Week 84- Transfers...Staying in Lyon for Christmas

Hello!

I don't even know where to start!! I'm sorry I didn't send out a weekly email last week. I actually typed one up and was ready to send it out on Monday but then we got a few calls and had to take care of some things...and then the next thing I knew it was Thursday night and I went to my drafts and saw that my email was still there and that I never sent it haha! Sooo, I just decided not to send it, but I'll take about the last few weeks in this email!

Haha I swear the past 3 weeks have felt like one continuous week! 2 Sundays ago we were in Toulon and went to church there! FYI in Toulon they had the primary program which was so good! Then from Toulon we drove to Montpellier and had Conference on Monday and then drove back to Lyon and had Conference in Ecully on Tuesday! On Wednesday we drove to Bordeaux with the Browns and had conferences in Bordeaux and Toulouse on Thursday and Friday! We drove back home to Lyon from Toulouse on Friday and got home pretty late but it felt good to be home! Then at church in Ecully on Sunday we showed up...and it was the primary program for our ward!! 2 weeks in a row! That's what I'm talking about ;)

Which brings me to my next quick thought...the mission conference tour was so great!! Seeing all of the missionaries and being in all of the different parts of France was a great experience. I am so grateful for all of the things that I have learned over the past 2 weeks at the Conferences! Again we spent a lot of time in the car from driving with President and Sister Brown this past week and they are honestly so funny! They started telling stories about their lives and they are such great examples. I love them so much. And yes, Sister Brown and I laughed a lot over the past few weeks ;) we did some math and we figured out that over the mission tour we spent about 40 hours in conferences and 35 hours in the car as we have been traveling all over the mission with President and Sister Brown! Good stuff :)

This past week was sooooo good! It was the last week of the transfer which meant that Elder Menzel and I spent a lot of time in President Browns office working with transfers (and in Sister Brown's kitchen eating;))! The transfer process this week was really spiritual and a lot of really cool things happened. I feel very grateful every time to be apart of the process. 

So the transfer news for me! I'm staying for another one here in Lyon. It will be fun and I'm excited to spend the Christmas Season in Lyon. It will be a very busy next 2 weeks but then it should calm down a bit before Christmas.

This next week will be a crazy week as we say goodbye to the returning missionaries, hello to the new ones, have a few conferences, and prepare for Elder Sabin to come to our mission next week!! It should be a good one!

#LightTheWorld! Even though it may not be possible, I hope you are all getting into it as much as Elder Menzel and I! Haha! But seriously I think I watch this video an average of 7-8 times per day no joke.

Anyways, everything is good here in Lyon and it's all going well! I'm grateful for everything that is happening and for all of the experiences!! Have a great week!!

Elder Wade

Week 81 Mission tour back to Geneva and Nice

The Crestos

Elder Laurens

Monaco With Elder Menzel

Fidalgos!!

Haha wow....where do I even begin? The last 2 weeks have been so crazy as we have had the tour of the mission with President and Sister Brown! Elder Menzel and I have been super busy! (That is why I'm emailing on a Tuesday night) Over the last week we have been to Geneva, Lausanne, Nice, Montpellier And Lyon! Tomorrow we leave to the western side and will be in Bordeaux and Toulouse! It is very busy but very fun! My thoughts are very mixed and melonged so I will just write down what I remember!  

Last Sunday was incredible! So we drove back to Geneva!!! I love it there soooo much. We went and ate with Brother and Sister Fidalgo and cute little Rose!! I love them so much and it was so good to see them again. It's funny how every time I see them it's like we never were apart. They have such an amazing influence on me and I love them!!

On Monday I had an amazing experience. Back when I was Geneva there was a man in the ward who kept coming to church with his wife and 2 kids but wasn't a member! Elder Barnes, Elder Battezzato and I worked so hard on him but he just wasn't ready. We really became so close over the 6 months I spent there and I was so sad to leave him when I left and the day that I left he thanked me for everything and then told me that when he was ready, he would contact the missionaries. Well, on Monday morning during lunch the Zone Leaders in Geneva surprised me with someone....Frere Clement!! We have each other the biggest hug on this planet and I was so excited to see him. We talked to about so many things. He said that he wanted to thank me for a few things that he never got the opportunity to thank me for right before I left and he talked about how him and I had a very special connexion, which is true. After everything, he said "And I want to tell you something. After 30 years of coming to church with my family, I am going to get baptized on December 31. Thank you for everything." And then we gave each other the biggest hug!! It was so great and I am so grateful to have been able to play a little part in his conversion. Seriously it was amazing. He said a lot of other things, and i will be eternally grateful for the opportunity to have seen him and talked to him again! I was also able to see President Coppel again who is the Stake President in Geneva! He is a huge example for me. 

On Wednesday we welcomed a new missionary Elder Laurens into the mission! We picked him up from the airport and had a good time with him and went out to eat with the Browns and him at a restaurant! 

Thursday night was so amazing!! We drove into Nice and went to the chapel and it felt so good to be back!! It has almost been a year since I was in Nice last! As we showed up to the chapel there were a few members there and I was so excited to see them! But by far the most amazing thing was when the Cresto family showed up at the church!!!!! The Sisters in Nice had talked to them before and they planned to surprise me while we were there!! It had been a full year since I've seen them and it was one of the happiest moments of my life!!! Brother Cresto came running into the hallway and I almost died when I saw him with Sister Cresto and their kids Adam and Thomas!! Brother Cresto and I hugged for like 5 minutes!! I honestly couldn't even speak I was so excited. I will be eternally grateful for the Cresto family. I was so grateful and happy for the opportunity to see them again. I'm not even lying....words cannot express the feeling that I felt when I saw them. Being in Nice was so amazing and it made me reflect on everything that I have experienced since I stepped off the train in Nice on my first day until now. Saying goodbye to them again was hard. Afterwards, we went and ate at a restaurant in Nice with President and Sister Brown and it was so good. And then Elder Menzel and I went back and slept in the Nice elders apartment and it was so good to be back. Nice will always have a very special place in my heart. 

Right after the Nice Conference President said, "Brethren, it's been a very busy last couple of weeks. And we are right by Monaco...I think it's calling our name." Haha! So we went and visited for about an hour and took some great photos! I'll try and send some. 

On Sunday I had another really cool experience! So we were in Toulon and attended the Toulon church and there is a rugby player by the name of Ma'a Nonu. He played for the New Zealand all blacks and apparently is one of the top 10 rugby players in the world. And he showed up to Toulon for church because he is a member! So, he doesn't speak French and so he needed somebody to translate for him and his wife!! I gladly offered to do it ;) it was really cool and he is honestly the coolest guy on the planet!! He was so humble and meek and it was so cool to be around him!

Haha honestly I could go on and on and on but I don't have enough time! It's been so great. We have spent a lot of time in the car with the Browns and Sister Brown and I laugh alllll the time haha I love her so so so much!! 

Anyways, I didn't have time to send off a weekly email last week and I missed so many details but it's okay!! Everything is going so well here!

It was really cool to go back to Nice and that I stayed awake and just thought about how much had changed since I served there at the beginning of my mission. After laying awake for a few hours just thinking about everything, I was brought to my knees out of gratitude and love for my Savior and everything that I have been able to do over the past year or so. I am so grateful for my mission and the people I have met and the people that have changed my life forever! 

Elder Wade

The Crestos!

Elder Laurens

Monaco with Elder Menzel

The Fidalgos!

Week 79 1 day = 1 week but at the same time it feels like 1 week = 1 day

Hello! This week was very busy! It's hard to explain how time works right now haha. It feels like 1 day = 1 week but at the same time it feels like 1 week = 1 day! I don't have a lot of time right now and to be honest it's okay because nothing too big happened last week. We just had a lot of little things to take care of. So this email may be a little more boring than normal haha.

In terms of proselyting to be honest we haven't had a whole lot of time lately! :( But, we have been focusing our efforts on part member families and we are starting to see some really cool things happening! Right now throughout the whole mission we have been focusing on part member families and on member work! Last Monday we were in Presidents office planning for conferences and we started to talk about the mission and it was so cool to watch as he was inspired and talked to Elder Menzel and I about how he felt like part member families was where the Lord wanted to take our mission! So this past week we held a meeting with the Ecully ZLs and STLs (who are all in our ward) and we talked about how we are going to do it! It's been pretty amazing to see what has happened already and it will only get better as time goes on!

Haha on a more less missionary centered story. So I have to be careful with how I word this because there are missionaries in my mission that get my emails ;) But in preparation for the Conferences that we have starting next week, Sister Brown sent Elder Menzel and I to do a little shopping for her on Tuesday haha!! You should've seen Elder Menzel and I walking around the mall with bags on bags on bags haha. It felt sooo weird. But hey I would do anything for Sister Brown so it's okay ;) Honestly can I just take a quick second to say that I LOVE Sister Brown. She is such an angel and I am so grateful for her :) 

On Tuesday we were with President a little bit and we planned out the District Meeting outline! And then on Thursday we went to St. Etienne's District Meeting and it was really good! Elder Raherimandimby did a great job with it! I love DMs because they allow a lot more participation amongst the missionaries.

This next week will be very busy with MLC, Zone Training, and planning for our 2 week long Mission tour next week!! So it will be a good one. 

I had a really cool thought the other day during my personal study that touched me a lot. So, imagine that you had come to respect and love somebody so deeply. And this person loved you back. In fact this person loved you so much that they gave their life for you. And after their death and in your sadness, you go to their grave, and there somebody tells you, "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen." 

I know that Christ lives and that He not only did He offer himself as a perfect sacrifice for us all, but that on the third day He was resurrected. This knowledge is the most precious thing in my life and I will be forever grateful for it. 

Elder Wade

Week 78 Happy Halloween

Hello!! Haha this past week was pretty busy to say the least. So much
happened that I'll just give a nice little recap of each day!

Monday was transfer day throughout the mission which meant that it was
a busy day with phone calls haha. Elder Menzel and I spent the day
with the departing missionaries which was sad haha...and especially
sad as I said goodbye to Elder Landry! I honestly love that guy so
much and again I am so grateful to have been with him for 2 transfers.
I learned so much from him and we will be life long friends. The
departing missionaries testimony meeting is always so powerful and
this time was no different!

Tuesday of week 1 is nice because it's a completely different feeling
than Monday! On Tuesday at around 11:00 we picked up 11 new blue
missionaries from the airport and welcomed them to the mission! Haha
so one of the missionary rules that everyone is familiar with is the
fact that if you have a car, one of the missionaries needs to be
behind the car whenever it is going in reverse! Haha so Elder Menzel
and I had 3 new missionaries in our car and it was absolutely POURING
rain and Elder Menzel made a wrong turn and I had to get out and back
him really quickly and all of the blues in our car thought I was crazy
for getting out. I honestly got soaked too because Elder Menzel was
having a trouble getting turned around so I stayed in the rain for a
little bit ;) haha I just read that story and I promise it was funnier
in the moment. Anyways...we spent the rest of Tuesday with blue
orientations stuff and then we all went to Presidents home and hung
out and played games and got to know the blues! Always a good time.
Then afterwards we met with President and put the blues with their
trainers! After we did that, Elder Menzel and I had a really cool
moment with President as he talked about life and the mission. A
conversation I will definitely always remember!

Wednesday was Blues Conference! This group of blues is so good and
determined....it was such a good Conference. The missionaries just
keep on getting better and better it's crazy! Blues Conference is
always fun because you have a lot to present on (we had 3 hours!) but
at the same time the blues are all soooo jet lagged and tired haha so
we try to make it fun and interesting. But the conference went really
well! We spent most of the day at the church with the blues and their
trainers!

Thursday was full of planning and at the office! We had to plan for
Bounce Back Conference (it's where all of the missionaries who just
finished their first 6 weeks in the mission field come back to Lyon)
on Friday and we also had to plan for a meeting that we had later that
night with all of the ZLs and STLs and ward mission leaders in Lyon.
This last week was Stake Conference in Lyon and the Stake President,
President Léporé, put Elder Menzel and I in charge of some workshops
on Saturday morning to help the members with missionary work! Anyways,
great day. It's always so humbling to watch as the Spirit helps you
plan and prepare for things.

Friday was Bounce Back Conference! Honestly one of the best
conferences that I have ever been at. Some of the companionships
traveled 2-3 days to get to Lyon and President really felt like this
was such an important conference and so I was pretty nervous before
it! President Brown is so amazing and he brought the spirit into the
room like I've never seen before. The whole conference was very
powerful, yet very fun. Sister Brown is so cute and had some ice cream
activités haha.

Saturday was really busy but really spiritual. From 10:00-4:00 we were
at the church helping out with the Stake Conference workshops! We were
in charge of helping members invite friends and it was super fun.
Honestly the members of France are so incredible I love them a lot.

Sunday was Lyon Stake Conference! It was so good and seriously the
spirit was so strong. Ah! So Sister Brown was asked by the Area 70 who
was there to get up and testify :) so she did and President went up
and translated for her. At the end of her testimony Sister Brown
recited a little testimony in French and every heart in the conference
center absolutely melted. She is honestly the cutest!!! I died.

As you can see it was very very busy but very fun!

John 21:25 is a scripture that I have spent a lot of time lately
pondering. Honestly think about that scripture! He is the Christ.

Elder Wade

Ps...Happy Halloween!! We met with President Brown today to talk about
District Meeting outlines.... it first we had to trick or treat Sister
Brown (and he cute red slippers) ;)

John 21:25 

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Week 77 Spirit of Elijah

Hello! The last few weeks have been crazy but before I get into
anything I would like to congratulate my sister on another state
championship! I love you so much Liv you are so amazing. Congrats on
the 3-Peat :)

Haha this is one of those emails where I honestly don't even know
where to start. So much has happened over the past 2 weeks and this
next week is going to be so crazy. Hmmmm....I guess I'll just start
somewhere!

So Elder Landry is finishing his mission today! I am so grateful that
I was able to serve with Elder Landry. I learned so much from him over
the last 3 months and he has been such a good example for me. Haha
honestly we laughed soooo much and had such a good time and have so
many cool experiences and stories together. He will always be one of
my best friends and I love him to death! He is such a great leader and
I have enjoyed learning from him and watching him over the last 3
months. When we were on Corsica a year ago we joked around about
serving with each other one day...and we did! He's going to be
successful at whatever he does in life. Honestly a huge stud. I am
truly so grateful to have served with him.

So my new companion.....Elder Menzel! He is a huge stud and I'm so
excited to be with him. He is  from Germany and in his 11th transfer
and we served around each other a little bit back when I was in
Geneva! We were already good friends and so it will be a blast to
serve with him. He was serving in Montpellier but President called him
in last week so he spent all of week 6 of the transfer with us!

Which leads me to another fact! Since Elder Menzel can drive because
he is European, we don't need somebody to drive for us. Which means
Elder Battezzato got transferred as well! :( He is serving as a ZL
here in Lyon so he's still around me, but I was soooo sad to say
goodbye to him after 6 weeks again! Honestly I love him so much and we
have honestly become so close on the mission and we will stay friends
forever. He is such a stud and we laughed and laughed and laughed.
It's funny because I feel like Heavenly Father put me with him twice
because he had so many things to teach me that I needed to be with him
twice and that one time wouldn't be enough for me! I love that Italien
so dang much!!

Also last week we had the Bordeaux Zone Conference down in Bordeaux
and it went well! It was a cool Conference because us and President
Brown relied a lot on the Spirit while we presented. It was funny as
well because we usually presented for about 30 minutes but President
finished super early and we looked up at the clock when it was our
turn to present and we realized that we had 1 hour and 20 Minutes
haha! It went great though. Largely in part because Elder Landry and
Elder Battezzato are such good presenters! Afterward the conference
Elder Landry, Elder Battezzato and I drove back to Lyon and there were
a few roads that were closed and so we got back sooo late haha. It was
so fun though. Those long car rides are fun when you have comps that
you love!

Also this is pretty exciting...I finally caught the spirit of Elijah!
I know I know I'm super late. But better late than never. We were at
the Stake Presidents home here in Lyon and President Léporé helped us
with our genealogy! I told him that all of my family had basically
already done all of mine and then we logged into my account and we
eventually found a name together to take to the temple! It was so
cool! So then the next day during companionship study we drove to the
church and did family history and I found another name as well. It was
a really cool feeling and I felt so good inside.

So this past week was the last week of the transfer which means that
we were really busy! On Monday and Tuesday we spent most of the time
in President Browns office working on the transfer process. We also
spent a lot of time at the office getting ready for the new transfer!
In my 13th transfer now which is crazy...time is flying. But working
on transfers is such an uplifting and edifying experience! One of my
favorite things in the world is to be around President and Sister
Brown. I love them so much and they are such amazing people. I am so
grateful for them. Haha Sister Brown literally cracks me up all the
time and we are always laughing. She is so cute!

Week 1 is always a crazy week and this upcoming week will be even more
crazy than usual! This week is always full of so many emotions it's
crazy. It's always a little weird to say goodbye to the departing
missionaries and it will be especially hard saying goodbye to Elder
Landry since we've been together for the last 3 months. So on Monday
we are with the departing missionaries, on Tuesday we pick up 11 new
missionaries from the airport and welcome them into the mission and
stuff, on Wednesday we have Blues Conference for all of the new
missionaries and their trainers, on Thursday we will have a meeting
with the Lyon missionaries and we will be talking to them about
something the Stake President has asked us to do, on Friday we have
"Bounce Back Conference" which is for all of the missionaries going
into their 2 transfer and their trainers, and on Saturday we are
helping present things to members at the Lyon Stake Conference! Haha
it's going to be such a good week.

Anyways I know this email wasn't very good but my mind is all jumbled
around right now!!

Elder Wade

Week 75- Power of The Book Of Mormon

Hello!! We drove to Bordeaux today which is why this email is a little
late! This was another good week and we were really busy so it went
especially fast. Here are some of the main things that I can remember!

So we had 2 big multi zone conferences this last week! Planning for
them was really cool. Here's a good story! So our first zone
conference on Thursday morning was our biggest one here in Lyon with
the Zones of Lyon, Écully, Lausanne, and Geneva! We had spent quite a
bit of time planning with President and Sister Brown in the days
before, but we didn't really know exactly what we should talk about.
We were up seriously all Wednesday night trying to plan and we had
decided with President to talk about chapter 4 in PMG, but nothing was
coming to us! It was so weird we were seriously stumped. So we decided
to sleep on it and we woke up the next morning and tried to plan our
whole presentation right before conference but still nothing was
coming! So we eventually called President and basically told him that
we had been at it for hours and nothing was coming and we didn't know
what to do, and basically he said, "Brethren it's been the same for
me. I've been up all night and I don't know what I'm speaking on
either. I guess we will really need to rely on the spirit today." And
so we did exactly that! Presidents opening remarks were amazing and he
kind of did a question and answer because there has been a lot of
stuff happening in the mission lately for multiple reasons and he
wanted everyone on the same page. So once President was finished we
went up and the spirit helped us out so much and we were guided to
talk about a few things mentioned by Elder Christofferson specifically
for our mission when he came back in March. I feel like it went well.

For me the cool thing is that originally we were going to present on
chapter 4 in PMG which is all about relying on the spirit! And I like
to think that Heavenly Father just wanted us to have more faith in Him
and rely on the Spirit during our presentations, so he was kind of
testing us! Because seriously we spent a lot of time planning for the
presentation but nothing was coming, so we needed to rely on the
Spirit! I like to think of it that way because the other answer is
that we are bad at planning and i hope it's not that haha!

So after our conference here in Lyon, we drove down to Nimes for the
Montpellier, Nice, and Aix-en-Province zones! The Nimes conference was
super cool because during it we went to the big Coliseum in Nimes
that's been there since basically the birth of Christ! President
talked a lot about the early persecution of Christ's church and how
even in the coliseum where we were, there had been mass murders of
Christians shortly after Christ's death. Honestly it was really
powerful. On our way back from the coliseum I was able to have a cool
experience as all 60 of us were on the bus and a couple asked me what
we were doing and I was able to explain to them what we believe and
give them a Book of Mormon and they were really touched and wanted to
learn more and asked for the number of the elders in Nimes! It was
really cool. It's always good to see all the missionaries and be
around them!

All of these conferences means one thing...road tripping with the
Browns!! Which is one of my favorite things ever! Haha they are soooo
funny! Sister Brown is seriously so cute I love just talking to her.
On Friday night we were getting back into Lyon from Nimes and they
took us out to eat at a restaurant here in Lyon and honestly we were
laughing so loud the whole time! President Brown was just pulling joke
after joke and we were all dying. I love them so much and I really am
grateful for the moments when we are around them.

I was also able to go on an exchange this week with Elder Thorley! He
is from Davis High School and is currently serving in Toulouse right
now! We figured out that for 3 of my 4 years of French in high school
he was in my class!! Haha so that was pretty funny. But he is a big
time stud and I loved our exchange and I was able to learn a lot from
him. One of the things that I learned from him was to always pray to
confirm decisions or if we felt like we needed to change them. I was
able to see how important that was when we were lead to people with
whom we were able to fix rdvs!

So some sad news with Renée! She told us last week that she was having
phone problems and needed to get her phone fixed.  And so long story
short we haven't been able to see her because we have no way of
getting in contact with her! But all is well :)

One of my favorite quotes from conference was by Elder LeGrand R.
Curtis Jr., and in talking about the Book of Mormon he said,

"I encourage everyone receiving this message, including the Aaronic
Priesthood bearers convened in this meeting tonight, to discover the
power of the Book of Mormon...That testimony will help you resist
temptation. It will prepare you for “the great call of diligence … to
labor in the vineyards of the Lord.” It will stand as a sure anchor
when accusations or slanderous statements are used to challenge your
faith, and it will be a rock-solid foundation when you are challenged
with questions you cannot answer, at least immediately. You will be
able to discern truth from error, and you will feel the assurance of
the Holy Ghost reconfirming your testimony over and over again as you
continue to read the Book of Mormon throughout your life."

I especially loved the part about being able to discern truth from
error. I know that every time I have been in the Book of Mormon I have
been able to clearly see situations in life and know what I had to do

I have also been studying the talk, "God is the Gardner" by Hugh B.
Brown and have decided that it's one of my top 3 favorite talks of all
time. I know that God truly is the Gardner and that His ways are
higher than our ways, and that everything happens for a reason. He
sees the bigger picture. In fact, he sees the whole picture.

Anyways I'll save you from my missionary ramble ;) but this next week
will be good! We are in Bordeaux and have conference tomorrow and then
have a few cool things throughout the week!

Elder Wade

Week 74- Joseph Smith told the truth

Conference chez la famille Zinn! They are so great I love them.

They have us over every Sunday and Sister Zinn is such a good cook!

Hello! What an amazing week. I don't even know where to start! My

thoughts are going to be all over the place during this email but I'll

try my best!

On Monday night we got to go and visit Sister Barachant in the ward!

She is an absolute angel. Her husband passed away a few months ago and

she's been having a hard time and so last week Sister Zinn gave us

some flowers to go take to her and brighten her day! It was so much

fun and we laughed a lot :) she is such a sweetheart and it's funny

how stuff like that works...We went to her house to help her out and

try to make her happy...but in all reality when we left her house

she's the one that helped us out and made us happy! I love the gospel

for that reason.

I was also able to go on 2 exchanges this week! Our first exchange was

with the Nice zone leaders and I was with Elder Sauro! He is from

Montreal, Canada and is a great missionary and I learned a lot from

him. On the exchange we were able to teach Renée and pass some cool

members and find some cool people. It was a great exchange! My second

exchange was with the Bordeaux ZLs and I was with Elder Hall!!! :)

haha I literally love him so much! During the exchange we talked a lot

about our 2 transfers together on Corsica. Our exchange was a little

different because we got a last second text message from a member in

the ward telling us that a family that he knew needed help with

moving! So we thought that it would only take a few hours but it ended

up taking the whole day! Halfway through the day we went and taught

Renée the second half of the plan of salvation and it went well. Elder

Hall is a great teacher. Then we went back and helped with the service

project!

HAHAHA!! Okay so before I tell this story, you have to know that I got

permission from Elder Battezzato to include this in my email haha. SO,

right now in Lyon all of the McDonalds have a deal that if you buy a

meal, you can add 5 euros to it and get a little soccer cleat (it's

more like a key chain) of the soccer club here in Lyon "Olympique

Lyonnais". Hahaha but on the advertisement of the menu, McDonalds

makes it seem like for 5 euros they will give you a pair of nice

soccer cleats to play in and stuff...but like clearly from McDonalds

you're not going to pay 5 euros and get a pair of soccer cleats. Haha

so anyways on Friday night we were at McDonalds and all of the sudden

Elder Battezzato says, "I can't wait to try these shoes out tomorrow

while we are playing." And I laughed because I thought he was kidding,

but then I noticed he was dead serious hahah so Elder Landry and I

looked at each other and both knew exactly what we were going to do!

So we started saying things to him like, "Dang, Elder Battezzato that

is such a good deal I can't believe you noticed that and we didn't!"

Etc. And he was just eating it up as well haha. Like he literally

thought he was going to get soccer cleats! Hahahaha honestly as I'm

writing this up I am laughing my head off. Okay so, eventually they

call his number to go get his meal (we were recording it and it's the

funniest video I have ever seen) and so he walks to the register like

he owned the place with literally the biggest smile on his face and

they give him his meal. Meanwhile I was bent over a chair laughing so

hard. Hahaha so he gets his sack and he has the most confused look on

his face and with his Italian accent he says, "How is possible? How is

possible that shoes be in the sack?" Hahaha!! So he then opens up the

sack and looks in and sees his "soccer shoes" aka the keychain and

says "Are you flipping kidding me!! Come onnnnn!!!" Hahaha oh my gosh

I was dying. Anyways, I know that took a lot of time but it was

seriously the funniest thing on the planet hahah! I know it wasn't the

most spiritually uplifting story, but if you try hard you could pull

something out of it ;)

Renée is doing great! We saw her 4 times last week and each time we

saw her we had a different member in the ward help us out! She is

loving it. We have a little problem right now as her phone is broken

and we haven't been able to get in contact with her for 2 days...so we

are hoping that gets fixed soon haha. She is progressing very well and

she understands everything we teach.

I absolutely loved General Conference so much. It is the most amazing

time of the year and I came away from it feeling better than ever. I

had a few thoughts after conference that I would  like to try and put

into words! Everything we have in the church leads to one

question...did Joseph tell the truth? If Joseph told the truth it

means that eternal truths were restored to the earth. Some of these

eternal truths include the following...

- God is real, and that he loves us perfectly.

- Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. He atoned

for the sins of all mankind and because of Him, and through the

Atonement, we can be made pure and whole. Christ not only resurrected

the third day, but that He lives today. Christ is the creator of this

earth and everything that is on it.

- The power to act in Gods name has been restored on the earth and

that through the Priesthood we are able to perform the necessary

saving ordinances for all of His children.

- The Plan of Salvation is a real. It means that there is no lasting

pain in death because families can be together forever through Christ.

(I personally know that is true and it is one of the most comforting

things in this life. How lucky are we to know that the sting of death

is swallowed up in Christ?)

- The Temple is real and is the House of the Lord. Every person that

has ever taken a breath on this earth will have the opportunity to

accept the Gospel because of sacred ordinances such as Baptisms for

the Dead.

- We have living Prophets and Apostles who lead and guide the Church

of Jesus Christ on the earth, and that if we listen to them, we will

never be led astray.

There are many more but I won't go on and try to list all of them! But

when you think about it, all of these things come down to the honesty

of one man. If Joseph was honest, then all of it is true. I was

especially touched in reading D&C 76 this week when I came across

these verses...

22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him,

this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he

lives!

23 For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the

voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father--

24 That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were

created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters

unto God.

I know that Joseph told the truth.

This next week will be a good one as we have got a few Zone

Conferences to go to! I love conferences and always love road tripping

with President and Sister Brown haha they are a blast!  I'm sure I

left out a bunch of things from last week, but that's everything I can

remember for right now!

Elder Wade

Candid' photo with Sister Barachant hahah I love her.

Exchange with Elder Hall! Also pictured is Renée and Elizee!

Exchange with Elder Hall! Also pictured is Renée and Elizee!

Monday night when we are chez Sister Barachant!

Week 73 -Miracle Story...Christ can calm the storms of life

Hello! Another week gone it's crazy how fast they go. This week was

such an amazing week and we were able to have some really cool

experiences. I'll start off with a story from this week!

So on Thursday we had Zone Training at the church. Zone training is

where the Zone Leaders and STLs present on what was talked about at

MLC! So we show up at the chapel and the zone training was great!

After the zone training, the Écully Zone Leaders asked us if we could

go to the store and get some ice cream for lunch! So we get into our

car and start leaving the parking lot at the church and as we are

pulling out of the parking lot we happened to see a lady sitting down

waiting for her bus on the other end of the street! We all felt like

we needed to talk to her but we continued to drive. And then all of

the sudden we all had the impression that we needed to go back and

talk to her but this time it was a lot stronger and more clear! So

Elder Battezzato turned around and we drove back to the church and

parked the car to talk to her! So we crossed the street and she had a

big smile on her face and we laughed and said "We know you saw us

leave the church and then turn around and come back. And to be honest

we don't really know why we felt like we needed to talk to you. So

maybe you can tell us why?" And literally she said "I feel like God is

calling me right now. I want to come back to him." And honestly I

couldn't even believe it. It was such a cool moment. SO then, we

briefly explained the restoration to her and gave her a Book of Mormon

just as her bus was arriving, so we didn't have time to get her phone

number or anything! But we told her that church started this Sunday at

2:30 and she promised us that she would read the Book of Mormon and

come to church. And then she got on her bus and that was that!

Seriously the whole experience lasted about 7-8 minutes. Like I didn't

even have enough time to ask her what her name was haha. So once she

left we got back into our car and said a huge prayer that she would

really come.

So yesterday we showed up at the church at about 2:15 and we walked

into the chapel and guess who was there? RENÉE (that's her name)!!

When we saw her she had a big smile on her face and she said "I told

you that I would come." And then we tried to take her around to all of

the members and introduce her to them...but they had already said

hello to her and she had a big smile on her face and the ward just

loved her!! Apparently she got to the church at 1:45 and had already

met so many members. Sooo...after we sang the opening hymn, Renée

leans over and asked, "How does baptism work in this church? I feel

like I'm finally home. I would like to be baptized." I almost died. So

after sacrament we went and found a room in the church and taught her

the restoration. She absolutely loved it and she said it made so much

sense. Then we talked about the priesthood and how she could be

baptized with this authority and we asked her to be baptized on

October 15th and she said she wanted to.

After she accepted her baptismal date, she told us her side of the

story! She said that on Thursday she felt very alone and started to

wonder if God was really there. She said that as she walked out of her

house, she prayed and asked God if he was really there to show her a

sign. So then she said that she took a few wrong busses and somehow

ended up right across from our church! She said she felt something

inside her that was pushing her into the church but she didn't go in.

Then she said that she saw us and had a weird but good feeling

inside....But then we got in our car and drove off and she just told

herself that maybe it was just a coincidence. So then she said that

she saw the car make a u-turn (FYI it was not a legal one but its okay

because we have an Italian driver ;) ) and go back into the church.

And then we came up to her and started talking to her!!

So that is the story! We have a RDV fixed with her for this Tuesday at

a members home and she loves it. She is so excited and it was

seriously such a miracle how everything happened. Like it really was

divine intervention that we meet her. Just the chances of her missing

a few busses and us leaving early to get ice cream. Then us turning

around to talk to her and everything!! It was really cool and I am so

grateful to have been apart of it!

Haha so here's another good story for you!! On Saturday I had a missed

call from a number that had a different area code that I didn't

recognize. So I call it back, no answer. Then about 15 minutes later I

get a call from the same number and I answer it and the person on the

other end of the telephone says, "Hello this is Elder Rogers from the

Albania mission.." Hahaha and I thought to myself "Okay I know an

Elder Rogers that's serving in the Albania mission!" So i responded

with "Wait...MITCH?!" Haha it was Mitch Rogers calling from the

Albania Mission!!! He called because they had a potential that they

contacted in Kosovo that lived in France and so he was passing me the

referral!! Unfortunately the lady lived in the Paris mission, but I

passed it over to the Paris mission and they got it taken care of!

Haha so Mitch and I spoke for like 10 minutes and it was so good to

talk to him! It was no joke like Alma 17:2 because I was seriously so

proud of him and so happy to hear how he was doing and all the good

work he was up to. Anyways so voilà it was so cool! I definitely

wasn't expecting.

We also had MLC on Tuesday which went super well! We presented on how

to begin teaching and other teaching skills from Preach My Gospel! We

had an hour to present and i felt like it went well. The main topic

that President Brown spoke on was Mark 4: 36-41. I absolutely love

when Christ asks the question "Why are ye so fearful? how is it that

ye have no faith?" When I read that I thought about how I would

respond to him if He asked me that same question. For me, this story

is a lot more figurative than it is literal. It's funny because Christ

could have calmed the sea long before it got to the point where the

apostles were afraid for their lives and asked him to calm it...but he

didn't. I thought a lot to myself this week about why he didn't calm

the storm until the very last second. I'm not sure I've got the most

perfect response, but I guess sometimes we just need to get to a point

where the only other thing we can do is rely on Him and have faith. I

know that Christ can calm the storms of life just as He calmed the

sea. In the end, his love is unfailing. I am so grateful for that.

Elder Wade

Mark 4:36-41

 36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.

37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

 40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?