Driving in France

We have quite an experience driving in France. We have a car from the mission and it is a Renault Clio. It is a 4 door and seats 4. It is small with a hatch back and a small trunk. I am worried that when we leave Angouleme that we will have to become expert packers because we have more stuff since we have had to buy some bedding and other necessities when we moved into our small home.

The city of Angouleme is built on a plateau and has a wall around it. The streets in the city center are very small, but the city fathers think that any street that is ten feet wide ought to be a two way street. It is no small feat to get through the streets without getting your side view mirrors taken off. The parking spaces are just big enough for a car our size, and it is good that I worked with so many students on parallel parking because they are the only spots available in town. Now that we have contacted most of the members out of town, we are now in town and the driving experiences would make most Americans scream. Joanne has closed her eyes and almost prayed out loud many times.

The French drivers go full speed ahead without any cares for their safety and that makes the driving situation even more exciting. Europe has made a major effort to do away with signal lights and turn everything into round-abouts. They call them "round points" here, and I call them suicide experiences. The guy on the left has the right of way, but they are suppose to signal if they are getting out of the circle before they meet you. The signal usually never comes, so you have to read the eyes of the driver to see if he is coming your way. I feel like a defensive linebacker trying to read the eyes of the quarterback. There are times that the round point is so small and cars are coming from every direction that my head feels that it is on a swivel and it will come off any time.

The roads are not much different. The main highways are adequate in size, but as you get off the main roads and onto the country the roads get much smaller. If you meet a truck on one of those it is off onto the grass for me. The roads leading to the very small hamlets are even worse because there is only room for one and if there is a crazy driver who thinks its his road we better find some where to zip off before we get smooshed.

For the most part though, there are many drivers who are very polite and we do alright. I am pleased that most on the road are very well aware of the need to help in tight situations, but there are the few that think the road is all theirs that give too much spice in my life. I was blessed to have patience before coming on this mission, and I sure need it when it comes to the few.

We are striving with some good people and we are seeing some success. The branch faithful are very strong and they make it all worth while to work with them and be a part of the work here. Our branch president is one of the celestial people you hope to meet in your life. He was praying one night for the influence of the Lord to help the branch and received an answer that the shoots were coming and would sprout. I feel that the day is coming soon that we will see that the labors will come to fruition. We have some inactives coming next week; we have a French return missionary who just moved to Angouleme coming to Church next week; a recent covert moved back to Angouleme and will come to next week's meeting with his new girl friend. With all that addition we will hit an all time high of the high 20's. We have two of the Lord's most hard working missionaries here. Elder Kelley is from South Jordan, and Elder Clyde is from Alaska--he is from Palmer and he knows the Fiscus family. By the way, will someone give Wade Fiscus our email address so we can get his and add his family to our list. These two missionaries work hard and are seeing some success.

We are becoming a way that the missionaries can show their investigators what a husband and wife look like that have not been divorced. The divorce rate here is outrageous. We are going to have a dinner with the missionaries and a couple next week. We will have this couple to our place and feed them American food and give the Elders a chance to teach a lesson. If the young people of Cokeville could go out with these two missionaries they would get a whole new look at the work and how dedicated one must be to be involved in the Lord's service. The members go out with the missionaries on a regular basis and that is great.

The Mission President made Angouleme a district of missionaries and we are having our first district meeting in Angouleme next week and there will be two missionary teams from out of town that will come. After our meeting we will hit the neighborhoods with 4 teams of missionaries, including Sister Mom and I and as many members we can get to go door to door for 4 hours.

We know that we are about the Lord's work and that the Holy Ghost is testifying through us so much more than at home. Couples need to come and experience this and know that being in the service all the time is like no other special experience one can have.

I love you all and wish you were here to experience the missionary spirit.

Elder Dad