Letter #9

29 September 2014 @ 11:55 AM

Well, to answer some questions:

We drive a car everywhere, we will not ever get ipads (some weird canadian law), and me and my companion are getting along just fine.

I have mostly recovered from my first week of being sick so now I can feel great while I work.

 

Everyone here has their own little quirks. It`s fun listening to all these crazy stories. For some reason a bunch of people think we`re Jehovah`s Witnesses and we have to clarify that all the time.

 

I`ll start on Tuesday: Elder Hunter is 1st councelor in the Young men`s so we get to go to all those activities and help plan those. Our ward is pretty small so not a whole lot of Young men come, so we`ve got a little work there. That night I met this really nice old lady who lives in our building. We call her Grandma Nicole. She`s not planning on becoming a member but we`re still friends and she gave us some awesome chocolate cake. Elder Hunter also showed me how to do a Tim-Tam Slam. You get a Tim-Tam (chocolate wafer deliciousness), bite the corners, suck hot chocolate through, and then eat the whole thing. It was delightful.

 

Wednesday: We taught Bonnie and Veronique: two ladies who live together with Bonnie`s husband and kids. We brought Frere Grenier who made an awesome analogy on how the Gospel is like the North Star, always staying in one place while everyone else moves. Pretty great.

 

Thursday: We went to a Mission Conference with Elder Carlson of the 70. He taught a lot on how we need to listen and observe in order to teach effectively. We have 2 eyes and 2 ears for observing, and only 1 mouth. So, we as missionaries need to do a lot more listening and observing before we talk too much.

 

Friday: We did a companionship exchange with Elder Peery and Elder Pilling. Their area is Mont st-Hilaire, which is an hour away. I went with Elder Pilling to his area. That night we went to an appointment, but they had forgotten so we said we come by later. We then went to this guy named Andre for a little visit. He`s been going through some tough times and questioning a lot of things. When we got there, he was super excited and asked how to repent and if he could come to Church! It was awesome to see him so happy. After that we went back to the first appointment and taught a good lesson on prayer. They had a pet pig which was fun.

 

Sidenote: At random times when we`re on the outskirts of town, I`ve noticed a bunch of frogs hopping across the road I don`t know why but it makes me super happy.

 

Saturday: We taught Patricia. She`s this super awesome lady with 4 kids. She`s super solid in coming to Church and has already had a bunch of spirituel expériences and she and her daughter are planning to get baptised in the end of October! Way exciting!

 

Sunday: We had a good Sunday of fast and testimony meeting. I still don`t understand most of what people say, but I get some good bits here and there. After, we went tracting in this neighborhood in Iberville. No one was super interested, but everyone was very nice and we even ran into one of our investigators! She`s really busy with school and work, so we can only see her on Tuesdays, but weren`t able to last tuesday. Hopefully we`ll see her tomorrow.

 

Fun things about Canada: Milk comes in bags unless you go to Walmart. (They have a Walmart, Target, Burger King, Dairy Queen, and all sorts of other stores I wasn`t really expecting) I find it funny, but on all the golden arches of McDonalds, there`s a little red maple leaf. Canadian Pride I guess. I find a lot of similiar things between St. Jean and Cache Valley. There`s a downtown, a place with newer stores, old houses, new houses, farmland in the outskirts, etc. The major difference is that there are no mountains. It`s kind of scary and I have no sense of direction. But, it`s great.

 

I just want all of you to know that I`m happy to be out here and I know that the Church is true! We have a living prophet who leads and guides us and that the Book of Mormon is amazing! Being out here in the mission and studying it has made me appreciate is so much more.

 

Je vous aime!

 

Elder Perkes

First Letter from President Victor Patrick

We received the first letter from Tanner's mission president.  We didn't see if for a few days because the mailman delivered it to the wrong house.  We live at 351 East 150 North and he took it to 350 North 150 East.  Weird! But we were super excited to get the letter and the pictures.  

(Just in case you didn't know:  click on the pictures and they will open up fullscreen for you)

Pictures from the President

All the new missionaries (29 of them) to the Montreal Mission

FIRST PICTURES from the mission

FIRST Mission President and his wife - The Patricks.  

Elder Perkes and his FIRST companion Elder Hunter.

Elder Killing who flew over with Tanner and his FIRST companion Elder Hunter.

FIRST Breakfast

FIRST Bedroom - in St. Jean, Quebec

FIRST Bathroom

FIRST Living Room

FIRST Living Room Part 2

FIRST Kitchen

Letter #8

22 September 2014

Well I made it! With the 29 of us that came that day it was pretty crowded. We had about 3 tables set up and chairs everywhere and people were still standing up to eat. But after a long day of walking around airports and customs and people losing luggage and driving and waiting for people to get their visas, it was nice to be able to sit down in an actual home and eat burgers and hotdogs. That night all the Elders slept dowstairs and the Sisters slept upstairs. The basement floor was covered in inflatable mattresses and each of the them had a stuffed animal on it from the Emily (the 10 year daughter of the Patricks).

The next day we had a breakfast of quiche and diced potatoes and after we sang a bit. Then we all went up to Mount Royal to look over the whole city. It was really cool and we sang. The assissant to the president who I rode with (Elder Andersen) was asked by some people why we all looked so nice. He explained how we were missionaries and that what our message was. It was super cool! She got a picture so she would remember what the Mormon missionaries were like. It felt super awesome being there, even if I only said «Ya, most of us are from the States».

So, after that and some training at the Mission office, we met our companions! My new companion`s name is Elder Hunter, and he is from California. He`s only been out 3 months and in the same area that we are now. We are currently serving in St. Jean, an area about an hour South of Montréal. It was super great and he said that before our names were called that he already knew that I was going to be his companion.

Unfortunately when we got back to the apartment I was not feeling well and turned out I had a fever. So I napped for a long while

So, I`ve met a ton of people and have not been feeling the best so I`ll try to sum up most of what`s happend:

Alexandra: Taught her yesterday after Church. She`s super awesome and has been going to activites and has a good friend in the ward and been going to seminary with her friends. We had a super awesome lesson about the Holy Ghost and she said it helped her a lot!

One other investigator I`ve taught is Melena: She`s 16 and has a pretty crazy life. Her parents run a restaraunt and she has two brothers, but she`s super excited about Learning and we taught her about the first half of the Plan of Salvation.

My first Sunday here was pretty exciting. I helped passed the sacrament, but right when I was done, I had a coughing fit, not unlike the one during my Farewell, except that I left and went to the bathroom to try and calm down. It was super embarrassing but when I was done, I got to go up and bear my testimony and everyone said I did well for being here 3 days. It`s kind of funny because many people here speak French and English, but mostly french. I didn`t understand most of the meetings on Sunday so I`m pretty lost most of the time. Thankfully Elder Hunter knows what he`s doing.

I can`t wait to serve and tell you all more of what`s going on and maybe next time I`ll be a little more organized with my thoughts!

 

Love,

Elder Perkes

Update...

Hello everyone,

Just a quick update...Tanner left the MTC yesterday (Tuesday, 16 September 2014) at 3:30 AM with his district.  He called his family at 5:30 AM from the Salt Lake City Airport.  We were ECSTATIC to talk to him, even though it was so early in the morning.  He was very calm and excited to get out into the mission field.  For anyone else sending a missionary off, send him or her one of those Go Phones or whatever they are (the somewhat disposible pre-pay phone) before he leaves the MTC.  We just put some minutes on there so Tanner could call us from the airport without any calling card problems.  It worked wonderfully!  Tanner sat comfortably while he talked to us, and he watched all the other missionaries line up at the phones and run around to different terminals to find phones to call from.

We found out that 29 missionaries left the MTC to fly to Montreal.  Holy cow!  That's a lot of new missionaries all at once.  We're glad Tanner made it out with the rest of his group.  He had a small in-grown toenail problem that sent him to the podiatrist outside of the MTC last Friday.  Missy received a call from the MTC to let her know what was happening, but the person wouldn't let Missy talk to Tanner.  Missy got a little worked up, but she ate some fresh peaches and calmed down :-).

Again, Tanner was very positive on the phone and VERY excited to get out into the missionfield.  We're very excited for his new adventures.

We want to thank all of you who sent letters and cookies and ties and cinniman rolls and cologne and socks and treats of all sorts to Tanner while he worked in the MTC.  He was very appreciative of everything.  I think he made some friends with all the stuff he received and was able to share with his roomates.  If any of you receive letters or pictures or anything from Tanner, please feel free to share them as comments.  Or you can even email them to us and we can post them on his Blog.  Thanks for all your support and prayers.

Darren and Missy Perkes

Letter #7

17 September 2014 at 6:32 AM

Made it!

more details to come

Elder Perkes

Tanner and his companion at the MTC (picture taken by Connie Sept. 2014)

Letter #6

9 September 2014 11:31 AM

So Friday was a pretty good day for all of us. Mostly because WE GOT OUR TRAVEL PLANS!!! But in all seriousness I'm super excited. We leave the MTC around 3:30 so we can catch our flight at 7:30 (gonna be a fun night). We should end up in Detroit at 12:57 and then we catch our other flight at 1:55. And then we should be in Montreal by 3:49. Just think, this time next week I'll be in Canada. GAA!! I'm so excited.

So I told you all that I was going for 6 bowls of ice cream last Wednesday. Unfortunately the line during dinner was way too long, but I was able to eat 4 bowls during lunch and I could feel every bowl that night during gym. Needless to say I think I'll stick with maybe 1 or 2 bowls from now on.

So we had some great speakers on Sunday. Because it was Fast Sunday there was a big devotional where a bunch of the presidency got up and talked. There's stuff about temples and missionary work  (obviously) and obedience and all sorts of good stuff. But then during zone fast and testimony meeting all the Tahisions (those going to Tahiti) got up and bore there testimonies. The spirit was great and it was just so exciting. They all left yesterday so now our floor feels a little empty. They were like the grandmas and grandpas of the zone, but it's nice to know they're all out serving now.

Random thought, have you every seen the Alberta temple? It's like a Mormon fortress and it's really cool. It's amazing how much work is being done on temples around the world. And the best part is is that they're all amazing and beautiful. Just little spots of Heaven on Earth I guess. We went to our last opportunity to go to the temple this morning and it was great.

So we've got some great teachers here at the MTC. Our districts 2 teachers are Frere Call and Frere Nash. They're both amazing and spiritual and I learn a ton from them (even though sometimes I don't understand a word what they're saying, but I can understand a lot more than what I used to). The gift of tongues is real and it helps so much with teaching and understanding.

So a great experience I had. I was reading 1 Corinthians 12:13-23. It's a great verse about how we are all one in purpose and that Heavenly Father has placed us where we are for a reason. Just because we don't do the same thing as someone else doesn't mean that we are not part of His plan. He loves everyone of us and wants us to succeed and fulfill what He would want us to do. Corinthians is full of awesome stuff and amazing doctrine (the rest of the scriptures are good, too).

Thank you all for the packages and the letters and all the awesome things you've sent me! I'm only going to have a week of DearElders left so if you haven't tried that out, it's pretty convenient. I love your emails and letters and support!

I am so grateful for temples and for teachers and for the opportunity to serve a mission. Je sais que l'église est vrais et que Joseph Smith retabli l'evangile. Je sais que Jésus-Christ est notre frère et Saveur. (just trying out my writing skills)

à bientôt,

Elder Perkes

p.s.

I just want to let you all know I wish I could write to you all but they only give us an hour to use the computers. But hey, at least they give us an hour.

Some photos sent on 2 September 2014 - Tanner commented that he isn't really sure what to take pictures of while in the MTC...

At the Provo Temple with Ben - a friend from school

 At the temple with his MTC district

 Tanner's missionary tag

Tanner at the Provo, Utah temple 2 Sept. 2014

Letter #5

Tuesday, 2 September 2014 (4:06 PM)

So I'll start with yesterday, which most of you know as Labor Day. Here in the MTC it's just another day at the MTC. The only difference is that we didn't get any mail. It's kind of weird being in here and knowing that everyone else still has lives. I feel like life should be on pause right now while I get ready. So, ya. Nothing too special about Labor Day.

So Saturday was not fun at all. At the beginning of the day nothing was really wrong. At the end of the day my throat felt like I ate a bunch of crunchy dry leaves, my nose was melting from the inside and my head was being beaten upon by tiny rubber mallets. It was not fun. And too make things worse is that the tissues here are not all that soft. My nose was redder than my hair. Then, one of our roommates, Elder Draper, hurt his back somehow (maybe a bulging disk) and he was barely able to walk. It was no fun Saturday night. We both laid in our beds while the others went to gym time. He's almost fully recovered now, but we're still keeping an eye on him.

So I forgot to mention this last week, but when the new elders came on that Wednesday, we sang to them a French Hymn called Souviens-Toi. It only exists in the French Cantiques, and it's really cool, but it is super creepy when the whole floor is singing it and some of them are tucking in the new elders. Thankfully I didn't have to go through that. But it's tradition.

So you know how we get ice cream on Wednesdays and Sundays?  Well this last Wednesday I ate 5 bowls in 2 meals. It was fantastic. Tomorrow I'm going for 6 :).

So generally I've been learning lots of spiritual and french stuff. I'm starting to actually gain some confidence in my speaking skills. Our "investigators" (teachers who are acting) are progressing pretty well and this week we actually get to Skype a native speaker, probably from Montréal. Super exciting and kind of nerve-wracking. We'll see how that goes. We are hopefully going to receive our travel packets at the end of this week or beginning of next. I'm just so excited to get out into the field and teach and see the sights and meet the people and try the food and realize how much I can't speak French. OK, not so much the last one.

I'm so glad that everyone is doing great! Shay, good job being the hola hooping champ. Nik, nice work making a fool of yourself in sacrament. Kennion, I'm glad to know you're still rocking the sliders. Mom and Dad, love you much. Tell Payton that's awesome and I hope he's doing ok. Thanks for the pictures too, except I have now filled my little picture book and many of the pics are sharing a page. Again, thank you so much for the emails, the letters, the packages (when I asked for the Lego set I was mostly joking, but I was still super excited to open the package to that. I built it while everyone was napping today. It was fantastic), the support, the love, and everything else you all do for me!

A tiny revelation I had whilst learning from Frère Call:

So recently we've had some different "investigators" with various back stories and circumstances. So I've been trying to remember different approaches for things like "I've already been baptized" or "My family is all this other religion". What I was doing was memorizing answers for a multiple choice test. But then I realized during this particular lesson that I needed to rely more on the spirit. I don't need to know how to fix every problem and conflict. What I really need to know is how to follow the promptings of the spirit. Everyone is different, therefore every answer is different. But Heavenly Father knows where everyone's been and what they all need. We just need to listen and act.

Love,

Elder Perkes