We love our landlady! Regina Gabrysz is 87 years old and loves to go about doing good.
She kept me in a supply of lilacs from her yard during lilac season.
I was in charge of the games, which included some relays, of course.
The
adults really enjoyed bocci ball.
The children’s favorite was soccer.
The
bubbles were also a great hit.
Elder Rhodes is taking a picture of me taking a picture.
Food and visiting are always a great part of a fun activity.
Emma is checking to see if her new friend is saying cheese.
Aren't they adorable?
The weather was a little cool, but better than too hot or too
wet, which is what we had expected.
After the outdoor activities we went back to the Church for a
short fireside where Pres. McAteer told his conversion story, which is very
interesting. He used to be a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ. Then we had desert and more visiting. Everyone had such a great
time it went much later than we had anticipated. But I forgot to take pictures. All in all it was a very enjoyable day!
I attended the Native Student Award Night in June with Abbey-gail's family. It is sponsored by the Native Friendship Center. It was filled with a lot of good humor and traditional native performances. This was a quad-lingual affair; I never knew if they were going to speak in French, English, Algonquin or Cree. It was very enjoyable.
It was difficult to get clear pictures in the dark from where we were sitting.
Abbey-gail and Ben, are siblings. They both earned awards for effort and achievement!
Abby and her mother joined the Church last December.
This lovely young girl is Stephanie. She is not a member but attends many of the activities.
As a counselor in the Primary presidency I have been able to enjoy some activities with the Primary
children in the past few months.
Making cupcakes for Father’s Day.
Only two of the girls are actually members.
One for Dad and one for me, right?
Ketrina and Abbey are great friends. They like me to take them to the park.
I enjoy hanging out with them.
On Saint Jean Baptiste Day they hold an annual native celebration in Val d'Or.
We were able to sample native foods like bannock and moose.
Unfortunately we weren't able to stay long enough to see the traditional music and dancing.
From left to right, Katrina and Stephanie are sisters. Stephanie and Kitana (on the right) are
best friends.
Kitana was baptized last year.
We were able to stay long enough to hear Kitana and Stephanie sing together for the pre-program.
I was proud of them.
I was proud of them.
They did a great job and can now sign off on one of their goals for developing talents .
Seth is Kitana's brother and one of only two boys who attend activities regularly.
At the end of July Elder Rhodes and I took Kitana, Abbey, Crystal and Isaiah
to the splash park in Malartic, half an hour west of Val d'Or.
to the splash park in Malartic, half an hour west of Val d'Or.
It was a hot day so they decided I needed to cool off!
The splash park was built for the community by Sisco Gold Mine, the largest open pit mine in the country.
The hill behind me in this picture protects the town from the noise and dust of the blasting. Three times a day they open the gate to the steps leading to a platform overlooking the mine.
The equipment looks like Tonka toys from up here.
Each tire on those huge trucks costs $90,000!
Elder Rhodes always wanted to pan for gold!
A view of the park and the town from the top. I didn't know a mine could operate on the edge of a town.
On a cool day in August Abbey and Kitana came with me to climb the hundred steps to the top of the Rotary Tower.
First we took the one km. hike through the near by woods. None of us had been there before.
The woods around here are full of beautiful ferns.
The view of the surrounding area from the top is impressive!
Two beautiful girls enhance a beautiful view!
It's very windy at the top, especially with a storm coming in. We had a great afternoon together.
