Week 14, Valence, France

Bonjour everyone,

I hope everyone had a good week and that you are all ready for summer break. I had a really great week but it went by very fast. To start off last weekend we had the opportunity to go to Nice to listen to Elder Andersen. We took a bus with all of the missionaries from Switzerland. Switzerland does not let Americans live there so all the missionaries there are from Europe or Tahiti. It was fun to see so many other missionaries. We had all the missionaries in the mission together which is something that almost never happens. I saw my old companion Elder Davis but only had time to give him a hand shake. We spent Monday night in a hotel in Nice and then after the conference on Tuesday went back to Lyon where we slept in an apartment with a bunch of other Elders. Then we made it back to Valence Wednesday afternoon.

The conference was amazing. I learned so much that I will be able to use for the rest of my mission. One thing I learned from Elder Andersen is that I can expect miracles. This is the Lord's work and he will help us do things that no one else thinks we can do. I also learned a lot about Faith. Being on a mission is a great opportunity for me to strengthen my faith in Jesus Christ. I also need to have a lot of faith for miracles to happen. He shared a lot of scriptures of people that had a lot of faith and saw miracles. I learned that God continues to make miracles today and that I need to look for them and be ready for them. I also learned that I should always look for ways I can help build other's Faith in God. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone and I can help everyone as I teach them the principals of the gospel and help them live commandments that will give them a better life. One way that I have tried to do this is by teaching one of our amis the word of wisdom, which is the commandment God gave us to not smoke, drink, or do anything harmful to our bodies. I know that as we continue to help our ami stop smoking he will have a better life and come closer to God.

Next week I'll write more about what I learned from the conference after I have time to look over my notes but I really enjoyed it and learned things that I really needed to hear to help me be a better missionary and person. Elder Andersen gave a very powerful testimony of Jesus Christ. He knows without a doubt that Jesus Christ lives and is the savior of the world. Hearing him say this helped me know that Elder Andersen is an Apostle of Jesus Christ and that Christ does live.

When we came back from Nice we had a short week so we were not able to get as much done but we should have a good week this week. We did an exchange in Lyon on Friday with the Zone leaders which was really fun. I was with Elder Palmer and he taught me a lot. One thing I learned from him is the importance of having daily contact with amis so that they can continue to progress. I also learned that I should try to have more lessons at the church because then they will be familiar with the church and be able to feel the spirit more. It is really hot here but Elder Dover and I bought some fans for our apartment so now I can sleep at night. I hope all of you have a great week,

Elder Bake

Miracle of the week:

We had an awesome lesson with our ami Thierry where we gave him a Book of Mormon.

Fun French Fact of the Week:

A lot more people use trains and busses to get around instead of cars. There are also a lot of times when the train workers go on strike and the trains are delayed or come a lot less often; this happened this week which make thinks tricky for us.

Pictures sent from Anders ward mission leader: