Transfers! Toulouse!

Bonjour tout le monde !

Sorry for not writing last week, I was too busy and too lazy. This week had some fun stuff though! I'll try to sum up the last couple of weeks. We have a lot of really cool amis, but they were pretty flaky this week, so we didn't see as many as we would have liked. Our members are awesome though - I love Toulouse! 

Highlights! 

We visited a sister in our ward named Sœur Bonbon! I think I've talked about her before. She's got two cute little girls and lives an hour and a half bus ride away, but we've been meaning to visit her for two transfers now, as she's a little isolated. We had a great time out in the boonies, then walked for an hour and a half to the nearest town and took a forty minute train ride home. I'd do it again in a heartbeat - she was so happy to see someone from the church and the first thing she asked is if we could help her pay her tithing! 

Later in the week we visited a Columbian couple and their adorable daughter and ate arepas, which are like sandwiches but Columbian and fantastic. 

This week! 

We had a movie night at the chapel and watched Meet the Mormons. Five people showed up, but we had a blast quand même :) 

Friday we had transfer calls! Everyone's staying in Toulouse! I'm staying with Elder Keir, and none of the Sœur équipes are changing. We asked why and Président Giraud-Carrier was like "if it's not broken, don't fix it!" We're pretty excited for this transfer! 

We visited another Spanish speaking family on Friday, and I had the chance to practice my high-school Spanish. It could use some work, but I understood just about everything! They only laughed at me a little haha

Anywho, this week was busy, with some highs and lows. We did a lot of service and made a lot of rescue trips to visit members, and I'm so grateful for everyone I meet! I've realized that I have never ever regretted an act of service. Service makes us happy and helps others. There are really no cons, so go serve someone this week! I promise you'll be grateful you did!

Elder Suisse

Pics :

Dinner chez Fara with the crew! 

View of Toulouse from the ferris wheel 

Us with Sœur Bertea, who we visited this week

Elder Keir took pictures of me while I was walking, and I actually liked this one

Me and Jaelia, one Soeur Bonbon's daughters. She always dances and shouts "les missionnaires!" whenever she sees us

Pau and lightening!

Bonjour !

This week was awesome! Basically the subject line says it all. It's starting to cool off here and we're hoping it stays like that because Toulouse in the summer is pretty toasty. 

Tuesday and Wednesday we were in Pau for an exchange with our chèrs Elders de Pau ! I was with Elder Hunter and it was a party! Actually everything went wrong but it was so funny. Rain and getting lost and rendezvous getting canceled and phones no longer working, it was chaotic. But Elder Hunter handled it great and we laughed very hard all day long. Plus I got to do a baptismal interview with their awesome ami who had more faith than just about anyone I've ever met. 

Friday we had an activity at the church and advertised it as a "Soirée Fraîcheur" with watermelon and air-conditioning and games, and tons of people showed up! It was tons of fun :)

Saturday we ate fancy Italian ice cream and then visited this old lady in the ward with the Sœurs and sang songs with her and ate cookies and it was great. 

Last night we were walking back from the church with a large metal bowl and an umbrella, and it started raining and all the sudden there was lightning everywhere and it was crazy but we made it! 

Today we had our district into Toulouse for a district pday! Sœur Curzola made us Italian pizza and we played games and chilled. Good times! 

Overall a very successful week, I'd say. Lots of good times and a few harder times, and laughed pretty much the whole week. I'm realizing that that's not what effects our happiness - it's our attitude. Smiling is so much easier than frowning, and it's contagious :)

Merci pour tout ce que vous faites, je vous aime ! 

Elder Suisse

Pics:

District pday: chairs = number of transfers 

Mercedes and Maria Dupre and us! 

Exchange photo with Elder Hunter - Pau is so beautiful! 

Heat wave and zone conference

Bonjour !

The subject line kind of says it all. It was so hot and humid this week! We've been asked to not go outside more than necessary and to always be drinking water. So lots of planning. Every air conditioned breath is a tender mercy. Besides that it was a pretty sweet week! 

Thursday we had our zone conference! Elder Keir and I had a fun time presenting and playing games with our fantastic zone. Hopefully I'll have the group picture for next week. Side note: I love Président and Sœur Giraud-Carrier! They're so funny and it was great to have them in Toulouse. 

Right after conference we had our exchange with assistants, which went really well. Elder Schulzke and I got to teach some really cool people and we saw some real progression in a few of our amis! We taught our friend Joseph at the patriarch's house, and the lesson couldn't have gone better. We taught about a bunch of stuff, but Joseph probably taught us more. Cool how that usually ends up being the case. 

Friday we went to IKEA, which is always an adventure. Now that we're the only Elders in Toulouse, all the Elders in south-western France will be sleeping in our apartment when a big conference comes around, so we're remodeling to withstand anything. 

Today we made spaghetti with all the équipes in Toulouse and had lunch, and now we're taking a train to Pau for an exchange - should be good! 

This week was really good. Toulouse is great, Elder Keir is awesome and I love being a missionary. I'm learning a lot about being happy with the cards you're dealt. This gospel is one of joy! Yes we're trying to become better and we're always going to mess up, but if you're a practicing Christian and are not happy, something's wrong. We are that we might have joy, even when things don't go how we've planned. So take my advice and smile until you're happy, then help other people to smile too. God will be grateful for the effort and so will you! 

Je vous aime !!! 

Elder Suisse

Pics:

Spaghetti and garlic bread! 

Quick exchange photo before the APs kicked us into the blazing sun

The Capitole 

ER visit, MLC, and district meeting!

Bonjour !

Apologies for not writing last week, we were busy. This week was craaaazy. Lots of stuff but I'll try to hit the biggest stuff.

Monday we were running/actually sprinting in the morning and I slipped and fell and hurt my wrist. We thought it was sprained but we put some wood on it and wrapped it up (thank you, high-school EMR class) and jumped on a plane to go to Lyon. We slept there and had MLC the next morning, which was awesome! Président and Sœur Giraud-Carrier are so funny! They would start sentences in French and end them in English (or Soeur GC would just speak in French until she hit a word she liked better in English, like "lame" or "awesome"), and they both have plenty of energy and good ideas. Bref, it was great.

We flew back to Toulouse Tuesday night and until the ER around 19h. They called me in for an x-ray at 23h, told me I'd fractured my wrist at 1h Wednesday morning and that I'd sleeping at the hospital and getting surgery when the sun came up. We got to our room at 3h and to sleep at 4h.

We woke up and the surgeon came in (I was in my classy hospital gown) and explained that normally, the bone I'd fractured would require surgery and a long recovery process, but that I'd managed to break it in a way that they could just put a cast on and that's it! So I waited three hours for the cast, then another three so they'd take out the IV thing from my arm and we left at 12h30. Then on the way home (in my pajamas) I talked to this guy about God and he was way interested in learning more, so that was a cool side miracle. 

What else... District meeting was Thursday and went super well, and we had a great rendezvous with our ami, Osman, and talked about families and why they're so important. Then yesterday we ate chez an American family in our ward (real American Mexican food and brownies with ice cream!). Busy week but I'm still kicking (won't be punching anything till mid-September though...)

Don't forget how much God loves you and that, regardless of how big you feel your weaknesses are, He knows how to help you! 

Je vous aime ! 

Elder Suisse

Pics:

Canal du Midi

MLC

Bowling today (I did alright for having one arm in a sling) 

Our district! 

Transfers, world cup and Bastille day!

Bonjour ! 

This week was crazy, but I find that the longer I'm here, the poorer my memory becomes, so apologies for the scattered thoughts :) 

We did a ton of service, from mowing lawns to blow-torching a fence to get the paint off - all good times. 

Thursday we had the most fantastic rendez-vous with Jot and Cassandra, a member and his girlfriend we're teaching. We talked about God's love for us and eternal families and aah, I love them so much! And I love being a missionary! 

Friday was transfer calls - the assistants called us and we got to help distribute calls to our zone, which isn't what we're used to, but it was fun to be a part of. 

Saturday we played football (we moved to 9h instead of 10h but it's still too hot) and had a sweet English class. It was also the 14th of July - Bastille day! Basically the 4th back home. We didn't get to see any fireworks, but we had a picnic with a bunch of members :) 

Sunday I said goodbye to Elder Johnson, who finished his mission... I'm sad, but he's from Logan and will be attending USU, so we'll definitely see each other when I'm home. 

Monday we sat in the gare all day long to help people through. And I received my new companion, Elder Keir! A few fun facts, he's from Scotland, is a triplet and has been a vegetarian his whole life. We've also received a third équipe of sisters in our ward, making a total of six sisters and two elder in Toulouse, which will be interesting - more updates on that later. After that we helped to pack a moving truck for one of our members. Basically yesterday was crazy, which is why I'm writing today. 

Top highlights, in no particular order:

- Our hot water was finally fixed, after five weeks of cold showers and boiling water

- I scored a goal with my head playing football on Saturday! 

- France won the world cup! We weren't allowed to leave our apartments past 17h because of all the partying and insanity - it was all very exciting. 

We had some really cool experiences this week, along with some hard times and a lot of laughs. I've been thinking a lot about how I want to improve before the end of my mission, and past it, and the list is long. But I love the scripture in Ether 12:27-

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

We've all got a lot to work on, and that's okay! Faith and a good dose of humility is what it takes to build up what was once weak. I'm so grateful for my family and for my mission and for my Savior! 

Je vous aime ! 

Elder Suisse 

Pics:

Bastille day picnic

Waiting in the gare all day with nothing to do but eat pâtisseries 

Bonjour!

Bonjour !

Ah, this week was super crazy but fun. Lots of awesome rendez-vous! 

Tuesday was district meeting! President Giraud-Carrier came with his wife and two of his kids and we had a good time getting to know them. They're so French! I love them so much and I'm excited to work with them! 

Thursday we worked on transfer recommendations for President GC, then we went chez Hopuu, one of our awesome Tahitian families. Sœur Friolo taught us how to make real Italian pizza. Mamma mia. 

Saturday we played foot, cleaned the church, had a killer English class, then another fantastic dinner with Tahitians.

Sunday we had an awesome rendezvous chez Killian, one of our amis. I'd been feeling pretty down, especially about Killian, who'd in the past been really skeptical and sarcastic during lessons, and didn't really progress. But we prayed for help (and patience) and went for it, and the lesson was great! He gave such a humble prayer, and we feel like he really progressed. After that I felt so much better! Heavenly Father might not give us what we want when we want it, but he always gives us what we need. 

Today was sweet! We asked permission from President to do a district pday in Carcassonne! We ate cassoulet (duck and beans - super southern France) and had a good time hanging out with everyone. We're on the train ride back now, I'll make sure to attach some pictures. 

Additional notes - when we were chez la famille Sono this week, they gave us these legit colorful African shirts (all the guys from Nigeria and Ghana wear them here) and they're fantastic. 

World cup update: Switzerland is out, but France is in the semi-finals! I usually don't follow soccer, but hey, when in France, fait comme les français.

Je vous aime ! 

Elder Suisse 

Pics:

Many selfies and a district photo in Carcassonne 

Il fait chaaauuud! (It's hot)

Bonjour tout le monde ! 

What a week! It's been so hot and we've been so busy and franchement I can't remember in what order everything happened this week, so please enjoy this chaotic email! 

We did a ton of yard work this week. I've declared myself le roi des mauvaises herbes - I swear I probably beat down an acre of thorns and bushes. On the bright side, I've been tanning really nicely. It doesn't extend past my missionary-approved shirt sleeves, but it's nice. 

At some point this week (Monday? Tuesday?) we had an exchange with our district leader équipe from Carcassonne - Elders Thambo and Mack. I was with Elder Thambo, who, as my avid readers will recall, was in my district back in Martigny! He's pretty much the coolest, and we had a great time. We taught one of our new amis named Endurance, which went super well. It was pretty interesting actually - we were at the Capitole building waiting for him to show up, and this old man showed up and started yelling about how God doesn't exist, then these protestant missionaries showed up and started yelling about how we're in the wrong church and need to repent, then they started yelling at each other, while Elder Thambo and I just sat there silently. Then our ami walked up, and I stood and politely dismissed the old man, who left quietly, and Elder Thambo did the same with the couple, and we sat down with our friend and had the greatest lesson. Gentle words and worthy living will always overcome commotion and the efforts of the adversary! 

Later in the week (Friday? Idk) we had an exchange with our other district leader, Elder Carman, which was also a party. 

Saturday we had an awesome rendez-vous with a new ami, and ate tons of food chez a Tahitian family in the ward. 

Today we took advantage of summer Soldes, which started this week - last one before I come home. Ugh, I realized on Sunday that I'm down to six months! Time flies! 

In other news, Président Brown is officially back in the states (so sad... Thankfully he lives in Utah though, so we'll see each other again), and President Giraud-Carrier is in charge. We haven't met him yet, but he'll be in Toulouse tomorrow morning with his family for an introductory meeting. We're excited to meet with him and his family! 

I've been really loving the scriptures lately. It's cool how the problems and thoughts of ancient prophets are so applicable to myself. My scripture of the week has been 2 Nephi 4:19-20 (and I'm adding some of my thoughts) -

19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins (or my sickness or my grades or my anxiety); nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.

20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

Life is hard. But for those who believe in God, don't forget in whom you have trusted. And for those who aren't sure, I promise He's aware of you and only wants to help. We'll always have hard times and we'll always make mistakes - the key is to get up and keep trying. In the words of my dear sister Maria Dupre, for whom we did service this week, "Elle n'est pas belle, la vie ?" 

Gros bisous, 

Elder Suisse 

Pics:

A sweet chapel downtown 

Crêpes at the church for Sœur Friolo's birthday 

Me and Elder Thambo being serious

One of our many jardinage pics this week

Ice cream with the Toulouse missionaries + Perpignan Sœurs + Carcassonne elders + Jason + our recent convert Blanca and her adorable baby + a random Finnish member and her son here on vacation that we ran into