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

Week 95, Antibes, Cannes, Nice, Lyon and Biot

Bonjour et Joyeux Noël!

This week was full of very exiting things. It felt a little bit like a
vacation which was very different. On Monday we went to Cannes and did
some caroling with a few of the primary boys from the ward. We had
practiced the songs a few times after church to get ready for it and
it turned out very well. We visited a lot of single ladies in the
ward and they were all so happy to have us. The boys also had a
great time.

Then Monday night we went to Nice and then woke up at
2:30am on Tuesday to get on a bus to Lyon. We were on a bus with a lot
of other missionaries from Nice and Aix areas. When we got to Lyon we
all met at this park and played some games before going to an
auditorium that was in an aquarium where we played some more games,
ate tacos, ate lots of candy and watched the Lion King. It had been a
while since I've seen that movie or any movie.

On Wednesday we had a conference with lots of musical performances and then we went back to
Nice. It was really fun to see all of my old companions and people that
I know.

On Christmas Eve we went to the Rodriguez family home for lunch.
We also invited Pierre to come with us
and we had a lot of fun. After eating we went into town and sang some
Christmas songs. I sang a lot of Christmas songs this week!

Christmas morning we opened our presents and went to Maman Gentiles
house. She had one of her sons family over and we had a nice meal and
then went to the church to Skype with the family! It was so great
to see everyone again!

We also went to the Perez tennis club and the Borgognios to eat this
week. So we were pretty busy eating and did not have much time for
anything else. We did go to a cool town called Biot and we worked with a lot of
nice people there.

Miracle of the week
When we were in Biot we talked to this lady and she found out
that my companion is from Utah and she told us that the son of the
local restaurant owner just got back from studying in Utah. We went to
the restaurant and talked to the owner and his son and they were so
happy to see us. The owner was literally born in the restaurant and
his family had been there for years. The son was really nice too and
had friends and roommates who served missions. He went to
Westminster collage. We are thinking that we should go back and eat there
some time.

I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Love

Frère Bake

French Nativity

Elder Orr and I in Biot

Lyon Conference

Bus stop in Cannes

 

 

 

 

 

Jasmine and Stephan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 94, Antibes France

Merry Christmas!

I am so happy to be spending Christmas in Antibes this year! In a few
minuets we are going caroling with some primary boys and
then we are headed to Nice and then to Lyon the next day. It will be
quite a Christmas adventure but I will have to tell you about that
next week.

This week we had a great time trying to spread the
Christmas spirit to everyone. We showed a lot of people a
little video the church made about Christmas and how it is about the
birth of our Savior. We have I pads now that we can use to show people
which is nice. A lot of people were willing to stop and watch the
video with us!

Miracle of the week - We met a guy who had gone to
our church once before with the missionaries and he was exited to talk
with us again. It turns out that he lives on the same road as another
person we are teaching. How convenient.

Noemie and Benjamin, who we are teaching, are doing very well. We taught them this week with a
member named Rancy. We also went to their house after church and gave
them book of Mormons with their name engraved and our testimonies in
them as a Christmas present.

Happy Birthday Jesus and Ellie!

Love,

Frère Bake

Week 93, Antibes and Nice, France

Christmas in Nice, France

 

Bonjour la famille!

Well it is good to write you all again after another great week in
Antibes. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas here. There are a
lot of decorations in the city and Christmas stands that we are going
to check out today. I am looking forward to seeing you next week on
skype. That will be fun. The plan is to go to a lady in the word on Christmas Day.

This week we had a member from Antibes come
help us teach Jean who we started teaching. We
also taught the Dufoys with Vincent Perez who got back from a mission
in Paris about a year ago. They are doing really well and came to
church yesterday!

Miracle of the week- my companion and I set a goal to have 4
conversations with people yesterday but we had church and then we went
to a members house who lives far away to give them the sacrament. We
got back just before it was time to go inside but we were still able
to meet our goal and have 5 conversations!

I also did and exchange with Elder Nadald in Nice this week which was
fun. I decided that Nice is a really cool city. The beaches are
terrible but the city is really cool.
Have a great week

Love

Frère bake

Fun French fact of the week
There are a lot of Christmas decorations in the cities in
France but a lot less are done by people at there houses or
apartments.

Week 92, Antibes and Toulouse France

Bonjour!

Well this week was a great. To start off we found a member who had not been to church in a very long time. We want to his apartment to invite him to our family night
activity and were disappointed when he wasn't home but when we turned around and saw
him coming up the stairs. He was a really nice guy and we saw him
again yesterday. We also had some lessons with new people that we
started teaching and things are going well with them. We saw Neomie
and Benjamin on Wednesday and they are doing well too. We talked about the
plan of salvation and Benjamin had a lot of really great questions. So
now I will have to tell about the big day which was Friday, my 21st
birthday!  I did an exchange the day before so I woke up in Toulon and
then contacted in the morning and found a lot of awesome people
who invited us to talk with them again. Than I went back to Antibes and the
other Elders bought me a pastry and than the four of us went to get
kebabs for lunch. Then Elder Orr and I went to a member who is a
really old guy named Frère Sabb. We had a good time with him and we
had a lot of bus rides so we talked to a lot of people on the bus.
When we where at Frère Sabbs he gave us a really nice pastry and then
we told him that it was actually my Birthday and he was like oh well
it looks like I was inspired. It was really fun. Another miracle was
that we ran into George who we had lost contact will about a month
ago because his phone broke and he was excited to see us!
I hope you all have a great start to the Christmas season.

Love

Frère Bake

Fun French fact of the week
In France when people give you their phone number they give it to you
two digits at a time. We talked to a guy from Russia this week and he
gave us his number three digits at a time and it really messed
up.


Pictures from Anders 21st Birthday Party

 

 

The District

 

 

 

 

 Cannes ward Sisters

 

me