Oh The Places You'll Go

Sunday, May 24, 2015

What a busy week we've had again.  Monday was Lynn's birthday.  We had a nice day together.  We taught a wonderful woman who sang Happy Birthday to Lynn in accented English.  It was so sweet.  Lynn got an exercise bike last week in Belgium and for her birthday she got a new seat cover to make it more comfortable. 

We spent most of the week on the road starting on Tuesday.  We went to our district meeting on Tuesday as usual.  That takes two hours of driving each way.  When we were done instead of heading straight home we headed to another amazing lady's house for a lesson on the "Word of Wisdom"  We finished about 4:30.  What a great lesson.  Both of the ladies we are helping teach have accepted the invitation to be baptised.  They are very prepared and we feel the spirit with her every time we go with the Elders to teach them.

After the lesson we headed straight to Nancy for 3 days of apartment inspections.  It took us twice as long to get to Nancy because of super heavy traffic between Luxembourg and Metz.  We finally got in about 9:30 p.m.  We were very tired.

Ed had some great runs on this trip.  He ran Wednesday through old Nancy around buildings from the 15th century.  On Thursday he ran along a canal in Mulhouse, Alsace and on Friday he ran around and through a gorgeous park called the "Orangerie" in Strasbourg.  What a pleasure it was for him to see some different scenery during his runs.  Every time we are out we feel so blessed to be in such a beautiful country.

Our purpose for this road trip was to inspect the missionary apartments in the area and to do any repairs if necessary.  On Thursday we started off in Toul. 

Soeurs Asay and Curtis

Then we went to Epinal, then Belfort and then Mulhouse.  We were impressed with all the younger missionaries.  They are great people and are working hard to spread the Gospel.  The Elders in Epinal even made chocolate chip cookies for us and we took them out for lunch.

Elder Livingston (Utah) and Elder Perry (from Tahiti)

Elders Taruoura (on the right from Tahiti) and Rafanomezana (on the left.  He's from the south of France - his family is originally from Madagascar) 

We stayed the night in Mulhouse at a nice little hotel downtown in what we call Centre Ville.  We had a typical Alsatian meal since we were in the Alsace region of France.  Lynn ordered a great dish and Ed's was passable.  It had liver in it which he does not find passable.  For once, he was glad that he and Lynn were sharing their meals because she had a great meal - pork and vegetables.

Soeur Clark and Nolasco (fellow Canadian)

Elder Beach (Kentucky) and Elder Fonua (Tahiti)

On Thursday we visited Colmar, St. Dié and Strasbourg.  Ed had to fix two taps in the Colmar apartment which was not as easy as it sounds.  It took him a couple of hours for a variety of reasons.  This put us behind schedule but we were on the road again as soon as possible.  

Elder Utahia (from Tahiti) is taking all the wide ties and making then narrow.  He is doing an awesome job.  They look fantastic.

Elder Boyden and Utahia ready to go do some service for some members in Colmar.

Elder Long and Elder Duncan.  They've been helping a member with some service in St Dié.

Elder Larson (Kentucky) and Elder Shaver (from Vancouver).  Yummy crêpes.

Elder Johnson (Logan, Utah) and Elder Ricks (Rancho Cucamonga).  They are the Strasbourg Zone leaders.  These are the two we went teaching with in Strasbourg.  It was a wonderful experience. 

What a beautiful part of France.  Lots of hills and forests and history.  We saw castles on hilltops but we didn't have time to visit them.  The Elders in Strasbourg made crêpes for us.  They were great (the crêpes and the Elders)

We stayed at a lovely hotel on a park.  Even though we were on an inspection trip we still found a teaching opportunity.  We went with a team of Elders to an appointment to teach a Japanese fellow who is working at the Japanese embassy in Strasbourg.  Strasbourg is the centre of the European Parliament so many countries have embassies there.  We were able to share some of the experiences that we had leading up to and after our own baptisms.  It was a great experience.

On the way to the appointment, which we walked to, we were amazed to see stork nests complete with storks in them on the tops of all the trees.  They are huge, as are their nests.  On the way back to the hotel we walked through the beautiful park where there were more storks and a little zoo.  What a nice way to end a busy day.  Tomorrow we would head home.

There is a little chick in the nest too.

Before going home, however, we decided to visit Strasbourg a little.  We took a one hour boat cruise around the river and canals.  We also visited a very old part of Strasbourg called Petite France or Little France.  We also did some shopping at a little marché where Lynn bought a skirt, a top and a hat.  We also bought lunch here.

A free book exchange.  What a marvellous idea!

Strasbourg has so many beautiful canals and bridges throughout it.  Amazing.

As Lynn and I travel we like to listen to audio books.  On the way back to Charleville we finished the book we had been listening to.  It was about WWII in Italy.  It was a great storycalled "The Rules in Rome" written by an LDS author.

We had to stop in Luxembourg to deliver some things that the missionaries there needed.

Elder Jenness and Elder Chritstenson

We found out that we will have to close the empty apartment in Nancy this summer.  That will eliminate our free lodging that we have taken advantage of when we are in Nancy.

We are fortunate to be able to work with the many younger missionaries.  They inspire us and continue to be an example to us of love, devotion and hard work.  They are striving to follow the example of the Saviour and we can learn a great deal from them.

The trip home was much faster.  We got home at about 8:30 on Friday.  We unloaded our overloaded car and went to bed.

On Saturday we had DMP meeting with our Elders where we compare notes and plan the missionary work for our branch.  Ed washed and vacuumed the car.  We had a lesson with the Elders.  It went very well.  We taught again about baptism and shared our personal experiences with this wonderful lady.  She is firm on her commitment to be baptised on June 21.  We are pretty excited for her.

What a miracle Charleville is.  There are great things happening here.  We had 19 people at church today.  We have had great attendance.  People love coming to our meetings and are usually touched by the spirit of the Lord when they do.  Today we had our visiting High Councilman with us. We also had a productive Branch Council meeting.  We had a meal afterwards and this is always a great activity for Branch unity. The Lord knows what the future holds for our Branch and we pray that we will be instruments in His hands as we share his word with the people here.

We will close with our blessings on everyone who reads our blog.    May the Holy Ghost be with you and your families.

Au revoir de la France.
Lyndi-lou and Eddie, too.