Tom: As anticipated last week we had a wonderful visit with the Collette and Robert Sorhaitz, now in their 90’s. Although time is taking its toll on their mobility and sight and hearing, they were delightful to visit with. We shared photos of our children and grandchildren, and of ourselves when we were young and newly married. I joked with them that that way we would be able to recognize each other when we meet again in the spirit world! We visited the ward in Bayonne on Sunday and met one of their grandsons, who is preparing for his bac (high school) exams and then sending in his mission application. One great consolation of growing old is that we can see the good things that can come with time from small seeds planted long ago. The gospel changes families for the good, through all the generations of the faithful. And the past two Sundays have seen the dedication of two temples in places with people we love: Nairobi, Kenya and Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Such great blessings for those saints and friends!
Sue: Tom says sometimes the days drag but the weeks fly by and what a week it has been. Where did May go? The last half went to driving from Geneva all across Southern France to Bordeaux and home again. I discovered some new things in those ten days. France is every bit as beautiful as Italy. Basque country is the whole southwest corner of the country including Bayonne. Their villages are spotlessly clean with the white houses trimmed in red, green, or black and are as manicured as anything in Switzerland. The fruit tastes fresh from the orchard. I relearned what it feels like to say good bye to someone you know you will not see again in this life.
We spent a lovely afternoon and evening in Mont de Marsan with the Ferrells from Meridian Idaho. They are an MLS couple and share an apt. wall with two young missionary sisters. She is the French speaker and he, the driver and supportive husband. They made us some cooked veggies which we were craving and we shared the blessings and hardships of our individual assignments. They also work in a small branch but that is their main focus. I think most of the Senior couples feel isolated except those in Lyon. We see each other only on line at FHE twice a month…
Monday was a tiring day from it’s 5:30 am beginning. It took almost two hours to get to the Bordeaux Talence Chapel, where Tom was in a zone conference 56 years before. We got everything ready for our presentation, then got everything ready for the Schows the next day. We left just after 12 for the marathon drive to Lyon for our appointment with the French immigration office (OFII) the next morning. This visa allows us to stay in France another year. We stopped a couple of times on the road for a quiche and sandwich and for gas and made it into the city just before dark. Our hotel looked pretty scary on the outside but the room had beautiful wood floors and very comfortable beds and we were exhausted. It also had an excellent breakfast. We made the appointment on time despite a couple of hangups and both passed. The doctor said my blood pressure was perfect - perhaps the only time in our married life that mine was better than Tom’s. The Canons who work at the U.N. arrived in time for a good visit before their appointment. Following that, we were able to do our zone conference presentation on Zoom for Toulouse. They were as enthusiastic about the exercise/stretching session as all the others, but we missed seeing their expressions and being with them. Our contribution to the conferences was really appreciated by Pres. and Sr. Schow.
Tom: We arrived home Tuesday afternoon. It only took us a couple of days to recover from the travels. Thursday we were asked to take the sacrament again to Sr. Navarro, who is a faithful widow and lives about 40 minutes from town. She is in poor health but loves to visit. Often her friend and member in the same town is also there and she tends to speak more. It was a pleasant surprise to hear some stories abut her youth in Lorraine. She learned to play the accordion and the saxophone, and shared the story of being asked to go with a local musical group to a sister city in Italy in the Dolomites to perform. She loved that area and loved telling the story. The elderly can be seen in their infirmities and not appreciated unless we have the opportunity to hear about their lives.
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| St. Peter Church in St. Pierrre du Mont, with parts >1000 years old |
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| Selfie with Farrells |
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| The store of the Good Moment (the Present Moment)! |
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| Rows of umbrellas to decorate the street |
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| A unique truck at a gas station |
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