The Yellow Canary

TRANSFER AGAIN!!??

  Aren't we so cute? Sister Lucas is getting so big she's already been out for 3 months!

 Isle De Montreal Zone in the Botanical Gardens. Such a peaceful place in downtown Montreal!

Hello my wonderful friends and family!

I got some shocking news this Saturday for transfer calls. I am leaving my gorgeous greenie baby and Sister Cantu to flush into a French ward in the same area. It's an area called Hochelaga and I'm surprisingly pretty excited! I'm sad that I can't keep improving my Spanish for the time being, but I'm happy that I'll get to improve my French. Maybe I mentioned too many times that I wanted to speak to my babies in French. I also found out that I will be learning French sign language for an investigator who is deaf. I'm pretty excited! I feel like the Lord is blessing me with a new experience. I will be with a veteran named Sister Sandoval, who I actually met one time before the mission. New  adventures up ahead!

This week we laughed a lot. Actually I feel like the theme of my mission has been laughter. I feel like even when things get really hard we can still laugh. I love that about this work, even the really hard days we still have so much to rejoice over. One thing that we certainly could not stop laughing about happened on Tuesday. We decided to go over and help our beautiful Tatiana with some cleaning. She is 7 months pregnant and is running around like a crazy trying to clean every nook and cranny of her cozy little apartment. She's a doll! She asked us to move some boxes into the basement of her apartment. So we all go down and she's locking the door and for some reason that we're all still unaware of, Sister Lucas pulled the fire alarm. Yeah! She pulled the FIRE ALARM! As I watched her pull it I kept thinking...there's no way. No. Yes way. She pulled it. Tatiana started freaking out and Sister Cantu and I just stared at her with our mouths wide open. So all the neighbors are running around like crazies and poor little Tatiana is telling everyone it was her fault. Oh it was crazy! Even Sister Lucas isn't sure why she pulled it....we've been doing our best to keep her away from fire alarms. Aye-yi-yi.

This week my Spanish was rocketing. Really. I felt pretty good...until Friday. On Friday we had a lesson with a less Active named Jelmo. Yeah the Elders told us his name was Salmon. And then I thought it was Elmo and then Jelmon. It's a hard name. Anyway we went to see Jelmo on Friday and he is probably the most hospitable person we know. He always has some amazing juice that's he's blended and some little treat to eat with it. On this occasion he was blending berries and bananas and he said, "Hermana Perkins deseas galletas con sucre?" (Do you want crackers and jam?") And I heard, "Sister Perkins have you ever had crackers and jam. So in my cute gringa-ness I said, "No! Nunca!" and I waved my hands to emphasize never. My companions both looked at me like I was bonkers and then I realized that he asked if I wanted some. I felt pretty stupid. Oh I'm going to miss making a fool out of myself in Spanish:)

This week we had the opportunity to attend Zone Leader Council which is always amazing because it reminds me of how amazing this work is. 19 and 20 year boys run the Lords vineyard! Crazy! Anyway, Sister Cannon gave us a training on committing people for baptism on our first lesson with them and then mentioning baptism to everyone we talk to. So later that day after we had been sufficiently jazzed we went and tried it. The first door we knocked on a little Haitian man opened and we said, "Hi we're missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We're here to teach people about baptism." This turned into a 20 minute conversation about baptism and a return appointment. Incredible! It was such a testimony to me that I need to be more willing to invite others to come unto to Christ through baptism. I'm a missionary that's my job! It was a really neat testimony fortifying kind of experience. 

So this morning we joined a few of our fellow missionary friends and had a devotional on top of Mount Royal. In the next three transfers we have some 60 missionaries leaving our mission. It's so depressing. I'm going to miss them so very much. They are more than my friends, they are my comrades. We fought this war together and it just won't be the same. But the Lord will send others of this I am certain. This morning I was studying in the Words of Mormon and I was thinking about this new challenge. New area, new companion, new ward, new language(s), so many things. It should be overwhelming, but for some reason it's not. I feel so peaceful. I know that the Lord will help me. I was so happy this morning when I was reading and read the following: And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will. I think that's were the source of all peace comes from. Knowing that we don't have to know everything, but because He does we will be more than okay. Life is hard. Anyone who tells you otherwise is probably actually a salesman, NOT a missionary. We get that a lot. But I know without a shadow of a doubt that if we turn to the Lord and put all of our worries, and disappointments in His hands he will make the wrong right again. I know that. My testimony has become this very near and dear thing to me, like that cozy blanket you can sleep without. I need this gospel. I love this gospel. 

I wish you a happy week. I pray that you will remember to you are loved. That you are perfect. And that he is watching over you. 

I love you.

Hermana Perkins (for just a couple of days longer)