Week 99, Antibes, France

Grasse, France

Bonjour,

Sorry I did not write last week, but we were on a big
adventure. This week has been packed with a lot of great things but I
will start with our adventure in the mountains. So we made plans with
our investigator, Pierre, to go to the mountains but we were not
sure if it was going to be possible because the weather said it was
going to rain which means it would snow in the mountains. When we got
up on Monday we decided to go for it any way and we met Pierre at his
house and then he drove us there. We drove for about an hour north
to Grasse which is a city really high up in the
mountains and then we continued going up and up. There was one tiny town
close to the top called Caille that we drove through. We ended the
drive at a ski place and then started walking to the top. At the top
there was snow and it was very, very cold. When we got to the very top
it was high enough that we could see the island of Corsica! It is very
rare that it is clear enough to be able to see it but we got lucky.
Pierre wanted to say a prayer at the top of the mountain so we each
took a turn saying a prayer. It was super cold so I did not really
want to spend anymore time on the top. On the way back we went down
another way which was a really dumb idea because it was the other side
of the mountain and we got a little lost and ended up walking way
longer than we intended. I was so cold. I went into survival mode and
put my hands in my armpits and put my hat over my eyes. I do not think I
have ever been that cold in my life. It was really fun though and
Pierre said he felt something special when we were praying on the
mountain. I was too cold to fill anything but it was defiantly worth
it.

On Wednesday we had a world wide mission conference that we watched at
the church. It was really cool and I learned a lot. They had Elder
Anderson and Elder Oaks from the 12 talk. It was so cool to hear
Elder Anderson talk because I got to
listen to him at the beginning of my mission too when he came to
Nice. He also gave us a shout out comme dab and talked about the good
old days when he was mission president in Bordeaux.

The big highlight this week was Anthony's baptism on Saturday! It was such an
amazing experience for me and everyone that was there. We were all so
happy for Anthony and the journey he has made and will continue to
make. The ward here in Cannes did so much to support him along the
way. A lot of the members, including the bishop, were in the same
situation as him when they joined the church at a young age,
in their 20s and did not have the support from their family. He
has a lot of great examples to look up to and I am very exited to see
how his life goes and hope we can stay good friends. Hurst and I
bought the three of us matching ties and gave it to him as a gift. It
was great because I was wearing it at the baptism and Anthony went up
to me and was like, "I love your tie" and then I was like, "ah bon" and
then we gave him the same one! He told me yesterday that he was super
nervous but then when it came time to go down and get baptized it all
left him and he felt very calm. We sang a hymn with the sisters as
part of the program and I also gave the closing prayer.

After the baptism there was a talent show that the young men and women
put on. It was a super hero theme and it was great! They also had a
lady play a saw with a violin bow.

Love

Frère Bake


Fun French fact of the week
French people know how to throw great church party!

Week 97, Antibes, France

Bonjour!

This was my first week with my new companion Elder Hurst. And the
start of my last transfer in the mission. It went very well and was
lots of fun. Elder Hurst is very good at French and is a good
teacher. We have a lot of fun together and I am glad that he will
be my last companion. I am still waiting for Ellie to get her mission
call but I guess it has not come yet. I think you are all just keeping
it a secret from me.

This week we taught a lady from China who is staying with the
Borgognio family. She is so nice and very interested in our church.
We spent a lot of time trying to explain the restoration to her
because she really wanted to know everything. We also taught in
English which was interesting. It was funny because Frère Borgognio
was there and was speaking English. There are actually a lot a members
who speak English in the Cannes ward. Normally I don't like to speak
English with or around French people because some people get upset
about it but recently I have been speaking English more because I
realized that it is sometimes really fun for them to practice. I also
just get lazy some times. Haha

Miracle of the week- we saw Benjamin and  Noemi Dufoy this week after
not being able to see them for two weeks because of the holidays. We
had a really good lesson with them about the temple and they accepted
to come to all three hours of church! It was really great to have
Benjamin with us in priesthood and for Noemi to go to Relief Society
for the first time. They are so awesome! I don't remember if I talked
about Anthony but he picked a date to be baptized this week and it
will be the 23rd of January! I am so exited! The ward is also very
exited and everyone is talking about it. They all really like Anthony
and are like his family.

Yesterday after church we had a lesson with Michel. At
the last minute we invited this member to come with us while we
were at church. He was very happy to come with us and the member and
Michel hit it off and became instant best friends. We did not say much
but I think it was better because they got along very well and had a
lot in common. We had to go but we left the member there. Then we went
to the Rodriguez apartment and had a really great family night with
them.

Well that's about it but have a great week!

Love

Frère Bake


Fun French fact of the week - most of washing machines keep the water
inside a tub thing and you have to empty it every few cycles. In is kind
of a  luxury to have a dryer.

Week 96, Antibes to the End....



Caroling with the Rodriguez Family

Bonjour!

This week was great and I was very happy to find out that I will be
staying in Antibes for the last 6 weeks of my mission. I got I new
companion - Elder Hurst. He is from Utah and came into the
mission with Elder Orr. I am sad to not be with Elder Orr anymore but
he is going to Bordeaux to be with my old companion Elder Taylor. Now
6 of my 7 former companions that are still in the mission have served
with another one of my former companions. It is a little funny.

Yesterday I went to Montpelier with Elder Orr to drop him off and get
my new companion. I use to live in Montpelier and had not been
there in about a year and a half so it was really great to see it
again. We had some time to eat lunch and walk around the city so I was
able to see everything again. I was also able to see some other old
companions again so that was fun. I love transfer days because you get
to see so many people and there is always so many things that go wrong
that you have to fix.

This week at church Anthony told us that he
decided to get baptized! He is 23 and works for the
Mayor of Le Cannet and he studied in Aix-en-Provence before. He is
being taught by the sister missionaries but I think he likes us
better and we always hang out with him. Haha!

Miracle of the week- we met this family that use to meet the missionaries and
we set up a time to see them. They are very nice and
we are going to start teaching them now!
I hope you all have a great week!

Love

Frère bake


Fun French fact of the week
Anthony was telling us on Sunday when he drove us home that the city
Le Cannet, which is just north of Cannes, became independent from Cannes
the same year that the United States became independent of England! Strange how there is so much more history here.

Lyon Mission

Tennis with Surge and Elder Orr

Caroling with these boys

Former Companion, Elder Walters

Last day with Elder Orr

Meeting up with my MTC Crew