A Nice Visit

Where do I begin to describe this week? Tuesday Tom and I drove south to Nice to visit  Brent and DeAnn Spencer (dear friends from our past life in MN). They spend the first three months of each year helping their daughter Rixa restore rooms in her family home in an original  building in the old town.  She and her dad have done a marvelous job, while her mom cooks and entertains the grandkids (12-18).  Eric, the professor husband takes all the kids to soccer and coaches one of their teams and is writing another book.  Brent and Deann have conquered the narrow streets of old Nice and have come to the same conclusion we have: the ideal way to retire is to have a small beautiful place, within walking distance of everything you need, or access to public transportation.  No need for a car.  We had a great time taking the bus to Èze, exploring the architecture, the gardens, and gazing at the stunning vistas of the Mediterranean.  What a day!  The sun was shining and the sky a cloudless blue.  We, vitamin D deficient from the north, thought we had been transported to heaven.

View of Cap Ferrat from Èze

Another of our favorite outings was a hike around Cap Ferrat. My ideal coastline is cliff-formed, jagged with rocks, and crashing waves.  What a glorious first 2 1/2 miles.  I wanted to just sit, look, and listen to the Lord’s handiwork.

Walking around Cap Ferrat

We went to the basilica on Thursday evening for a laser light show and concert.  Using a live orchestra and chorus, the history of the basilica was retold.  Its construction was started in the 1860’s after the annexation of Nice to France.  The music was a series of classics: Intermezzo from Cavaleria Rusticana, Jupiter by Holst, Kyrié by Vierne, and Fauré, Vivaldi, Grieg, Handel, Bach, Moussorgski and more.  It opened with a lyrical slow solo by an amazing countertenor and went from there.  The light show was indescribable, timed to the music, and with  a uniqueness of colors and patterns projected in the church. 

The next evening we went to the Church of St. Martin and St. Augustin for a flute concert of Baroque music with Baroque instruments, including a wooden traverso, a wooden flauto, and a theorbo.  The musicians were very gifted and we enjoyed it all.  There is a small plaque in that church which says that in 1510 Martin Luther conducted a mass in one of the side chapels of the old church, likely on his trip to Rome.  

It was worth missing the final parade of Carnaval with the burning head, and the fireworks coordinated with musical accompaniment, to be in the leadership session of Stake Conference in Lyon on Saturday afternoon.  Whatever the world can offer, it cannot compare to the testimony of the Holy Ghost as one is taught the truths about Jesus Christ and his gospel.  Elder James McConkie shared his insights on ministering, as exemplified by the Savior on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24.  He emphasized taking time, listening, patience, asking open-ended questions., and teachings of the prophets and  the scriptures.  We left shortly after the meetings ended to make it to our hotel.  We felt pampered in the new Courtyard we found.  Such a comfortable mattress and feather pillows, great onion soup and hot goat cheese salad, and no long drives the next day.  

Today’s conference session was equally superb.  Our stake president being released (Pres. Jubeau) was out of work for a year and has taken employment in Thailand.  He has served for seven years.  We have felt close to him and his family since learning that he knew Sue’s brother and wife, Jack and Fern, who served a senior mission in Rennes where Pres. Jubeau was a youth.  After the conference I said to him that the Lord knows where he will be and that He isn’t finished with him yet.  One of the new counselors sustained today was Pres. Affoué.  He is the son of the Frère Affoué who we met in the temple in Ghana and who was one of the two founding families of the church in Côte d’Ivoire.

Elder McConkie spoke of the sacred anxiety that he felt coming to the conference, knowing that he and Elder Poznanski would have to discern by the spirit who the Lord wanted them to call.  He also said that after they had extended that call, the anxiety transferred to the new president.  

His theme was taken from Mark 4, the storms of life.  He told the story of his son Wilson, who at age 3 had just read that story with his mother.  They had a family outing at the zoo.  Sometimes during the summer evenings, the wind comes down the canyon and can be very strong.  When that happened during their outing, Wilson raised his arms in the air and said, “Peace, be still !” And the wind dropped.  He then said, “It is good.” And turning to his parents he said, “I am Jesus”.  

Elder McConkie talked about how storms in life are often unexpected, and how they sometimes get worse before they get better.  To voyage with Christ is to voyage in peace, even during the storm.  Coming to Lyon for conference reminded him of coming two months ago after the death of Pres. Soulier.  That was a “storm” for him, for Sr. Soulier and her family, the missionaries, and the stake.  Christ is always there for us when we call on Him, and He is not asleep in the boat.  He reminded us of Pres. Nelson’s talk in October ’22 when he said, “In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen.”  

The harbor at Nice