May 31, 2015

Bob: Another long day, even on Sunday. We had some time before church as it doesn't start till noon, but we didn't get there till the Bishop was standing up welcoming everyone. Next week my goal is to try and leave about 10 minutes earlier. That way we can get a sit in the empty pews down in front!!
After church was over they had a baptism for Steven. That was the 16th baptism by that ward the past year. And of course after the baptism there was a 'Munch and Mingle'. Bonnie made some brownies for that and there weren't any left over. Got home sometime after 5 and then we left at 6:30 to go to a fireside at the Stake Center located next to the temple. It is only about 3 1/2 miles away. The temple is the one thing that is close. The speaker tonight was one of the main guys on the production crew that went to Copenhagen, Denmark to do a digital reproduction of the Christus and 12 apostles. He said it took several years of negotiations to get permission to do this. It was finally given the okay because of a close friendship of someone in our church and a member of the board for the Lutheran Church. We ended up getting home just past 9:00. Bonnie is talking to someone on the phone right now and I am enjoying a Little Debbie cake and glass of diet root beer!
Tomorrow will be a busy day at work as we are getting ready for MLC (Missionary Leadership Conference). All of the Zone Leaders (22 elders and about 10 sister) start coming into the office around 4:30 to pick up supplies they have ordered for the next 6 weeks. That takes several hours of pulling supplies off the shelves and packing in boxes for them to take. Bonnie is in charge of that, but the other 3 of us will be trying to help her out as much as possible. In the past the financial secretary (yours truly) has made Belgium waffles for them!!! I have never made one in my life. Anyway, it's not done every MLC so I think we're skipping this one because we did it on May 6th. However, the vehicle coordinator wants to help with this project. We bought a waffle maker and are getting ready. Maybe we'll try a practice run later this week.
Everyone take care. Hope you are well and happy.

Bob/Dad

Bonnie: We finally have phone service to the states! I've talked to Misty and Lori so far, but now it's time to get ready for our day tomorrow and go to bed. I'll be calling the rest of my dear children as soon as I have time. Yesterday was a full day and today was, too, as Bob has written. The fireside was interesting. I know the Lord had His hand in the project from start to finish. It will be a beautiful visitor's center in Rome with these stunning statues of Christ and the twelve apostles. Hopefully it will take away the misconception that we are not a Christian church.
This week we have a special Family Home Evening on Monday night, which includes a meal. Then, Wednesday night is MLC where we may be feeding about 30 missionaries if they all stay, and on Saturday is a bar-be-que for all the senior couples in our YSA ward. The Bishop will be explaining what our responsibilities will be. It will be good to get some specifics. So, it will be an easy dinner week...Yes!!! :) :)
I need to make this short so we can get ready for tomorrow. I hope all of you have had an enjoyable Sabbath. May the Lord continue to bless each of you!

Love, Mom/Bonnie

May 30, 2015

Bob: Another busy day. Woke up last night about 2:00. After lying there for several minutes I just got up and started getting the 150 letters ready for mailing (mentioned in yesterday's blog). When I finished those I had 30 more that I had done incorrectly. So I opened them up, made the corrections and then taped them up. Hope the post office doesn't balk at taking them. Finished all that up and went back to bed about 5:15 and didn't wake up till 8:45. Took a while to get moving.
Went to the temple today. The session started on time plus Bonnie and I were chosen to be the witness couple. It was a good session as I was able to listen without napping!! Afterwards we went home, changed and went grocery shopping. Another dreadful experience. Took a little sight seeing tour again because we were both sure we had to go right, but we were wrong again.
Finally made it to Caffe Demetre tonight. Had to stand and wait about 20 minutes on a table, but it was worth it. I noticed they're open till 1:30 AM tonight.
Hope everyone is well.

Love, Dad/Bob

Bonnie: We finally celebrated our anniversary by going out for dessert tonight. We went to a place close by called Demetre's, that is famous for its desserts. We each got a one-scoop sundae. Mine came with big brownie bites and Bob's came with white chocolate chips. The ice cream was in a waffle cone, in a sundae dish with a delicious marinated cherry and lots of whipped cream. It's the best dessert I've had in a while!
When we went to Walmart today an employee came up to us and began talking about the missionaries and reading the Bible and wanting to know how to pray! The young man had disabilities but he is a sweet person. We probably talked for 15 minutes or so. We'll give his name to the missionaries and see what happens. I would imagine that some of the missionaries know him anyway, because he seemed fairly familiar with them and what they do.
I hope to get lots of rest tonight. Church starts at noon, but I will have soup to make and brownies to frost in the morning. I love the Sabbath Day! It helps me remember why I am here and what my purpose is--to help others come unto Christ. There will be a baptism after church and then the "Munch and Mingle". I am looking forward to being with the YSA young people. The challenge will be to learn their names, though.
May all of you have a peaceful Sabbath tomorrow, especially as we remember Elder L. Tom Perry. What a great leader and apostle of the Lord. He will be missed!

Love, Mom/Bonnie

May 29, 2015

Bob: Below is an aerial picture of our offices. I don't know when google took this, but there are houses all around us and the road to the right is under construction until November. They let us drive from the top of the picture to the parking lot entrance. After that the road is torn up as they are putting in a new base and 3 lanes wide. There are houses closing in on all sides. They tell us that this place was just surrounded by fields a year ago. If you call up 1624 Wanless Drive, Brampton, ON on goggle maps you can see how the housing development started. It is like that on 3 sides now.

1624 Wanless Drive Brampton

Will add more tonight.
Another big day. We left about 8:30 and then left the office a little after 5 so we could get a new wiper blade put on. Bought one at Wally World, but it won't fit. After that we ate at a local chicken diner. I would have to give them a C+ at best. First mate said we aren't going back there. Then back to work and left the office at about 9:15. Got the car washed on the way home. Got home just a little before 10:00. Tomorrow doesn't look much better as we have to get up early to do the grocery shopping and wash. Bonnie has to bake some brownies for the YSA Munch&Mingle. She also wants to attend the temple. I have to go buy phone chargers and one other thing I can't remember. We also have to fold 130 letters, stuff them in envelopes and then put an address sticker on them. Oh yeah, we need to correct the first 20 envelopes I did as I got them out of order and have a different address on the envelope then I have on the letter. At least I got some things done right today.
Hope everyone is well and that you have a great weekend.
Bonnie says she will talk to you tomorrow. She is going to bed. She says 'Oh for the part-time job!!'
Dad/Bob

May 28, 2015

Bob: Another long day, but partly my fault. We left work just a little after 5 which was good. However, I had to stop at the post office to make sure a letter got postmarked by tomorrow. Discovered that I had left my phone at the office. Went back and got it. Then we stopped at Walmart to get a charger for the phone. I took a left turn instead of a right turn and wasted at least 30 minutes. Then I couldn't find the charger I wanted. Stopped at another store and they didn't have it either. Ended up getting home around 7. Then I didn't communicate well with Bonnie and by the time we realized we had a miscommunication it was too late to go out and get a special dessert to celebrate our anniversary of 27 years. That has been rescheduled for Saturday. Going in later tomorrow and working late to try and catch up. Bonnie has a big project that needs done by Monday and I have 180 letters to fold, stuff, sticker and add postage to. We'll be exhausted tomorrow night when we get home.
Weather has cooled off and it is really quite pleasant right now. Been many forecasts for thunder showers, but so far they have missed us unless they were at night.
Hope everyone is well.
Love to all.

Bob/Dad

May 27, 2015

Bob: Good evening. Another looong day at the office. Bonnie and I went to another office storage site today to look at what inventory is there and to pick up some church records that Salt Lake wants. We didn't realize how far away it was. We were gone over 3 hours!! Wouldn't have gone if I had know it would take that much out of our day. The Gillen's left around noon, but they said they would be in for a while tomorrow as the Mission President is hosting a luncheon for them. He and I have covered about everything once, but there is a lot of his work he has done in EXCEL that I am struggling to learn. It may take quite a while before I can get it down.
Going to give this to Bonnie as she skipped last night. Hope everyone is well and happy. Tried to send my FAMILY group an email today with an attachment that GOOGLE sent me. It is photos and maps of the travels we have been on that month or so. One person told me they couldn't see anything. Right below where I typed our signature there is a little button to click on. Then drop down and VIEW STORY. You should initially see a picture of where Eddie and Lorraine are living in Florida. Eddie is struggling with his breathing so he could use your prayers.

Love, Bob/Dad

Bonnie: It was nice to come home, change and do nothing tonight. Tomorrow is our anniversary and all I want to do is to leave at 5 or a little sooner. We won't be very hungry after our special lunch tomorrow so I won't have to make much dinner. Nice! We'll probably go out for a special dessert and then help Gillen's pack their car. This week has gone fast, I think.
Bob mentioned going to the Toronto Stake Center that used to house all of the mission supplies. It's a beautiful building, very different from the "normal" buildings we see today. It has a huge third floor for supplies that is no longer used. There are some things I think we could use in our office, but there is no room for them. We were afraid at first to use the elevator because we thought we might be stuck in it! We were able to move 4 boxes of a history of the mission from 2009 to 2010, however, which is why we went. And it was a tender mercy that the Family History Center was open. The sister who was working there helped us out quite a bit.
It's past time for me to get ready for bed, so I need to close.
I love all of you, and pray for the Lord's blessings to be with you.

Love, Mom/Bonnie

May 26, 2015

Bob: I am very, very happy to report that I am online and writing from home tonight. We should be more prompt in posting our new adventures. Tomorrow will be our last day of training. The reins will be handed over to us tomorrow afternoon. I have more concern for Bonnie than I do for myself though. If I can't do something or if I do something wrong with the accounting work I know someone will eventually send me a nasty-gram and it can be fixed. Bonnie has a lot of things that just come up and she needs to figure a way to get them done. She has some routine things, but a lot of original things. Thankfully though I believe everyone in the office is willing to share the workload and help each other. It should get a lot better within the month.
We got phones today too, but Bonnie's is still at the office. My number is 416-464-7552 and Bonnie's number will be 416-436-0332. I think we both have unlimited texting and I will have a data plan. It has taken a while, but we should be able to keep in touch. I don't think the Magic Jack phones will work though. I can't find a place to plug the phone into the computer. I'm not sure why as I don't think I have added anything from what I had in Utah.

We went to the YSA Family Home Evening last night and helped them put together packs that are be handed out for a food drive. There were several hundred and we got it done in about 75 minutes I think. The Bishop of the Ward just returned from San Diego where he served as the Mission President. He has been a Temple President and Stake President. Don't know much about him except that I heard he owns an insurance company and that money is not a problem. I think he owns a big fishing lodge up north somewhere. That I would like to find out about!!

I thought the internet hookup was going to fall through again today. The technician came up and then went downstairs to turn it on. He came back and told me the manager wasn't at her station and the security guard wouldn't open the door for him because he didn't have proper ID. So I call the manager and got her voicemail. Went downstairs with him to see if we could find Rose, the manager. Another security person was downstairs and she said she would go up to Rose's apartment and get her. As she went up the elevator Rose showed up. Took her about 10 minutes to find the key and she told the tech that she closed at 5 and wanted the key back.

The tech and I went downstairs then to the communications room. We finally got the key to work. As we entered the room I told the tech that getting access to this room was about as hard as getting access to a Ward Meetinghouse Library!! He wasn't a member so I don't think he had any idea what I was talking about. Well he finally found the line and turned it on. So back up the stairs we went. He hooked it all up and NOTHING. He did some things on his phone, called someone, but nothing. By this time it was getting near 5. He left and said he would be back. He came back about 30 minutes later and tried it again. Still NOTHING. He said I will be back. I asked him he had the key and said he wasn't giving her the key till he was done. Before he came back Bonnie got home. He came back and changed the wiring and the fixture on the wall and SUCCESS. He left here a little past 6. Don't know what Rose said to him, but I feel like spray painting 'I WAS INSIDE' on the communications room door.

Hope everyone is well and that we get some updates from everyone soon. Bonnie is getting ready to go to bed early as we are leaving at 7 in the morning. She said she would write tomorrow night.

The building we live in

Lake behind our complex

Brother Pallin, who told about the history of the area (Is he Canadian?)

Standing by the stream where the first Canadians are believed to have been baptized

May 25, 2015

Bob: Just published updates for May 22 and 24. May get more added to this today and may not. Tried to make an appointment with the social security office in Niagara Falls, but they are closed for the holiday. You Americans are so lucky to have so many holidays from work!! Oh well, back to work for us.
 Later, Bob

May 22, 215

May 22, 2015

Bob: Another long, long day at the office. Left home this morning at just past 8:00. Had a few minutes for lunch because I was trying to set up bank transfers from my credit union to my AFCU account, my landscaper’s account, and my account in Canada. Found out during the day that there was going to be a baptism at 7:00 in the building where we work. So we went to KFC for dinner and right back to the meetinghouse for the baptism. Got home at about 9:00 PM. And, the credit union finally called me back and said they could not transfer money to my Canadian account, but I think I have solved that dilemma. I can just write a check on my credit union account and deposit it into my Canadian bank account.

We don’t have to go to work tomorrow, but we have laundry, some shopping and then dinner at 5:30 with some other couples. It will be another busy day. And Sunday will probably be busy also. Still don’t know how to get to the meetinghouse. I have been there once, but don’t know the way. The fastest way there requires we take route 407. I have always avoided taking 407 because it is a toll road. You either pay with a transponder or they send a bill directly to your home based on your license plate number. Found out this week that cars with Utah license plates do not have to pay to use the highway as the owners of the highway do not have a contract with the state of Utah to bill individuals. As financial secretary I’ll check that out this week. Several cars in the mission may be using transponders to pay the toll when they don’t need to.

The baptism tonight was really sweet. The lady baptized, Rose Baya, is French. She doesn’t speak much if any English, so a young girl who is the granddaughter of Rose’s friend translated for her as others were speaking. At the end of the service Rose shared her feelings and bore her testimony as the young girl translated for those listening.

Bonnie and I just finished watching our first DVD. Some elders left a bunch of church movies at their apartment. We watched ‘The Mountain of the Lord’ tonight.

Good night and love to all.

Bonnie:  I am exhausted tonight. But, staying for the baptism was worth it. How grateful I am to be here! One thing I am not grateful for is that I have what the people here call the “Toronto Drip”. It is constant congestion—sneezing and a runny nose. I hope I can get this over with!

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful day!

Love,

Bonnie and Bob/Dad and Mom

May 24, 2015

Bonnie:  It’s been a wonderful Sabbath. We went to the ward we’ve been attending for the last two weeks for the last time, (until we have family come to see us!) One thing that made it special was a Downs Syndrome priest giving one of the sacrament prayers with the help of his father. It touched my heart. The couple we are replacing, the Gillens, were giving their final talks and we wanted to hear them.  They gave wonderful talks and I felt like Sister Gillen was talking just to me! I’m feeling stressed right now because there is so much to learn and we’ll be on our own soon. Sis. Gillen’s words had a calming effect on me. Prayers for us would be great—that we can learn all we need to before they leave.  Then, we had about 45 minutes to get to our new ward, the Churchville YSA (young single adults) ward.  What great young adults! It’s a very diverse ward. Most of them are the only member of the church in their families. There is lots of work to do because there are many YSA who are not coming. For now we are just to “meet and mingle” with them. Church does not start until noon and afterwards every Sunday, except for Fast Sunday, food is served in the cultural hall! I’m sure I will be asked to help provide the food at some point. When family comes we’ll attend our original ward so that the grandchildren will get to go to Primary and YW/YM. So, it’s been another long day, leaving about 9:30 and returning about 4:30 pm. I’m finding out that that’s just a normal part of being on a mission!

Yesterday I found out that we can get another couch, so that the furniture in our living room matches. The church provides a couch and two recliners for the senior couples. That will make me very happy. Right now half of the living room is blue and half of the room is in gold and browns. We’ll take pictures when I have everything the way I want it.

We should get the internet Tuesday afternoon and with that phone service.  I can’t wait. I miss hearing the voices of family and friends! May all of you be blessed this beautiful Sabbath Day.

Bob: Both Sacrament Meetings were special in their own way. In the Creditview Ward one of the Priests blessing the sacrament has Downs Syndrome. His dad helped him by reading a couple words and then the Priest would repeat the words. It was very special. I hope our friends in WV, the Ingold’s, have done this with Danny. Of course the talks by the Gillens were good. Elder Gillen stood right up to give the final talk and he didn’t have one note in his hands. He started by relating part of their experience from visiting Palmyra last week. An elder there said to them that he was sure they knew the story of the first vision, but if they didn’t mind he would like to bear his testimony to them of it. Elder Gillen said a flood of memories came over him as he remembered serving his mission in the Palmyra area and bearing his testimony of the first vision.

When we went to the YSA Sacrament Meeting the first person the Bishop had speak was his 2^nd Counselor, who was attending the YSA Ward for the first time. He told of being in the church for over 40 years and of being introduced to the gospel by a young girl that attended church in her own home. He said she lived 100 miles north of North Bay and a 100 miles south of Timmins. In my mind I was thinking that is probably near New Liskeard where we were last summer. When the meeting was over I went up and asked him if he knew Warren Cambridge as I believe Warren started holding church services in his home in that area many years ago. The man got the biggest smile on his face and said, “Warren is my father-in-law!!” Then we remembered meeting each other last summer when the Cambridge’s had their family reunion in New Liskeard.

The 2^nd speaker was a young man from India. He stood up to talk and said he wanted to offer a prayer before we began. He bowed his head and offered a short vocal prayer and then proceeded to give his talk. It was very spiritual and very touching. I told him later that I had never seen anyone humbly give a prayer prior to a talk. It added a lot to the reverence of the meeting.

The munch and mingle after church was over was great. Met a lot of the young people. They are from all over. Talked to one man who is about 2 inches taller than me who is going to school at Southern Virginia. He’s home for the summer working and getting married. He is from Nigeria. Another young man just got home from a mission in France, Belgium and Luxemburg. Elder Barrett told me the munch and mingle is funded by the church. I think they have a committee set up to serve, etc. I’m looking forward to it!! I told one lady I didn’t know who was responsible for today’s rice dish, but I didn’t know you could make rice taste that well. Another great thing is that church doesn’t start till noon!!!! Elder and Sister Barrett from North Dakota also are serving there. They go early to pick up some young people for church so I think we’ll be doing that too. They have a special FHE scheduled tomorrow night at the Stake Center to put together some hygiene kits for those in need. The Stake President told the Branch President that he didn’t think the Branch could get it done so the Branch President is trying to get as many there as possible to prove him wrong.

Sister Gillen brought this point up in Sacrament Meeting: ‘Are my actions representative of my purpose?’ I need to contemplate that for a while.

Hope everyone has had a great weekend. Love to everyone.

Bob/Dad and Bonnie/Mom

May 23, 2015

Bob: A quick post. We wrote up something last night for May 22. I am at the office but forgot the flash drive. Will try to post that later today. Right now I'm at the office to do some computer things. Got to head back to apartment so we can go get some items. Going to dinner tonight with some other missionary couples. Looking forward to that although I don't need anything to eat for the next 3 days as I stuffed myself at KFC last night and then while watching a DVD with Bonnie ate most of a SMALL bag of potato chips. Can't seem to do without those Canadian chips!!

Lori, If you read this I need to know some more about the phone bill. I have emailed you and left you a voice message. Please contact me via email. I can call you from the office.

Everyone have a great weekend. It is sunny, but a little cool here. A light jacket feels appropriate.

Love to all. Bob/Dad

May 21, 2015

Bob: This post was put up at the same time May 20, 2015 was posted. Working without internet at home is causing some problems with posting. But, the installation is rescheduled for Tuesday afternoon next week. We’ll see how it goes.

Today was another long day. Left for work just after 8 and left the office at a little past 6. Drove to North York today and closed another apartment. It was pretty easy today as the elders had almost everything done when we got there. Some elders are more motivated for cleaning than others. We’ll see if I’m as lucky next month when I start closing apartments by myself. We have 3 scheduled for June and I need to send out letters on 2 or 3 more for July. The closings should slow down then as the number of missionaries will drop to almost 200 which is the goal for the church. Elder Gillen said there were almost 290 missionaries when he started 17 months ago. He said he has closed about 40 apartments. 2 a month doesn’t sound bad but the whole process takes a good bit of time. It has been suggested that I should go look at the apartment before closing it so I can talk to the Zone Leaders and get them started on the cleaning and emptying before the final closing. Waiting till the last minute to do the cleaning, etc. isn’t a good idea.

After we finished dinner tonight, around 7:30 we got ready and went grocery shopping. The parking for the apartment is underground, so when we get home we have to ride the elevator up 2 stories. To bring the groceries up we have a little push cart. I told Bonnie I felt like a dawdling old man pushing a cart full of groceries. I remember seeing on tv scenes of very aged people wheeling their groceries in a cart to their apartment. Looks like we finally made it there!!

It’s past bedtime so good night and love to all.

May 20, 215

Bonnie: I was on my own in the office today! It started out ok but the afternoon was crazy. I had a parent that needed her missionary daughter to fax her something important. We finally got it all resolved about 5:30 tonight.  I received several letters for missionaries who have gone home that I need to resend with the home addresses and the addresses were not to be found. Then I got a call about a package that can’t be delivered without brokerage services, whatever that is.  Another package came that required about $20 before we could have it. I put together several orders for missionaries, including 40 Books of Mormon. Then, I ordered 6 books from Amazon that teach how to speak Farsi (Persian) for 4 missionaries. I didn’t get a chance to organize the small storage room or do any referrals. Three baptisms that I began to record went ok until I submitted them.  Tomorrow Sister Gillen will have to help me clean up what I tried to do today.

Yesterday was a great day, though. Sister Gillen and I started to organize the donated clothing from missionaries that have gone home and I found a coat that I think will work for me this winter! It’s 75% down and needs cleaning of course, but I am thrilled. It will cost me about $300 or more if I buy a new one. We needed to try to clean out our temporary storage area for the clothing, car stuff and large book orders (such as the 1600 Books of Mormons we ordered last time) because it’s in a church classroom.  This could be a huge problem. We’ll have to see what the Bishop wants us to do.

By the way, Happy Birthday to my daughter, Shannan! I hope it’s a wonderful day for you!

Bob: My training is progressing. Besides financial secretary, I am also the housing coordinator. In the last week we have closed down 3 apartments and tomorrow will be the 4^th. Elder Gillen is going to go with me tomorrow, but he wants me to handle it. Closing an apartment is a lengthy ordeal. It requires notice given to a landlord 60 days after the end of the current month. Thus for an apartment closing tomorrow the owner must have received notice by the end of March. Then you have to coordinate utility shutoffs if necessary, clean the apartment and make sure everything is moved out of it. So tomorrow I will take Elder Gillen to the apartment where we will meet 4 Elders to clean and clear everything out. The problem is motivating the missionaries to sweep, dust, and clean.  After all is cleaned we need to dispose of the trash and then get lunch for the missionaries. Disposal of everything requires us to dump the trash in a church bin at the closest meeting house or haul it back to the bin at our office. We also might take some items to Goodwill or put them in our rented storage facility. If we have any heavy items to put in the storage facility we need to coordinate Elders meeting us there to unload. So far it has taken almost a whole day for each closing. It’s nice getting out of the office, but when it’s over I’m pretty tired.

Getting our internet is proving to be quite a task. It was rescheduled for May 25^th at 8:00 am through 12:00 noon. We can’t do that because if Bell comes before 9 they won’t have access to the communication room. And I was told that it is IMPOSSIBLE to request between 9 and 12. You only have 3 options: 8-noon, 1-5, or 5-9. But the communications room is only available from 9-5. This is getting very frustrating.

Another problem is I confirmed with my WV credit union that yes I must set up all my external transfers once again!!!!!! It only takes time and the internet. And the only internet is at work. I think the other people in the office are going to think I don’t want to associate with them at meal time as I spend that time trying to catch up on email, etc.

I was told unofficially today that we would not be assigned to the ward where we have gone the last 2 Sundays. The assignment is going to be at a YSA Ward (young single adults, ages 18-30). It is farther than the meetinghouse we’ve been attending. Looks like we’ll be picking up people and taking them to church, too.

I’m still reading To the Rescue, the Biography of Thomas S. Monson. Scott Crossley suggested I read it as President Monson was Mission President in Toronto several years ago. All I can say is, thanks Scott, it is a great read. There are so many inspiring stories and examples in the book that once I get time to read it I don’t want to put it down. I usually can’t get to it till late at night so I read till I get sleepy, which doesn’t take long. I recommend it to everyone.

It has been a lot of work training, but it has been fun working with Elder Gillen. He has been real patient repeating things and trying to go over as much as he can. The person that had this position before Elder Gillen left a couple pages of handwritten instructions and trained him for 3 days before going home. So I have had a lot more training time than he had.  He typed up about 4 to 5 pages of instructions. Plus he is going to be in touch with me as soon as he gets to the states and reinstates his US phone so he can help me with things I’m not sure about. He’s going to stay away from the office next week and only come in when I need him. (Looks like he’ll have to be there when I get the internet connected!)

I don’t want anyone to get the idea that I’m not enjoying the mission. The mission has been fun and fulfilling, but some of the simple things we take for granted at home don’t happen here. And the reason is, “You are in Canada, eh!!”

Love to all. We miss everyone. Hope Utah is enjoying all the rain.

May 17, 2015

Bob: It is 7:30 Sunday morning so I thought I would write something before we left for church. Sacrament meeting starts at 10:00 so we can get a little extra rest this morning. Our days usually start between 6 and 6:30. We try to leave the apartment by 8 if possible. May change that a little once our trainers depart on the 29^th.

Bonnie is wanting to make some ‘accommodation modifications’, so I’ll need to find a few hand tools!! Yesterday I was able to hang a mirror for her. She slid the furniture around to suit her and then we went to Walmart and bought an area rug that covers about half the living room floor. She is looking at pictures and there will be a few of those to hang. I think a towel bar is coming also.

I think the living room is about 12 x 20 with 3 entry ways. There is a sliding set of doors that lead to a solarium, a single doorway leading to the kitchen and an open walk-through to the dining room. We are lucky to have a dining room with a decent table and chairs. The one bedroom apartments in this building have a living-dining area combination. But their kitchen is much larger than ours. We can stand in the middle of ours and just by turning around can reach both sides! Everything is within a step or two.

We went to the temple yesterday. Our plans were to go to the 9:15 session and be back here by noon for the internet hookup, which I explained yesterday did not happen. Anyway, when we entered the temple the man at the desk said it would be a special session as two sisters were receiving their own endowments and that the session would be in Spanish. Well, about 9:15 they took us to the endowment room. Once everyone was seated they began to bring others in also. It took them till almost 9:45 to get everyone seated and started. I am thinking this is not starting real well if we have to be back to the apartment by noon. Once the session was complete and we started to pass through the veil, they were doing one sister at a time. They started with French speaking, then they switched to Spanish, and finally when they started English more workers came to help. We ended up leaving the temple at just after noon. There was a message from the installation man that we would skip us and go to his next job, then try us later. About 20 minutes later he called that the job was cancelled and he would be over. Then the non-access to the communications room came up.

When I went to the office to do some computer things I discovered I could not transfer money from my WV credit union to my Utah credit union. Seems as though when the WV unit did a ‘security upgrade’ they lost all information for the external transfer ability that I use. The last I heard they did not have that resolved! I thought that problem was just for transfers to another country. They didn't explain that all external transfers were not working.

Well, it’s almost 8:00. It’s time to do some other things. I hope everyone is doing well. I see Islena has graduated which will be a blessing to both her and her family. Congratulations Islena!! We are proud of you for accomplishing this. I saw the comments on the blog and passed those onto to Bonnie. She doesn't have time at work to blog so I’ll try to keep her up to date until we get internet access.

Bonnie: How can I begin to tell about all of our experiences in a sentence or two?  I really can't, so I will try to summarize things. I love our apartment because of its size--it's like a small house. And the sister that was there previously left some beautiful indoor plants, tons of Christmas stuff and religious pictures that I can use. Each day I try to make it more like home for us, with small touches here and there. The down-side is that we are on the second floor and can hear people outside in the grassy area visiting and playing basketball. The recycling bins are also near there, and so we hear people empty their stuff there. It hasn't been too bad, though.

I like the ward we are in, as well. This was our second Sunday here and we already have a dinner invitation later today. We also asked the Sister Missionaries if they needed help. They asked us to go with them to meet a family who is investigating the church at 4:00 this afternoon. So, today will be almost as busy as during the week.

I cannot believe how much there is to learn about office procedures and assignments. There is always something to do. And I get to answer the phones which is interesting because I never know if it will be one of the 250 missionaries who need something or calls about facility management or service projects or President and Sister Clayton! A typical day begins here about 8:30 am and ends about 5:30 or 6:00 pm. Then, it's about a half-hour home. It's been hard not to have a regular workout schedule every day like we did in Utah, but we are still trying to figure it out. I don't know if I can get up at 5:30 or 6 am to exercise. I just might be a little grumpy if I do that!

Congratulations, Islena! You will make an excellent dietitian. 

I hope everyone is doing well.  Hopefully, we will be able to communicate better a week from tomorrow when we have internet and phone service! My love to all.

Love,

Bonnie and Bob/Mom and Dad

May 16, 2015

Bob: Hello to everyone. The missionary work is going just fine. Acquiring an internet connection is NOT going so well. We thought it would be done today. The technician did not have access to the communications room at the high rise. Found out that WE have to coordinate access to the room. This is another 5 finger situation, 'Because You Are In Canada!!'. Will not have to wait until Monday the 25th to get the internet, if that date works. Will keep you posted. Until then, the FAMILY update emails and BLOG updates will be spotty. Depends on work hours, etc.

Received training yesterday on closing out an apartment. Thought we were touring Ontario yesterday  as ended up going to Waterloo, then Hamilton, and finally back to Brampton. We were gone about 5.5 hours altogether. Got to close 3 more apartments this week. Nice to be out and moving around, but I'm losing valuable time on the accounting procedures. Elder Gillen will be walking out the door for good on May 28th, and he is leaving me his phone. And that means he will not have a phone!! Going to have to find someone to call for help.

I have got to go. Left Bonnie at the apartment washing clothes while I came to the office to do some computer work. Went to my credit union site to do some money transfers and found out that all the external transfers I had set up are no longer valid. Have to do each one over again. And they take time, the one thing we don't have to spare. It's beginning to feel like this treadmill is out of control.

Bonnie does have a phone that can take calls. Check your plan before you call however. Lori and Bonnie talked for a while. Then Lori found out she was charged by the minute for the call. Bonnie CANNOT call long distance yet. Our office phone is 905-452-7484.

May 12, 2015

May 11, 2015 – 8:10. AM

Bob: We are up and getting ready to go to the Mission Home for some ‘senior missionary’ instruction, a light lunch and then a field trip to a place where Parley P. Pratt and other baptized some of the first Canadian converts to the church. This area is rich in Mormon history as Joseph Smith, Thomas S. Monson, M. Russell Ballard and Bruce R. McConkie have all served in this area. A man well versed in this history is going to speak to us this afternoon so we are anxious to hear him. Not sure is the weather is going to cooperate though. The sun is out, but it is windy and much cooler than last weekend. It has rained the last 3 nights too.

Heard on Facebook yesterday that Bob Briggs had a stroke and is in a Pittsburgh hospital. If anyone knows how he is doing please let us know. Gary Church is trying to find out for us.

Monday was a very long day. My trainer, Elder Gillen, told me last Friday that we had a long report to do by Wednesday for President Clayton. The first thing he said we needed to do was to order a phone/text usage report from Rogers, the phone carrier the church uses. He had forgotten to order the report so by the time he ordered it we didn’t get the report till late Friday. He said it was too late in the day to start the report so we’d do it Monday. Started it first thing Monday, but soon discovered the report they sent us was from the previous month and not the current month. So we had to reorder the report and wait for it to come in.

Started the report late Monday morning and by 5:00 we had one report finished and a 2^nd report partially completed. Had to break and go to dinner at the Mission Home that the Claytons were hosting. Went back to the office after dinner to complete the 2^nd report and do a 3^rd report. Finished that and got home after midnight. Going back to the office this afternoon to finish the 4^th and final report.

The report from Rogers summarizes all the texts and phone calls made by each and every missionary companionship in the Mission. There were over 190,000 texts and I think about 90,000 phone calls. We had to convert Rogers’ report to EXCEL and then combine that with another EXCEL list of missionary companionships in the Mission. There are so many formulas, shortcuts, etc. that I have never seen before that my head was swimming. Next week is Elder Gillen’s last full time week so I am going to be hard pressed to figure this thing out. At least it is the hardest report he does and I have gotten a start on it. The report wasn’t being done until he arrived. Time will tell if we continue the report.

Last night at the dinner most of the senior missionary couples in the mission were there. Each of us stood up and told about our families and at least one thing we have learned on our mission. Some of them have very interesting histories. These couples were from all over the US and Canada, and most of them said they had never expected to be serving in the capacity they were now serving in. Most of them thought they were way in over their heads when they first started. But everyone loves what they are doing and they are committed to their assignments.

Got to run now. Hoping to get our internet tomorrow night. We are supposed to get an email instructing us on which post office they mailed our modem to so we can pick it up. Still waiting for that information although they emailed me it has shipped and will be here tomorrow. Installer will be here between 5 and 9 PM.

4:00 PM

Just got to the office after our senior missionary retreat today. A longtime member from this area told us of the history of the church in the Toronto area. It was very interesting, but the temperature outside was in the high 50s. Because of this it got a little uncomfortable and I think he stopped his presentation early as he was getting cold too.

Brother Pallin that gave the presentation.

 Standing by stream where many Canadians are believed to have been baptized

May 10, 2015

Bob: We just finished our Sunday meetings at the Ward House so we thought we would do the blog now before we go home. The Mission Office is in the same building where we will meet on Sundays so it is convenient to walk to our office area and catch up with our email, etc.
The weather here has been unseasonably hot!! Today's temperature is in the 70s, but the humidity is showing 100% so that makes it even hotter. There will not be any air conditioning in our apartment building until June 2nd. The building has to convert the heating system to air conditioning before we can use it. Providential law requires them to keep heat available to May 22nd so the heat will not be turned off until then. Then it takes 3 days for the boiler cool down before they can convert the system to air conditioning. If the weather turns cold there may be a run on blankets at the local Walmarts! The reason for all this can be summed up in the most famous 5 words spoken in all of Canada: Because You Are In Canada!!

Yesterday wasn't a great day for Bonnie. Her allergies are still acting up and she is quite miserable. I ran a few errands, but she mostly stayed in the apartment. She did a few things and we went out at 9:00 PM for some ice cream, but that was her only excursion out yesterday. The worse experience of the day was my trip to Costco. People were lined up to get into Costco in the middle of the afternoon. I have never seen a more crowded store in my life. I'm anxious to try them again on a week-night to see if it is any better. Only had one item to purchase, a fan for the apartment. Thus I couldn't leave Costco without it.

Best experience of the day was visiting with President Jakob and Brother Sauve from the Temiskaming Branch at the Toronto Temple. Although I got lost on the way we had a great visit. It was so good to see them again. They told me to let them know what weekend we can come up and they'll schedule the Branch picnic then!! That will be fun. Don't know if we'll be able to wet a line or not. Karl told me that Elk Cabins is not open right now. I had heard that the owners went south for the winter. Karl thinks they may have shut down. I hope not, but this might be an opportunity for Serge and Kelly, the previous owners, to repurchase it. Heard last summer that Serge wishes they had never sold it. I hope they get it back.

We went to gospel essentials today. I am waiting for the instructor, the former Branch President, to send me a pdf file on what he talked about. This was the 2nd class of a 5 week course about Family History. We did learn from quotes of Joseph Smith, Gordon B. Hinckley, Bruce R. McConkie and others that the excuses of 'Too busy' and 'Too Hard' will not be acceptable by the Lord. We cannot be saved without our ancestors and it doesn't not matter who you are, the work is not done!! More on this will follow.

Want to wish all mothers a very happy Mothers' Day. Hope your children smothered you with love today. Love you all. Come see us.

Border crossing on Monday after getting permits to enter Canada

President and Sister Clayton with us on Monday night

Mission home purchased by Elder Ballard while Mission President

Bonnie:  It's been a very interesting week! We are finally all unpacked, though Bob still has a little to do. I did the kitchen yesterday, which involved lots and lots of items that I won't need.  I also unpacked my linens which makes me happy. The next step will be going to Good Will and The Salvation Army to look for rugs and a possible night stand and lamp. The Sister Missionary who lived here before us was a seamstress. She put up several hooks with wire between them that she must have used to hang material on, or clothing. They are in the pantry and the master bedroom. The apartment is huge, like a small house! It has a large master bedroom, a nice-sized dining room, a pantry room, a second bedroom and a solarium. The kitchen is small and the bathroom only has one sink, but I can handle that. This is your invitation to come see us! Just bring sleeping bags for the kids. We live in a very tall building on the second floor.  Parking is inside, but is kind of crazy to figure out. There are supposed to be 36 or more trails outside close by, a basketball court, and a swimming pool that is opened up for two months.  And we're in the fourth largest city in North America, after New York, LA, and Mexico City, which means there are many different nationalities here. I love the feeling that different cultures bring to a city. We'll send pictures of our apartment in a few days as soon as everything is in order. I just hope I get to feeling better. I had a bad allergy attack, and still am suffering from its effects. I want to be sharp tomorrow for the two weeks of training I have left.

My love to all of the Mothers who are reading this. You have blessed my life, especially my daughters and daughters-in-law. How I love you all! The ward we visited today gave the mothers chocolates and we also were served M & Ms in Relief Society. I really like this ward. I hope it is where President Clayton wants us to serve.

May 8, 2015

Written on May 7th

Bob: Took a little detour on the way to work this morning. Turned right when I should have turned left. After a couple miles I figured it out and turned around. Tonight coming home made another wrong turn, but quickly realized what I had done. After I got home I then went out to get a few more items at Walmart. My neighbor told me how to get there. Still had a little trouble finding it as I thought it was just across the street from Costco, which I found. Turns out the Walmart is about ¾’s of a mile down the street from Costco. Finally did find it.

Bonnie was sick this morning and didn’t get to go to work. Her allergies are attacking her again. She said she slept about 6 hours today while I was gone. I didn’t get home till after seven as the Zone Leaders from all zones came in starting about 4:30 to pick up supplies. Elder Gillen, who I am replacing, cooked Belgian waffles for all of them and everyone in the office that wanted some. There were 30 zone leaders and 8 office workers. His waffle maker makes 1 large waffle at a time, so it took a little while to feed everyone. When he finished up he said I could have his large pitcher to take over waffle making. So it looks like we’ll be purchasing a waffle maker.

It is a little warm in our apartment tonight as it got pretty warm today. Air conditioning is not going be turned on until June 2!! That might not be too good if it keeps heating up like today. We’ll have to go this weekend and pick up a large fan. I was told the church will pay for it though.

Haven’t gotten the Internet ordered yet. The local girl in the office says that Teksavvy is what was recommended to her by a couple of IT people. She lives just down the hall from us so this weekend sometime we’ll go check out the speed, etc. and order it Monday. She said the prime carriers, Bell and Rogers, are difficult to deal with when you have problems. And they want automatic payment set-up so you have to fight with them to get your refund. But since they are the prime carriers in Canada they must do something right. So we will see. Teksavvy has a large modem fee that has to be paid at the start so even though their monthly fee is a good bit smaller, the modem fee makes a higher investment for a short term resident. If you lived here permanently it is no doubt the way to go. Gambling on Bell or Rogers customer service, however, could be a huge risk.

Did have one good experience at the bank. Went in to convert our US cash to Canadian. There is small fee for doing that and also a small fee if you use the ATM. When the teller found out we were over 60 she said the bank would let us open a checking account with no monthly fees or transaction limits. They provided us with a debit card and ordered a credit card for us too. Checked with our US credit union and they can transfer money to the Canadian bank and that is feeless too. So now we get full exchange rate on our purchases and don’t have to pay any fees.

May 8th update

Bob: At the office right now. Internet and phones were down earlier today. Had some time to take Bonnie to the Mission storage unit and get some items we can use. The Mission has a truck we can use to haul in a large shelf unit for storage. When we leave work today we'll have to go home and do some laundry. Trying to find out how I go about washing my car. There is an outlet out back but no key to turn on the water. The office worker that can tell me about this has not been in yet. She is always making rounds or doing something when we go down to see her.

We are visiting with one of our neighbors who works a couple days in the Mission Office. She has advised me who to get as my Internet provider and it appears she is correct. I think I'll give them a call ASAP. Being without the Internet is a pain..

Will try and get on tomorrow and load some pictures of our apartment. Also, tomorrow we will be visiting with President Jakob and the Stake Clerk, Brad Sauve, who are from the Temiskiming Branch where we stayed last summer. Till tomorrow, we send our love and wish everyone well.

May 7, 2015

Bob: Still no Internet at our apartment. Tried to write blog at apartment last night and then send it this morning, but keyboard does not work. Will try to fix that tonight. Anyway, Bonnie is home sick this morning. Her allergies are acting up. Local term for it is Toronto Drip!!
Had our first meal at the apartment last night after 9 pm. Had hot dogs, caesar salad, dill pickles and a Little Debbie cake. Hopefully our diet will improve. Spent all day until almost 9:00 moving in and trying to arrange things. Very happy with 2 bedrooms, a living room, kitchenette, dining room, pantry, bath and sun room!!!! It truly is a large apartment. Come on up. We have room except bathroom will be tight.
Will try to add more later.

May 6, 2015

Bob: Did not have wireless access last night so we were not able to update the blog. It is now just past 9am and we just arrived at the office. We did not get moved into our apartment last night as the sister did not leave as she was supposed to do. But we are leaving for our apartment as soon as I finish this. We are very blessed in that we will be the only companionship with a 2 bedroom apartment. Has nothing to do with us or what we are doing. It is the luck of the vacancy!! Anyway, we will have a bedroom for visitors and a floor for sleeping bags. Alas, only one bathroom however.
Went out to dinner last night with 4 other couples. One couple, the Clevelands are going home in a week. We ate at the Mandarin, which is a buffet style Chinese restaurant. I did get my fill. Even had prime rib, although it wasn't the best. Many yummy items though.
Well, I have to close for right now. Will try to get back to this later today. Love to all. And we would like an occasional comment.

May 4, 2015

Bonnie:  What a wonderful day this has been, although it was not without some problems.  We are at the mission president's home in Toronto.  We had a delicious dinner with three new sister missionaries, the two assistants to the president and President and Sister Clayton. They are warm and loving and have shared with us some wonderful gospel principles, such as always remembering our purpose. We are to always be ready to share our testimonies and the Holy Spirit will let us know what to say as we speak.  At dinner we went around the table and shared why we decided to serve a mission. After dinner we shared our testimonies.  The spirit was very strong.  I;m so glad to be here.  It will be a wonderful experience.  Now, I'm looking forward to getting some sleep!

Bob: Well Chris, you were absolutely correct about one thing, there is no easy way to get to Buffalo from Shippensburg!! We saw a lot of beautiful Pennsylvania and New York landscape on our way here and actually arrived earlier than our GPS said we would. However, from Buffalo to Toronto took over 4 hours which includes time at the border explaining why we were wanting to stay in Canada for 18 months.
At the border they asked why we were going to Canada, how we would pay for our mission, what we would be doing on our mission, exactly where we would be living (which we didn't know, but they called for us), a letter calling us to serve a mission, and a letter from someone in Canada about our mission. With all this and the processing it took at least an hour. They were polite and told us we could have a seat while we were waiting. But there is only 1 chair in the lobby.
We had to suspend our phone service in Buffalo. AT&T agreed we could end the contracts on my phone and the tablet for a total of $251. Then we could go to AT&T in Canada and they would put a symcard in our devices that would allow us to continue using them. Our plan charges would remain as they are now and we could text, have data, call, etc. I can't see why they need the $251 surrender charge if we are going to continue to pay the same monthly charge we do now! I plan on discussing this more with them ASAP. Anyway, for now, we DO NOT have any phone or texting capabilities.
Dinner was wonderful and the testimony meeting was spiritually uplifting.
Tried to get a picture of the Welcome to Ontario sign. Also, we have a picture of President & Sister Clayton welcoming us to the Mission.

May 3, 2015

Bob: Went to church in Shippensburg today. Very nice service. 2 young Elders taught a lesson on prayer to the Elders Quorum and High Priest Group. They did a very good job. Came home from church for about an hour and a half break then went back to town to hear Suzy sing in a local choir, the Towne Singers. It was really good. The choir has 30 members and they sound great.

This morning before going to church we went to a local park. We spent about an hour there walking around looking at the water ponds, foliage, etc. While doing so most of us carried a small garbage bag and picked up trash that others had thrown down. Chris said they have been doing this for a while. The park is beginning to look a lot better. We even had to hunt for garbage in some areas. Considering there are a few ball fields I thought it might be a lot worse than it was. There is one pond that has several ducks in it. When people try to feed the ducks, carp swim up to the surface to grab the food from the ducks. You can see the carp swimming near shore awaiting the food offerings. There is also a nice bed and breakfast just of the shore of the pond. Picture is below.

Bed and Breakfast House

Mother robin with 3 eggs in her nest on Chris' back porch:

Picture of ducks and fish (fish is nearer the top between ducks)

Bonnie: It's been a beautiful Sabbath today.  I enjoyed picking up garbage at the park.  It was beautiful weather, not too cold or hot. Today at church, it was really Jonathan's day because he got to stand up in Sacrament meeting and in Primary the kids sang him a birthday song. Then, he gave a talk in Primary. After church he went to the Bishop's office, along with others who had had birthdays the end of April, and the Bishop sang them a birthday song and gave the kids a little treat. This is a very talented Bishop! We ended the day, as Bob has written, attending a concert at a Methodist Church where Suzy performed in a choir concert. It was very well done. And it was enjoyable to meet some of the members of the choir afterwards. One loves the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and goes on Thursday nights to hear them practice when he is in Salt Lake City to go skiing.

Tomorrow will be a big day because we will arrive at the Toronto Mission Home about 7 pm. We will meet the mission president and his wife for the first time. I just hope we can get settled quickly. I'm tired of living out of a suitcase!

May 2, 2015

Bob: We are now in Shippensburg. Our trip only took 90 minutes from West Friendship to Shippensburg. The baptism was really nice, especially with talks by Daphne and Ammon. Children speaking to children was touching. While Daphne was speaking Michael was leaning over against his older brother, Ammon. Michael had his head resting on Ammon's shoulder and his arm around Ammon's back.  It was very special seeing the younger brother loving his older brother.
There were several friends that came over for dessert after the baptism. One lady, Dawna Johnson, from the Logan area thinks she knows Kenneth Godfrey who was the Mission President in the late 70s back in WV. It really is a small Mormon world.
Below are a couple of pictures of Misty and Dan's house and then Suzy and Chris' house.

Ellis' house

Keyes' house

Part of the Ellis' chicken farm

Bonnie:  We have just had a marvelous party for Jonathan's baptism and Evie's birthday.  She is 13   today. The baptism was very special.  The talks were given by Jonathan's sister Daphne who gave the baptism talk and his cousin Ammon who spoke on the Holy Ghost.  They were excellent talks. The Bishop ended with a talk about working in the military on a submarine and learning how to listen carefully to do his job. He likened it to listening for the Holy Ghost to guide him in his life. Afterwards, we had three types of cake and ice cream after singing to Evie for her birthday. There were several families who came, and Misty and Dan and their children of course. I'm very proud that Jonathan has made this very important decision. It will bless his life as he honors the promises he has made to Heavenly Father. It's been a very special day.

Jonathan and Chris prior to the baptism

Chris, Evie, Suzy, Daphne, with Jonathan in front

May 1, 2015

Bob: We went on an outing with Dan, Misty and the kids today to a goat farm. They are thinking about getting some goats to raise for milk. I had no idea what all is involved with this. Nor did I realize what young goats cost. A lady showed them her goats and talked a lot about how she got started and what the problems and benefits are from owning goats. Its way more complicated than I would have ever believed. She gave everyone some goat's milk, cheese and yogurt after we were done. Only one of the children said anything negative and that was concerning the cheese. The milk wasn't that bad. I thought it was better tasting than regular milk. I cannot stand to drink regular milk at all.
If you don't think our healthcare system has some problems listen to this. I picked up a prescription at the pharmacy today. The item was sitting on the shelf and had a price of 145.99. I gave them my medicare card which paid 80% of the amount medicare allows for that item. My supplement paid the remaining 20%. The charge to my supplement was only 4.21. That means medicare paid 16.84 for a total paid of 21.05. Thus, since I had insurance the pharmacy has to accept the 21.05 allowable amount from medicare. If I didn't have insurance I would have had to pay 145.99. Wonder where this extra 124.94 went? Is that just profit from the poor soul that doesn't have insurance?
We are headed to Shippensburg tomorrow for Jonathan's baptism. It's less than 2 hours away.