Trivia and Significancy

We had a great time watching General Conference via satellite at the church on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday it was just us, and the Elders, one of the YSA, and two other men who don't have computer wifi in their homes. All other members watched from their homes. There were quite a few men and boys at the Priesthood session. I went with Bruce to the church, but took the opportunity to play the piano in the Primary room. I had a delightful time. Sunday morning had about 30 people plus those who were there Saturday. The afternoon was us, the Elders, and one of the men. We loved all the talks. What great messages of hope and joy. And such good advice. I took pages and pages of notes and will watch my favorite talks again on the internet. I am also looking forward to the Ensign (Church magazine) so I can read them.

A week ago, on Saturday, September 24, when I came home from Woman's Broadcast, (a meeting for women and girls 8 and over broadcast over satellite)  it wasn't dark. The Saturday, one week later,  October 1, was different. It was actually quite dark and had been stormy all day. The high for the day was 3C (37F). It rained all day and sometimes there was some of that white stuff in the rain. And the wind was blowing. That Saturday night, conditions were: Rain at times mixed with wet snow ending early this evening then partly cloudy. 94% humidity. Fog patches developing after midnight. Wind northeast 20 km/h gusting to 40 becoming light early this evening. Low minus 2.

We wanted cold and it is happening.  We're ready. We were told to buy our winter wear in Canada and we bought coats for both of us and my boots, yesterday. We think Bruce is set for footwear, time will tell. Sunday morning was cloudy, not raining and by the time afternoon session was over, the sun was shining brightly. It was 6 C (43F).

We have also looked forward to seeing the Northern Lights. On Wednesday night, September 28, we were able to see a faded version of them. It was 9:42 and we were still up. We drove a little way out of town and watched for about an hour. We tried to take pictures, but we would need a camera that we could manually set. But it was a really neat sight. We repeated the event on Monday, Oct. 3 and watched a faint version of Northern Lights for an hour between 9 and 10 pm. When we got back to town and were surrounded by traffic lights, commercial lights and street lights. All of a sudden, the sky lit up for about 5 minutes with the brightest colored display of Northern Lights. It was so exciting and one we will watch for in the long dark months to come.

We have watched the days get shorter, really fast. The unusual length of night and day is something we have looked forward to in Canada.

The bridge over the Wapiti River at O'Brien Provincial Park

Wapiti River at O'Brien Provincial Park

These are bear tracks by the river at O'Brien Provincial Park

It is noon, September 20, 2016, looking South. The sun moves from East to West, but it hangs in the sky on the South.

 

The shadows are long even at noon.

There are many other things that are Canadian and we are getting used to. One very different practice is shoes. We have taken our shoes off in our house for years and years. Our mission papers told us that all Canadians take their shoes off and to prepare accordingly. There are some things we weren't prepared for. We really weren't prepared to take our shoes off in some public places as well.

There are shelves in the churches to put shoes. All kids take their shoes off, most adults leave them on. The winter will be different, and especially if the shoes are wet.  I'll bet the kids take shoes off at school. 

This is a public washroom at one of the picnic/campgrounds.

We've spent hours at the hospital. At least they make it convenient. Also, everyone pays to park at the hospital; 1/2 hour = $1.

A Rubbermade tray like this is outside each door at a care center we visit. Homes have them by the front door, or in entryways. They are very nice to have. We have a rug. They aren't available to buy in the stores at the moment, but with the really bad weather coming they should be out on display, soon. I think they are awesome, so, I will bring some home with me at the end of the mission. 

In order to get a shopping cart at the grocery store, one places a loonie ($1) in the cart which releases the chain. Then you remove the cart from the other carts and proceed to shop. When you return the cart and put the chain in the back of the handle, the coin pops out.

We love our mission in Canada, even with the things that are different. They are just fun trivia. But we love the things that are the same. And the biggest thing that is the same everywhere is, Christ is our Savior, He atoned for our sins, He died on the cross for us. He makes it possible that we can be forgiven of our sins and return to our Heavenly Father and live with Him, again. These are the words to a Primary Hymn (LDS Church group for children 3-11). You may not recognize the story and want to know more. Please write to me and I will provide the explanation.

1. I lived in heaven a long time ago, it is true;

   Lived there and loved there with people I know. So did you.

   Then Heav'nly Father presented a beautiful plan,

   All about earth and eternal salvation for man.

   Father said he needed someone who had enough love

   To give his life so we all could return there above.

   There was another who sought for the honor divine.

   Jesus said, "Father, send me, and the glory be thine."

   Jesus was chosen, and as the Messiah he came,

   Conquering evil and death through his glorious name,

   Giving us hope of a wonderful life yet to be--

   Home in that heaven where Father is waiting for me.

   Words and music: Janeen Jacobs Brady, b. 1934

   (c) 1987 by Janeen Jacobs Brady.

   
   
2.  I love you all so much. I pray for your well being and happiness. Until the next blog....
3. Love, Sister Brown, Mom, Grandma, Robyn

T

Peaceful day going to Peace River

We have been so busy and are having such wonderful experiences. The Lord is showering us with many tender mercies. It is becoming more apparent that Heavenly Father really knew what He was doing when we were assigned to Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. And we thought it was because we wanted to go someplace cold. Could someone else do the same thing we are doing in Canada? Yes, for sure, eh. But the important thing is Heavenly Father knows us, Bruce and Robyn. He knew we could do it and that we would rise to the challenge and do our best.

Our prayers are being answered. Last week we found one occasion where we really felt that our prayers were being answered, but we don't know yet what to do with the answer. Sometimes it is like that. But other examples abound where we know we have been prepared for the task at hand.

On Sunday, we drove to Peace River to go to church in that Branch (small LDS unit of people). We called the Branch President so we could meet with him and talk about organizing YSA. We also had a list of names the Elders (male missionaries) had sent us. They had talked to some of the young single adults and felt there was interest. We called some of the names on the list and invited them to meet us after the block and talk about YSA. Two girls were waiting for us after Sacrament Meeting. The Branch President approached our group and told us he would meet us after the block and then welcomed the girls, saying he was glad to see them. They said, "Sister Brown invited us, so we came." I really do wish it was that easy, eh. It isn't, but it worked this time. The time was right and we were just instrumental in helping Heavenly Father's plan. We are excited to be helping the Peace River Branch. We have to drive, one way, 2.5 hours north, but if the weather holds out for a bit we can get YSA activities going. Our meeting after the block was with the Branch President, (like the minister), the President of the Elders Quorum (Priesthood men the age of young fathers), and the secretary from the Relief Society (all women over 18 in the congregation).

Taking picture into the sunrise. Really not this dark.

These two pictures are looking south from the sunrise.

Elder Park and Elder Stephens, church building in Peace River

I believe in the tender mercies from our Heavenly Father. And He is keeping us safe. We had planned to leave at 7:30 am to be there by starting time of 10:00. (Some people drive 1-2 hours to get to church in Peace River.) We were ready a little bit earlier, but I didn't want to leave that early. So we waited. It was light, but the sun hadn't come over the horizon, yet. And it was overcast making the day gloomy and darker than it would usually be. As we left Grande Prairie County we came on an accident between a car and an elk, that had happened about 10 minutes before. That could have been us, and I've been there done that before. Everyone but the elk was OK. A mountie was on the scene. The tow truck had to still come. I'm thankful we didn't leave 10 minutes early. 

      

This little lady was really agitated. We stopped because she wanted to cross the highway. She is running in both of these pictures, and just kept running around. We crept out of her way, then drove off.

As we came into town and crossed the bridge over the Peace River, we saw a mother and young moose right by the side of the road. We couldn't stop and take their picture.

On the way home we saw a bald eagle sitting in the top of tree in the river valley. It made him level with the road. We couldn't get a picture at that time either.

The rest of the ride home was uneventful. Most of the leaves on the trees have fallen. There were a few stands of the aspens in the pines that made a pretty contrast. We saw fields in different stages of harvest. We got into a bit of rain, just enough to make the car dirtier. It is hard to believe, but elder Brown doesn't worry about a muddy car here. It is part of the status quo. It gets washed on P-day and lasts maybe 6 hours.

 

Looks like castles on the prairie.                                                                Fall colors on the prairie.

More blogs will be coming. Love you all,

Sister Brown, Robyn, Mom and Grandma

This is what we do.

I'm sorry it has been so long since we updated our blog. We are fitting into a routine and it is busy. I think it is because we are new, and the mission president is new. Our second zone conference had interviews the night before. We were doing lots of things with YSA (Young Single Adult, 18-30 years old) in Grande Prairie, but not going to many meetings. That changed. Plus, the Stake President thought about it and decided we should also teach Institute, and we are.

Last Sunday was a Worldwide YSA Devotional broadcast from Washington D.C., via satellite. Yay, I now know how to set up the satellite for any broadcast. We started with a potluck supper and then watched the broadcast, followed by our first Institute class. Elder Brown taught the first lesson. We did not have everyone who could have been there in attendance. But we will build.

But the Friday before we had the biggest crowd we have ever had to an activity. It was the first YSA activity not on Monday. Monday is FHE (family home evening) with the YSA. We attend but are not in charge of it. We facilitate other activities on other nights. At the first activity we had a make your own pizza night. Everyone made a pizza, played silly games and had a fun time.

Everything is ready.

Lots of activity. Some were heart shaped.

The sister Missionaries were there because of the 3 investigators. One was new today.

One of the games involved stickers. Elder Brown had the most.

We will be going to the other branches and help the YSA get started in their areas. We would like to get it all done before the snow hits. But time is now a little more limited. On the first and third Sundays we are in meetings from 7:00 am until 4:00 pm. We go home for dinner and then go back to Institute which will start at 6:30. It is a long day. On the other Sundays we have meetings from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and then Institute. But, you know what, it is not bad. It keeps us busy, but we are enjoying it.

There are two meetings on Saturday. We go to a long term care center to visit a man named Chris. I am going to have another blog on Chris.

Each week is District meeting and we skype with the other companionships in the district. At least once a month we get together for district meeting all together. When it is British Columbia, Elder Brown and I drive the Zone Leaders and the Sisters so they don’t have to use up their allotted kilometers to get there. It is a long day, but with good company. There are four companionships and then us.

At this District Meeting in Dawson Creek, BC, we played chair soccer.

If you are sitting down, you are out.

Elder Brown is going at it. He kept up with them on all rounds. Obviously I'm out, I'm taking the pictures.

This week has been transfers. Every missionary companionship in our District has a new Sister or Elder. And we have a new set of missionaries. So now we will have five. We have a Tagalog Companionship. They will be servicing all of Grande Prairie Stake, the whole zone. There are a lot of investigators, and members, from Philippines. Sister Lacno is from the Philippines but she couldn’t possibly keep up teaching them all.

There is a zone conference every 6 weeks. Our first one was on the second day after we got here. The second zone conference was six weeks later. And our third one is next week. Time is going fast.

That is filling you in on the hows and whys. But, our mission is so much more than that. We are having spiritual experiences as well. So many of these YSAs do not come to church. Some come to FHE. A lot have moved, and some are just lost. I found 1 last week on Facebook and 2 this week. We make contact with them and send them messages about their jobs and hobbies. We visit them at work. We take lots of treats. In essence, we love them and pray for them. The other people at YSA are happy to see them at activities and welcome them and play with them. And, when they come to church we get so excited. They are starting to remember Christ and feel the love He has for them. Some of them never had a firm footing, but they are building new footing. And it is equally exciting when we have investigators. These are people who are just learning about their Brother Jesus Christ and their Heavenly Father. It is fun and fulfilling to be part of this work.

I mentioned treats. I do a lot of baking. I am in to my second 10 kilo bag of flour and my second 5 kilo bag of sugar. I make lots of cookies, some cakes, brownies, and sweet rolls. I have made tapioca pudding and I’m collecting recipes for gluten free treats. The missionaries are always glad to get treats, and the YSA knows I’m good to fill in when someone is out of town. Other people we visit like them, too.

I have more material for blogs and I will get them sent soon. Until then, know that I love and miss you all.

Mom, Grandma, Robyn and Sister Brown

Canada is BIG

We love what we are doing in Canada. We are serving in the Grande Prairie Stake to help YSA take hold. The Grande Prairie Stake has 4 wards, 5 branches.

In Grande Prairie there are two of the wards. The Wapiti and Bear Creek Wards. The Young Single Adults, YSA, from both wards meet together on Monday nights for Family Home Evening, FHE. We go and be with them. There are 5 or 6 kids who are regular attenders. About 14 others come, not at the same time, when work allows. Three of the number have now gone South to attend school. South is Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, or the States. We have a list of potential YSA who have stopped coming. We are trying to find them and tell them we are meeting and having fun. We are also trying to have a monthly activity in addition to FHE. Another part of our mission is to organize YSA in the other 2 wards and 5 branches.

We did find out just this week that Fort St. John Ward, in British Columbia, has a functioning YSA Group. They have 4-8 attend depending on work schedules. However, two of their number are going South to school. A few of those kids live an hour away from the church, and can't make it every time. Long travel is pretty much the norm in Grand Prairie Stake.

One of the favorite things we do is give rides to the Wapiti Elders and the Bear Creek Sisters when we go to District Meeting once every transfer. (About 6 weeks.) All the other times we have District Meetings via Skype. Having them ride with us saves both companionships some "klicks". (Kilometers put on their cars.) The first time we drove to Fort St. John. It was a full day.

Our District is the Elders from Wapiti Ward, and the Elders from Dawson Creek Ward.

The Sisters are from Bear Creek Ward, and Fort St. John Ward. The Fort St. John Sisters drive a truck.

This is a park in Dawson Creek, B.C. at mile post 0 of the Alaskan Highway. It is on the way to Fort St. John. Our second time going to District meeting just last week, was at Dawson Creek.

This is the Railroad Museum in Dawson Creek, B.C. It was a stop to use the washroom. There are no rest stops along many highways of Canada. You look for visitor's centers.

This is the sign welcoming us to British Columbia. Alberta doesn't have a place like this when coming back. There are lots and lots of rocks strewn in this area. People write their names on them and put where they are from and the date they passed through.

We did take a short side trip to see, and drive, on this old bridge still in use along the old Alaskan Highway. It goes to a Provincial Park in British Columbia.

OK, we did show you a map of the Grand Prairie Stake in one of the first blogs. We have both worked at this, doing the math, and using Google. Here is a repeat of the first map, in color this time. And two other maps.

This is a map of half of our mission. the little inset in the bottom corner shows all of North America. The red portion is the area of the Canada Edmonton Mission. Pretty amazing isn't it. It is the largest mission by area in the Church.

This is the same map as the first time showing the area of the Grande Prairie Stake. The circles with plus signs are the locations of wards and branches. The kind of empty areas have members scattered. 

Some of the areas are forests. 

I'm sorry the lines are so light, and Hudson Bay is messed up. But this map is traced from a map to show the scale. The Grande Prairie Stake is roughly the same size as Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. We were shocked to realize this scale. 

The distances are:

Grand Prairie to Valley View 1 h 10 min.

Grand Prairie to Dawson Creek 1.5 h

Grand Prairie to Fort St. John 2.5 h

Grand Prairie to Fairview 1h 20 min

Grand Prairie to Peace River 2 h 20 min

Grand Prairie to High Prairie 2 h 40 min

Grand Prairie to High Level    281 miles    4 h 35 min.

Grand Prairie to Fort Smith, NWT 644.8 miles 10h 42 min. to Watson Lake

Grand Prairie to Hay River, NWT 476.4 miles 7 h 47 min.

Grand Prairie to Fort Nelson, BC, 363.8 miles 6h 5 min

Grand Prairie to Fort Resolution NWT 565.1 miles 10h 4 min.

Grand Prairie to Whitecourt, 173.7 miles 2 h 45 min.

Fort Smith to Watson Lake (top boundary of mission) 1141.8 mile, 16 h 36 min.

Western boundary is continental divide a little farther south from Jasper National Park.

Grande Prairie to Yellowknife 725.2 miles 12 h 7 min.

Yellowknife to Slave Lake 196.8 miles 3 h 13 min.

435.7 miles 6 h 50 min to Lloydminster

378.9 miles 6 h 6 min to St. Paul

Distance by crow fly

Length x width

Utah is 350 miles x 270 miles

Colorado 380 x 280

Arizona 395 x 340

New Mexico 370 x 342

Grand Prairie Stake is 750 x 624 the same size as UT, AZ, CO, NM

Now we are glad we didn't bring the Suburban on our mission. It only has 124,000 miles, but is 20 years old. Our mechanic just didn't want us in some wide open space in the middle of nowhere, stranded. We feel that was a tender mercy. And, the mileage wouldn't have been too good. 

People here are just so used to driving long distances. Of course when they travel 5 hours to Edmonton to go to the Temple, they have relatives they can stay with so they don't have to drive home the same day. Then when they want to go to Calgary, Lethbridge or other places South, they have other relatives they stay with. We understand when they come to Grande Prairie for Stake Conference, people from GP open their homes for out of town people to throw out their billet. (Sleeping bags.) Meetings and activities happen on Saturday, and then the Sunday Conference. We will have a big YSA activity on Saturday night.

We love our mission. We are looking forward, even to the travelling. The countryside is beautiful. We see lots of nature and wildlife. We just don't want to find that wildlife on the highway with us. 

Keep travelling with us. Thank you for emails you send us. Don't try to mail anything. We got a picture mailed from Quinn that took 19 days to get here. Postcards from Nevyn and Delaney got here weeks after they mailed them. Jill mailed a package to us the first of August. It got to Vancouver on August 8. We still don't have it. We went to the post office to trace it. They said maybe we will get it by next weekend, 26th or 27th. Pray that we get it. We will be royally messed up if it doesn't get here.

Love,

Sister Brown, Mom, Grandma, Robyn

Can you find us on the map?

The first month we were here it rained every day. And we noticed that every truck in town was really dirty. The people driving the trucks work in the oil or natural gas industry, or the lumber industry. They drive on dirt roads, which in rainy season, are mud.

This is our car. We drive on regular roads. Where the lumber trucks pass by our house, they leave a muddy trail. When we drive through that section, it splashes on the car.

This truck in our complex is in the oil industry. His truck was only half dirty this day.

We have also noticed that a lot of people in Grande Prairie play golf. Hey, why not? It doesn't get dark until 10:00 PM and that is in the middle of August. Note that almost every vehicle at the country club is a truck.

This is the first aisle at the Grande Prairie Country Club.

This is the second aisle at the Grand Prairie Country Club.

This is the third aisle at the Grand Prairie Country Club.

This is the overflow at the Grande Prairie Country Club.

There was some kind of tournament on this particular Friday. We didn't see anyone golfing. It was raining. There was a hospitality tent with a lot of people waiting. 

We are going to give you an idea where we live. It is quite a unique place.

In the middle of town, the blue sign at the top tells which way to go to Alaska. The mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway is in Dawson Creek 1.5 hours away. But Grand Prairie is the start of the Alaskan Highway. There is only one road to Dawson Creek. 

Now I am going to show you where we live.

The driveway by the white car is going in to Canfor Lumber Industries.

This picture above is the driveway into Canfor.

In both pictures above, Elder Brown is pointing to our apartment building. It is the yellow one on the end. We are at the intersection of the logging road going into Canfor.

These two pictures show the dirt road that is the logging road. It is one way arriving at  Canfor and is almost 200 miles long.

This is a close up of our apartment building. Our apartment is at the opposite end of this building. That gas station is on the other side of our parking lot.

This view from our little patio is looking south. It is the parking lot of the gray apartment building you could see when Elder Brown was pointing. Just beyond that little white shed is a grassy berm. That is where the logging road is. I thought I had a picture of the logging trucks going by, but I guess I erased them. It was always raining and the pictures didn't turn out that good. I'll put one in next time.

This is a Google Map of our area.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Grande+Prairie,+AB/@55.1573417,-118.8168097,1805m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x5390914965fb9b97:0x60726bc60c9e6409!8m2!3d55.1699396!4d-118.7986152

Copy and paste this url address into your browser. It will come up with an aerial view of our neighborhood.  You can see where it says Canfor Industrial. Cross streets at the West edge is 84 Ave. The street on the South is 108 St. It is an old picture, The corner of that intersection is an empty strip which is now a little shopping center. You can see the road that is Canfor Hauling Road. Then there is a building, a vacant lot, and another building. Our apartment is in the vacant lot between the two buildings (55.155589, -118.814639). What you are seeing on the Canfor sight are huge stacks of big logs. The really long white building is the sawmill. In front of that building are stacks and stacks and more stacks of 2x4s. All of the buildings on the South side of 108 are industrial businesses. Very few of them have asphalt parking lots.The area west of our apartment, is residential. If you zoom in, you can see the piles of logs. They are really tall stacks. That place is big. Triple trailer trucks move along that road all day, every day. Probably not Sunday, but we are never here to see.

It has been awhile since we have posted to the blog. We need to fill you in on what we are doing. Stay tuned, it will be coming soon. We love you all and think about you and pray for you always.

Sister Brown, Robyn, Mom, and Grandma

8.3.2016 The weather in Grande Prairie

Last night, August 2, 2016, we were at the church, meeting with the Stake President, who has been out of town since we got here. We got there in a torrential downpour. This video is not going to play, but it shows the rain pouring down and spilling over the gutters at the church.

When we came out it wasn't raining as hard, but the parking lot was full of water.

This was the road in front of the church. The man is up to his knees in water. We were prevented from getting back to the highway because there were too many cars stranded and the road was closed.

  

This view is the other corner from the church. The man down the road by the stranded red car is almost waist deep.

We were able to turn right and proceeded to go home. We ended up doing quite a few detours.

It rained 9.2mm in two hours which is 3.6". We had some mud washed into our parking space, but our ground level apartment was high and dry. We feel so blessed. There were some flooded basements in Grande Prairie, but no one was injured.

The temperature today was 22 C. That is 72 F. Not bad, but with all the moisture it was REALLY humid. And there are lots of big mosquitoes.

We had another tender mercy happen today. We were finally able to turn some of our American money into Canadian cash. Just in case we ever need a loonie or toonie for something like a parking meter, or the like.

Oh, yes. Our meeting with President Cherwak confirmed what we have been led to believe. We are the Stake YSA advisors. We are going to build the YSA program. "If we build it, they will come." We have 12 who have been to the three meetings since we got here. We will rally these troops and get all the other YSA that could be here to come. We need fun activities and events. And when we get that going, we will get the others in the outer branches in the stake organized. There are fewer there. But, hey, we should at least have great activities for them to do the Saturday before Stake Conference.

We could use any ideas that have worked for any of you, or that you know about, and we will pass them on to these great young single adults.

We hope you will get cooler weather soon. We love and miss all  of you.

Sister Brown, Robyn, Mom, and Grandma