Lost Sheep

Hello to all in the outside world. It is getting hot in Angouleme with the temperature reaching into the 90's during the day. Yesterday after church we had a high of 98.6 F. We have an air cooler in the chapel and also the meetings are in the morning so we get the benefit of a much cooler part of the day for our services. The forecast is for hot weather the next ten days. It is not what I call a good time to be out knocking on doors and meeting people in the streets.

It is hard in France to even talk to people about the Gospel of Christ due to the past actions of the government which are the reversal of the U.S. Constitution. As I have said before, the French government has made it very difficult to practice any religion. In France, the government has acted so that the law states"Freedom from religion" and not "freedom of religion." The Catholic Church has gone in debt in France and can't maintain their churches, so the French government has taken control of the ones build anciently, which makes up 97% of the churches once maintained by the Catholic Church. The government has labeled them historical land marks and the persons who do the up-keep are hired by the government agency that controls ancient landmarks.

If the Catholic Church wishes to hold a service in one of the churches controlled by the government, they must rent the church, just like any other private concern. That is why there are music concerts and other activities being held in the churches that are not related to religious services. A good example of this was when we took the missionaries to Poitier for Elder Hill's medical exam. The exam was a part of his visa for staying in France.

Poitier is out of our mission boundaries, but it is the place where people from Angouleme go for their immigrant and missionary visa medicals. We had two exams and they were hours apart so we got to visit the old part of the city and 4 different Catholic churches in that area. One of the buildings was the oldest baptistery still standing in France. It was built in the 11th century and has a large baptismal font where the baptisms were done by immersion. It just so happened that the baptistery was being rented by a business man from Poitier for a luncheon. There was a doorman at the front checking invitations for the catered lunch. A funeral in one of the old churches will run a person a nice sum of change.

The other denominations in France have built and maintain their own churches through member donations. Our church would like to build a temple in France, near Paris, but the French government feels that all church buildings should be open to the public and there are negotiations going on as we speak for a change in the French thinking. The church is making head way in this area. We have just finished negotiations for the donations to be tax deducible, but in doing this, we had to limit the donations to tithing, fast offerings, missionary donations, and temple construction and maintenance. All other donations on your sheet in the U.S have been taken off because the French government considers that their responsibility. A member must sign the donation sheet so that the government knows that the donation was given by the member's free will. Extensive auditing by the government goes on to see that the funds that are donated are in accordance with French law. I feel that this new arrangement will give the church more credibility and gain greater acceptance by the government and will lead to a temple in France soon. There are many influential members of the church in France, and they have been able to help the government understand our teachings and our desire to be financially sound as a church and as members.

We have been doing a lot of work to bring back lost sheep into the fold. Maybe that was the Lord's reason for sending us here. The Corga family has had one problem after another, but we have held fast with them and have been through each problem with them. The French are closing in on themselves. They would like to close the door on immigration even though the Corgas are from Portugal, a European Community member country. We have met each problem head on and, with some American ingenuity, have been able to counter the French government to get the family complete legal status.

Dominique Auje is another project we have been working on for over a year and we are now seeing swift progress in bringing him back. He and his fiance are planning a marriage and Carole is taking the missionary discussions and responding positively.

Sephora Croq is a single mother of a cute five-year-old that we are working with. She kicked out her live-in boy friend and is moving slowly to coming back into activity.

A new brother has moved into the branch. After raising his children with a wife who has been hostile to his conversion, he made a stand in favor of the Gospel and because of this his wife divorced him. He is retired and has moved into the Charente and he has found new strength in the closeness of the branch.

It is good to have success after some very long struggles. We love the Lord and we love the fact that we can be in His service to help others.

Elder Dad

Touched by Music

Bonjour everyone, from the northernmost point of our, "the South of France" mission. It is almost July, and it's not cool here anymore; just as yesterday in the car after church, the temperature registered 37 cel. (which is 97.6 degrees f.) according to Elder Archer, our on-board expert on most anything!

It's noontime now and the sun is beginning to heat things up, so Jack is out taking a clue from the French by closing our shutters during the day. We're hunkering down for some "indoor" P-day activities, washing sheets and towels for me, while he drove to the bank, and then stopped by to see the Corga's. They didn't make it to church yesterday, and he found Sandra really suffering from the weather with only a couple of weeks left to go in her pregnancy. He drove back to the chapel and picked up a portable fan for her to use to cool herself off, especially at night.

We are sad that the Corga's have missed some really great moments that we've had at church lately. Last Saturday was Angouleme's Musical Fete (festival), and in honor of that, our Branch organized our own little "members of the branch fete". It was funny to hear Jack singing at the top of his lungs in the upstairs shower, the song he was trying to get up the nerve to sing that day; I guess he thought the water noise covered up his noise! The four Americans started it off with the newly popular golden oldie, "Come Thou Font of Every Blessing," with Elder Archer pounding out the music on the piano for us. Then, Bro. Savreaux handed out words to the old favorites he was going to play on his saxophone, and Bro. Bourdicheux broke the ice for everyone by booming them out, so that a joyful feeling of good memories spread through them all. Sis. Demolombe sang from the pulpit in a sweet voice, and Bro. B. asked if he could do it too! So he came forward and sang his old favorite which seemed to be about love, birds and flowers. Then Jack had the best 99-year-old church member in the whole world come up (she'd been looking forward to this for weeks), and she sang a little song from her long ago past. Everyone clapped for an encore, and surprised her so, that all her songs fled from her head as she got flustered. Good thing Patrick Humblot remembered the song she sang last year, and came to her rescue. She sang that for us and sat down, content. Jack decided to throw caution to the wind. He got up and sang "Old Man River, and got a big round of applause for his effort. Bro. B. thought of another song to sing, and seemed to love the attention he got as he stood straight, and sang loudly, using large arm gestures . . . he was a hoot. Sis. Demolombe urged me up, so I sang an old girls camp ditty "The Poor Old Slave" (with its tongue-tangling 3 verses), and "A - You're Adorable" slowly, hoping they would pick up on the alphabet part of the song. We then ate the wonderful desserts they always show up with, and it was a good time for us all.

Then yesterday, thanks to an idea we got from Laraine's ward, we had a sacrament meeting about the hymns we love the most, and why. Jack gave them a week to think about their favorite song from the hymnbook, and then they could come up one at a time to tell us about it, and Bro. Auje would lead us in singing the first verse. Both Bro. Savreaux, and Sis. Demolombe love "Oh My Father," because of the beautiful teachings therein. Jacqueline said that as she was being taught by the missionaries, she knew about Jesus Christ, but hardly nothing about her Heavenly Father, and that is why the song opened up a whole new spiritual world for her. Richard Humblot is always touched by "I Stand All Amazed." Bro. Nadie Parris (a faithful, but divorced ex-missionary in France) was "grateful" to whoever was inspired to have this program, because he said that every day of the week he had good thoughts as he pondered the song he would choose. His choice was, "Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd." Bro. Auje gave a short discourse on the power of music to convey the spirit; and how even people in the middle ages (b. 1091) "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee," could express the gospel message as well as someone born in our lifetime (b. 1945) "As Zion's Youth in Latter Days." Bro. Bourdicheux said he loves the brightness of "Count Your Blessings" (which is good because the Elders sing it to him a lot when he gets depressed and overwhelmed by his problems)! Our new Bro. Dano loves the vim and vigor of the song, "Ye Elders of Israel"--Oh Babylon, Oh Babylon (I love it too, because I get to sing it with the Elders a lot in our meetings)!! Patrick really likes "Families Can Be Together Forever," and we sang both verses. Then, Jack got up, and he too claimed a piece of "Oh My Father," because of the wonderful truths it teaches about the gospel and the pre-existence. He also claims the song "Come, Come Ye Saints," as the anthem for enduring to the end. But, his favorite song in France is, "Souviens-To"(Remember Me), which is so beautiful and emotional, about our life in heaven before we came here to live on earth. Time was almost up, so he asked if we could sing all 3 verses to this one. Bro. Auje, a very cool, self-possessed seeming man, got up to lead us, and the tears began to stream down his face during just the first verse; it was very emotional for us all.

The spiritual side of our life is mysteriously touched by an element of beautiful music, which inspires our emotions, allowing us to experience unforgettable moments of wholeness; we are so blessed by the hymns of the church and their wonderful sermons in every song.

Love,
Mom (Joanne) Gran'ma

My Love/Hate Relationship with Computers

You might have noticed that I haven't written for a while; this is to let you know that I am in the repentance process, so hang in with me. Let me tell you how we spent one of our P-Days in May.

Computers and I are adversaries at best, and enemies at worst, and my sad tale will tell you why. Having labored over a letter for four hours (DOES ANYBODY ELSE DO THAT?), I was just about finished when Jack warned me that we had to get ready for FHE. So, I signed off and scrolled up to the top, where two buttons called to me: SEND & SAVE DRAFT. Hmmmmm. I knew that I should push send, but then again, shouldn't I save it first? That sounded so reasonable that I did push the save button, and POOF! the letter vanished into outer darkness.

Ohhhhhkaaay. I sucked it up like we learn to do in this life, put on my "I'm fine!" face, and went to Family Home Evening which can get quite interesting if certain people are there. We had eight in all, and after a good gospel discussion, Jack asked them if they wanted to play boules outside, or Uno? UNO!!! What a bunch of wild boys, they all want to be the winner so bad, even Sister Walter! I sat next to our new Elder Hill, and he didn't cow-tow to me like our departed Elder Gunter famously did. Then Alain Kos started mocking Elder Hill, saying that he was fat (he's not), but he didn't take it kindly, and mumbled to me how he should just go over and smite him some. No wonder Alain had all of his upper teeth knocked out in fights in the Foreign Legion . . . seeing that skinny face of his convulsed in open mouthed laughter was a sight to behold.

Elder Archer and Jack get along great because they think alike on missionary work. But this competitive Elder tries very hard to get the best of Jack whenever he can. This time he thought if he and Elder Hill sandwiched Jack between them, they could work together to beat him coming or going. Elder Hill was not above peeking at his cards if he could, and they caught him three times shouting Uno before he remembered to say it; but he won two games, as did both Sister Walter (who is a great sport putting up with all their boyish exuberance) and I. Then came the best part, what we all wait for . . . dessert. We had leftovers from the Branch brunch, and even some of Richard's often dubious concoctions (a sauce of mashed apples, pears and oranges) he begged us to finish--wasn't half bad.

Back at home, Jack said I should start my letter over while it was still fresh in my head (after all, now that I know what I am saying, it will zip right along). Uh huh. Can you possibly guess what happened to it again, several hours later? I'm not even going there, it's too painful.
I'm sure that's all you can take for now, so I'll write again soon. Take care of yourselves, and remember that we love you.

Sister Mom

Where Did April and May Go?

Hello to all,

We have been so busy that I can't understand where the months of April and May went, but they are gone and we are way behind in our writing. I feel like the butcher who backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work. We are sorry that we missed a few birthdays, but we promise to catch up.

We are still working with the Corga family, and they are striving to keep the commandments--especially the Word of Wisdom. They both have been smoking for a long time and it has been hard for them to stop. This week, they asked for a priesthood blessing and since that day they have made great progress. They are the best of friends with us and we love them so. Their little 22-month-old girl, Beatrice, calls out frere, frere (brother, brother), when ever she hears my voice, and today they are getting used to sitting fairly quiet in Sacrament meeting.

We are teaching a young woman, Sephora, in her late 20's who has said she has made a mess of her life up until now and wants the direction of the Church in her life. She has a 5-year-old son, Jeremie, who doubles our young primary. We had such a great meeting with Sephora last week and there were some tears of joy shed as we talked about the importance of the Savior in our lives and the special part that Jesus can can play in our future.

The weather has turned hot in the afternoon with clear blue skies. With the good weather, Joanne got the bug to get the yard as it should be. I took out the dead hedge in front. There were six dead plants that made up the hedge with roots that had to be dug up and then severed from the fir hedge plant. It was a two day job. Two of the plants had to be eventually pulled out with a good rope and the car; then new plants put in, and because a 16 foot area was exposed to the neighbors (which is a definite no, no), I put in a bamboo fence with poles painted green like the shrubs. It now looks neat as a pin.

I need to talk about one other thing that is unique here in France and that is the shopping carts. First, to get one you must invest 1 Euro to unlock the cart from all the others outside the stores. You get the Euro back when you return the cart and lock it up with the other carts again. There is a slot in your cart where you place the Euro and the force of the Euro in the slot unhooks the cart.

The carts themselves are different than those in the United States in as much as the two wheels in front and the two in the rear will turn. This make it difficult to steer your cart since you must control four turning wheels instead of just the two in front for you in the States. When the carts get filled, they are unwieldy or, in this case, unwheeldy. The carts need your arm and leg strength to get them to go in the direction you desire. One good thing about the four wheel drive is that if you are standing still and someone is coming at you, it is easier to dart out of the way in any direction at a standing start.

The escalators here have no steps on them when it comes to grocery stores--they are long, flat moving walk ways up and down. The carts can fit on them and the walk ways are grooved as are the cart wheels so that once you get on the walk way the cart wheels fit in the grooves and you stay fixed in the braked position until your front and back wheels hit the pavement again.

Well that's all folks.
Elder Dad

Birds

Hello to all from Angouleme,

We have just gone through a period of rain and now that the sun is out for a few days, Mother Nature has put on he best dress as all is in full bloom. After being in Cokeville for 29 years we really forgot what beauty really can be like. There are so many different flowers here in the yard that at times it boggles the mind at what colors and smells there are here in France. Outside the office window are three trees that are entirely different in size and in shape. I have watched the trees flower and the leaves change as the season has progressed.

As I sit here typing I can also hear a myriad of tunes played by many different birds in the yard. It is so good to hear the blending of the birds calls here so that it sounds like a symphony with all the various instruments playing in harmony. This is a far cry from the crow's caw that was the only ear splitting sound coming from the trees in Cokeville. It is the difference between classical music and heavy metal.

We are enjoying the branch membership so much that I know that leaving here will be a major emotional situation that I am not looking forward to experiencing. We are progressing and the branch is growing. One retired member returned to Angouleme, an English couple contacted us about moving hear in June, and our member who runs a growing construction company just hired a return french missionary. This missionary has a small family of wife and two children, with a new one coming soon.

We are still working with Sandra Corga. She is having a rough time trying to stop smoking and she has asked for a blessing to help her. We will gather the brethren on Sunday for that. Carol is progressing and we have encouraged her to pray. Praying is something new for the people here because they have never had a conversation with their Heavenly Father. Either they only know prayers that are memorized or they have abandoned religion altogether because of the bad reputation it has had in the last 40 years. To get people to realize that they have a Father in Heaven who loves them is a concept as far removed from them as quantum physics is to the average citizen. The public's view of Heavenly Father is also new to them. Someone that is a resurrected glorified being as is taught in the Bible is so strange a concept and so different from that taught by the Nicene Creed that is the present belief and has been for centuries. It is so different yet appealing to those who will listen that they want to pray and have a meaningful conversation with God as James talks about in the Bible, but it takes time for them to grasp the idea.

We are in good health. We have been in good health throughout our mission even with the damp weather here in this part of France. The weather is like that of the Northwest with overall temperature stability without the constant rain. We do have rainy weeks, but in between a 5 day period of rain are weeks of good weather in the 70's and 80's.

We are doing well and the time is flying by. People are telling us that they want to boycott the end of our mission and go on strike so we can't leave. Our hearts are pulled in two by the love we have for these people and the future of seeing family and friends at home.

Love to you all,
Elder Dad

Week of Supreme Service

Hello to you all from Angouleme,

This week was a week of service and for me it was a supreme effort. If you didn't know before, I am not a pet lover, not because I don't like animals, but because they restrict your movement so much. I like to take off when ever the desire hits me and with a pet you are in need of someone to watch over the pet.

Well this last week was our turn to help a family that have a dog, fish, two cats, and a hamster. We thought we lost the hamster one night, but we found him burrowed into the very back of his little home filled with cotton batten. Panic struck with the thought of trying to find him. I don't do well crawling on all fours through the house any more. The dog was the only one who could not be left alone, so Joanne and I decided to keep Booba in our garage. We could feed the rest each night at the home of the family.

The first thing I had to do was build a confined area in a corner of the garage so that this fairly big dog couldn't run wild in the garage. She is a little over a year old and is a strong dog. The 9-year-old boy and 13-year-old, slightly built girl can easily be dragged when the dog is on a leash. This dog is strong enough to take a small child on a wild ride on skis on the packed snow.

Once the enclosure was made, we had the dog delivered on Friday. I spent the rest of the day building up the enclosure so she couldn't get over the barrier and filling in the holes in the walls where she could force her way through. Once that was done we knew we could sleep through the night.

The mornings were something else. Early to rise and out with the leash. With the dog out front and dragging me along, we head out down the street. She would pull me along and then stop all of a sudden to sniff and then off again. I do have admit that she walked and pulled fast enough to get my heart rate up to where I knew I had a good exercise. I am the only person I have seen in France that took some plastic bags to clean up after the dog. After a good brisk walk it was back in the yard. The whole yard is enclosed with a fir type bush that is about five feet high in the front and seven feet high on the sides and back. I have a tennis ball and she does chase after it but has no concept of bringing it back for another throw, so that game was short lived.

When we headed out the door, the dog went into the garage enclosure and, lucky for us, was able to stay put without any noise until we returned. It rained much of the week so she was reluctant to go out in the yard. Once the sun came out she would stay out, but when she got excited, which was often, she would start to dig in the grass. I tried to stop her from doing that but to no avail and in the enclosure she would go.

At the end of the week, she was better and on Saturday she even went into the enclosure without being told to do so. It freaked me out because I couldn't find her in the yard and I couldn't believe she could get out. All of those panic feelings went through my mind. I even thought that someone took her, but I soon got rid of that feeling because they would bring her back after 5 minutes since that is all the time it would take for her to take over their lives.

Today the service project was over and the dog went happily back with her owners without even saying a word of praise for our patience and concern for her. I guess that is true service when you do something without a reward.

Everything is fine here and the time is flying by. We had 27 people out to church today and the Elders were able to bring back a family that had been inactive for close to a year. After the meeting, they said they would be back next Sunday. It is good to see progress, even when it is just a little.

We love you and pray for your well being.
Elder Dad

Moving On

Hello to all of you out there,

The work is moving on and there are some good changes coming from Angouleme. The branch music director has started a choir and we are getting more participants every Sunday. The only problem that I see is the fact that when the choir sings for sacrament meeting there will be more in the choir than in the congregation. But if we continue to grow and bring in new members and those who have been less active our music director will have added a great dimension to the branch. We are planning to have them sing for our stake visitors and for the branch music festival.

We have finally got the Corga family into a home not far from where we live. We have been so busy that we have not had the opportunity to go see the house, but we are invited tomorrow. It is so good to see them out of the hotel room that they have been in for the last two months and know that their life we be more on the normal side. With Joao first month of work coming to an end, it will be good to see him earn a pay check and the family will be on the road to recovery.
Spring is here and the farm fields are brimming with growing crops. It is strange to realize that for the second year we are seeing the crops growing. The other day we noticed the first cut of hay. That is hard for those in Cokeville to take. There is a plant that produces cooking oil and it gives off a bright yellow flower. It is quite something to see the fields blooming on the hillsides with this vibrant canary color.

We are doing well and our health is good although with the cool mornings and the warm afternoons we a sporting the beginnings of a spring cold. If that is all that happens, we will be in good shape.

My gardening skills are better here than in Cokeville. The last time I had a garden there it was killed off by two late frosts that made it impossible to start over a third time with the short season. Here we have peas, beans, tomatoes, and Joanne's spinach. The plants have sprung from the ground with the last three day rain and the warmer weather the last week.

Joanne is getting ready for her third talk in church this Sunday and this is the time that I see stress in her life. The French is coming, but it is not where she would like it to be. Joanne understands much more than she can answer to. Giving talks in French is not something she feels comfortable with. Her French is good when she reads and the members and amis of the church pay a great deal more attention to her talks than most because they want her to succeed.
Well we pray for everyone at home and love you all. Please spread the news of our goings on and the joy we have in serving these great people.

Love,
Elder Dad

Worth of a Soul

Hello to all of you in this wonderful world,

This morning, when Sandra Corga came to pick up Joao from his mornings work, we talked about general conference that we all participated in yesterday in Perigueux (some 80 miles south of Angouleme). Sandra had her hands full with her daughter, Beatrice, but she was able to hear one talk and parts of others and was impressed by the spirit. She noticed the picture of Sandra and Keith and the children on the frig and said that she wanted a family like that. I said that there were only three things that were stopping her from having her family sealed to her in the temple of the Lord. One was getting married. Sandra and Joao and Joanne and I are going to the city hall tomorrow afternoon to fill out the necessary papers. After a two week waiting period they will be husband and wife. One problem solved. The next question was to set a baptism date, and so she picked Jono's birthday on the 31st of May as the date. She is working hard with her promise to stop smoking and was showing us the gum she was chewing as a way to accomplish that--along with prayer. The final hurdle is to endure to the end. This young mother has impressed me with her determination to do what is necessary to accomplish her goals. With the help of the Holy Ghost and the church teachings and the members, I know that we will be back here in a year to witness a sealing in the Madrid temple.

Some might say that we have paid a high price to bring one person to the waters of baptism, but I also know that we, as a couple have consecrated, all that the Lord has blessed us with to bring souls unto Jesus. This family is worth all the energy we have expended and more. Staying home would have never brought us in contact with this beautiful family, and we would have not have experienced the pure love of Christ that we share with them. We have spiritually adopted them into our family and we would have paid the last penny in our account to see this wonderful blessing come about.

For those who don't know how this feeling fills the soul to over flowing, I yearn that they might experience it some day. The worth of a soul is priceless, and we have seen the change come over this family as they have let the commandments of Christ enter into their lives and make a mighty change in their outlook, love, and willingness to serve others. I know why we were sent here for our entire mission. Without the time to spend with these souls, we could not have seen the change in their hearts. It has taken love, patience, and, above all, time to help them experience a change of heart.

We are experiencing so many wonderful happenings in Angouleme, and have had the privilege to meet and love some wonderful people. Staying home would not have giving us the opportunity to stretch our souls and get out of our paradigm. Being in the box is no longer something we want to do with our lives. We have a desire to consecrate our time, talents, and all else we have to the Lord and His work. Yes, I know that our Heavenly Father could get it done all by Himself, but in His wisdom, He has allowed little old me to grow and love through service.

I love you all and I am so happy to be with Joanne here in Angouleme to give what little I have to offer.

Elder Dad

Not Something I Like To Do

Hello to all of you;

We are doing fine and the weather has been great, but we need some rain or the farmers here are going to be in a world of hurt. It is interesting that everyone who isn't a farmer loves the sun everyday, but we who have worked Mother Earth know that too much of a good thing for everyone else doesn't feed the population.

We have planted a small garden with beans and peas and hope to put in a little lettuce, spinach (for Joanne), and some tomatoes. The Corga family has been helping with the yard and spring cleaning. We have finally found a way to make their stay permanent and legal according to the confusing laws of France and the European Union. The two entities do not match up with their laws and the French demand that they meet both rules. We have a member who is a plumber. He will hire Joao and we will have them work for us the first month (which they have), and then he has work for them at his home and in his business. They only have to work 15 hours a week for 200 hours total to qualify for assistance and medical benefits.

With a work contract, Sandra Corga, is going to march triumphantly to each office she has been fighting for the past year and win one for her family. Sandra is a real fighter and this will be a great victory for her as she can now meet all the crazy laws here. The problem is that the laws conflict and counter act one another, but victory is in sight.

We went to the funeral of the son of a member last week and as most of you know this is one of the least enjoyable things for me to do. I have almost decided to not show up for my own funeral. We traveled to the small village where the service was to take place and the day was cloudy and windy. The member, Sister Demolombe, was so happy to see us. I, as the branch president, get to do things that the rest of the missionaries can't do and that was to give her the traditional kiss on both cheeks. This is a very important symbol of love and close relationship especially for the older people of France. It was a privilege for Joanne and I to be counted as family. Remi, the husband is not a member of the church, so he had a Catholic service for his son.

The service took place in the small Catholic church in the village. The churches of France are very cold inside, even on the hottest days, but the love of the villagers made up for the cold temperature.

France has lost many clergy and so the service was taken care of by the villagers. I feel that their display of love for the family made the service have a more of a caring feeling. The other thing I noticed was that all the villagers who took part in the service were older than me. The youth of France has given up on most religions and the Catholic church is suffering from a lack of young members. I thought of what is going to happen when these good people of the village die and there is no one to perform their services.

My thoughts went back to our last Stake Conference here in the Bordeaux Stake and the youth choir that sang. There was a marked difference in the number of members in the choir and the ages of the members. Although the people at the funeral had good voices, there were only 9 of them and they were all aged. In contrast, the youth choir at conference came from the Bordeaux area and numbered 45 and showed the vibrant future of the church here in southwest France. I marvel at the Saturday meeting held at stake conference here. The members out number those of my home stake and these members come from places often a 100 miles away. The singing during the priesthood leadership session always gives me goose bumps.

The other thing that is very noticeable in the service held here, was that it was not on a personal note. Everything was scripted and done from rote memory. The personal touch for the family was lacking and, for me, I think the service is for the living more than for those who died. In that aspect, the service was cold as far as remembering the son and the love that was shared by the family. We were given a place of respect in the walking procession to the cemetery as we were placed in the third row behind the wife and children and the parents and sisters. Holding an office in the branch or wards of France is a very respected position and it is very humbling to me to be in that position.

The only personal note was made by one of Francise's two sisters that are members of the church. Marie Lore is married and formerly lived in Minn. but now lives in San Antonio, Texas and Marie France lives in Thaiti. They both flew from their respective homes to be with their Mother and Dad and show their love to their brother. Marie France took the opportunity to take the microphone provided at the grave site service to pay her respects to her brother and give a short testimony on the Resurrection and the importance of Jesus in our lives.

We met with the extended family in an open roofed area of the local elementary school in the village. It now serves 29 small villages in what is now called a commune. France has had to do that because the number of children per French natives is one child per family. As we snacked on cookies and orange juice, I thought that this was so different from the Relief Society providing a meal after the service in a warm chapel. Joanne made soup for the family and we took it to the Demolombe's home the next day, along with two loafs of bread and some cheese. Marie Lore had to explain that this was the way it was done in the church back in the states and elsewhere. They were grateful for our show of love to them. I have found out even more that this it is what it is all about, LOVE.

Well, we have many new amis to teach and the Elders are keeping busy as well as ourselves. We will keep you up to date on the progress in Angouleme.

Love,

Elder Dad

Baptism in Angouleme

Bonjour everyone -

I sure hope all is well in your lives, as we think of you often, but we have had plenty to occupy our time and energies here, especially lately in our small Branch of the church.

The 58-year-old son of one of the most faithful members I've ever met died last week, and it has been hard on her to lose him, because, of her three children, he was the one who didn't become involved in the church when she was converted and baptized, some 40 years ago. He became a doctor, but when he began to develop the symptoms of diabetes, he went into denial and would not seek treatment until it became too late; loosing first his sight, and then just recently his life. His two younger sisters, both temple married, with active families, flew in from Tahiti and Minnesota for the funeral; and Jacqueline clung to them, as well as to us, for the support she needed. She considered us as family too, (her LDS family), and insisted that we be by her side as we attended the Catholic funeral in the small village where she was born. It was a very interesting experience, in an ancient building made of stone, on a cold, blustery, sad, rainy day; and when Jacqueline's youngest daughter leaned over to tell Jack how glad she was that a priesthood holder was there with them, we were especially glad we were there too.

Bro. Bourdicheux has had some amazing experiences as he got closer to his baptismal date. Because he is living on his pension, Elder Green thought that he'd not have to pay tithing on that money, but that was not true. Then also, Bro. B had staged a mini protest against the French government for taxing his retirement, by not paying his taxes! They came after him for it, so a chunk of his monthly check goes to repay the government until this Oct., making things tight for him, and making him question how he could handle the payment of tithing? When Bro. B. dreamed at all, they were usually terrible nightmares that woke him up and left him shaken. But, last Sunday night, after he prayed to Heavenly Father long and hard for an answer to his question, he dreamed a dream. He said, if someone had been in the room with him, they would have heard him talking out loud to a voice that came to him. "Who are you?" he asked the voice. "I am the voice of Him who is on high; I live on a planet far from yours, but I am always near; your life has been spared 4 times, and that is the end of your blessings." Bro. B. asked, "Should I pay my tithing?" And the voice answered, "Yes." Then the dream vanished. He never remembers dreams, but this one is embedded into his memory, and just thinking about it makes him light as a feather!

He got a call from the son of his deceased best friend in Paris, and told him about the dream; to which the man said, "That's just a figment of your imagination!" Then, Bro. B. told him that he was going to even pay tithing, and the man shouted, "See, all they want is your money!" to which he sadly shook his head and said, "You will never understand, my friend." He related this all to Jack on Monday afternoon, while it was still fresh in his mind.

On Wednesday, we went to his apartment with white shirts and pants for him to try on, and they were all too small, until we had him try on the one temple baptismal, zip-up front suit we had. Finally, they got that zipper up over his belly (he can't suck it in) and it is going to work! The only other thing he needed was some white underwear, so we will pick some up for him. Bro. B. closed our little visit with the nicest prayer (just a simple conversation with his Heavenly Father) that I've heard in a long time; it was great.

Jack went to pick up Bro. B. on Saturday, and made the mistake of asking how he was feeling; which set him off onto a recital of all his many maladies! "I got my hair cut yesterday for my baptism, and it was hot in the salon. Then, I came outside, and caught a chill; I've been sneezing all morning, and have the sniffles and I feel terrible. Maybe I should wait and be baptized in April?" "No." said Jack, "you need to be baptized today." "Even if I'm sick?" "You will be fine." "Are you sure?" "I'm sure you'll feel better after you are baptized." "Really?" "Yes." "OK, if you say so." He came, and changed into all white clothes. We somehow got through the slowest filling of a font ever (first it was too cold, then it was steaming hot), but when the moment arrived, lo and behold, it was suddenly perfect, and we all breathed out a sigh of relief.

Bro. B. carefully followed Elder Green down into the warm water, with a big smile on his face, as he looked up into the happy faces of all his new friends. They spoke together for a moment, and then the Elder raised his right arm to the square and said those simple, but significant few words of the baptismal prayer. We all held our breath as Bro. B. didn't hold his nose as he was immersed--would he come up sputtering? No! He came up smiling wider than before, and looking back at Elder Green, he asked if he could go under again! We all laughed, as he was told that one time was enough since it was perfect. After dressing, they came back into the chapel, and Jack asked Bro. B. if he would bear his testimony to us. He told how, for a split second as he came up out of the water, he saw a symbol of two things that he really loves: birds, and to dance. He saw a bird dancing, so that is why he wanted to go under the water again. He thanked the Elders who taught him the gospel, Elders Gibbs, Green and Gunter, for making him realize that Jesus Christ is not just a pretty story to help children get to sleep at night, but that He is his Savior, and that he needed to be baptized into His church. We had some refreshments, and he told me of the 4 times in his life that he almost died, and how he knew that he had been preserved for a purpose. We drove him home, and he thanked us with a smile for his new underwear, and said he'd always remember us each time he puts them on.

We came home and crashed and slept hard, and the next day Brother Bourdicheux was confirmed a member of the church, and it is a real good feeling to have him with us. It was all worth it. Take care!

Love,

Sister Mom (Joanne) Grandma