Missionarying and a Tour of Downtown Toronto

Fast and testimony meeting on Sunday was great! I sat by Jay, the friend that we helped the sisters teach on Friday. He listened intently throughout the meeting.  He told me afterward with tears in his eyes that all the things the people said were relatable to him. It was a good meeting for him. After the meetings, we sat and had a good discussion with him and the sister missionaries. He had some questions about the Priesthood (the lesson today was from D&C 84). He is so sincere.

After that, we met with the sister missionaries and Tony, who was baptized two months ago. A young woman named Ana, whom the missionaries are teaching, was there as well. They both expressed difficulty with finding time to read the Book of Mormon. We gave them some ideas about how to learn and feel the spirit when they read. It was like a huge weight had been lifted from off their shoulders. They both smiled and relaxed and decided they could do it. The main focus of the lesson was that the scriptures are for them, not just to check off a task.

We came home and had a meeting (with food) with the missionaries. We learned from them how they keep track of their people and learned how we can see what they are doing so we can be ready to join them in lessons before their friends get baptized. That will help us know them so we can work with them, essentially as ministers, after they are baptized.

We also discussed how we can help them communicate with the ward leaders. It was so positive, and they were all very excited to have us on their team. It was getting late, and I asked them if they would like something to eat. Of course they did, so while Elder Lyon was finishing up with things, I got out the food. They really enjoyed it and ate most of it. 

I felt like we really can help them in their work and that together we can help these dear "friends" stay on the covenant path.

Old City Hall

On Monday, our landlady, Nyree, invited us to a tour of downtown to help us get to know the public transportation system and get to know Toronto. We left at noon and drove to the subway station near us. At the subway station, the workers indicated that we could get a Senior discount (from the CAD 3.30 fare each – about $2.40 USD), but we’d have to pay cash. Elder Lyon had two CAD two-dollar coins, called “toonies”– which they accepted as adequate and let us through the styles. They were very friendly.

We rode the subway south to Union Station, just off Lake Erie. Union Station is a beautiful building and has shops, businesses, etc. They have underground tunnels, elevated walkways, and at-grade walkways connecting the office towers of Downtown Toronto called PATH.

We saw lot of old buildings like the old city hall and old churches. Nyree was very knowledgeable and was a great tour guide. Just in front of the new city hall, there is a pool with a fountain in the center and on the other side of the pool are big letters TORONTO. It is a photo op which we took advantage of. In the winter the pool freezes over and people skate on it.

Molly and Nyree in front of the TORONTO sign.

We had lunch at a Thai cafe called Salad King. We shared 3 yummy dishes – spicey cucumber salad, eggrolls, and lettuce wraps. All were very tasty and the spicey was pretty spicey.

We continued our walk through China Town and past the University of Toronto. Nyree attended the University which is one of the very best universities in Canada. She showed us the street she lived on. It was a walk down memory lane for her.

China Town

We got home around 5:30, having walked about 3 miles. 

It was a fun lovely day. We got to know Nyree a little more and we got some good information about the city of Toronto as well as some Canadian history. 

District Council was on Tuesday. All four mission companionships taught us. I am so impressed with these young missionaries.

On Wednesday, we met with President Evershed at the temple. He is one of the counselors in the Temple Presidency. He was very kind. We visited for a while, and he set us apart as ordinance workers. Then he trained us. We really like him. We also got to meet his wife who is very lovely, smiley and warm. We came prepared to work with our temple clothes, but he encouraged us to just wander around and get a feel for where things are in the temple. We will serve every Wednesday morning from 9:15-2:00. I'm very pleased that our mission President, President Lee was encouraging about us serving in the temple.

Transfers are tomorrow and we wanted to see “our” missionaries before they moved to different areas. We went over to the church, saw them, took their pictures, and gave them hugs (me to the sisters). We will miss them. We have enjoyed working with them, but change is always a good thing in the church because it is done with the Lord.  

On Thursday, we had our second session of training on the Welfare and Self-Reliance program. Many, if not most, MLS missionaries receive this training so they can help the Bishop and Ward Councils by offloading some of their burden. One comment that was made was very impactful. Brother Erickson, one of our teachers, said he prefers to think of “SR” as Savior Reliance instead of Self-reliance. We will continually struggle until we rely on the Lord to help us find strength and peace and hope in our circumstances.

On Friday, we had a lot of things to do around here. Elder Lyon has created an app to help us track our new members and our responsibilities with each one. Our assignment is to help teach them the new member lessons, work with the Bishop to get the brothers ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood and the brothers and sisters recommends to go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead for their own ancestors. There are about a dozen individuals who have been baptized in the last year in this ward, and about half of them seem to have disappeared shortly after being baptized. There are another five or six with baptism dates in the next month, so we need to make sure we’re on top of things. So, Elder Lyon has built an app that will work on our computers as well as our phones and/or tablets wherever we are to note communications, check off tasks, etc. Hopefully it will help us be organized.

On the communication front, we’ve heard that T-Mobile will cut us off if we don’t spend at least a few days in the States every three months. That being a no-go, we’re converting our phones to a Canadian plan. Since we use Google Voice, our numbers (that we use for everything) won’t change, and when we get home, we can convert back to a states-based plan without disruptions. So, we chose to go with Freedom Mobile here. We’ve converted our phones with new sim cards, and everything seems to be working fine!

We had dinner at a place called “Bullger Burgers and Turkish Corner”. Elder Lyon got a burger and loved it! It had big shreds of mango and it had a spicy sauce on it. I got a dish that was basically a peperoni pizza without the sauce and not very much meat. It was good, but not as yummy as Charlie's.

We were supposed to join a lesson at the church with the sisters and Jay at 6:30, but he couldn't get off work. Hermana Brown is our new sister with Hermana Morton. She is darling and very enthusiastic and speaks Spanish well. They appreciated that we brought the portion of my pizza that I couldn’t eat.

Jay thought he might make it to volleyball at 7:00, so we hung around and helped set up the volleyball net with Tony and the sisters. We were there for a while and met some new members and friends. Jay wasn’t able to make it – we’ll catch up with him soon.

Saturday was the Barrio Black Creek picnic. I visited a lot with Hermana Isabel Zambrano who is the Primary President and the wife of the First Counselor in the Bishopric. She is darling and is from Venezuela. Her husband is very smiley and warm as well.

She introduced me to Hna. Meraz and I talked with her and her husband, who is in the Elders Quorum Presidency. Hna. Meraz teaches self-reliance and just finished teaching her first class last Wednesday night. She speaks very good English and feels like a friend and support to me. She wants us to come to their house for dinner sometime.

We also visited at length with Hna. Ana Ramirez (from El Salvador) who is the new-member and investigator class Sunday School teacher. She is darling. We have lots in common. She loves the temple and loves the Lord.

It was a productive and fun activity.