Front View
Queen's Chair
Living Room
Kitchen
Office
Our Bedroom
Sewing & Washroom
Upstairs Bathroom
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Pictures of the New House
Front View
Queen's Chair
Living Room
Kitchen
Office
Our Bedroom
Sewing & Washroom
Upstairs Bathroom
Thursday, January 22, 2009
New House, Etc.
Hello to one and all. It has been a while since I have got in touch with all of you, but we have been so busy with the holidays and keeping in touch with all the members and friends of the church.
The one thing about being in a leadership position is that each Sunday brings a host of new situations. We have had our teachers not show up due to work or sickness and no one knew about the situation. I have learned to improvise and many times have been inspired to start by opening my mouth and the words and the lesson comes forth. We have had many people not come for talks during sacrament meeting, especially those from out of town. I have learned to keep a talk handy at all times. Once I announced a "popcorn" meeting where the members would get up and discuss a topic given by the presiding officer who was directing. All in all, we have had some very exciting meetings with excellent testimonies and related material to inspire us to a better week ahead. There are always problems to deal with, blessings to give, calls to make, and people to set apart.
I have two great men to be my counselors and we get along like peas in a pod even though the peas are different shapes and sizes. Brother Jean-Marie Savreux (1st) is the one who is always organized and has handouts and charts to keep us on track. Patrick Humblot (2nd) knows the members and is always ready to give great advice on how to deal with each person according to past situations and his caring attitude about what he has prayed about. I keep the meeting moving so we don't get bogged down in French details that some how creep in and threaten to make the meeting last more than an hour. We are willing to give and take and when a answer isn't forth coming right away, we are willing to take time in the next week to ask for heavenly guidance. Many times during the meetings, we are speaking about the same idea or person at the same instant. What a great feeling.
We are working with a great team of Elders. Elder Green and Elder Gibbs are very hard working and spend endless hours seeking, teaching, and caring for those who they meet. We have a small branch, but many members are very willing to go out a teach with the missionaries. Their presence, experiences, and language skills help in every way.
The Elders are teaching a 78-year-old man, Jean Bordicheaux, and he is a very wonderful person. He is progressing in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he wants to do everything right and even more than is required. We had and experience with him the other night. Due to his flu and vertigo, he collapsed in his apartment. We could see him, but the doors were locked so we couldn't get in to help him. He was able to slide on his back and barely reach the door handle so we could get to him. We had called the fireman and they would have smashed a window to get to him had he not used all his force to open the door. The Elders did a two mile dash to get to him after he called them on their cell phone and Patrick and I came in the car as we were returning from our presidency meeting out of town at the 1st counselor's home. We had the four of us, 4 fireman, 4 EMTs, and 4 policemen in his small apartment. The EMTs were very helpful. After they got Jean stabilized, we stayed another half hour to feed him and get everything in order.
We are working with our Portuguese family and if it wasn't for all of the problems of life that keep coming up, we would be much further ahead. They finally left Joao's father's house because when his brother gets drunk he threatens the children. Finally he hit the children and Sandra and Joao got hold of the social services and they were placed in a hotel until an apartment can be found. We will find out tomorrow what has taken place. The members are collecting furniture for them so that when they move they will have some things. We will go to a second hand store for the rest of the essentials. Sandra has a strong testimony and as soon as all is well, we will have her husband baptise her.
Sandra is very special. She is a self starter and when she sees things to be done she pitches right in. At the branch meal last Sunday, she got right in with Joanne and helped get the salads ready and the food on the table. She is just what we need in the branch. Her eyes shine with the light of the Spirit and she wants to bear her testimony the next opportunity. Joao is progressing and should be ready to be ordained to the office of a priest before the baptism date.
We have moved into our new home. It is much bigger and we feel right at home. Our rent money will help out Sister Bouchard with her mission costs and we are getting more than our moneys worth. I will have some yard work in the spring that will help me have a good diversion. Instead of the 3 rooms and bathroom in the other place, we have 6 rooms here and two bathrooms. We have room for visitors if any of you care to come and stay. We will use the house with Sandra, Laraine and Heather when they come to visit the area.
All is well. We are healthy and enjoying the work. To give of one's self is a great rewarding part of life. We now have a blog that Chris is taking care of and if we get him more pictures you will see us in action. If anyone back home wants to read old and new letters they can go to Tour de Metcalfe, or you can get to it through philipandjaimeconnor.blogspot.com.
Well, keep looking up so you can always see where you are going.
Elder Dad
The one thing about being in a leadership position is that each Sunday brings a host of new situations. We have had our teachers not show up due to work or sickness and no one knew about the situation. I have learned to improvise and many times have been inspired to start by opening my mouth and the words and the lesson comes forth. We have had many people not come for talks during sacrament meeting, especially those from out of town. I have learned to keep a talk handy at all times. Once I announced a "popcorn" meeting where the members would get up and discuss a topic given by the presiding officer who was directing. All in all, we have had some very exciting meetings with excellent testimonies and related material to inspire us to a better week ahead. There are always problems to deal with, blessings to give, calls to make, and people to set apart.
I have two great men to be my counselors and we get along like peas in a pod even though the peas are different shapes and sizes. Brother Jean-Marie Savreux (1st) is the one who is always organized and has handouts and charts to keep us on track. Patrick Humblot (2nd) knows the members and is always ready to give great advice on how to deal with each person according to past situations and his caring attitude about what he has prayed about. I keep the meeting moving so we don't get bogged down in French details that some how creep in and threaten to make the meeting last more than an hour. We are willing to give and take and when a answer isn't forth coming right away, we are willing to take time in the next week to ask for heavenly guidance. Many times during the meetings, we are speaking about the same idea or person at the same instant. What a great feeling.
We are working with a great team of Elders. Elder Green and Elder Gibbs are very hard working and spend endless hours seeking, teaching, and caring for those who they meet. We have a small branch, but many members are very willing to go out a teach with the missionaries. Their presence, experiences, and language skills help in every way.
The Elders are teaching a 78-year-old man, Jean Bordicheaux, and he is a very wonderful person. He is progressing in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he wants to do everything right and even more than is required. We had and experience with him the other night. Due to his flu and vertigo, he collapsed in his apartment. We could see him, but the doors were locked so we couldn't get in to help him. He was able to slide on his back and barely reach the door handle so we could get to him. We had called the fireman and they would have smashed a window to get to him had he not used all his force to open the door. The Elders did a two mile dash to get to him after he called them on their cell phone and Patrick and I came in the car as we were returning from our presidency meeting out of town at the 1st counselor's home. We had the four of us, 4 fireman, 4 EMTs, and 4 policemen in his small apartment. The EMTs were very helpful. After they got Jean stabilized, we stayed another half hour to feed him and get everything in order.
We are working with our Portuguese family and if it wasn't for all of the problems of life that keep coming up, we would be much further ahead. They finally left Joao's father's house because when his brother gets drunk he threatens the children. Finally he hit the children and Sandra and Joao got hold of the social services and they were placed in a hotel until an apartment can be found. We will find out tomorrow what has taken place. The members are collecting furniture for them so that when they move they will have some things. We will go to a second hand store for the rest of the essentials. Sandra has a strong testimony and as soon as all is well, we will have her husband baptise her.
Sandra is very special. She is a self starter and when she sees things to be done she pitches right in. At the branch meal last Sunday, she got right in with Joanne and helped get the salads ready and the food on the table. She is just what we need in the branch. Her eyes shine with the light of the Spirit and she wants to bear her testimony the next opportunity. Joao is progressing and should be ready to be ordained to the office of a priest before the baptism date.
We have moved into our new home. It is much bigger and we feel right at home. Our rent money will help out Sister Bouchard with her mission costs and we are getting more than our moneys worth. I will have some yard work in the spring that will help me have a good diversion. Instead of the 3 rooms and bathroom in the other place, we have 6 rooms here and two bathrooms. We have room for visitors if any of you care to come and stay. We will use the house with Sandra, Laraine and Heather when they come to visit the area.
All is well. We are healthy and enjoying the work. To give of one's self is a great rewarding part of life. We now have a blog that Chris is taking care of and if we get him more pictures you will see us in action. If anyone back home wants to read old and new letters they can go to Tour de Metcalfe, or you can get to it through philipandjaimeconnor.blogspot.com.
Well, keep looking up so you can always see where you are going.
Elder Dad
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