Better Late Than Never

Hello to all,

I apologize for not getting on the stick and writing especially after complaining that I don't hear from all of you enough. We have been very busy with all the things there are to do here in the branch and with the missionary work on top of that it all compounds into full days and weeks. I have been busy trying to learn all the terms and forms that have to be filled out and getting the branch membership list put in order. The branch membership has changed over the years due to the shift in factories that have left the region. It seems that no one until now has tried to track down the total membership. Joanne and I have have used almost every method known to us to get the lost sheep found.

We have tracked many down through the white pages on the Internet. If we get more than one phone number for the same name, I then call each number and say that I am from the U.S. and am looking for so-and-so. Many times I get a polite no when I add the necessary details to the search, but after many calls, I am successful. The members have gone throughout the country and I am able to track them because France is broken down into numbered departments. If I don't find them locally, I can then branch out into the surrounding area. I have found some as far away as 500 miles. Some of the members have moved out of the country. With those, I have sent referrals to the countries through the missions located there. Sometimes when I call related last names and let them know I am interested in contact so-and-so, I get an enthusiastic response about the person being a mother-in-law or some other relative and I then get their address and telephone number. Of the total 154 members on the original list we have paired it down to 80 that are still in the branch boundaries. This has made a major difference on our percentages for visiting and home teaching and attendance at meetings.

I am happy to say that I don't feel like a direct descendant of Aaron, the brother of Moses, anymore. I now have one of my counselors and hope to have the other soon. Patrick Humblot is the new counselor and he is a great person. His son who lives in Bordeaux has told me that he has been invigorated and is very willing and eager to serve. Patrick has been in the branch a long time and his insight and knowledge about the members will be a great help. He and his family were devastated when his youngest son was killed while serving the NATO forces in Bosnia. The event caused his wife to have a nervous breakdown and a family breakup ensued after years of struggle. It has taken its toll on the family. There is a son who is active in the church in Bordeaux and a daughter in Brieve. Both of these cities are in our stake but they are 2 hours away.

Patrick has a great sense of humor and we get along like brothers. He has the same passion I do for genealogy and we have spent time getting to know the new church genealogy program. He is 57 years old and works for a group that does dental crowns, false teeth and the like. He has done this all his life and with his fine hands he is well suited for the work.

His youngest child, a daughter lives in Angouleme and is slowly coming back into activity. I hope that knowing that her father is a leadership role will give her a greater reason to come back into the fold. Florianne, the daughter, is the youngest of the family and was shocked when her brother was killed. She was just in her early teens when this took place and it has taken her time to get her back on her feet.

Last week, Patrick had a granddaughter baptized and Florianne attended the baptism and stayed with her sister in Brieve to attend Sunday services. The missionary work is progressing with a number of people fully working with the Elders in the missionary discussions. We have two investigators, but we are at the beginning of the teaching process. We are working very diligently with less active members who are working their way back.

In our travels this month we have asked when the grape harvest will be and found that last week it was in full swing. We thought there would be a large number of people in the vineyards, but much to our surprise the greatest percentage of the work is now done by machine. We got to see a couple of these machines up close and personal. They have two sides that surround the gape vines and then, with a relatively hard rubber flap on both sides, the machine hits both sides of the row of grape vines and shakes the grapes off. The clumps of grapes drops to the floor of the machine on each side and is carried by conveyor belt to the top of the machine to a container on each side. When the containers are full, the grapes are unloaded into trailer and the harvester continues on.

The grapes are then hauled to the farmer's distillery where the wine or Cognac process takes place. As we passed the villages we could smell the fermentation process taking place. This country could be self sufficient in food because of the good soil and climate. If they took the vineyards and put them into crops that could be eaten, the country would be able to feed more than the people of France. You would be shocked at the amount of ground is taken up with the vineyards all over the country.

Well, take care all and keep your chin up.

Elder Dad