Bonnie: Well, another MLC has come and gone. We finally left about 7:00 tonight because Bob had to do some things after all of the missionaries left. The waffles were extra delicious because Sis. Erickson made home-made caramel sauce for them. And, because Bob bought another waffle iron to use at MLC it went much faster. Everything seemed to go well. Also, three of the packages I was waiting for finally arrived for their intended missionaries. It still doesn't make up for the one that got lost, but there's nothing that can be done about that--I've talked to the APs, the Zone Leaders, everyone in the office and even the President and his wife. And we've looked everywhere. It makes me feel badly but there is nothing more to do about it.
Tomorrow should be a quieter day. I hope to figure out the new referral program. I plan on calling SL about it. It's supposed to show a map of where the referral lives, but sometimes it shows downtown SLC right around the temple!! Go figure!!
We have an exciting week-end ahead with the announcing of the three new apostles. We are going to try to watch it from our apartment Saturday. Then, on Sunday we've been invited to Erickson's to watch it. It should be another restful Sabbath. Oh, how I look forward to Sundays.
Well, it's been a long day, so I better let Bob have a chance to write, and then we are going to bed early. Yes!!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Bob: Waffle making was fun today. With the 2 waffle makers no one had to wait long. When Elder Barlow came through to get his I put 2 on his plate. He's not a big guy, but in the past he has eaten anything and everything that is left over. So I just started him off with an extra one. He was a good sport about it.
The extra things I had to do after the waffles had to do with a landlord who didn't understand his own lease. He showed up today asking the missionaries to get out. He said the lease was up and he wanted them to move. The problem is we gave him notice in August that we were vacating the apartment on or before October 31. We have paid the rent for October, but he didn't understand that either. In Ontario when you move in you have to initially pay 2 months rent. That is considered the first and last months rent. I paid him on August 20th for September and reminded him that the rent for October had been paid when we moved in. He just couldn't grasp that concept. His son was the listing agent and we called him. He didn't seem to understand either because all he could say was 'your lease ends today'. Well in Canada you do not have to re-sign a lease. If you want to continue to live there you continue to pay your rent on time and don't sign anything. The landlord finally backed off when we told him his son would call him and explain it to him. I guess he finally figured it out. When the missionaries came back to the apartment around 9 the son was leaving in his car. He just waved to the missionaries and smiled. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Weather never got into the high 60s today. It is getting to be sweater or jacket time. On the way to the office today there were several people at the bus stops with heavy coats on. Saw one guy with his parka pulled up over this head. He must be from someplace south of here.
Love to all and good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Wednesday 30 September 2015
Tuesday 29 September 2015
September 29, 2015
Bob: Just got home a few minutes ago. We attended Institute in Mississauga again tonight. Class starts about 7:30 and ends about 9:00. After class Sister Barrett always has some kind of refreshments for the kids so they can 'munch 'n mingle' for a while. It gives some time for Bonnie and I to meet the kids attending. Tonight there was a guy from Thunder Bay, a couple of people from Brampton, a brother and sister from Montreal whose parents are from the Congo, a young man from India and I'm not sure where else. It is quite a diverse group.
Work was pretty busy today, but I got about everything up to date. Want to spend some time tomorrow on the phone/text report and get some information out of it that I can give to President Clayton. I'll give it a whirl tomorrow and see what happens.
Tomorrow is MLC so we'll have a bunch of hungry Elders and Sisters to make waffles for tomorrow afternoon. It'll go much faster from now on as I bought another waffle maker last Thursday. Should be able to keep the 'batter preparer' busy while one person cooks with both makers.
Had my weekly night out treat tonight of a baked potato and cup of chili from Wendy's. Bonnie orders from Tim Horton's as they and Wendy's share the building. They do that in quite a few locations. Anyway, I'm hanging in with Wendy's, but Bonnie likes the hot soups and hot chocolate from Tim's.
Rained most of the day and it is a little cooler tonight, but still rather comfortable out. No jacket required yet.
Well, got to get ready for bed. Wish everyone love and happiness. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: It was very busy for me today because we had our meeting with the Clayton's and I needed to prepare the orders for MLC. We had lots of orders for items in other languages, which can get complicated. The Erickson's helped me and it worked out great. Tomorrow, during the morning, we will put everything out in the foyer by zone and add the birthday treats, the packages and mail. We also need to put the boxes of Books of Mormon with the right zones. We will put out 20 of these boxes in English, plus one of Simplified Chinese and two boxes of Spanish.
I enjoyed Institute tonight. I love the insights the Barrett's have. We also talked to Scott to wish him a happy birthday. It's the most I've been able to talk to Nolan since last Christmas. It was great. May you all enjoy the sweet voices of your children!! My love to all!!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Work was pretty busy today, but I got about everything up to date. Want to spend some time tomorrow on the phone/text report and get some information out of it that I can give to President Clayton. I'll give it a whirl tomorrow and see what happens.
Tomorrow is MLC so we'll have a bunch of hungry Elders and Sisters to make waffles for tomorrow afternoon. It'll go much faster from now on as I bought another waffle maker last Thursday. Should be able to keep the 'batter preparer' busy while one person cooks with both makers.
Had my weekly night out treat tonight of a baked potato and cup of chili from Wendy's. Bonnie orders from Tim Horton's as they and Wendy's share the building. They do that in quite a few locations. Anyway, I'm hanging in with Wendy's, but Bonnie likes the hot soups and hot chocolate from Tim's.
Rained most of the day and it is a little cooler tonight, but still rather comfortable out. No jacket required yet.
Well, got to get ready for bed. Wish everyone love and happiness. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: It was very busy for me today because we had our meeting with the Clayton's and I needed to prepare the orders for MLC. We had lots of orders for items in other languages, which can get complicated. The Erickson's helped me and it worked out great. Tomorrow, during the morning, we will put everything out in the foyer by zone and add the birthday treats, the packages and mail. We also need to put the boxes of Books of Mormon with the right zones. We will put out 20 of these boxes in English, plus one of Simplified Chinese and two boxes of Spanish.
I enjoyed Institute tonight. I love the insights the Barrett's have. We also talked to Scott to wish him a happy birthday. It's the most I've been able to talk to Nolan since last Christmas. It was great. May you all enjoy the sweet voices of your children!! My love to all!!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Monday 28 September 2015
September 28, 2015
Bob: Just got home from the YSA FHE. It is supposed to start at 7:30, but usually starts just a little late. The FHE coordinator says the official starting time is 7:37 so he stalls till then. Then comes the announcements, opening song and invocation. Lesson time is then till 8:00. So the lessons aren't long, but usually very spiritual. There are lots of returned missionaries and they can give some good lessons.
Their activity tonight was Capture the Flag!! It was in the dark and outside. Several didn't participate but they all hung together and they were even singing at one time. There are plenty of hugs for everyone and they do seem to care for each other. A lot of them are getting ready to serve a mission.
After it was all over we took a returning YSA young man home. He wants to attend Institute on Friday night which we don't go to. It is way across town and the traffic is terrible. Class lasts till 9 and then they have an activity that usually last 2 to 3 hours. The dance nights are really well attended.
Work was very hectic today as I was trying to make last minute adjustments for some of the missionaries who have lost their debit card. In that situation I have to put their money on their companion's card. In order to do that Salt Lake has to raise the card limit or I might be trying to put too much money on the card. This will usually happen if the Elder/Sister needs a monthly bus pass.
Well I had better get to bed. It's after 10 and 5:45 comes early. Did someone say you get more sleep when you are retired??? Good night to all, especially brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: My day was not so good. Somehow a package came at the first of the month and I didn't see it--or someone put it in the wrong place or something like that. It contains a $500.00 Canadian gift card for one of the missionaries. I feel awful about it. It supposedly came on a day that we were training a new missionary, so I might not have been at the desk. I have to call the sender tomorrow and tell him we can't find it.
I spent a good part of the day filling non-English orders for MLC. There are a few things we don't have so I had to order them. The missionaries are requesting a lot of Arabic and Amharic materials. Amharic is spoken in Ethiopia. And, I'll probably have to do another order tomorrow because I didn't hear from some missionaries until tonight. Oh, well.
The best thing that happened had to do with a baptism that was performed February 7th, I finally will be getting the baptism information tomorrow. For some reason the office never received the white copy, which means that this person has no church records. I hope the missionaries will follow up with her and reactivate her. I imagine if she was active this problem would have been resolved much sooner. Tomorrow we will fill all of the MLC orders as much as possible so Bob and I can go to Institute that night. It will be another long day.
My love to all--
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Their activity tonight was Capture the Flag!! It was in the dark and outside. Several didn't participate but they all hung together and they were even singing at one time. There are plenty of hugs for everyone and they do seem to care for each other. A lot of them are getting ready to serve a mission.
After it was all over we took a returning YSA young man home. He wants to attend Institute on Friday night which we don't go to. It is way across town and the traffic is terrible. Class lasts till 9 and then they have an activity that usually last 2 to 3 hours. The dance nights are really well attended.
Work was very hectic today as I was trying to make last minute adjustments for some of the missionaries who have lost their debit card. In that situation I have to put their money on their companion's card. In order to do that Salt Lake has to raise the card limit or I might be trying to put too much money on the card. This will usually happen if the Elder/Sister needs a monthly bus pass.
Well I had better get to bed. It's after 10 and 5:45 comes early. Did someone say you get more sleep when you are retired??? Good night to all, especially brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: My day was not so good. Somehow a package came at the first of the month and I didn't see it--or someone put it in the wrong place or something like that. It contains a $500.00 Canadian gift card for one of the missionaries. I feel awful about it. It supposedly came on a day that we were training a new missionary, so I might not have been at the desk. I have to call the sender tomorrow and tell him we can't find it.
I spent a good part of the day filling non-English orders for MLC. There are a few things we don't have so I had to order them. The missionaries are requesting a lot of Arabic and Amharic materials. Amharic is spoken in Ethiopia. And, I'll probably have to do another order tomorrow because I didn't hear from some missionaries until tonight. Oh, well.
The best thing that happened had to do with a baptism that was performed February 7th, I finally will be getting the baptism information tomorrow. For some reason the office never received the white copy, which means that this person has no church records. I hope the missionaries will follow up with her and reactivate her. I imagine if she was active this problem would have been resolved much sooner. Tomorrow we will fill all of the MLC orders as much as possible so Bob and I can go to Institute that night. It will be another long day.
My love to all--
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Sunday 27 September 2015
September 28, 2015
Bob: Has been a relaxing Sabbath, although it got a little hectic about the time we left for church. We didn't wake up till just after 8. About 9 I decided to take a walk thinking we had plenty of time. I was almost back home when I got a call that we needed to pick up 2 young ladies and take them to church. They live about 30 minutes from us and then another 30 minutes from the church. I said okay we'll try and get them. A couple of minutes later I get another call that we need to pick up Christine who lives in the opposite direction, but only about 10 minutes away. When I get home at 10:15 I told Bonnie about it. We hurried and got ready to leave about 5 minutes later than we wanted. As we left we forgot the muffins we were supposed to take to Munch 'n Mingle.
Turns out we ended up picking up just 2 of the 3 as the other one found a ride. But we found out the first young lady we picked up had to be back home by 4:00. That meant we couldn't take both of them home unless they missed Munch 'n Mingle. So we arranged a ride for the one living the farthest away. Then at 3:30 when we were leaving the other girl got a ride home with her ex-boy friend. So we ended up coming home without dropping anyone off.
Came home and read a little, but needed a nap!! Bonnie got me up in time for dinner.
Spent this evening updating YSA contacts in Mississauga with the missionaries serving down there.
Took a few notes during Testimony Meeting today. Among the things that were said:
1) Life is like riding in a car - enjoy the ride and don't worry too much about the bumps in the road as they are going to happen.
2) I was the lost child of the ninety and nine.
3) Called my mother in China; we almost always argue because none of my family are members and I am so far away from them. This time we didn't argue. I knew it was up to me to steer clear of argumentative things.
4) None of my family are members, but I asked mom to watch General Conference that is coming up next weekend.
5) Revelations is hard to understand, but Rev 21:4 is so plain: when the Lord comes there eventually will be no more sorrow.
That is the best I can remember about what was said.
Hope everyone has had a relaxing Sabbath. Have a great week and good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: It was a great day today! I really love listening to the YSAs bear their testimonies. It seems to always go over-time on Fast Sunday. It was crazy this morning with picking up the two young women, but well worth it. One of them who was seeing the Bishop, asked my advice on several things. I'm not too comfortable doing that, but I did my best. She is doing a wonderful job with her non-member family and is a great influence on her 10-year old sister. She wants to serve a mission and is working two jobs and saving her money. She will make an excellent missionary.
The missionaries are doing their best at finding out about the less-active YSAs in Mississauga. There are two situations where I think we can help with giving rides to church. More on that to follow.
I am looking forward to conference next week-end. I absolutely loved Sister Wixom's talk last night at the Women's Conference! All the talks were good, of course. And the music was wonderful, just fitting in with everything that was said. President Uchtdorf did well at speaking to the children and teenagers, I'm so grateful for our leaders. I know they are the right people at the right time to lead us. And who will be the three new apostles?
Sleep tight everyone and don't let the bed-bugs bite, (like they are in one apartment of Elders in the Toronto Canada Mission!)
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Turns out we ended up picking up just 2 of the 3 as the other one found a ride. But we found out the first young lady we picked up had to be back home by 4:00. That meant we couldn't take both of them home unless they missed Munch 'n Mingle. So we arranged a ride for the one living the farthest away. Then at 3:30 when we were leaving the other girl got a ride home with her ex-boy friend. So we ended up coming home without dropping anyone off.
Came home and read a little, but needed a nap!! Bonnie got me up in time for dinner.
Spent this evening updating YSA contacts in Mississauga with the missionaries serving down there.
Took a few notes during Testimony Meeting today. Among the things that were said:
1) Life is like riding in a car - enjoy the ride and don't worry too much about the bumps in the road as they are going to happen.
2) I was the lost child of the ninety and nine.
3) Called my mother in China; we almost always argue because none of my family are members and I am so far away from them. This time we didn't argue. I knew it was up to me to steer clear of argumentative things.
4) None of my family are members, but I asked mom to watch General Conference that is coming up next weekend.
5) Revelations is hard to understand, but Rev 21:4 is so plain: when the Lord comes there eventually will be no more sorrow.
That is the best I can remember about what was said.
Hope everyone has had a relaxing Sabbath. Have a great week and good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: It was a great day today! I really love listening to the YSAs bear their testimonies. It seems to always go over-time on Fast Sunday. It was crazy this morning with picking up the two young women, but well worth it. One of them who was seeing the Bishop, asked my advice on several things. I'm not too comfortable doing that, but I did my best. She is doing a wonderful job with her non-member family and is a great influence on her 10-year old sister. She wants to serve a mission and is working two jobs and saving her money. She will make an excellent missionary.
The missionaries are doing their best at finding out about the less-active YSAs in Mississauga. There are two situations where I think we can help with giving rides to church. More on that to follow.
I am looking forward to conference next week-end. I absolutely loved Sister Wixom's talk last night at the Women's Conference! All the talks were good, of course. And the music was wonderful, just fitting in with everything that was said. President Uchtdorf did well at speaking to the children and teenagers, I'm so grateful for our leaders. I know they are the right people at the right time to lead us. And who will be the three new apostles?
Sleep tight everyone and don't let the bed-bugs bite, (like they are in one apartment of Elders in the Toronto Canada Mission!)
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Saturday 26 September 2015
September 26, 2015
Bob: It has been a beautiful day here. The temperature was in the low 70s with bright sunshine. I took time to wash the car!! Been paying for it until today. Don't know how long fall will last, but it is really beautiful.
Went to Caffe Demetre tonight and we ordered a Belgium waffle called a Pomme Pilot. It was a waffle with apple crisp and ice cream. Quite good, but I am sure my blood is off the chart right now. Good time to fast!!
Bonnie is at the General Broadcast for women. All the sisters from the apartment building went together. I think there were 8 of them.
I talked to Karl Jakob and we are lined up to go to Elk Lake Thanksgiving weekend. That is the Canadian Thanksgiving. We're leaving on Friday, October 9th and coming back Sunday afternoon. Hope the weather is nice enough to fish some. He wants to take me to Jakob Lake. (He named it that as the lake doesn't have a name on the map.) The last two times he has been there he hooked a huge pike but it got off each time. The last time he had Jennifer with him so he has a witness to size of the fish. They still caught 33 pike between them. He said we would have to drag a canoe into the lake, but it should be worth it as long as the weather is good. Looking forward to it.
I hope everyone has been enjoying as beautiful weather as we have. May you each have a blessed Sabbath day tomorrow. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: I really enjoyed the Broadcast tonight. We are led by powerful women and men. I liked the first talk the best but they were all good. And I love Caffe Demetre. We shared a delicious dessert. It's been a good day because I was able to clean the whole apartment and make some apple dumplings for the Barrett's and us. This was after going to the Farmer's Market this morning. There were lots of free things there--parking and warm weather and music of various sorts...and poetry! I bought some delicious apples and fresh corn. And we snacked on a spinach roll, a berry turnover and a cinnamon roll. Oh, the calories!! I would have bought some salad stuff but my better half is not a salad eater and it would go bad before I could eat it all. Oh, and I think I have found a good ready-made dinner with a Costco chicken pot pie. It made for a delicious dinner tonight.
Let's all have a wonderful, restful Sabbath tomorrow.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Went to Caffe Demetre tonight and we ordered a Belgium waffle called a Pomme Pilot. It was a waffle with apple crisp and ice cream. Quite good, but I am sure my blood is off the chart right now. Good time to fast!!
Bonnie is at the General Broadcast for women. All the sisters from the apartment building went together. I think there were 8 of them.
I talked to Karl Jakob and we are lined up to go to Elk Lake Thanksgiving weekend. That is the Canadian Thanksgiving. We're leaving on Friday, October 9th and coming back Sunday afternoon. Hope the weather is nice enough to fish some. He wants to take me to Jakob Lake. (He named it that as the lake doesn't have a name on the map.) The last two times he has been there he hooked a huge pike but it got off each time. The last time he had Jennifer with him so he has a witness to size of the fish. They still caught 33 pike between them. He said we would have to drag a canoe into the lake, but it should be worth it as long as the weather is good. Looking forward to it.
I hope everyone has been enjoying as beautiful weather as we have. May you each have a blessed Sabbath day tomorrow. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: I really enjoyed the Broadcast tonight. We are led by powerful women and men. I liked the first talk the best but they were all good. And I love Caffe Demetre. We shared a delicious dessert. It's been a good day because I was able to clean the whole apartment and make some apple dumplings for the Barrett's and us. This was after going to the Farmer's Market this morning. There were lots of free things there--parking and warm weather and music of various sorts...and poetry! I bought some delicious apples and fresh corn. And we snacked on a spinach roll, a berry turnover and a cinnamon roll. Oh, the calories!! I would have bought some salad stuff but my better half is not a salad eater and it would go bad before I could eat it all. Oh, and I think I have found a good ready-made dinner with a Costco chicken pot pie. It made for a delicious dinner tonight.
Let's all have a wonderful, restful Sabbath tomorrow.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Street Vendor
Balloon Man
Friday 25 September 2015
September 25, 2015
Bob: Worked till 6:30 tonight and then had to stop for gas and go to the post office before getting home. Wanted to have a Costco pot pie, but it takes an hour to cook. Opted for warmed up pizza with broccoli!! The dessert made it worth it. Left to do the shopping at 7:55. After we got back I finished up the paperwork I brought home while Bonnie mopped, etc. Right now she is lying down as she bumped her head on a cupboard door. Put an ice pack on it. Didn't break the skin so I think she'll be alright by morning.
When I closed down the senior's apartment on Tuesday I found a printer in their closet. It is the same model I have at the office. Brought it home and tried it out tonight. It is about out of toner, but it works okay. Going to get a new cartridge and give it a try. Brought a printer from Florida that Scott Crossley gave me and it works. But it went through an ink cartridge in a little over a month. I think this laser should do a little better.
Nothing pressing on us for the weekend other than some cooking Bonnie wants to get done tomorrow before our 6:30 dinner appointment at Caffe Demetre and then the General Women's Conference broadcast. Sunday will be our fast Sunday as General Conference is the first Sunday in October.
Bonnie had a great conversation with a non-member today. He has had some contact with the church in Edmonton. He went to listen to one of the apostles speak and afterwards went up to shake his hand. I'll let Bonnie finish it.
Checked out the local high schools to see how they did on the gridiron tonight. Looks like Magnolia, Tyler and Valley all won. River beat up on Paden City pretty bad. It was 38 - 0 at halftime. Magnolia's victory was pretty sweet as they beat Central. We saw Central beat Magnolia last year 8 - 7 on a last minute TD and 2 point conversion. Would have liked to have seen the game this year.
Well I have got to turn this over to Bonnie. Hope all is well with everyone. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: I imagine it is rare that a referral calls up the mission office to ask questions but that's what happened today about 5:30! This referral was entered into the system as "Bill unknown" because he didn't give his last name. I called him once to leave a message, needing his address before I could send missionaries his way. This young man has had some exposure to the church in Edmonton and a very spiritual experience with meeting a general authority. He is in his twenties and wanted to know if there was anything going on tonight or tomorrow with the church that he could attend! It seems almost too good to be true. He said that his values are in alignment with the church and that he wanted someone to tell him about what we believe, but that he would prefer someone that has a "deep understanding". I gave him the address for the ward I believe that he is in, and it's exactly where the Barrett's hold Institute! I invited him to Institute tonight and he said he would try to take a bus to get there by the time the soup kitchen started at 7:00. It will be very interesting to talk to Barrett's tomorrow to see if he even made it. I hope he did. He sounds like a "golden" referral. You can bet that I'll be praying for him.
Well, I've done a lot of house cleaning tonight and am quite ready for bed. Sweet dreams, everyone!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
When I closed down the senior's apartment on Tuesday I found a printer in their closet. It is the same model I have at the office. Brought it home and tried it out tonight. It is about out of toner, but it works okay. Going to get a new cartridge and give it a try. Brought a printer from Florida that Scott Crossley gave me and it works. But it went through an ink cartridge in a little over a month. I think this laser should do a little better.
Nothing pressing on us for the weekend other than some cooking Bonnie wants to get done tomorrow before our 6:30 dinner appointment at Caffe Demetre and then the General Women's Conference broadcast. Sunday will be our fast Sunday as General Conference is the first Sunday in October.
Bonnie had a great conversation with a non-member today. He has had some contact with the church in Edmonton. He went to listen to one of the apostles speak and afterwards went up to shake his hand. I'll let Bonnie finish it.
Checked out the local high schools to see how they did on the gridiron tonight. Looks like Magnolia, Tyler and Valley all won. River beat up on Paden City pretty bad. It was 38 - 0 at halftime. Magnolia's victory was pretty sweet as they beat Central. We saw Central beat Magnolia last year 8 - 7 on a last minute TD and 2 point conversion. Would have liked to have seen the game this year.
Well I have got to turn this over to Bonnie. Hope all is well with everyone. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: I imagine it is rare that a referral calls up the mission office to ask questions but that's what happened today about 5:30! This referral was entered into the system as "Bill unknown" because he didn't give his last name. I called him once to leave a message, needing his address before I could send missionaries his way. This young man has had some exposure to the church in Edmonton and a very spiritual experience with meeting a general authority. He is in his twenties and wanted to know if there was anything going on tonight or tomorrow with the church that he could attend! It seems almost too good to be true. He said that his values are in alignment with the church and that he wanted someone to tell him about what we believe, but that he would prefer someone that has a "deep understanding". I gave him the address for the ward I believe that he is in, and it's exactly where the Barrett's hold Institute! I invited him to Institute tonight and he said he would try to take a bus to get there by the time the soup kitchen started at 7:00. It will be very interesting to talk to Barrett's tomorrow to see if he even made it. I hope he did. He sounds like a "golden" referral. You can bet that I'll be praying for him.
Well, I've done a lot of house cleaning tonight and am quite ready for bed. Sweet dreams, everyone!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Thursday 24 September 2015
September 24, 2015
Bob: Pretty good day while at the office. The day was interrupted by an unscheduled trip to downtown Toronto to deliver a bed, dresser, mirror and ironing board. The address is 117 Wolseley Street, Toronto. Try looking at that on google maps in the street view. I'm glad I wasn't pulling the trailer. You couldn't pay me enough money to live in that area. Way too many people.
We stayed at the office till about 7 tonight. Bonnie went and got us a pizza and a salad. She is downstairs putting the laundry in the dryer right now. We are hoping we can leave the office early enough tomorrow to come home and eat before doing the shopping. Planning on the Farmer's Market Saturday morning and then dinner at Caffe Demetre on Saturday night with the other seniors in our apartment complex. Demetre's is well know for its desserts. In fact, that is about all they serve. I'll have to save up some carbs before visiting this place.
Weather is beautiful outside. It gets warm in the afternoon, but it is much cooler in the morning and evening. The air conditioning for our building is being shut off tomorrow. The heat will be turned on by next Friday. I guess it's time to open the windows again. We have run the a/c most of the summer, but only on the low setting. The temperature is set on 23 Celsius. I have liked it, but the captain has been cold at times. Right now she isn't saying a word so I guess it is okay.
Hope everyone has a great night. Good night brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: I got some good things accomplished today, especially with the baptisms. Of course, with that, one is never completely caught up! It's a wonderful thing that we are in a mission that sees lots of baptisms. Now, the important thing is retention and getting the new converts to the temple. I was feeling good about things until on the way home, when I saw an email from President Clayton that was written about 6:30 am this morning. He asked me to compose a letter reminding all of the missionaries of the importance of getting the baptismal information to me asap so I can process it quickly. That will be the first thing on my list to do tomorrow--actually I may write something up tonight depending on how late it is when we're done with the laundry. Tomorrow I will also begin making the ESL flyers for MLC, which is Wednesday.
I hope everyone is enjoying Fall wherever you are. It's a beautiful time of year!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
We stayed at the office till about 7 tonight. Bonnie went and got us a pizza and a salad. She is downstairs putting the laundry in the dryer right now. We are hoping we can leave the office early enough tomorrow to come home and eat before doing the shopping. Planning on the Farmer's Market Saturday morning and then dinner at Caffe Demetre on Saturday night with the other seniors in our apartment complex. Demetre's is well know for its desserts. In fact, that is about all they serve. I'll have to save up some carbs before visiting this place.
Weather is beautiful outside. It gets warm in the afternoon, but it is much cooler in the morning and evening. The air conditioning for our building is being shut off tomorrow. The heat will be turned on by next Friday. I guess it's time to open the windows again. We have run the a/c most of the summer, but only on the low setting. The temperature is set on 23 Celsius. I have liked it, but the captain has been cold at times. Right now she isn't saying a word so I guess it is okay.
Hope everyone has a great night. Good night brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: I got some good things accomplished today, especially with the baptisms. Of course, with that, one is never completely caught up! It's a wonderful thing that we are in a mission that sees lots of baptisms. Now, the important thing is retention and getting the new converts to the temple. I was feeling good about things until on the way home, when I saw an email from President Clayton that was written about 6:30 am this morning. He asked me to compose a letter reminding all of the missionaries of the importance of getting the baptismal information to me asap so I can process it quickly. That will be the first thing on my list to do tomorrow--actually I may write something up tonight depending on how late it is when we're done with the laundry. Tomorrow I will also begin making the ESL flyers for MLC, which is Wednesday.
I hope everyone is enjoying Fall wherever you are. It's a beautiful time of year!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Wednesday 23 September 2015
September 23, 2015
Bonnie: It's been a very long day today. Bob is still not home. Our friends, the Barrett's, were in a minor fender-bender and they needed a ride to teach their Institute class tonight. And we had promised Laura that we would go to Costco after the office. She only goes two or three times a year. So after work, after stopping at the Post Office and the bank we got home about 6:30. I put together a quick dinner and we were off to pick up Barrett's by 7:00. After dropping them off, we picked up Laura and headed for Costco. Bob is just now coming home from bringing Barrett's back. It's almost 10:00.
And my day was no better. I began the day doing a referral from a friend of President Clayton's. Then, I had two conversations with parents and some missionaries in and out. And an order to finish checking in and some baptisms to catch up on. The mail took me about 2 1/2 hours to complete because there was lots of it that I needed to get ready to forward. And then there was the phone call about a package that will require about $20.00 when it arrives. The missionary still wants it and he will pay for it. I hope the candy is worth it to him! Just when I was about ready to leave, there was a text from the President asking me to do another baptism before I left. The missionaries fax me a copy of the record so I can send the information to SLC. Usually, the missionaries will send me the original later. Anyway, I got everything done that was vital.
How I love getting into my PJs at the end of the day! May you all enjoy getting into your PJs tonight!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Bob: Got most of the things done in the office today. Tomorrow I've got to check on the budget that is due mid-October. I got an email about it a while back, but can't seem to find it now. Will have to call SL and talk to someone.
I have another problem to call SL about. A while back somehow my contact list on the phone was changed by someone. Most of my personal contacts were erased and all the missionaries in the mission appeared in my contact list. SL didn't know how that could happen. Well, after spending a great deal of time deleting them they are back today. So someone will hear about it tomorrow.
Also, I seem to have misplaced my car keys. Drove home, came to the apartment and when we got ready to leave, no keys. Maybe a good Samaritan found them and will turn them into the office. If not#@^&#!
Hope you day has been better than that. Wishing everyone a peaceful rest tonight. Good night brother.
Tender mercy. Just found the keys on a clipboard slid back out of sight at my desk.
Love,
Dad/Bob
And my day was no better. I began the day doing a referral from a friend of President Clayton's. Then, I had two conversations with parents and some missionaries in and out. And an order to finish checking in and some baptisms to catch up on. The mail took me about 2 1/2 hours to complete because there was lots of it that I needed to get ready to forward. And then there was the phone call about a package that will require about $20.00 when it arrives. The missionary still wants it and he will pay for it. I hope the candy is worth it to him! Just when I was about ready to leave, there was a text from the President asking me to do another baptism before I left. The missionaries fax me a copy of the record so I can send the information to SLC. Usually, the missionaries will send me the original later. Anyway, I got everything done that was vital.
How I love getting into my PJs at the end of the day! May you all enjoy getting into your PJs tonight!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Bob: Got most of the things done in the office today. Tomorrow I've got to check on the budget that is due mid-October. I got an email about it a while back, but can't seem to find it now. Will have to call SL and talk to someone.
I have another problem to call SL about. A while back somehow my contact list on the phone was changed by someone. Most of my personal contacts were erased and all the missionaries in the mission appeared in my contact list. SL didn't know how that could happen. Well, after spending a great deal of time deleting them they are back today. So someone will hear about it tomorrow.
Also, I seem to have misplaced my car keys. Drove home, came to the apartment and when we got ready to leave, no keys. Maybe a good Samaritan found them and will turn them into the office. If not#@^&#!
Hope you day has been better than that. Wishing everyone a peaceful rest tonight. Good night brother.
Tender mercy. Just found the keys on a clipboard slid back out of sight at my desk.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Tuesday 22 September 2015
September 22, 2015
Bob: Spent most of the day closing another apartment. Had 4 Elders helping me and still didn't get done till almost 4:00. The apartment was up 3 flights of stairs with no elevator. We did leave a couch and 2 chairs for the new tenant. The superintendent said she is a single mother and could use anything we didn't want. So we left a few other small items she can probably use.
Got my third Canadian haircut today. This barber did a pretty good job as compared to the last barber I had. At least I didn't get scalped again.
Went to institute class in Mississauga tonight. I think there were 5 students plus Bonnie and I. The Mississauga Ward is the Ward that Bonnie I have been trying to contact less active YSA members. We are going to try and attend more classes there and see if we can get some more of them coming to the YSA Ward on Sunday. However, of the 5 that were there 4 of them come every Sunday. The fifth one comes off and on.
Weather is still pretty nice. It was a short sleeve shirt day working at the apartment. Hope everyone had a great day today. Wish you a great day tomorrow. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
PS: Yanks won. (Boohoo)
Bonnie: My day was a little bit crazy. One of the Elders has to go home tomorrow because he definitely has bi-polar disorder. He had to go to a doctor's appointment in the afternoon with the Clayton's. Because they had important meetings in the morning it fell to me and Sister Erickson to "entertain" him. He talked non-stop to us as we tried to get him busy doing things, such as the mail and carrying boxes from the storage room to the storage shelves. He was better in the afternoon after his doctor's visit, thankfully. He knows he has a problem and seems ready to tackle it. It's such a shame he has to go home early. And every unexpected change like this affects many others.
The best part of the day was receiving 120 Books of Mormon in Persian!! They must have expedited it. They will be delivered tomorrow at the Zone Conference. The Elders are very excited about it. I will order some more by the end of the week. Tomorrow Bob and I will be the only ones in the office, except for Laura. Zone Conference is tomorrow and Thursday. It should be fairly quiet.
Well, it is late. Bob is listening to the Jays and Yankees play. We are rooting for the Blue Jays, of course. They are having a fantastic season. But, I'm going to bed! Sweet dreams, everyone.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Got my third Canadian haircut today. This barber did a pretty good job as compared to the last barber I had. At least I didn't get scalped again.
Went to institute class in Mississauga tonight. I think there were 5 students plus Bonnie and I. The Mississauga Ward is the Ward that Bonnie I have been trying to contact less active YSA members. We are going to try and attend more classes there and see if we can get some more of them coming to the YSA Ward on Sunday. However, of the 5 that were there 4 of them come every Sunday. The fifth one comes off and on.
Weather is still pretty nice. It was a short sleeve shirt day working at the apartment. Hope everyone had a great day today. Wish you a great day tomorrow. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
PS: Yanks won. (Boohoo)
Bonnie: My day was a little bit crazy. One of the Elders has to go home tomorrow because he definitely has bi-polar disorder. He had to go to a doctor's appointment in the afternoon with the Clayton's. Because they had important meetings in the morning it fell to me and Sister Erickson to "entertain" him. He talked non-stop to us as we tried to get him busy doing things, such as the mail and carrying boxes from the storage room to the storage shelves. He was better in the afternoon after his doctor's visit, thankfully. He knows he has a problem and seems ready to tackle it. It's such a shame he has to go home early. And every unexpected change like this affects many others.
The best part of the day was receiving 120 Books of Mormon in Persian!! They must have expedited it. They will be delivered tomorrow at the Zone Conference. The Elders are very excited about it. I will order some more by the end of the week. Tomorrow Bob and I will be the only ones in the office, except for Laura. Zone Conference is tomorrow and Thursday. It should be fairly quiet.
Well, it is late. Bob is listening to the Jays and Yankees play. We are rooting for the Blue Jays, of course. They are having a fantastic season. But, I'm going to bed! Sweet dreams, everyone.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Monday 21 September 2015
September 21, 2015
Bob: Routine day at the office. Worked till almost 6. Bonnie went home earlier with the Erickson's while I stayed to get the bills paid. We managed to have dinner together at 6:30 and then went to FHE at the Brampton Stake Center. Roni Assaad, who is the FHE coordinator taught a very interesting lesson on 'Dating' vs 'Hanging Out'. That might seem like a strange lesson, but a lot of good things were said. It was brought up that President Utchdorf has said the YSA need to quit hanging out and do more dating. So it was appropriate and good too.
For an activity Roni had a CPR instructor come and teach basic CPR so those that wanted could become certified. There were about 15 of them that were trying to get their certification. We had to leave before class was over so we could pick up a few things at the store.
Hope everyone is happy and well. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: It was great to get home and have the time to make dinner for us. As Bob said, it was rather routine today. I like the routine days, though. I get caught up on things. Tomorrow he will be gone a good part of the day closing down an apartment. This is a senior couple's apartment and they have a waffle iron that we will use for MLC in the future. Wednesday and Thursday of this week is Zone Conference so Erickson's will be gone and then a week from this Wednesday is the next MLC. I'm already trying to get organized for it. I will order the ESL supplies this week so they will be here in time. I really hope my big orders from SLC Distribution will get here soon and that all the name tags I've ordered will also get here quickly.
I hope all of you are enjoying some beautiful Fall weather wherever you are. The days are a little cooler here and the leaves are just beginning to change colors. I love it.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
For an activity Roni had a CPR instructor come and teach basic CPR so those that wanted could become certified. There were about 15 of them that were trying to get their certification. We had to leave before class was over so we could pick up a few things at the store.
Hope everyone is happy and well. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: It was great to get home and have the time to make dinner for us. As Bob said, it was rather routine today. I like the routine days, though. I get caught up on things. Tomorrow he will be gone a good part of the day closing down an apartment. This is a senior couple's apartment and they have a waffle iron that we will use for MLC in the future. Wednesday and Thursday of this week is Zone Conference so Erickson's will be gone and then a week from this Wednesday is the next MLC. I'm already trying to get organized for it. I will order the ESL supplies this week so they will be here in time. I really hope my big orders from SLC Distribution will get here soon and that all the name tags I've ordered will also get here quickly.
I hope all of you are enjoying some beautiful Fall weather wherever you are. The days are a little cooler here and the leaves are just beginning to change colors. I love it.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Sunday 20 September 2015
September 20, 2015
Bob: A good Sabbath day. Heard some very good talks in Sacrament today about the Atonement, pride/humility, and the unknown potential in us. The Relief Society and Priesthood Meetings were combined today with people from the Employment Services making a presentation. Remember that this Ward is made up of Young, Single Adults ages 19- 30. Not married, no children. Most of them are students or just young working adults. Anyway, the main thrust of the presentation was how they could get a 4 year college degree through BYU Idaho for $65/credit hour. That is an unheard of low, low price for a college degree. And, depending on your GPA you can get a reduced rate. I believe they said there are graduate classes offered too. Anyway, it is open to people all over the world, and they are using it. It is called Pathways. The presenter gave us his email to get further information. It is dazane@ldschurch.org
Munch 'n Mingle was chili and ciabatta bread. People ate it up. Plus there was a lot for seconds as a lot of the Ward was attending a YSA conference in Kingston. The people preparing the food forgot about the conference. So those that were there today were blessed with extras!!
Bonnie spent a lot of time this evening contacting the 4 sets of missionaries in Mississauga area about YSA members down there. We are planning on going down there to their Institute on Tuesday nights to see if there is any interest in attending the Churchville YSA Ward on Sunday. I believe it is about a 20 minute drive from the Mississauga meeting house to the Churchville meeting house.
It was a beautiful day here in Brampton. Not hot, not cold, but perfect. Went for a hour's walk this morning and a short walk this evening with the captain (she got promoted).
Hope everyone had a great day and that you have a wonderful week. Hope Lorraine and Jerry made it back to WV okay. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: This will be short because it's 10:30 or later and I need to go to bed! The sister who gave her talk about the Atonement gave one of my favorite stories. Have any of you heard about the Seminary teacher who had one of his students do push-ups for each member of his class so each student could get a donut? It's a beautiful story about how the Savior died for us whether or not we wanted to take advantage of His Atonement and the blessings it brings. And one other thought I took away with me:
You can count the seeds in an apple but you can't count the apples in each seed! We all have great potential even though we don't know it sometimes. We should never judge others because we don't know their potential and the gifts they have.
With that thought, I close with my wish that each of you have a wonderful day tomorrow and week ahead.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Munch 'n Mingle was chili and ciabatta bread. People ate it up. Plus there was a lot for seconds as a lot of the Ward was attending a YSA conference in Kingston. The people preparing the food forgot about the conference. So those that were there today were blessed with extras!!
Bonnie spent a lot of time this evening contacting the 4 sets of missionaries in Mississauga area about YSA members down there. We are planning on going down there to their Institute on Tuesday nights to see if there is any interest in attending the Churchville YSA Ward on Sunday. I believe it is about a 20 minute drive from the Mississauga meeting house to the Churchville meeting house.
It was a beautiful day here in Brampton. Not hot, not cold, but perfect. Went for a hour's walk this morning and a short walk this evening with the captain (she got promoted).
Hope everyone had a great day and that you have a wonderful week. Hope Lorraine and Jerry made it back to WV okay. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: This will be short because it's 10:30 or later and I need to go to bed! The sister who gave her talk about the Atonement gave one of my favorite stories. Have any of you heard about the Seminary teacher who had one of his students do push-ups for each member of his class so each student could get a donut? It's a beautiful story about how the Savior died for us whether or not we wanted to take advantage of His Atonement and the blessings it brings. And one other thought I took away with me:
You can count the seeds in an apple but you can't count the apples in each seed! We all have great potential even though we don't know it sometimes. We should never judge others because we don't know their potential and the gifts they have.
With that thought, I close with my wish that each of you have a wonderful day tomorrow and week ahead.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Saturday 19 September 2015
September 19, 2015
Bob: Went to Niagara Falls today. Stopped at the falls. Put some pictures below. The water was putting off a lot of mist today. We went with the CES couple, the Barrett's. They are from North Dakota. Had a nice enjoyable trip down and back. Ate a great lunch at Olive Garden (can't do that in Brampton), and went shopping at a few different places. Topped it off with blizzards at the DQ. Came home worn out though.
Weather is on the cool side again for the weekend and we have had some hard rain at times today. Going to warm up starting tomorrow though.
Hope everybody had an enjoyable day. Jerry and Lorraine are driving back from Arcadia today and tomorrow. Hope they are doing okay. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Weather is on the cool side again for the weekend and we have had some hard rain at times today. Going to warm up starting tomorrow though.
Hope everybody had an enjoyable day. Jerry and Lorraine are driving back from Arcadia today and tomorrow. Hope they are doing okay. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Standing at the top of the Canadian Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario
The Canadian Falls is behind us
The Canadian Falls
Maid of the Mist going up to the falls
Close up of the people on the Maid of the Mist
Some of the flowers at Niagara Falls
Bonnie: We did have a lovely trip. Niagara Falls is awesome, especially on the Canadian side. And it was great to shop in the US for some things we needed. Sister Barrett bought 50 lbs. of flour, 25 lbs. of sugar and 25 lbs. of rice, plus large quantities of chocolate chips, powdered sugar and brown sugar, walnuts and pecans. She bought extra large cans, the size we put in food storage, of crushed tomatoes and other vegetables. All of this food goes into her soup kitchen on Friday nights for the YSAs at Institute and for the sweets she makes Tuesday-Thursday nights. She's a really good cook, and she follows the sage advice "if you feed them, they will come." Most of the YSAs work till 6 or 6:30 and they don't have time to go home to eat and make it back in time for Institute. I think it is awesome what they do for the YSAs here. The Barrett's will go home in November and anything that is left will go to the new CES couple that will replace them.
We're looking forward to church tomorrow. It's always the high-light of the week for me. May it be for all of you, too!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Friday 18 September 2015
September 18, 2015
Bonnie: I will begin the blog tonight. We were all set to leave the office at 5:20 when Bob said he had to make just one more call. So I busied myself getting ready to go. During the 20 minutes it took for the call another person called and asked to speak to him. So when he got done with the first call he had another one to make. We finally got out to the car about 10 minutes to 6. Bob is one popular guy around here! We've done the shopping and I'm waiting for the clothes to dry. I want to get all of this done so that tomorrow can be a fun day away as we go to Niagara Falls and then to the States to do some shopping. We're going with our good friends the Berrett's who are the Institute teachers here. They teach Tuesday through Friday nights at different places. And every night there is food of some sort. Friday night is the "soup kitchen" which goes for about an hour before their class starts. The YSAs just love the Berrett's and it's not just for the food. They teach great lessons, too. The new couple coming in will have big shoes to fill!
Life is so interesting. This past week we've had a family member close to us "graduate" or pass on to the other side, and we've also had a new beautiful baby come to us, straight from heaven. It's amazing when you think about it how the cycle of life goes on. I think we're all in for some exciting times. And I feel that the Second Coming is closer than we think. I pray that all of us will be ready and do our utmost to teach righteous principles and protect our little ones from the world, which is becoming so gross and corrupt. Well, enough rambling. Good night, all!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Bob: Good evening to all. Today was a busy day, but a productive day. Got all of my follow-ups done and paid all bills on my desk but one. I need to be caught up because I will be out of the office Tuesday closing an apartment. Need to empty the trailer on Monday. Have a few things for Sister Martin to take care of from the last closing. Things like books, blankets, pillows, etc.
I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but one of the Elders got a notice from a collection agency for an emergency room visit that was never paid. They emailed him a notice that he owed 1423.xx, but they would not provide him with an itemized statement. We finally got a statement from the hospital and their total was 1396.xx. So in trying to resolve the difference I did a little checking online first. Found out that the collection agency cannot add any fees onto the amount owed. However, the agency just kept saying the total is 1423.xx and the Elder's credit would not be any good if he didn't pay up. So I called SL and asked them what to do. They eventually put me in touch with Missionary Medical. That person told me that in the US whenever a notice from a collection agency comes they do not pay the agency. They go to the provider and get an itemized bill. Then they pay the provider that amount. So they advised me to do that.
When I called the provider they said they COULD NOT take any payment. They advised me to pay the amount the agency was asking for. I was getting ready to all SL back when the agency called me. They said the Elder had called to see if the bill had been paid today. He told them I was going to pay it today. So they called me expecting a payment. I explained there is a discrepancy in the amount owed and that I was advised by the church to only make a payment to the provider. Then I said that the provider did not want to take the payment. Thus with 2 different amounts I did not know what to do so I would call Salt Lake back and let them decide. The agency asked, "If we only collect what the provider's statement says, will you pay that today?" I told her if she would email me a statement saying that only 1396.xx was owed I would pay it. She said, "I'll get it sent right over." Within 15 minutes I had the statement. So I called her back and paid it. Then they called back and asked me to verify that 1396.xx was the amount needed to debit the credit card. So it all worked out in the end.
Been checking the high school football scores and I see that Magnolia beat River tonight to make them 4 - 0, while River fell to 3 - 1. Tyler lost and Valley is losing.
Well, I'm excited to head to the States tomorrow. Hope we have an exciting day and some good weather. Hope everyone has a great day as well. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Life is so interesting. This past week we've had a family member close to us "graduate" or pass on to the other side, and we've also had a new beautiful baby come to us, straight from heaven. It's amazing when you think about it how the cycle of life goes on. I think we're all in for some exciting times. And I feel that the Second Coming is closer than we think. I pray that all of us will be ready and do our utmost to teach righteous principles and protect our little ones from the world, which is becoming so gross and corrupt. Well, enough rambling. Good night, all!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Bob: Good evening to all. Today was a busy day, but a productive day. Got all of my follow-ups done and paid all bills on my desk but one. I need to be caught up because I will be out of the office Tuesday closing an apartment. Need to empty the trailer on Monday. Have a few things for Sister Martin to take care of from the last closing. Things like books, blankets, pillows, etc.
I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but one of the Elders got a notice from a collection agency for an emergency room visit that was never paid. They emailed him a notice that he owed 1423.xx, but they would not provide him with an itemized statement. We finally got a statement from the hospital and their total was 1396.xx. So in trying to resolve the difference I did a little checking online first. Found out that the collection agency cannot add any fees onto the amount owed. However, the agency just kept saying the total is 1423.xx and the Elder's credit would not be any good if he didn't pay up. So I called SL and asked them what to do. They eventually put me in touch with Missionary Medical. That person told me that in the US whenever a notice from a collection agency comes they do not pay the agency. They go to the provider and get an itemized bill. Then they pay the provider that amount. So they advised me to do that.
When I called the provider they said they COULD NOT take any payment. They advised me to pay the amount the agency was asking for. I was getting ready to all SL back when the agency called me. They said the Elder had called to see if the bill had been paid today. He told them I was going to pay it today. So they called me expecting a payment. I explained there is a discrepancy in the amount owed and that I was advised by the church to only make a payment to the provider. Then I said that the provider did not want to take the payment. Thus with 2 different amounts I did not know what to do so I would call Salt Lake back and let them decide. The agency asked, "If we only collect what the provider's statement says, will you pay that today?" I told her if she would email me a statement saying that only 1396.xx was owed I would pay it. She said, "I'll get it sent right over." Within 15 minutes I had the statement. So I called her back and paid it. Then they called back and asked me to verify that 1396.xx was the amount needed to debit the credit card. So it all worked out in the end.
Been checking the high school football scores and I see that Magnolia beat River tonight to make them 4 - 0, while River fell to 3 - 1. Tyler lost and Valley is losing.
Well, I'm excited to head to the States tomorrow. Hope we have an exciting day and some good weather. Hope everyone has a great day as well. Good night, brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Thursday 17 September 2015
September 17, 2015
Bonnie: It's been one of our best days yet today. First and foremost, Lori had her baby, a 9'11 oz baby boy. We welcome him into our family as #27 of the grandchildren. Both mother and baby are doing fine. In another day the adjustments will begin with the other children in the family. I'm so glad she has help--Scott's sister, Jana, is there.
It was a quiet day in the office--not one missionary came in today. The APs were at a Zone Conference and the others were busy, I'm sure. Elder Marchant's mother emailed me to let her son know that his twin brother, who is a missionary in Chile, came through a horrific earthquake there unharmed. According to their mission president, none of the missionaries were hurt and they all had food and water. Good news there. Tonight we went out to eat with Elder Vanderzanden and Elder Atkinson who are Farsi missionaries in Toronto. They took us to a Persian restaurant and it was a real treat, one of the nicest experiences we've had so far. On the way in they spoke to a man who is now a referral for them. Elder Atkinson translated while Elder V. spoke to him. I loved it. And then, when we got into the restaurant, they started a conversation with the man who owned the place, I think. He became their second referral for the night. We learned about some interesting food tonight. I'll let Bob explain about the onion. I had a kind of Persian berry on my rice tonight which was delicious. They tasted kind of like craisins. The servings are very big and I couldn't eat all of it. There was delicious pita bread with a yogurt kind of dipping sauce. I had roasted chicken with my rice and a Caesar salad. And then, Elder V., who is from Hamilton, saw an old friend of his at the restaurant. This friend paid for a wonderful Greek salad for us! The problem is we were all too full! We sent it home with the Elders, with the rest of the pita bread and the yogurt dip. Anyway, it was a great evening as we got to know each other. Elder V. has only been a member of the church 2 years, and one of those is as a missionary. He joined in Alberta and was sent on a mission to Toronto which is very near Hamilton where he originates. I'll let Bob finish up.
May your tummies be full of good things!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Bob: The onion. On the table before we ordered there was a plate with little containers of butter, some parsley sprigs and a huge white onion cut in half. When we had finished ordering I asked the waiter what the onion was for. He said to turn it over and take off a piece of it. Then when I was eating my meat take a small bite of onion. Basically it is about like getting onion on a burger. I ordered a dish with chicken and beef. The onion went well with the beef, but not as tasty with the chicken. The butter was to put on the rice. I never did find out about the parsley.
It was quite a nice restaurant. I don't think we have been in one as nice as it is. Going to take the Erickson's to it one evening.
Got caught up on apartments today, but still need the leases or vendors information to be returned on some of them. Still looking for about 3 apartments right now. I think we have 3 new ones coming on line the first of the month. Still need to find one more ASAP.
It's only 9:47 and I am wiped out. Yawning my head off. I will try to do better tomorrow night. Hope everyone had a beautiful today. Welcome to the family Lucas and good night brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
It was a quiet day in the office--not one missionary came in today. The APs were at a Zone Conference and the others were busy, I'm sure. Elder Marchant's mother emailed me to let her son know that his twin brother, who is a missionary in Chile, came through a horrific earthquake there unharmed. According to their mission president, none of the missionaries were hurt and they all had food and water. Good news there. Tonight we went out to eat with Elder Vanderzanden and Elder Atkinson who are Farsi missionaries in Toronto. They took us to a Persian restaurant and it was a real treat, one of the nicest experiences we've had so far. On the way in they spoke to a man who is now a referral for them. Elder Atkinson translated while Elder V. spoke to him. I loved it. And then, when we got into the restaurant, they started a conversation with the man who owned the place, I think. He became their second referral for the night. We learned about some interesting food tonight. I'll let Bob explain about the onion. I had a kind of Persian berry on my rice tonight which was delicious. They tasted kind of like craisins. The servings are very big and I couldn't eat all of it. There was delicious pita bread with a yogurt kind of dipping sauce. I had roasted chicken with my rice and a Caesar salad. And then, Elder V., who is from Hamilton, saw an old friend of his at the restaurant. This friend paid for a wonderful Greek salad for us! The problem is we were all too full! We sent it home with the Elders, with the rest of the pita bread and the yogurt dip. Anyway, it was a great evening as we got to know each other. Elder V. has only been a member of the church 2 years, and one of those is as a missionary. He joined in Alberta and was sent on a mission to Toronto which is very near Hamilton where he originates. I'll let Bob finish up.
May your tummies be full of good things!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Bob: The onion. On the table before we ordered there was a plate with little containers of butter, some parsley sprigs and a huge white onion cut in half. When we had finished ordering I asked the waiter what the onion was for. He said to turn it over and take off a piece of it. Then when I was eating my meat take a small bite of onion. Basically it is about like getting onion on a burger. I ordered a dish with chicken and beef. The onion went well with the beef, but not as tasty with the chicken. The butter was to put on the rice. I never did find out about the parsley.
It was quite a nice restaurant. I don't think we have been in one as nice as it is. Going to take the Erickson's to it one evening.
Got caught up on apartments today, but still need the leases or vendors information to be returned on some of them. Still looking for about 3 apartments right now. I think we have 3 new ones coming on line the first of the month. Still need to find one more ASAP.
It's only 9:47 and I am wiped out. Yawning my head off. I will try to do better tomorrow night. Hope everyone had a beautiful today. Welcome to the family Lucas and good night brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Apartment decoration
Wednesday 16 September 2015
September 16, 2015
Bob: Today was an interesting day. Bonnie and I helped Brother and Sister Erickson check all the missionary cars at the Hamilton Zone Conference. There were 19 cars total. We checked the lights, tires pressures and tread depths, fluid levels, wipers, windows, for dents, broken pieces, etc. Had to verify the mileage and that all the paper work was in order. Took the 4 of us almost 2 and a half hours to do all of that. Thank goodness it was a beautiful day out. I'm not sure what you do on a cold or rainy day. Don't want to find out. The Ericksons will have zone conference tomorrow and next week on Wednesday and Thursday again. After that the next round of conferences will be in November. That could be bad. Heck, next week could be bad.
We left Hamilton and went straight to the office and stayed there till 6:15 and then headed home. Had to go to the laundry first though as a new outfit is supplying the laundry facilities. Got into our apartment at 6:55. Ate warmed up egg casserole and toast before taking off to the Brampton Stake Center to attend Institute. It started at 7:30. Got there about 7:25. Finished that and left about 9:20. Took a young woman home and then we got home at 10:10.
Going to finish now and get ready for bed. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the late summer weather wherever you are. Good night brother.
Love
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: Yes, another totally crazy day. I loved it, though, It's always fun to see and talk to the missionaries. There were two sets of missionaries at the stake center during Institute that I got to talk to and I love what they told me. I was outside of the class because of a phone call. The two Elders had had an appointment with a new investigator and were very, very excited about it. The two Sisters came down the hall with a returning member and introduced him to me. He had been baptized when he was 11 years old in Spain and has been inactive ever since. Through some roundabout way the Sisters made contact with him. He is very ready to come back into activity. It was great to see and talk with him a little. I could just feel the Sister's excitement and his as I shook his hand. I really enjoyed what I heard of Institute tonight. I have to miss Sunday School and Relief Society every week because of getting YSAs in to see the Bishop, so I really enjoyed the Spirit in the class tonight. And the YSAs have such strong testimonies. The subject is the Book of Mormon. How can that be beat?
Tomorrow Bob and I will be the only adults at the office. I hope all goes well for us. I know there are several problems brewing for Bob. Have a great day tomorrow, everyone!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
We left Hamilton and went straight to the office and stayed there till 6:15 and then headed home. Had to go to the laundry first though as a new outfit is supplying the laundry facilities. Got into our apartment at 6:55. Ate warmed up egg casserole and toast before taking off to the Brampton Stake Center to attend Institute. It started at 7:30. Got there about 7:25. Finished that and left about 9:20. Took a young woman home and then we got home at 10:10.
Going to finish now and get ready for bed. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the late summer weather wherever you are. Good night brother.
Love
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: Yes, another totally crazy day. I loved it, though, It's always fun to see and talk to the missionaries. There were two sets of missionaries at the stake center during Institute that I got to talk to and I love what they told me. I was outside of the class because of a phone call. The two Elders had had an appointment with a new investigator and were very, very excited about it. The two Sisters came down the hall with a returning member and introduced him to me. He had been baptized when he was 11 years old in Spain and has been inactive ever since. Through some roundabout way the Sisters made contact with him. He is very ready to come back into activity. It was great to see and talk with him a little. I could just feel the Sister's excitement and his as I shook his hand. I really enjoyed what I heard of Institute tonight. I have to miss Sunday School and Relief Society every week because of getting YSAs in to see the Bishop, so I really enjoyed the Spirit in the class tonight. And the YSAs have such strong testimonies. The subject is the Book of Mormon. How can that be beat?
Tomorrow Bob and I will be the only adults at the office. I hope all goes well for us. I know there are several problems brewing for Bob. Have a great day tomorrow, everyone!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Tuesday 15 September 2015
September 15, 2015
Bob: Went to Bancroft today. Took a little over 2 hours to get to Peterborough to pick up the Elders and then another 1:15 to get to Bancroft. Got there about 12:20. Took us a couple hours to load every thing, It was an upstairs apartment over top of the Branch. Elder and Sister Evans, who used to live there, drove about 3 hours to get there to help, plus he had the Branch President, President Plum, and another brother helping. They had several chairs and small items downstairs by the time we got there. The only problem we had was once we had everything loaded I couldn't find the keys. After about 10 minutes I found them inside the trailer on a dresser that Elder Evans and I had set in place. If they had been on the floor I don't know when we would have found them. That was a tender mercy.
On the way back my GPS wanted to send me to 401 which I knew would be busy. I hadn't come out that way, but I couldn't remember the routes I followed coming to Bancroft. I knew route 7 ran into route 407 so I found route 7 and followed it back. That was a mistake because route 7 winds it's way north and then back to 407. Took about an extra hour coming back.
On the way back the Assistants called and said they needed the truck to take a couple mattresses to zone conference in the morning. So they and 2 other Elders met me at the shed at 7:20 and we unloaded it. At least I don't have to worry about that tomorrow.
Well I am wiped out. Going to bed. Hope everyone has had a wonderful day. Good night brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: I'm tired, too, and glad Bob is home so we can go to bed! I left the office about 6 and went to the temple with Laura. We did initiatories. It was so refreshing to be in the Temple again. The names were from Germany and the Netherlands, though, so some of them were hard to pronounce. I got home about 8:00, not having had dinner. I'm glad we have a good supply of peanut butter on our shelves! Tomorrow will also be a long day, with helping Erickson's at Zone Conference do the cars.
We will be going to the office afterwards. I'm sure Bob will have a lot to do.
May everyone's days be full of good things and may the Lord bless you all!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
On the way back my GPS wanted to send me to 401 which I knew would be busy. I hadn't come out that way, but I couldn't remember the routes I followed coming to Bancroft. I knew route 7 ran into route 407 so I found route 7 and followed it back. That was a mistake because route 7 winds it's way north and then back to 407. Took about an extra hour coming back.
On the way back the Assistants called and said they needed the truck to take a couple mattresses to zone conference in the morning. So they and 2 other Elders met me at the shed at 7:20 and we unloaded it. At least I don't have to worry about that tomorrow.
Well I am wiped out. Going to bed. Hope everyone has had a wonderful day. Good night brother.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: I'm tired, too, and glad Bob is home so we can go to bed! I left the office about 6 and went to the temple with Laura. We did initiatories. It was so refreshing to be in the Temple again. The names were from Germany and the Netherlands, though, so some of them were hard to pronounce. I got home about 8:00, not having had dinner. I'm glad we have a good supply of peanut butter on our shelves! Tomorrow will also be a long day, with helping Erickson's at Zone Conference do the cars.
We will be going to the office afterwards. I'm sure Bob will have a lot to do.
May everyone's days be full of good things and may the Lord bless you all!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Monday 14 September 2015
September 14, 2015
Bonnie: Today is a sad day for us because Bob's brother Ed passed away. We don't know many details yet, but suffice it to say we have lost one of our most avid readers! He will certainly be missed. I'm so glad Bob has had a closer relationship with him these last several months. We are praying for Lorraine. At his request, he was cremated. There also will be no service in Florida at his request. But, perhaps there may be something in West Virginia. We hope so. Bob should be able to get away for a week-end, and hopefully I could go, too. I think the plan now is to move Lorraine back to West Virginia and then we'll see what happens. The only good part is that he is out of pain now, free of his sick body. And we know we will be able to see him again.
Bob is working late tonight because he will be gone the next two days. I hope he gets everything done that he desires. It will make the apartment move tomorrow a better experience for him. Wednesday is our first Zone Conference. We will be in Hamilton, about an hour away. We will keep everyone updated on what we will be doing there.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Bob: It is different writing and knowing that Eddie won't be reading the blog. He told me he read it everyday and, in fact, he would check it late at night to see if we had posted anything before he went to bed. Will miss him.
Left home at 8:30 and got home at 8:30. Finally got all the rent checks prepared and ready to mail in the morning. Adding today's rent checks to the few I have written this month to open new apartments, the mission has spent close to $120,000 on rent for just this month. We sure spend a lot of money.
Headed to Bancroft tomorrow morning as early as I can. Stopping in Peterborough to pick up a set of elders, who will be the muscle on the job! I provide the guidance!! They are about 2:15 away. Then we'll have another 1:15 to go. Should get there about noon. Hope we can load by 1:30, eat by 2:30 and maybe I can be home around 6 - 6:30. We'll see how it works out.
Weather warmed up outside today. Must have been pretty cool in the office, though, as the supply secretary spent most of the day with a blanket around her shoulders. I hope she can make it though the winter. May have to go buy her a huge heater to put under her desk. She has found a small one, but I don't think it has enough wattage.
Well I had better sign off as it is approaching 10:00 and I want to turn in early for a change.
Love to all, and good night, brother. Hope you are resting and can look down on us.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bob is working late tonight because he will be gone the next two days. I hope he gets everything done that he desires. It will make the apartment move tomorrow a better experience for him. Wednesday is our first Zone Conference. We will be in Hamilton, about an hour away. We will keep everyone updated on what we will be doing there.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Bob: It is different writing and knowing that Eddie won't be reading the blog. He told me he read it everyday and, in fact, he would check it late at night to see if we had posted anything before he went to bed. Will miss him.
Left home at 8:30 and got home at 8:30. Finally got all the rent checks prepared and ready to mail in the morning. Adding today's rent checks to the few I have written this month to open new apartments, the mission has spent close to $120,000 on rent for just this month. We sure spend a lot of money.
Headed to Bancroft tomorrow morning as early as I can. Stopping in Peterborough to pick up a set of elders, who will be the muscle on the job! I provide the guidance!! They are about 2:15 away. Then we'll have another 1:15 to go. Should get there about noon. Hope we can load by 1:30, eat by 2:30 and maybe I can be home around 6 - 6:30. We'll see how it works out.
Weather warmed up outside today. Must have been pretty cool in the office, though, as the supply secretary spent most of the day with a blanket around her shoulders. I hope she can make it though the winter. May have to go buy her a huge heater to put under her desk. She has found a small one, but I don't think it has enough wattage.
Well I had better sign off as it is approaching 10:00 and I want to turn in early for a change.
Love to all, and good night, brother. Hope you are resting and can look down on us.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Sunday 13 September 2015
September 13, 2015
Bob: Today was the Brampton Stake semi-annual Stake Conference. Elder Milan F. Kunz, an Area Seventy from Philadelphia presided. He suggested last night in the evening session of conference that all adults read chapter 1 from the blue General Handbook of Instructions. I have a link posted below that will take you to it. You will have to click on NEXT 3 times to go to all the pages of the chapter.
https://www.lds.org/handbook/handbook-2-administering-the-church/families-and-the-church-in-gods-plan?lang=eng
I think you may have to copy and paste the above link. It did not come up as a hyperlink when I closed the blog and then reopened it.
President Scott Goobie, Stake President, read the headings from the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelations. Although we don't usually hear many speak about the Book of Revelations, these 2 chapters have very interesting headings. President Goobie's main theme was 'We must recognize that we can overcome'. The 2 chapter headings list some of the blessings we will receive as we not only overcome individual challenges, but also the challenges from the evil influences of the worldly. Among these blessings are eternal life and to be with Jesus as He is with the Father. Good food for thought.
The weather is still in the 60's today and the first mate is bundled up and doing her best to survive. Looks like I should have brought the portable heater with us. May have to go buy one for her. But alas, the temperature is back into the 70's and 80's for the week starting tomorrow.
One piece of bad news is that my computer's hard drive has died. Working on getting that replaced, but the worst thing is I have lost the updated Word and Excel versions I had. Working on that problem too.
We are going back to the Stake Center for a 8:00 pm broadcast of a CES Fireside. Our Mission President's brother, Elder Whitney Clayton, will be the main speaker. President Clayton has already told us that his brother is the best speaker in the family. You might remember his last conference address about the little girl who was in a plane crash and she was the sole survivor. It was a good talk.
Hope everyone has had a blessed Sabbath.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: I am very cold in our apartment today. It's 66 degrees in here. I don't know when they will be turning on the heat, but I hope it is soon! At least I have plenty of blankets to help keep me warm. We had a wonderful meeting last night and also this morning. Before it started this morning Elder Kunz asked us to write down a concern or problem we have and then listen for promptings during the meeting to help us with it. He was the last speaker and he did some things which I thought were great. He had the Primary children stand and sing the first verse of "I Am A Child Of God". The youth were then added to sing the second verse and then everyone was to sing the third verse. Then he gave us a few minutes to write down any thoughts we had regarding the problem we had written down at the beginning of the meeting. It was powerful to do that. I really felt the Spirit and I received some help with something important. I really like how he involved everyone in the congregation. Tonight is a meeting for all of the YSAs as Bob has mentioned. I'm looking forward to that.
We have a busy week ahead because Bob will be gone Tuesday, so that means a late night Monday night. Both Ericksons and us will be out of the office Wednesday to go to a Zone Conference. We will be helping them inspect the vehicles that day. That means a late night Wednesday night--we will probably go to the office on the way home after Zone Conference. The Ericksons will also be gone Thursday for another Zone Conference so Bob, Laura and I will have to "man" the office that day. It makes the days hectic, but also quite rewarding.
Let's all have a wonderful week!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
https://www.lds.org/handbook/handbook-2-administering-the-church/families-and-the-church-in-gods-plan?lang=eng
I think you may have to copy and paste the above link. It did not come up as a hyperlink when I closed the blog and then reopened it.
President Scott Goobie, Stake President, read the headings from the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelations. Although we don't usually hear many speak about the Book of Revelations, these 2 chapters have very interesting headings. President Goobie's main theme was 'We must recognize that we can overcome'. The 2 chapter headings list some of the blessings we will receive as we not only overcome individual challenges, but also the challenges from the evil influences of the worldly. Among these blessings are eternal life and to be with Jesus as He is with the Father. Good food for thought.
The weather is still in the 60's today and the first mate is bundled up and doing her best to survive. Looks like I should have brought the portable heater with us. May have to go buy one for her. But alas, the temperature is back into the 70's and 80's for the week starting tomorrow.
One piece of bad news is that my computer's hard drive has died. Working on getting that replaced, but the worst thing is I have lost the updated Word and Excel versions I had. Working on that problem too.
We are going back to the Stake Center for a 8:00 pm broadcast of a CES Fireside. Our Mission President's brother, Elder Whitney Clayton, will be the main speaker. President Clayton has already told us that his brother is the best speaker in the family. You might remember his last conference address about the little girl who was in a plane crash and she was the sole survivor. It was a good talk.
Hope everyone has had a blessed Sabbath.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: I am very cold in our apartment today. It's 66 degrees in here. I don't know when they will be turning on the heat, but I hope it is soon! At least I have plenty of blankets to help keep me warm. We had a wonderful meeting last night and also this morning. Before it started this morning Elder Kunz asked us to write down a concern or problem we have and then listen for promptings during the meeting to help us with it. He was the last speaker and he did some things which I thought were great. He had the Primary children stand and sing the first verse of "I Am A Child Of God". The youth were then added to sing the second verse and then everyone was to sing the third verse. Then he gave us a few minutes to write down any thoughts we had regarding the problem we had written down at the beginning of the meeting. It was powerful to do that. I really felt the Spirit and I received some help with something important. I really like how he involved everyone in the congregation. Tonight is a meeting for all of the YSAs as Bob has mentioned. I'm looking forward to that.
We have a busy week ahead because Bob will be gone Tuesday, so that means a late night Monday night. Both Ericksons and us will be out of the office Wednesday to go to a Zone Conference. We will be helping them inspect the vehicles that day. That means a late night Wednesday night--we will probably go to the office on the way home after Zone Conference. The Ericksons will also be gone Thursday for another Zone Conference so Bob, Laura and I will have to "man" the office that day. It makes the days hectic, but also quite rewarding.
Let's all have a wonderful week!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Saturday 12 September 2015
September 12, 2015
Bob: Today was Adventure Day. We went downtown with the Erickson's to find the Path. Look it up on Google. It is underground shopping that covers acres in Toronto. We were only in one part, the Eaton Center, which is in the upper right corner of the Path map if you look it up. The Eaton Center is a 4 level shopping area with five levels of parking above it. It is quite a shopping mall. I put some pictures of it below.
We also drove past the CN tower, the basketball arena for the Toronto Raptors and the Rogers Center, home of the American League East Division leading Toronto Blue Jays. I am listening to them beat up on the Yankees right now. Won last night, the 1st game of today's double header, and leading by 6 in the 2nd game.
The weather has turned cool for the weekend, but is warming up to the 80's later this week. It has drizzled off and on most of the day. First mate has turned off the furnace blower and is walking around with a hooded sweatshirt on. I don't have any shirt on. We have contrasting ideas of a comfortable temperature!
We plan on going up in the CN Tower for dinner one night. We haven't decided when to go yet. We want it to be a clear night so we can watch the city lights come on. It is pretty visible. You might remember we drove to Niagara On the Lake one day. That was a 90 minute trip. I walked down to the Lake Ontario shore while there and I could see the CN tower in the distance. Here are some facts about the CN tower: (The CN Tower is a 553.33 m-high (1,815.4 ft) concrete communications and observation tower in downtown Toronto. It was completed in 1976, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure and world's tallest tower at the time. It held both records for 34 years until the completion of Burj Khalifa and Canton Tower in 2010. It is now the 3rd tallest tower in the world and remains the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere.)
Hope everyone has had a wonderful Saturday.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: It was fun today walking around one small part of The Path. There is so much more to explore here. If you like to shop it would be like heaven! We had lunch at a Thai Restaurant and it was delicious. Then, we all got blizzards at DQ for dessert. We definitely want to go back.
Tonight was the Saturday night meeting before our Stake Conference tomorrow. It was wonderful. One of my favorite Sister Missionaries spoke, Sister Arnold. Two important themes emerged. One is the importance of doing family history work--actually having our youth doing it. We are promised by an apostle of the Lord that this will help them be protected from Satan and his influences. The second theme was keeping the Sabbath Day holy, that this will help strengthen our faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It's so interesting how we are being reminded to keep a commandment that was given to Moses thousands of years ago. The laws of God don't change! I look forward to attending tomorrow to hear from the Stake President and the other speakers. It's been a very good day.
May we all have an inspirational Sabbath tomorrow.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
We also drove past the CN tower, the basketball arena for the Toronto Raptors and the Rogers Center, home of the American League East Division leading Toronto Blue Jays. I am listening to them beat up on the Yankees right now. Won last night, the 1st game of today's double header, and leading by 6 in the 2nd game.
The weather has turned cool for the weekend, but is warming up to the 80's later this week. It has drizzled off and on most of the day. First mate has turned off the furnace blower and is walking around with a hooded sweatshirt on. I don't have any shirt on. We have contrasting ideas of a comfortable temperature!
We plan on going up in the CN Tower for dinner one night. We haven't decided when to go yet. We want it to be a clear night so we can watch the city lights come on. It is pretty visible. You might remember we drove to Niagara On the Lake one day. That was a 90 minute trip. I walked down to the Lake Ontario shore while there and I could see the CN tower in the distance. Here are some facts about the CN tower: (The CN Tower is a 553.33 m-high (1,815.4 ft) concrete communications and observation tower in downtown Toronto. It was completed in 1976, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure and world's tallest tower at the time. It held both records for 34 years until the completion of Burj Khalifa and Canton Tower in 2010. It is now the 3rd tallest tower in the world and remains the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere.)
Hope everyone has had a wonderful Saturday.
Love,
Dad/Bob
CN Tower
Rogers Center
Inside the Eaton Center
Home of the Raptors
Observation and dining area of CN Tower
Bonnie: It was fun today walking around one small part of The Path. There is so much more to explore here. If you like to shop it would be like heaven! We had lunch at a Thai Restaurant and it was delicious. Then, we all got blizzards at DQ for dessert. We definitely want to go back.
Tonight was the Saturday night meeting before our Stake Conference tomorrow. It was wonderful. One of my favorite Sister Missionaries spoke, Sister Arnold. Two important themes emerged. One is the importance of doing family history work--actually having our youth doing it. We are promised by an apostle of the Lord that this will help them be protected from Satan and his influences. The second theme was keeping the Sabbath Day holy, that this will help strengthen our faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It's so interesting how we are being reminded to keep a commandment that was given to Moses thousands of years ago. The laws of God don't change! I look forward to attending tomorrow to hear from the Stake President and the other speakers. It's been a very good day.
May we all have an inspirational Sabbath tomorrow.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Friday 11 September 2015
September 11, 2015
Bonnie: I came home about 6-ish with Erickson's. Bob said he wouldn't be very long. So, I decided that I would start the blog tonight. I have the wash started and have cut up stuff for the omelette Bob wants to make when he gets home. Eating late has become something we do often. I should be used to it by now!!
I had a good day, catching up on the three histories that I keep. Unfortunately, we have had three sister missionaries go home early. This affects almost everything we do. Changes in companionships have to be made, and debit cards taken care of and furniture moved around and going home packets have to be made up. The mission sends home a disc of all the letters that a missionary has written to the Mission President. Bob gets to do that. And there are several other things that go into it. So, that has kept the others busy. I was able to get 8 baptism packets ready today. They just need the signed letter by President Clayton and they are finished.
Well, Bob has just walked in and his cellphone is ringing. I hope this phone call won't take too long!
May everyone have a great tomorrow. We will because we are going sight-seeing! More tomorrow.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Bob: In defending myself for working late I was in the office for just a little over 1 hour yesterday. So I had several things to catch up.
Finally got someone from Bell to understand it was their fax that needs to be moved. We got it scheduled for Monday morning.
Set a record at the bank today. Walked right in and right up to a teller. Only took about 10 minutes to do the deposit. They don't have drive up banking here. The drive thrus are only for the ATMs.
The weather has turned cooler and wet. Rained off and on today. Lots of people had coats and sweaters on when I stopped at the post office on my way home. It's 58 and raining lightly right now. Tomorrow's high is predicted for 61. Might be a good day to rest up and stay inside.
Got to get ready for bed. Didn't rest too well last night. Was thinking about a new missionary coming next month. His mother called yesterday evening and wanted us to send something that lists him as an insured driver. She said her company, GEICO, is refusing to remove him from their insurance unless they get an official letter stating he is insured with another company. Can't figure that out. If he drives another vehicle and has an accident the chance of GEICO paying one cent of that claim is about as possible as a snow ball lasting an hour sitting on a lighted wood stove. Told her that I would explain to the agent that either they remove the son or everyone, it is his choice. I would think they would be happy to get a teenage son off the policy.
Well it's time to get ready for bed. Everyone have an enjoyable weekend.
Love,
Dad/Bob
I had a good day, catching up on the three histories that I keep. Unfortunately, we have had three sister missionaries go home early. This affects almost everything we do. Changes in companionships have to be made, and debit cards taken care of and furniture moved around and going home packets have to be made up. The mission sends home a disc of all the letters that a missionary has written to the Mission President. Bob gets to do that. And there are several other things that go into it. So, that has kept the others busy. I was able to get 8 baptism packets ready today. They just need the signed letter by President Clayton and they are finished.
Well, Bob has just walked in and his cellphone is ringing. I hope this phone call won't take too long!
May everyone have a great tomorrow. We will because we are going sight-seeing! More tomorrow.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Bob: In defending myself for working late I was in the office for just a little over 1 hour yesterday. So I had several things to catch up.
Finally got someone from Bell to understand it was their fax that needs to be moved. We got it scheduled for Monday morning.
Set a record at the bank today. Walked right in and right up to a teller. Only took about 10 minutes to do the deposit. They don't have drive up banking here. The drive thrus are only for the ATMs.
The weather has turned cooler and wet. Rained off and on today. Lots of people had coats and sweaters on when I stopped at the post office on my way home. It's 58 and raining lightly right now. Tomorrow's high is predicted for 61. Might be a good day to rest up and stay inside.
Got to get ready for bed. Didn't rest too well last night. Was thinking about a new missionary coming next month. His mother called yesterday evening and wanted us to send something that lists him as an insured driver. She said her company, GEICO, is refusing to remove him from their insurance unless they get an official letter stating he is insured with another company. Can't figure that out. If he drives another vehicle and has an accident the chance of GEICO paying one cent of that claim is about as possible as a snow ball lasting an hour sitting on a lighted wood stove. Told her that I would explain to the agent that either they remove the son or everyone, it is his choice. I would think they would be happy to get a teenage son off the policy.
Well it's time to get ready for bed. Everyone have an enjoyable weekend.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Thursday 10 September 2015
September 10, 2015
Bob: Spent most of today on the road as I had to take mattresses to missionaries that now have 3 in their companionships. You see how far I traveled by going to google maps. Left 1624 Wanless Drive, Brampton and went to 16 Carluke Crescent, North York first. Then I went to 15 Mann Avenue in Simcoe. After I left 1624 Wanless I had to fill the truck with gas, go to both our storage units to get the mattresses, box springs and bed frames. When I got everything delivered I stop to refuel at Wendys and then retraced my route back to the office without going to Carluke. Had to get gas again before I got back. I think I left around 9:15 and got back close to 4:00.
We got our new 25 mobile phones today. We are almost out of phones we can recycle so I will start handing these out pretty quickly. I had 2 new phones when I started and gave those away this past Saturday. A set of Elders wanted another phone today before I got back, but I had them call Rogers technical service and they were able to fix the problem. Most of them don't like calling for technical support, but Rogers can fix the phones occasionally. And this was the same 2 Elders that spent an hour and half the other day with technical support without accomplishing anything.
We took care of the shopping tonight so we can do the wash tomorrow night. Then we'll have all day Saturday up to 6:00 to go to the Farmer's Market and play around!! I found a Foodland Market while walking the other day so we tried it tonight. I'll let Bonnie tell you about the great deal she got on the chicken.
One thing I saw today in my travels was a house with beautiful flowers everywhere. And in the middle of it they had a tall arrangement of tiny flowers. It must have been about 10 feet tall and about 3 feet in diameter. It was all colors and the blossoms were fitted tightly together. It looked fabulous. Wish I had taken my camera. Had my phone but never thought of it. Maybe I'll be down there again sometime and get a picture.
Better let the first mate add her thoughts while I get ready for bed.
Love to all and God bless.
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: It's been a good day because I received my Book of Mormon order. They delivered 23 boxes of English, 2 boxes of Simplified Chinese, and 1 box each of Spanish and Portuguese books.
These are paid for out of the General Book of Mormon Fund which is wonderful. I wish the Persian ones were available this way, but for some reason I can't do this yet. So, I put in an order for 80 Persian ones through the Online LDS Store. We (the Mission) will have to pay for them, of course. I need more space in the storage room now because we have car supplies in there, too, and there is another big order that should be here soon.
Bob mentioned Foodland. Everything there is so expensive! For 4 skinless chicken breasts it cost about $20.00!! But, on the good side, there weren't a lot of people crowding the aisles. Oh, well. Live and learn.
The weather is starting to cool a bit which is nice. School started here the day after Labor Day so that means more traffic to deal with on the way to the office. Some of the trees are just barely changing colors. I can't wait for Fall. I expect that it will be as beautiful as it is in West Virginia.
May everyone have a peaceful night! We love you!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
We got our new 25 mobile phones today. We are almost out of phones we can recycle so I will start handing these out pretty quickly. I had 2 new phones when I started and gave those away this past Saturday. A set of Elders wanted another phone today before I got back, but I had them call Rogers technical service and they were able to fix the problem. Most of them don't like calling for technical support, but Rogers can fix the phones occasionally. And this was the same 2 Elders that spent an hour and half the other day with technical support without accomplishing anything.
We took care of the shopping tonight so we can do the wash tomorrow night. Then we'll have all day Saturday up to 6:00 to go to the Farmer's Market and play around!! I found a Foodland Market while walking the other day so we tried it tonight. I'll let Bonnie tell you about the great deal she got on the chicken.
One thing I saw today in my travels was a house with beautiful flowers everywhere. And in the middle of it they had a tall arrangement of tiny flowers. It must have been about 10 feet tall and about 3 feet in diameter. It was all colors and the blossoms were fitted tightly together. It looked fabulous. Wish I had taken my camera. Had my phone but never thought of it. Maybe I'll be down there again sometime and get a picture.
Better let the first mate add her thoughts while I get ready for bed.
Love to all and God bless.
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: It's been a good day because I received my Book of Mormon order. They delivered 23 boxes of English, 2 boxes of Simplified Chinese, and 1 box each of Spanish and Portuguese books.
These are paid for out of the General Book of Mormon Fund which is wonderful. I wish the Persian ones were available this way, but for some reason I can't do this yet. So, I put in an order for 80 Persian ones through the Online LDS Store. We (the Mission) will have to pay for them, of course. I need more space in the storage room now because we have car supplies in there, too, and there is another big order that should be here soon.
Bob mentioned Foodland. Everything there is so expensive! For 4 skinless chicken breasts it cost about $20.00!! But, on the good side, there weren't a lot of people crowding the aisles. Oh, well. Live and learn.
The weather is starting to cool a bit which is nice. School started here the day after Labor Day so that means more traffic to deal with on the way to the office. Some of the trees are just barely changing colors. I can't wait for Fall. I expect that it will be as beautiful as it is in West Virginia.
May everyone have a peaceful night! We love you!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Wednesday 9 September 2015
September 9, 2015
Bob: It has been a long day. We got home just about 6:45, ate real quick and headed to the Brampton Stake Center to participate in the Brampton Ward end of summer Institute party. We wanted to see who is attending in Brampton. The regular class starts next Wednesday. The instructors, the Barretts, end their mission on November 12 and will be going home. We have been thinking about offering to help with the Brampton class on Wednesday nights. It would be a good bit of extra work for they do a lot of food preparation for the class. The kids love that part. I'm pretty sure we could teach the class if we had someone else get the food ready. It could work out. And 2 sets of adults in attendance would be even better.
Gained some more insight into Canadian customer service today. Had a collection agency wanting the payment of a missionaries medical bill without providing any itemized statement. That didn't go over real well. Tried to set up a new gas account but couldn't because no one's name is on the account right now. Landlord thought he could get the new renters to pay for the month before they moved in. That didn't work either. Talked with a company about renting a gas water heater. They said it's ready to go, but they weren't going to set the account up till closer to the end of the month. So I asked when that would be as the landlord would not give us access to the apartment until the account was set up. They said, 'Well closer to the end of the month.' So I replied, 'Well today is the 9th; tomorrow is the 10th. That's closer to the end of the month than today; are you going to do it tomorrow?' No. So that didn't end well. And finally, I called Bell and asked that they move a fax line from an apartment in North York to another apartment in Toronto. She said they could do that but she needed some information. Okay, what do you want. I need your name, the company's name, account number, and your main office number. So I give them my name and the Mission name. As far as account number I asked which account do you want as we have 13 accounts with you. Do you want the fax number's account number? And the main office number is a Rogers phone, not a bell phone. She said just a minute. So she puts me on hold for a while and finally asks is the main office a Bell phone? I said, 'The main office is in Brampton, and it is a Rogers phone. The fax number is a Bell number and it's in North York and needs to be moved to Toronto. The main number has nothing to do with the fax number. So she puts me on hold again and when she comes back on the line she says I need to call Rogers to get the fax line moved! Now maybe she knows something I don't, but that doesn't seem right to me. I told her I didn't think Rogers had anything to do with our fax numbers. She next says, 'Have a good evening.' I reply I can't wait to tell people about this conversation.
The only good thing was sharing some time with some of the missionaries. That makes it all worth while.
Hope all is well with everyone.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: Today was quite a good day, topped off with being with the YSAs this evening. Brother Berrett is known for his homemade bread and tonight he made cinnamon rolls from scratch. They are delicious! They sent us home with six of them. They'll go quickly tomorrow, I'm sure. We played "The Great Dalmuti" at tonight's activity. It was great fun!
One of the best things about today was that two of the Elders who speak Farsi/Persian invited us out to eat next week! They want to take us to a Persian restaurant next Thursday night. We'll let you know how well we like it.
I hope you all have had a wonderful day.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Gained some more insight into Canadian customer service today. Had a collection agency wanting the payment of a missionaries medical bill without providing any itemized statement. That didn't go over real well. Tried to set up a new gas account but couldn't because no one's name is on the account right now. Landlord thought he could get the new renters to pay for the month before they moved in. That didn't work either. Talked with a company about renting a gas water heater. They said it's ready to go, but they weren't going to set the account up till closer to the end of the month. So I asked when that would be as the landlord would not give us access to the apartment until the account was set up. They said, 'Well closer to the end of the month.' So I replied, 'Well today is the 9th; tomorrow is the 10th. That's closer to the end of the month than today; are you going to do it tomorrow?' No. So that didn't end well. And finally, I called Bell and asked that they move a fax line from an apartment in North York to another apartment in Toronto. She said they could do that but she needed some information. Okay, what do you want. I need your name, the company's name, account number, and your main office number. So I give them my name and the Mission name. As far as account number I asked which account do you want as we have 13 accounts with you. Do you want the fax number's account number? And the main office number is a Rogers phone, not a bell phone. She said just a minute. So she puts me on hold for a while and finally asks is the main office a Bell phone? I said, 'The main office is in Brampton, and it is a Rogers phone. The fax number is a Bell number and it's in North York and needs to be moved to Toronto. The main number has nothing to do with the fax number. So she puts me on hold again and when she comes back on the line she says I need to call Rogers to get the fax line moved! Now maybe she knows something I don't, but that doesn't seem right to me. I told her I didn't think Rogers had anything to do with our fax numbers. She next says, 'Have a good evening.' I reply I can't wait to tell people about this conversation.
The only good thing was sharing some time with some of the missionaries. That makes it all worth while.
Hope all is well with everyone.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: Today was quite a good day, topped off with being with the YSAs this evening. Brother Berrett is known for his homemade bread and tonight he made cinnamon rolls from scratch. They are delicious! They sent us home with six of them. They'll go quickly tomorrow, I'm sure. We played "The Great Dalmuti" at tonight's activity. It was great fun!
One of the best things about today was that two of the Elders who speak Farsi/Persian invited us out to eat next week! They want to take us to a Persian restaurant next Thursday night. We'll let you know how well we like it.
I hope you all have had a wonderful day.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Tuesday 8 September 2015
September 8, 2015
Bob: Today was the transfer pick-up day. Starting about 11:30 we had missionaries in and out of the office most of the afternoon. I had to switch telephones for one set. They had to call our provider and attempt to move the contacts from their old phone to the new phone. After 90 minutes we finally gave up. Then I called our account executives and told them what happened. He could not believe it had happened. He was going to go check on it, but said we should try again and told me what to specifically ask for. He said if that tech can't do it immediately then get another tech that can. It is a real simple process. If it is it might be one of the few I have found so far.
Had some missionaries call that they were now a 3-some, but with only 2 sets of mattresses and box springs. They do have a couch that will work till Thursday.
Well it's time for bed. Hope all is well with everyone.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: We lived through another Transfer day. Our short talks went well this morning at 7:30 am. Then, it was off to the office to wait for the missionaries. Transfer Days are harder than MLC I think because there is a constant influx of missionaries with many different needs. I had enough planners this time, which I'm glad of. I have two special things I need to do--one is to email a new sister's mother about packages because she sends a special supplement to her daughter every month. Another is to check on two packages from England that have not been delivered yet. I called the Montreal Mission for the names of some missionaries there who could give a blessing to the husband of an investigator who was in a hospital in Quebec. But the most fun thing was seeing a raccoon come up to the window behind my desk! It seemed really big to me. One of the new Elders today saw it, surprised that it was there. When I saw it I guess I alarmed everyone. The APs ran after it and got its picture. We saw it later running along the back fence on the other side of the parking lot behind the building. What a day! Tomorrow it should be more quiet. One of the hardest things was to say good-bye to Elder Russell this morning. I'm sure he is home by now, enjoying the hugs of his family. One thing a mission does is make you really appreciate your family and friends. We really do love and miss you all.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Had some missionaries call that they were now a 3-some, but with only 2 sets of mattresses and box springs. They do have a couch that will work till Thursday.
Well it's time for bed. Hope all is well with everyone.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: We lived through another Transfer day. Our short talks went well this morning at 7:30 am. Then, it was off to the office to wait for the missionaries. Transfer Days are harder than MLC I think because there is a constant influx of missionaries with many different needs. I had enough planners this time, which I'm glad of. I have two special things I need to do--one is to email a new sister's mother about packages because she sends a special supplement to her daughter every month. Another is to check on two packages from England that have not been delivered yet. I called the Montreal Mission for the names of some missionaries there who could give a blessing to the husband of an investigator who was in a hospital in Quebec. But the most fun thing was seeing a raccoon come up to the window behind my desk! It seemed really big to me. One of the new Elders today saw it, surprised that it was there. When I saw it I guess I alarmed everyone. The APs ran after it and got its picture. We saw it later running along the back fence on the other side of the parking lot behind the building. What a day! Tomorrow it should be more quiet. One of the hardest things was to say good-bye to Elder Russell this morning. I'm sure he is home by now, enjoying the hugs of his family. One thing a mission does is make you really appreciate your family and friends. We really do love and miss you all.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Monday 7 September 2015
September 7, 2015
Bob: Today was a good day. As soon as I got to the office I took the truck and trailer to meet 4 Elders at the apartment we partially moved stuff out of last Friday. We were there for about 20 minutes to pack up 2 desks and 1 couch. Took all 3 pieces and put them in the new storage facility.
Today was Canada's Labor Day so there wasn't much traffic as I was driving the truck. And there wasn't any mail today so there weren't any new bills to pay. Got everything pretty well caught up in the office. Took about an hour or longer to burn 11 cd's for the missionaries going home on Wednesday. Had to call 2 landlords about rodent problems at their facility, but I think the problems are being handled okay. We'll find out real soon. Told one of them that if the problem wasn't handled we would not be paying any more rent.
After work we went to Brother and Sister Ludlow's for their monthly dinner for the senior missionaries. I believe they have been hosting this get-together for over 20 years. Put their picture below. Notice his shirt, "Retired Finally". I'm going to go see if I can get me one.
The Erickson's work in the office with us. He handles cars and she handles everything someone else isn't assigned, as well as new missionaries coming in and missionaries returning home. It ends up being lots of work.
Hope your Labor Day was as nice as ours. Will be celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving on Oct 10.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: It was a good day but I am very tired. Tomorrow we have to get up early and be at the Stake Center to welcome in 20 new missionaries by 7:30 am. And we also have to say our final good-byes to Elder Russell. Transfers are quite the production. Each new missionary is assigned a trainer. As new missionaries are coming in, others are going home. The ones going home will be attending a special temple session tomorrow afternoon. Because of all the changes, many of the other missionaries will be transferred, mixed up and moved around all over the mission. They will congregate at the mission office, which means I have to be ready with planners, prepaid envelopes, Books of Mormon, candy for the candy jar, and other things they might need to pick up before they go to their new assignment. As you can imagine, it's hard to anticipate everything. I'm praying that my last name-tag order comes in tomorrow before the influx, as well as the Books of Mormon. I may have to let them take only 6 or 8 instead of a full box. To make a long story short, I'm going to bed soon. May we all have a good night's sleep!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Today was Canada's Labor Day so there wasn't much traffic as I was driving the truck. And there wasn't any mail today so there weren't any new bills to pay. Got everything pretty well caught up in the office. Took about an hour or longer to burn 11 cd's for the missionaries going home on Wednesday. Had to call 2 landlords about rodent problems at their facility, but I think the problems are being handled okay. We'll find out real soon. Told one of them that if the problem wasn't handled we would not be paying any more rent.
After work we went to Brother and Sister Ludlow's for their monthly dinner for the senior missionaries. I believe they have been hosting this get-together for over 20 years. Put their picture below. Notice his shirt, "Retired Finally". I'm going to go see if I can get me one.
The Erickson's work in the office with us. He handles cars and she handles everything someone else isn't assigned, as well as new missionaries coming in and missionaries returning home. It ends up being lots of work.
Hope your Labor Day was as nice as ours. Will be celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving on Oct 10.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Ed and Sheila Ludlow
Cheryl and Bob Erickson
Bonnie: It was a good day but I am very tired. Tomorrow we have to get up early and be at the Stake Center to welcome in 20 new missionaries by 7:30 am. And we also have to say our final good-byes to Elder Russell. Transfers are quite the production. Each new missionary is assigned a trainer. As new missionaries are coming in, others are going home. The ones going home will be attending a special temple session tomorrow afternoon. Because of all the changes, many of the other missionaries will be transferred, mixed up and moved around all over the mission. They will congregate at the mission office, which means I have to be ready with planners, prepaid envelopes, Books of Mormon, candy for the candy jar, and other things they might need to pick up before they go to their new assignment. As you can imagine, it's hard to anticipate everything. I'm praying that my last name-tag order comes in tomorrow before the influx, as well as the Books of Mormon. I may have to let them take only 6 or 8 instead of a full box. To make a long story short, I'm going to bed soon. May we all have a good night's sleep!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Sunday 6 September 2015
September 6, 2015
Bob: Another long day it seems, but we did sleep in this morning. Church was good and the munch n' mingle went very well today. They had pasta with sauce, salad and hard rolls. Don't think anything was left over. We took Michael home after church. He lives about 10 miles the opposite direction, but we got to see some of Toronto that we haven't seen before. I believe we were in North York.
When we got home we entered the garage and parked the car. Got out and started upstairs when I told Bonnie I had left my apartment keys in the car. Looked all through the car and could not find them. I had just used them to get into the garage. Bonnie finally came back downstairs and we looked for almost 30 minutes and could not find them. By this time I was feeling real happy (not!) about this turn of events. So we came upstairs and Bonnie began getting dinner ready. I picked up my scripture bag and there in the back pocket were my keys. How they got there I do not remember, but must take the blame for putting them there. Getting old has its pitfalls that is for sure.
I have a picture of the birthday cake below. It was supposed to say 'Happy BirthdayHoney Sister Martin', but it looks like the icer thought 'Honey' was to be deleted.
Wishing everyone happiness and prosperity.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: We had a wonderful Sabbath Day. I love Sunday mornings. I slept in until 8 am!!
There were many heart-felt, sincere testimonies born today. And then there was a combined meeting for RS and Priesthood about keeping the Sabbath Day holy. Some good discussion ensued. We did have a long way to get home with taking Michael to his apartment building, but I'm glad we did it. And about the keys--I think the Lord was trying to tell Bob something! In other words, "Turn to Me (ie: the Savior) when you're in trouble!" Why else would he find the keys in his scriptures?
I probably have written this, but I want to say a word about the Book of Mormon in Farsi or Persian. I never in my lifetime thought I would see any of the scriptures in a middle-eastern language. We're talking about Iran and Iraq here. The gospel is indeed going to every nation, kindred, tongue and people! The Elders who speak Farsi are so excited. They say they have many people ready to read this book in their language. Now, we just need the Book of Mormon translated into Burmese, Punjabi and Kannadan, a native Indian tongue. I'm sure one day it will happen.
We hope all of you have had a wonderful, restful Sabbath. May all of you enjoy Labor Day tomorrow!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
When we got home we entered the garage and parked the car. Got out and started upstairs when I told Bonnie I had left my apartment keys in the car. Looked all through the car and could not find them. I had just used them to get into the garage. Bonnie finally came back downstairs and we looked for almost 30 minutes and could not find them. By this time I was feeling real happy (not!) about this turn of events. So we came upstairs and Bonnie began getting dinner ready. I picked up my scripture bag and there in the back pocket were my keys. How they got there I do not remember, but must take the blame for putting them there. Getting old has its pitfalls that is for sure.
I have a picture of the birthday cake below. It was supposed to say 'Happy Birthday
Wishing everyone happiness and prosperity.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie with Farsi Book of Mormon
Assistants singing happy birthday
Surprise!
Birthday Cake
Bonnie: We had a wonderful Sabbath Day. I love Sunday mornings. I slept in until 8 am!!
There were many heart-felt, sincere testimonies born today. And then there was a combined meeting for RS and Priesthood about keeping the Sabbath Day holy. Some good discussion ensued. We did have a long way to get home with taking Michael to his apartment building, but I'm glad we did it. And about the keys--I think the Lord was trying to tell Bob something! In other words, "Turn to Me (ie: the Savior) when you're in trouble!" Why else would he find the keys in his scriptures?
I probably have written this, but I want to say a word about the Book of Mormon in Farsi or Persian. I never in my lifetime thought I would see any of the scriptures in a middle-eastern language. We're talking about Iran and Iraq here. The gospel is indeed going to every nation, kindred, tongue and people! The Elders who speak Farsi are so excited. They say they have many people ready to read this book in their language. Now, we just need the Book of Mormon translated into Burmese, Punjabi and Kannadan, a native Indian tongue. I'm sure one day it will happen.
We hope all of you have had a wonderful, restful Sabbath. May all of you enjoy Labor Day tomorrow!
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Saturday 5 September 2015
September 5, 2015
Bob: It's been a long day. Started with a 4:30 alarm going off. Had to get up and leave for the temple at 5:40. A couple times a year most of the missionaries have permission to go to the temple and today was one of them. We had 25 Elders and about 10 sisters in our session. There were only 3 adult couples, Bishop Finnigan and his wife, his 1st Counselor President de Dios and his wife, plus Bonnie and I. We got home a little pass 9 and I went for an hours walk. Then it was a short nap. At 1:40 we went back to the temple to help with the new member/returning member temple baptisms. That was a full house. Didn't have a lot to do except to direct the participants where to go, etc.
When we got home this time we were both wiped out. Ate dinner, laid around for a while and now we're up and moving. Feeling better all the time.
It's only 8:25 and it is dark outside already. We have some outings planned the next month but the days shortness will cut our activities short. Going back to the Farmer's Market next Saturday and then to a local museum. The following week we are going to Niagara Falls and then to the states for some shopping. The 9th of October we are headed back to Temiskaming for Thanksgiving weekend. Might be a little cool on the lake that weekend.
See where BYU pulled off another miracle finish today. Don't know why he got in the end zone. If the play had started on the 43 he would have been a yard short I think. But we'll take any win we can get. Also, saw where Magnolia is off to a 2 - 0 start as they beat Williamstown this past weekend. I think that has turned into a good rivalry. I remember years ago when Williamstown had some pretty good basketball teams. Just saw that Valley is 2 - 0 also.
Well I had better go. Hope all is well with everyone.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: I had a great birthday yesterday. The three APs sang to me first thing in the morning. Then for lunch Sister Ericksen made pulled chicken and sloppy jos, with chips, fruit, veggies and humis. Bob forgot to pick up the cake so we chatted awhile waiting for him. It was a very good cake. I was sung to three more times before the end of the day. President Clayton has a great voice and sings parts on the birthday song. The APs got the rest of the cake to take home except for two pieces, which is just what I wanted! Way too much sugar for us! I liked where we went to eat dinner, too. It was delicious. And last night I talked to my three daughters. Misty's conversation was brief so I called her back tonight. Katie is learning to drive, Ammon played his first football game, Sarah has her own cello. Michael can ride a two-wheeled bike and Serenity is, well, Serenity!
Bob has written about our day today. As I've mentioned before I like matching a name to a face at these convert baptisms for the dead. If they are recent converts I have entered their baptismal information and sent it to SLC, so in a sense, I already know them. We are still learning the dos and don'ts of having them come to the temple. The whole experience is quite gratifying.
Tomorrow we are picking up someone in North York, so we will need to be ready for church earlier than usual. We still get to sleep in which is something I look forward to all week.
May you all have a happy Sabbath day tomorrow. We love you.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
When we got home this time we were both wiped out. Ate dinner, laid around for a while and now we're up and moving. Feeling better all the time.
It's only 8:25 and it is dark outside already. We have some outings planned the next month but the days shortness will cut our activities short. Going back to the Farmer's Market next Saturday and then to a local museum. The following week we are going to Niagara Falls and then to the states for some shopping. The 9th of October we are headed back to Temiskaming for Thanksgiving weekend. Might be a little cool on the lake that weekend.
See where BYU pulled off another miracle finish today. Don't know why he got in the end zone. If the play had started on the 43 he would have been a yard short I think. But we'll take any win we can get. Also, saw where Magnolia is off to a 2 - 0 start as they beat Williamstown this past weekend. I think that has turned into a good rivalry. I remember years ago when Williamstown had some pretty good basketball teams. Just saw that Valley is 2 - 0 also.
Well I had better go. Hope all is well with everyone.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Bonnie: I had a great birthday yesterday. The three APs sang to me first thing in the morning. Then for lunch Sister Ericksen made pulled chicken and sloppy jos, with chips, fruit, veggies and humis. Bob forgot to pick up the cake so we chatted awhile waiting for him. It was a very good cake. I was sung to three more times before the end of the day. President Clayton has a great voice and sings parts on the birthday song. The APs got the rest of the cake to take home except for two pieces, which is just what I wanted! Way too much sugar for us! I liked where we went to eat dinner, too. It was delicious. And last night I talked to my three daughters. Misty's conversation was brief so I called her back tonight. Katie is learning to drive, Ammon played his first football game, Sarah has her own cello. Michael can ride a two-wheeled bike and Serenity is, well, Serenity!
Bob has written about our day today. As I've mentioned before I like matching a name to a face at these convert baptisms for the dead. If they are recent converts I have entered their baptismal information and sent it to SLC, so in a sense, I already know them. We are still learning the dos and don'ts of having them come to the temple. The whole experience is quite gratifying.
Tomorrow we are picking up someone in North York, so we will need to be ready for church earlier than usual. We still get to sleep in which is something I look forward to all week.
May you all have a happy Sabbath day tomorrow. We love you.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Friday 4 September 2015
September 4, 2015
Bob: Today was Bonnie's birthday. She was sung to many times, had a surprise luncheon, and went to eat dinner at a southern barbecue place. I'll let her fill in the details.
This may be a little short tonight as we have to use the laptop. I believe the desktop has bit the dust. It won't boot up. Will try to get someone to look at it next week, but nothing will be open till Tuesday as Monday is the Canadian Labor Day holiday. When there is a holiday in Canada almost everything shuts down.
Closed another apartment today. I was told ahead of time, 'there are only 2 beds, 2 desks and chairs, and 1 table.' It baffles me how anyone could forget 2 dressers, a sofa, a couple bookcases, 2 lamps, and sundry other items. Anyway, we hadn't planned on all that so we left the desks and couch. I'll have to get 4 guys to go back with me on Monday and get them. They'll have to lift them above the washer and dryer to get them out as they stick out in the walkway to the exit door. I didn't want to try taking them out today with just 2 Elders. Took a lot of the stuff to the dump and threw it away as it was old, broken and worn out.
The southern barbecue was very good. The owners are from Louisiana. The day they were moving their equipment into the store a couple of Elders were walking by and asked them if they needed any help. The owners said sure. So the Elders helped them most of the day to move things in. Now when missionaries go into the diner the servers always strike up a conversation with the Elders and ask them how things are going. Food was really good and a felt like I got my money's worth for once.
Hope everyone is well and happy.
Love,
Dad/Bob
This may be a little short tonight as we have to use the laptop. I believe the desktop has bit the dust. It won't boot up. Will try to get someone to look at it next week, but nothing will be open till Tuesday as Monday is the Canadian Labor Day holiday. When there is a holiday in Canada almost everything shuts down.
Closed another apartment today. I was told ahead of time, 'there are only 2 beds, 2 desks and chairs, and 1 table.' It baffles me how anyone could forget 2 dressers, a sofa, a couple bookcases, 2 lamps, and sundry other items. Anyway, we hadn't planned on all that so we left the desks and couch. I'll have to get 4 guys to go back with me on Monday and get them. They'll have to lift them above the washer and dryer to get them out as they stick out in the walkway to the exit door. I didn't want to try taking them out today with just 2 Elders. Took a lot of the stuff to the dump and threw it away as it was old, broken and worn out.
The southern barbecue was very good. The owners are from Louisiana. The day they were moving their equipment into the store a couple of Elders were walking by and asked them if they needed any help. The owners said sure. So the Elders helped them most of the day to move things in. Now when missionaries go into the diner the servers always strike up a conversation with the Elders and ask them how things are going. Food was really good and a felt like I got my money's worth for once.
Hope everyone is well and happy.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Thursday 3 September 2015
September 3, 2015
Bonnie: I will be the first to write tonight so I can get to bed a little early. Tomorrow I have to go to bed very early because we will be attending a 6:15 am session at the temple Saturday morning. Most of the missionaries will be attending the temple that day and they need sealed couples to be the witness couple and to stand in the prayer circle. It will be a wonderful event, I'm sure.
Today was hot and muggy. Before we left the office there was a huge thunder storm and the rain just poured down. By the time we went grocery shopping after dinner, it had quit for the most part. I've given up trying to figure out Toronto weather!
I hope everyone has had a blessed day. We pray for your good health and well-being every day.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Bob: Don't know what happened. Had a large write up and now it's gone.
I need to tell you a story that Elder Barrett told us last night. There were several children in his family when he was growing up. Once a week his mother would serve hominy for dinner. All of the kids hated it and complained to her about it. But she was firm and told them that their father worked hard and was a good provider for their family. He liked hominy and the children needed to show him some respect and not complain about one of their father's favorite dishes. So the kids did the best they could, but never grew to like hominy.
Well, one night they were returning from the grocery store. His mother said, 'Stop. We have to go back to the store. I forgot the hominy.' His father said, 'Ah honey, we don't need the hominy.' To which she replied, 'I thought you liked hominy. I cook it for you.' He in turn said, 'I do like it - about once a year is enough though!' Seems he had been eating it for years to please her even when he didn't like it.
So guys, how many of you would do that for your wife?
Spent the first 4 hours today away from the office. Had to unload the trailer into the new storage unit. Then I went to the store to get a lock and some 2x4s for the unit. Took them back to the new unit. Then went to the grocery store for ice cream and a cake for Elder Russell, who is going home next Wednesday. Then I had to pick up the pizza for lunch. You just can't do anything quickly here. Too much congestion.
Well I have to get ready for bed. Hope everyone is well.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Today was hot and muggy. Before we left the office there was a huge thunder storm and the rain just poured down. By the time we went grocery shopping after dinner, it had quit for the most part. I've given up trying to figure out Toronto weather!
I hope everyone has had a blessed day. We pray for your good health and well-being every day.
Love,
Mom/Bonnie
Bob: Don't know what happened. Had a large write up and now it's gone.
I need to tell you a story that Elder Barrett told us last night. There were several children in his family when he was growing up. Once a week his mother would serve hominy for dinner. All of the kids hated it and complained to her about it. But she was firm and told them that their father worked hard and was a good provider for their family. He liked hominy and the children needed to show him some respect and not complain about one of their father's favorite dishes. So the kids did the best they could, but never grew to like hominy.
Well, one night they were returning from the grocery store. His mother said, 'Stop. We have to go back to the store. I forgot the hominy.' His father said, 'Ah honey, we don't need the hominy.' To which she replied, 'I thought you liked hominy. I cook it for you.' He in turn said, 'I do like it - about once a year is enough though!' Seems he had been eating it for years to please her even when he didn't like it.
So guys, how many of you would do that for your wife?
Spent the first 4 hours today away from the office. Had to unload the trailer into the new storage unit. Then I went to the store to get a lock and some 2x4s for the unit. Took them back to the new unit. Then went to the grocery store for ice cream and a cake for Elder Russell, who is going home next Wednesday. Then I had to pick up the pizza for lunch. You just can't do anything quickly here. Too much congestion.
Well I have to get ready for bed. Hope everyone is well.
Love,
Dad/Bob
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)