An Apostle in France

Sunday, March 13, 2016

We have had a week full of uplifting experiences.  Ed attended 2 meetings this week on his own.  That, in and of itself, was not uplifting but the meetings were.  We both went to two other meetings together that were amazing.

On Wednesday there was a zone conference in Paris.   At the same time there was a train strike.  As a result, Ed had to drive four Elders to the meeting, 2 from Charleville and 2 from Reims.  In so doing there was no room for Lynn.  As it turns out, Ed did not get to much of the meetings, as he had a legality to attend to but he did make it back for lunch.   Turns out driving took nearly 2 1/2 times longer than taking the train. 

On Thursday of this week we had a meeting in Charleroi, Belgium. This meeting was with the Seminaries and Institute director for our part of France, Jean-Claude Vanaquer.  Us and two other missionary couples from Brussels and Liège were involved.  Two members of the Brussels Stake were also there for the morning.  We dealt with issues related to Young Single Adults.  We learned a great deal and had a wonderful meeting.  We went out to lunch together and got to know each other a little better.  The meeting was fantastic and was very uplifting, informative and beneficial.

We ate at a great little French restaurant for lunch with this cool dude standing by the menu.

Friday was spent working on the Branch history mostly.  We did do a few other things.  We got an order for the church delivered and Ed had to take the supplies over to the church.  

Saturday and Sunday were both amazing days.  Elder Christofferson of the Quorum of the 12 was in France.  He led a training session for all of the Priesthood leaders in our area.  This included Branch Presidents and so Ed was able to attend.  He drove solo into Paris to do so.  We very rarely go into Paris alone, only once before, and here Ed did so twice in one week.  

The meeting was phenomenal.  We were taught by Elder Christofferson, Elder Kearon, the President of the European region, Elder Boutoille of the area 70's and by President Babin of the France Paris Mission.  Talk about a formidable lineup.  They all gave very powerful messages and bore powerful testimonies.  They also held a Q & A session where they answered questions from the attendees.  This was awesome as the questions were very well thought out and were specific to issues that were pertinent for France.  We all had the chance meet the speakers and could feel of their love and their spirit.  It was truly amazing.

This spiritual high continued into Sunday.  Elder Christofferson presided at our Stake Conference in Lille accompanied by his wife and Elder Boutoille.  Ed had the privilege and blessing to translate for Elder and Sister Christofferson.  Whenever there was a French speaker he translated the talks and prayers into English.  This was fun for him to be able to do.  The messages were marvelous by all speakers who also included, our Stake President, a sister from our stake and President and Sister Babin.  What an uplifting experience this was for us all.  We had 14 members from our Branch there and we all loved it.  Besides it being a wonderful event, the temperature was 13 degrees and it was a beautiful drive through the French countryside.  We were able to have our DMB meeting with the missionaries on the way there.  

This is what Ed's driving apparently does to the Elders.

This is Elder Pierre Gagnon and Lynn.  They found out they are related through the Brulotte line.  Pretty exciting.

Keeping everything in perspective the rest of the week was uplifting, too.  As we taught our usual lessons we were able to learn and grow alongside our students.  We are so fortunate to have our missionary callings and to work alongside such special people.  

We love what we do.

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