Thanksgiving in Nova Scotia

Before serving in the temple the evening of Thanksgiving, the Mission President and his wife invited all the senior missionaries to their home for a Thanksgiving feast. In Canada they celebrate thanksgiving on the 2nd Monday in October (12 Oct this year). So it was nice that they helped all us from the 'States' to remember our tradition.

Bay of Fundy Tides

Just for Fun Go to THIS webcam and watch the dramatic tide variations at Hall's Harbour. Its about 6 hours between high and low tide.

Then you can look around Halifax Harbour

Enjoy!

She's Called Nova Scotia

This music and slideshow well sums up our love of this country and the people.
- We hope you enjoy this few moments of God's beauty. CLICK HERE

The week beginning 24 August 09

Most of Monday was spent inspecting the elder's apartments. We've just taken on this assignment and have four apartments to inspect. Each different but all have a similar feel to those we took care of in Malawi, Africa - there is just something special about a missionary apartment.

On Tuesday night (8/25/09) we went over to Halifax with Elder & Sister Tait to see an updated version of "Jack and The Beanstalk" put on by a theater company called Shakespeare by the Sea. The location was Point Pleasant Park, ('A' on the map) once the location of several artillery batteries and 18th century fortifications. The play was located at one of the old artillery sites (the Cambridge Battery) as can be seen in one of the photos. Jack was a 'boy' of 25 still living with his mom. The story develops rather humorously and instead of the golden harp, Jack steals the GOLDEN ?? which is actually a long acronym for a stock market ticker-tape machine that spews out the future market conditions. We were no more than 6 to 10 feet from the actors which made it all the more enjoyable. See also SBTS. Watch the slideshow:
click to enlarge and read the Halifax Memorial ->

Wednesday: Another wonderful day in the Temple. After returning home we went grocery shopping and bought some pizzas for the elders whom we had over for dinner.

Thursday was a beautiful sunshiny day. We took a walk in the woods looking for berries. Most weren't quite ready for picking but we managed about a pound.

Big Blow Bill

On the picture above, notice the couple by the pine tree to the right of the picture for some perspective of size.

Hurricane Bill just blew through here a few hours ago - after all the media hype, it was a bit of a letdown. We've had regular rainstorms that left more water than Bill did. But upon visiting the beaches, the waves were quite picturesque and an awesome sight to see.

We met for our regular Sacrament meeting this morning but they dismissed Sunday School and all other meetings so people wouldn't be out in the thick of it, so we spent a liesurly afternoon. Enjoy the video clip. . .

.. (right) same location, calm seas.

Whats Going On Around Halifax

This is a quick way to show you what is going on here that we've seen lately. Its easier than downloading and organizing a bunch of pictures, although I will continue to do some of that.

This is The Chronicle Herald picture website. The latest is the "World Canoe Championships", also see "Canada Day" and my favorite "Tall Ships 2009". On the Tall Ships, look closely at 5/37 and see the sailors on the yardarms - Great!

Prince Edward Island

! Currently Under Construction ! Expect updates as I figure it out and add more pictures...

On Saturday the 25th of July we left the temple a little early to travel with President & Sister Blake and Elder & Sister Tait (the other couple serving in the temple) to Prince Edward Island, or PEI as it is known around here. We were going to an open meeting at the Montague Branch to explain more about the Church and the Temple.

We left our apartment in Dartmouth (A), traveled up through Truro (B), then to the right to the ferry at Pictou. It was about a two hour ride over to the island where we then headed up to Montague for our meeting at 7:30 PM. After the meeting we drove to Charlottetown where we spend the night in a cottage.

See slide shows below - just click on a picture to do something.

This past weekend we traveled with the temple president and his wife to Miramichi, New Brunswick and Bathurst, New Brunswick. Miramichi is labelled 'C' on the map, Bathurst is labelled 'B'; our home in Dartmouth is labelled 'A' down at the bottom.

It is about 5+ hours from Dartmouth to Bathurst. We went to Bathurst where we spent the night at the Atlantic Host - somewhat pricey, but the bed was great and it was very quiet. We were blessed with wonderful weather which is a blessing up here.

The next morning we checked out of the hotel and went to the Bathurst Branch for their regular Sunday meetings and President & Sister Blake taught a lesson to the men and women, then stayed after to answer questions and renew friendships.

Bathurst Chapel













A few of the members at Bathurst







At the Bathurst meeting part of it was in French, part in English: The branch president would conduct in French, then again in English; the opening hymn was in French, the closing in English. The choir sang the interlude with part in French, part in English. It was a beautiful service and unique in our experiences. As it was Fast & Testimony Sunday, both Sister Muhn and I gave our testimonies and briefly related our conversion stories. Many of the members in the Maritimes (this part of Canada) are fairly new in the Church, but there are those whose ancestors were rooted in the Church since its restoration.


We then drove to Miramichi for a special meeting with the members there. President Blake travels every weekend to one or more of the units and has these special firesides to teach the members about the temple and answer questions. Many lives have been blessed by President & Sister Blake as they have done this.




Miramichi Meeting house

This is the Atlantic Host Hotel where we spent the night at Bathurst.













The three flags of New Brunswick. The one on the left is the Canadian flag, the one in the middle that looks like the French flag is the Acadian flag, the one on the right is the New Brunswick flag.














As shown in these signs, snowmobiling is big in Bathurst.

A few of the sights at Miramichi

Sunset at Bathurst

After the meeting at Miramichi we drove to Brother & Sister Lanoue's home for dinner. They live in an old victorian style mansion that was previously used as a bed and breakfast. He is an orthapedic surgeon; they also have a restaurant in St. George, Utah. A long story . . . .

Also at the dinner were two other doctors with their wives and another couple from Miramachi. I kick myself that I didn't take any pictures as it was a most interesting home.

We then drove back to Dartmouth, arriving about 12:30 at night. We slept well!

31 May 09 - Sunny Sunday

After a week of cold, rain, fog, and clouds, we welcomed the sun once again today. After Church we went to our favorite park and explored another trail. Our new friends the Sterner's will be moving away Monday. They live in the same apartment building and we will miss them. Enjoy the pictures. Here is a repeat of a previous picture of the Peggy's Cove lighthouse for comparison to the one above during a hurricane - yep, they have hurricanes here. . .

Anything above 60 is SUMMER!!

Spring in the forest

Thurs. 5-28-09

This is a shot of Halifax Harbour from downtown Halifax.

Yesterday after our service in the temple we went to the genealogy library in our stake center just next to the temple, and were able to get on Ancestry.com. We were excited to find some more names on the US Census and other documents. This morning Sister Muhn was able to find one line and extend it back into the 1500's. Tonight we are at the temple from about 4 pm until shortly after 10 pm.

Address and Phone

Elder & Sister Muhn - - - -902-462-7069
10 Cumberland Dr., Apt 104
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B2V 2C7
Canada

Sunday 24 May 2009

Being able to spend time with the temple president and his wife has been most rewarding. His absolute dedication to the work is inspiring. They are also kind and uplifting. Whenever something needs to be corrected they do it in a gentle and encouraging way.

Ever since General Conference, President Blake has been inspired by Elder Bednar's talk on the Temples (Honorably Hold a Name and Standing); particularly his remarks regarding taking upon us the name of Jesus Christ. That in baptism and partaking of the Lord's Sacrament, we indicate our willingness to take upon us His name, but in the Temple and the covenants made there we actually do so. Each day, before engaging in the work of the temple, we have a preparation and training meeting. Since we have different workers each day, the same thing is presented several times to ensure all temple workers receive the same information. That means Sister Muhn & I get to hear it multiple times. Rather than boring repetition we find that it is a little different each time and we learn more each time. As I take minutes in the Presidency Meetings, I often receive yet more there. Of course the great challenge is to live up to the revelations and council given by the Lord's prophets.

Last night we walked over to the stake center where the youth of the area were putting on the Road Show; for those of you unfamiliar with these, each unit writes a script and presents a play; usually lighthearted and always entertaining. I think this is the first time they have done it in this area. Anyway, they were quite long and very well done. For judges they brought in several high school teachers from the local area. That was also enjoyable to hear their remarks as they presented the awards. We had a most enjoyable evening.

Today in Church one of the talks was also on Elder Bednar's address and next week we will be discussing it in Relief Society & Priesthood meeting. They are very temple minded here - all the members of the High Priest's group that are able, serve in the temple.

If you want to see what is going on in Halifax Harbour as well as another spot in Nova Scotia ( I haven't figured out where yet) go look at these webcams.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Monday, 18 May '09

This is a quick review of the past week. We took a quick trip to Peggy's Cove, and another to Fisherman's Wharf, then the weekend we went with President & Sister Blake to Yarmouth and Greenwood, pausing along the way to see homes and countryside where some of the Mack's settled (ancestors of Lucy Mack - the mother of Joseph Smith and a cousin in Janet's line). The village is called Milltown. It was a busy week at the temple with some members coming in from Newfoundland and bringing with them a lot of records for printing and temple work. This temple is self sufficient and all the work done here is supplied by people within the temple district. We also had a special session for young married couples and young single addults, oh, then another for missionaries. So we were not cooling our heels at any time and lunch mostly sat in the sack in the refrigerator. Here are some pictures, but a little short on explanation due to time.