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!