Hello, my little chiclets! How in the world is everybody doing out there? Are you still trapped in the polar vortex? Freezing to death from those Canadian winds? Wasn't me! I swear I had nothing to do with it, eh? Gosh, this has been a lowsy winter. I simply cannot WAIT for spring! ... in like... four months. Boo! Oh well. At least Valentine's Day is around the corner! Eh hem... that was just a little reminder to all of my lovers to start sending me chocolates and love letters.... Although... most of my lovers these days are also missionaries, so they won't be seeing this anyway. Still, a sista can dream!
This week was pretty sweeeeet! We had a lot of adventures and good vibes all around. Last P-Day we organized/texted all of the cool people on the island to come play "bored" games with us. Not a huge fan, but it's nice to hang out with other missionaries. We ended up having a bunch of fun people show up, and we played Catch Phrase in a large group. I'm super amazing at that game, but for some reason the teams I would be on kept losing, and the other missionaries started to catch on, make fun of me, and refuse to be on my team. Gaaaaah! IT was like elementary/middle/high school all over again! Now do you see why I hated going to all of those singles ward activities? Well, 5:40pm rolls around. P-Day was almost over. I just needed ONE more point to win. The time starts ticking. I'm yelling out phrases left and right, my brilliant mind racing. The time gets going faster and faster. I see that my teammate is searching for her words, stressing, not sure what to say. Everyone starts crowding in on her, all of us on the edge of our seats. The timer is accelerating, all of us hyperventilating. Almost two seconds to go, and I scream out "ANGELINA JOLIE!!!!" For the WIN! Pandamonium ENSUES! Elders are on the ground worshipping me! High fives all around! I finally redeemed myself from all of those years of losing at kickball and getting chosen last to be on someone's team. Needless to say, it was a victorious P-Day.
On Tuesday I upped and quit la belle province to spend the day with my sweet little babe Sister Rios! She lives in a place called Cornwall (which she lovingly refers to as Corn-nuggets) a beautiful town that borders the United States. I could see 'murica from my house! The temptation to cross over was soooo strong! Ontario is very different from Quebec, and it was nice to see a brand new part of my mission. Sister Rios and I had a ball gossiping, eating burritos, and reminiscing about the good old days in Quebec City. The next day I accidentally stole their cell phone though, and they live like two hours away from us... so the good feelings of the exchanges were forgotten. Ha ha. Nah, we made them cookies. Hopefully we're forgiven. Still, leave it to me to steal the cell phone of the team of sisters that lives in the middle of a cornfield and desperately needs a phone to communicate with the outside world!
On Friday I got to attend my FIRST (and hopefully not last....) Mission Leadership Council! Aaaah! I cannot tell you how long I had DREAMED of this moment. It was such a wonderful day. I now realize how left out I've been on the decisions being made in the mission. It was nice to throw in my two cents and sit there look cool and leaderly. I feel like I'm the Queen bee of the mission or something! ;) ... JOKING! I promise I'm like the most humble missionary out here. #selfierighteous
Anyway, the mission is going oh so great! We had eleven of our less active members come to church, which was a complete miracle. They are all doing so well and progressing so much in the gospel. It is absolutely AMAZING to watch. We have had amazing moments this week and have been blessed to feel the spirit so strong in their homes. Doctrine and Covenants 50:24 was the power scripture of the week if anyone feels inclined to look it up! :) The ward here is completely fantastic as well. We Zumba'd HARD this week! And the instructor told everyone there was a star in our midst and then pointed to ME! Aaaaah! Ha ha! I felt so special. :) It's nice to know that all of those years of ballet were good for something. If those long, tear-filled years of stress and pain and agony bring one person into the church because I'm a fabulous dancer, it will be totally worth it! ;)
Well, I hope you're all having a wonderful Monday! Let me know the drama, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Through a letter most likely... haha. Which could take a couple weeks or months, but remember that I love you all sooooooooooooooo much and can't wait to see you in just a few short months! In the meantime, keep rocking that scene! I love and miss you all so very, very much. Bisou bisou! HUGS!
Love,
Soeur Cutler
Monday, January 27, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Metro Babe-Tron
Hey, sweet peas! How goes the work? Oooooommmm... sigh.... I do believe this was the LONGEST week of my life. So much happened that I don't even know where to begin! I may or may not be losing my mind out here haha. 2014 is going to be a doozy!
So you're probably wondering why I'm in a tailspin right now. Well, this week was just insane. But a GOOD insane, so don't fret after me! We had to do two missionary exchanges, two zone trainings, AND our interviews with the mission president. PARTY! We were literally ALL over the place. But our zone trainings were out of this world, and we practically made them up on the spot. So honestly I can't complain about this week. I'm amazing and I know it. ;)
On Monday night last week we treated ourselves to Cantonese food in Chinatown, anticipating that we definitely would deserve it by the end of our treacherously busy week. From there we prepared ourselves for what would be my first exchange as a sister training leader. Oh my. I LOVED IT! It was super fun to be in a new area with a hip sister showing me around the east end of Montreal. I got to go contacting in the metros for the first time in nearly eight months! The creepers all threw their grungy 90's era coats upon the ground for me to walk across the winding corridors of damp, dark metro. Hee hee. Not really. But I DID get a lot of double takes. ;) We actually had way tons of fun and I was overjoyed to see how much better I've gotten at talking to people since the last time I was in public transportation. I met a super cool Muslim guy who I chatted up about Lord of the Rings for like 20 minutes, somehow managing to tie it back to the gospel and eternal families, and now he's interested in meeting with the missionaries! TOTAL success! Another highlight was meeting a totally cool girl from France who had her entire day brightened by talking with us. I forgot how much I enjoy not hiding out in my car. Of course, I didn't like the fact that my booty was in sheer agony from walking, running, standing, and climbing stairs all day, so I would be lying if I didn't express how overjoyed I was to plant myself in the car by the end of the day. ;)
On Wednesday we got to do some actual member-missionary work. "hasteningtheworkofsalvation OH MY! It was AWESOME! So a few weeks ago a man asked one of the members if he could pay the church $300 to park his car in the church parking lot for two weeks. Well, the member thought of something better. He told the man he could park for free, but that in exchange he would have to take two missionary discussions. BRILLIANT! So that's where we found ourselves Wednesday night. The man told us straight out that he didn't believe in God, but he had no choice but to listen to us. We started talking about the joys he has experienced being a father, and his heart was totally softened by the spirit. Sister Sherwood and I are 100 percent sure that he was converted in the first lesson, but he's afraid. He was downloading the church library like crazy at the end of the lesson, but he still says he doesn't believe in anything. We'll see about that. :)
On Saturday Sister Sherwood and I did something called Zumba proselyting. It's exactly what it sounds like. We have permission-ish to test out going to our ward's Zumba classes and working out with the women there because there are like a bazillion nonmembers in our chapel every week. And it was AMAZING! I danced my heart out and dropped it like it was hot! Aaaaah. So good! But today I am totally feeling the burn. Like, we can't even walk. But hey, my body is a sacrifice to the Lord for the next seven months, right? It will definitely be worth it when I have a super toned bod and someone gets baptized. ;)
On Sunday we had ANOTHER miracle. A member was at the clinic one day and invited a lady next to her to come to church. Well, all throughout sacrament meeting they talked about Priesthood blessings, and this woman had a really rough life and wanted to know why these blessings were so special. So the stake president invited her to receive a blessing after church! What the? Who does that? She isn't even our investigator yet! #hasteningtheworkofsalvation After the meetings she received one of the most beautiful blessings I have ever heard, from the stake president himself. And he told her, and I QUOTE, "You have the best missionaries in the entire world." Yes. That's right. So we've been spreading that quote around the mission now. ELDERS BE JEALOUS!
This week was fantastic, to say the least. Just SUPER busy! But I'm living and loving and growing every minute. Even if it is only horizontally. I hope you are all feeling fabulous! I love and adore you all and wish I could be with you right now! :( Boooo. But I'm coming up on my year mark, so it really won't be too long now. Roll out the fatted calf! I can't wait to see you all one day. But until then, have a great week! Lots of love and hugs coming your way!
Love,
Soeur Cutler
So you're probably wondering why I'm in a tailspin right now. Well, this week was just insane. But a GOOD insane, so don't fret after me! We had to do two missionary exchanges, two zone trainings, AND our interviews with the mission president. PARTY! We were literally ALL over the place. But our zone trainings were out of this world, and we practically made them up on the spot. So honestly I can't complain about this week. I'm amazing and I know it. ;)
On Monday night last week we treated ourselves to Cantonese food in Chinatown, anticipating that we definitely would deserve it by the end of our treacherously busy week. From there we prepared ourselves for what would be my first exchange as a sister training leader. Oh my. I LOVED IT! It was super fun to be in a new area with a hip sister showing me around the east end of Montreal. I got to go contacting in the metros for the first time in nearly eight months! The creepers all threw their grungy 90's era coats upon the ground for me to walk across the winding corridors of damp, dark metro. Hee hee. Not really. But I DID get a lot of double takes. ;) We actually had way tons of fun and I was overjoyed to see how much better I've gotten at talking to people since the last time I was in public transportation. I met a super cool Muslim guy who I chatted up about Lord of the Rings for like 20 minutes, somehow managing to tie it back to the gospel and eternal families, and now he's interested in meeting with the missionaries! TOTAL success! Another highlight was meeting a totally cool girl from France who had her entire day brightened by talking with us. I forgot how much I enjoy not hiding out in my car. Of course, I didn't like the fact that my booty was in sheer agony from walking, running, standing, and climbing stairs all day, so I would be lying if I didn't express how overjoyed I was to plant myself in the car by the end of the day. ;)
On Wednesday we got to do some actual member-missionary work. "hasteningtheworkofsalvation OH MY! It was AWESOME! So a few weeks ago a man asked one of the members if he could pay the church $300 to park his car in the church parking lot for two weeks. Well, the member thought of something better. He told the man he could park for free, but that in exchange he would have to take two missionary discussions. BRILLIANT! So that's where we found ourselves Wednesday night. The man told us straight out that he didn't believe in God, but he had no choice but to listen to us. We started talking about the joys he has experienced being a father, and his heart was totally softened by the spirit. Sister Sherwood and I are 100 percent sure that he was converted in the first lesson, but he's afraid. He was downloading the church library like crazy at the end of the lesson, but he still says he doesn't believe in anything. We'll see about that. :)
On Saturday Sister Sherwood and I did something called Zumba proselyting. It's exactly what it sounds like. We have permission-ish to test out going to our ward's Zumba classes and working out with the women there because there are like a bazillion nonmembers in our chapel every week. And it was AMAZING! I danced my heart out and dropped it like it was hot! Aaaaah. So good! But today I am totally feeling the burn. Like, we can't even walk. But hey, my body is a sacrifice to the Lord for the next seven months, right? It will definitely be worth it when I have a super toned bod and someone gets baptized. ;)
On Sunday we had ANOTHER miracle. A member was at the clinic one day and invited a lady next to her to come to church. Well, all throughout sacrament meeting they talked about Priesthood blessings, and this woman had a really rough life and wanted to know why these blessings were so special. So the stake president invited her to receive a blessing after church! What the? Who does that? She isn't even our investigator yet! #hasteningtheworkofsalvation After the meetings she received one of the most beautiful blessings I have ever heard, from the stake president himself. And he told her, and I QUOTE, "You have the best missionaries in the entire world." Yes. That's right. So we've been spreading that quote around the mission now. ELDERS BE JEALOUS!
This week was fantastic, to say the least. Just SUPER busy! But I'm living and loving and growing every minute. Even if it is only horizontally. I hope you are all feeling fabulous! I love and adore you all and wish I could be with you right now! :( Boooo. But I'm coming up on my year mark, so it really won't be too long now. Roll out the fatted calf! I can't wait to see you all one day. But until then, have a great week! Lots of love and hugs coming your way!
Love,
Soeur Cutler
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Away to Montreal (AGAIN!)
Jan 13, 2014
Hello, my sweet angels! How oh how are you doing? Comment ca va? Quoi de neuf? On my side of the world right now, I currently can't decipher which way is up and which is down! It has been just about the craziest week of my mission. I'm finally here in LaSalle! And falling in love with it already. The members are BEYOND FABULOUS, the people we work with are completely stellar, and my new compy is just about as crazy as I am. I'd say it's shaping up to be a wonderful transfer. :)
The bad news is that Quebec City still holds a large piece of my heart. Sighhhh... saying goodbye was a complete nightmare. I think I felt just as sad leaving Quebec as I did when I left on my mission almost a year ago. That just tells you how much I adore those people and that place. My favourite fame of all time gave me so much love and attention in those short days that remained after the transfer call. I knew I would have to say goodbye eventually, but seven months in a place with people that you love creates some pretty deep roots. Plucking myself from the ground that I love was no easy task, but don't worry your little hearts out. It will all be alright in the end!
And besides, Quebec City DID tow my car two days before I left, leaving me a big fat ticket as my goodbye present, so that at least softened the blow of leaving SOMEWHAT. ;)
Okay, the sob fest is over. I really do LOVE being back in Montreal. My area is adjacent to my very first area out here, so it honestly feels like I never left! The day of the transfer was definitely one to remember. My lovely missionary friends of Quebec and my dearest, sweetest, most lovable and huggable greenie Soeur Guevara all saw me, Soeur Bourdon, and Elder Hernandez off at the bus station bright and early Wednesday morning. Three hours previously Sister Guevara and I were still awake packing, so needless to say I was completely exhausted. Yeah... don't try packing all of your belongings the night before if you've been living somewhere for the past seven months..... You know me though. ALWAYS procrastinating! :)
I intended to sleep on my three hour journey to Montreal, but I ended up sitting next to Elder Hernandez. And... you know me. The three hours that were supposed to be used for a nap ended up being used for flirting...er...I mean..cougin....ehhh...I mean... chatting with my dear friend from the Ste Foy. At one point he said, "Don't you wish elders and sisters could go on splits?" And I was like, "Hmm... be careful what you wish for, Elder." When we got to Montreal we had to take all five thousand pounds of our luggage with us in the metros to the mission office. Setting foot back in the metros after 7 months was an indescribable feeling. It was honestly like I had never left. The smells, the dampness, the sounds, the Muslim man next to me on the platform winking at me... it was as if I could hear the chants of all creepy middle aged old men saying, "Welcome home, Sister Cutler! Welcome home. Ha ha. The best. So it was inevitable that ONE of us would get separated from the travel group. Turns out it was Sister Bourdon.... haha. For a good fifteen minutes I found myself all alone in downtown Montreal with Elder Hernandez, just the two of us. SCANDALOUS! But hey, his wish came true. Pretty sure every elder here dreams of being on splits with me, so he should feel honored. It was quite the experience, to say the least. ;)
So LaSalle is great! The people we work with are so incredibly awesome. We have an investigator who has bear decor all over his apartment, and more chest hair than Austin Powers. He is seriously awesome. I can tell he's going to become my new best friend. We teach like 20 less active lessons a week out here, so the work is going to be a bit different. I'm super excited though and remember how much I adore the diversity of Montreal. Tonight I'm going to be taking one of the Montreal sisters on splits, so I'll be back in the metros today! Bahhhh... Pray for me PLEASE. Not a big fan of metro contacting haha.
Anyway, that's the week that was! I'm currently in the Apple Store jamming out to Blondie, so I better get going. I'm getting dirty looks from the employees, and I don't blame them. Aaaaah mission life! The best! Take care, everybody! I love you all so very, very much. Smooches and hugs! Have a great January!
Love,
Soeur Cutler
Ring Out Wild Belles... :)
January 6, 2014
Hello, my cuties! HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope it was as festive as ever. Can you believe that I'll be seeing you THIS YEAR? Put your party pants on! It's going to be a great year! Me coming home... what more could you ask for?! It's crazy to think that I hit my eleven month mark today. I've almost been out for a year! That is a LONG time! And still a ways to go... but really, I would rather be here than anywhere else in the world right now! "Here" being Quebec City. Except... the days of Quebec City have come to an end because...
I'm getting TRANSFERRED! :( Saddest day of my entire LIFE! I will be heading back down to an area in Montreal called La Salle, with apparently the nicest members ever. I went there once on splits and found it to be beautiful, so I'm excited! Except I'll be working in English, which is kind of a bummer, but I was lucky to have 7 months of Quebecois. Can't complain, I guess! And in even bigger news... I'm going to be a Sister Training Leader! For those of you who don't know mission lingo, that means I'm going to be the equivalent of a zone leader for sisters! Super stoked... and nervous as all get out! PRAY FOR ME!!! ...to have the desire to be more obedient.... haha. Should be interesting. ;) I'm excited because I'll be going on exchanges in my old area in Montreal every six weeks! THE BEST!!! Wish me luck on my new adventures in La Salle.
So first of all I just wanted to say... CONGRATULATIONS to my sweet Lilian on getting BAPTIZED! I'm soooo happy for you! I wish desperately I could have been there on your special day. You are an angel and a shining star! I'm glad that Daniel wasn't a spaz and was able to get you baptized in one try. NICE! I love you so much and thought about you constantly throughout the day. I wish you would have waited until I got back to have the baptism, but I understand! I hope it was a beautiful day. :)
So this week was kind of depressing, what with getting transferred and all. But we made the most of it! On New Year's we had a little celebration. Me with a terrible migraine and several hours later Soeur Cutler doped up on high doses of Excedrin. PARTAY!!!!! Sadly, no New Year's kisses for me... ;) but there's always next year! Whooo hoooo! I hope you all had a special day and that everyone is ready for 2014! We went knocking the evening of transfer calls and had some great experiences. There was a man that invited us in his house because it was cold and we were hott, but then he looked at our badges and him and his wife kicked us out reallly fast. Ha ha AWKWARD! But at least that man will be blessed for inviting missionaries into his house on a cold winter's night. Or he just thought we were cute and will probably be struck down by lightening for hitting on soeurs haha. Later that night we visited with a former investigator who is schizophrenic, and that was quite an interesting experience. We felt inspired to go, and it turned out it was her birthday and she was super lonely. It's nice to know you're being led to people who need you in the right place at the right time. We finished out the night with transfer calls, proceeded to scream our heads off and bawl our eyes out, and then we watched The Emma Smith movie!!!! I was in HEAVEN! So many great one liners. Emma to Joseph while playing chess: "Check mate!" Joseph to Emma "What did you call me?" LOLzzzz! SMOOOOOOOOTH! Definitely a line I'll be using when I'm back home being a BYU cougar! :)
I had a feeling that I was getting transferred so most of the week was spent saying goodbye. My last day in the ward was an emotional one, and I even braved bearing my testimony in French. I'm going to miss everyone as if they were my own family. My ward mission leader who has pretended to hate me my entire mission even admitted he was going to miss me, and he said, and I quote, "You are the best sister missionary this ward has ever seen." Ha ha! Truer words have never been SPOKEN! ;) I was so surprised and so dang flattered. People do care about me! Last night we were miraculously able to go visit the Rodhain family one last time before I head out to La Salle. We had an amazing time, as always, and of course by the end of the night I was crying like a baby. I never thought it would be so dang hard to leave Quebec! Just kidding, I did. I knew after one week here that I would dread the day I had to leave. On the long drive home in the snowy mountains underneath a host of brilliant stars I sobbed my heart out. We turned on the Canada Montreal Mission song and I proceeded to weep for ten minutes straight. Does that explain how much I love Quebec City? No, not even then. Anyway, pray for me to have a smooth transition!
That's it for now! I'll keep you updated as the months in La Salle begin. I'll probably be finishing my mission there. My Canaccent will be out of this WORLD! I love you all terribly and miss you even more. Have a glorious 2014! Hope to hear from you all soooooon! Peace and blessings, love to all. Bisou bisou!
Love,
Soeur Cutler
Hello, my cuties! HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope it was as festive as ever. Can you believe that I'll be seeing you THIS YEAR? Put your party pants on! It's going to be a great year! Me coming home... what more could you ask for?! It's crazy to think that I hit my eleven month mark today. I've almost been out for a year! That is a LONG time! And still a ways to go... but really, I would rather be here than anywhere else in the world right now! "Here" being Quebec City. Except... the days of Quebec City have come to an end because...
I'm getting TRANSFERRED! :( Saddest day of my entire LIFE! I will be heading back down to an area in Montreal called La Salle, with apparently the nicest members ever. I went there once on splits and found it to be beautiful, so I'm excited! Except I'll be working in English, which is kind of a bummer, but I was lucky to have 7 months of Quebecois. Can't complain, I guess! And in even bigger news... I'm going to be a Sister Training Leader! For those of you who don't know mission lingo, that means I'm going to be the equivalent of a zone leader for sisters! Super stoked... and nervous as all get out! PRAY FOR ME!!! ...to have the desire to be more obedient.... haha. Should be interesting. ;) I'm excited because I'll be going on exchanges in my old area in Montreal every six weeks! THE BEST!!! Wish me luck on my new adventures in La Salle.
So first of all I just wanted to say... CONGRATULATIONS to my sweet Lilian on getting BAPTIZED! I'm soooo happy for you! I wish desperately I could have been there on your special day. You are an angel and a shining star! I'm glad that Daniel wasn't a spaz and was able to get you baptized in one try. NICE! I love you so much and thought about you constantly throughout the day. I wish you would have waited until I got back to have the baptism, but I understand! I hope it was a beautiful day. :)
So this week was kind of depressing, what with getting transferred and all. But we made the most of it! On New Year's we had a little celebration. Me with a terrible migraine and several hours later Soeur Cutler doped up on high doses of Excedrin. PARTAY!!!!! Sadly, no New Year's kisses for me... ;) but there's always next year! Whooo hoooo! I hope you all had a special day and that everyone is ready for 2014! We went knocking the evening of transfer calls and had some great experiences. There was a man that invited us in his house because it was cold and we were hott, but then he looked at our badges and him and his wife kicked us out reallly fast. Ha ha AWKWARD! But at least that man will be blessed for inviting missionaries into his house on a cold winter's night. Or he just thought we were cute and will probably be struck down by lightening for hitting on soeurs haha. Later that night we visited with a former investigator who is schizophrenic, and that was quite an interesting experience. We felt inspired to go, and it turned out it was her birthday and she was super lonely. It's nice to know you're being led to people who need you in the right place at the right time. We finished out the night with transfer calls, proceeded to scream our heads off and bawl our eyes out, and then we watched The Emma Smith movie!!!! I was in HEAVEN! So many great one liners. Emma to Joseph while playing chess: "Check mate!" Joseph to Emma "What did you call me?" LOLzzzz! SMOOOOOOOOTH! Definitely a line I'll be using when I'm back home being a BYU cougar! :)
I had a feeling that I was getting transferred so most of the week was spent saying goodbye. My last day in the ward was an emotional one, and I even braved bearing my testimony in French. I'm going to miss everyone as if they were my own family. My ward mission leader who has pretended to hate me my entire mission even admitted he was going to miss me, and he said, and I quote, "You are the best sister missionary this ward has ever seen." Ha ha! Truer words have never been SPOKEN! ;) I was so surprised and so dang flattered. People do care about me! Last night we were miraculously able to go visit the Rodhain family one last time before I head out to La Salle. We had an amazing time, as always, and of course by the end of the night I was crying like a baby. I never thought it would be so dang hard to leave Quebec! Just kidding, I did. I knew after one week here that I would dread the day I had to leave. On the long drive home in the snowy mountains underneath a host of brilliant stars I sobbed my heart out. We turned on the Canada Montreal Mission song and I proceeded to weep for ten minutes straight. Does that explain how much I love Quebec City? No, not even then. Anyway, pray for me to have a smooth transition!
That's it for now! I'll keep you updated as the months in La Salle begin. I'll probably be finishing my mission there. My Canaccent will be out of this WORLD! I love you all terribly and miss you even more. Have a glorious 2014! Hope to hear from you all soooooon! Peace and blessings, love to all. Bisou bisou!
Love,
Soeur Cutler
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