BEAUTY IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER

IT'S ALL ABOUT GROWTH! 

(A THOUGHT FOR THE SEASON)

I imagine that every person has those days where you wish you could just transfer your brain and your heart into another's body even for a moment.  Where they could know what you know and feel what you feel.  Where they could 'get it' the way you get it.  Obviously, that isn't the way it works, but in those moments when we are terribly impatient and it seems like they will never 'grow up' we all want to find a way to speed up the process of growth. But "Line upon line and precept upon precept - here a little there a little." is an eternal truth. 

So here is your 'hope' reminder for this month: SEASONS EXIST FOR A REASON. Our Heavenly Parents know that and so must we. Think of spring, think of the last 2 weeks including general conference and Easter. Look outside and just see it all happening.

Growth is taking place.  And that growth will continue. We are here in Canada teaching eternal progression. And as a missionary couple trying to teach it to others, we are both so grateful for the growth in our own lives. For those who were and continue to be patient with us. 

Thank God for His Son and for Their patience and longsuffering with us all.

Joy cometh in the morning!

 

MISSION LIFE FOR THE PAST MONTH

Zone conference just a month ago and as always, new missionaries coming in from all over the world.  And always a few going home.  Tear filled goodbyes lead to tear filled hellos upon their return.  These are some of the times when we miss our children and grandchildren so much.  

We saw our first signs of blossoms on the 16th of march.   Past calendars tell us that April 6 was supposed to be the most colorful day in Victoria British Columbia.   Above and below are just a couple of shots to consider as you read through our ramblings for March/April.

The church parking lot is beautiful with the blossoms.  But we all know that blossoms don't last. It only took 3 weeks and they were gone.

A busy month with transfers and apartment checks.  We continue to do our recorded interviews of members in the area who are now quite old.  We record their conversion story and their testimony.  We record their answer as to why they remained active in the church for 40, 50, or 60 years.  There are some powerful stories being told. We are so blessed to meet with these folks while they are still with us.

We again substituted teaching institute a few times this past month.  The young people who are the future of the church are powerful.  They love one another, they have great faith and they love the the Lord.

It is a joy to see spring time come when the beauties of this place we live in are so abundant.  Like where you live, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  But it is not hard to find something here to behold. The parks, streets and neighborhoods are stunning..  This city is filled with wonderful people who are kind and generous.  They are helpful and quite warm.  And many of them are opening their hearts to missionaries and listening to a message about Jesus Christ and why Easter matters.

At Stanley park a few weeks ago when we had gone to the Temple in Vancouver.  The park is huge and it has so much beauty.  The different views of Vancouver and the various first nation exhibits are impressive.

  We continue to try and walk about 5 miles each day and a good deal of that walking is where the views are like out of a magazine.

Above is a tug boat bringing in a supply of sulpher from Alberta,  This is the area where the shipyards are and so a good deal of product is moved in and out of these ports.

  On the left is a view from our apartment looking toward the ocean.  That mountain is actually in the state of Washington.

  Above  is the Craigdorroch Castle.  This was the origins of British Columbia coal.  This family was granted millions of acres of land and had total control for years of all the coal.  This was one of many homes the family built. We actually attended a one man play here where a fellow had memorized and then 'performed' Treasure Island.

General conference and breakfast with 16 missionaries at our apartment.  What a privilege it is to work with these young people. Remember that some of these kids were in Primary 6 years ago!!

How is that for a 'houseboat'?  Most of you know that we live on an island.  There are a few and maybe a bunch who actually live on the water year round. This little community, not far from James Bay, has a number of these homes that float.  There are some like this and then there are some like the houses below that are literally on the water.  It is kind of like the boat here is at the' end of the cul-de-sac' !

For Easter dinner we were invited to join the first counselor in the mission presidency and his wife.  That picture below is the view as you walk in their front door.  They live in Brentwood Bay.  He is an Alberta Boy and she is a Welch girl. They are Grant and Pat Gainor.  Those of you in Alberta will know the family name. Great couple and they have been serving the Lord and the church and their community for over 40 years here in Victoria.  

Does anybody remember how we use to describe Michael Jordan like 'the ball is just an extension of his fingers?'  So that is the way I feel about the guy here with his wonderful wife.  He plays the piano.  But he doesn't just play the piano. It is kind of like he 'is' the piano, or the piano is an extension of him. Everything in his world has been about music.  He has been a great friend for nearly 35 years.  So we visited them in Chiliwack, British Columbia. We sang, shared life experiences, looked at family pictures from years gone by.  Even shared a little bit with family on Marco Polo. (I know,  it is pretty obvious that someone needs to teach me how to take selfies or bless me with longer arms.  The one who takes the best selfies in our zone is Elder Macreadie. (At 6 foot 9 inches, it's much easier)

 

About 6 months ago the mission changed the weekly preparation day so that missionaries who were close could attend the Temple on that day. (Monday had been the previous prep day and the temple is closed on Monday)

So it is quite an effort to get 28 Elders and Sisters by car and ferry over to the mainland where the temple is.  We did that last week and it was tremendous. We have 4 districts on Vancouver Island. 2 are north and 2 are here closer to Victoria which is at the southern tip of the island.  What that means is that they drive their car onto a ferry and travel by water for 2 hours to get to Vancouver. (those are the ones up north). The 14 who are here in the south take a different ferry. It is about 90 minutes to arrive at the same terminal in Vancouver.

We look forward to the beauties of spring.  It is all about growth and progress.

Thanks to all of you who keep up with us on our mission journey.

We love and appreciate you.

Elder and Sister Scott and Valerie Johnson

Canada Vancouver Mission

JUST A FEW PARTING SHOTS 

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The license plate in British Columbia has always read "Beautiful British Columbia"  We agree!

Showed you last time the different bikes.  That one above is a mom bringing 3 little kids to the gym in that 'basket'.

We have a monthly Zoom meeting with all of the couples in the mission.  Becauses it is so large, we seldom get together physically.  We are having a general authority tour the mission in May and that will be a time when we will actually be together.   But the couple above are serving in our same mission but on the mainland.  They came over to the Island to celebrate their 49th anniversary and see the sights. We had dinner together and spent time discussing these amazing young men and women that we are privileged to work with. It was great to have them here.