The Messenger

 

Canada Montreal Mission

Mission Canadienne de Montréal

Misión  Canadiense de Montreal

 

January, 2004

Mission Office:   1-514-731-0612


“Come and See”

When John the Baptist declared to two of his disciples that Jesus was the Lamb of God, Andrew and John (we believe) heard the Savior and followed Him.  When He asked them “what seek ye?” they wanted to know where He lived.  He then made His invitation to them to “come and see.  They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day” (John 1:39).  Later, Philip made the same invitation to Nathaniel, “come and see” (John 1:46). 

In our mission, we are focused on “inviting ... all to come unto him and partake of his goodness” (2 Nephi 26:33).  Our extreme inviting includes opening our mouths and asking everyone we meet to hear our message.  Our extreme inviting also includes asking members for referrals. 

Now, we want to invite members to come and see by having a positive experience with missionary work.  “And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a commandment, that every man, both elder, priest, teacher, and also member, go to with his might, with the labor of his hands, to prepare and accomplish the things which I have commanded.  And let your preaching be the warning voice, every man to his neighbor, in mildness and in meekness.  Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” (38:40-42)

As we work with members, we know there are five principles we can follow to help them have positive missionary experiences:

1.         Build relationships of trust with them be being obedient, visible, competent, and engaged;

2.         Help members see what’s in it for them to do missionary work;

3.     Start with small and simple things;

4.     Leverage existing activities in the ward/branch;

5.     Offer tools for doing missionary work

These principles should apply to all contacts with members, including with leaders at PEC and ward correlation meeting, and with members at dinner appointments, teaching appointments, and pass-by’s.  If we help members come and see the blessings of missionary work in their lives, they will experience the joy of seeing others’ lives change for good, and the church will be strengthened.   We appreciate all you do and pray that we can continue to help investigators and converts come unto Christ and partake of His infinite goodness.

President & Sister Ulrich 

Notes from the Field

We were discussing the nature of God, for S is having a hard time believing in Him.  We seemed to simply be going around in circles with no real resolution in sight.  So we finally stopped for a moment then began to simply testify.  A sweet spirit came into the room and I could tell [others] felt it as much as I did.  I do not believe it will stop the questions, but for one moment I knew that he could feel the love of our Father [and that] He was there.  Elder Shannon

I was honestly convinced that running around talking to EVERYBODY was a waste of time.  Then there was a competition in our zone to get the most invites.  We don’t teach enough to not be dominating on invites.  At first I thought nothing would come of it, but soon I found that I just wanted to talk to everybody.  I felt great, I was feeling the spirit, I was meeting cool people, and making a lot of contacts.  I still love tracting, but I think I might like the Metro almost as much now.  I’m excited to see the area start booming.  I can feel it.  Elder Robins

I answered the phone and it was a man calling from Bell Canada [about] long distance service.  I told him no, then got talking about us missionaries and what we do.  I introduced the church and he never heard about it before.  It was a great experience taking every opportunity to share the gospel.  Elder Gunnell

We went tracting in the morning for two hours in freezing rain.  Nobody would even listen to us, and I was in a bad mood.  After lunch I realized that my mood wasn’t anybody’s fault buy my own so I decided to change my mind.  As we continued, I focused on talking to the people as people, and suddenly I started to be in a better mood.  Then people started talking to us more, and the whole situation changed.  We made 2 solid contacts and had 4 discussion invites.  I realized that our mood plays a big part in how people interact with us, and that we have a responsibility to be happy.  Elder Ward

I bore my first testimony of the Bible - that I know its true because of what I feel when I read about Jesus Christ.... I felt something in my heart, not in my head, that tells me it is true.  The spirit was so strong.  It was wonderful.  Elder Bergen

Good week.  Bad weather.  Too cold.  Good prices for food.  We met a few good people who are going to be investigators.  Good week!!  Elder Law Tchan Wa


From New Members

Decidi unirme a la iglesia despues que visitamos una familia miembros con los misioneros, al verlos y oir que cada uno daba su testimonio y lo bien que se sentian como el Espiritu Santo les dio respuesta a ellos que José Smith fue profeta, que el Libro de Mormón es verdadero y que esta es la iglesia de Jesucristo aqui en la tierra, sentia algo especial, y dije esta es mi respuesta.  Cuando regresamos a nuestro apartamento le mencione a mi esposo, siento que esto es verdadero yo quiero sentime como ellos quiero seguir el evangelio de Jesucristo y uierme a la iglesia.  Me siento muy bendecida a causa de mi conversión.... Guiselle Castillo        I have felt the spirit and my prayers have been answered.  I know that Heavenly Father sent the missionaries to me because I asked for His guidance.  He wanted to give me the opportunity to live the gospel, learning more and more about Him every day.  I love Jesus Christ.  I thank Him for the opportunity that He has given us to be forgiven for our sins.  I have learned that I have many more blessings than I do problems.  I have learned that even if I give much of my time to the Church, it is a blessing because it seems the less time I have the more I get done.         Veronica Adams

 

Patisseries and Poutines

Record-setting? pouts to Elder Wilson for falling on the ice 11 times in his first six weeks in the mission.  Pats to Elders Bean, Arguello, and Argyle for joining the ranks of the in-field language flexible.  Pats to Elder Rico and Elder Nibley  -- get well soon.  Pats to Sisters Bretzing and Bytheway for making Victoriaville our first 2-sister, no-elder city.  Pouts to Elder Shaw for putting the final touches on Elder Bennett’s broken bumper.  Pats to Elder Black for keeping his mouth shut.  Pouts to the Bayshore sisters for flirting goals.  Pouts to Elders Paredes and Payne for deadbolt woes.   Pats to Elder Paredes for alert eyes and fast hands from the passenger seat of a car. Pouts to Elders Stanford and Drouet for getting detoured on their way to Rimouski and not calling in.  Pats to Elder Wilcock for fancy hands (crocheting).  Pats to Elder King for fancy hands (signing).  Pats to Elder Call for 65 message invites in a day.  Pats to Elder Beasley for really good cheese biscuits.  Pats to Elders Bergen and Bills for fire-fighting heroics that allowed the Spirit to burn bright in a new contacts’ heart.  Pats to metro singers for inviting a Catholic prayer group complete with tambourines, guitars, and nuns to join them.  Pats to Elder Markham for enthusiastic musical direction.  Pouts to Elder Law Tchan Wa for voodoo voices on the answering machine.  Pats to Elder Shipley for being a good boy, even if he didn’t get the xbox he wanted. for Christmas (to watch church DVD’s only, of course.)

December-January Baptisms

Hochelaga: Mélissa Coté-Rouillard, Anthony and Karine Provencher, Marco and Cinthia Roderiguez Provencher Longueuil: Bhéloise Tessier Mascouche: Eric laframboisse, Jordan Palmer, Jean-Sebastien Laroche  MonteRey:  Milagros Hechevarria, Elmer Vilacorta, M. and C. Castillo Orellana Quinone  St Jean: Marie Benoit  Ville Marie: Zofia Fil Zarahemla: Rosa Arroyo Flores, Catherine Ayla Arroyo, Madeleine Ayala Arroyo  Greenfield Park:  Rong Cad, Yan Hong Zhong Kirkland: Alexa Alleyne, Tania Rehel  LaSalle:Michale Fitch, Ruiqin Li, Job Ncube  Montreal: Mercia Tweed, Philipp Baro St.Laurent: Junfeng Song St. Lazare: Audrey Sirignano Chapel Hill: Mathieu Gatien, Simon Leger, Moguil and Sammy Ahmed, Niome Bode, Ashley Laverty, Brenda Barber, Laura Larcher, Justin Morris-Barber Cornwall: Valerie Leroux  Champlain: Benjamin Ford Dow’s Lake:  Audrey SirignanoPetawawa: Julie Gervais Chicoutimi:  Marie Bergeron Drummondville: Quebec:  Xavier Koumba-Aissi, Daniel Howard,Marie Demers, Eric Malenfant, Joseé Paillé, Carole Levesque Also: Marie-Therese Tourigny,  Lizeth Batres Ceballo, Carlos Batres Ceballo, Julia Miranda, Linda Wilson

 

Welcome to...

New Office Staff:

Elder Jolliffe, Assistant

Elder Emlyn Davis and Elder Sandberg, Office Elders

New Zone Leaders: 

Elder Beatty (Olympic)

Elder Bly (Bayshore)

Elder D. Donaldson (Mont Royal)

Elder Rasmussen (Saguenay)

Elder Thebault (Zarahemla)

New District Leaders:  

Elders Baadsgaard, Black, Bretzke (District Trainer), Durand,

Keyes, Law Tchan Wa, Markham, Poole, Schneider, M. Smith,

and Warnick

New Missionaries and Trainers:

Sister Broderick (Spring City, UT) w/ Sr. White (Hoch. Srs.)

Sister Bytendorp (Arizona) w/ Sr. Sommers (Les Saules)

Sister Young (Texas) w/ Sr. Leck (Cumberland)

Elder Caers (Belgium) w/ Elder T. Hansen (Petawawa)

Elder Hurst (Farmington, UT) w/ Elder Black (St. Lambert)

Elder Jensen (Sandy, UT) w/ Elder M. Smith (St. Luc)

Elder Johnson (Idaho) w/ Elder J. Olson (Anjou)

Elder Olavson (Idaho) w/ Elder Warnick (Riverdale)

Elder Phillips (Salt Lake City, UT) w/ Argyle (McGill)

Elder Wilbur (California) w/ Elder Hardle (Rimouski)

Elder Wood (California) w/Elder Meurrise (Valleyfield)

Elder Woolston (Japan) w/ Elder James (Carlington)

To Parents

Many many thanks to all the parents who sent contributions, packages, and good wishes to the mission for Christmas.  Thanks to your generosity no missionary was without gifts to open on Christmas. 

From the US, don’t use UPS for packages – they charge a $30 broker fee for anything going through customs.  The regular postal system is best.