Today, December 21, 2017 is the shortest day of the year (winter solstice). Below is today's sunrise and sunset times compared to the longest day of the year (summer solstice), which was June 20.

                    Winter Solstice     Summer Solstice
Sunrise             8:48 A.M.             5:04 A.M.
Sunset              4:16 P.M.             10:07 P.M.
Daylight      7 hrs. 28 mins.        17 hrs. 3 mins.

Today Sister Burnett said that an article in the Ensign Magazine (December 2017) reminded her of Sandy. The article is entitled "Valiant in the Cause of Christ," and here is a link to the article: Valiant in the Cause of Christ. A nice tribute to a special woman.

At Christmas time the office receives a lot of packages for missionaries. This photograph is from last week and represents only one day of postal deliveries.

Preparation Day is Tuesday, and Zone Leaders come to the office to pick up mail and supplies for their zones. Sandy and Sister Burnett alternate bringing treats to the office for the missionaries who come to the office on Tuesdays. Below is what Sandy made for today. The chocolate treats are called Reindeer Droppings, but the sign uses an euphemism for droppings.

Here is a link to the December issue of the mission newsletter: The Prairie Post

In speaking with the missionaries, President Pattison has determined that most of them do not read the newsletter. He has therefore decided not to have the newsletter produced on a regular basis. So, this issue will probably be the last one we do.

Today is Thanksgiving in the USA. Even though we celebrated Canada's Thanksgiving in October we decided to have a Thanksgiving Day celebration for the senior couples in the office.

The turkey sandwiches, with cranberries, came from FifenDekel. 

From left to right: Elder and Sister Burnett are full time missionaries from Arizona. Elder Hill, from Ogden, met Sister Hill while serving a full time mission in this area; he taught her the gospel, baptized her, then later married her; they are Church Service missionaries and have lived in Canada almost their whole married life.

The following were posted around the office:

Each couple received a handout shown above.

We concluded the festivities by watching the 2016 Thanksgiving broadcast of, "Music and the Spoken Word."

The Burnetts, who serve in the office with us, spent two years in China teaching English as part of a BYU extension program. This morning Elder Burnett told us about a Chinese character "ting, " which means "to listen," and it's relationship to a scripture in the D&C.

D&C 1:2 -- "For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated."

"ting" character

Below is the translation of "ting:"

Love the symmetry of gospel principles in diverse cultures. 

On Saturday, 5 November, we moved from our basement apartment into the home of David and Janet Henderson. The Hendersons are serving as president and matron of the Edmonton Alberta Temple and now live in the temple president's home. We will be very comfortable here.

14 Chestermere Crescent, Sherwood Park, Alberta

Yesterday, 11 November, was Remembrance Day in Canada, and coincides with the USA's Veteran's Day. Remembrance Day (sometimes known informally as Poppy Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.

The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem "In Flanders Fields" written by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.

We attended a Remembrance Day service in the University of Alberta's Universiade Pavilion, affectionately known as the Butterdome. We ended up sitting near some missionaries.

 

The Butterdome is a multi-purpose arena

Sisters Rivera, Dearden, Kathalay, and Passey

Elders Standiford, Wells, and Thomsen

The arena and participating groups

Scottish Bagpipe Band

The service included dignitaries placing memorial wreaths in front of a cenotaph. (A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenotaphs honour individuals, many noted cenotaphs are instead dedicated to the memories of groups of individuals, such as the lost soldiers of a country or of an empire.)

We have sung Canada's National Anthem,"O Canada," several times. Here is a link to a rendition found on YouTube: "O Canada"

Canadians love their country, and are proud to call it home. Unlike Southern California where we knew several people who wanted to live elsewhere, we have yet to meet a Canadian that wants to leave.

Inadvertent matching day at the office

Sandy is often called upon to be the voice of the mission when visiting with people on the phone, including the parents of an ill missionary. Following is an email from an appreciative mother:  "We would like to express sincere gratitude for your kindness. You are the perfect person to be the first contact for grieving parents. You have a natural and abundant gift to 'soothe a trouble heart.' Words could never express how much peace you have given just by listening without judgment and by the loving tone of your voice. I feel like you are my friend and am actually saddened that we did not meet under more favorable circumstances. We will forever consider you a tender mercy in our lives. May the Lord bless and prosper you as you have given so much! Thank you from the bottom of one mother's heart to another."

Here is the link to the November issue of the mission's newsletter: The Prairie Post

Four weeks ago the Burnetts started teaching an English class for Mandarin-speakers at the Institute. The first week they had one, the second week three, and the third week nine. The fourth week, last night, the Burnetts and the Mandarino-speaking missionaries organized a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the Millwoods Stake. There were about 38 in attendance, of whom 26 were Mandarin-speakers. The Burnetts, as part of a BYU program, recently spent two years in China teaching English. The opportunity to use their experience in China to assist the work here in Edmonton has been a blessing for them.

Today, October 9, is Thanksgiving in Canada. We joined the Burnetts and helped serve free meals for three hours to all comers at a school. The event was sponsored by an Edmonton Rotary Club.

The following article about Thanksgiving in Canada comes from Time Magazine--Waxman, O. (2017, October 18), The Surprising Origin of Canada's Thanksgiving:

     "Between turkey dinners and family reunions, Canadian Thanksgiving--observed on the second Monday in October--can look pretty similar to its U.S. counterpart. But in fact, part of the reason Canadians first petitioned for the holiday was to celebrate their luck at not being American.
     "In the wake of a crisis of faith catalyzed by Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, Canadian religious leaders began in 1859 to petition the colonial government for an official day to thank God. Initially, they thanked God for plentiful harvests. But over the next decade they became even more grateful that they were spared the bloodshed of the U.S. Civil War. 'It was a solemn, holy day in the middle of the week when people would go to church,' says historian Peter A. Stevens, 'and thank God for how fortunate they are to be Canadian.'
     "As the idea of a national Thanksgiving spread in the  U.S. too, the two holidays began to look alike, with American publications promoting the idea of a harvest feast. Even so, the neighboring nations kept the dates separate. Canadian Thanksgiving first moved to a Monday in 1908, after railways lobbied to turn it into a long weekend that could be used to visit family--by train, naturally--and that day change later became permanent. In the years since, the early-autumn timing has been a boon. With the holiday now detached from its religious beginnings, most Canadians think of it as a time to savor the last mild weather before the northern winter starts."

Yesterday we attended Church at the Millcreek YSA Ward. On the way home we took pictures of the North Saskatchiwan River which runs east from the Rockies through Edmonton.

Yesterday, October 2, was Sandy's birthday. Our kids got together and sent these gifts to her. Also, several missionaries called during the day to sing happy birthday to her.

Click the following link to view the October issue of The Prairie PBost:
The Prairie Post - October 2017

This past Thursday and Friday the sister missionaries attended a sisters' conference. One of their activities involved a "clothing exchange."





The City of Edmonton has a project to plant trees. They erect signs like this one to identify areas where trees have been planted in the past.


Edmonton Alberta Temple

Near the Edmonton Alberta Temple is Whitemud Creek Ravine. Below are several photographs taken today on our walk in the ravine.

Sandy loves to scuff leaves. Watch this video and see the joy in here face as she scuffs along.

Scuffing Leaves