Bonjour everyone,
It's the end our our Sunday, and we are, as usual, drained of our emotions. We never know who will come, or what kind of drama might unfold this time. Last week, the Primary was 'hit' by the unexpected arrival of 4 out-of-town children, (because of Stake visitors for Branch Conference) plus 2 from Angouleme; the room was full, and I was in shock. Thank goodness for our new Elder Gunter, from North Carolina, who saw my anguished looking face and recognized my plight. He came in with me and stood by my side, and helped get me through the situation in one piece. Funny enough, I had made extra hand outs, so there were just enough for every child to have one (talk about tender mercies)! This week, I sat alone in the Primary room, with a lesson for our 5-year-old, and/or a lesson for our 8-year-old, and nobody came until 70 minutes later. Eight year old Clement had a good excuse for being late, since his hamster had escaped, and they needed to find it, before their cats or their dog did. All we really had time for was a Book of Mormon crossword puzzle (that three weeks ago he claimed was too hard!); this time I put the jumbled up answers on the board for him, and he enjoyed it. I'm learning as I go too, you see!
It looks like we have a real live baptism coming up in April...it's our 78-year-old Monsieur Bourdichoux, who fits right into the average age range of our Branch! He really looks up to Jack, and listens to him intently, and calls him "Mon Pere Spirituel", as well as his frere, 'Monsieur Jacques'! We have loved seeing him grow and develop in the light of the gospel day after day, and he has come a long way. He had friends who told him "not to go to the Mormon church, whatever you do!", but instead of scaring him off, it made him curious, because he was impressed with the Elders he had met. So he started coming to our Family Home Evenings, and found out that we are regular people just like him, who have something he needs in his life. He watched us very closely at first for signs of our flaws, and one memorable night came quite unglued at what he took as total rudeness on the part of our upstairs friend, Chantal Walter. She was waylayed by Elder Gibbs as she entered the chapel for FHE, so he could tell her it was his last night before his transfer. Then, I motioned her over to show her the letter we'd just received from Sister Bouchard, so she took time to read it, and write down the return address. By then, JJ was calling us to order for the song and prayer, so we did that, and all the time Mr. B was sitting there, fuming at her, and we didn't know it. As Elder Green began his lesson, Mr. Bourdichoux broke in and railed at her for not saying Bonjour to him, and for completely ignoring him! He told her she was a terrible woman, and was totally rude. We were all stunned. She began to apologize, and tried to explain that it wasn't intentional; and he said that he'd NOT accept her apology because it was very intentional! Everyone took turns trying to defuse the tension, but he just seemed to get madder. Elder Gibbs told a story on himself about how 'our' perception of things can be completely different than someone else's, so we need to be open to the spirit of forgiveness. But the stubborn Mr. B wouldn't give it up, and he crossed his arms and pouted that this would be the last Monday meeting for him! Finally, Elder Green called us all to order, saying that the Spirit had fled because of the contention in the room. He took control, and went to the scriptures: 3Nephi 11:29..."he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another." V. 30..."Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away." He then said, 'We all love one another here, and we are all brothers and sisters as well, and we must behave as such.' A calmness began to return and Mr. B. seemed chagrined and we regrouped. Jack and I went into the kitchen later with Chantal, and we all blew out our collective breaths! She really impressed us by acting like a true Latter-Day-Saint should, not taking offense from a very unfair attack, and trying to make amends for any perceived slight or unhappiness that she unwittingly caused someone.
Any hard feelings were under control as we sat together in the kitchen, on this cold winter's night, dipping our croissants into our cups of hot chocolate...Yum. A humorous postscript to this story is: after Mr. B. set his baptism date, he asked the Elders if he'd be wearing something when he went down into the water? 'Oh, yes', they replied, 'You'll be all dressed in white.' 'That's good', he said, 'because I wouldn't want THAT woman to see me naked!' (Still harboring rankled feelings of being snubbed by Chantal Walter...hmmmmmm...I think he secretly likes her.
We were invited to lunch with Sister Trillaud, a home-bound member of the church, with a heart condition so bad that her lower limbs are swollen with fluid, and she has a hard time getting around. I have difficulty being 'waited' on by her, because I feel like we should be doing her bidding, and bringing her dinners; but she seems to need to render this service to the missionaries. Eating at her table is always an experience. This time she started us out with her homemade wild boar pate (looks like cold meatloaf), and those wonderful French (albino) white, floppy asparagus that she told us are grown in sand. No wonder they are colorless...but at least they are tasteless too, so even Jack could stand to down a few! Next, she made us each a 'Croque-Monsieur' (which is basically a fried ham & cheese sandwich), and then for the main course, she went all out with milk-fed veal stew, served on rice. After our course of cheeses and baguette, we were served a very nice apple (pomme) tart, that she made for us and can't even eat a piece herself. The least we can do for all that, is leave her with a clean kitchen, and so we do. This lady has had a hard life, and her health problems are monumental, but I love visiting her because of her fierce spirit, and her strong testimony. The spiritual thoughts the Elders bring are to buoy her up in her afflictions, and I believe her when she declares that she would be at church if she could. Her life inspires me to be thankful for all that I have been given, and not take it lightly.
We are doing well, except that the dampness is getting to Jack this winter, and he complains of having cold ankles. Rain, rain and more rain, is an all together different experience for us, and I can see why there is a lot of bright green moss growing everywhere you look....we better not stand still too long in one place, or it might start growing on us too!
I love life, even when it's hard, it's worth it. I love you all also.....take care!
Sister Mom (Joanne)
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