Ten Apartments Later

Sunday, January 24, 2016

We started out the week with a birthday in our family.  Madeleine Mossey turned 10 on Monday, January 18.  Lynn made her a birthday card which we e-mailed to her.  We also phoned her and caught her while she was having lunch with her Mom.  She was having a great day.  She is growing up fast.  It doesn't seem that long ago that we were bouncing her on our knee making up stories with her.  She loves it when we call her or contact her in any way and we love it, too.  She is a very sweet girl.

We started off our week in our normal fashion.  Ed took the Elders shopping.  We prepared for our lessons and we helped the Elders teach some lessons.   We had our district meeting on Tuesday with a great lesson from Elder Gagnon.  It was his first lesson as our new District Leader.  

In our Institute class we are winding down.  We only have two lessons left until we finish the course.  We combined our two classes this week because Clara was away in Belgium.  Florine joined the English group.  

Teaching Institute has been a real blessing for us.  We have learned so much through teaching.  In preparing for the lessons we have increased our knowledge of the gospel and we have drawn closer to the Saviour.  The course we are winding up is titled "Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel.  It has been full of information and facts that have greatly added to our personal testimonies.  We are very fortunate.

This week Lynn had a couple of extra assignments.  She had to prepare a lesson for a meeting of Relief Society and she had to prepare a spiritual thought for our Wednesday night Family Home Evening.  They both went very well.

On Thursday we hit the road.  We decided to do a round of apartment inspections in the Alsace and Lorrain regions of eastern France.  We inspected 10 apartments in 8 cities.  We saw 6 sister missionaries and 36 Elders.  We actually saw the St. Dié Elders twice.  We saw them in St. Dié when we inspected their apartment and we saw them when we go`t to Strasbourg where they were doing exchanges.  

We dealt with a number of things.  Some apartments had mould.  Some needed some supplies.  one needed painting.  Ed changed a tap in Colmar that took a while.  Mot of them needed some additional cleaning.  Lynn went over some elementary cleaning tips with a number of the missionary teams.  

Whenever we visit the young missionaries we enjoy it and they seem to enjoy it, too.  We always try to take a picture of them to share with their families.   There is usually a learning component and a teaching component.

Sœur Jicha and Sœur Fouti-Makaya in Toul.

Sœur Hudson and Sœur Welter in Nancy

Elder Dickson and Congerton in Nancy

Elder Taylor and Elder Bishop in Saint-Dié

Elder Hamilton using vinegar on the ceiling.

Elder Hamilton and Elder Merritt in Épinal

Elder Lau during his lesson on Mold treatment.  

Sœur Ellis and Sœur Andrew in Mulhouse

Elder Duncan tackling the mouldy ceiling.

Ed is under the sink tightening the new taps. Elders Wickern and Duncan helping out in Colmar.

In Strasbourg we have Elders Dudfield, Taylor,  Egbert,  Perkins, Bishop.  Elder Orton wasn't feeling well.  He was lying down.

For us there is always a travel component, too.  We put on a lot of kilometres in an apartment sweep.  To help pass the time we listen to audio books.  We finished a book called "Let it Go".  It was about a man who had lost his wife and two kids in a car accident.  He was able to deal with it, forgive the other driver and get on with his life knowing that his family was safe on both sides of the veil of death.  It was a powerful story with a powerful message.  if he was able to forgive then we all should be able to.

As we travel we see some beautiful country.  This week was one of the coldest weeks we have experienced since coming to France.  the lows got to -9C.  There was great deal of ice crystals on the trees and fences.  They looked very beautiful.  We travelled through quite a bit of fog.  This wasn't that much fun but it, too, was beautiful.  The landscape was gorgeous.  We travelled through an area known as the Vosges.  It is known for its mountains and beautiful vistas which we thoroughly enjoyed.

One of the perks of traveling for apartment checks is the tourism aspect.  Along the way we didn't do much sightseeing but we did take the time to walk around old Strasbourg and to visit a part of the town called "Petite France".  This is a neighbourhood of old houses and other buildings that have a distinct German feeling.  We picked up a German pretzel to munch on at a marché.  It was delicious.

We stayed one night in Épinal and one night in Strasbourg.  Ed had a great run each morning along the canal or the river.   Each day we bought a baguette to make a sandwich for lunch.  We also brought some leftovers to reheat for suppers.  This was a great way of dealing with meals. 

We got back around supper time last night.  Ed prepared for a lesson he taught today and by then our day was pretty much over.  

We had a great time at church today.  There were only 16 people there.  We had 2 great talks, one on becoming a member of the branch and one on Prayer.  We are really loving the study of the Book of Mormon.  It is very inspiring and uplifting and we have a great Sunday school teacher.  Ed taught Institute after our meetings.  

We had a Branch Mission Leader meeting with the two young elders.  Afterward they stayed for lunch.  It went well.  Ed happens to be the Branch Mission Leader among other things.  When there is a position without someone called Ed takes on that responsibility.  It seems to be working.

So we have had a busy week but all went well.  We love what we do and we recognise God's hand in the work.  

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