Mothers and Fathers

Sunday May 29, 2016

Happy Mother's Day!  In France Mother's day is celebrated on the last Sunday in May which, as you no doubt know, is today.  At church today we handed out roses and chocolates to all of the sisters attending.  They loved it.  We also heard lots of testimonies and stories about mothers as we had our Fast and Testimony meeting today because next Sunday is Stake Conference.  It was a lovely meeting.

So yummy!

 It's hard to resist these beauties when they are right out the front door!

Juxtaposed to that, yesterday we had a Stake High Priest meeting.  The theme of that meeting was the role of fathers in the home.  Ed had the pleasure of driving to Lille (3.5 hours) with Michel.  They got to talk and enjoy each other's company all the way.  He is very pleasant company and is very knowledgeable, especially in things pertaining to the Gospel and things pertaining to France.  His grandparents, who raised him, owned a Fromagerie.  This translates to "Cheeserie" in English.  They specialised in Camembert cheese.  He said there isn't a cheese he doesn't like which is quite a comment for someone who lives in a country where they produce 365 cheeses.  he has probably tried them all.

Anyways, back to our Stake High Priest meeting.  We had a choice to attend 2 out of 4 sessions.  Our choices were:
1. How to create ties thanks to fatherly interviews and Family  
    Councils.
2. How to fulfil your role as father in your home.
3. How to manage crisis situations in your home.
4. What can you do for a child who has strayed from the Gospel.
I attended sessions 2 and 4 and Michel attended sessions 1 and 3 so we covered them all between us.  What great sessions they were.

After our sessions we got fed with baguettes, pickles, sandwiches and drinks.  We also had a second meeting related to helping members of our Branches and wards.  It was an idea sharing session and we thought it was great and helpful.  Ed got home at 11:00 p.m. so it was a long day.

In the meantime while Ed was travelling across northern France Lynn went on a Branch activity where they did a hike, tours de roc, near Monthermé in the Ardennes.  The Ardennes are a beautiful part of France.  They are hilly and forested.  They saw some beautiful country and had some great moments together.  The activity was well attended with about 15 people there which ain't bad (When you're a retired teacher you don't have to worry about grammar anymore.) for a small Branch like ours.  From all reports everyone had a great time.  One of the girls from Africa said it was the only time she had ever been on a hike.

We also did some more service this week.  On Friday we headed back out to the Dampt's where Lynn painted and Ed fixed a tap and moved some things.  He also helped put in a sidewalk so that it was easier for Brother and Sister Dampt to walk to the garage.  The yard was incredibly uneven and posed a risk for both of them.  While we were there Lynn was able to FaceTime their daughter in Utah which was really cool.  They loved being able to see her and the grandchildren.  

Hard at work!

Trying it out with Elder Wilson as a guide.

Solo run with the ambulateur (walker).  Worked great.

This morning we were woken up at 5:00 a.m. by our son, Spencer.  The sewer in our rental house had backed up.  Through the phone and with Spencer's help we were able to determine that it was a city sewer line problem and he was able to resolve the issue with city's help and without it costing us a nickel.  We have to say a nickel in Canada because we no longer have pennies.  Once again we were blessed by being on a mission and by the support of our family, in this case by Spencer.  Thanks so much to him for his time and expertise.

Since we're on the home front with news of our water problems we just want to mention here that Dustin, Lindsey and their family just got home from a family vacation.  They went to California.  They visited Legoland, San Diego, swam on the beach, visited Legoland and had a super good time.  Elle was just overwhelmed that they stayed in 4 different hotels.  Wow! Now that's the definition of a good holiday from the eyes of a 5 year old.

We received notice this week that the mission would like us to look at a new apartment in Strasbourg for the Elders who are there.  The old apartment is getting very run down and needs a lot of attention. We were able to contact the agent and will head there tomorrow to check things out.

Yesterday in the "Place Ducal" there was an interesting activity.  There were tables set up all over the square.  On each table there was a game.  It was the annual "Fête des Jeux" (Festival of Games).  People were just starting to play them.  We thought it was a great idea and a wholesome one, too.  When Lynn went back later walking home from the hike she discovered that they were all home-made games.  The square was very buzzing with excitement.

The rest of our week was filled with meetings, teaching appointments, lessons, interviews, studies and supporting our members.  All in all it was great week but another busy one.  Missionary life is never dull.

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