~Lyndi-lou and Eddie too...~: Travels and Teaching

Sunday, May 10, 2015

We really felt close to the Lord this week in all that we did.

We started out the week by studying scriptures, talks and manuals. We were blessed to have been given some manuals at our last zone conference that deal with missionary use of technology. These were prepared with inspiration by the Church. They teach how to use technology appropriately and how to teach through technology. Not only are these two manuals appropriate for missionaries but they are great resources for our personal lives, as well. There is a lot of wisdom in these resources and we know that what is there comes from our Heavenly Father.

Of course, we can't have a week where our missionary work doesn't take us somewhere exciting. It started this week with our district meeting in St. Quentin. This happened on Tuesday. We had a very uplifting meeting where we learned about being prepared by having the right spiritual equipment - the Holy Ghost, the scriptures, prayer, testimony, etc. If we are prepared our teaching goes much better and we make much better progress. We had two new missionaries to our district there, Sister King from Louisiana and Elder Powelson (Zone Leader) from Cardston Alberta. We had a great meal and headed home.

After our district meeting our day was far from over. We went to a teaching appointment with the younger missionaries. We visited an investigator who is close to baptism. She had some concerns about the law of chastity which we were able to address. It really made us feel good to be able to share God's plan with her. She was touched and pleased. She already has a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. We are fortunate that we have played a part in that understanding. Ed had a meeting at the church afterward. He met with the Branch presidency, followed by a one on one meeting.

On Wednesday we headed east of Charleville to start a couple of days of apartment inspections. We inspected apartments in Luxembourg, Metz and two in Nancy. We have a great system in place. Lynn inspects the places and Ed does repairs. As it turns out Ed had to fix some lights, change a toilet seat and adjust the flow in two toilets. Believe it or not this, too was an uplifting experience. You may wonder how working on a toilet can be uplifting. Well it isn't actually but the love, appreciation and warmth we felt from all the missionaries certainly are uplifting. We love the younger missionaries with whom we work and they seem to appreciate us too. Or maybe it's because we always bring them treats or take them out for a kebob. ;)

Soeur Wilson with Soeur Kitchen and Soeur Van Den Berghe. We love these gals.

Lynn and her Mom - we gave her a tour of Nancy Thursday afternoon.

Couldn't resist the opportunity for a picture in front of these beautiful flowers in Nancy.

After finishing on Thursday we headed back to Charleville. We went by Verdun where thousands of graves of WWI soldiers were. We visited an old fort from WWI and a destroyed village. We were amazed and grateful for the sacrifices that were made for us during that conflict. It reminds us of the Saviour who died for us. So, too, did those soldiers die for us so that our lives could be better.

An old Monastery turned Retirement Home in a little village on the way home.

On Friday we had another teaching opportunity. We taught about the creation and the fall to another investigator who is very interested in learning as much as she can. She wants to be baptised and wants to be taught as much as possible. We have two baptism dates set and that will be truly amazing for our little Branch.

Elder Christianson and Elder Dayley- our amazing missionaries.

Today we had 25 people out to church. In January we had 2 weeks where there were 4 and 5 people out. We are now getting five times as many. You can't tell us that the Lord's hand is not in this work. He is preparing people to meet the missionaries and they are connecting with them in positive ways.

We had Florine, a returned missionary, and her mother speak in church today. They both talked about the blessings of missionary work. We know what they are talking about. We feel those same blessings. We feel close to our Heavenly Father and love the feeling.

We continue to share our experiences with our family by Skype, e-mail and telephone. We seek their support through prayer and fasting. They are there for us and we appreciate it. They love to hear what we are doing and show their love for us in a variety of ways.

The Lord has blessed us and continues to bless us. He is looking after us and the people of Charleville-Mézières. We appreciate it.

Today being Mother's Day we'd like to thank our own mothers and wish them a great day as well as acknowledge our daughters and daughters-in-law. They are all amazing women and we appreciate all they do. We love you!