LettresdeLyon: July 13 2025

I think last week was the first Sunday we have not published in the nine months we have been here. And now we are deciding what to share.

July 3, 2025 Conference in Lyon with the Nice and Marseille Zones. 87 missionaries. A scorching 98 outside with heat advisories over all of France, Spain and Italy. No air conditioning and Sr. Schow teaching us how to connect with Jesus Christ through the Sacrament. She shared her story of being one of the first 25 U.S. high school students chosen to go on exchange in Russia. Their strict instructions included bringing no religious material and they were not to talk about religion. On the train into Stalingrad, the border police searched every bag and found a Book of Mormon in one student’s backpack. He and it were publicly ridiculed and all of his bag was confiscated. She did not know which state he was from but was praying he would not be taken off the train. He was not. She spent the next 6 weeks in Kiev attending great summer camps and did not see him again until all the students were brought together in Moscow. He contacted her, the only other member of the Church, asking if she would secretly like to take the Sacrament with him. They ditched their minders (people assigned to constantly watch them) and in a private place, he blessed some crackers he had saved, and blessed the water in a broken cup, which they shared. This was the beginning of her meaningful expériences with the Savior during the Sacrament. Her story remlnded me of the members in Holland at the end of WW2 who were using rotting potato peels for the Sacrament because they had no bread but wanted to renew their covenants with Christ.

She taught us that we choose our own experience during the Sacrament by our preparation, by intentionally being present, by focusing on previous experiences we have had with Christ, by remembering His sacrifice, by pondering on becoming, doing a self inventory with Him, and being grateful.

Pres. Schow taught the necessity to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism (ordinances), gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Why? It allows the Holy Ghost the opportunity to testify of truth, giving the seeker a spiritual confirmation and for them to then ‘act according to their wills, whether to do good or evil’.

He told of being with Elder Maxwell 32 years ago when he was rededicating France.

How is the miracle of finding going to happen here? Miracles happen by faith. The Lord is using us to move a mountain. You are grafting the ‘young and tender branches from the wild olive tree ………whither so ever I will’. Last year there were 40% more converts in the Central European Area than the year before. Pres. Langer (Lyon Stake Pres.) announced that so far in 2025 there have been 97 new convert baptisms in his stake alone. We can do this. We can act on our faith and teach the gospel of Christ. We are already seeing miracles.

You can see why we love our mission leaders. They are exceptional individuals as well as inspiring teachers.