October How We Loved You

Wonder Fall Time

Morning mist on Mooney's Bay

Breakfast time

Line up Boys it's time to Head south!

Fall path

Don't feed the Ducks

What a glorious time of the year.  It has been a wonderful month. The Fall Fashion Show has just been spectacular.  We were blessed with some wonderful warm weather and crisp days to help the leaves put on their show.  Sister Mikkelsen has been collecting some beautiful leaves the past few weeks and now we need to develop some type of way to display them.  We are thinking of creating placemats.  This is a project for another day.

The above pictures were taken on a walk
at this place. Those of you that don't speak
French thats blue sea.  But really it is a Bog.
The second Largest one in Ontario. There is a board
walk that takes you out across ponds and the bog
area.  You can't go off the walk or you sink.
It is one of the most amazing areas we have found!

This is the Experimental farm just down the road
from our apartment. The pictures below were taken there.
Over 1700 different trees. Some are very interesting.

We truly enjoyed General Conference at the first of the month.  What a blessing it was to listen to those inspired messages.  We had a double treat this year because two weeks later Elder Ballard and Elder Christofferson came out to the North America North East Area (NENA) and presented two days of discussions and firesides. On a Saturday morning from Sharon Vermont, the birth place of Joseph Smith, they did a training for all missionaries in our NENA area. They provided great insight and motivation for all of us missionaries as they discussed how we can better serve in our areas.  That Evening we had a YSA dinner and then attended a fireside for the Area Young Adults. To top off the weekend they provided another family Fireside on Sunday Evening.  Elder Ballard encouraged all of us to pray for our Nation. It is very evident that we need to pray and seek for divine guidance that those who are leading our nation might be inspired to make those decision that will bless us and keep us free so that we may continue to worship God. So in you daily prayers please add that petition to our Heavenly Father that we might receive the blessings that are needed.

We had Thanksgiving at the mission home it was Oct 15 here in Canada
there were about 40 people there for dinner.  President and Sister Low are the best.

Some of the senior missionaries

President Low bottom right Sister Low sanding in back

Last district meeting for this transfer.  We have a big district of 15
there was a triple this transfer.

Things have really picked up here in our area.  We are going full blast with our Pathway group we are almost half way through the semester.  We have 15 Wonderful people that we are privileged to work with each week.  We also launched our new EnglishConnects 1 class.  We have just completed the first three lessons and have had 8 people attend so far. More than half of them are not members of the church. We are using the missionaries as the instructors for this class.  They are amazing as they teach the English Language and share their testimonies at the same time.  We just finished an 8 week transfer so we have been with this group a little longer than normal.  We are blessed to get to know these wonderful youth.

Hogs Back Falls

Moony's Bay on cloudy day

Loved the mist covered web

Dew on the leaves

These are actually berries on the tree there are no leaves left on this tree

Wedding reception of Julie lots of our youth

Carloyn's wedding reception

We had another two of our YSA get married this past month and another one got engaged.  It is so fun to be involved with them as they are moving through their lives.  We have lots of opportunities to mix and mingle with them each week.  They are a delight to work with.  We have Family Home Evenings each week and this last Monday we did a Halloween activity.  We had a good group out and the games were fun.

The winning spaghetti mini marshmelow tower 24 Inches tall

lots of fun kids in our ward

Well this past month the weather has been great. The tomatoes on our deck have been producing quite well.  We had to cover them two nights to avoid the frost but they have been a blessing in our food preparation.  Last night the wind started to blow and a cold front has moved in and snow is in the forecast so the growing season has now ended and we are preparing for our long winter experience.
In closing we just want to tell all of you how much we love and miss you.  What a blessing it is to be on a mission.  So many blessings.  Our grandchildren are growing we celebrated two of their birthdays the past couple of months and they actually had a chance to meet each other for the first time. Riley and jonathan made it up so all three cousins have now met each other.

Happy birthday Mads

Mads and Aria meeting in Chicago for the first time

The fun French class at institute

 Our Jacob and his little wife had a baby shower last week and they are anxiously awaiting the arrive of their new little one.  He is due the first part of December.  So being on a mission brings the blessing of grandchildren.  We do miss them some but we constantly visit with them on FaceTime.

Our daughter-in-law Erika at the shower jacob and Mads in the background

My sister and Niece at the shower with Jacob and Natalie

Oh what a marvelous invention it is to have video messaging.  We hope each of you are well and as we move into this Holiday season we wish you all the best.  You need to get excited about this years "Light the World "Campaign that the church is sponsoring it will bless your life as you serve people this season "One by One".  We love you and wish you the best all of our love Elder and Sister Mikkelsen.

September Autumn in Ottawa

The seasons have rolled around and here we are again watching the beautiful green surrounding us everywhere turn to every shade imaginable.  Just wish we had more time to explore.

Let me fill you in on whats keeping us busy.  September began a new semester for Institute.  This semester we have 4 classes.  A sweet (newly married) returned sister missionary teaches a Mission Prep class.  There's a New Testament- the gospels class taught in French. Then Elder Mik teaches The Teachings and Doctrine of the Book of Mormon (a required Cornerstone Class) and Sister Mik is teaching The Gospel and the Productive Life (don't laugh!  It may not seem a perfect fit. Its a challenge, but I love learning from my students.)  We have about 45 students coming each week plus a few missionaries, some members called to give support, and usually a few friends the missionaries have brought out. Once a month, before institute, we serve a meal. All the other weeks theres some kind of a treat after classes.  The kids hang out for quite awhile, some just eating and chatting, others throw up a volleyball net or start a game of Bump (basketball) or some such other game.  Its way fun but that means Wednesdays are usually pretty late nights.

Class was supposed to begin on the 4th but when we arrived

at the church, we found there had been a break in the water

lines, they had shut off all the water and they wouldn't allow

anyone in the building for classes.  Quick sent out a mass text

that said see you next week.  Hung around for any who missed

the message then headed home and put our disappointed feet

up.  Turned out better though cause now we could wait for

Welcome Week to get things started right!

We also teach a Family History Class on Friday nights.  That one is quite a bit smaller- anywhere from 0 students to 5 or 6 or 7 on a big night.  Its a little slow taking off but we have some big plans to see if we can get things moving.  Because we are both still learners ourselves, we teach the spiritual part of the lesson at the beginning then we have two amazingly knowledgeable and talented Senior Sister Missionaries who come each week to help with the research part.

No this is not an advertisement for a hair drier.
This is the Olympic sport

We start off each new academic year with what is called Welcome Week.  They plan an activity every day during the first week of classes that helps the kids to get to know each other.  This year we started off with a Temple Trip on Saturday and ended with a bonfire on Friday.  It was a great week with a bunch of great kids!!! We are so blessed!

Welcome Week included a barbecue, Andrews World Famous
Trivia night (sorry no pics but oh so fun), a temple trip, and...

Get to know you games at FHE

The last night was a bonfire.  We found the perfect spot then were
told regulations prohibited open fires.  we decided to just make due.
But, the caretaker came to check on us before leaving for the night.
He found a group with no vices, said, sure- you can have a fire.
Mission miracles!  They had so much fun all week long.

This semester also brought the start of the first Face-to-Face Pathway group in Ottawa.  Pathway is the churches online university prep class.  We had to have at least 12 students to start a group.  We weren't quite sure in the beginning if we could find that many.  (If there are not enough Face-to-face students then they will have those who registered join a virtual group somewhere in or near their time zone) but we ended up with 15 plus a couple others who joined a virtual group.  The students are assigned a university professor who directs their online classwork, then we meet with them on Thursday nights to facilitate a gathering where they lead lessons that teach and reinforce things they have been studying during the week.  Our class is a 31+ group (2 20 yr olds and from 32-75).  Most of them either started a degree they want to finish, or they have a degree they need to develop into a better job.  Some are just there to prove to themselves they are not dead but can still make a difference in society, but all of them are determined, brilliant, caring, hard-working people who are a delight to work with and to learn from as they lead discussions each week.

Not a good picture go our group but depicts the wonders of
modern technology!  It's great but there are always a few
glitches to try ones patience and to teach preparation skills!

Since I have been a slug and this is a month late I can share that on Tuesday nights we have started an EnglishConnect class.  It is so much fun!!! Its a conversational English for beginners class developed by the church.  We prepare, organize and kind of facilitate and the missionaries teach.  We've got, Spanish, French, and Oromo (from Ethiopia) speakers with some Mandarin who should be there next week.  Its an awesome program!

Other than that, we spend out time here there and everywhere.  Bishops storehouse twice a month, Home Evening Group every Monday, clean the church, faculty meetings, Self reliance meetings, normal stuff like that.  We're busy, but not too busy so all is good.

From a wedding of one of our YSA

One of our young men is a dancer.  we went to one of
his performances.  great food, beautiful dancing!!!

I love this picture.  A wedding shower.  No matter the country or
culture, women gathering is a beautiful thing.

The second wedding this semester!  This one they are - or were,
both in our ward.  She has been the best mission prep teacher ever!
we are really going to miss her!!!

Ned's Fall creation for our apartment door.
He's become so creative!