France Is Modern

It is good to finally get the Office Word working like it should so I can type the weekly letter at home and then attach it to the email. This way we can do this in the comfort of our place and not run to the Mall every time we want to email something.

I have been living the good life here in France since we were able to find some of the foods I enjoyed back home. The first thing was peanut butter. It is made in Mississippi, but I must say that it is very creamy and tastes as good as anything back home. The next thing was corn on the cob, yes real sweet corn. I have had it 4 times already and with butter and salt it makes coming here a delight. We were able to find good BBQ sauce made in the U.S. in the stores and the missionaries from the U.S. go the extra mile for some of Joanne’s pulled pork on a good French fresh bun. We still have not been able to find Root Beer in Angouleme, but we have heard that it is available in other cities in our zone, so all I have to do is arrange a swap and all my food groups will be taken care of. I must say that there are some things I wish I could return with. The grape juice is especially good and the fresh buns for hot dogs and BBQ sandwiches are much better that our hot dog buns.

We are having an experience with starting our Primary since we don’t have a lot of experienced hands to make it go as we like. The major problem is as these people come to church, their little children have not had the training to sit or work through a simple lesson or the big factor is sharing time. All this will take time, but we have a start. All of the things you take for granted at home don’t even register in a small branch.

We are teaching a blind lady who has had a Book of Mormon for years but has never been able to read it. She told us that she takes it were ever she goes and feels very safe with it near by. Elder Osborne had a copy of the Book of Mormon on tape in French, but it is missing the 1st two tapes which cover 1st Nephi (we claim it is missing the 1st 116 pages). She listened to the tapes that cover 2nd Nephi and when we came back she said it was just as she imagined and is thrilled to hear what she didn’t know before. She already has a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. We are working at reading her the missing 1st Nephi.

We are always running into new situations that definitely stretch the imagination and make us rely on the inspiration of the Spirit. Being the only member of the branch presidency here during the week has us in many problems and situations that would be handled by others, but we do our best to give aid and comfort.

The weather has been hot the last week. It seems that we went in one day from spring to summer. The heat jumped from the low 70’s to the low 90’s and we found out quickly that we need the air conditioner. We take the car in tomorrow and that will help the old couple a lot.

Elder Dad