Week 71, Agen France




Elder Higham, Elder Miner and Elder Bake

Bonjour,
We spent a lot of time outside this week
and now I have a nice suntan. Earlier in the week we spent a lot of time
knocking on doors we met a really nice guy that is a truck driver and
has a little boy. We also talked to an older lady that gave us some
juice and talked to us for a while. She said that she knew the
missionaries when she was a little girl in Bordeaux. We visited the
Zambo's this week just to talk about the branch because he is the
branch president. They are a really great family that really want to
do all they can for the branch here. Frere Zambo was a missionary in
2009 in Canada and likes to talk about his mission and what he
learned. We stopped by a family that used to see the missionaries a
lot in the past but they have not seen the missionaries for about a year
and a half. They were happy to see us and we are going to see them
again next week. They have a lot of faith in Christ which is very
inspiring and nice to see.

On Friday we went to Bordeaux to meet our
new mission president and his wife, the Browns. They are so great and I
am very excited to have them here. They are a bit older and don't have
a bunch of kids with them like the Roneys did but they are very energetic
and bring excitement to the mission. One thing I noticed with President Brown is he
is very humble and listens to the spirit. He is not as much of a
jokester as president Roni but still very funny. He use to be a
missionary in Southern France and was the branch president in
Montpellier as a missionary. This was crazy for me to hear because when
I was serving in Montpellier it was a very big ward. Maybe Agen will
be a big ward someday too. His French  is not too bad but I am sure he
will pick it up soon.

After the conference I stayed in Bordeaux to do
an exchange with Elder Minor, it was a lot of fun he will be done with
his mission in a week. There are a lot of changes happening but it is
all good I might be emailing next week from somewhere else but I hope
I can stay here in Agen.

On Sunday a really cool family, that came once before,
moved into the branch! They have two little kids and will be a huge
support to the branch. They are very nice and have very strong faith.
My companion gave a great talk on our life on earth and why we are
here. I passed the sacrament and conducted the music.

Miracle of the week -Later on Sunday we had the chance to talk to a
girl who is not religious but has some questions about life. We were
able to offer her some answers to these questions. She actually lives
in Bordeaux but was visiting a friend here are we are going to give her
the number of the sister missionaries in Bordeaux and she wants to
talk to them. I hope you all have a great week!

Frere Bake

FFF of the week
Most houses have a cement wall in front of the yard instead of
fences and it does not just separate the yards but goes all the way to
the road and hides the whole yard. I do not know the point in doing
yard work or having a keeping your house nice if no one is going to
see it.

Agen

Agen

Week 70, Agen France



Sunflowers in Mezin

Bonjour,

Well this week was super, super hot but great. We talked to a lot of
people this week. On Wednesday I celebrated Canada
day with my Canadian companion. I also went on an exchange with Elder
Herdt who was in the MTC with me. We had a good time catching
up. His older brother just left on a mission which is really exiting for him. I have not been able to see
very many people that I was in the MTC with so far but I have been
able to see elder Herdt a good amount and we have become good friends.
During our exchange we went to see  a couple who is a little older
and really liked to talk. The woman told a story about being taught by a sister missionary who went home thinking she had not done anything. Later this lady got baptized and then they both saw each other at the temple because they where both getting married! She said this sister
missionary was from Aix-en-Provence and I realized that it was Sr.
Alenic who I know really well from living in Aix. It's a small world.
Miracle of the week
About three weeks ago I talked to this lady named Sandy from Agen and we
exchanged numbers but we were never able to get ahold of her. Then
last week I decided to call her again and we were able to talk to her
and see her on Friday. We had a great lesson with her about her family
and the plan of salvation. We talked about how God has a plan for her
and each of us and at this is possible because of Jesus Christ. We
also used some scriptures from the Book of Mormon and gave her a copy.
Then yesterday she came to church with her daughter and had a great
time. She originally said that she could only stay for the first half
but then she stayed for the entire time.

We traveled to a town called Mezin to see Sr. Samson. We are hoping to come more often to teach
her husband. We talked to a guy there who was a bit older and had a
very strong accent from this area. He pronounced Mezin like Mezaing.
On Saturday we played sports with some of the kids in the branch.
There is a really nice family with four boys that love church but do
not come because their Mom does not. We try to do what we can with
them. They are all really great kids. We also passed by this lady on
the way back from a lesson who we met before and when we showed up
she invited us into her yard and gave us some Juice. We said we had to
catch a bus soon so she gave us a bag of soda and a big cantaloupe. We
wished her a happy Independence Day because she loves America!
One Sunday after church we tried to find a lady that the missionary's
used to teach and it ended up taking a really long time to walk to
her house. It was really, really hot and we were fasting so we almost
died but eventually we got home and ate our cantaloupe

Have a great week

Frere bake

FFF of the week:
In French you can use the same word for learn and teach so when people
try to talk to us in English they get this confused and say, "you
learn me English"

Canada Day

 

Cantaloupe lady

Mezin

Happy 4th of July

Mezin

Sr Samson



Week 69, Agen France

Bonjour!

It was a great week in Agen and also in Bordeaux! I did and
exchange in Bordeaux with Elder Durante. We spent a lot of time having conversations with people on the streets. On of them was with a man who had a really
hard life when he was young because he was into drugs and
did not have parents so he lived in foster homes. Now he is married
and has 2 kids and is very happy. He said that God helps him a lot
in his life to overcome his trials. He recently had a son that died.
It was really cool to see someone who was so happy even
though he has had a hard life.

Miracle of the week:
We taught a couple on Saturday. We planned to make it our final visit with them
because they really like us but have not been very interested in our message
or doing the things we have been asking them to do that will help them. However,
we had a really great lesson with them. We talked a lot about just doing small and
simple things will make a big difference. For some reason they were a
lot more open this time and before we left we invited them to church.
The guy said maybe. Then at church the next day they both came with
their little girl! It was the first time they had been and they both
seemed to have a great time. The whole branch was very exited about
them and everyone was very welcoming.

On Sunday I passed the sacrament, led the music and then gave a talk!
My talk was about repentance and I think it went well. I talked about the
blessings of repentance and shared the story of the brother
of Jared and how he was blessed with guidance after he repented.
For dinner last night we were invited to join the Zambos family.  They are
a great family. They have two little kids who are crazy and one boy who is about to
finish high school.

This morning we taught a lady about the plan of salvation which is
God's plan for us. She was wondering what happens after death and what
will happen to her family. We were able to answer her question with
the scriptures. My companion and I both felt very good when we finished
and felt like we really helped her come closer to Christ.

So this week President Roney is leaving with his family
and the new president, President Brown is coming. Or apparently he is
already here. I will meet him next week. Have a great day.

A la semaine prochaine


Frere Bake

FFF of the week: Most French people that I talk to do not know where
Oregon is so I say it is north of California and then they are like, "Oh
so it is really hot there! Sometimes they are familiar with the name
Portland if they like basketball.  A lot of French people like the
Blazers because of Nicholas Batum.

Week 68 Agen, France



Auch

Bonjour,

Well this week was another great one! To start off we went to Bordeaux
on Tuesday for a mission conference. This conference was the last time
we would be seeing President Roney and his wife. It was also the last
time seeing Sister Polvar, the mission nurse. President Roney talked to
us about trusting in the Lord. One thing that he said that I really
liked was that we should not worry about what happens to us but worry
about how we react to what happens to us. This is really why we are here on earth; to go
through experiences that will help us learn and grow.  It is up to us to decide how
we act. We also listened to Sister Roney who gave us a
summery of everything they have taught during their mission. Mission presidents serve for three years so they have been here for a while now. Sister Polvar is the coolest lady ever!! She
talked about taking care of our feet and she threw candy to us. She also
gave us all tea bags that we could use to put on our eye if we needed to.
I don't know what gave her this idea! I really like Sister Polvar a
lot and will miss her. I think we will all miss the Roneys two
younger sons as well who have been with them in France for the last three
years. We all sang our mission song one last time which is Angels We
have heard on High in French. There was a lot of missionaries there
from the Bordeaux and Toulouse areas. There is a big group of
missionaries that are going home in a few weeks and three of my former
companions are in this group! One of them Elder Davis, who was my
first companion. He is a really good guy. It has been a while since we were together but that time has gone by really fast. I am looking forward to seeing him again after the mission. He is planning on
going to BYU so it will not be to hard.

Back in Agen we have just been teaching a lot of people and having
a great time. We taught a lot more new people this week than before.
On Friday we talked to a bunch of teenagers in a park which was a
little different but fun too. We also went to a little town called
Roquefort (like the cheese). It is always fun to go to a new city or
town that you have never been to before. You have to find the city
hall or tourism office and then get a map and find out where you are.
Then find the road of wher you need to go. It's like a treasure
hunt.

On Saturday we went to a town called Auch. We
visited a lady who is a member from Portugal. She has a
7 year old son. Auch is a very beautiful town and
the bus ride there was even more beautiful.

Have a great week

Frere bake

Elder Davis

Sister Polvar

President and Sister Roney

Elder Thompson

Auch

Auch

Auch

Auch

Boudreaux

Boudreaux

Week 67, Agen France

My apartment in Agen

Our District



My swollen eye on the train to Bordeaux

Bonjour,

This week started out slow be ended very well. It is still very hot but it rained a few times too. Apparently it rains very rarely in Agen.

 

We taught a lot of people this week about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. I really like to give people a Book of Mormon for the first time. I like to tell them that it is a very special book that will help them in their life if they read it and apply what they read. I have been able to learn a lot from the Book of Mormon on my mission.

 

We visited Jean Lou this week who is doing very well and is very happy. On Sunday he was officially recognized as a member of the Agen Branch! The vote was unanimous. 

 

On Saturday we played basketball with Yanick who is a 17 year old boy in the Branch who is planning to serve a mission. We like to talk with him about American songs and he teaches us all the cool words the French teenagers use.

 

We were in the down town area later that day and I spoke with a nice man named Robert. We talked about his family and faith. He was raised in the countryside and was a postman. We went over to his house yesterday and were able to talk more with him. One thing I really like about him is how simple he is. He believes in God and understands that true happiness does not come from worldly things. He also knows that God has helped him in his times of trials. 

 

On Sunday we had church and we got there first to open everything. Then the next person to come was Kary with her two kids! She is the lady that I talked about last week who randomly came to church. We were able to teach her a little bit at church and fix a time to see her again. The Branch was very exited to see her again. 

 

About half way through church yesterday a young family with two little kids came into the church. They said that they are from Toulouse and just moved into the Agen sector! This is a huge blessing for the Branch here that really only has one family but now has another really cool family. We took them up to the primary room to let them drop off their kids and when we got there I said we have two new kids for you. The son of Kary said, "Oh boy, two new kids!" It was so cute.

I hope you all have a great week and that you are not as hot as me. 

Frere Bake

Week 66, Agen, France

These kind tourist from Arizona stopped to take a picture of Anders and his companion and sent us this picture.

Bonjour!

This week was HOT! Very, very hot! This made the work a bit harder but
it also had its blessings. There were two times during the week when
we came to a person's door to visit them and they invited us right in
for a glass of water! One was a nice lady who's ex husband was a
member of the church. Because of this she knows a bit about the church
already and has read a bit of the Book of Mormon. We talked with her
for a bit and when we brought up the Book of Mormon she said that she
is going to start reading it every day. Most people we have to beg
just to read a little bit or pray but she just offered to! We are
seeing her again next week and looking forward to that. I did an
exchange with Elder Herdt who was in the MTC with me which was a lot
of fun. We also had district meeting in Bordeaux on Wednesday. When I
woke up on Wednesday my left eye was swollen shut. After icing it for
a while I was able to open it but it was still very big when we
arrived to district meeting. I had a lot of fun making up different
stories and jokes about it. The mission nurse told me to put a tea bag
on it and gave me permission to wear sunglasses. By Saturday it was
back to normal but then yesterday when I woke up my right eye was all
swollen! This time it healed a lot faster and was back to normal about
half way through church.

Miracle or the week: When we got to church on Sunday a lady came with
her two kids. She does not know anyone but just came because she is new to
Agen and saw the sign on the side of the church that said Jesus Christ. She is from Peru
and does not speak French but speaks a little English. She said she
is going to come next week too. We have been lucky to run into a lot
of very prepared people recently.

I hope you all have a great week

Frere Bake


Fun French Fact of the week: According to a few people we have talked to, Agen is
the hottest city in France. This is because it is surrounded by
mountains so it is in a bowl and does not get very much wind. I don't
know if I believe them because Montpellier was pretty hot lost summer.

Week 65 Agen, France

Bonjour,

This week we had stake conference in Bordeaux which was a lot of fun.
A French 70 came and spoke as well as our mission president;President
Roney. President Roney will be finishing his mission in three weeks so
it was good to see him again. He and his wife both spoke. Normally
when sister Roney speaks she has her husband translate for her but
this time she did it all by herself. She has a really bad accent so it
was really funny but she did a great job. President Roney is always
really funny and gets everyone laughing. After the conference we had a
little meeting for new members and investigators of the church. There was a lady there who was taught by President Roney when he was a missionary 30 years ago! We had our new
investigator Mamadu at the conference which was really great. This
week we taught Mamadu about how God is our father in heaven. He is the
father of our spirits and loves us very munch. We read scriptures
about how he gives us prayer so we can communicate with him and he has
given us his son Jesus Christ. It is interesting how, for me, these
things seem very simple and easy to understand but I have realized
that most people do not understand them and I did not fully realize
how much of a blessing prayer and Jesus Christ are in my life.

This week all of the missionaries got iPads. So right now I am sending
this message from my new iPad. I have not yet figured out how to send
pictures but I am working on it.
Miracle of the week- Jean Lou our new member told us this week that he
could not come to stake conference. We sent him the address anyway and
as I expected he came! Unfortunately  when he was on the highway close
to Bordeaux his car broke down and he was not able to make it to the
conference! But at least he tried. It's the thought that counts right?
I hope you all have a great week.

Frere Bake


Fun French fact of the week- In France they use a 24 hour clock or
military time as we call it. So right now it is 14h51 in France