Thursday, December 13, 2007

Our Trip & First Days in the Mission Field

Hello from Angouleme,

We have tried twice to send a message and each time it goes into computer space. We had a long 29 hours to get to Toulouse. Our 8:47 AM flight was delayed, missed our connection to Paris. Got another later connection and the plane still couldn't get off the ground and missed the second connection. We finally got a flight to Cincinnati, Ohio and then on to Paris. Connection to Toulouse. After Sat. and Sunday in Toulouse, they let us go to Angouleme on Monday.

We got here Monday night and met with Sister Bouchard who is a living angel. We went house hunting Tues and found a place, but the association who owns the apartment had to make a decision. The next day Sisiter Bouchard found a better place and so we got the mission to send the landlady a check. We will be in on Jan. 5th.

Right now we are staying at a members house out in the country. It is a typical french farm house. It is like going back 300 years. Luck has it that there is running water and a good bathroom. Went out today to deliver the letter and then meet with the missionaries and their little English class. We have a song to sing for the Christmas Fete. More to follow.

Love Dad

'Allo, just call me Madame Metcalfe from now on, it has such an elegant sound don't you think?

Somehow my two hours of labor on this computer was lost into e-mail ether this morning, so even though I swore never again to go through this torture, I lied. We arrived at Charles de Gaulle air-port, and on to Toulouse in pouring rain on Sat. and it stayed cold and wet through the weekend.

The mission home is large and spacious and set in beautiful grounds. We got to sleep in the two bottom bunk beds in the room just recently vacated by the 4 young Elders we said good-by to in the MTC just last week. They were super young men who will be good missionaries. Sister Merrell fed us well (she made a stack of crepes and they were yummy when filled with good stuff ) and we enjoyed getting to know the youngest kids in their family, their 3 teenage kids. Sleep was an on & off affair with several spur of the moment naps, but we did OK. Church was so interesting because the people looked and acted like people I've known all my life, except I couldn't understand what they were saying to me. I just kept nodding and smiling and holding on to Jack! The teacher for the investigator class had me completely enthralled with her terrific use of the blackboard, and her testimony came through loud and clear as she taught us about who God is. On our way out, I patted the cheeks of a darling baby, and later on that night President Merrell gave us an amazing directive. He said that under no circumstances were we to touch any child in any way, shape or form...no way, no how. This is to protect us against any misunderstanding, real or imagined....wow, what a sad state the world is in today. I'm sure glad I got in a lot of baby holding before I left. Gotta run, it's 11:20, time for bed.

Love, MOM

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