Week 20, Valence, France

Bonjour,

This has been a great week! We have been working a lot recently with members to find people to teach. On Tuesday we had lunch with the Gisondas who are an Italian family in the ward. They made us some really amazing lasagna. It was probably the best meal I have ever had other than all the meals my mom has made me. We also met a man who is a member of the church but does not come to church very often. We are going to start working with him more to get him to come back. We are working with another less active member of the church named Fr. Munier. We have been working with him a lot and he has been coming to church a lot more.

Elder Dover and I are planning a music night for the word next week. The missionaries did one in Grenoble and it went well so we decided to do one here in Valence. The new sister missionary is really good at playing the violin and sister Russell is a really good singer so it should be a good show. We also have some members of the ward that are going to participate. We are hoping we can get a lot of people to come and that people can bring their friends.

On Wednesday we went to a villa called Alex to visit the Pruniers. The Pruniers have 3 boys that live at home and two other kids that are married and have their own kids. The Prunier family makes up a big part of the ward in Valence. While we where there we did some archery which was a lot of fun.

Archery with the Pruniers

On Thursday I did an exchange in Grenoble with Elder Lemihz who went to high school with my cousin Elder Ririe. While I was in Grenoble we helped the young men in the word with an activity. I talked with a man in the ward there who was an actor in some Mormon movies. He is somewhat famous for being the actor of Joseph Smith in a video called the Restoration. We use this video a lot as missionaries so it was funny to see him now that he is an adult.
www.lds.org/media-library/video/2008-06-01-the-restoration

On Saturday we went to the Giberst home for dinner. While we were there I was telling one of the sons that I liked his hair cut and that I needed to get one some time. Then he volunteered his brother to cut my hair and I said ok so he cut my hair right then and there. It turned out pretty good and was free so I was happy.

We worked a lot with our ami Michel this week. He has some health problems because he is old so a nurse comes to his house every morning to check up on him. This means that he cannot come to church because church is in the morning. Yesterday he was able to come for the last hour of church which was really exiting.

I almost forgot to mention, on Saturday Elder Dover and I were in a neighborhood not too far from our apartment and as we were on our way home it started raining a little bit. Then it started raining a lot and we decided to take a short cut home that I found with Elder Davis. Then it started raining really hard and hailing. The short cut ended up being a bad idea because it led through a forest and the trail turned into a river. We got really wet but it was also pretty fun.

This week I have been studying a lot about faith and how I can strengthen it. I have learned that as I keep the commandments and study the scriptures my faith will grow little by little until it becomes very strong. In order for it to grow I have to be making a big effort to constantly be working on it.

I love you all,

Elder Bake

Miracle of the Week

We got Michel to come to church

Fun French Fact of the Week

The toilets have two buttons on the top instead of a handle on the side. One of the buttons is big and the other one is small

Pictures and note sent from Anders ward mission leader:

This afternoon, the elders and I visited a place called "Palais Idéal du facteur Cheval". Mr Cheval was a mailman ("facteur" in French) in Hauterives, some 15 miles from my home. From 1879 to 1912, he colected stones, and in his free time build a rather uncommon house he called his "Ideal Palace". It's now one of the major attractions in the area

 These are pictures Anders sent.  I'm guessing that they are from his p-day last week when he took a trip to the village, Grignan (Castel) and Pierrelatte region (alligators)

Insert holy hand grenade here

Week 19, Valence, France

Bonjour,

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. It is hot here but it has also been raining a lot recently. I like it when it rains because it reminds me of Oregon. One thing I have been forgetting to mention is that our mission set a goal to have a mission wide baptism on July 5th.We presented the names of the people we thought could be baptized on that day to Elder Andersen when he came to visit our mission. Normally we have about 5 baptisms in the mission per week but on July 5th, after a lot of faith and hard work, we had 21 baptisms! This day was definitely a miracle and I am so glad that I was able to be a part of it. I know that this is the Lord's church and that miracles still happen today. When Elder Andersen came he said that this mission will change and will continue to see amazing miracles. To celebrate this day the mission president gave us permission to stay up last Monday and watch fireworks! Monday was a big holiday in France that is like the 4th of July in the States. We went to a Crocodile farm and we also went to a really cool village with a big castle. Then at night we went to a park in the middle of Valence and saw a really cool firework show. It was probably my most fun preparation day of my mission.

Bastille Day, 14 Jullet in the Village, Grignan

Castle in Grignan

This Castle is connected to the Marquise de Sevigne whoes letter's to his daughter are famous in French literature.

Crocodile farm in Pierrelatte

This week we had a lesson with a new ami named Ludavic. We talked about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. He had read some of the Book of Mormon and we really hope that he will have the dersire now to pray to know if it is true. This was one of the best lessons I have had and I really hope that we can continue to meet with him.

I have been working a lot on my pronunciation this week so that I can sound more French. My companion has been helping me a lot with this. One day this week we helped a family put in the floor of a room in their new house. We had a zone meeting in Lyon this week and another Zone was also there. I saw my MTC companion Elder Taylor and Elder Frost and Elder Herdt from the MTC. There is a member that invites us to her house almost every week because she has 3 kids that live at home that do not come to church. I have been able to become pretty good friends with one of the kids. Sundays is always one of my favorite days because I get to go to church and see all of the awesome members in the ward. I really like the members in Valence and have built really good relationships with a lot of them. Until next time,

Elder Bake


Fun French Fact of the week: The windows do not have screens.

Miracles of the Week: When we had our Rendez-vous with Ludavic he said he normaly does not invite missionarys into his house but when we came he said he felt something and knew that we where sincere. He also said that he felt good when he read the introduction to the Book of Mormon. He was definently feeling the spirit and so was I.

Week 18, Valence, France

Hello everyone,

This week has been one of the best we have had in a long time. We had a ton of lessons (too many to count) and found some really cool people who are very prepared for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love being a missionary. Last week was my last week doing the 12 week language program which is something that all new missionaries do for one hour every morning for their first 12 weeks. Now I am no longer what French people call "a blue." I still do not know French very well but it is deffinently getting better. This week Elder Dover and I made some awesome goals and plans for this next transfer and we are really exited about accomplishing them.

We went to a members house for dinner this week which was a lot of fun. His name is Jean Yves and Fr. Kiezer was also there. These two guys are both really old single guys who are BFFs and my two favorite members in the ward. We played Uno after diner. We have made a lot of progress with one of our amis whose name is Divine and who has two awesome little boys. It is really exiting when people decide to do things that help them come closer to Christ and make them happier. It is an amazing opportunity to help people in their journey and see how their lives have changed for the better as they have faith in Jesus Christ and follow his commandments.

I did an exchange in Lyon this week with one of the zone leaders, Elder Andersen. It was really fun and I learned a lot. I learned what I can do to make sure I am always being effective with my time and doing the best I can. I am really grateful for the other missionaries I have met and the examples they have been for me. While I was on my exchange in Lyon I set up a lesson with Anthony. Anthony was baptized a week before I got to France and we spent a lot of time with him my first transfer then he moved to Lyon for work so I have not seen him much this last month. It was really awesome to see him again.  After the lesson with him he helped us teach a lesson we had right after with another new member who brought her friend; I know I said that Jean Yves and Fr. Kiezer are my favorite members but it is actually Anthony. He is really awesome and I hope I can stay in touch with him. I also learned from the exchange that umbrella canes are classy and I want one.

There is a Turkish sandwich/ tortilla roll that is popular in France called a Kebab. I had my 2nd Kebab this week and then later that day we went to a lady's house for dinner and her son, who works at a kebab shop, made us Kebabs. Then, the next day we made our own Kebabs. So now I do not like Kebabs as much but they are still good.

One Saturday we helped a family move. They live in a really beautiful villa that is over 1000 years old. Some of the walls, the church and the castle are still there from that time. Yesterday we taught the Restoration lesson 3 times with a member there; we try really hard to have members with us for our lessons so that the amis have a friend to ask questions and someone to rely on when the missionaries are gone. After teaching the Restoration lesson 3 times I got a lot better at it and it strengthened my testimony that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that God called Joseph Smith to be a prophet and to restore the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth.

Yesterday Elder Dover and I did a news report for our district. Our district is the 10 missionaries serving in Valence and Grenoble. We called them and announced news for the week, interesting facts, miracles, and funny quotes. It was really fun and we are planning on doing it every week for the rest of this transfer.

Sorry if I do not answer all of your questions in your emails. Just keeping asking them and I might get to them eventually. That's a promise. Also, I am sorry this email is short but I had to rewrite it 2 times because the internet does not work.

Love you all,

Elder Bake

Fun French Fact of the Week: The French people do not like carpet because they think it is unhealthy. All the buildings and homes have wood or tile floors. They also use vacuums to clean their floors instead of brooms.

Miracle of the Week:

We went porting one day which is when we knock on peoples doors. We only had time to go to 10 doors but on the last door we got invited inside and taught a lesson.

Week 17, Valence, France

Bonjour,

We got our transfer calls on Tuesday and I will be staying in Valence for the next six weeks with Elder Dover. One of the sisters in Valence, Sister Rose, is leaving to Switzerland so there will be a new sister missionary here. I am glad that I am staying in Valence because there is a lot of work that I want to do here. Recently we have found some new people that are very prepared for the gospel and I am planning on finding more. We have also made a lot of progress with some of our amis and I am excited to continue working with them.

This week we got an awesome new ami who is a friend of a member in the ward. We have taught him once and it went very well. He is very open to learning more about the gospel and I am very excited to start teaching him. His name is Michael which makes things confusing because we have another ami who is also named Michael. We decided to rename the other Michael Old Michael.

On Wednesday we had an exchange where the Elders in Grenoble came to Valence and all four of us worked in Valence. We were able to have 3 lessons which is the most we have had in one day this transfer.


My District

Funny story: On Wednesday night the Grenoble Elders were staying at our apartment and we were making burritos. I was cutting some really hot peppers and made the mistake of itching my eye. I got some of the pepper in my eye and it hurt really, really bad. I washed it out and called the mission nurse who told me to put some stuff in it but it still hurt for a really long time. My whole face got really red and felt like it was on fire. Eventually it went away and now I am totally fine so no need to worry. Now it is just funny to think about.


I wanted to talk about what I do during a typical day. It is hard to say because we do not ever do the same thing but we always start out with getting up at 6:30 and exercising for 30 minuets. Then we eat breakfast and prepare for the day. At 8 we have personal study. Then and 9 we have companionship study and then language study at 10. Then we have the rest of the day to do proselyting until 9:00. We also have an hour for lunch and an hour for dinner that we have to fit in. We try to spend most of our time teaching lessons to people. We teach them the principals of the gospel of Jesus Christ and try to help them repent and strengthen there faith by keeping commitments. Our purpose as missionaries is to invite others to come unto Christ through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. We do not force anyone to do anything, we just invite them. If we are not teaching we are trying to find people to teach. We do this by talking to everyone on the street or at their homes. We also spend a lot of time working with members to strengthen their faith and find more people to teach. I really love being a missionary. It is a lot of hard work but it is easier when I rely on God's help and realize that I am doing his work.

I love you all and hope you have a great week.

Miracle of the week:

We gave a Book of Mormon to someone and he was very happy that we gave it to him.

  

Fun French fact of the week:

French people like to use their knife a lot more when they eat meals. It is also important for them to eat everything on the plate and soak up all the left over sauce with bread so that the plate is totally clean. Sometimes I think they are in a contest to leave the plate cleaner then they found it.

Anders didn't label these pictures.  I hope he remembers where they are someday.  Beautiful.

Anders ward mission leader sent the following two pictures.  The first is from a ward picnic playing Petanque, a "popular sport in southern France"  The second picture is Anders "enjoying McDonalds a la francaise"

 

Week 16, Valence, France

Bonjour tout le monde,

This week is the last week of my second transfer and I will find out if I am moving or getting a new companion. Normally we get transfer calls on Friday and then move on Tuesday but for some reason we will be getting our calls tomorrow! I still really love Valence so I would love to stay here.  There are a lot of things I want to do here but I will be fine with wherever I go. I have been thinking lately about how I want to leave every village I serve in better then I found it. I also want to think of every transfer (which is every 6 weeks) as my last so that I will have the desire to do the best I possibly can. It is a lot like track where I would try to think of every race as my last so that I would do my very best and not hold anything back.

So this week for our preparation day we went to Anthony's house who is the guy that was baptized just before I got to France. We skipped rocks at a lake near his house and he made us some amazing French food. He lives in the country so it looks a lot like Idaho but more green and with mountains... It pretty much just looks like France. I have some pictures too. I really enjoy seeing Anthony and it is so cool to see how happy he is and how much the gospel of Jesus Christ has blessed his life.

"It pretty much just looks like France"

On Tuesday we went to a small village and found a guy that I set up a rendezvous with all by myself. It is cool to see how much my French has improved and how much I am able to do on my own. I still have a lot to work on though. At the beginning of this transfer I was terrified of taking on the phone in French but now I do almost all of the calls.

We had diner with the Loutongo family in the ward this week. They are really nice and only speak English so it is fun to talk to them. They started coming to church about a year ago and got married in the temple a few weeks ago. The dad is a professional Rugby player and he has been helping us with our lessons.

On Saturday we went bowling with the men in the ward and our ami Michael. I have gotten to know some of the members in the ward really well and it is fun to do things with them. They are very helpful to us and were really good at welcoming me into the ward and to France. Bowling was really fun because French people are terrible at Bowling! They do not really know how to throw the ball or why you go two times in one turn. The lanes were also very short which makes it a lot easier. I easily won with 130 points. We had a lot of fun and Michael was able to get to know some of the members. We are working out a way for him to get a new doctor so he will be able to come to church. Elder Dover and I by the oldest hanging bridge located in Tournon, France

"Romans on both sides of the bridge"

Last preparation day we bought a map of the area we work in which is called our sector. We are not supposed to go outside of our sector unless we have District or Zone meetings. I think it is one of the biggest sectors in the mission so we have plenty of room to work with. The map is very helpful and fun to look at. I have some pictures too. Sorry I have not been doing very well at sending in pictures but I have some good ones this week.

Sector Map

For all of you Americans out there the World Cup is going on right now and it is a pretty big deal here. Every one is talking about it and all the stores have world cup themes. This week is also the first week of Solded. Soldes is a really big time that happens every summer and winter for about three weeks. All the stores have super big deals and things get really cheep at the end. I don't think I will buy anything but it is fun to see how exited everyone is for it. I think my typing is getting better on these keyboards! Thank you everyone for your support and prayers it helps a lot.

I love you all

Elder Bake

Fun French Fact of the Week:

They play a lot of American music in busses and stores. I mostly hear oldies but that might just be because the bus drivers are old.

Miracle of the Week:

Elder Dover and I set up a lot of Rendezvous for next week and are going to have the best week of the transfer!

Week 15, Valence, France

Bonjour

Summer is here in France and it is really hot. Saturday was the first day of summer. There is a rule in France that you are not allowed to play music in the street without permission but you can on the first day of summer. So all the restaurants were blasting music and there were bands on every corner all over the city with stages set up. There were also a lot of people out that came to hear the music. It was a really fun day because everyone was happy and nice.

I said that I would talk more about the visit from Elder Andersen. Now that it has been almost two weeks since he came I have had time to study my notes and apply some of the things I learned. During the visit Elder Andersen used a lot of scriptures which I have reread. They are mostly stories about how the Lord uses people to accomplish miracles. He talked about the story in the Book of Mormon when Nephi tells his brothers that God has done so many miracles already so why not help him build a boat? I know that the Lord can do miracles through me if I have faith and let him. One thing I decided to do after the conference is make a notebook where I record miracles that Jesus performed, other miracles in the scriptures and miracles that I see in my mission.

This week has been interesting because a lot of our lessons have not happened but we have some good plans for this coming week and are hopefully going to get our amis to make a lot of progress. I really love being a missionary and I know that I am doing what the Lord wants me to do.

Love Elder Bake

Fun French Fact of the Week:

The sidewalks are very small and made out of the same material as the roads

Miracle of the Week:

We set up a basketball activity and had a lot of people come.