The Busy Start to June

Monday, June 4th was our monthly senior's dinner at Ed & Sheila Ludlows' home.  They were hoping to be outside, but it was too cool, so we all crowded inside.  They do a wonderful job, as always.  The theme was Father's Day.

Elder Donnelly and poor raccoon

We had a bit of excitement at the Mission Office this week.  Sister Donnelly and I have been going for short walks around the church property.  One day we found a dead raccoon.  We sent the APs out to dispose of it.  All they could do was take pictures, so Elder Donnelly bagged it up and put it in the trash.









Thursday saw us back at the Mandarin for dinner with the Donnellys.  We hadn't been there for a while.  It was all decorated for spring.   The food is still amazing with my favorite dessert still their chocolate covered strawberries.

 Sunday was a beautiful day, so we took a walk around the lake.  The flora and fauna in Ontario is so beautiful and lush.  We love all the woodlands and natural areas that are in all the cities and towns.  Geese are everywhere and are not afraid of people.

Mike and Karen Finnegan

This past Monday was our last night at the Finnegan's Empty Nester Family Home Evening potluck dinner.  We have met some wonderful people there and had many enjoyable times.  We sang our two going home songs for this group as well.  Bishop and Sister Finnegan are amazing people and wonderful hosts.  We will miss them and all of those in this group.

Elders McLeod and Hanks

Wednesday, we had the Elders from our ward, Heart Lake Ward, for dinner.  Elder Hanks and Elder McLeod are amazing young men.  Elder Hanks goes home next week as his mission will be over then.  Elder McLeod is from Calgary and knows some people that we know.

Friday we drove to London to visit with my second cousin, Lynda and her husband Don.  I hadn't seen her since I was five years old.  As we pulled up to their lovely home, I thought we are the poor country bumpkin cousins.  They have a lovely home, with beautiful gardens all around it.  It backs on to a meadow and woodlands, valley and a creek.  We stayed till Saturday.  Lynda and I shared some genealogy information and photos.  We had some good gospel discussions with Lynda and shared some of our beliefs with her.  We had a great time.  We thoroughly enjoyed their sun room off of the kitchen.  It is open on one side.  We loved watching the birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and even a deer.  We had an amazing time with Lynda and Don.

Lynda & Don Hamilton

Elders Lokatama and Wolford

Saturday, we had a baptism of a new convert, Ming Zhang.  She is Chinese.  Sunday during our church meeting was her confirmation.  One of our ward members, Brother Shultzke speaks Chinese.  He confirmed her in Chinese.  Elder Lokatama taught her the discussions.  He is from Indonesia.

Father's Day was the hottest day that we have had so far since we have been here.  The temperature was 34C and the humidex in the low 40s.  All of our children called to talk to Elder Swendsen, which was so enjoyed.  

 We saw lots of antics of the grandchildren.  Stick an i-Pad in their face and they start to do silly things.  After dinner, we went for a walk at Chinguacousy Park.  We walked for about 2 kilometers.  Not smart on a hot day.  On one of the walking paths, the have exercise stations all along the way.  We stopped and tried a few and decided they were for the younger crowd.  When we got to the wading pool, we took off our shoes and waded to the other end to cool off a bit.  All in all, it was a lovely day.

This next week is transfers and will be really busy.  We will also start training our replacements.  Our time here in the CTM (Canada Toronto Mission) is winding down.  We are going to miss the people and the work here.  We are looking forward to our trip home through Church History sites.  We are especially looking forward to getting home and seeing our wonderful family who have all been very supportive of us serving a mission.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is true.  The Book of Mormon is the word of God.