Hello to all of you back in the States. All is well with us and the work has its ups and downs, but the ups are ahead and that makes us look forward to a brighter future. Joanne's cooking is becoming a favorite topic in the mission. Each third week in the branch there is a dinner provided by all the members, so that we can all sit down for a good meal after the meetings and everyone goes home happy and with some good conversation and closeness. Joanne is always worried that with all the single guys in the branch that there will never be enough to eat, so she gets out her recipes and cooks as if all the family was coming to dinner. The members usually supply one main dish and/or a dessert, but not Joanne. She cooks up a storm with me as the sous chef. I am always the one who peels, grates, and slices. As Joanne goes from one recipe to the other, I wash the dishes so she will have something clean to mix the next sauce or whip the next topping. When everyone sits down to eat, there are glances around the table so that the members can spy Joanne's dishes. They are always polite because they know there is enough for seconds. Our bachelors always have seconds and after they have had their fill they then look forward to the desserts. The whole branch does so well in this area that we have to split the dessert courses into soft and hard categories. Last time there were three in the soft category and four of the hard delights. The Elders get the leftovers and some times they can't carry everything home with them. The Elders in Angouleme eat better than any where else in the field, so I hear. Not only do they eat well the 3rd Sunday, but the small membership are always having them over for meals. Last week one of our Elders was put on a diet by the president.
The district meetings are a treat for the missionaries because Joanne always brings something special. The missionaries look forward to the times when we meet because there are few care packages from home when there there aren't special occasions. One missionary who had been out 3 months exclaimed when eating Joanne's treats, that it is the only taste of home he has had since he arrived in the mission field. When the meetings are held in Bordeaux, we make a double batch because two districts meet at the same time. Whenever a missionary gets transferred to Angouleme, he already knows about Joanne's cooking as the word has spread as the missionaries come and go from here. Also, the missionaries who get to the Bordeaux region also know that twice a month they will get a taste of home. We are excited to serve in any way we can and cooking is one way. We have made progress with our amis and we have one baptism in the future. The young couple, after having two children, 3 and 1 1/2 are obtaining their marriage license and then after that happens we can proceed with the baptism. It is good to see the great changes that are made in the lives of people as they work toward living the Gospel. We love you all and we love to hear from you.Elder Dad
Bonjour, from France. How are you all doing today? I finally broke down and bought the umbrella that I was going to buy way back in January. I kept thinking it's June, it's got to stop raining one of these days! So for once I was thoroughly and completely ready for a storm to hit. In normal times, that would be the way to bring on the hot summer days. But, we woke up yesterday to a whole day of hard, steady, pouring rain; and I opened my cute, orange plaid umbrella no less than 7 times in our comings and goings. I think it almost paid for itself at 5 Euros already.Jack wouldn't let me read his email to you all, he said it was all about food. P-day starts off with french toast (I haven't found out if the French eat that yet!) Jack plunges (submerges, immerses) his bread into the egg mix for his toast, I think that looks gross. I like both sides dipped in quickly, and cooked well done; how did we ever get together anyway? I tried a new 4-red fruit jam that was so good. I think I'll ditch my dumb clothes and fill my suitcase up with jam when we go back home from our mission.Remember the lady who thought our 800 churches had been closed by the government? Well, we passed by her place and found her home and she agreed to let us come and talk to her again. The Elders asked to come too, so we all trooped in from the rain yesterday and I think she felt a little invaded at first. She asked why we come in a crowd, and they explained that it was for protection for us all, her included, so that neighbors could not think wrong things. Things began to get better, although she seemed to take a dislike to Elder Giles, and his British accented French. She can't see a lot, the pupils of her eyes are a brown color, and she has a companion yellow lab that is so well trained that he stays in his big basket all the time. Jack talked about how the spirit testifies of the truth, and his experience of praying to know if the church and the Book of Mormon were true. He got a feeling in his heart that he could not deny, and knew that the church was true and then was baptized. The irrepressible Elder Giles told her how as a 17 year old boy, he took President Hinckley's challenge to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. He accomplished it, and he gained a testimony of its truthfulness because of that. She has had a copy for a long time, and although she has never been able to read it, she told us that she feels its power, and takes it and her Bible with her wherever she goes. Elder Giles jumped on that like a dog on a bone; "You have been given a gift," he said, "the problem is you just can't open it yet!" So, they talked about bringing her the French tapes of the Book of Mormon; and we are trying to find a cassette player for her. We are going back again next week.We have seen bot
h our little sisters in the local Retraite's twice now. Poor Sister Collette is wheelchair bound and speechless. Her only sounds are guttural, so you just do your best with head bobs and pointing and she kisses her fingers for you when she is the happiest. We came Friday, right in the midst of the weekly do-good society meeting with the patients (not purposely). We got a lot of long looks as we saw her in the crowd and zeroed in on her. She was expecting us though, and waved cheerfully to her friends as we wheeled her off to her room. Jack set up the laptop and put in the Life of Christ DVD, and she was totally glued to the screen through the whole 30 minutes. People kept popping their heads in for this or that, and 2 ladies even came in to kiss her good-by (and to see what the heck we were up to in there), and she was still able to keep one eye on the story. I love this beautiful film, and was so touched by watching her as she watched all those images of Christ, and the compassion He had for the sick and afflicted of the world. Her body has failed her in so many ways, yet she is enduring to the end as best she can. Jack then gave her the first Sacrament she's had in years, and she was so eager to partake, it was a wonde
rful time for us all. Our visits to our "little mother" Louise Meslier began again with the "Director" personally escorting us up to her room (so we don't sneak into some poor, defenseless patients room and try to proselyte them!). When she saw us, she got this huge smile on her face, "Oh, you've come back!" She grabbed onto both of my hands and we had a happy reunion. I was so glad that she remembered us and that it made her happy! She just started chattering away, she rolls her R's like no one else I've heard yet, and it makes me laugh (and that makes her laugh, so it is good.) She had lots to say, and would ask me questions and Jack would answer, and she'd look at him, but said she didn't remember him. She got reacquainted with my plaque, and read it over and over and got pretty good at pronouncing Met-ta-call-fee. She turned 94 in April and has lost some acuteness and memory, but surprises you with some things out of the blue. We're back, and it's great.Oh, oh ...witching hour has arrived, time to get hopping!Love ya, Sister Mom (Joanne) Grandma
Well, today we can report on a major success. With the help of Church lawyers we were able to get back in the rest homes around Angouleme and see our members that live in them. Our little Sister Louise Meslier was so glad to see Joanne again that she hugged her and wouldn't let her go. We had a wonderful visit with her and she is anxious for us to return. She has a problem remembering, but she remembered our pass a long card and Joanne. The other sister is Colettee and she is unable to speak but nods her head in the affirmative and negative. We gave her the same card as Louise with Christ at the open tomb and Mary with the Christ. Whenever we mentioned the teachings of the Church, she would kiss the card and when we asked her if she would like to take the sacrament, she kissed the card with vigor. We will go back Friday for that. This experience will rank as one of the best of my life as we were able to beat down the door of bigotry and bring the light of Christ into the life of deserving sisters. Steve Beck mentioned that I was a good person to help in the accomplishment of this because I don't give up when an injustice is being dealt out, but I was just one of many in this fight. Joanne's spirit with these two sisters and in other situations makes a big difference. We live in the Seattle of France as we experience rain almost everyday. It keeps the temperature down but ups the humidity. I enjoy the lower temps but I have developed hay fever with all of the multitude of plants that flourish in this country. This country is so green and every where you travel the physical features change quickly. You can go from flat to rolling hills to small and large mountains in the matter of a half day's drive. The fun thing as you travel is there are chateaus all along the way. One thing I have not become use to is the round points. These are circles that take the place of four way stops. The person on the left always has the right of way with a myriad of exceptions. You must know the white stripes on the pavement to determine how you react to each situation. Without Joanne to help me see the swift moving traffic, especially motorbikes and motorcycles, we would be in many accidents. Angouleme with its 45,000 people has the forth most round points in France. My driving life is always exciting. Another situation is finding a parking place. If you come to France you MUST learn to do a parallel park in good time. It is a good thing our car is small because one can't park even a midsized car in the places provided. Sometimes the place is so narrow that we are forced up on the curb with our small car (one set of tires on the road and one one the sidewalk). It is sometimes legal to put the whole car on the sidewalk where indicated. With one set of tires on the sidewalk, Joanne has to squeeze between the car and the wall that is always there. ALL French homes have a barrier between the house and the street for privacy. If there is a gate for the car to enter into the property, it is locked or functions with an electric signal. At the Church, the whole property has a high fence around it and a locked walk in and a locked drive in gate. It is a good thing we have a key to the drive in gate. But there is a problem to all this and that is that even with a small car the sidewalk is not wide enough, so our car sticks out into traffic.One other feature of European cars is that because of the narrow streets, each car has the ability to turn in the side view mirrors as you park so that they don't get knocked off by passing cars. You will see many cars missing one or both side view mirrors. Even when driving on two way streets that are narrow and with parked cars on one side, you could loose your mirror. Buses have the right of way at all times and they are the biggest reason for no side mirrors. I move out of their way all the time. Well, keep those cards and letters coming. Love Elder Dad & Sister Mom
Bonjour! Help! Would you believe that we are being held hostage at McDonald's by the biggest, worse rainstorm that I've experienced since being here? It's been thunder, lightening, wind, hail, and hard driving rain for the last 2 hours, and hasn't let up yet. We're thinking of our cute baby tomatoes on the plants we were given to raise, and the sweet rows of beans Jack planted in the ground that are all of 3 inches high. He checks them out every time we come and each time we go! Maybe this is an isolated event, (ha, I was always good at wishful thinking!). I hope you are all doing well in your daily lives, I miss you.No time at a
ll last week for emailing, we were occupied with a member up to her neck with troubles. But, I thought I'd tell you about some of the interesting things we have done lately on our P-days. On our way to Oradour (more on that later), we followed the map and almost missed finding a site of uncovered second century Roman ruins. We bought tickets for the guided (hand held device with English narration) tour, and had the whole place to ourselves. It was called "Thermes Gallo-Romains," or in other words, a Roman bathhouse. It's spread out over quite a distance, with more to be uncovered as the money comes in for further excavation. A Roman bathhouse was a gathering place for socializing and relaxing, exercising and bathing, and swimming in heated waters as well as a cold tub. Slaves worked to keep it running smoothly, and the planning and design was ingenious. Much of the original walls and tile are still standing, and in good shape too.This very day, June 10th, is the 65th anniversary of the town of Oradour sur Glane being wiped off the map completely by the Germans in 1944. We arrived there in a rainstorm, and sat it out to a light drizzle, then went to the memorial building that leads to the remains of the town itself. When the word got out what had happened there, they just buried the dead, and left the remains of the town just the way they found it. It is all very somber and sad, a vivid reminder of how terrible war can be. This had been a busy little town with many shops and homes and even a trolley down the main street. The Germans came seeking revenge against resistance fighters, and rounded up the population: men, women, children, babies, and by the end of that day the people were all dead, and the whole town set ablaze. Nothing was left but rubble and ruin and death; over 600 people murdered. It rained on us the whole time as we walked those streets, and it just seemed appropriate all in all.We had Stake conference in Bordeaux last Sat. and Sunday, so we decided to leave real early and go see the ocean there. The sun came up in the redde
st ball of fire and it was neat to be able to see it. The Elders had told us of some big sand dunes, so we decided to look for them. Well, they were hard to miss, as they stretch out along the coast for about 5 k. and it's a mystery as to why they are there. At the park we stopped at they were about the height of a 6-story building and had a plastic staircase going up the side. Hmmmmm. The 
bottom stairs were covered with sand, so Jack just plowed through and made it to the clean steps. I took off my sandals and grabbed the rope rail and hauled myself up through the difficult section. It was 8:30, and cool and cloudy, and the sand felt wonderful between my toes. Halfway up, the stairway had come apart for some reason, so that it took careful navigating. Finally, I made it to the top and could see the blue Atlantic oce
an stretching out to America. We were all alone on top of the world it seemed. A sign directed people to descend down the dune itself, BUT, we were in the strange dune-climbing attire of suit, white shirt and tie, shiny black shoes, and skirt on me! (Good thing we were early, we probably would have drawn a crowd wanting pictures of the strange birds!) We made our way back down the way we came up, and all was well.We are busy in all aspects of life and a mission is full of opportunities to grow spiritually as well as opening up horizons never before expected. We have been out 6 months now; I can hardly believe it. Well, let us know what the heck you are doing; I want to know all!Love, Sister Mom (Joanne) Grandma :)
e and I. We had some amis attend and more come each Sun
day. Our next activity will be a good, old fashioned p
icnic. Our activities chairman does a 
good job of organizing the events. The weather has taken to summer. One day it was spring and on the 21st of June it went into summer with a vengeance. We are getting our air conditioning in the car fixed next week, so for now it is the windows down and the tie loose and the top button of the white shirt undone. It is good to have an air conditioned McD's to type this message to all of you back home.
