We were getting the oil changed in our car when we got a message from the Mission Office to park all cars and continue with activities on foot. We did go home first and waited for the storm to finish.
Dealership car lot. They plowed the parking lot.
View from our patio.
Parking lots don't get plowed. And neither do main or side roads.
The plan of attack for roads is to let them get a little snow packed and then to put gravel on the road for traction. And of course you can't plow a gravel parking lot. You would just have more mud.
More differences about driving in Canada. We have seen two accidents while living here. Both were animal caused. We have never seen even a fender bender while being here. I'm sure there are a few. The speed is tracked by robo cop. The fines for speeding are stiff. A camera will take a picture of the back of your car as you run a red light and the ticket mailed is expensive. So, people stop on a yellow light. And the speed limits are less than in the states. If there are people picking up trash, or mowing, or work of any kind on the shoulder of the road, you better not go over 30 km/hour. Fines are doubled. They only put out a temporary sign to warn you. School zones have one simple sign, no cones or blinking lights. The speed limit is 30 km/hour, ALL day.
More differences about driving in Canada. We have seen two accidents while living here. Both were animal caused. We have never seen even a fender bender while being here. I'm sure there are a few. The speed is tracked by robo cop. The fines for speeding are stiff. A camera will take a picture of the back of your car as you run a red light and the ticket mailed is expensive. So, people stop on a yellow light. And the speed limits are less than in the states. If there are people picking up trash, or mowing, or work of any kind on the shoulder of the road, you better not go over 30 km/hour. Fines are doubled. They only put out a temporary sign to warn you. School zones have one simple sign, no cones or blinking lights. The speed limit is 30 km/hour, ALL day.
30 km/hour = 18.6 mph, School zone and workers along road.
50 km/hour = 31 mph. Residential streets
70 km/hour = 43.5 mph. Divided bypass road in city, and any highway construction zones.
100 km/hour = 62 mph. Highway, 2 lane. Cross traffic.
110 km/hour = 68.4 mph. divided highway. Cross traffic. There are no freeways or interstates.
The speed signs posted say Maximum speed limits. There is no wiggle room for 1 or 2 km/hour over.
There are so many trucks. Pickup trucks make up the majority of personal vehicles. And then there are the commercial trucks. Logging, and lumber trucks are three trailers long. Gravel, fuel, sand, trucks and flatbed haulers are 2 trailers long. There are specialty trucks - drilling rigs, crane trucks, vacuum trucks, and specially outfitted oil patch trucks carrying fuel and supplies for the equipment in the field. Trucks make up a huge portion of traffic.
All Greyhound buses pull Greyhound trailers.
We got out to Saskatoon Island Provincial Park before it snowed. The trumpeter swans were in range for us to watch. And we also saw a red squirrel so close he could have sat on Elder Brown's shoulder.
Red Squirrel
Frost on the grass.
Canadian Geese standing on the ice sheet.
Ruffed Grouse
Swans moved away from the ice as we approached.
Swans were close to the ice until we got there.
Large gathering of geese in sheltered bay.
We continue to find neat places as we explore the Peace river countryside. This old barn and this Lutheran Church are nearby.
We headed to Fort St. John and had thanksgiving Lunch with the YSA there. They wanted to make sure we had Canadian food. We had ham, poutine, corn, salad, candied yams with marshmallows, butter tarts, and Smarties. We made Lion House rolls, definitely not Canadian. but, the raspberry jam I took is. Raspberries grow well here and are plentiful. Poutine is Canadian. However it is showing up in places around the States. Smarties turned out to be a version of M&Ms. The butter tarts with the pecans sure looked like pecan pies to me and the plain tarts just didn't have pecans. They were proud to tell me that pecan pie is Canadian because the French invented it. We reminded them that the pecans come from the Southern United States and maybe Creole French cooks from New Orleans invented it, but they were definitely Southern bakers and chefs.
We have been on our mission 3 months and a few days. We still feel new. YSA is a constantly changing field. We still have many more ysa to find. Our October activity for the entire stake will be this weekend. We are excited about it, just not sure the participants are. It is too bad that the weather turned bad.
We also love teaching Institute.We are studying Foundations of the Restoration. Last night's lesson was the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And what we learned - - it is the same organization as the Church of Jesus Christ that Christ established during His ministry. Christ's church went away for almost 2000 years. It was called the Apostasy. Heavenly Father knew there would be an apostasy. Through an Old Testament prophet, He said:
"Behold, the days come...that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And [people] shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." Amos 8:11-12
After the death of Jesus Christ, the members of His church were persecuted and the Apostles were killed, and the priesthood authority-including the keys to direct and receive revelation for the Church-was taken from the earth. Because the Church of Jesus Christ no longer had the priesthood authority, the teachings changed. There were many good people who still believed and searched for truth. People like Martin Luther and John Calvin recognized that things had changed and many parts of the original Church of Jesus Christ were lost. They tried to reform the churches, but without the priesthood authority, Christ's gospel could not be returned to its original form. Christ's church was like a beautiful plate. The plate broke. Many churches had pieces of the beautiful plate. But nobody had all the pieces and could put it back together.
That is why we are on this mission. To tell the people in this little part of the world, Grande Prairie, that the plate has been put back together. All the pieces have been found. The Church of Jesus Christ that was formed while Christ was on the earth, has been restored in the latter days. That is now. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka Mormon Church, is on the earth today. Our Heavenly Father has brought back-restored-divine truths that you can learn and live. If you don't know this and would like to know more, ask us. We can share more.
We were both born in families where our parents were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were taught these principles. But being born into is not enough. Even if you have heard these things all your life, or you are hearing them for the first time, you need to find out for yourself if they are true. Everyone can know if the things they are learning are true. You can ask your Father in Heaven if it is true and He will testify the truthfulness to you by the power of the Holy Ghost.
I know God is my Heavenly Father and He loves me. I know Jesus Christ is His only Begotten son. I know Jesus atoned for my sins and voluntarily allowed Himself to be taken and crucified that through His resurrection we can live with Heavenly Father and Him when we leave this life. I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the same church as the original Church of Jesus Christ. I am glad that I am a member. I'm thankful I am on a mission, so I can share with others, that they may also know. I know these things are true. I know you can pray and find out for yourself.
I love all of you. I pray for all of you. I miss all of you.
Sister Brown, Robyn, Mom and Grandma
We also love teaching Institute.We are studying Foundations of the Restoration. Last night's lesson was the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And what we learned - - it is the same organization as the Church of Jesus Christ that Christ established during His ministry. Christ's church went away for almost 2000 years. It was called the Apostasy. Heavenly Father knew there would be an apostasy. Through an Old Testament prophet, He said:
"Behold, the days come...that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And [people] shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." Amos 8:11-12
After the death of Jesus Christ, the members of His church were persecuted and the Apostles were killed, and the priesthood authority-including the keys to direct and receive revelation for the Church-was taken from the earth. Because the Church of Jesus Christ no longer had the priesthood authority, the teachings changed. There were many good people who still believed and searched for truth. People like Martin Luther and John Calvin recognized that things had changed and many parts of the original Church of Jesus Christ were lost. They tried to reform the churches, but without the priesthood authority, Christ's gospel could not be returned to its original form. Christ's church was like a beautiful plate. The plate broke. Many churches had pieces of the beautiful plate. But nobody had all the pieces and could put it back together.
That is why we are on this mission. To tell the people in this little part of the world, Grande Prairie, that the plate has been put back together. All the pieces have been found. The Church of Jesus Christ that was formed while Christ was on the earth, has been restored in the latter days. That is now. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka Mormon Church, is on the earth today. Our Heavenly Father has brought back-restored-divine truths that you can learn and live. If you don't know this and would like to know more, ask us. We can share more.
We were both born in families where our parents were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were taught these principles. But being born into is not enough. Even if you have heard these things all your life, or you are hearing them for the first time, you need to find out for yourself if they are true. Everyone can know if the things they are learning are true. You can ask your Father in Heaven if it is true and He will testify the truthfulness to you by the power of the Holy Ghost.
I know God is my Heavenly Father and He loves me. I know Jesus Christ is His only Begotten son. I know Jesus atoned for my sins and voluntarily allowed Himself to be taken and crucified that through His resurrection we can live with Heavenly Father and Him when we leave this life. I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the same church as the original Church of Jesus Christ. I am glad that I am a member. I'm thankful I am on a mission, so I can share with others, that they may also know. I know these things are true. I know you can pray and find out for yourself.
I love all of you. I pray for all of you. I miss all of you.
Sister Brown, Robyn, Mom and Grandma
Red squirrels live in... Peace! Love all that wild life you are seeing!
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