Being two hours ahead of Mountain Daylight Time, we had all morning to prepare for General Conference. After the stunning Saturday sessions, my heart wanted even more. It’s a funny thing, wishing for conference sessions to go on and on but then realizing that we still have everyday chores to be done. Every spring and fall we have the opportunity to watch General Conference. As a child, we would go to the chapel to see conference being broadcast by satelite. Now, we can access the sessions via, computer, phone, satelites, and smart speakers. So, many ways to feel uplifted and given strength to carry on trying to follow the Saviour’s example.
I did have a prayer answered about what I need to be doing better while on my mission; well, to be honest, my life in general. The kick-off of Elder Holland’s talk touched my heart. Thus, after a very stirring Saturday, I welcomed more joy on Sunday. I started the morning reading in Romans and Alma. It’s always amazing to me reading about Paul and his journeys. Plus reading about Alma the younger and his experience which parallels Paul’s experience. These are some of the greatest examples of repentance and coming into the arms of Christ.
After the first Sunday session, we decided to go for our Sunday walk. We headed towards the steel bridge to nowhere, as I call it. Walking past wooded ponds, we were able to see and hear many birds. I love the Merlin app on my phone to record and identify birds. The following list is what we found:
Northern Cardinal, Red-Winged Blackbird, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Canada Goose, American Robin, Carolina Wren, and American Goldfinch.
The more I listen, the more I am able to identify by their song. It’s beautiful to be in nature and see the creatures. As we aproached Lock 29 on the Erie Canal, we spotted a father and son fishing along the canal. The boy was probably five years old and watching him bait his own hook was amazing. Nearly every cast, that young lad caught a fish. He recognized which ones were too small and had to be thrown back. The father explained that he had an older friend who would eat these fish. There were sunfish and crappies. He didn’t want to eat anything from the canal himself.
We headed home to watch the last session of conference. We were gone 90 minutes and I was worried that we were going to be late for the session. It was wonderful to hear more inspiring talks and to end conference with the announcement of more temples to be constructed.
Monday came with some sunshine (surprise, surprise). We started the laundry in the morning after scriptures and prayer. Being a temple worker 4 days a week, means that you have a lot of white laundry. We wear white clothing in the temple, so that means lots of white shirts and socks. I love adding Borax to my white laundry to keep it bright. Last week, Erik opened the box of Borax and then proceeded to read the instructions. As he tipped the box to read, I happened to look over at him and watched a fountain of Borax streaming from the open box. Fresh Borax is so fine and spills out very quickly!
We needed to go to Costco (the $400 store) and return some trousers and pick up some more food. Erik managed this trip much better. He did the return while I started picking up food. While loading the cart contents onto the checkout belt, I see a gentleman behind Erik, smiling at him. When I was paying the bill, the same gentleman came up to me and asked where we are serving. I replied, “At the temple.” He told me that he will see me there tomorrow. Our name tags have been a lot of fun, opening conversations and seeing how people willingly talk to us. In the parking lot, I saw a lady loading her groceries in her vehicle. I spotted cream butterhorns and croissants. I said to her, “Oh, I used to make these every Christmas Eve for my family. But now, with celiacs, they are a no-go item.” I asked her to eat one and think of me while she enjoys it. She smiled and said that she would. She then asked me where I was from. I told her that we are from western Canada. Her grandparents were from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and her family would travel there every summer for a month to visit her grandparents. I asked if her mom still cooks Nova Scotia food, and she replied that she did. Of course, I had to ask her about Blueberry Grunt. She had never had it but was going to ask her mom about it. Give it a try!
I received a message from another missionary, that there was going to be a movie night at the Joseph Smith Farm Welcome Center. They were going to be playing the movie, “6 Days in August”. It was released last summer and the room was filled with senior missionary couples (Historic Site and Temple) as well as a lot of young sister missionaries. The film depicts the death of Joseph Smith and the succession crisis of 1844. Based on much historical documents, it was heart wrenching to see the depiction play out and the events that lead to this miraculous event in August 1844.
There was popcorn, drinks and candy for everyone to enjoy. We all settled in and there was a lot of laughter and tears during the movie. It was great to get to know more missionaries.
Monday night was not restful for either of us. I really love my 8 hours of sleep, so I prepare for bed accordingly, but at 2 am, pain started in my guts. Usually, that means I have been “glutenized,” but I hadn’t eaten anything out of the ordinary. This lasted until nearly 8 am. We were on the early shift at the temple, meaning we had our preparatory meeting at 8 am. It was snowing heavily and was -5C with a 36 kph wind. Brutally cold enough to put on my mukluks (granted, they are my short ones). Driving down Canadaigua Road, we encountered a detour with lots of flashing lights and even more further down the road. On the last leg of the journey, I was wondering how I was going to work for the next 6 hours with a painful gut. I said, “Satan, I don’t have time for you today; get out!” By the time we arrived at the temple, my guts were settling down. Don’t you love how much God loves you and provides miracles in your life? I always am full of gratitude when I experience miracles whether they are teeny tiny or big.
“Gratitude provides us with a greater perspective on the very purpose and joy of life.” This is a quote from President Nelson from his November, 20, 2020 talk. “Practicing gratitude may not prevent us from experiencing sorrow, anger, or pain, but it can help us look forward with hope. We can give thanks for our loved ones, for our bodies and minds, for music and literature, for the beauty of the natural world.” I loved that short 11 minute talk about gratitude. It definitely made me think about my prayers and to be grateful for all the things that I can think of. I remember having one week where I asked for nothing in my prayers but instead expressed gratitude for my life. It was eye opening to do this and feel how my heart changed.
We served our shift and headed home for a late lunch. I tried to do a few things online but then my eyelids would not stay open and I fell asleep in my chair. At some point Erik draped a quilt over me, so that I wouldn’t be cold. After thirty minutes, I felt better and carried on. The snow was slowing down and the sun was trying to poke out through the clouds. We walked to the distribution center and while Erik was being measured, I spotted a coin at his feet. Erik immediately told the store workers about finding coins and that it’s a sign that someone beyond the veil is trying to communicate with you. The funny thing is that this coin was something we had never seen before. I looked it up and discovered that is was a Fijian 1 Dollar coin. Who could be trying to tell us something?
We came home and I decided to try some different vegetables in a salad. I set up my food processor and used the slicing blade on a thin setting. I put brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots and onion through the processor. I made a dressing, tossed everything together and then topped it with Salad Toppers (seeds, cranberries, etc.). Erik likes the bagged brussel sprout, kale salad from Costco, but, I believe that anything you make at home is far superior.
Wednesday morning, I decided to try and figure out what gave me the “glutenized” gut that I had yesterday. It turns out that the Aussie Bites that we got from Costco are not gluten free like the ones in Canada. Same packaging; this learning curve may do me in! Today we had a “midshift” at the temple. This is a shift that runs from 10 am to 3 pm. Both Erik and I have been having very strange dreams about places that we’ve never been to and meeting so many people. They are simply a window into our lives as that is exactly what we are doing now. Every shift we meet more new people. We have visited a lot of places in the past three weeks, seeing things that we have never seen before. Slowly, we are learning the ways of the Palmyra temple as we get to work in different areas. We came home and tried to decide what to do for supper. With the different shift times and not having meal breaks, our meal times are so messed up. The one thing we do consistantly is eat breakfast. Erik is a get up and eat breakfast guy. No matter the time he gets up, he wants to eat within a few minutes of arising. I’m a slower waker-upper. I like my morning schedule and I’m not interested in eating right away. But with doing an early shift, I force myself to have a little bit of breakfast. Today I made a piece of toast spread with hummus and then I placed lengthwise slices of cocktail cucumbers on top. Yummy and nutricious!
Here comes the rain again…(are you singing it with me?) Off we go on an early shift for Thursday. It was extremely busy at the temple with a lot going on. Again, meeting new people and let me tell you, the best part is how warmly we are welcomed. The house of the Lord is all about love and kindness and that is exactly how we are been received.
I met the mother of a man who serves in our Bishopric in Lacombe. As I hugged her, it made me feel connected to home and little homesick. We had a lovely visit as she told me about her family and places that they have lived. One of the interesting things that sticks out in my mind is everyone’s last names here. They are so different from the last names in Alberta. Many of the people that I have met are actually from this area. Because I grew up in the military, I am used to moving around and asking people where they are from. I want to know about their family history; where their ancestors came from, what languages they speak, what dishes do they cook. Everyone wants to know where we are from. I have learned to say, “Western Canada.” Because in reality, Canada is only an hour away. But that’s not the area we are from. A few folk have family in the maritimes because of the migration of people years ago. They are either from Nova Scotia or from Acadians in the maritimes.
We received an email from our new landlord-to-be. Moving date can be Monday if all is well in the apartment. The Wall’s will be finishing their mission and heading home. Thus, us and the Gurr’s will be moving. My only concern is the steep stairs to get upstairs. I better not be in a hurry to get to the bathroom, or I will have to learn to fly up and down those stairs.
Our ice cream supply has diminished so, I have a strong suspicion that it may top the shopping list for tomorrow.
I’m not usually a fan of chocolate ice cream but this is very nice. A scoop of this is perfect for my chocolate wishes. Plus, it’s gluten free, yipee!
The Bishop’s Storehouse was on our agenda for Friday morning. It is located across from Hill Cumorah. We packaged fresh produce: bananas, oranges, peppers and broccoli. These then go on the storehouse side where members in need can place food orders. There are general household goods as well as groceries. On the side where we were packaging produce, the storehouse has freezed dried foods in #10 cans for sale. Anyone can go to the Bishop’s Storehouse to purchase these items. It is called the Home Storage order form that has all of the goods available for purchase. I asked the young missionaries who we were working with, what seems to be the most popular items. They said that the hot chocolate mix and the pancake mix were good sellers.
“While [bishops’] storehouses provide many of the same services as any retail food store, not one has a cash register. … These are goods that money cannot buy. No price tag is put on the time, effort, and love so generously contributed to the common good of those in need.”
—President Thomas S. Monson
After working at the Storehouse, we decided to get our groceries. We drove to Newark to the Wegman’s store. I love this chain of grocery stores. Beautiful produce and lots of choices are to be had. Going to Newark, you drive alongside the Erie Canal and go by little Port Gibson. In the summer, it’s going to be gorgeous. We finished up and headed home to prepare for our evening shift at the temple.
Saturday dawned with cloudy skies and drizzle. We were assigned to the midshift and arrived to a full parking lot. Today there was an ASL session and a Spanish session to be held. It was quite busy in the temple but everything went smoothly. I was starting to get a tad cranky late in the afternoon because I didn’t take Patti Hawryluk’s advice and put nuts in my pocket. Breakfast happened a long time ago and trying to keep blood sugars in check is a trial with our meals helter-skelter. At 6 pm, I was quite happy to get home and get a meal. Erik says to me, “I want to tell you that you are a grown woman and can look after yourself! But you seem to need some help!” I just said, “That’s why I have you to remind me.” When I get busy, I just keep going and forget to look after myself. I’m sure a lot of people do that; telling ourselves, it’s only a little bit longer and then that turns into a couple of hours.
It was the last temple shift for the senior missionaries who head home on Sunday and Monday. Tears and hugs were had all around. One of the couples heads home to start training for their service in the temple presidency in Arizona where they live. That will be a three year assignment. Lots of emotions as we part ways, but we know that we will see some again along our journey.
cherylnaglis 