The Boys Are Back!

Heyyy! How are all my sweet peas doing? I hope you're all enjoying the final days of summer and soaking up those last rays of sunlight. You wouldn't believe what I had to do this week. Middle of August, and I had to bust out my winter coat! Ohhh Canada. I seriously wanted to cry. But no worries, today I'm sweating like a pig again, so hopefully summer is here to stay for just a while longer.

This week... was awesome! We had our first zone conference with the new mission president, and I seriously love him! His perspective on missionary work is definitely my style, so I'm seeing good things on the horizon. Also... drumroll please... the P-Day rule has been lifted! My season of no flirting has finally come to an end! Sisters and elders can plaaaaay! It's seriously a Christmas MIRACLE! Last night when Elder McMurrin called us and made this historic announcement, I thought my heart would soar out of my body! So, if my email is a tad short today it's because we're having a PARTAY with the elders in Old Quebec! So jazzed! Imma be COUGIN it up like there's no tomorrow! Ha ha I'm only just a *little* excited about this if you can't tell.

In other news, this week was just ohhhh so good. On Saturday night we were invited to ``do some less active work`` at an Epluchette de blé d`Inde. Translation... corn party? Ha ha. It's a Quebecois tradish! Basically you get together and eat corn and have a good time. So there's a less active family that lives an hour outside of the city, and they invite the VIP members of the ward to their corn party at the end of every summer. Frère Rodhain was nice enough to drive us out there. I was in HEAVEN! We drove through miles of farmland and forest and rivers, all while listening to the Rodhain's finest selection of classical music. It was soooo fun to party with my fave families in the ward, but I'm not lying when I say I gained ten pounds at that little shindig. But hey! There was world-renowned, Neufchatel corn there. What else was I supposed to do?! Really though, it was just what we needed after a stressful week. Being at a barbeque on a beautiful sumemr night reminded me so much of being back home with family and friends. NBD, this time next year I'm bringing the Epluchette de blé d'inde back to my possee in Utah. Get excited!

My fave story of the week. We were on our way to an investigator's house when we were suddenly swarmed by a gaggle of neighborhood kids. This adorable little girl comes up to me and says, ''Vous êtes siiiii belle!'' Translation... I be looking GOOD! Ah! I wished I could pick her up in my arms and take her home. THEN she puts her hands on my stomach and says, ''Êtes vous enceinte?'' Translation... Are you pregnant? AAAAAAH! I wanted to DIE! It's a good thing I had read a scripture in the New T that day about being nice to children, cause that little punk was asking for it! My comp was just laughing her buns off and mocking me to no end, when suddenly the little girl goes up to HER stomach and says the same thing! Ha ha! We rigolé'd beaucoup beaucoup, but we are DEFINITELY doing more sit-ups this week! Bratty as they were, those little hoodlums were adorable. I taught them how to say ''I love Justin Bieber'' in English. Little cutesos. When we told them we had to go they got super mad and started hurling rocks at us. Only took me seven months to get stoned as a missionary, attacked by little punks, no less! Still, it brought joy to my soul. Lol.

Well, I hope y'all are having a fab week! I miss everyone so much. Good luck with all the back to school shopping! SO glad I'm not working at JCPenney right now haha. ANyway, take care, my loves! See you on the flipside! Missing and loving you all to infinity and beyond! Bisou!

Love,

Sister Cougar

Summer Days Drifting Away

Hello to everyone that I love to pieces back in the states! How are you all doing? My goodness, I'm missing everyone terribly! I may or may not be the world's trunkiest sister missionary. But I keep it to myself... until glorious, glorious P-Day when I get to plant myself at the computer and remember that I have a huge gang of people back home that love me! Ahhh. So good to hear from everyone. How has everyone been? I hope you're all enjoying your final days of summer! Make it count! The leaves are starting to change up here already. Anytime I mention this to the locals though they FLIP at me, so I'll just mention it to you all. But really, I can't complain. This summer was glorious. I'm excited to see Quebec in the fall (it's going to be gorgeous, by the way)! So, good things ahead before that brutal Canadian winter sets in. 

This week was pretty low key. No perverts, which isn't a good thing or a bad thing, necessarily. I do enjoy feeling creeped out from time to time, so my week was lacking there. But! We did have some fun little moments along the way, so I'm not feeling too cheated. This week we discovered the homestead/neighborhood of a zillion Nepalese immigrants. New FAVE ethnicity! They are literally the sweetest people on the planet. They have no idea what we're saying, so they just invite us in and let us sit there awkwardly on their couch until we can't bear the awkwardness anymore and leave. But they just smile at you the whole time! So great. This week we found the cutest Nepalese boy who spoke French well enough to express his interest in learning more. We suspect maybe he was just interested in the two cute sister missionaries at his doorstep, but he let us in and we prayed with him and his mom, who was NOT as interested in the sister missionaries as her son. Still! It was a sweet experience.

We also ran into a lady from the Congo! And she didn't speak a WORD of French either. Ha ha so she called up her daughters to come home and translate for her. And we're just like... no, it's okay. You don't need to invite us in. But she was INSISTENT! Well, it turns out this woman was already a member of the church! And she had been looking for our meetinghouse, but she only speaks Swaheli so she was having a hard time. So many miracles this week! It was a cool experience. I had my French translated into Swaheli by a ten year old for the better part of an hour. One of the coolest things I've experienced on my mission. I seriously LOVE it out here. I meet people from so many countries. I need some serious gift of tongues going right now so that I can speak Nepalese, Swaheli, Spanish, and this really weird dialect of French called Quebecois. 

Speaking of the gift of tongues, I prayed in Spanish! Ha ha and Sister Rios taught the rest of the lesson... but I'm learnding! We are teaching the most amazing family from Honduras right now, but their French is no bueno. So I just sit back and let my little greenie do all the talking. It's super nice. They live forever away from our area though, which means we are burning clicks like there is no tomorrow. The first time we visited them this week I got SUPER lost on my way home. I ended up driving us through Old Quebec at 10 o'clock at night, THEN somehow to the other side of Quebec City to Montmorency Falls, and then home... at a very unreasonable hour. Ha ha my comp was dying. But I'm still alive! Yesterday night after our lesson with them we had a similar problem. A member tried to give us a "shortcut" home so that I wouldn't get lost again, but I ended up taking the wrong freeway entrance and taking us to the North Pole practically. Adventures all around when you're with Sister Cutler and her impeccable sense of direction! My companion is learning that patience is a virtue. 

This week was great! We worked hard and had tons of fun. On Friday we celebrated our eternigator's 85th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Lucie. This woman is seriously AMAZING! I love sitting with her at her kitchen table for hours on end, and I MEAN hours on end... and listening to her stories. My bum is super sore by the end, but it's like stepping into a little piece of history. I'm going to be visiting EVERY elderly person I know when I get back. Gosh, I'm such an ungrateful punk! :)

Well, I hope you are all doing amazing and having a stellar week! Pray for me to have a better sense of direction, on the road and in life in general haha. Also, SHOUT OUT this week to my fave childhood sweetheart (not trying to sound creepy) MAUDIE for getting married this week! I'm sending all of my love and best wishes your way! It was a delightful surprise getting the wedding invitation in the mail, and you best believe that adorable couple is hanging up on my fridge for eternity. Could've waited for me to get back before the wedding of the century, but I'll survive. ;) Anyway, I hope everyone has a fabulous week! Keep my spirit alive in P-town! Gros bisou to you all!

Love,

Sister Tradition 

Rooooooxanne!

Was playing this week as I was walking the streets of Quebec. That's my jam! It reminded me of my old self. So weird. Anyway, how the heck is everyone doing? Summer is just trailing along here and making me miss everyone. We've had a very chilly past couple of days. I'm feeling an early winter here in the QC. Bring it on, I say! Bleh. Not. Winter here was atrocious... three... months ago. Ha ha never ending misery. But, I shouldn't complain. Summer was pleasant and my inner nature goddess continues to thrive at the moment, so I'll enjoy it while I still can. 

So to start this letter off, I need to give the BIGGEST BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT in the WORLD to my beloved Daddy Bear! HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY (yesterday) from your favorite child (me)! I hope you were given all of the blueberry buckle in the world and plenty of love. I've been channeling good energies down to you all week, so hopefully they reached you on time! (Whereas your birthday card probably did not, and for that I'm sorry.) But I love you soooo much! The world's most intelligent, witty, wise, and sensational human being I know! Big smooches and hugs from Poutineville! Next year your birthday gift will probably come in the form of tall, blonde, and super beautiful stepping out of the airplane. Soooo get excited! :)

This week was incredibly difficult if I'm being perfectly honest. Some people are just RUDE! Ha ha my poor greenie had her baptism by fire into the wonderful area of Quebec City. We learned the importance of charity in the face of incredible adversity. Still love these people though! For every difficult moment there is always a blessing. This week my faaave investigator and her super groovy husband/boyfriend/lover of 15 years invited us over for fajitas and a bonfire, so all was not lost. They seriously are the coolest couple in Quebec City! We sat around the fire in their backyard and pondered a gospel message under a beautiful, starry, summer sky. These are the moments on my mission that make every door slam worth it. 

I also discovered this week that my new little greenie is an even bigger scared-y cat than I am. Our 85 year old eternigator decided it would be a good idea to sit us down this week and tell us every ghost story she could think of in her 85 years of life. I was creeped out to be sure, but for the rest of the week my sweet little companion has INSISTED on showering with the bathroom door open, keeping every single light on until we go to bed, and even THEN we have to have a night light on. LOL. I've been telling her scary stories the rest of the week. (SO MEAN!) But I can't help it! She's scared of everything. 

Interesting story about one of our investigators. Last Friday we spent an entire hour testifying to our investigator (investidater, pervigator, whatever) Eric how many blessings he's going to receive if he follows the Word of Wisdom. And he just sat there nodding, and saying with incredible vehemence, "EXACTEMENT! EXACTEMENT!" By the end of the lesson we were confident he was going to quit smoking. So afterward Sister Rios and I leave the lesson to go get some iron supplements for her anemia, thinking that Eric is finally going to change his ways. On our way out we see that little pill sneaking all stealthily out of the Jean Coutu, toting his cigs in hand. BAAAAH! I had to exercise all of my self control not to chase him down and dispose of them myself. Soooo frustrating! But, miracle of miracles, our CRAZY ward mission leader got him out of bedSunday morning and got him to church! So there's progress there. But if his gaze wanders one more time during a lesson he's gonna get DROPPED.

ANYWAY. That's basically the story of my week! Not nearly as eventful as last week when I saw Sir Paul (still recovering from the Beatlemania, btw), but there were good times to be had. I hope everyone is having a pleasant summer without me. Looking forward to all of the letters that should be flooding my mailbox in the next week ... hint hint. ;) Just kidding! Carry on with your lives! I'm really doing so great out here and loving my mission just as much as ever. Have a great week! Missing everyone so much! Bisou bisou! :* *:

Love,

Soeur Cutler

Strawberry Fields Forever

Helloooo loved ones and extra-loved ones! How the heck are ya?! Un gros bisou to you all! I miss everyone so much. But! The good news is that I'll be seeing you all in one more year! I hit my year mark this week! All I ahve to say is... cray SQUARED. Missions go by way too fast. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess! So, to all of my homies who have forgotten that I exist... Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, and hide yo husband. I gone find you. Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance! Send me some love and we'll be even. ;)

ANYWAY. This week was incredibly bittersweet. But, you know me and Sister Orozco. There were still PLENTY of adventures to be had! On our last P-Day together we decided to FINALLY hit up Old Quebec! And please don't tell anyone, but I may or may not have gotten a little choked up when I saw the Chateau Frontenac. Don't judge! It's like the equivalent of the Eiffel tower for this quaint little mission of mine. Quebec City really is beautiful. I am so blessed to be here. You have no idea! We had such a pleasant day prancing around town, taking selfies everywhere we went. AND I even ate McDo's for the first time in like 7 months. Mmm mmm good! My arteries were rejoicing! My chins jiggled in delight! Ha ha such a minor detail, but you have no idea how much I've missed those golden arches.

On Tuesday we had an even bigger adventure. One of my fave families in the ward invited us over for dinner, but because the ZLs snatched up all of our clicks we just HAD to take the ferry to get across the river for our mangez-vous. Well, we were running late as usual, and we desperately needed to catch the 5:30 ferry to get to our din din on time. So we're running down the harbor as fast as our chubby little missionary legs can carry us, looking like a couple of idiots, when suddenly a police brigade made us all stop. We were literally RIGHT across the street from the ferry, but the fuzz wouldn't let us budge! Sister Orozco was livid. But I was like, "Hey, we're going to be good citizens and wait right here. I don't want to get yelled at in some policeman dialect of Quebecois." So we're just chilling, and complaining and what have you, when suddenly a sleek black car turns the corner. Imagine my delight when SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY pops his head out the window and gives us a big old thumbs up! I. WAS. DYING!!! We were so thrilled we literally fell to the ground! I couldn't even breathe!!! I still get emotional just thinking about it! Aaaaah... such a tender mercy! Needless to say, we missed our ferry. But OHHH my gosh was it worth it! I still have goose bumps just thinking about it. This Beatles fan will die happy. :)

So after the Paul McCartney fiasco we took a delightful ferry ride across the river to the Riv Sud, had a pleasant evening with my favorite little Blouin family, and then we rode the ferry back home under the glorious light of the biggest full moon I have ever seen, with Old Quebec shining in the distance. It was the perfect last night for Sister Orozco, and a perfect way to end our perfect transfer together. 

The next morning we woke up bright and early to drive Sister Orozco to Montreal for the transfer. I had to go to a training meeting, so I got to make the three hour drive there and back! It was super fun to see Montreal again, but it made me realize just how much I love Quebec City. It was seriously the best to see all of my missionary peeps at the transfer. We're super isolated up in the Quebec Zone, so it was nice to see some different faces for a change. President Patrick gave the best training of my life, and then I met my greenie! Drum roll... I'm with Sister Rios! Get this. I CALLED IT! She's Sister Orozco's bestie from back home, so I've been hearing about her quite a bit this transfer. As Sister Orozco and I were leaving McDo's that morning (twice in one week... whoops..) I told her I was fairly confident that I would be taking Sister Rios under my wing. And I was right! And she is such a doll! I seriously won the lottery with this one! We are having too much fun together already. After the transfer we had to chill in Montreal because her luggage was lost, so that gave us the chance to visit some of my old haunts with a few other sisters and eat some poutine! Such a delight. If I'm starting to look like a beached whale in my pictures, it's because I AM! The mish has been NO BUENO on my bod. I'm EMBRACING it! Skinny sisters are boring anyway. Lol. Sister Rios and I didn't get home till 11 that night, but the road trip back  was oh so much fun. We chatted the night away, and the outskirts of Quebec were just glorious under the setting sun. 

We are doing so great! The fort tradition lives on, and this morning we started pancake P-Day! Man, I'm such a fun trainer! Good things are happening on the mission. I absolutely love what I'm doing out here! Today I took Hermana Rios to see Old Quebec, and that was just as wonderful as ever. Next week we're going to visit the exhibit "Paris en Scene." Can't wait! 

Well now.... BIGGEST SHOUT OUT OF MY LIFE to my favorite cousin LAURSSSS!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY yesterday, and HAPPY MISSION DEPARTURE! I could not be more proud of you, my little grizzly bear! You are going to rock it! I am so happy for your decision to serve a mission, and I know soooo deep down within my soul that this is what you are meant to be doing. You are going to bless and strengthen so many people! Give 'em heaven, Sister Johnson! You are my shining star, and I know you will bring so much light to the good people of Panama City!

Anyway, good luck to everyone in their endeavors! I love you all sooooo much! Really, I miss everyone more than I can handle sometimes. Please everyone stay safe and have a great week! Hugs and kisses to you all! Take care! Until next time,

Soeur Cutler