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