November 28, 2016 - Laval! Pic! "I am so happy! I Have been working so hard here in these last couple of days and I have been seeing the fruits of those efforts! Things have just been working out. Well in one way or another no day is perfect but Elder Shakespear is a total boss and things have just been going awesome! I am happy as can be and I have nothing to complain about. It is like coming home here there is a huge ward, it is french, we have a really nice new apartment, ( different from the one I was in last time I was here ) Everything is just perfect!"

Area: Laval, Quebec
French Speaking

Companion: Elder Shakespear
DL

1- I am so happy! I Have been working so hard here in these last couple of days and I have been seeing the fruits of those efforts! Things have just been working out. Well in one way or another no day is perfect but Elder Shakespear is a total boss and things have just been going awesome! I am happy as can be and I have nothing to complain about. It is like coming home here there is a huge ward, it is french, we have a really nice new apartment, ( different from the one I was in last time I was here ) Everything is just perfect!

2- There is just one ward in laval well one in french and one in english I am in the french one! But it is so great here! I am really close to the island of montreal and well I am also on an island which is cool! Our church currently starts at 9:30 and it has my entire mission haha.. but starting next year it will start at 1. Which means on Sundays basically my entire day is taken up.

3- So Elder Shakespear is from Utah! I think this is my like 6th Utah companion haha but I have loved all of them of course so I am happy! But he is seriously the greatest! He is the hardest working missionary I have ever seen and I am being serious all he wants to do is work work work and so that is what we do. We come home exhausted every night and we do it all over again the next day it has been wonferful! I really admire him a lot. He has only been out for 2 transfers so I am quite a bit older than him in the mission but he is a total stud. He loves to learn and is very humble. He is basically the perfect missionary haha. I am so excited to be with him!<

4-Well I love the fact that I have already been here before! So I know the ward already and I know where most of the things are so I dont have to waste anytime adjusting to a new area we just got straight to work! But I love that there are so many families here! Everywhere you look it is just home after home. There are so many people here that are ready for the gospel we just have to go find them! They also just closed down a branch and so now the ward is really really big! They have to se the overflow and it is wonderful! I love having so many members! I have a feeling that many miracles are to come in he future!

5- I love it so much! Teaching in french again is a little weird I am used to teaching in english now but it is fine! I am pretty good in french so I dont really have any problems with it! I love having church in french and I can already feel myself just switching languages! It is wonderful! life is so good here!

6- Really just consecration and effective use of time! That is something a lot of people struggle with just knowing what to do when everything falls through right? It happens a lot even in normal everyday life. On sunday we had an amazing day planned! The whole day was full of lessons and every single one fell through back to back to back we got called saying that the people couldnt meet with us and it was fine we just did the best we could with what we had! It worked out to we went and found people and it worked out! God really blesses us and we work through the little things that come our way.

7- bien je suis tellement reconnaissant pour l'occasion d’être en Laval encore! Les membres sont super mon collègue est super aussi! Je peux pas demander pour d'autre chose! désolé je sais pas quoi dire haha sauf que je suis très content et je t'aime!

I will! :) Love you have a great week!

1. How are you!! 

2. How is Laval??  What ward are you assigned too?  What time do you have church? 

3.  How are things with your new companion??  Tell me everything about him. 

4. What do you love about your new area? 

5. How is it being back in a French area?

6. What have you been thinking about lately? 

7. Tell me something in French!  

Send me a pic of your companion!  

November 21, 2016- Pic! Baptism of Renee! Thanksgiving Leaves, "We have the seeds of divinity within us." I pondered that for a little while of course it made sense to me all my life I have been told that I am a Child of God, but then it hit me. We are meant to be divine. We are meant to be something greater, BECAUSE we are the sons and daughters of God he even expects us to become somethings greater. To follow in his footsteps and work our way towards perfection. Of course it is no simple or easy task but it hit me how much he loves us and why we must love everyone around us because no matter what they have that seed of divinity inside them and that means that they can change. It means that they can repent and become better and in the end be..

Comp: Elder Seelos (Kaysville, Utah)

Zone Leader

Area: Ottawa Ontario Stake, Champlain Ward

I read your letter and I am so happy to hear that things are going well! I am excited for Christmas and it will be a wonderful opportunity to see the family!

1- It was so awesome! I described at least some of it in dads letter so you will have to look at it because of time constraints but life is so good mother! I have never been so happy! What can I say more? The baptism with Reneé was so awesome! I have never seen someone shine so much after a baptism she was glowing and everyone could see it the spirit was so strong! In church the next day she talked about receiving the Holy Ghost and she could just feel a warmth come over here. She has really changed my entire mission. 

2- well....... 1- I am.. leaving! I will really miss this place I have grown so much here but I am excited for a new opportunity! I will be going.. back to LAVAL! Can you believe it haha? I only served 1 transfer there so obviously there was still something else I needed to do there! I am so excited though my companions name is elder Shakespeare and he has only been out for 2 transfers so he is fresh of the block! I am really excited to work with him and help him out in any way that I can! I am also the district leader of 3 companionship's 2 elders and 1 team of sisters! It is going to be such a blast! I loved Laval! 

3- Well.. Now that I am being transferred I am not totally sure.. Lots of driving. I will be going back to Montreal on wednesday today and tomorrow will be packing and saying good bye and well. I am not sure what will happen the rest of the week.

4- Hm..Well.. I can think of a couple things first After I baptized reneé her just leaping forward and putting me into a death grip haha! She gave me one of the biggest hugs I have ever gotten, definitely caught me off gaurd and everyone laughed! Other things.. well we found a new investigator this last week and we invited him to come to church and he came and well.. the short of it is during sacrament meeting her started like yelling out and moaning and we had to escort him out of the sacrament room for a second and talk to him but in the end it was alright. The things that happen to you on your mission..

5- Yeah! Well at least that specific one they use the poppers and the theme is je me souvienne It is a very common phrase used here. It is on all the license plates. Other than that I cant really think of any.. Everyone here is super Catholic so a tradition they have is to open their presents at midnight Christmas morning so by the time day time rolls around everyone is asleep haha.. 

6- I can't remember if I have talked about this before but elder Bennett came to visit our mission a couple weeks ago and something he said really intrigued me and it has stuck with me since that day. He said 'We have the seeds of divinity within us.' I pondered that for a little while of course it made sense to me all my life I have been told that I am a Child of God, but then it hit me. We are meant to be divine. We are meant to be something greater, BECAUSE we are the sons and daughters of God he even expects us to become somethings greater. To follow in his footsteps and work our way towards perfection. Of course it is no simple or easy task but it hit me how much he loves us and why we must love everyone around us because no matter what they have that seed of divinity inside them and that means that they can change. It means that they can repent and become better and in the end be.. Simply Divine. Of course there is much more I have thought about on this subject but the point being that God loves us. He knows us. Each one of us is meant to be something great and we should never judge someone based on where they currently are but look at them in what they can become. Take that second to see them through God's eyes. What is God's plan for him or her and what can I do to help them a long in that journey. God lives and he loves his children. 

7- I am just so excited for this new adventure I want to get going! It is nice to stay in an area for a long time but it is nice to get out of your shell and go and explore! Often times we say "If only I knew then what I know now, I would have.. I could have.. etc" Well this is that opportunity for me! I am so excited to go back and use everything that I have learned to help out that ward! Now is my opportunity to make a difference and be better than I was before and I am definitely going to seize the moment! 

Well I think that is everything for this week. 

Love you so much have a great week!

-Elder Massé

1. How did the baptism go?  I want lots of details!!

2. TRANSFERS?!?!

3. What does your upcoming week look like? 

4. What was the funnest thing that happened this week?

5. Are there any special Christmas traditions in Canada?  Do they do the poppers like they do in England?  Are there French traditions they incorporate?

6. Spiritual thought? 

7. Tell me anything! 

----------------------------------
Thanksgiving Leaves:

Oh man.. I am grateful for so many things!

1 Eternal Families

2 Jesus Christ and his Atonement

3 Our Divine potential

4 Our ability to Repent

5 Modern Day Revelation

6 Knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

7 Reneé Tremblay

8  A Loving Father in Heaven.

Those are just some but you know that I am beyond grateful for you mother. You light up the world and I will never be able to truly thank you for everything you have done for me in my life but I am glad that I get the rest of eternity to at least tell you how much I love you! You are the best! <3

Have an amazing week, Happy Thanksgiving

- Avec Amour Elder Massé

November 14, 2016 "This week has changed my life.. It really has. We had a visit from Elder Bennett from the 1st quorum of the seventy and he spoke to my soul. I just felt the spirit testify to me of the truthfulness of the things that he was saying and my only desire was to immediately apply them into my life and change. I wanted to become better and I did instantly I instantly applied those changes into my life and I am better now because of it. I have never seen so many miracles in one week. "

Comp: Elder Seelos (Kaysville, Utah)

Zone Leader

Area: Ottawa Ontario Stake, Champlain Ward

1. How was your week??  How are you?

2. What was new or exciting?  

3. Who are you teaching as of late?

4. What have you been thinking about lately?

5. What advice do you have for dad or the ward council....

6. Tell me something in French@

7. Tell me anything!

1- This week has changed my life.. It really has. We had a visit from Elder Bennett from the 1st quorum of the seventy and he spoke to my soul. I just felt the spirit testify to me of the truthfulness of the things that he was saying and my only desire was to immediately apply them into my life and change. I wanted to become better and I did instantly I instantly applied those changes into my life and I am better now because of it. I have never seen so many miracles in one week. For instance. Woke up had a full set of studies went, found and taught a family, left - taught another investigator she said she was ready for baptism and will be getting baptized this weekend, got a media referral, passed by got a hold of someone we had tried to get a hold of for 2 months, found another family, passed by someone he wasn't there.. man walking to his car we talked to him he was the person we were looking for, found another new investigator and committed her to coming to church the next day and put her on date instantly, contacted a media referral, got a media referral from the Sister training leaders contacted them and committed them to coming to church the next day before we had even met them!  ( they came we taught them before church with the bishop ) In between filling out our progress record and going to coordination we found another new investigator and contacted a referral. Basically.. it was the craziest day of my entire mission and I loved it every single thing we did was successful in one way or another because we devoted ourselves completely to the Lord and his work. God lives and I know the he loves his children.

2-  Seeing Elder Bennett and having an MLC this week was so amazing! We learned so much we spent roughly 14-16 hours in his presence and I have pages upon pages of notes. Not of what he said but of what I felt and how I could change to help myself and those people around me. So that was basically the most exciting thing of my life haha. Other than that.. just the work is going forward! I have baptized with every companion in this area. This weekend Renee will be getting baptized. She has asked that I baptize her. Thoughts of her bring me to tears because she is a witness to me that God lives, that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real, and that we are truly sons and daughters of God and we have divine potential. I cannot disclose all of the things that were going on in her life. But I can say that as these weeks have gone on I have personally watched the Atonement of Jesus Christ change her. It mended her and healed her and she is a completely new person. She has accepted Jesus Christ as her savior. She knows that she has a father in heaven and I am so humbled that I got to be here to watch her grow and change. I was there since day 1 and it has changed my life. If nothing else were to ever happen on my mission I would not mind. This single experience is enough to change me for the rest of my life. I will never forget it.

3- Our teaching pool has just exploded a cool experience was this. After the MLC with Elder Bennett I had a burning desire to share the gospel it was probably 5 degrees but we walked all the way to the bus station just so we could talk to everyone on the way there. On the bus I sat next to a man and for 2 and a half hours we spoke in french and I taught him the Gospel. We even said a prayer on the bus. I got his address and his phone number and a return appointment. That experience is one of many recently and I have just had the greatest desire to share this great message with everyone I come in contact with.

4- I have seriously been thinking about what the next weeks and months will bring. What I can personally do to become more consecrated. To become better. I know that this is where I am supposed to be. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and that there is something that he wants me to do here so I plan on doing everything that I can to accomplish that.

5- Attached are a couple of my favorite documents as a missionary there are more but those are the only electronic copies of them that I have. You may already have them.. but I hope they are of some use to you! I would just say that the biggest thing I see here is that leaders focus on planning activites and planning things out and talking about problems which is fine. It is not my domain to correct them they are 100% fulfilling their callings and I have no complaints. I would say though the most effective ward councils that I have seen have been the ones that focus on the people. That really care about the work the missionaries are dong. The 3 key indicators of member and missionary correlation which is the 2nd document has changed my entire mission. It has been so useful. It is a way to measure the ward and the missionaries on their level of coordination I think you will find it useful.

6- ben.. c'est quoi que je peux dire.. ca fait plus que six mois depuis j'ai utilisé mon francias.. il a besoin d'aide. mais je pense que bientot je vais partir de cette cartier et je vais me trouver dans une cartier francaise mais on verra! Peut etre ce serai en espagnol mais je ne sais pas.. toutes est possible. je vais vous dire la semaine prochaine parce que on va recevoir les appels des transfer! J'ai peur! Je t'aime beacoup passez une bonne semaine! 

7- My life has changed so much on my mission. I love it so much. I love my companion, my area, the ward, the people I am teaching they are all wonderful and they will be a part of my life for eternity. I know if there is much to say more than that.

Love you lots have a great week!

-Elder Massé

November 7, 2016 "Well the underlying desire to become better stems from the hope that one day things will become better. I look around and I see my family and friends and how happy they are and that drives me in a similar manner to become better and be happy and live a life patterned after them. So at the end of the day when I think about what I aspire to be and what I want it is to be and live a life like Jesus Christ. I have grown in so much love for him. I read about the life that he lived. I see the miracles that stem from what he brought into the world. Knowing what he did and how it made everyone around him better motivated me to do the same. As I have been a leader in the mission for a while I have developed the true desire to make the missionaries around me better. I just want them to have firm testimonies. I want them to be happy. I want everyone around me to feel the love of our heavenly Father and knowing that I have the ability to help them do that motivated me everyday to get up and work as hard as I can."

Comp: Elder Seelos (Kaysville, Utah)

Zone Leader

Area: Ottawa Ontario Stake, Champlain Ward

1- It was super good! We had halloween on monday which was super fun we are living with a missionary from tahiti elder O. and so we carved pumpkins and cooked the seeds it was so cool! He loved it and it was such a blast! It was also his birthday this week so listen to this story!  So it is his birthday as we are shopping and looking at things on monday I asked elder oopa if he was going to buy anything. He looked at me and said " Elder Masse J'ai pas l'argent.. Je ne peux pas acheter les choses.." Elder Masse I don't have any money.. I can't buy anything. It just hit me that everyone that comes out does not always have the same opportunities and blessings. He worked for years and had just enough money to pay for his mission but nothing else. He gave it his all. So in that moment I was determined to make sure he had an amazing birthday. Throughout the entire day we slyly asked him what things he liked. Knowing he couldn't afford them he pointed different things out and then we walked away. While he wasn't looking we would go back and grab the different things he had pointed out and we went and bought them for him. Seeing his eyes light up on his birthday was truly amazing. He had not celebrated his birthday in the last couple of years because he had been too busy. He didn't have the time or the money and seeing his gratitude even though they were all little things that we had bought him was truly life changing. Honestly one of the best days of my mission.

2- Not really just regular halloween and we stayed in our apartment and studied and made dinner while everyone else was cooking I made a cheesecake yes sister millers cheesecake and it was so good! But yeah we carved pumpkins and cooked the seeds it was super good!

3- Well besides monday.. I would say probably driving for 2 hours in a car with brother lloyd and president schlacter! We drove out to a less active that lives really far away and it was awesome! He owns this international school and it is basically a scout camp he takes animals in and he rehabilitates them so I got to see a bunch of falcons and hawks. A bald eagle, snow owl, great horned owl, There was so many cool animals! Other than that we went to a ladies home to help do service and she told me my future haha.. Not that I has asked but she said I would go into the field of Mathematics and I would work for the Pentagon so.. Not bad I guess lol.

4- Honestly? hm. that is a good question. Well the underlying desire to become better stems from the hope that one day things will become better. I look around and I see my family and friends and how happy they are and that drives me in a similar manner to become better and be happy and live a life patterned after them. So at the end of the day when I think about what I aspire to be and what I want it is to be and live a life like Jesus Christ. I have grown in so much love for him. I read about the life that he lived. I see the miracles that stem from what he brought into the world. Knowing what he did and how it made everyone around him better motivated me to do the same. As I have been a leader in the mission for a while I have developed the true desire to make the missionaries around me better. I just want them to have firm testimonies. I want them to be happy. I want everyone around me to feel the love of our heavenly Father and knowing that I have the ability to help them do that motivated me everyday to get up and work as hard as I can.

5- I think something cool that happened this week that will be a tender mercy is the fact that starting tonight we will get to take a priest on a mini - mission for a couple days! I am so excited I am hoping that we will be able to inspire him and really help him know what it is like to be a missionary. I am so excited I will tell you how it goes next week!

6 -Other than that things are so great!I am just loving life and I know that this week is going to be crazy we are having a zone conference with a member of the 70 and it is going to be awesome I am so excited! Anyways all is well I am happy! 

Have a great week!

-Elder Masse

1. How was your week? 

2. Did you do anything special for Halloween? Does Canada have any special traditions?

3. What was the funnest thing you did this week?

4. Who or what inspires you to be better?

5. Any tender mercies or experiences that stand out?

6.Tell me anything!!