Monday, October 28, 2013

I Am In CANADA!

Our MTC District
My MTC Companion Sister Sharp from Boise

The view from our Halifax apartment


 I am in CANADA! Wow! It is beautiful here! There are some fall leaves left still, which has brought me so much joy. Sister Lee (one of the sisters in my apartment) said, "We live in a postcard!" The scenery is incredible. Hopefully I can send you some pictures.

Travel to Canada went well. There were seven sisters traveling together. For some reason, not all of us were booked on our last flight (from Toronto to Halifax). Four of the sisters had seats, but the other three did not. I was part of the group that didn't have a seat. Luckily, the airline was able to book us on a flight later that night, about two hours after the first flight left. Sisters Ward and Sharp were with me. We talked to some people in the airport and on our flight. When we found out we didn't have seats on the first plane, I thought, "Maybe there's someone that needs to hear the gospel on this other flight?" Only the Lord knows. :)

We stayed at the mission home for a day for some training and orientation. Wednesday night we went street contacting in Halifax. Sister Laxton and I contacted on the campus of Dal Housie University that night. I was amazed by how many people stopped to talk to us. She and I went to a lesson that night, too. It was with a large group (8-10 people) of university students that the Halifax YSA Sisters had contacted and taught a couple lessons earlier in the week. We taught about the Restoration and many of the students had questions. Sister Laxton and I are hoping to meet with them as a group again and then start meeting individually with those that have a greater desire to find out for themselves. It was an awesome experience!

My companion's name is Sister Laxton. She is from North Carolina. She is very kind and very obedient, and I am really excited to get to know her more and more over the next six weeks to however long we are together. We are both new in this area, so we are both getting to know the are
Our beautiful kitchen
a and members. Luckily, Sister Laxton was serving in the Dartmouth ward last transfer and has spent a bit of time here in Halifax on splits with the sisters. We are serving the Halifax YSA branch. I am so excited to serve the young single adults! The branch consists of about 50 members, but attendance on a good week is around 30-35. Sister Laxton and I both spoke yesterday in the branch about missionary work. There is a set of Elders (the assistants to the president) assigned to the YSA branch as well. Their names are Elders Clark and Nzojibwami. Sister Lee was saying that most areas have a set of Sisters and a set of Elders now, which is fantastic! About half, if not more, of the missionaries serving in the Canada Halifax Mission are from Canada. We live in an Sisters Lee and Jungheim room with us. They serve in the Halifax family ward. We share a car. Sister Lee, Sister Laxton, and I are all involved in the concert series. Sister Lee sings. She is the one on the YouTube clip that sings Phantom of the Opera. She has a beautiful singing voice! Sister Laxton is a pianist and is very humble about her talent. I'm excited to hear her play more. She studied piano performance at BYU-I before her mission at the same time that Elder Call was there. Apparently, she and Elder Call received their mission calls at about the same time! Cool stuff. Our next concert is a week from Saturday in Yarmouth. They happen about every other weekend. We are practicing later today. I pulled my violin out on Thursday last week and I can't wait to play it again. I really am so grateful and excited for the opportunity to share the gospel through music! Both Sister Lee and Sister Laxton have told me about how powerful these concerts are in exposing the community to our church and helping them feel the Spirit. At the end of each concert, we invite the audience to attend church the next day.
Our living room and study area
apartment that is about a five minute bus ride from downtown Halifax. (The apartment we live in has the nickname "Princess Palace" in the mission.It is beautiful and possibly the nicest place I will ever live.)

My address is 3330 Barnstead Ln. #507 Halifax, Nova Scotia B3L 0B1.

I am excited for the adventures ahead! Hopefully next week's email will have more details about the work itself. I love you all! Continue to pray and look for opportunities to share the gospel. I love what you said about being reserved for these times for a reason. Thank you for your example to me of loving others as the Savior would, Mom. Missionary work is more natural and even easier when love is the motivating factor. I'm here to be God's love with skin and to help other people feel that love in great abundance for themselves by following the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. I shared Lehi's vision in my talk yesterday and talked about our Christmas tradition. I share the same invitation I shared with the YSA branch yesterday: If you have tasted of that fruit, think of someone in your life, your circle of influence who you can share that with. We have the fulness of truth and access to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Why not share it? When you open your mouth, the Lord promises to fill it. As Sister Laxton said yesterday, "You can't fail when you invite!"

I love you all! I've attached some pictures from the MTC. Hopefully I can send a few more. Have a fantastic week!

Love,
Sister Renda


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