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.