20 May, 2013 and pictures!!

Calvin is eating "salade" while waiting for the ferry to Rimouski (or was it from Rimouski?) I'm going to have to talk to him about perhaps TURNING AROUND so we can see his face!

Much better! Fun times!! Just think: if he hadn't been called to this mission, and sent to this place, we'd never know there was a street in that place (I'm assuming it's in Chicoutimi?) with this name! Wow.

And here's the email from today. Wow, I'm actually posting this one on time!

Hey Momm!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry that this week was such a downer! [I've had really bad headaches and a killer migraine this weekend] We had a good time this week, though. Lots of cool miracles, like the time we passed by some potential investigators, and found ALL 3 OF THEM in the appartment AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!!!! So they are all new investigators! Or the awesome lesson we had with [a lady], or the EPIC lesson we had with [a couple]. Or, the time after correlation that I told [a member] that my mother has been keeping up with her French, and he just looked at me with this HUGE smile onhis face, and said " That is such a blessing that you have such a wonderful mother!" I love you Momm! [aww, he just made my week!]

   one thing i learned this week has really stuck with me, it's that often times I think people are saying things about me to hurt me. Often I take offence at what they say, because i am certain they are saying it about me or to hut me, or I'm sure they dont like me. When in reality, often people say things as innocent comments! They often either dont mean what they say the way I take it to mean, or they arent being serious and it's a joke, and ofter they like me more than I think! I have learned not to take people so seriously all the time, to lighten up a little, and to give the other guy the benefit of a doubt. What a wonderful discovery! i can relax, and joke with my companiobn, without taking every comment he makes like it's seroius! If other people  are making comments like that, and they mean it, they will let you know.  Anyways, I just figured this out and had to share it, because lots of times in life, we make assumptions, but why assume the worst, and be down and gloomy all the time, when we can make the descision to just be happy all the time! That's someithing I have been struggling with, and trying to learn my whole mission, and I've found it's so true, we can choose to be happy! so weird. [I needed that, and I keep reminding myself that people often don't point comments right at me.]

   Well, I love you lots! Keep doing such an awesome job! you have all changed and grown for the better, and i'm excited to see how much more as a family we can progress! I love you all more than from here to the moon and beyond!!!!!!!!!!!

Love

Calvin

The Day After

13 May, 2013
  We came home from church early to get ready for Calvin's call. Grandma and Grandpa Pettengill came too. We brought Todd's computer out in the living room and put Google+ up on the screen. We waited, and waited, and waited. Finally about 5 after 1, I looked at the phone and the message light was blinking. Calvin had called and said they were able to Skype at the chapel, so he'd be Skyping! YAY! We switched over to Skype, and there he was! Well, sort of. We heard him, but there was not video and it took a few minutes to get the video up on their end, including a sideways view of the room, and a dropped computer camera which is interesting to see on this end. We had a wonderful Skype. Thank Heaven for modern conveniences. Email and Skype are such blessings to missionary families! We had invited the Elders in our branch over for dinner and to Skype with their families later on Mother's Day [their families are in Utah, so with the time difference, and their church schedules, they were able to Skype later in our day] it was fun to see Skyping from a missionary's point of view too. Now on to Calvin's email.

Momm, 

So I am really happy to have seen you all! EVERYONE"S SO BIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was bragging to everyone about Sophie singing "Bohemian Rhapsody", and how she chose Batman and Spiderman over ponies, etc. [at free comic book day, Sophie wanted nothing to do with the pretty pony comic books, she wanted Batman!] One of the Elders in my district was like, "I'm going to marry her when she gets older." haha....... not. but I was bragging all over the place about her. Dah! So much fun! I was super happy about Chantal's song. That was super special for me. I took it very personally to be a prayer for me, and I needed it. Tell Chantal it was absolutely beautiful! I think Grandpa was crying too! [Grandpa suggested that Chantal sing the song she will perform at her Baccalaureate, the night before high school graduation. It's "An Irish Blessing" set to music. Even just reading the words and THINKING of the song makes me cry. Go ahead, look it up. Now imagine a beautiful young woman singing this to her missionary brother, or to her graduating high school class. See what I mean?! I think everyone in the room was crying, and I know Calvin was.] You should look up the song "souviens toi" It's one of the favored of French missionaries, and we sing it during special occasions. It has a very touching story behind it as well, The French translator who wrote it adopted a child, and it turns out that the child she adopted was born on the day she finished writing it. Such a beautiful song. We sung it during sacrament meeting our last sacrament meeting in the MTC (our transfer did it as a special musical number.) 

  So, yesterday, we went to [a young man's] fare well party thing, to wish him luck. [I'm not sure if it was a missionary farewell, or a different farewell, Calvin didn't specify.] Then we went knocking, and got smurfed at a lesson, and then knocked some more, and found this guy who asked for a book of mormon, because he saw it, or heard about it from a friend in Cegep, who we knocked into. This is about the 2 or 3 time this has happened, so I'm super happy about that! 

  I am so happy that your hope came true and Chantal got that scholorship that pays for her schooling! I didnt realize it would pay for ALL her schooling! That's so cool! [Chantal was notified that she is the recipient of a $10,000 scholarship from the Binghamton Garden Club. She can renew it for 3 more years if she keeps her grades up and continues to major in Biology, so it's a potential $40,000 scholarship! We are so very grateful for this blessing!] I was so proud of Sophie, and how much she has grown and matured, we are going to have a lot of fun when I get home! I was super impressed with Mirandas' sculptures! She has a lot of potential! 

So today I'm super happy because I got to write TONS of letters to everyone, whch i have been meaning to do for a while but havent quite found a time to do it, until today when we went to MR. Muffler's for 2 hours!  Then I had PLENTY of time to do all that, and then start a drawing. Sometimes, life is sooooooo good......! 

  Well, I love you all lots, I will try to send pictures, but today I forgot my camera, so I will send some next week! 

Love you all!
Calvin

Mother's Day Preparations

Calvin's French is progressing - as you can see by this brief message he sent me the week before Mother's Day. Missionaries are allowed to call their families twice a year on Christmas and Mother's Day. A lot of people have asked me if having my son on a mission is really hard, especially when they learn that Calvin can only email us once a week, and he can only call home twice a year. Yes, it is hard, but the Prophet Joseph Smith said:  “a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” My parents and Todd's mother were taught by missionaries who made the same sacrifice with their families (back when there were only handwritten letters, printed photographs, and expensive long-distance phone calls), and we are so grateful for the sacrifices of those missionaries so we can enjoy the blessings that living the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings. We are an eternal family, meaning that our marriage is in force not just "until death do you part." We know that this life right now isn't all we have. We know that God exists, that Jesus Christ lives and that He is our Saviour. We know that this earthly life is another part of our eternal progression. We have seen Calvin grow from a boy to a man this past year - yes, he is almost a year into his mission, just another week or so! There are so many more blessings we enjoy from living the Gospel, and we are excited to have Calvin sharing this same gospel with others so they may enjoy the same blessings. Now on to Calvin's last few letters:

6 May, 2013
Momm,

Alors, dimanche on a l'eglise a 9h jusqu'a midi. on peut faire le skype a 1h ca marche pour nous. Mais, nous n'avons pas skype, on a google plus icit s'il te plait, ecris mois, afin qu'on puisse trouver un solution. 

amour

Calvin

Loose translation: "Okay, Sunday we have church from 9 until noon. We could Skype at 1. But we don't have Skype, we have google plus here. Please write me so we can find a solution. Love (the noun, not the verb) Calvin" So because Todd was at work, I called a friend who also has mac computers and asked him how to get google plus. I set up an account on my iPad and Tuesday we figured out how to work google plus. Ugh. Skype is so much easier for my brain!!

6 May - later in the day - I responded to Calvin's email:

Dear Calvin,
  Alors, j'ai télécharge google+ mais j'ai aucune idee comment le utilise. D'accord quand papa retourne de son travail, je peux lui demande comment le utilise. Ca suffit?
Je t'aime,
MoMM

Mind you, my French is pretty rusty, so I THINK I said, "Okay, I uploaded google+ but I have no idea how to use it. So, when Dad gets home from work, I will be able to ask him how to use it. Does that work? I love you, MoMM" I had to cheat and use google translate - because it's so much easier than getting up off the couch, walking into the next room to retrieve my French dictionary, and searching for the translation to "upload" - which may or may not be in my relatively current dictionary.

And he replied back:

MoMM

Je t'aime. c'est tres chouette quand qqn autre parler le francais! Est-ce que je peux faire mes corriells completement en francais? 

Calvin

"MoMM I love you. It's really fun when someone else speaks French! Can I write my letters (at least I think that's what he means by 'faire mes corriells') completely in French?" Hmmm. Though Todd took French, he didn't minor in it, so he remembers even less than I do. I don't think Todd would be happy if Calvin wrote all his letters in French.

Even later on the 6th of May:

momm,

So, this week was interesting. monday, we drove around with one of our investigators, because we didnt have our truck. we had a lesson with a girl who is super cool, she is studying art in UQAC, so we talk about art. She is also into D&D, and other nerdy stuff, and her boyfriend (who isn't interested but is very nice) has a heavy metal band. So they are awesome, but she didnt accept a baptizmal date. then we had a lesson with a less active member.

    Tuesday we did a lot of area book work, tracking down former investigators, writing potentials on a calander, all this good stuff.  Then we had a lesson with 2 investigators. one was our chaperone, which was great of him to come, because we couldnt find a member to come, and he lives about 20 minutes away. But [he] rarely ever says no to someone in need, unless you are asking him to get baptized.  The other lesson was with a [young woman]. it was interesting. She said that she would read the Book of Mormon, so we are excited about that. [Mom's note: when the male missionaries find a female investigator, they either take along another male with them so they are not alone with the female, they teach the woman at a member's home with their family, or they give the referral to the sister missionaries. The rules are for propriety's sake.]

   Wednesday, we did more port a port, [door to door] got smurfed (stood up). So that day was a lot of knocking and passbyes. 

   Thursday:  we had district study, then we had TONS of lessons that day, we had a lesson with [a young man], in which he said he would come to church, then one 20 minutes away frm that with a less active member, then a dinner appointment, and finally another lesson. oh, yeah, and correlation after district study with Frere Truchon. 

   Friday: We had weekly planning, then a surprize dinner appointment. That was fun! It was super informal, because [the husband] was out cleaning their pool, so we ate while [the wife] told us stories, and he would come in occasionally to ask something, etc. He is american, from texas, and how they met was pretty awesome. Now he lives up here, speaking ban quoi with an american accent. it's soooooooo awesome! then we had a lesson [with an investigator]

   Sat is a special day ,its the day we get ready for dimanche.... anyways, so ..... OH!!!!!! j'adore quand qqn d'autre peut parler le francais!! Particuellement quand ca cést MA MERE!!!!! WHOO! Je t'aime! [I love when someone else speaks French! Particularly when it's my mother!]

    So, saturday, we did lots of knocking, got cancelled, and did tons of knocking in really nice neighborhoods. 

   Dimanche well, we did more knocking then service at [a member's] house, and ate dinner there in service clothes, and had a fire while dinner was cooking. I love her house. then we had our lesson  cancelled, but we went over there to give them a retablissment video, and  we then talked with them for a while, and they showed us their balcony with this EPIC view of Chicoutimi. 

  so, all is going well here.

Alors, je t'aime, on va faire beaucoup de travaille, et on va essayer de baptiser tout sagunay! 

J'ai haut de parler avec vous! 

Salut!

Calvin

[I love you, we're working a lot, and we're trying to baptize all of Sagunay. I can't wait to talk with you - even though Google translate says 'I up to talk with you.']