October 26, 2015, bike 8 miles in 1st speed, PEC bore testimony, "I eat ramen", "there is so much to the life of a missionary", " Je t'aime ma mere parce que elle est une tres bonne missionaire mere! elle fait tout chose pour moi! je t'adore! "

Area: Mont-St-Hilaire (near St Hyacinthe), Quebec, Canada 

Trainer: Elder Ross Rosenlof (from California/Utah)

Language: French

 i am at the church I am perfect! How are you how are the boys how is dad?  I am pretty amazing here! just getting a little cold! I want it to get colder and everyone keeps calling me crazy haha 

- an old lady called me cute this week because of smile just something funny! and another person thought that i was like 21 or 20 and she is a senior in highschool and so there entire family was really surprised when i told them that i has just graduated and that i was only 18 

 it was actually just a really good week! but yeah there is so much to the life of a missionary i wish i could have more time to tell you what it is like! 

1- Yes of course! But there are only 2 kinds that i Have found.. 1 that is no name brand ( there is a no name brand store where everything is SUPER cheap but sometimes.. well there is a reason its only 35 cents haha ) yeah the no name brand is 35 cents and it is pretty well.. just not the best ramen haha and the other ramen is a dollar a thing and i eat like 4 at a time.. so yeah i eat ramen  but i bought a bunch of the cheap ones and i add a lot of spices to make it taste better! and I eat.. I don't know haha it varies alot on the day I try to eat pretty healthy and we have a decent amount of dinner appointments but that is something i need help with is Just cheap quick meals so you should send me something for that or just quick cheap recipes etc. 

2- umm.. more often than not we cook ourselves but sometimes we eat out etc. just depends on the day like this week we have 2 dinner appointments i think? so thats actually pretty good only have to cook or eat out 5 times haha... I think usually its better its just a slow week. 

3- My french is coming! You have to realize i started the MTC over basically haha.. I have been studying super hard and the hardest thing right now is just understanding what they are saying I know that if i could understand what they were saying i could speak more but a lot of them speak really fast and have accents so its hard to understand but its coming! En Francais? je ne sais pas a dire parce que tu ne donnes pas en frase a traducire. I dont know if i spelled like half of that right but. What do you want me to say? Je t'aime ma mere parce que elle est une tres bonne missionaire mere! elle fait tout chose pour moi! je t'adore! 

4- umm this week specifically? When i was in PEC meeting.. because its just all these grown men and here i am just an 18 year old kid and they are talking about the ward and what they can do better etc. So where do i fit in that haha? I felt in my mind these men know everything and have a lot of respect for all of them but I just had the strongest impression that I had to speak ( 1- all in french so i didnt understand what was going on 2- I had to speak in french to all these grown men haha) But i listened to that prompting the bishop asked if there was anything else and I raised my hand and I remember the first 3 sentences " I dont speak much. I dont understand much. but i have a testimony." I talked about our calling as missionaries. That we had been called there specifically for a reason and that we were to make this work better to increase the work and I just bore testimony of what the ward could be and what role we would play in that. It was a really cool experience and I was so nervous haha but i felt relief and comfort. the bishop was really thankful for what I had said and Elder Rosenlof also thanked me for the things I had shared. 

5- haha.. I dont have enough time to respond to that question. I honestly cant describe it but i will share how its different than just being me. I wake up6:30 jump out of bed and pray. I am tired but i love it. I get to start a new day, find new people and bring salvation to peoples souls. I work out as hard as i can for 30 minutes after I am done praying and stretching I really only have 20 minutes or so to workout but i dont complain I go hard and then i get ready for the day. Everyday no matter what happens i dont complain. I know I am not on my time and i know that the lord will guide me where i need to go. Every second I am thinking about different gospel priniciples and people i am teaching and just pondering about what I had read that morning. I talk to everyone that gets even kind of  close to me and I try to make conversation with them. Whenever I have anytime at all i want to be finding people. When i am eating I read my scriptures. I remember yesterday when a member was driving us i was sitting in the back and I had my english scriptures so i started reading the sermon on the mount haha - WHO DOES THAT? like whose thought process is okay im sitting in the car i am going to read the scriptures haha BUT I DID! and i wanted to and i loved it! I remember it was getting dark so i was holding them shifting them to get as much light as possible while holding them like 4 inches from my face. Oh what it is like to be a missionary. My whole life has changed mother. I dont think, act, or even look the same really. and this isnt even everything this is just the surface of a infinite well of conversion. 

6- Adventures? Everyday is an adventure as a missionary i just finished a hike i will send you pictures soon and Because its the end of the month we dont have alot of mileage so we walked alot and we saw and talked to so many people and we gave away like 5 book of mormons! So many things everyday is amazing as a missionary. Everything is what you make of it you just have to have the right attitude! 

7- Laugh? umm.. So we have investigator, Jean C.  He has the biggest smile on his face makes us laugh.  

8- My area! okay my area is huge!! BUT at the same time i am told it is one of the most beautiful area ALSO Urban Montreal is really really flat and we are the only area that had a " Mountain" So we climbed that this week before it got too cold but Thats really cool and its true it really is so beautiful  here! Other than this. There are so many people because of how big it is and I wish we had like twice as many miles and like 4 more of me so that I could talk to and go everywhere to see everyone! But other than that I absolutely love it there are so many amazing people and it is absolutely gorgeous especially with all the trees! I will send you pictures! 

9- What didn't i learn this week? we had a member of the 70 come on Tuesday for zone conference and just wow.. That was amazing! Really that we can do anything with the Lord we are the ones that limit ourselves if we just put faith in the lord we can do all things! 

10- The weather has been the same it hasn't really snowed or rained this week which is sad I remember finding a scripture this week about how the lord sends the rain on the just! ( I think it said unjust as well) But i still love the rain nonetheless. But it hasn't been super cold it was sunny because we went on this hike and I am always SUPER hot so i was in shorts and a t-shirt even at one point and its like 35-40 degrees outside and everyone has scarves and thermals it was pretty funny! But I am excited to use my winter gear and ALSO! tender mercy that I bought that light rain jacket before we left because I use it all the time it is convenient and its black and classy just ah! So happy that I found that.

Last thing! Okay so the only 2 really crazy days this week were Monday and Tuesday! so listen to this Monday! - we do p-day and its nice get a call that we will be saying in Longueuil so that we don't have to drive as far for the zone meeting and that we will be doing exchanges so we cut p-day like 3 hours early and I went on exchanges with a  SPANISH ELDER! yeah that's whats up! he was from France too! So basically the conclusion of the evening with him we had to bike like 8 miles haha because neither of us were technically allowed to drive and I have a lot of empathy for bike elder now ( my bike was really bad and it down shifted all the time and I couldn't shift up so I basically was in 1 1 the whole time.. It was pretty funny just me pedaling as fast as I could down the highway and not even going that fast ) 
We ate 3 dinners lol.. they really feed you I think that may have been the hardest thing I have done on my mission so far eating those three dinners lol.. IT WAS SO HARD!

 I also fixed a washer for the last dinner appointment lol. Wow just the craziest exchange ever and after eating 3 dinner appointments we had to bike home! just crazy! then the next day we got up at 4! and had zone conference and just wow crazy 2 days and I woke up Tuesday with the worst headache and my throat hurt so it was rough but i got through it and now I am perfect and just yeah! this was an amazing week! Okay that was a lot! I love you so much! have a good week!

-Elder masse'

Also I got your package that Monday after I emailed you from the mission home from Amazon Canada and I didn't have to pay anything and I was extremely grateful for those things thank you so much! you are the best! and my other one is at the mission home and I will pick it up tomorrow! love you! 

1.       Do they have Ramen in Canada.  If so, how much do you eat a week.  If not, what are you eating?!? 

2.       How often do you eat with members?  How often do you cook for yourselves?

3.       How is your French coming along? Tell me something in French

4.       What is a spiritual experience that stands out in your mind?

5.       What’s it like being a missionary?

6.       What adventures did you have this week?

7.       What made you laugh?

8.       Tell me something about your area

9.       What’s something you learned this week?

10.   What’s the weather been like?

October 19, 2015 - Week three in Montreal!! "I also just don't have any fear because why would I ?" "if I see something weird or if something scares me I usually go and just do it! cause I'm a servant of the lord! I am obedient and the lord is on my side "

Elder Rosenlof (trainer) & Elder Masse in Montreal!

Area: Mont-St-Hilaire (near St Hyacinthe), Quebec, Canada 

Trainer: Elder Ross Rosenlof (from California/Utah)

Language: French

1- My weeks are always amazing jammed full of just amazing spiritual experiences and interesting events! I went on exchanged with Elder Cichos who is a new elder and we went and had to teach in french.. and let me tell you haha.. WOW.. but we got through it! We taught and testifies and laughed at our mistakes and we did a pretty good job if i do say so myself! I also got to drive!! which was crazy awesome and i only turned down a one way street like twice haha.. they have slightly different traffic rules here and they are kind of confusing.. But we survived!

 IT ALSO SNOWED! WOO It didnt stick sadly but every morning when i wake up i go see what temperature it is and when i went out it was -2 and snowing! yeah thats right haha this morning it was -5! Its getting alot colder and it has been hailing and just all sorts of crazy stuff! I am so great I smile all the time and an older lady looked at me and said " c'est Cute" haha because I had no idea what was going on because the conversation was in french but i just smiled and acted like i knew what was happening haha.. So yes I am so happy! and I am super healthy work out every morning and eat right for the most part! Healthy as could be!

2- This week.. A LOT of people haha. there are alot of less active people in our area so we visited alot of them! But also investigators and just.. countless amounts of people we have like 3 main areas so during weekly planning we decide where we are going to go and who we will visit and just yeah i don't think i have enough time to answer that haha. But one particularly interesting was Mark - he is an " investigator" who speaks English and we talked to him for like an hour and half one lesson this week.. It was when elder Cichos and I were together and yeah we basically taught him every missionary lesson haha.. 

3- Umm.. definitely Mark was a really cool experience! and just that exchange with Cichos because we had to fend for ourselves and it was hard but we did it! Umm the snow the first time it snowed was my 2 month mark so that was also a really cool experience.. Other than this! There are a lot of things in my journal haha. ALSO! we had stake conference this week and we got to have a meeting with a member of the 70 and i shook his hand etc. that was also cool! Another thing was I had a feeling to knock on this door and so I did and yeah.. the man looked through the window and just said no haha.. so guess it was just a trial of faith! but I still had faith none the less! also We ate dinner with this family this week that reminded me alot of home little kids running around and playing the xbox haha home sweet home it made me wonder what you guys were doing while I was just out here walking in the cold lol.

4- haha.. Umm what didnt make me laugh? Mainly this week our exchange because when we got out of our lesson with Jean C. we laughed for like 5 minutes because neither of us could understand him and just it was such a fun experience! It was a big growing point as well I knew that I could talk more than i thought i could after that.

5- umm.. the snow was really cool! and the fall is just so beautiful! I will send you pictures and you will see. Other than that when we go to St Hyacinthe there is always really cool architecture and just so many cool things! 

6- FRENCH haha in order to teach it in french you have to know it in English so I have really honed in on how to teach in English so that I can teach in french and it is going very well I led some lessons this week and attributed a lot to the conversations and I helped in street contacting all these things!

7- Unusual?? umm i don't know haha. I am pretty diligent and just unwavering so if I see something weird or if something scares me I usually go and just do it! cause I'm a servant of the lord! I am obedient and the lord is on my side so I listen to the spirit but I also just don't have any fear because why would I ?  I don't have any fear out here I actually taught training in district meeting and that is what i taught about getting over fears and i talked about the OSM mission slogan and also Peter walking on the water! So anything weird? not particularly this week haah

8 - I have not met any Masse's yet sadly but i am looking! don't worry i will find one eventually!

9- how is the french coming? its a lot better than when i got here haha je sais que mon francais est meilleur que quand j'ai arrive le premier jour de mon mission haha je ne sais pas que tu veux moi a dire 

anyways all is perfect here! Have a good week!

-Elder Masse'

1.        1.  How was your week??  How are you??  How's your health?

2.       2.   Who did you go visit and teach this week?

3.       3.  What happened that you never want to forget?

4.       4.    What made you laugh?

5.       5.  What was the craziest thing you saw?

6.      6.   What have you learned about yourself or gotten better at?

7.       7.  What did you see that was unusual or did you try something new?

8.      8.   Have you met any Masse’s yet?

9.       9.  How is the French coming?  Tell me something in French!

Thanksgiving in Canada! October 13, 2015 "I dont think i have smiled more in my entire life haha" "I am so excited for the cold and the snow because well. The field will truly be white and ready to harvest!! WHOO! "

 tag! picture with the temple and with dads tag. Okay i will try and figure out my camera for next week 

last time with gordon!

walking from the temple for the last time

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Area: Mont-St-Hilaire (near St Hyacinthe), Quebec, Canada 

Trainer: Elder Ross Rosenlof 

Language: French

Ma Mere!  Yesterday was Thanksgiving.. so we moved p-day to today! Today being Tuesday.

Okay so 1 - I love you so much mother and yeah its true I am so excited for the cold and the snow because well. The field will truly be white and ready to harvest!! WHOO! and yeah it was so hot yesterday.. I was sweating! It was 25 degrees Celsius.. however hot that is in Fahrenheit haha.. 

1- My ward is the best! it was completely in french and there was so much that i did not understand haha.. the quebecois accent is actually very difficult to understand they talk really nazely and just yeah.. but its coming I am getting more and more used to it! I will get there Elder Rosenlof has been here for 6 months and he understand and speaks very well so this gives me alot of hope haha. There was like 100 people at church i think.. I didnt know most of them but there are a lot that are really active and they all greeted me warmly and very kindly and everyone asks about the name "Masse' " haha EVERYONE. 

2- I have not met any masse's but I am constantly told that I am not the only one and that eventually I should meet someone with the same last name. 

3- Things are great! We get along really well and we are super effective! We are strictly obedient and he is really good about speaking the language and knowing what to do and who to see at what time. He is a great leader. I am his first trainee and already he is just a great elder and he is super warm and patient and I love him so much!

4- umm.. okay my area? well my area is extremely big it goes all the way up to sorel and south of mont st. hilaire it also covers st hyacinthe to the east and i dont know how big it is. there are a couple populated cities and everything is green everywhere! its fall now though so all the colors are changing and its starting to become cold but everything is french and the people just talk non stop.. If you are having a conversation and you ask them a question they will talk for like 30 minutes unless you stop them.. its crazy! but on the other hand if they dont know you they can be pretty cold haha.. 

5- umm. We were in the car and we had like 6 different things fall through.. Nothing we had nothing left. Neither of us knew what to do and the thought came to my head " just say a prayer".. It seemed way to simple haha but I listened and we said a prayer and I felt prompted to look at the ward directory and we went and found like 3 more people to teach and visit with. The lord works mighty miracles. Also another thing was a man got into Elder Rosenlofs and I's face while we were trying to find people. He asked who we were and what we did and we explained and he got into our face and said "I am catholic I was born catholic and I will always be Catholic. What the difference Between you and I ? " -- I wish I could have spoken french fluently then.. I didnt understand what he was saying but i knew he wasnt being kind haha. But we ended up giving out a pass along card but i will not forget that. Its a motivator to learn french i want to be able to answer those questions. 

6- Today? just normal stuff studying, emailing, buying stuff today is not an exciting p -day because well. It was a long week so we are going to just relax and study and hang around the apartment.next weeks will be alot more fun we might go on a hike or something. IT also doesnt help that it looks like its going to rain outside.

7- Umm. Something funny? Jean Charron is a 74 year old man and well old men can be pretty stubborn sometimes he was recording a TV show and well. It just wasnt missionary approved I will leave it at that so we ended up teaching him in the kitchen because He wouldn't turn it off..

8- umm. Maybe so I dont think they have french scriptures at the mission office.. so if you could send a french bible and a 3 triset of french that might be nice.. And always you can send protein stuff ! cause who doesnt want that.. And just letters you have to send it to the mission office then they will send it to our address. So just send it there other than that I am perfect!

 9- Haha I was a missionary thats what i did haha.. No we had a pretty regular day a lot of people were home so we tried to visit as many as possible! We did service for like 4 hours and had an amazing lunch with soeur and frere ochs they made this amazing desert and spaghetti and AH! love the food here its so good! Other than this just a normal day. Oh and we had a dinner appointment with an American family so this was very similar to home SOO MUCH FOOD haha just like home and it was all super good there was 3 families that came so we talked a lot.. Well as much as I could haha because most of it was in french.. But its coming! I am always great! I dont think i have smiled more in my entire life haha.. Church was all in french.. and yeah didnt understand most of it because a lot of people have quebecois accents and they talk so fast so i dont understand alot haha.. But church was good! we talked to a bunch of people and i did actually end up getting alot! but this is the life i am so happy!

Are the boys truly doing okay? I think about them a lot out here. Well as much as time can spare and you and just everyone haha I am always praying for you.

Love you so much have a good week 

-Elder Masse'

1. How was your ward?  How did they receive you? How big is the ward?  Do they do all the talks ect in French?

2. Have you met any Masse's?

3. How are things with your companion?  What's he like?

4. Describe your area to someone who has never been to Montreal

5. What was something you never want to forget that happened this week?

6. What are you doing today for p-day?

7. What's something funny that happened?

8. Do you need anything?  

9. What did you do for Thanksgiving?

 --------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Grandma,

For the most part I have been able to get the french materials yes.. but there is always more haha But with the amount I have I have sufficient for my needs. Yes! I get questions all the time about where my name comes from and I am told that there are a lot of Masse's here but I havent seen any yet. umm.. I think it is i think that it is more like english masse but.. not really sure. I will have to figure that out! I really loved Elder Hollands talk about mothers. actually I got to watch them all in English which was really nice but I really did love all of them the Holland talk just comes to mind because I love you and My mother so much and it is true how amazing you both are. haha I am proud! I love you so much grandma and I appreciate your emails and I am sorry this email was a little rushed because I am trying to be exactly obedient! Love you grandma! 

-Elder Masse'

Welcome Letter from Mission President "Safe and Sound!" "assigned to Longueuil Sud Stake" "Elder Rosenlof Comp"

 Trainer & Companion Elder Rosenlof, Elder Masse & Mission President & Wife

 at the mission home with all the new missionary arrivals

at the top of Mount Royal in Montreal (far right is Elder Vanaquer who was Elder Masse's comp in the MTC

Dear Brother and Sister Massé:

Elder Tate Jeffrey Benjamin Massé has arrived!!! We are so pleased to welcome him into the Canada Montréal Mission. We met him and spent time getting to know him at the mission home before he was assigned. Elder Massé's first assignment is in the Longueuil Sud Stake and his first companion is Elder Ross Christian Rosenlof, whom we have prayerfully selected to be Elder Massé's trainer.

We want to thank you for entrusting Elder Massé to us. It is a sacred privilege to share experiences and testimony with those we meet. We know Elder Massé will work hard both mentally and physically, build relationships of trust with companions, members, and investigators, and experience God in his life. Through such service, he will mature in remarkable ways.

We will stay close to Elder Massé throughout his mission through personal interviews and other meetings. If you have concerns at any time during the mission, please do not hesitate to contact us by letter, phone, or e-mail (vppatrick@ldschurch.org).

May you share in and feel the blessings of Elder Massé's service.

Sincerely,

President Victor P. Patrick & Sister Elizabeth F. Patrick

**First Week in the Mission Field!!! French Speaking to Mont St Hilaire (near St Hyacinthe), Trainer: Elder Rosenlof " I just have the reassuring thought that its not about me and Heavenly Father needs me to do this work. To be where I am."

I have been working out.. hehe..!  (last of the MTC pics)

My administry card is in french!

 we had a devotional and I made everyone cry!! I led it and it was the greatest thing ever! I love my elders

 they put shaving cream on my face while i was packing..

this is our teacher!

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Area: Mont-St-Hilaire (near St Hyacinthe), Quebec, Canada 

Trainer: Elder Ross Rosenlof (from California/Utah)

Language: French

Je suis ici ma mere. I already know you are going to freak out when i tell you everything that has happened this week.

The long awaited email.. WOOHOOO CANADA!! Oh my gosh.. this place!! this is almost the new love of my love but Elder Miller will always be number 1! Wow I cant believe I am here this has been the craziest week of my life.. So I will go through what happened! so wake up Tuesday morning at 2:30 so that we can clean the room and get ready for the bus that leaves at 3:30. We got ready and we were there like 5 minutes early we put out things on the bus and just waited! the other elders and sisters that were coming with us were like 2 minutes behind us which was just enough time for them to wait there for 20 minutes wondering where we were.. oops! Elder Vanaquer and I felt so bad but we all made it and all was well.

 We got to the airport we got to call home and it was so nice to here my families voice I could feel their warm and I am thankful for this opportunity!   Then we got on the plane. I had only gotten like 3 hours of sleep  because I couldnt sleep AND on the plane right from salt lake city to Detroit I was surrounded by missionaries so I didnt really have to much reason to stay awake so i passed out and just slept most of the way. I wanted a missionary opportunity but being surrounded by missionaries makes it kinda difficult to do that. so we got there and we had an hour to get to our connection flight and our connection was literally the farthest possible connection away so we like sprinted there and we made it in time so no worries. this time I sat with Elder Vanaquer.. haha so no preaching on the plane but we talked for the short flight about our excitement and we practiced our spanish. We got there and it took us like 3 hours to get out of the airport! First everyone was freaking out because they were so happy! Everything was in French and there were so many people and we were all just so happy to be there! Some members saw us actually and we got to talk to them then I realized how much of my French  I had forgotten I had no idea what was going on haha.. especially because for the last 6 weeks my entire life had been in Spanish! But all is well. we got our visas and all that and obviously there were some flaws like an elder got a visa for 22 years haha.. we fixed it so no worries!

Then we saw the AP's and the mission president for the first time! We gave them big hugs and just sorted things out then started our journey to the mission home! the traffic was terrible and the drivers to be honest were pretty crazy... Montreal is beautiful!! it was also raining super hard and this brought the comforts of home. The first time I remember being in Newberg it rained and so it seemed fitting that my new home would be raining when I arrived as well.

We had an amazing dinner and Elder Baldobinos!!! WHO I LOVE SO MUCH! We worked out because we hadnt worked out in like 3 days and we had just stuffed ourselves then we went to bed and little could  have prepared us for the next day....

Wednesday.. So we got trained and we were all just so excited to be there and ah we were all happy and ecstatic to be missionaries! so we go to transfers.. so slowly everyone starts getting called with their trainers and I am like the last of 3 and I noticed something. Out of the 6 Spanish missionaries - only 2 had been called in Spanish so far. 1 - who spoke the least English got called English speaking, Baldobinos got called English speaking and the 1 sister that spoke Spanish and English fluently got called French speaking. Then he called Elder Rosenlof and he called Elder Masse'! and he said we were going to Mont St. Hilaire and we were speaking..... FRENCH! Boom! so i am a French elder AND in my area.. guess what the closest town is? St. Hyacinthe. Yes. The lord works in mysterious ways.  I cant believe it. It is pronounce alot differently in french though! Saint Hyacinthe sounds like

 "saint ee a saint"

(Mom's note: our Masse ancestors are from Saint Hyacinthe Cte and its surrounding towns -parishes- and I was secretly hoping he would go there at some point on his mission... who knew it would be his FIRST area!?!)

There is a big river that runs right through it. there isnt any snow right now there are mountains. There are farmlands and stuff in between but there are cities like this spotted around. St hyacinthe is the biggest city and it is sooo cool. There isnt a million people there but there are a lot of buildings and its pretty compact and beautiful I cannot wait for it to snow! sorry for mistakes I am typing so fast!

So yeah life is amazing here I have met alot of members and I have no idea how to teach the gospel in french but I am working hard! our apartment is soooo nice! We have weights and a nice kitchen and a washer and dryer! the kitchen even has a dishwasher.. I think we have one of the nicest apartments in the mission! 

We have a car and just everything is perfect! it has been between 2 degrees and 11 degrees Celsius - so like 32-50 degrees Fahrenheit so it hasnt been that bad! but french is pretty craazy! and the quebecois accent is soo hard to understand it sounds like they are just talking with there nose all the time haha.. This is mainly in the older generation though so I am adjusting to that but it is just so perfect here! It smells so fresh and clean and it reminds me of home alot. just colder haha.

Elder Rosenlof is my trainer and he was born in California moved to.. It starts with an M I forgot and now he lives in Utah he has been out for 6 months almost 7. His French is super super good he speaks very well and he is an excellent missionary! He is 19 and is about my height with black hair and glasses! He is an amazing trainer! 

I am emailing from the church building that isnt too far away our area is pretty big though.. I havent been to church yet really because of general conference but I am told we have a decently sized ward.

My area.. I have no idea i just know that its big haha.. next week i will give you exact measurements but it is just on the outside of Montreal. We went to almost the top of our mission boundaries to visit some people and it took like 45 minutes so.. yeah also kilometers! that was a change haha it was pretty funny. All the signs being in French and the metric system. I gave a blessing too! There was a young mother from France and she was having a really hard time and before we did some service for her she asked me to give her a blessing and I had only met here like 10 minutes ago! It was so cool and I was thankful for the opportunity to serve it also was a witness of how the priesthood works. It wouldnt have mattered if she had known me for 10 minutes or 10 years because It was a blessing from God not elder masse' This was a very cool experience. I have not met any Masses but I am constantly asked if I am from here and I have been told numerous times that people recognize my name and that they know some other Masse's So thats cool I hope to come across some! My ward is the Mont st. Hilaire ward I think.

I dont need anything as of now! I have everything I could possibly imagine! well.. actually because i was called in French i dont have any French materials.. Well i got all that i needed but i dont have a nice french book of mormon or bible but I think that i could just get a decent one from the mission office other than that I am fine for now. I will just buy protien stuff from the store and yeah life is perfect!  I got the package and that was so useful it was so funny too thank you so much and I am sure that i will use that hood at some point haha so thank you for sending it!

Umm my biggest surprise was definitely speaking French I was not ready for that at all but I know it is something I need to learn and this is the most efficient way to do it so for the next 12 weeks I am a French elder! I often add in Spanish words now so i am trying to work on that haha..  so how transfers work is any language that you speak you can be called in so I could be called into English, french, or spanish anytime on my mission haha.. this is the greatest mission ever! isnt that so crazy??

 When Elder Holland gave that talk at General Conf I started crying and all I could think about was you. You are why I am here mother. Never forget how much i love you and what you mean to me.

Love Elder Masse'

email to grandma:

The living circumstances are far better than i expected and I am truly blessed to be where I am! there are only 2 of us and we have a washer and dryer and a dishwasher and all that we could ever need we live in the basement of a couples home they are an older couple. But we are so blessed! Yeah i did end up watching all of the conference in a church building. You will be happy to know that well 1 - I am extremely happy and I am speaking french here! It is beautiful and I love it i have truly been blessed. Thankyou so much for your love grandma! I wrote a lot in my weekly email about this weeks events so make sure to look at  that! 

-elder masse'

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Dad I love you so much. 

I am strong and of good cheer because I was taught by my parents. I know the storm is real. I have seen it. There is difficulties out here but I made a promise to myself that I would smile everyday as often as I can. Everytime I leave the apartment I have a smile and everytime I go back in I still have the same goofy smile. You are doing great things dad I love you so much.

I felt your love as I watched the priesthood session. I want you to know that. Even though I wasnt there I knew exactly where you were and what you were doing and I could feel your love. I take great comfort in the fact that Heavenly Father would never ask me to do something that I couldn't do. This single sweet thought has gotten me through everything in life. Because I knew there was always a next step. I knew that I was being watched over and loved and I knew no matter how hard it got that I could keep going. I have had thoughts of home. Of doubt. but after each one I just have the reassuring thought that its not about me and Heavenly Father needs me to do this work. To be where I am. I love you dad.

- Elder Masse'

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mont-st-hilaire

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his companion!
http://elderrossrosenlof.blogspot.com/

April 27, 2015:

“My first area that I've been assigned to is Mount-Saint-Hilare! It's
just a little east of Montréal. The city itself is pretty cool.
There's a mountain thing just outside that looks super cool. There's
also a river that flows in between the city of Mount-Saint-Hilare and
Beloeil. We live in Beloeil, the church is in Mount-Saint-Hilare. We
have a pretty big area, it goes up about 55km north and about 25km
east and west from here. We have a car though which is nice.

There's a ward here that's pretty big and strong. All the members are
super friendly. We got an apple pie and a jar of beans from members
our first Sunday haha. They're a lot of less active members in the
area though so strengthening the ward is going to be one of our main
focuses here.”