Covid & Christmas in Quebec

December 27, 2021

Joyeuses Fêtes à tout le monde!

I hope that you have all had a very Merry Christmas! For me, Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year, and, while Christmas is certainly different on the mission, this year did not disappoint! This was certainly a memorable week, so I’ll just get started. (Sorry in advance for another sizable email!)

So, last Monday Elder Felix and I had a dinner appointment with the Laval family. We were walking around the church before sacrament meeting started trying to get to know members, and when we said hi to Brother and Sister Laval pretty much the first thing they said was “you are having dinner with us tomorrow” or something to that effect (this all happened in French of course so I didn’t catch all of the details). So the next day Elder Felix and I got ready to catch the bus around 5:30, but when I checked the directions I was surprised to learn that the fastest way to get to the Laval’s apartment was somehow a 30 minute walk… so we set out in the snow to reach our dinner appointment. When we finally got to their apartment building, Brother Laval greeted us warmly and then handed us a bag with our dinner in it. We suddenly realized that it was not a sit down dinner appointment as we had expected. They wanted to be safe with Covid and everything, but they said we could have a video call that same night so we gratefully accepted the meal and started walking back home. It was a long walk, but thankfully we both have warm coats! The meal ended up being delicious and we still got to know the Laval family through a video call - they are originally from France, and they both shared some really amazing stories of how they joined the church!

Since the Quebec city zone is the last zone in the six week rotation for interviews and zone conferences, I ended up having interviews and zone conference this week, and I have to say that it was every bit as powerful the second time around! I didn’t end up having another interview since I already had one a few weeks ago, but I got to sit with some other missionaries and listen to Sister Harkness tell stories from her mission in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She spent her whole 19 months as a missionary in the same area, and she had some really amazing experiences! Zone conference itself was once again focused on faith and, even though I had heard it before, the Spirit was still so strong as President and Sister Harkness bore their testimonies about the power of faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement. It was a perfect reminder of what Christmas is all about and why it really matters.

Wednesday night we had a fun surprise when a member named Vincent who lives on the other side of the St. Lawrence River called us and said he wanted to take us out to dinner while he was in town. He is good friends with a member in Montreal named Cedric who has pretty much been my French tutor for the last month or so, and he said Cedric had insisted that he feed us haha. We met for some pizza and he speaks perfect English so he taught us a lot about the culture of Quebec and it was really eye opening. Quebec really is different from anything that I am used to, but the people are super kind and I know that my love for them will only continue to grow. Afterwards, he found out that we were going to buy some boots (at interviews Sister Harkness found out that I didn't have any and she insisted in a motherly way that I get some as soon as possible) and when he found out we were taking the bus he even gave us a ride to walmart and helped us pick out a pair! 

And that brings us all the way to Christmas Eve. We visited a man in the branch named Brother Paradis (pronounced Par-a-dee) and gave him a large print Bible wrapped as a present since last time we met we had only been able to give him a small copy of the Bible. He is older and lives alone, and he doesn’t have any family so it was really nice to be able to spend some time with him. 

As I mentioned in my last letter, we were planning on having dinner with the Torres family Christmas Eve night, but our plans got turned upside down when some other Elders who had given us a ride home from zone conference called us and said that one of them had just tested positive for covid. While we weren’t strictly required to quarantine, Elder Felix had had a headache all that day and I had felt a bit of a sore throat that morning so out of an abundance of caution we decided to isolate until we could get a covid test. Miraculously, though, we were able to schedule a test for Christmas day at 2 pm. Christmas Eve night still ended up being pretty fun since the Torres family stopped by to drop off some food and the presents we had missed, and we got to watch the 2021 Christmas concert as a mission over zoom!

Christmas day this year was certainly unforgettable. Things were really quiet in the morning as we waited for our Covid test at 2:00 so I got to write and talk to my family and it was a really wonderful experience. It’s a miracle that technology makes it possible for me to see mi mellizo (that means twin in Spanish) Josh sweating it out all the way in Cordoba, Argentina, and my family back in Utah on Christmas morning. 

After that we hopped on the bus to borrow the car from the other Elders in Quebec with whom we technically share since they had tested positive for Covid earlier that week (which means we were actually exposed to Covid twice!). When we got to the testing center, thanks to some tender mercies, everything went smoothly. The ladies working there were super nice, and they even said our accents weren’t half bad haha 

After the test, since Elder Felix and I weren’t really feeling any symptoms we decided we could still walk around Old Quebec and just avoid others as much as possible, and it was seriously so beautiful. I’ll try to include as many photos as I can since my words can’t do it justice. I’ll just settle for saying that it was an experience that I will always remember! We ended our Christmas when we got home by watching two episodes of the Chosen as a mission which was actually my first time ever seeing the Chosen and I really liked it.

And before anyone gets too worried, we ended up getting one last Christmas miracle Sunday morning when our test results came back negative!

I’ll close my letter with a cool experience we had while exploring Old Quebec. We visited a really beautiful Château that had an amazing view of the St. Lawrence River, and one of the things I noticed by the water as we looked out was a large star hanging from a crane. We kept exploring, and Elder Felix wanted to get closer to the river so we spent at least a half an hour wandering our way towards the river until we got as close as we could. When we finally came within sight of the river our path was blocked, but to my surprise right in front of us was the crane holding the same giant star I had seen earlier! I felt like the shepherds and wise men of old, and it was a timely reminder of the true significance of Christmas. 

While Christmas is past, life goes on, and the true purpose of our lives, of this mortal journey, remains the same: we must seek our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We must learn of Him and His teachings and, most importantly, we must seek to become like Him as we follow the Covenant path that He has laid before us. Even when the night is dark and the journey is long, His grace and love, His brilliant star, will always be there to guide us along and give us the hope and faith we need to keep on striving. I’m so grateful for the season and story of Christmas, and I am so grateful for each of you that read these letters!

Love you all,

Elder Jackson