Letters #37, #38, #39, #40, #41

#41 June 1, 2015

New stuff but no car
This week was pretty great. Elder Brewer and I went and ate poupusas with Guillermo , our ward mission leader. I almost got a car in this area, but someone else needed it more so we're still on buses and metro. Tuesday we had party at Phaniel's house for a farewell to Elder Losee. That was fantastic. Then transfers and I got my new companion Elder Shumway! We met in the MTC. He's cool. He was born in China but was adopted when he was young nod is currently from American Fork. 

Friday we were able to have an awesome lesson with Jimmy. He's already living the Word of Wisdom and he is just so excited for his baptism, which should be in late June. Sunday we had stake conference and Jimmy came to that and he loved it. Elder Catcher of the 70 spoke and he did a wonderful job. 

That's about it for this week. It should be a fun transfer and I hope everyone is doing well with summer coming up because here it is uber hot and humid. But it'll make for a good story.

Elder Perkes

#40 May 25, 2015

I didn't see that coming

This week was ok. Elder Brewer and I were sick at different times so we weren't able to work like we would have liked to. We were able to teach a few good lessons.

A little miracle: We were walking to the bus stop so we could get home when we saw the bus at the intersection. The bus stop was still a block away and because it was later in the evening, the next bus wouldn't come for another 20-30 minutes, and we needed to get home. So I started running, hoping that we'd catch the bus. My companion thought that we weren't going to make it. I kept running, and the bus pulled over and let us on! Hurray for nice bus drivers!

We've were also able to teach the Slimi Family. They are recent converts and they are pretty great. They have 2 daughters and a newborn son. They're Algerian and are awesome. After we visited with them for a bit, Frere Slimi came with us to English class, which is always fun. Lots of different cultures in one area. It's great.

Then Saturday night came. Transfer calls. I was not expecting anything because both of us had only been here for 1 transfer. I was wrong. Elder Brewer is leaving to the West side of the Island (of Montreal) and I will be receiving Elder Shumway, one of my friends from the MTC. It was crazy! And now I will be senior companion, which I'm pretty nervous about. But it should be fun.

Sunday I had to give a talk in sacrament meeting. 10 minutes of french. I mostly read a lot scriptures and I had written everything else down. But I received a lot of compliments and everyone said I did very well. Then we had a pot luck after, which is always fun. 

So, that's the week in a nut shell. There's gonna be some changes around here, but should be fun.

Elder Perkes

#39 May 18,  2015

This week was either hot or rainy, but still good. 

We had a Zone conference which was pretty great. One big thing that I got from it was daily contact. Everyone needs daily spiritual nourishment, even if they are just beginning to learn. 

Thursday we found out that one of our investigators got into a car accident, but he walked away ok. 

One the way home from a meeting we had from a less active an old man with a scraggly beard called to us and yelled "Salt Lake! Salt Lake! I've been there! We build bridges not walls! I've been to Salt Lake! Salut!" The. He gave us each a pen and walked away. That was fun 

Saturday we attended a baptism for the kids of some recent converts that the other elders were teaching. We made some peanut butter and toffee fudge and everyone LOVED it. 

Sunday we attended the north group and then went to our church, so we had a long day of meetings, but it was good. We were also able to teach the grand daughter of a member. She's 9 and not baptized, so hopefully we'll be able to help her along.

So, it was  pretty good week. I should be finishing the BoM this week. It has been great. I've learned so much reading it this past 6 weeks and it is definitely the best tool in gaining a testimony of this church. 

Love you all!

Elder Perkes 

#38 May 11, 2015

My Mom can Walk on Water (not really, but she can run in the pouring rain)

This week has been pretty average in the life. It's been hot and humid with a little bit of rain. And lots of road construction. Fun stuff.

We were able to see Jimmy this week and we set a baptismal date for the first week in June. He thought about and then said, "That so far away, can't we do it sooner?" he's pretty awesome.

We were also able to teach Rosemane Prul. She's Haitian woman that we hadn't been able to see yet. We went with Frere St. Louis, a Haitian member. He was fantastic! He was able to explain what we were saying in Creole because she understood it better. She loved the idea of the Pre-earth life and said that she would study it more! It's amazing that little things that we've learned since Primary (for those of us who have grown up in the church) are so important and can have such an amazing impact on others.

Elder Brewer has a plethora of talks on CD and they are awesome. We listed to one by Michael Wilcox and he talked about our 'walk on water' moments. The big thing that stuck to me was a 3 step process to overcoming challenges: "Look unto Me, Learn of Me, and Listen to My word." You could also add the 4th step of Love. It was a wonderful talk.

Finally, Mother's day was fantastic. I love my Mom! She is the best mom in the world and no one can tell me differently.

Elder Perkes

#37 May 4, 2015

People of Hochelaga

This week has been pretty standard in the ways of the good ol` CMM.

Monday we went to the Olympic stadium. It was a bit anticlimatic and we weren`t able to go up the tower (maybe next time), but it was a good experience nontheless.

Some people we were able to see:

Said Slimi: He`s a recent convert that we are trying to work with. He is from Algeria and has 3 cute kids. His wife has been in Algeria for a couple of months, but she should be back now. It was a little tough on him, but he seems to be doing well.
Olivier: Olivier is an investigator we met on the way to find a referral. Elder Brewer just started talking to him and as he was going into his house he said that we should come back and teach! Exactly what we like to hear. He knew a little bit about the Mormons from a friend in Haiti (he`s haitian) and he seems pretty accepting.

Stephane, Edna, and Ednar: Stephane and Edna are a haitian couple and Ednar is the father of Edna. It`s a little difficult to teach them. But we do our best.

On Friday it was a little crazy. We recieved a call from the YSA sisters saying that they had pass-off lesson that they wanted to do, but we had an appointment that night. Then our appointment cancelled so we were able to go to the lesson. But the guy didn`t show up until after the Sisters had to leave (they had other appointments). So he showed up and we had kind of an awkward lesson about the Plan of Salvation, but it went well and he loved it. After, we realized that he was at the Church to go to Institute, so we went for a little bit of that. Crazy night.

Anyway, the computer is going to kick me off so I`ll wrap it up

Good stuff, working hard, seeing miracles.

Love you all!

Elder Perkes