Flea Market

We kept hearing about something that was going to happen on the last weekend of August, but since we really didn't know what it was and we were so busy we forgot to ask. We have heard of a lot of city activities in Lille, however we have not had the time to look into any of them because there is always some activity involving the church or church members. We kept hearing about the Braderie and this time we got totally immersed in it because it is the biggest outdoor market or flea market in Europe and our neighborhood was totally swallowed up in it. When we came home Friday evening we noticed that all parts of the streets around us were being taped off with red and white plastic tape and every available space on the sidewalk was beginning to be occupied by trucks, cars, and vans.

   Saturday morning we got up early because we had a home repair project with one of our home teaching families who live 30 minutes out of town. We drove out of our private parking spot onto the street and off we went without any problems. We worked with the Thille family all morning long and at about two in the afternoon we started to head back to our apartment.. The closer we got to Lille the more the traffic started to pile up. This is not unusual for a Saturday but soon we were at a standstill. It took us twice as long to get off the freeway as usual and when we did we noticed that all the streets heading to our place were blocked off. We tried a few side streets but they all led us to police barriers and so we kept looking for a way home. At the same time we noticed that, in our absence, street after street was filled on both sides with make shift or professional booths set up on both sides of the streets and the middle was filled with the walking public going up and down looking at whatever was placed on the ground or on tables.

   We finally found a street that wasn't blocked off and started to move towards home. We found out that this was our only avenue home because there is a fire station on the next block near our building and they needed a way to take care of emergencies and so that street was not used for the public market. We got within 200 yards of our parking place when we ran into the full force of the flea market. We pleaded with people to let us through and when they did we had just enough room to inch the car down the two blocks. It took us 20 minutes to go the 200 yards. We finally parked the car and got safely into our apartment. Once we got our wits about us we decided to see what this was all about.

   We immediately launched ourselves into a sea of humanity and we found out that the entire downtown area of 4 square miles was taken over by sellers of every type of merchandise and that there were a million buyers who had come to Lille from all over Europe to look for just the right item (s) that they were looking for.

   Every one way and two way traffic street had booths on both sides of the street and every four lane street had 4 lanes of booths. The city even arranged the different sections of the downtown by the type of merchandise that was for sale so that the interested consumer could look on the map provided and go to the sections that interested them the most. We traveled up and down the streets in our neighborhood and were struck by the amount of things for sale and the mass of humanity that had come by train, plane, car, and bus to pick over the merchandise that was for sale. It was interesting to see that many people had come prepared to buy their chosen article whether big or small. They brought furniture dollies, wheel barrows, children's wagons, and baby buggies to cart away what they bought.

   I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that Joanne was not carried away by the many things to buy and so the only thing we came away with was two pair of new socks for me and we only shelled out 2 Euros for both pairs. I must admit that there were paintings, furniture, and other things that, with a discerning eye and good knowledge of antiques, a person could come away with great buys, but we kept our hands in our pockets and were content to experience the greatest flea market we will ever see.

   On Sunday we learned our lesson and left the car in its spot and walked to the subway to get to church. There was not much activity at that time in the morning, but as we returned the streets were packed again for the final day of the Braderie. This was a once in a lifetime treat.

Desmond

  One of the things that we have noticed in this mission is the ways in which the Lord brings his willing children in contact with the restored Gospel of Christ. We have witnessed many miracles through which brothers and sisters have been provided the opportunity to meet the missionaries. Today I would like to introduce you to Desmond Asante. Desmond is from Ghana, Africa. He had a small business in his country and wanted to build his financial business beyond his own country, so he made a trip to England to see what could be done find business partners. While he was trying to expand his business, his partners in Ghana cut him out of his major interest and he was left destitute and could not afford to return to Ghana. He knew that his visa in England was coming to an end and so five people he met in England that were in the same situation decided to leave England and try their luck in another European country. So the six of them entered Belgium and tried to find visas and work to support themselves, but alas Belgium was less inviting than England. The six of them, one young woman and five men, were living on the streets and trying every which way to stay alive.

   They felt that the only avenue to find work was to go to France and so the six went to Calais, France. Upon arriving in Calais the group was picked up by the French national police and taken into custody because of lack of the proper papers. Desmond being a Christian, turned to prayer while he sat in his cell. He and the other five were interviewed by French officials and in the end the woman and Desmond were given permission to stay in France and the other four were deported. Desmond was told he could go any where in France and continue the process to stay in the country, but nothing was for sure. He exited the police station and immediately felt that he needed to evaluate his situation; a park close by provided him with a place to pray and meditate. After a silent prayer on a park bench he met two missionaries as the two elders were going through the park to their apartment. Missionaries are not encouraged to contact people in public parks, but both elders were prompted to go to Desmond and talk to him. After introducing Desmond to a short explanation of the restoration of the Gospel and the Church of Christ to the earth, Desmond received a feeling that he should go to Lille. 

 

   The Calais missionaries gave Desmond the address of the church in Lille and gave the Lille elders a heads up about Desmond. Upon arriving in Lille, Desmond and the elders made contact and the process of introducing our new friend of the church began. Desmond came to church the next Sunday and we had the pleasure of meeting him. An invite for supper was given and accepted and, with elders, we spent time together enjoying a good meal provided by Joanne and great conversation about the principles of the Gospel. We were able to take our brother to buy some new clothes so his needs were met.

 

   We had been given some clothes and two suits from a departing missionary and in sizing up Desmond everything fit just right. Joanne spent some time fixing one of the suits and presented it to our  new friend the next time we met him at church. Another thing happened and that was Desmond began to read the Book of Mormon with the free time he had. In his previous religious experience he was told to shun the Book of Mormon because it had nothing to do with Christ. The experience this brother had in reading the opening pages made him realize that he had not been told the truth. He was very quickly into the chapters and through prayer realized that within the pages he was studying many of the questions he had before were answered and new truths were revealed to him. 

 

   He requested baptism and to my surprise he asked me to baptize him and also give the talk on baptism. He made a request that Joanne give the opening prayer. The day arrived and Desmond came dressed in his new suit, white shirt and tie and a huge smile. The two of us entered the waters of baptism and since Desmond doesn't speak French, I gave the prayer in both French and English. After coming out of the water the joy of Desmond could be seen and felt from everyone at the service. The next day was Sunday and Desmond was confirmed by the first counselor, Charles Tessa. The expression on Desmond's face and his words after the meeting about his spiritual experiences of the last two days were overwhelming. He said he could not express his feelings in words adequate to do it justice. It reminds me of experiences in the scriptures.

 

 

 

   The story doesn't end there. Desmond has since brought one of his new found friends to church and his baptism date is set for next month. The french officials have done something that is rare in France, and that is that they have quickened the acceptance process for Desmond to receive refugee status. He has been given a small living stipend which is very rare and now instead of going from homeless shelter to homeless shelter, he now has a permanent place to stay and some work to earn his meals. Desmond is active each Sunday and was ordained a priest two weeks ago. He is willing to teach with the missionaries, bear testimony in church and the two of us gave a talk together. It is not easy to translate for someone who wants to move on with his message of the restored gospel in quick fashion. I was able to give the members the main points, but as they say, much was lost in the translation.

 

   It is great to be here and see people come alive to the gospel and to play a minor part in the spreading of the word that has been revealed to us in our day. In a side note we met with Margaret yesterday and I asked her if she has continued to pray about the truthfulness of the message we have presented. She responded by saying, "I don't need to pray about the truthfulness of the restored gospel because I know it is true." We still have some more to teach, and her attendance at church needs to become a priority as well as getting her husband's permission for her baptism. This last time we had the pleasure of meeting her husband and he was very friendly and it doesn't seem that permission will be a problem. Margaret asked if she could keep the DVD on the life of Christ that we watched while we were at her home. She hopes to show it to her oldest daughter before she heads off to Paris for school. We also gave her the restoration DVD since I had ordered two for some reason and had an extra. I don't wonder any more why I ordered two. We also let Margaret know that there were young adult groups of the church in Paris and they would welcome her daughter with open arms. Margaret is all for that because she does want her daughter to meet some good clean living young people.