had such a wonderful week. I also made a cake for Lyse's baptism and it was so funny...the Bishop LOVES to tease and he found out that I had made the cake (he said he knew it because it didn't look like a French cake, but really he asked Sister Leonard and she told him that I'd made it) and so he came and sat by me and for the next 3 minutes he teased me about the cake and how he didn't want to take a bite, he was scared, his hands were shaking so bad because he was so nervous that I was trying to poison everyone, and things like that, so finally I reached over and pushed his hand with the fork in it a bit forward so the cake would go in his mouth. It shocked him; he jerked his hand, and the cake fell on his tie. It was SO funny. Then the rest of the time he was eating the cake he was saying "mmmm....good..." because he was "afraid" that if he said anything else I would "attack" him again. It was pretty funny :)

Also this week we taught the Relief Society lesson, and it went really well. We talked about the 3 things that members can do that help us as the missionaries the most:
1. Come with us to lessons
2. Fellowship EVERYONE; not just investigators, but recent converts, less actives, and members. This includes doing monthly visits for visiting teaching and home teaching.
3. Invite people to activities. It's not necessary to invite them immediately to take the discussions, but if they can come to activities they can feel the Spirit, meet normal people, and become more quickly a part of the ward "family"

We told them about all of that, using quotes and scriptures, and then gave them each a little paper with the notes on it, along with a Book of Mormon (the Relief Society Presidency had asked us to do that), and I think it went well. I really enjoyed it.

So this week was wonderful. Things are changing a bit with the new president (we're only doing interviews every other transfer instead of every transfer; zone conference is now week 4 instead of week 2...things like that) but it's good. It's been a fun week and I'm looking forward to another really good one next week :) I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Nicole Lindsey

"I want to be a missionary now" :)

Hey everybody!


This week was an interesting week...it was SO HOT! We got a call last Saturday (I think) telling us to take care of ourselves and if we couldn't get our 3 hours of finding in everyday because of the heat, that was OK, they weren't going to get mad at us. Sister Leonard and I thought that that was a little ridiculous and decided we were going to do it anyways, but after our hour of power on Tuesday morning (we go out every morning from 10:45-11:45 to knock doors just to get us out and about first thing in the morning after studies) when we were dripping sweat because it was already 32 degrees C, we decided that we might have to take it a little slower than usual. But we still worked hard and had a wonderful time.


We did mix things up a little this week though...we decided at the last minute that we wanted to do a split with Victoriaville because we had never done one with them before and it would be a good experience for everyone, so Sister Leonard went down with Sister Verdeja and Sister Hamula came up here with me. It was SO much fun, but I'm glad I have the companion that I do right now. Sister Hamula is on her second transfer now and is so much fun, but she's in a French/Spanish area and doesn't speak ANY French. Then Sister Verdeja just got put up there after 4 trasnfers in a Spanish ward, and she doesn't speak any French either. So it was good for Sister Leonard to go down there, introduce her to the people, and help her a bit with her French, and I spent the day up here teaching Sister Hamula how to do a door approach since she said she'd never been able to get past the "Hi, we're missionaries" part. The work we do here and the work they do there is VERY different; they work almost completely with members, and we don't have any members to work with, so we spend most of our time knocking doors. I really enjoy it; Sister Hamula is now really grateful that she's in Victoriaville and not in Quebec. It was pretty fun. And we did a lot that day as well in addition to knocking...we went and heart-attacked Lyse, and she LOVED it. We knew that she was at a meeting for something, so we went while she wasn't there and covered her door in hearts, and she came home and called us and thanked us, saying that it really touched her. She's doing so well....I'm SO excited for her! She's getting baptized THIS SATURDAY!!! She was at church on Sunday and loved it again, like always. All the members were really sweet and were so excited for her baptism. And it's going to be great...there's a temple trip on Saturday and they're all taking a bus down, the bus is getting back at like 7, and then the baptism starts at 7:30, so most of the people are going to stay for that as well. And we have a lot of members that are involved in the baptism, so it should be good. Only problem: she asked me to do a special musical presentation, but I haven't sang in FOREVER, she doesn't care which song I sing, but I have no pianist. So it will be interesting. I'm way excited though :) We're seeing her 3 times this week, and one is to go shopping with her because she wants to buy a new dress to wear on her baptismal day. So cute! :)


Other than that, I can't think of anything too big that happened this last week. We had transfers, but neither of us were changed. We do have a new elder, Elder Bourdon, from France and he's great. He doesn't speak much English, but we all speak French decently well, so it works out all right :) OH! And do celebrate my "hump day" (my 9 month mark), the elders made me cake and bought me a random little present and then cooked lunch for me after district study. It was so cute...I LOVE the elders here! We also had dinner last night with a family from France, the Rodhain's, and they're WONDERFUL. They joined the church about 4 years ago, but their daughter still isn't a member. He's in the stake presidency, and they're just the sweetest couple. They live FAR, but they love having us over, so we go over about once a transfer (only us...they said they prefer sisters to elders, haha). They called us this morning to thank us again for coming over and said what a joy it was to have us there and how we really are servants in the Lord's hands in helping them. It was sweet. We also helped Sister Laflamme paint her house (Mom, all the painting I did with you last summer paid off i guess :) ) and it was really fun. So it was a great week overall :)


Then this week looks like it will be good. We're helping Sister Laflamme again tonight, and then tomorrow evening we have a relief Society activity, and we've been asked to prepare the lesson on exactly how the sisters in our ward can help us the missionaries, so we've put together a little thing for that. Then there's the baptism, and we're hoping to get our less active neighbor to help us make a chocolate cake for it (she makes the best chocolate cake ever, and that's Lyse's favorite dessert). Then on Sunday after church another one of our members is teaching us how to make empanadas, and I'm way excited about that. Plus we're teaching Lyse a couple of times and then we have lots of finding time left over...it should be really great...i'm excited!


but anyways, i hope that all is going well for each of you back home and that you have a wonderful week! I love you tons! Thank you for all your support and letters :)


Love, Sister Nicole Lindsey

Happy 9 months! :)

Hey everybody!

So....all the news: Rive Sud is staying open, and Sister Leonard and I are staying here together. It was so crazy...we thought for sure that Quebec Ouest (the elders here) were going to close and that we were going to take over their area, but then they kept them open as well as us. Instead they closed Hochelaga sisters. So crazy. I'm excited though, and Lyse was THRILLED when we told her that we were staying. She said that she's been praying all week that we would both stay and that neither of us would be transferred, and she decided that God answered her prayers. It was so neat :) And the whole ward is thrilled that we're staying. It'll be wonderful. I'm really excited for this transfer. It means I'll have been here for about 7 months by the end, which is kind of a long time, but I'm excited for it. I really love the ward and the members here, and then with Lyse getting baptized in 2 weeks, it will be so great. I'm way excited :)

So that was pretty much the exciting news for this week. Other than that, not too much happened. We taught Lyse and she is AMAZING. We taught her word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity, and we told her what we were teaching in advance and so she had a "True to the Faith" book that we gave her and she had already read all about both of those and was willing to make all the changes necessary to live them and so teaching the principles was way easy. And the members have been a huge help; she loves all of them and they're all so welcoming with her. She's so excited for her baptism too...it's wonderful. I LOVE teaching people who understand the importance of the gospel and really want to have those blessings in their lives...it's sucha neat thing to be able to watch them as they find the love and joy that comes only through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Then we had another pretty neat experience last night. We contacted a guy about a month ago named Stephan who was really neat adn has a really strong faith in Jesus Christ due to some things in his past, and so he said we could come back another time. We've tried calling him about 50 times and he never responded, even after we left messages, so we decided to try to pass by him one more time last night and if he wasn't there then we were going to drop him. So we stopped by and he was home and at first he told us that he thought we were a sect and wasn't sure that he wanted to talk to us, but we said we'd like to just explain a little bit about what we did, so we went out to his porch and sat there and explained about missionaries and the Book of Mormon and it turned out great. He was SO excited to read the Book of Mormon by the end. He's already made a ton of changes in his life and really does want to learn more about Christ. He said we could definitely come back again, but he's going on vacation for the next 2 weeks, so he won't be able to meet with us until after that which kind of stinks, but that's ok, it'll turn out well. I'm excited to teach him. Then at the end in his prayer he thanked God for the "2 angels" that were sent to him that day. We told him that that was really sweet and he said "Well, you have to see it...you two just glow. You have to be angels. I've never seen anything like it before." It was so neat. I'm excited :)

Then this morning we met Presidend and Sister Cannon for the first time and they are wonderful. Sister Cannon is extremely outgoing and friendly and will be a LOT of fun to work with. President Cannon is a little more reserved but he has a really strong testimony of the Gospel and together I think they will just be a wonderful strength and support for the mission. I'm way excited to work with them. It will be a wonderful transfer. And this week (Wednesday) is my 9 month mark! Crazy to think that my mission is already have over...I still have so many things left to learn, so many people left to teach...so much to do! I'm excited to keep working! I love it!

Anyways, i hope you all are doing well...I love you all tons! Take care and have a wonderful week!

Love, Nicole

PS: Happy birthday Sara!