It has been a very busy but very rewarding week. Elder Foley has so much responsibility with his calling. He is the financial secretary, paying all the bills for the mission. You can imagine all the apartment rents, the gas cards for the mission cars, the utilities, the travel expenses for the president and elders, and those are just the major ones. He is also the fleet coordinator, taking care of all the cars in the mission. He has to make sure they are serviced regularly, licensed on time, repairs made, accident reports filed, car inspections done, etc. etc. He is also a used car salesman, selling the old cars as new ones arrive. In addition he has to maintain all the apartments for the young missionaries. He has to make sure they are adequately furnished and approve all items they buy for the apartments.
Sister Foley is the mission secretary. She makes all travel arrangements for the President and Sister Simpson who are on the road much of the time. She also makes travel arrangements for the missionaries who travel to and from Newfoundland. She completes mission reports, creates the mission newsletter, enters baptisms into the Church system. She makes preparations for new missionaries coming into the mission by sending them welcome letters and preparing files for them and packets to go to their parents when they arrive. She also makes preparations for parting missionaries with letters to stake presidents, bishops and parents and packets for the missionaries to take home. In addition she responds to the day to day things that occur. Recently she has been trying to help with some of Elder Foley's many tasks.
We love what we do but it is a very busy calling. Most missions have 2-3 couples sharing these responsibilities and many have young elders assigned to the office. We are a small mission in number (not in geographical area) and therefore only have the one couple.
We recently received 5 new cars for the mission, so Larry had to select some to sell. He then had them checked to make sure they were in good condition mechanically and detailed so they look attractive. The front of our mission office looks like a used car lot. Janice created a flyer to put up in the chapels to advertise the cars. One is sold and we think one will be sold Monday. Wish us luck.., This is new to us for sure.
Last Saturday after working on a broken vacuum for the two Halifax sisters, we headed out to see more new areas.
How hard can it be to change a vacuum bag?
We went to the Halifax Citadel, a military fortress dating from the colonial times. It was built to protect the colonists against the French forces and although, never fired upon, it gave them a sense of security. It was later used to protect Halifax against British and American forces. Since it does not open for tours until May, we just wandered around and looked at the interesting features of the structure. From the ramparts we could see scenic views of the harbor and the city of Halifax.
Entrance to the Citadel
View of Halifax bay
Sister Foley at the helm
Elder Foley contemplating the use of heavy armament
Sister Foley reporting to guard duty
What should we use this wagon for?
From there we went down the coast a ways to Point Pleasant Park, a large forested municipal park at the southern tip of the Halifax peninsula. The park is criss-crossed with walking trails and it was busy with many people walking their dogs. In the park there is also a large tower called the Prince of Wales Tower. This park was once one of many military batteries used to protect the harbor. We enjoyed our walk there.
Studying the map of the Citadel
View of the bay from Point Pleasant Park
Well fortified visitors
Sister Foley taking in the courtyard
From there we drove further around the point of the peninsula. We passed through some upscale residential neighborhoods as well as more lovely coves and fishing villages. We stopped in a quaint little village and shared some fish and chips.
An interesting home in Halifax
We love flowers
Exploring the quaint villages along the Halifax peninsula
Let' s eat fish and chips again
This past work week was an exceptionally busy one. Elder Golden of the Seventies and his wife were here to preside over stake conference in the New Brunswick area and to tour the mission with President and Sister Simpson. They held zone conferences in the different areas where they traveled and presented firesides. On Wednesday evening the Nelsons, a couple serving in New Glasgow, came to Dartmouth and stayed with us so they could attend our conference on Thursday. They took us to dinner by the bay and we had a enjoyable time getting to know them.
On Thursday we had our conference and it was a great experience. One thing we loved about it was that so many of the missionaries we had not yet met traveled in from some distance away to attend. Larry knew Elder Golden from his translation assignments in Africa and they enjoyed visiting and catching up on old times. When we walked into the cultural hall where he had gone to greet all the missionaries he saw us walk in and reading my name tag, said "Come over here, Sister Foley". He then looked at Larry and was surprised and seemed truly happy to see him. He gave him a big hug and then another. He then continued to shake hands and speak personally with ever missionary present.
Lined up to greet Elder and Sister Golden
Metro, Sydney, North Sydney, New Glasgow, Truro and Port Hawkesbury
President and Sister Simpson, Elder and Sister Golden
Elder and Sister Baines
The Baures and Nelsons
The young Sisters
Some of the elders
and some more
And Elder Randall with a special message
"Hi Grandma"
Afterward we went into the chapel for a meeting. President and Sister Simpson each gave brief remarks and then some missionaries bore their testimonies. Sister Golden gave a beautiful talk on turning our will over to the Lord. Elder Golden was the final speaker and spoke for 1 1/2 hours on numerous subjects, stressing how righteousness leads to faith. He then took questions from the missionaries on a variety of subjects. It was really interesting to see how he answered such a wide range of themes. After the talks we had a tasty lunch prepared by some sisters in the ward.
Sister Golden in red with Sister Simpson on the right and the sister missionaries
Our mission has seen a real increase in baptisms over the past few months and it is so exciting. The work is true and it is such a blessing to be a part of it. We love the Lord and we love His Gospel and the joy we see it bring into people's lives. One of the couples that just arrived in the mission said there were over 70 couples in their group at the MTC and there were 100 couples scheduled for the following week. They were asked how many were there because of President Monson's plea in October General Conference for more senior couples. Many raised their hands. We are so excited for all of them because we know what a blessing it is to be able to serve.
