President's Wish

We had the privilege to attend a combined Brussels and Lille zone conference and the visiting authority was Elder Teixeria, who is the Regional Seventy for this area. He was very inspirational and gave some great tips on how to increase our teaching group. He said when you make contact with someone, whether they are interested in the message of the restoration of the Gospel or not, we should ask if they know individual(s) who might want to hear our message. If we do this each time it will increase our contact list without further time spent. As we continue to do this, the number will continue to grow rapidly. He also challenged us to try this as we left the conference.

Joanne and I left the conference and headed to the train station and made contact with a man in the park. He was interested in our message so we got his phone number and address but when we asked if he knew of others that would be interested he said he was the only one of his family here and the country he came from did not have missionaries. We met another young man who helped us get on the right metro car so we could get to the train station, but he was going one way and we the other, so we just had time to get his name and phone number. We picked up one more name as we helped an older lady with her bags on and off the train. She was headed to Lille and we met her son at our stop at Lille. We have not had time to visit him yet because as we were leaving the conference our mission president came to us with a new assignment.

The mission is trying to place missionaries in different areas in Paris that will help the Chinese speaking Elders in Paris , but to open a new apartment the mission needed to close another. To hand back the apartment to the owner we had to make sure the place was ship-shape. President Posnazski asked us to go to Paris and see if we could get the work done. We said we would go and do it. We said that we would drive down, but president told us that we would never find a parking spot in that area and that we could stay in the apartment that Elder and Sister Jones were in before they finished their mission. We knew that their place was way out of Paris and that we would lose a lot of time going by train as we made our way into Paris. We told the president and his wife that we would bring our inflatable mattress and camp out in the apartment and save time. Sister Posnazski was shocked and said we couldn't do that. We told her that we are not the rich and famous and we would be right on the job early each morning.

So off we went to Paris to help out. We only had a week and so we had to sandwich everything between Thursday night institute and our meal after the class and Monday night's family home evening with the young adults. So Friday morning bright and early we took off for Paris. We made arrangements with a young adult in Paris to help us get set up with all our needs. We met him at one of the chapels in Paris with the help of Mappy Ann (GPS) and he took us to the apartment.

It was a large apartment that had a large living room, dining room, bedroom, bathroom with adjoining WC, or toilet as you would call it, and a kitchen and hall. The wall paper had to be taken off and the ceilings painted. There was a large hole at the shower area and the bathroom needed to be painted.

Matt, the young adult, and I left Joanne at the apartment to start tearing off the old wall paper and we headed to the nearest Leroy Merlin store. This establishment is as close to the French get to Home Depot. We spent 380 Euros on all the things we needed and rushed back to get into the major job before us. Matt Fuller, a returned missionary, came back that evening with two young adult friends to help. We tore the old paper off and then had to water down the backing paper to get it to peel off. All hands were working until 10:30 PM. At the end of the night we tore off the paper in the living and dining rooms and the three young adults got two walls finished with the new wall paper. We then inflated our mattress, opened the windows and plopped down for the night.

We were up at 6:30 and we went right to work. I put on the paper under the windows that spanned the living room and dining room. Joanne kept right on tearing off paper and bagging it up to throw away. We had seven large garbage bags full and still counting. Elder Godfrey, whom we had known in Lille, was the Zone leader in Paris and he and his companion came at 10:15 and worked until 2:00 PM. It was hard to get everything going as we wanted because we only had one ladder. We got an assembly line going with three of us. Cut the wall paper to size, brush on the glue, and then get it up on the wall straight. When the two missionaries left the living room was done and Joanne had most of the dining room free of the old paper.

Joanne and I ate two small quiches tarts, two pastries and drank a lot of water. In the afternoon two more missionaries came. These two were the Chinese speaking Elders. One was from Taiwan and the other from Quebec. You could rattle the elder from Taiwan by asking him what it was like to live in China. He was good natured but he would let you know right away that he was definitely not from China. These two missionaries headed to the bedroom to tackle the old wall paper.

We had a hard time with corners because the rooms were not square and it took much trial and error. We actually left the corner area and headed for some straight flat surfaces. Two more elders came to work in the bedroom and by 9:00 PM we were down and out for the count so we called it quits. We had no place to rest except on the floor or on the toilet as places to sit. The hole in the bathroom now had two coats of mud and it needed to dry before some sanding, the dining room was almost finished so we figured that we had made good progress for two days. With the help of Mappy Ann we got the keys to Elder Godfrey and headed home to Lille and arrived just before midnight.

After family home evening with the young adults we headed for Paris again. We took the toll road each time so we could get there faster, but it also cost 15.40 Euros one way. We double parked so we could get the keys from the elders mail box. Joanne jumped out of the car, punched in the door code, reached into the deep mail box and retrieved the keys. We were off in an elderly couples attempt at a "flash". We arrived at the apartment, inflated the mattress and got a good night’s sleep.

We still had much to do and only two more days to get it all done. Rip the old paper off, slosh the wall with a very wet sponge, tear off the under coat, and let it dry. Joanne and I got into a groove with the new paper as we cut the paper to size, applied the glue with the paper on the tile floor, put the new wall paper up, and wash down the floor to take up the glue that got on the floor.

At 2:00 PM our first helper came. We called him "Hy" because his Tahitian name was impossible to pronounce. He had come to France to find work and in the process found the church and had been baptized 4 months before we met him. He is 22 and planning to go on a mission. Two elders came and went to work on peeling the hardest parts of the bedroom. Hy went to work in the hall with Joanne, and I worked on the bathroom. Later on after the first set of missionaries left, two more came and started putting the paper up in the bedroom. One elder had the touch and could get the paper up so you couldn't even see a seam.

That evening two young adult sisters who were born in Africa came and David, a French young adult that helped previously, came to the rescue. We had a major problem with the sink and tile in the bathroom and he came up with a solution that allowed us to get the sink and the tile back flush with the wall. With some caulk we were able to get it looking better than before. Joanne and I decided to take a rest.  While the others ate food from the local McDonalds, we went to a Chinese restaurant in the area and enjoyed much more that pastries and quiche tarts. We were all dog tired and so I sent everyone off home with a hearty thanks for all they had done.

The next day two elders from the mission home came with an extra ladder and the 4 of us went to work. We were now up to the task and with the experience we had we worked hard and almost had it done when the elders had to leave for meetings with investigators. Their help was just what was needed and Joanne and I were able to put the finishing touches on the walls in the hard to get to places. Painting was finished in the bathroom, floors mopped, windows cleaned, garbage bags taken to the cellar for disposal, door locked, and keys once again placed in the elder's mail box. With it all done we headed for home after a total of 66 hours of work by Joanne and I and 65 hours by young adults and missionaries.  It was a job well done! When the owner inspected the apartment he was thrilled and our mission president said that it was great to hear the owners’ compliments.  It was wonderful to hear that the good name of the Church was upheld in the eyes of someone in France.

I need to add one more blessing that we received from our Heavenly Father. You will remember that our mission president said that we needed to come by train because we would never find a parking spot anywhere near the apartment. Each time we came we prayed that we would find a parking spot so the work could get done.  In the 4 times coming and the 4 other times we had to leave to get materials we always found a parking spot close to the apartment. Of the eight times, four were right in front of the building. Twice we came very late at night when there should be absolutely no spots. Both times someone was pulling out as we pulled up to the apartment. These are the tender mercies the Lord pours out upon those who trust in Him and who are about His work. The other is that without the help we received from good young adults and missionaries we would still be there. We love this work.

Another Temple Trip

Our young adults planned for a temple trip after Jack gave them the idea.  Our temple district is in London, and they would be able to stay overnight there, but they were all booked up, so the Holland temple would work just fine for a day trip.  We met at the church at 8 A.M. and were aboard our large, modern bus and on our way 20 minutes later, for the reasonable charge of $25 per person for the whole day.  The temple president at 'the Hague' (Den Hagge) Holland called Jack last week and virtually gave our group the whole afternoon to do as much temple work: baptisms, confirmations, and even endowment sessions as we wanted to do; the whole afternoon was ours.  We had 25 people and picked up another 14 persons from Brussels, Belgium who had wanted to come with us.  As we traveled along, I was amazed at the wonderfully flat land of these two countries. We got to see a little bit of the city of Rotterdam, and it's interesting to realize that this area of Holland has been reclaimed by the ingenuity of its people from the sea.  Much of the land is below sea level, and there are canals, pools and just standing water along the roadsides showing the part water plays in the scheme of things here.  New dikes now protect the country after a huge storm caused massive flooding several years ago.  We passed 2 nuclear reactor towers looming over the countryside, but only 3 old style windmills that Holland used to be famous for.  One was right by the temple, which is set on a corner lot unmarked by sidewalks or fences.

   The bus pulled into the parking lot and we got out with our lunches and found places on the lawn to sit, have a prayer and eat.  Our 3 cute sisters from Saint Quentin divided everyone into 2 groups, because this small temple doesn't provide workers: baptizers, witnesses, recorders, and helpers in general have to be a part of your group.  Jack was in charge of the Priesthood stuff, and the first bunch got into their white jumpsuits while I dressed in white also, to be able to hand out towels to those coming out of the font.  Each person did at least 12 names, and I loved watching them here, in this wonderful setting.  Sister Hall, from Brussels, was to replace me for the second group, and she told me how to get to some neat shops nearby; but I felt compelled to stay in the temple because that is why we drove 4 hours in a bus, not to buy more cheese!  

  Jack was the recorder, running names onto the screen so the baptizer could see them quickly and properly.  Cedric Bokiala was in this second group, just enjoying every new thing he learns about the gospel all the time.  He was baptized April 21st and is truly converted, having just received the Melchizedek priesthood and become an Elder. In the Congo he knew a boy at school who was well versed in the Scriptures, and found out that he was a Mormon.  He told his mother and she said, 'Stay away from the Mormons', so he did.  Then, earlier this year when visiting his sister in Valencennes, he told her that he was looking for a community of believers to associate with, and she said, 'Look anywhere, but don't mess with the Mormons'.  Just after leaving her apt. he saw 2 Elders contacting people on the street, and stopped to talk to them.  They got his address and forwarded it on to the Lille area Elders who took the ball from there and began teaching him.  He was going to school and living with a cousin, and tried telling him of the great things he was learning.  His cousin wasn't at all interested and tried to get Cedric to go drinking and partying with him, then got mad when he refused.  Cedric took the major step of getting himself out of that bad situation, and moved in with someone else 40 miles out from Lille.  He applied for new housing and got it, but for several weeks he had to travel those long distances to both attend school and now church as well.  We drove him home several times after Institute or Family Home Evening, where he was coming and getting to know a whole bunch of different new people and way of life.   He is really not a Young Adult, at age 31, but it's hard not to accept these new members who need fellowshipping, and just leave them stranded.  His father was in the Congo's diplomatic service to France at one time, so he is well educated.  He is also quiet, but now everyone is noticing his droll sense of humor and love to be around him. 

 

  We were finally done by 6 P.M. and our leader, Sophie, had the bus driver take us to the seashore so we could picnic there with the sandwich makings, cookies and drinks they'd brought along.  It was now overcast outside, and threatening to rain, but there were plenty of people on the boardwalks enjoying the cool breeze.  We ate by some strange metal artwork in a plaza, some of our group ran down to put their toes into the cold North Sea, and then we began to get sprinkled on, so we headed back to the bus and for home, where we arrived past midnight.  The name of the game here is activity in the church, and association with members their own age helps these faithful young people to stay focused and on track to return to our 'real' homes someday.