November 3, 2014

Well hey howdy hey everybody. I hope y'all passed a great week and did not eat too much candy or get really scared this past week with HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!! So on to my week, sorry if it is small but there was not a whole lot that happened...... Well for Monday we had a really fun p-day. We went with Patrick and the other elders to an abbey but there was a catch. We parked the car like 7 kilometers away and then biked up to it. There was an old railroad track and instead of just leaving it they decided to make it a tourist thing. They put these rail bikes on that can hold 4 people and two people pedal to make the bikes move and you travel up the old railroad. It was really fun. We got to look around the abbey, and then we biked back down. A round trip of 14 kilometers. Then we got back and did all the usual p-day stuff. Tuesday we had some finding in the morning and the afternoon. For lunch we ate with the Tricot family. Then for diner we ate with the Vanhulst family; Jermie and his wife and their two kids. It was so funny because their son is like 3 so I see him like Garrett and Grayson. He just tells me the darndest things. One thing he told me after he said the Dad, Jermie, spit out water and looked at his son. It reminded me of being in the primary all over again. Let me see Wednesday and Thursday nothing special just us doing a whole lot of contacting and porting. But really nobody was interested so not a really interesting two days. We did teach Jacques and his wife and they are doing good and they finally sold their house. So sadly they will be moving. Then for HALLOWEEN we had a zone conference with the president and his wife which was really good. It helped me out a lot. That night we had a ward party for Halloween. Then Saturday was another day of finding and then for dinner we had a FHE with a family in the ward and their kids, some of which are not members. Then on Sunday we had Stake Conference which was awesome and it was in Bruxelles. So that was cool and Patrick took us. Then he drove us home and we ate with him and worked on our fireside. Then we went and did some porting and that was my simple week. Oh yea I forgot we carved pumkins this past week too for Halloween!

And here are our pumpkins So mine is a Mickey head Elder Turleys is jackl skeleton from Nightmare Before Christmas And Elder Wootoon's is a Goofy face.

October 27, 2014

Well howdy hey everybody it’s been another great week. Let me just start at the beginning, so on MONDAY we had a great chill p-day. It was really nice and much needed. We relaxed in the apartment and did all the other stuff. That night we had a super awesome FHE with the Family Vanbuyten. They even invited a friend of theirs over. It was really fun. We talked about what it is like serving a mission and the blessings because their oldest son Nicholas who is 21 has just decided to serve a mission. So that was really cool. Then on TUESDAY we had our district meeting and that was really fun. We talked about what we can do to change things up to be more effective as missionaries. Then we headed home and did some contacting. We headed over to another FHE with the Family Vanhulst and we discussed the challenge we gave them to give away a Book of Mormon and they gave away two! They are so cool. We are going to try and pass by their friends with them. WEDNESDAY was a pretty normal day. We had a day full of finding and teaching. While we were out contacting this guy came up to us and just told us that he wanted to talk with us. He gave us his address and told us to pass by at the end of the month. Ao that was really cool. We also received a referral that a guy was looking for the Mormons and wanted a Book of Mormon so we gave him a call and fixed a lesson with him for later this week. That night we had our DMP meeting and then we went and saw our friend Jacques and his wife Chantal. We finished talking about the plan of salvation. Then on THURSDAY we just had a day of finding and we did some weekly planning. Nothing really happened because there were not a lot of people out just walking around due to the fact that it is getting cold now. FRIDAY we had an awesome lesson with Patrick and the man that wanted a Book of Mormon. We got to talk with him. The problem is he really lives far away so it’s a little hard to get out there but ça va.(It’s ok) After the lesson Patrick drove us to his house and we worked on our Disney Fire Side. We ended up eating dinner with him and then doing some finding afterwards. Then on SATURDAY we went and visited a less active. The rest was finding meaning talking to people in the street and porting. It was a long day because no body wanted to talk but I guess those days come. The next day is always better. Well then on Sunday we had a great day at church. Then we headed to a little village out of Chaleroi and we prayed with a member family out there to find people to teach. Then we started porting and it was really nice. It was calm and there were people home who wanted to listen to us so we will see. And that was my week. So today for p-day with Patrick we went and saw this abbey it is really cool.

So to get to the abbey we had to use these rail bikes. The took an old rail way and closed it down and put these little carts on that we pedal and we ride the tracks. It was really fun!

Elder Amico and Elder Wooton

Elder Turley on the Pedal bike with Patrick in the bottom corner and a little bit of Belgium in the backround.

Well here is medium frite one of the specialties here in Belgium and they are so good!

And here are the fries 15 min later, we had these bad boys during the week.

Look what neat treasures we find while we are out porting.

October 20, 2014

Well hey howdy. Hey everyone this week was crazy so let me tell you.... Monday was not a usual p-day. We did an exchange and I was with Elder Amico. He is the native French speaker in our apartment. We hung out during the p-day and we got pizza and did the usual stuff like shopping and emails. That night we had a FHE with a less active family from their ward and it was really fun. We ate more pizza so I was pretty sick of pizza by the end of the day. We shared with them how they can be missionaries and help us out and we then asked them for some people they know. They said they would think about it. On Tuesday we had our District Meeting. Then we came back and planned out our night because we were planning on the member we were going to eat with to pick us up but he had car problems. So we ended up figuring out how to get to their house and that took some time. Then we had to hurry and get the metro but sadly we missed the bus. So we had to walk to their house but the diner was really good. We had lasagna and we even played a little game and had a great spiritual thought. Wednesday was just a normal missionary day we did some phone calls. Then we headed up to this area by our church and we passed by this lady that we had contacted there a few days ago. We had a lesson with her at her house but sadly she was not there. So we left her a note and hopefully she will call us. If not we are going to pass by her house. Then we did some contacting and then went and taught Jean, our less active friend. It was fun seeing him again. He is just super chill and it’s great. Then we headed over to Patrick's house and we had our DMP meeting and then we had a rendezvous with some over of our investigators that we had not seen for a while. So that was cool. Thursday we WENT BACK TO FRANCE!!!!! So while I was in Alençon I started this exchange thing for my Texas License for a French one. Well it never came in and I left before I got it. A couple of weeks ago I called the Elders in Alençon and asked if they knew anything and they said they would check. They called me a little bit later telling me that the prefecture (police station) forgot to send in my document so they still had everything. I called the mission office and they told me not to worry about it and that I needed to go get the papers and my license. So we woke up early on Thursday morning and caught a train from Charleroi to Bruxelles at 6H58 then another train at Bruxelles to Paris at 8h13. We got to Paris around 9h3. We then crossed Paris to get to another Gare (station) to catch a train. We stopped and got some Pain au Chocolats for breakfast. Then we caught a train at 11H06 leaving Paris and going to Le Mans and there we had a layover for 40 min.. Then we caught a train to Alençon and finally got there around 2H00pm. So we hurried over to the prefecture and of course it is closed because there was just a strike there grrrrr!!! So we had to change our plans and instead of going back to Paris to stay the night we stayed the night in Alençon. That was okay because I knew the ville. I showed Elder Turley around while we did some contacting. Then we ate dinner with the other Elders in Alençon and did some weekly planning. On Friday we hurried over there right when it opened and I was able to get my Texas license back yes!!!!!!! Then we caught a train at 10h00 out of Alençon and we got to Le Mans but this time we had an hour and a half layover in Le Mans so we went and saw the big Cathédrale there. Then we headed back to Paris and then crossed Paris again and got to the North train station and caught another train back to Belgium. Oh boy it was a long two days but it was really fun to be back in France! That night we had a lesson with a new investigator and Patrick. Saturday, we had a great day. Just before we left for France we contacted this guy who said we could pass by his house. So we did that and he is super cool and has a great family. But sadly he lives in the other Elders area so we have to pass him. Then we did some finding and that night we had a lesson with our recent convert Jacques and his wife Chantal. Sunday we had church and it was great. We had lunch with Patrick afterwards. The rest of the day we did some finding and that was my week. Well here we are on our little France field trip in Le Mans with the big Cathédrale

October 6, 2014

Well it was the first week of the transfer and it feels a bit weird to be here in Charleroi again with the same companion but we have already taken a jump start on working and trying to find those who are ready for the gospel. Well on to this week... On Monday we had a fun p-day. We cleaned the apartment, shopped, and all that fun stuff. Then we decided to go to Ville 2, it’s like a mall here. We were looking at some stores and I got myself a Belgium Flag. Why not? After all I have been here for a quarter of my mission. Now all that leaves is Luxembourg baby, hahaha. We were hungry so we decided to be American and go to Pizza Hut. They had this all you can eat pizza buffet so we were like perfect for 4 hungry elders. The pizza was cheap and it was all we could eat haha! We then headed home and dropped of my flag and chilled at the apartment. Then we went and met Patrick at his house and we headed over to our FHE appointment we had with the Family Tesdesco. They are a family that gives missionaries names and are a recent convert family. They are really cool. We talked about General Conference, getting them all excited about it. Then Angelo, the oldest son, asked us for some help. He had an English test in school the next day. He asked us to help him study. It was really fun and really weird teaching English but speaking French haha. On Tuesday it was a whole lot of finding. In the morning we went up to a city that we had not been to before and tried to do some contacting. It was really cool to see some people who have never talked with a missionary before ask such really neat questions about the church. Then we had lunch and tried to do some contacting in ville but nothing special. That night we had an awesome lesson with Doriane and her family with Patrick. We invited her and her family to pray to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet and saw God and Jesus Christ. Wednesday was a day full of appointments. In the morning I made cookies for Jacques and Chantal. Then we had a lesson with an old investigator who might be ready to progress now so we will see how everything goes with that. Then we went home and picked up the cookies and then we went and taught Jean Kawanga at the park and at the end of the lesson we gave him a cookie. He loved it so I was not too worried about that night. Then we met Patrick and went and taught Jacques and Chantal. She screamed with joy when she saw the cookies and was so excited! It was super funny, and the cookies were good. Thursday was back to a finding day. We did some contacting and some porting then ended the night with our DMP meeting and CEP meeting. Then on Friday we had weekly planning and transfer planning. We got to see the family Tricots, a family in the ward, and eat with them. WE had steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli. It was so good! That night we had a lesson with this lady we found and she told us that the things that we taught her made sense but that she was going to need to ask God first before continuing. It was so funny because that is just what we were going to invite her to do haha. Saturday we had a lesson with a guy that we found by porting his name was Dominque. He told us that he was just praying for guidance and was lost and that he just finished praying when we came to the door. It was cool to be an answer to his prayer. We taught him on Saturday and he is actually crazy, literally. He was not right in the head so that was a disappointment. He would not really accept anything we said. He would tell us in his own head how things happened and what they met. So it was a good thing that night we had general conference. I was so excited and it was amazing. It was really cool to hear people speak in their own native tongue. That was cool to see. Then Sunday was nothing but Conference all day and that was my week.

September 15, 2014

Well hey howdy. Hey everybody it’s been another week. Can you believe it? It seems like weeks just fly by when you are doing missionary work. Well to start off… On Monday we had a super fun p-day. Patrick picked us up right after studies and he drove us to a city just 30 min by car. It’s called Dinant and it was so cool. We had a blast! When Patrick picked us up it was really foggy and on our way up he drove the long way through little villages and stuff. We could see more and we saw some cool castles and even some ruins. It was cool with the fog. When we get to Dinant and the fog cleared up we could see the Citadelle and everything. It was really cool. First we went and saw Aldof Sax's home. He was born here in Dinant and he is the inventor of the saxophone. That was really cool to see as I was in band. The city was covered in cool saxophones. Then we went and saw the Citadelle which is a military building with its primary focus to protect a bridge. At the time bridges were really important and in fact we even got to learn about its history. It played a major role in the First World War, and in the citadelle there was even a really cool exhibit. It was a bunch of Disney characters and stuff all made out of sand. It was really cool. They looked like ice sculptures but sand. Then we went and saw the big church in town. We came home and did emails. Then we passed by some old investigators that night to see if they were still interested. On Tuesday we had our Zone Conference in Bruxelles with president and his wife and it was really good but really long. We started at 10:30 in the morning and we were finished around 4:00. It was long but really good. After that we hurried to the gare (station) where we caught our train and headed back to Charleroi. Patrick picked us up and we headed to our dinner appointment with the Van Hulst family. They are a really cool family from the ward and diner was super good. We ended up sharing a spiritual thought from the Liahona, well I guess it’s the ensign back home. On Wednesday we had our second lesson with the Miracle Man from the post last Monday. It turns out he does not want to change he just wanted to learn more about us and stuff. He said it was mainly educational. So that was sad. He told us that he learned all he needed and did not want to meet with us anymore. After that we ate lunch and then we did some contacting the rest of the day till diner. For dinner we had dinner at the bishop's house. It was so cool. While we were at the table we got to talking about our lives before the mission and I told them that I loved watching tv series and movies, and Disney. The bishop's wife got intrigued because she loves tv series as well. She asked what my favorite was and I told her Once Upon a Time and she flipped out. She got super happy and said she loved that series as well and that she was just watching it before we came over haha. I told her not to tell me anything. I want to catch up when I get home. It was such a fun night and we really bonded with the bishop and his family that night. They gave us a family name to pass by so after diner we went and passed by. They asked us to come back next week. They were really busy so that was really cool. On Thursday we had a lesson with Abraham, a less active, and that night we had our meeting with the bishop and his counselors and our ward mission leader. The rest of the day we were either talking with people or eating and it was great. Not a whole lot of people super interested but we still talked to some really cool people. Then on Friday we normally do weekly planning but today we were way to busy which was really cool. In the morning we went and taught Darios, a recent convert. Then we had a lesson with an old investigator named Margaritta. Now we know why they stopped seeing her. It is because she does not really speak French. She speaks Romanian. Then we had a lesson with Jean, a less active. After that we headed to Patrick’s house and we headed up to Jacques and Chantal's house. We talked about the priesthood. After the lesson, we went and saw another old investigator, Jean-Pierre and his wife. They were really cool and after the lesson we all three felt that they could be ready for the gospel now. Then we went home and ate dinner. Saturday we did some contacting in the morning. Then we had lunch with Patrick. After lunch we went and saw a less active family and some of our investigators. That night we ended up just doing porting and nobody answered. It was a very long night. Then on Sunday Elder Turley gave a talk. It was really good. After church we ate lunch with Patrick again. Then we went and saw some more less actives. After that we ate dinner. Then finally we did our weekly planning, and that was our week. It was really crazy but super fun.

Missionary in Belgium

Dinant is the City which Aldof Sax is from the inventor of the saxophone, here is me and his statue

Me and his very first sax!

Here is me and a Sax, along this bridge there are saxophones all over from different European Countries that for an art project made a saxophone, this is from France.

Here is Adolf Sax's house.

The saxophone from Belgium.

Us in the citadelle where a fight broke out inside between the French and the Germans in the World War 1. A bomb actually blew up so this place is all lopsided. It's fun!

Me at the top of the Citadelle with Patrick, our ward mission leader.

Cannons were placed at the holes to shoot at the enemies.

The City of Dinant, so we went into that big Cathedrale which as the Dome top, and what they called a citadelle which is an old millitaty base used during wars and to protect a bridge, and this one was hit very bad in world war I so we get to go in and see a lot so the next pics will be of it.... The citadelle is at the top of the pic with the flag flying from it.

September 8, 2014

Well hey howdy! Hey everybody. I hope y'all had a great week this past week. My week was crazy full of miracles and fun stories. let me see if I can write them all down, Monday was our P-day. We really did nothing special that day just the usual stuff like cleaning and shopping. Right after we did Emails me and Elder Turley went and I pulled out money to buy our new bus passes. While I was at the ATM Elder Turley was at the door and this guy walked buy and then stood at the entrance. Then he turned around and asked Elder Turley if we were the Mormons and we said yes we are. He asked when can you pass by my house I want to talk to you and learn about your church. He fixed a rendez vous right there. It was so cool! Then we went to the bus place where we buy our bus/metro passes. We got there around 2:00ish and the line was crazy long. It was insane but we need our passes. So we waited and finally after a long time we finally get our passes. By the time we leave it’s nearly 7:00. Yea, it was insane! Almost everybody they had in front of us had a problem haha not fun! That night we had a lesson with an awesome ami (friend) named Emmanel. He is African and really believing. The lesson went great then we walked home. Tuesday we had our District Meeting in Bruxelles and that was super fun because we get to see all the missionaries serving in Belgium now. Then we headed back to Charleroi and did some contacting. That night we did some porting and while we were porting a lot of people were not interested. Of course like you see in the movies or hear from stories the last door we knocked on, the last one on the street this guy answered and we got to talk with him and even pray with him. It was awesome. On Wednesday we got to see our miracle man from the post and I don’t really know his name. He told us but I did not really understand it because it was really weird. Then after him we did some more finding and we even tried to pass by some old investigators and less actives that live in the area but nothing. That night we went to Jacques and Chantal's house and they gave us this really good cake made with SWEET POTATOES! It was really good so I took a picture of the recipe and will try and make it back home. Then on Thursday it was like a day of less actives so we saw Darios in the morning and then Abraham in the afternoon. Then we had some time to do some finding. Then we went to Patrick's house and we had DMP meeting. Then we went to the church and had ward council. Friday we had a finding day with both our mission and the south France mission where every 30 min we said a prayer for everybody in both missions. It was awesome! We really could feel everybody's prayers and we talked to tons of people and got some numbers and even taught some really cool people. Then on Saturday we had lunch with the Tricot family, a family in the ward. Then we did our weekly planning. We just did some finding the rest of the day, porting and contacting. On Sunday we had Church and it was sad. All of our lessons we had fixed cancelled on us so we spent the entire day finding as well. But sadly Saturday and Sunday not a lot of people wanted to talk to us, and that was my week.

September 1, 2014

Well I cannot believe it’s been another week already. They seem to be just flying by these days! Anyways, let’s get to it shall we.... Monday was our preparation day so we did the usual stuff that day but the day was not pretty. It rained all day so we stayed inside and slept and watched some church movies and had popcorn and ice cream shakes. The church movies were like the Restoration, or Legacy, and The testaments all in French of course haha. That night we had a FHE with a recent convert family the Tedesco's. It was super fun! Then we went and saw a less active after that. Tuesday we had our District Meeting and they are now in Bruxelles which is super fun because now we get to see all the other missionaries who are serving in Belgium. It was really fun seeing them all. After district meeting we headed back to Charleroi and did some contacting. Then we went and visited with Abraham, a less active from the ward, and then we ate dinner. Wednesday was a blast! I got some pictures taken of that day. We had lessons all fixed for the day. In the morning we had two with some people that we found the other day, Isabelle was a lesson in the morning but sadly she did not show up so we ended up doing some contacting. It turned out fine we talked to this really cool African Man who just loved Jesus. He like said it every five minutes haha. Then after that we ate lunch then had a lesson in the park with Jean. He is a less active as well but he has started coming back to church the past few Sundays. After that we did some more contacting and we had a dinner with Jacques and his wife Chantal and it was so good. She makes food native from La Reunion and it is so good! Thursday was a day full of finding. We even did some finding with our area book going through old investigators and such. We even went through the phone too! That night we went and passed by less actives homes’ with Patrick. Friday was of course weekly planning but we also had two lessons with some of investigators who live out of Charleroi. It takes a pretty long time to get out there so we spent most of our time on the buses talking with people and going to our lessons. Saturday we had a lesson in the morning with an investigator named Francis. He is super cool and super humble. Then we had lunch with Patrick and he had just gotten a Crock Pot. He heard me and Elder Turlery talking about roast and how good it was on Sundays and he told us he was going to make it. So he tried and it tasted okay but it just was not the same. He asked me to get recipes for him haha. He is such a character. Then that night we did some porting. It’s been a while since we were able to do so it felt nice to see the door slam and stuff and talk to people who were interested as well. Then Sunday was church. We had a great day at church; there were some really good talks. After church we did some contacting and some finding. We talked to this really cool dad and set up a lesson with him and his family. He has 7 kids so that is really cool. And that was my week for y'all.

August 4, 2014

Hey howdy y'all hope everybody is doing well, it’s been in awesome week this past week so let me tell y'all..... Monday was a great p-day. We pretty much did emails and then went looking at some cool stores during solds and hung out all four of us in the city. That night we went out with Patrick and visited a less active and gave him a blessing. Then we went and taught one of our investigators. He was an investigator we found while contacting and he was really cool. Then on Tuesday we had a lesson with a recent convert and it was really funny. It started by him talking to us about dating advice and how he needs help. I don’t think he realized exactly who he was talking to, me a missionary about dating haha!! Then we did some contacting and went to a couple of lessons that we had planned but they both fell through. Then we had a lesson that night with this new guy that we found but come to find out he is not interested in the lessons. So that was our second lesson and last. On Wednesday we had a District meeting and we spent the day running around to our lessons. That day it was awesome we had 6 lessons scheduled with people that we found and all but one went through! It was a great day. Then on Thursday we got on a train and headed out to a city just out of Charleroi where we taught this guy that we talked to in Charleroi a couple of days earlier. Then we got home and ate and then headed to a less actives house and taught him. That night we did some visits with Patrick our DMP. Friday was Weekly planning and right in the middle we got hungry. So we ran to the grocery store right down the street and got some snacks so we were able to finish weekly planning. That night we had an activity at our church where we played basketball and had a barbeque. It was super fun. On Saturday I did an exchange with Elder Wootton, my District Leader, and he had to give an interview that day. So we went and did the interview and then came back. Then we did some contacting and we passed by some of our investigators. One who has a family and they were really cool. The little boy asked us to do some magic and it was a little difficult haha. On Sunday we had church and found out that somebody from our ward is planning on doing a mini mission and he will be staying a week with us and working with us. It’s going to be so cool! After church we had lunch with Patrick and then we went and visited some less actives. That was my week.

Forget France, we be in Belgium!

Elder Sanchez and I

District Photo Top Left to Right: Rodriguez, Sanchez, Goodwin, Smith and Me Bottom: Hensen, Price, Wilson, Wootton, And Mckay

Me and Mission Parents

July 28, 2014

Hey howdy hey everybody so it’s been a fun week so let’s get to it... On Monday we had a fun P-day, not really it was Belgium's Independence and everything was closed and it was raining all day. So we were stuck in the apartment pretty much all day. We did not do much. Then we had a cool lesson with this less active and his non member wife who wants to get baptized so that was cool. Then we went home. On Tuesday my companion and the other Elder in our apartment had a legality thing so they left for Bruxerlles and me and this other Elder stayed and did some work in Charleroi. We went shopping and did emails because we could not do them on Monday. Then we went contacting until they got back. Then and Elder Turley and I went to Patrick's house. He took us to our dinner appointment and we ate dinner with some members and then went home. On Wednesday we had District Meeting and it was super fun. Then we went out contacting and went to our appointments that night. One was with this guy who said we could pass by his house and the other was with some of our investigators. We taught them about why there are so many churches and how we can know where the truth is. Then on Thursday it rained cats and dogs all day. So we did some contacting then worked some in our area book. Then we went out porting that night. We were on this street and we were the only ones on the road and the wind was blowing super hard so we just put our umbrellas away and both of us just looked at each other and just yelled. Then we said a prayer asking Heavenly Father why we were there and after we said Amen we looked down the street and a guy was chasing his dog. So we helped him get his dog and he let us in. So cool. Then on Friday we did weekly planning and we had a meeting with our DMP. Then we had a lesson with Jacques, one of our investigators, and we just finished up all the lessons so he is ready for his baptism. On Saturday we did a bunch of finding. Sunday I woke up not feeling so good but we went to church and I played the piano again. We came home and ate then we to our appointments with some people we met during the week. Then I was not feeling good so we went home and I slept the rest of the night. And that was my week

July 14, 2014

Hey all you people back home so listen up it’s been another week and a lot of stuff happened so let me tell you all about it..... So Monday we did all of the normal p-day stuff and went to the email place to see the results for the next transfer. We found out that I stayed in Charleroi and Elder Sanchez left, snif snif. It was a hard goodbye. We got pretty close these past 6 weeks and wanted to stay together another 6 but alas he was needed elsewhere. He went to ST. Dié in France. SO the rest of the day we did some packing and then we went and saw two of our investigators and that was it. Then on Tuesday we had a lunch appointment with some members so we went to their house. Afterwards we went back home and Elder Sanchez finished up packing. Then we went to a family's house where they threw a little party with some of our investigators and some less actives. It was fun! Elder Sanchez got to say goodbye to all our investigators and some members. Then on Wednesday we sent Elder Sanchez on a train to Paris and I stayed in Charleroi with the other two Elders who are here. We worked in Charleroi till my new companion got back. It was raining all day, well all week actually and it was not fun but we had fun. My new companion came in around 6pm and we picked him up. His name is Elder Turley and he is from Utah. He is just one transfer below me so that is fun. We dropped of his stuff then ate dinner and did some porting. Then on Thursday we spent the entire day finding because our appointments that we had could not come so we did some contacting and porting and we talked to these really cool African guys in town. WE gave them a brochure about the Restoration. Then on Friday we did some weekly planning and Transfer Planning and then did Porting that night again. But this time we missed the last bus so we walked all the way home. It was not fun. Then on Saturday we did some service for some members. After that we had lunch and went and saw some less actives and then had a dinner appointment with some members then we went home. On Sunday we went to church and I gave yet another talk! It was good. Then we had some appointments with some old investigators that we found in the area book. Then we came home ate dinner and then did some porting. That was my week for y'all hope you had a great week.

June 23, 2014

Well Hello everybody out there. It’s been another week. Can you believe it? I think y'all might be getting tired of hearing from me so often but hey I got to write all this stuff down you know... Okay anyways this week just flew by and it was a huge week let me tell you... So on Monday we did all the normal p-day stuff like shopping, emails, and cleaning the apartment then we went bowling with some missionaries and some members. It was really fun and yea I am not got at all, but at least I broke 50! Yea that is how bad I was but I did not lose haha. Then after that we ate diner and went out with Patrick and saw some of our investigators. They are doing really well. Then on Tuesday we went to Bruxelles for our Zone Conference and it’s the last Zone Conference with President and Sœur Poznanski. It was pretty sad but it was really cool. Then we went home and that night porting was really hard because it was the first game that Belgium was playing in for the World Cup so nobody came to the door. When they did they were very mad and told us to go away. So it was kinda hard but once the game was over it was really funny they all came out because Belgium won and people were going crazy. They were waving Belgium Flags everywhere and honking their horns and making all sorts of noise. This went on till about midnight so going to sleep was difficult as well. So then on Wednesday we had a normal day of missionary work filled with contacting and all sorts of fun stuff like that. That night we went and saw some of our investigators and it was a really good lesson. He accepted tithing and said it made sense why we pay it. Then on Thursday we did an exchange and I went with Elder Hansen and we worked in Namur. It’s a really pretty town and it’s really cool. I got to talk to people there and teach some of their investigators. Then on Friday we exchanged back and Elder Sanchez and I did some weekly planning. Then we saw Patrick and said goodbye to him, he left for vacation to the USA. He is visiting Utah. Then we headed to some lessons we had scheduled. Then on Saturday it was a day of finding and we found some pretty cool people and we fixed some rendez vous with them. And then on Sunday we had a special meeting at Church they reorganized the ward boundaries here for a lot of wards. It was really interesting to see the changes, then after wards we went contacting

June 2, 2014

Well howdy everybody so right now I am writing you from Belgium!!! So yea big news I left France ahhhhh..... slet me tell you about it. Monday was super fun. It was my last p-day in Alençon and it was a busy one. It was fun. I did a lot of packing and emails and other stuff. That night we did some porting and went and saw Yves. It was really fun. Tuesday we went and saw some members and I said goodbye. Then the rest day was spent with packing and doing normal missionary stuff, seeing people and doing some porting. That night we went to Le Mans where we spent the night. Wednesday was Transfer day. We woke up and headed to Paris. When we got to Paris I met some other missionaries who were going to Belgium and all of us went to the train station and headed to Bruxelles. I got to Bruxelles and then got on another train going to Charleroi. I got to Charleroi at 6:30 then I met my new companion and he is really cool. We met our Ward mission leader and then taught a lesson and that was it. Thursday we met this awesome less active family who is also Mexican and I finally have real Mexican food since being here in France! It’s awesome and they are super cool. The rest of the day we spent contacting and trying to learn the ville. Friday we did weekly planning and then went out with our DMP who showed us to some investigators homes and other less actives. Saturday we had some lessons and we also helped a less active family with some service on their house that they are remodeling and it was really cool. Then we had Church on Sunday and it’s a ward here and it’s really nice and I really love them all and they are super cool. The rest of the day we had a lunch with some members and then we ported that night and that was our week

April 14, 2014

My Fish from Elder Mattson for my Birthday it was really good!!!!!

April 7, 2014

Well holy cow this week just slipped away and so did another year of my life! I just turned 21 today and that is just crazy to me!!!! So as for my fun filled week..... Monday was a great fun p-day. That night we went porting and went and taught Stephanie but she had her boyfriend over and told she was not interested anymore. So that was a sad night but we had a great night going porting meeting some really cool people. Tuesday was district meeting and then we did the car report for the month. Then we had a lesson with Raymond and unfortunately it was our last one. He is not progressing and does not want to change. Sad day but the rest of the night we did some contacting and talked to some weird people. When we are in the apartment we speak French like these weird people and even walk like them. It is super fun. Wednesday we spent the day finding and got to teach this awesome lady. She had just lost her husband and was searching for answers and we provided all of her answers with using the plan of salvation. She said we were heaven sent and an answer to her prayers. Thursday we had our branch council and that was fun. Then we also taught Phillip and invited him to conference and he told us he would come. Then we also went and saw a less active and told him about conference as well. Friday was weekly planning and another day of doing some finding but we really did not find anyone. It was just a long hot day. Saturday helped out so much we taught some of our investigators in the morning and invited them to church. That night we had the Saturday morning session of conference and our less active came and it was super good. Sunday was a great day so we watched priesthood session at 11 in the morning on the internet. Then we had lunch with some members. Our investigator came to the next session then between sessions we had snacks and games with him and the branch. It was fun then we watched the Sunday Morning Session that night then went home and went to bed and that was our week.

March 31, 2014

Well howdy everybody it’s just another week just flew by here and I cannot believe that March is gone and April, the best month of the year might I add, is just around the corner!!!! As for my week it was really cool so let’s start at the beginning........ Monday -so today was not a normal p-day we did no shopping and no emails or nothing. We woke up and did some studies like we do every morning and then we headed out the door and I drove to PARIS!! Can anyone else say they drove to Paris France, hmmmm?? But it was only a 2 and half hour drive so not that bad. We had to go to Paris to switch out our car for a newer one. So we switched out the Chevrolet Cruise, which is a stick, for a French Opel Corsa, which is AUTOMATIC!!!!! And it is a nice car. I will send pictures next week of us with our car. We ended up getting back home around 8:30 that night so that was our day. I got to see the Mission Home for the first time and it looks really cool. Tuesday, we were going to do our normal p-day stuff today but we ended up having District Meeting and then I had an exchange with my District Leader Elder Mattson. He is super cool. We worked in Le Mans and it was really fun. I got to teach a family they are teaching and it is a really cool family and they asked like tons of questions and the spirit was super strong. Wednesday I- finished up my exchange with Elder Mattson and then we headed back to Alencon. When we I got back with Elder Bates we went to the church and did emails really quick then did a little bit of shopping, some basics we needed then ate dinner. Then we did some porting out in Arconnay, a little city just south of us. That was our day nothing big happened just a lot of people not answering or not interested. Thursday - In the morning we passed out some flyers that they gave to us from the Easter Conference. Pretty much we go door to door well mailbox to mailbox putting little flyers in their box explaining our message and that we will be passing back in a few days to talk about it. We went to a neighborhood and passed them out, then we got a call from Phillip and he told us that he could not see us this week so we fixed another lesson with him. Then we did some contacting in the city till about later in the afternoon, then we did some porting and then went to a less active families home and had dinner and taught a lesson. It was really fun but felt pretty awkward because we just felt like the family did not know really how to handle us but by the end we were all laughing and talking so that was great. Friday so this morning we did flyers in another city, then came home and did some weekly planning. Then we did some contacting and then went porting in a city where we had done the flyers and it went really well. The people read it and they either let us in or said they were not interested. The one's that let us in were really cool, well most of them some were pretty scary and not sure if they were all in the head but it was a great day full of little miracles. It just goes to show that Heavenly Father works through small and simple ways to bring to pass the big stuff. Saturday -We had our Branch Presidency meeting this morning and then we did some contacting afterwards. Then we ate lunch and did some pass backs and contacting in the afternoon. Then we went porting in another city where we left the flyers and it was the same thing just like the last town. Sunday was church. After church we did some porting in the town where we left flyers in on Friday for the day. Then we headed home, ate dinner and then taught Yves with a member and he opened up to us about prayer. We got to talk to him about prayer it was a really cool lesson and that was my week

March 27, 2014

Well howdy everybody it’s just another week just flew by here and I cannot believe that March is gone and April, the best month of the year might I add, is just around the corner!!!! As for my week it was really cool so let’s start at the beginning........ Monday so today was not a normal p-day. We did no shopping and no emails or nothing! We woke up and did some studies like we do every morning and then we headed out the door and I Drove to PARIS, can anyone else say they drove to Paris France, hmmmm. It was only a 2 and half hour drive so not that bad. We had to go to Paris to switch out our car for a newer one. We switched out the Chevrolet Cruise, which is a stick, for a French Opel Corsa, which is AUTOMATIC!!!!! It is a nice car. I will send pictures next week of us with our car. We ended up getting back home around 8:30 that night. That was our day. Plus I got to see the Mission Home for the first time and it looks really cool. Tuesday, so we were going to do our normal p-day stuff today but we ended up having District Meeting. Then I had an exchange with my District Leader Elder Mattson, he is super cool. We worked in Le Mans and it was really fun. I got to teach a family they are teaching and it is a really cool family. They asked like tons of questions and the spirit was super strong. Wednesday I finished up my exchange with Elder Mattson and then we headed back to Alencon. When we got back with Elder Bates we went to the church and did emails really quick. Then we did a little bit of shopping, some basics we needed then ate dinner and then did some porting out in Arconnay, a little city just south of us. That was our day nothing big happened, just a lot of people not answering or not interested. Thursday morning we passed out some flyers that they gave to us from the Easter Conference. We go door to door, mailbox to mailbox putting little flyers in their box explaining our message and that we will be passing back in a few days to talk about it. We went to a neighborhood and passed them out, then we got a call from Phillip and he told us that he could not see us this week so we fixed another lesson with him and then did some contacting in the city till about later in the afternoon. Then we did some porting and went to a less active family’s home and had dinner and taught a lesson. It was really fun but felt pretty awkward because we just felt like the family did not know really how to handle us but by the end we were all laughing and talking so that was great. Friday This morning we did flyers in another city, then came home and did some weekly planning. Then we did some contacting and then went porting in a city where we had done the flyers and it went really well. The people read it and they either let us in or said they were not interested. The one's we got let it were really cool, well most of the them some were pretty scary and not sure if they were all in the head but it was a great day full of little miracles. It just goes to show that Heavenly Father works through small and simple ways to bring to pass the big stuff. Saturday We had our Branch Presidency meeting this morning and then we did some contacting afterwards and then ate lunch. Then we did some pass backs and contacting in the afternoon. Then we went porting in another city where we left the flyers and it was the same thing just like the last town. Sunday was church, then after church we did some porting in the town where we left flyers in on Friday for the day. Then we headed home, ate dinner, and then taught Yves with a member and he opened up to us about prayer. So we got to talk to him about prayer it was a really cool lesson and that was my week.

March 17, 2014

Howdy y'all. I heard that it was a great week back at home and I am so blessed to be a missionary now and see blessings in my life, the life of my family, and the life's of the people here in France. Well on to my week..... Monday was just a normal p-day. That night we taught this lady named Stephanie who we found by porting and she is super cool. We ported her and she told us she had our book and that she wanted to learn more. Come to find out her parents went to Las Vegas and they in fact drove through St. George Utah and visited the temple there and got a Book of Mormon for their daughter and now she has one. So we have begun teaching her. Then we just finished the rest of the night doing some go old porting. Tuesday I did exchange in Le Mans with an Elder named Elder Martin, he is the companion to the district leader and he is super cool. We had a fun exchange. We did some more porting that night and talked to a lot of people and yea that was pretty much the day. Wednesday finished up the exchange. We went and taught some of their investigators and then did some contacting and taught some street lessons. It was really fun. Then we came back home to Alencon and ate dinner then headed back out and finished up the night porting. Thursday we had a lesson with Phillip and he was super cool. We finally met him at his house and he really opened up to us. We had asked what would it mean to him if the Book of Mormon is true and he told us that his whole life would change and that he is a bit nervous of it. We testified to him that God is there for him and wants him to find the truth and he will bless you more than you can imagine. It was cool testifying it to him and knowing what I was telling him was true because of my family. Then we did pass-backs in the evening and went and saw Jimmy who was not there so that was not fun. We came back ate dinner, and then went and saw Yves. He loved Church and told us he could not come this week but he felt warm when he was at church and we plan on inviting him to be baptized soon. Friday we had Zone Conference in Le Mans. We went early and helped 70 missionaries find the church and helped make sure the Conference went great, which it did and it was a great conference. We have this new thing we are doing and it is just like the whole thing we did at Christmas but with EASTER and it is super fun. We are doing our "Easter Egg Hunt" haha it’s really fun and we are slowly seeing miracles from it. Saturday we did weekly planning and took care of some car stuff getting it ready to go on Monday when we drove it to Paris to exchange it for and new one. Then we did some contacting and did some porting that night. We met these two cool young families with the new way of contacting and it was cool. When I introduce myself I say hello my name is Elder Allen and I come from Texas, because everyone knows where it is, and the guy answers back so do I in English and we got to talking and he lived in Houston. It was a really cool night. Sunday we had church and me and Elder Bates taught the first hour and had a great sacrament meeting talking about the temple and eternal families. I got to thinking about home and the great week that y'all were having, then later that day we went to a lesson and then we did some porting and that was our week.

March 10, 2014

Well there goes another Transfer and I am still here in Alençon and my new companion is named Elder Bates and he is from Utah. He is super cool and really funny. So let us get to my week shall we..... Monday, it was Elder Beckstrand's last p-day so we had a normal morning and we did some shopping. Then we headed to the church where I emailed my family. Then we had this little party here at the church with some members and we had a PANCAKE Party. It was really fun and we also played games like BANG!!!! I could not believe that I was playing it or that somebody had it in French! It was cool and then we went home and the branch president took us over to his house where we had dinner and a FHE. That was our p-day!! Tuesday was the last full day of Elder Beckstrand's mission life so we worked hard. We talked to some fun and some crazy people in town. We also did some porting and then we taught two of our investigators. It was really cool. One of them is named Raymond and he started talking about Baptisms for the Dead and he came across the scripture in the bible during his studies and was really intrigued that it was in the bible. He checked all his other bibles and he has 7 different translations of them and they all said the same thing. He was just astonished because nobody else does it but the Mormons. He started asking why and he could not understand so we got to talk about the restoration and the apostasy. It was such a cool lesson and he was totally ready for it. It was perfect. Wednesday, well it was the big day TRANSFER DAY! I got to go to Paris and said goodbye to Elder Beckstrand. Then I waited for my new companion and we headed back to Alencon together. We got back around 4:00ish and headed home and ate dinner. Then we went to the church where we had our Branch council meeting and that was our day. Thursday we got the car today so now we a have a car. It is a Chevrolet Cruise. It is a nice car but I cannot drive stick so Elder Bates is now teaching me so that is always fun, yea for Driving!!!! Friday we did some weekly planning and I also went to the city hall and exchanged my license. So I now have a French one!!!!! Then we did some porting and we talked to this cool mom. So hopefully something happens with that. Saturday was a day we just spent finding and we were outside like all day just contacting and walking around town talking to people. We found some potentials and then that night we did some porting. That was super fun and it turned out to be very cool. We met this lady who did not have the time now but she agreed for us to come back to that will be really cool. Sunday was church and then after church we did tithing and then we went home and grabbed the ward sheet and contacted and visited less actives telling them all about church and just trying to make the feel loved and feel like they are important because they are and our branch needs them to come back. And that was our week

March 3, 2014

Well howdy y'all! Life has just been moving along here in France. Another transfer has come and gone and I am staying here in Alencon for another transfer. So that is really cool!!!!! So let’s get to my week. Monday was a super fun p-day. It was a normal p-day. We did all the normal stuff in the morning and then during emails it was cool because we decided to look at our genealogy and come to find out that me and Elder Beckstrand are related like 5 generations back! We have the same man who had some sons and my line goes back with one and Elder Beckstrand's goes back with the other, it was super cool. The rest of the night we did some porting. That was super fun because for once it did not rain on us and second nobody yelled at us! So it was super cool even if nobody let us in. Tuesday we had our last district meeting which was super fun, pictures will come. We even had a burrito fête, a burrito party, and that was super cool. Then we got back here in Alencon and headed over to this area where we passed by some pass backs then had a rendez vous with Jimmy, one of our investigators and then Raymond. When we went over to Raymond's house he had a beard and we were like whoa Raymond what is up with the beard and he was like oh let me tell you. I am not shaving so I can get direction for my next project. That I want to do and Raymond likes coming up with ideas to help the world so he said he is not shaving till he has one. We just laughed and he said it’s a beard, like Nephi's beard, and we just could not stop laughing after that. The lesson went super well he is loving the Book of Mormon. Wednesday was a very full day. Since it is Elder Beckstrand's last week we have been trying to visit all of our investigators and all of the potential investigators we have found. Today we had a lesson with an investigator named Paul-Patrick. Then we headed to Damigny, a city just north of Alencon where we passed by all of our investigators and the potentials as well. That night we were walking in town and this guy we always see in town like every day. We both felt like we should go and talk to him because there was a reason we see him around town. So we did and that was really cool. We taught him but he said he did not want to change religions just learn more about us. So maybe over time he will come around. Thursday we did some more pass backs and got to see a lot of people. We also passed by Philippe and he said we could see him on Friday. So we then left and were in town and this 18 year old kid comes up to us and says that he is Muslim and wants to talk. So we sat down with him and he started asking us questions and we asked him questions and soon we started teaching him and he told us he wants to learn more. So that was really cool, then that night we just did some porting and then went and visited a less active. Friday we had weekly planning and then we went and saw Philippe and also another less active. Then we did some porting and we went over to Yves' house. He fed us and we had a lesson with him discussing what he had read in the Book of Mormon. It was super cool. Saturday was another finding day. We just went porting and also tried to swing by some potentials but they were not home and that really was our day. Sunday well it was fast Sunday and guess what? I had to conduct the meeting because our branch president was not here and that was fun! I got to welcome everybody in and then I also had to bless the sacrament and as well as play the piano with just my right hand because I do not know the left and nobody else in the Branch could play!!! Let’s just say it was stressful but super fun. After church we stayed out by the church and did some porting. This guy even let us in and we discussed with him why we are here and stuff and he said he did not have the time. We will try him later. Then we ate dinner and then we went back out to the same place and ported some more till the end of the night and that was my week for ya.

February 17, 2014

Well HOWDY Y'ALL!!!!!! Well this week was super crazy let me tell you, i think the weather here is crazier than back home and you will hear all about it so let’s start at the very beginning shall we...... Monday, so it was a normal p-day and just full of stuff like shopping, Elder Beckstrand wants to get a suit before he goes home so we have been looking at suits. We also had some time and we went to this park and walked around. It was fun we even got to see some little animals like bunnies and goats and peacocks in this park. Then that night it poured rain on us while we were porting. Tuesday, rained all day so for most of the day we did some work in the area book calling old investigators and setting up lessons with them. Then we did some contacting when the rain stopped and then that night we had lessons with two of our investigators named Jimmy and Raymond. Wednesday we had district meeting in Le Mans and then when we got back into Alencon we headed over to a lesson we had with a less active. When we were walking over there we just felt this huge gust of wind and then we saw dark clouds coming and then it started raining. Then it just started hailing and it hurt these ice chunks were hitting us so we ran and found cover and looked out to the parking lot and it was all white it was crazy. We eventually got to the lesson and then after that we were walking home and it rained on us again. But after the storm we saw these rainbow's and I sent pictures and I think you can see the second one but the bottom was super bright. It was crazy and super cool. Then that night we just ported the night. Thursday, nothing special happened today. We did a whole lot of finding and we had a couple of lessons as well, we are trying super hard to find people to teach. There is a lot to do but we also need to find people. Friday, VALENTINE'S DAY<3, so today we did some weekly planning. Then we visited this less active and did more porting in the night. It has been difficult this week nobody has let us in or even wanted to talk to us, some weeks are really hard. Saturday, we did some morning contacting then after lunch we did some porting. We were in this neighborhood and just doing our thing and this one door we knocked on this guy answered and told us no thank you and then he told us that we should hurry it’s going to rain soon. Sure enough it started raining and then pouring, then hailing, it was not fun. Suddenly this car came up and told us to get in and it was the guy who just shut the door and told us to hurry and he took us back to his house where we got to talk to his wife and two little girls it was super cool. So hopefully something happens with that. We plan on going back, it was our miracle for the week. Sunday we just had church and then spent the rest of the day porting. We also had a lesson with our friend Yves he is so much fun and that was my week.

February 10, 2014

Howdy y'all back home hope it was a great week. This week was cold and it rained a TON!!!!! We have rivers over flowing over here and some houses that are close to the rivers or that are in low areas have some severe water damage. It’s insane how much rain we get here. It has been raining every day since I got here. Not all day but it rains like 3 to 6 hours each day. Anyways we did not let the rain stop us so here is my week..... Monday: Was sort of a p-day we had to meet with some of our investigators that day so it kinda of through off our normal p-day but it was still really fun. We saw this guy named Phillip and another guy name Paul-Patrick. After our lessons we did some shopping and then we did emails. Then we ate diner and went out porting. Of course it rained on us so we ended up getting back soaking wet because the wind kept blowing our umbrellas so they turn like inside out sort of. I guess if that makes sense if not you could look up what happens when two missionaries go out tracting with super strong wind and rain on Google and you might find something..... That was our day! We met some people but they told us that they would not let us in because we were so wet. So we asked if we could come back and they still said no. So I doubt it was because we were wet but oh well. C'est la vie! I suppose. Tuesday: Then on Tuesday we had this lesson with this lady and she lives in a laundry mat. The door to her apartment is in a laundry mat. It is super funny and come to find out while we were teaching her that she is already a member who is just moved here and has not been coming to church. When she saw us she was super excited so that was fun. Then we did some porting over in this neighborhood we have found and it was full of older French people so they were home and more willing to talk to us. We even met this lady who has some Mormon friends in Utah! She let us in and we prayed with her but she said she was not going to change religions and that she was going to stay Catholic. So that stunk but oh well, we then had two great rendez vous with some of our old investigators that we got into contact with and both of asked us to leave the book of Mormon with them so they could read it. That was really cool because they said they never wanted it before but our testimonies and our personal experiences with the book help them decide to read it. And that was our day. Wednesday: So today we woke up and headed to the train station and we caught our train and headed to Angers, a city south of us, for Zone Conference. We also had interviews with the President and his wife and it was a really good conference. I learned a lot. Then after the conference we caught our train back and I stayed in Le Mans, another city just south of us, for an exchange and that night we just did some contacting and had dinner. Thursday: So I woke in Le Mans and we did some contacting and did some porting. Then we caught our train back to Alencon and then we had a rendez vous with one of our investigators like right when I got back. So we hurried over there. Then we had diner and finished the night up with RAIN and PORTING!!! Yeah it is just my life ha-ha. Friday: Today so we had weekly planning then we headed out to a town that is like 4 km north called Arconnay and we did some porting up there until like diner time. Then we came back then fished up the night with some porting close to home. Saturday: Happy Birthday Dillon!!!!! And a year ago I went through the temple it is crazy how fast time fly's!! Today we just packed a lunch and then walked like forever away to a town called Pace. We had lunch up there and ported the whole village and it evened hailed on us. That was not fun but the village was nice. Then we walked home for dinner then just ported close to home again that night. Sunday: Today was church and my companion and I were they only priesthood people there. So I conducted the meeting and my companion presided and I also gave like a 30 min talk. It was insane but it was really good. Then the rest of the day we visited some less actives and then ported in this neighborhood we found on Saturday and that was our week

January 27, 2014

Hey y'all well I am in my new city and it is pretty weird that I am here and all but it is great. I love it here! It is a really small town and we have to walk everywhere because we have no car or anything and the public transportation is very bad. But I get to enjoy more of the city and it is really nice. Alençon is known for its lace and apples and I think horses as well. It’s really nice. After this we are going to go and take pictures and stuff. I can send y'all some next week. So my new companion is named Elder Beckstrand and he is from Brentwood California near San Francisco Bay area. He is really cool. He reminds me a whole lot of Derek like seriously these two are twins and its really funny I feel like I am serving with my brother. Elder Beckstrand is pretty old in the mission. This is his last transfer and then he goes home. So they tell me that I am "killing him" aka I am his last companion in the field. Well this week felt like it took forever so I will start at the beginning of the week back when I was in Mulhouse. On Monday it was my last P-day in Mulhouse so we did emails and I found out where I was going. Then we did some shopping and the rest of the day I packed till Diner and I almost got it all done. Then after Diner we went and saw Mariano and his family, some investigators we are teaching, and I got to say bye to them. After that I saw Ricky and Marjan at the church and got to say bye to them as well. Then on Tuesday we had lunch with Patrick and then we met some Elders who gave us our tickets for the next day. Then we went home and I finished up packing. Then we headed over to a member’s home and had diner and that was our day. On we Wednesday woke and caught our train that left at 5H40 in the morning and we got to Paris at 9H07. Then I waited for my new companion with some other missionaries and then I found Elder Beckstrand and with some others but he told us that we had to wait for these other missionaries that we would be traveling with. So we waited for them and I got to see some more missionaries. It was so cool to see them and then we headed to Le Mans. That is a city just south of us by like 25 min by train. We got there and there was a member there who greeted us and welcomed us and gave us crêpes. It was really good then we had to wait there till our next train that came at 5:15pm. So we then caught our train and then went to the apartment and then ate diner then did some contacting in the city. Then on Thursday we did the usual normal stuff in the morning and then we did some contacting and I got to see more of the city. Then we went porting and we had to walk to this little neighborhood out of the city so it took some time. We were there till diner and there was this guy we met who was really cool and he asked us to come by another time so that was really cool. Then we ate diner and then walked back out there and finished up the porting in that area. It was really fun and my feet we very much in pain by the end of the night but that is the life of a Missionary. On Friday we just had weekly planning and some lessons to some of our investigators. I don't really know them yet. Then that night we walked out to the church and started porting and we were about to leave to go home and eat when this lady answered and let us in and we started talking. She then fed us and we left with a prayer and we walked home and visited another investigator and that was our day. Then on Saturday we went out porting in a town that looked very close on the map but it was actually super far it took us 2 hours to walk there but I did get to see some nice fields and the country side. It was nice but my feet killed by the time we got back. We had diner then just finished up the night contacting. Then Sunday was nice. We have a small branch here and I am now the 2nd Counselor in the bishopric! Yea that is how small it is! We have one family, the branch president and he has like 3 kids, three sisters, a funny old lady and an older gentleman and his daughter and that is it. So this is going to be fun. I cannot wait to help them grow. After church we did some porting then Elder Beckstrand was not feeling very well so we went home and ate dinner and then stayed inside. And that was our week.