I arrived in Montreal about 4PM on Tuesday, and spent the night at the Mission home with the 5 other missionaries who came in with me. They are all super awesome people, but none of us were ready for the humidity here. WHOA! The second we stepped off the plane, BAM, we were just all, humid and sticky and gross. Anyways, Pres. and Sis. Cannon are super awesome, and I'm glad to have gotten a chance to eat their food between the MTC and our own missionary meals. Then, Wednesday, we had our orientation meeting and President went and picked our areas.
I have been sent to Alma Quebec, the furthest away area in the mission. I had to take a 3 hour bus ride from Montreal to Quebec, then a 3 hour drive from Quebec up to Alma. The people here are 100% French. I have met 1 or 2 people who speak English, and then it's broken English. I am able to understand them all, minus a few old people who talk to fast and with such slurred French that I doubt most of the people who speak french can understand them. But It's super fun here. The weather has been super hot and humid, but with a nice light breeze to keep us cool as we tract.
My Companion is named Elder AUSTIN LEE Heder. Crazy, right!?!?! What are the chances of that!!?? He is from Pleasant Grove Utah and has only been out on his mission for 12 weeks, or two transfers. That is basically the minimum amount of time that a missionary can be out before he is allowed to train, and even then, he is basically still a greenie himself. We are doing well though, eating well and working very hard. I'm falling asleep all the time, still trying to conquer the habit I started for myself of sleeping in class. I totally got busted on Sunday by the sister teaching the Sunday School Lesson. It was funny...
I am starting in the same area that Elder Kastendick started, so all the members here go crazy when I tell them that I was friends with him before we were both out here. And as for members, there are only 10. 10 members in a branch that covers basically the entire northern half of Quebec. And they are slightly old too... I believe the youngest member is about 60, 65? But there are lots of investigators and we are working very hard all day every day getting out and knocking on doors and teaching lessons. Everyone in the branch is super awesome though.
Last night we had to be indoors by 6:00 PM because it was Le Fete de St. Jean-Baptiste, which is like Quebec's own national holiday, so we went to the Bouchards house at 7 after teaching some lessons, and they "made us a snack" and I think we ended up eating more than we did at supper. But the Bouchards are super awesome, and basically are the ward mission leaders, they have investigators over every chance they can get to help us out. I think that have been on... Sis Bouchard has been on 4 and Brother Bouchard has been on 3? But two from each were with each other as a couple. OH! Best news of all, our mission has a car. Actually, that's a lie. It's a truck! A little Chevy Colorado, short bed truck, midnight blue. It's pretty awesome... I don't know if it has a name yet, but Elder Heder and I will probably name it here soon.
Back to the mission. It is super hot here. And with the humidity it's even worse. I've never been a person who has sweat drip down my body, but it does here. Alot. It's gross. Trust me. I can't believe I have already been gone for almost a month! Isn't that a bit crazy?! Time flies when you're serving the Lord I guess!
Oh, everyone here has a swimming pool. Everyone. It's ridiculous considering in the winter they will get like +5 feet of snow! But it also makes things a little awkward at doors, lots of times (because like the ward, the town is populated by a mostly older people. There are still lots of young people, but mostly older) people will stand with only their heads showing out the door because they are in their bathing suits. Or even worse, sometimes they just open the door. It just works really well for making things awkward, a nice, older, well sized woman in a bathing suit... I am glad I am up here though, because one of the missionaries I was talking with said that his first area was Chicoutame (just about 40 minutes away from us, and where Elder Coulombe was from), and he never saw anyone he was attracted to, then he got transferred to Montreal and he said there are attractive women everywhere. I think it would be super hard for a new missionary to have to learn how to be a missionary while having to deal with lots of hotties who are all scantily clad thanks to the temperature and the humidity.
Anyways, The time has come to go shopping, so I must say farewell! I have lots of pictures and will send them next week, I just forgot my cord for my camera today. Friends, I have things to tell you, write me.
I love you all so much!
I love you all so much!
Elder AUSTEN LELAND Oviatt
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