Christmas Week 2024

Our first Christmas in France has been one to remember.  We invited Sr. Tuhoe and her new companion from Denmark, Sr. Ilskov, for dinner on the 24th. I tried to keep with tradition serving multiple courses: zucchini boats; persimmon, kiwi, pomegranate salad; lemon Greek chicken thighs with olives and fresh tomato; rice pilaf and roasted carrots; bread, Abondance cheese and perfect Prince William pears; and fresh pineapple upside down cake for dessert. The soeurs brought chocolates and nuts and little woven paper baskets and intricate origami-like woven stars.  The Danes decorated their trees with paper before they could afford purchased ornaments. Despite the goodness of the meal, it was not the highlight of the evening.  We went caroling to a couple in their eighties.  They were so surprised and pleased to see us and sang with us - he each word, mostly with his eyes closed almost like a prayer - a few sacred moments shared together.  As we left, she wept.  The next morning, she sent us her journal entry, saying we were the first who had ever come to carol since she had joined the church many years ago, and was so touched that we would come on Christmas Eve. 

Christmas morning Tom and I washed all the floors before he ran 5 miles and I walked 3.  We were invited out for lunch at Ducoeur’s.  It was a production with more choices and courses than I have ever been offered.  I will not share all the details but tried Coquilles St. Jacques, guinea fowl, and Bûche de Noël for the first time.  All were delicious.  I had never thought about eating guinea fowl.  They were my second favorite bird in Africa.  Who wouldn’t like a black and white polka dot bird with red and turquoise on its’ head?  The sisters called and asked if we could join them for a discussion on Thursday.   A man had phoned and asked if he could be taught. Absolutely!  

Eric was impressive. He had a testimony of Jesus Christ and was looking for a church which practices charity.  At work one day near the church, he noticed the name on the door and decided to check it out.  (The church entry is a door with a restaurant on one side and business on the other.)   On his computer, he found the church website, and read about Joseph Smith and Moroni and the Book of Mormon.  That is when he phoned the sisters.  He came to church on Sunday and it was the perfect first meeting for someone investigating - a talk on being children of God, the testimony of a Spanish convert being translated into French by a branch member, and a talk on following the Spirit.   The Lord is definitely preparing people to hear the gospel.

Friday we helped a new middle aged sister, Bette, move into the branch from Switzerland.  Between the two of us, we must have gone up that long flight of stairs 30 times.  She also  made it to church on Sunday and will be a great asset to the branch.

Saturday afternoon we had a text from the assistants that there would be a mission-wide Zoom meeting that afternoon.  As it began, Sr. Soulier announced with a tremulous voice that President Soulier had passed away in his sleep that morning!  Then Elder McConkie, a counselor in our Area Presidency, spoke with the missionaries about dealing with this loss: that we needed to take care of each other, and that we should study Mormon 7:5 - that in Christ the sting of death is swallowed up.  We were as shocked as the missionaries.  I had spoken with him the day before and didn’t think he was in danger.  We will find out more about what happened after an autopsy is done.  Meanwhile we are left to mourn the passing of a loving and charismatic mission leader who has made a profound difference in the lives of his missionaries.  Elder McConkie and the assistants will hold 3 multi-zone conferences over the next three days.  The work will continue of inviting others to come to Christ through faith in Him, repentance, covenants, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  That is what President Soulier would have wanted. 

Christmas is coming...actually, it's here!

Whew, what a week!

It started last Sunday morning about 4:30 AM with a call to give a blessing to an 85 year old member friend who was having hematuria and thought he might die.  We dressed and drove quickly.  He was concerned - because he looked up hematuria on the internet - that he had cancer and didn’t want to die with chemotherapy and radiation and surgery, etc. etc.   He just wanted to slowly bleed to death in peace!  A blessing was given, and a medical consultation was made.  He takes an anticoagulant.  As we talked I told him that hematuria has many causes, some quite benign, and that he should stop his anticoagulant as a first step and then consult his doctor on Monday.  They didn’t realize that I was an MD and thought it was quite a miracle that I was assigned to the branch!  He hasn’t seen a urologist yet but is doing much better.

Monday we said goodby at the train station to our favorite missionary so far - Sr. Mollinet - who is going home to Utah after her 18 months.  She has been a bright and bubbly sprite for the last 6 weeks and a good trainer for her new missionary companion.  Missions are a microcosm of life: a continual series of greetings and farewells, arrivals and departures. 

Wednesday we drove to the Mission Home in Lyon and helped prepare the meal for the nine incoming missionaries.  They are a diverse group, from the USA, Tahiti, Germany, Italy, and Spain.  Everything was in  place when they arrived, with a fire lit, table set, carols playing, and apple crisp in the oven..  Sr. Soulier wondered if she had wandered into a Hallmark Special.  Thursday morning we made the lunches and took them to the church building where Pres. Soulier had been orienting the new trainers.  Then the new missionaries arrived from their walking tour of the old city and the assignment meeting was held.  All went well.  

The trainers (front row)

The trainers (in front)

Friday morning was the second music lesson for our adult learner.  She was able to play one note versions of a couple of hymns using her numbered fingers and following the numbers on the page with the correct rhythm.  She was really quite excited that she could do that and it was fun to see.  

On our way to church today we walked through the crowded Sunday morning market, the last one before Christmas.  

Get your sausages here!

Boxes of oysters

Today was our Christmas Sacrament Meeting.  The program itself was underwhelming, but after it ended we held a short choir practice.  The choir included 90% of those in attendance and we sang “Belle Etoile” for next week’s service.  There was so much enthusiasm that I shed a few tears.  It’s a little schmaltzy with its calypso rhythm but the words are beautiful and the spirit was strong.  I said after that we don’t have a branch choir; rather the choir has a branch.  Sue handed out delicious small macaroons (the kind with the fillings) and everyone appreciated the taste.  

We and the Soeur Missionnaires were invited to dinner in the afternoon and loved the decorated home, the delicious food, and the chance to sing carols together.  Our two families have a lot in common in musical taste and food interests.  It felt like a wonderful Christmas celebration, though a bit off on the date.  But if you can have Christmas in July why not on Dec. 22?

December 15, 2024

I always appreciate miracles, especially practical, desperately needed ones. This week we attended district council in Dijon and on the other days visited several members outside of Chalon. We now understand why some do not make it to church regularly. They do not have cars, and getting transportation which coincides with the meeting schedule is very difficult. Those who live far away do so because the housing is much cheaper. Train and bus fares are expensive. Some are just too old to make the effort. One couple, 85 and 90, wanted a paper subscription to the Liahona and could not figure out how to order it on their computer. Tom helped them. We were treated graciously and invited back. Of course others outside the city are trying to hide and do not want contact. 

 Friday afternoon we went to the RS President’s home - 90 minutes away.  I had cleaned and cut all my vegetables to roast when we came home.  Knowing that baked potatoes would take twice as long I decided to throw them in the oven 30 minutes before leaving, with the plan to turn them off when I walked out the door. We had a beautiful drive through the countryside and a great 30 minute visit in her fifth floor very old apartment, when it registered that I had not turned off the oven. Panic! Those potatoes would be completely black by now and who knew what would happen in the next 90 minutes at 375 degrees. I prayed all the way home that there would not be firetrucks and police cars in front of our building with men breaking down the door to get to the alarms and smoke. There was no one to phone because no one had a key to our apartment. The fog was bad coming back but we made it home exactly 4 hours after we left. Our building was still standing and there was no smoke in the hallways or our house. When I opened the oven door, the potatoes were completely crisp with only a little flesh adhering to the skin. For some reason the oven was not very hot. We could not figure out why but we were grateful the Lord had heard our prayers. 

This week we started FHE with four other senior couples from Corsica, Toulouse, Chambery, and Mont de Marsan.  It was a getting to know you activity and was pretty fun. I sent out a series of 10 questions for them to think about and then each couple took about 10 minutes talking about them.  

Sample questions: What foods remind you of Christmas? We had everything from prime rib to tamales to pomegranates. What have you found surprising or frustrating about your mission? Amount of cooking, computer program on the car which says aggressive driver, the weather, following in the shadow of previous missionaries, isolation. Will you describe in one sentence your relationship with the Savior? He lifts the burden. When I feel inadequate, I know He is not. Every day I can start fresh. He is the One who allows me to change. He is my courage, my trust, my confidant, my friend, my redeemer. These couples will all be here at least another year.  Surprisingly our assignments are completely different but we are happy to support each other. 

 We hope you are enjoying the Spirit of the season. We are so grateful to have access to music which is such a big part of our celebration. An adult sister in the ward asked if we could teach her to play the keyboard and she had her first lesson on Friday. She is a singer with a good ear but has never learned to read music, so we started with the Church Conducting Course. She quickly learned about key signatures, different note lengths, etc. and committed to study the hymnbook during the week looking at timing and rhythm. This may open up a new world for her.

District Council in Dijon

Chateau de Cormatin

Church in St. Usuge

Chateau/Auberge La Ferté, looking at the stables

December 8, 2024

Unfortunately there are times when one must relearn things you have known for years. We were asked to be in charge of Primary last week. We were given an outline of who and what should happen. Little did we know that our five students were used to lounging in bean bag chairs, wandering around the room and drawing on the blackboard while trying to learn a new song.  After 10 disastrous minutes of going through the lines of ‘La Foi’, we changed course, telling a story of my childhood. This was more captivating and between mine and Sr. Mollinet’s story about horseback riding in the mountains and getting lost for 6 hours, we ended up with some semblance of a gospel principle.  I have taught for many years that we do not teach lessons, we teach people and must adapt accordingly if we desire to be effective. 

This week, perhaps for the first time, I met a man without hope. His wife had left him. He was in a terrible accident resulting in symptoms of cerebral palsy. His daughter married but did not invite him to the wedding. He no longer believed that Jesus Christ was the son of God and our Savior.  He asked what happens to people who commit suicide.  The young missionaries left that question for Tom who had the knowledge and background to answer it correctly.  I felt devastated for this man. He did not understand where joy comes from.  We did leave him on a more positive note after the sisters played some music and we assured him that God loves us all.

Rêves de Noel began Dec. 8 near the Hotel de Ville. It will run until Jan.4. Workers have been setting up for weeks and I was anticipating a great celebration. There are multiple decorated trees and thousands of lights and midway rides and live entertainment ( New Orleans style) and food booths and Père Noel and reindeer and giant dancing frog puppets. This is not my kind of Christmas. NO WHERE, even in front of the Cathedral, was there any sign of Joseph, Mary, the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, shepherds to hasten, or angels to testify, or even good will towards men. It was blatant evidence of the sacred becoming secular.

Today at church we visited for a few minutes with the Stake president so he could get  to know us. We shared a few experiences and found out that he was originally from Rennes, where Tom served for 3 months in 1970.  He was young, perhaps early 50’s, but I shared that my brother Jack Hicken and his wife Fern had served as senior missionaries in his city perhaps 30 years ago.  Did he by chance remember them?  He thought a few seconds and his face lit up and he said he ‘remembered them well and with great joy.’ Just like that, we were bound together.  

Last summer, when preparing clothes to bring to France, and anticipating a different climate, I kept my eyes open for deals on wool skirts and sweaters and blazers. For you who know me well, a good deal is an article that looks new, is good quality, and costs less than five dollars.  Florida is a great place to shop and I literally filled my suitcases with $3 skirts and turtle necks and long sleeved shirts, etc.  Most were from Talbots or Ann Taylor or Chicos.  Moving from MN 15 years ago, I had collected a drawer full of socks, panty hose and tights and thought those might be useful too. A few days ago, I got the following note from Sister Soulier:  “I’m wondering if you can get some warm clothes for Sister ________?  I know she doesn’t want charity but could you get her some warm tights and maybe a couple of sweaters, a scarf,  and whatever else she needs? I don’t know how you want to tell her.

I sent a note back to Sister Soulier a day later. "She now has 4 new pairs of socks, 4 pairs of panty hose, a pair of tights, 2 t-neck sweaters, a warm vest, a wool skirt, a second skirt, two long sleeved shirts and a blazer. She is very grateful for all of them and even excited about some."  The Lord works in mysterious ways.

We met a couple visiting from Tahiti in church today.  They remembered Pres. and Sr. Graham who served as mission leaders in Tahiti many years ago and were our temple president in the Accra Temple.  They also have a daughter-in-law from Vancouver, BC.   There is a large Tahitian community here, and many are members but fewer are active.  We find the most amazing connections wherever we serve, but we are feeling that we are meant to be here.

Entrance to the square

The dancing frog puppets

Bro. and Sr. Utahia from Tahiti

Besançon Visit and Zone Conference

It is humbling to see how the Lord works. We held our first Mission Health Council this week . This includes the mission health advisor, the Area medical advisor, the mission leaders, the Area dental advisor and the Area mental health advisor. We mostly  discussed two missionaries and their specific problems, one emotional and one physical and possible solutions. Amazingly, each of them wrote to the president that same night sharing their concerns. In the morning he called Tom stating that each may need to return home early and did he have any suggestions he would like to make. I remembered the training we had in SLC about missionaries going home early. I had taken good notes. It was a quote from Elder Holland from a Face to Face in 2016 answering this question: “I served a mission only 4 months. How can I look at my mission in the best way?” ‘ Be proud of your service. You served well. You served to your best capacity for as long as you could. The Lord knows you wanted to go. If people asked you if you served a mission, say yes. You do not need to add for how long. Do not relive or rehash or feel inadequate. You tried’. Even though my French is limited, the Lord can use my abilities to  further his work.

We took our first trip out of town to Besançon, to check a missionary apartment for needs and cleanliness. What a beautiful area—rolling green hills, forests and hedgerows. We were pleasantly  surprised by a decently clean apt. and one smiling elder from Tahiti and a second smiling elder from Glendale, CA. I asked if their mothers came to see it, what would they say? The American said his mom was such a clean freak she would never approve. We enjoyed a delightful lunch together at a nearby Lebanese restaurant and left them anticipating their baptism on Saturday. We drove home on country roads through the village of Dole ( Louis Pasteur birthplace) and stopped for a break along their riverfront. A beautiful old church caught my attention—especially the rooster weathervane at the top of the steeple.

All the senior couples spent Wednesday preparing the holiday meal for zone conference. The president praised us saying that no other zone in the mission would have a meal like this. 40 lbs of mashed potatoes and a gallon of gravy, chicken breasts, my 9 lbs of garlic green beans, my 14 lbs of buttered carrots, homemade rolls and butter/jam, my 60 individual all fresh fruit cups with pineapple, pears, pomegranates, kiwi, banana, and mandarin oranges and dessert. One elder made 5 excellent pumpkin pies. Others brought cookies, brownies, and pumpkin cake . It was a marvelous meal. We hoped they would all feel loved and it would remind them of home. 

I will close with a question posed and two personal experiences shared by Pres. Soulier. He referred to the absolute commitment to Jesus Christ that Nephi exemplified in the story of the brass plates and that same commitment shown by Abinadi before King Noah.  How do we cultivate those intense feelings in our own lives, remembering that our faith is in the Savior, not in the outcomes?

Eight years ago Pres. Soulier lost his job. He could not find another and had 4 children dependent on him. He was afraid they would lose their home. He said it was the hardest year of his life. Seven years later, he is a Mission Pres. in France, his mortgage is paid off and the kids college plans are secured. Without going into details he testified ‘Only God could do this’.

When Pres. Soulier was eight, his neighbor received a new red Huffy bike purchased at KMart. He was so jealous he wanted that bike more than anything. He thought about it, he dreamed about it. He really wanted it. On Christmas morning, under the tree was a sparkly Schwinn Stingray with a banana seat and raised handle bars. This was the Tesla of bikes. “And I was ecstatic, this was beyond my wildest dreams. I could not believe it.” Then he said “Imagine what we will feel like when we meet the Savior, when we are accepted by Him. That will be beyond our wildest dreams”.  

Typical French architecture near Elders in Besançon

Dole river walk

Church steeple with rooster, Dole

Zone Conference Lyon Nov 28

Pres. and Sr. Soulier, with seniors, and Elder Storey who baked pumpkin pies

Along the riverwalk In Dole

Elder Will Jensen (grand-nephew, gray suit) with Besançon Elders on his left

Sunset from the bridge by our apartment - we are usually exhausted by this time