Sue: January is the month that the French celebrate the Epiphany. The celebration honors the coming of the wise men although we know it probably took 18-24 months for them to find the ‘young child’ in his house. They had come to worship Him and bring him gifts for they had seen his star and had most likely travelled from Persia and Greece. From them we can learn the importance of prophecy and carefully watching for signs of the Savior but the French are now a little more secular. They celebrate the wisemen with a Kings' Cake, a puff pastry filled with almond paste. We have seen hundreds of these in grocery stores, bakeries, and specialty shops ranging in price from 6 to 35 euros. Inside each cake is one fève - a prize made of plastic or porcelain. If it is in your piece, you wear a crown, and depending on the circumstances, buy everyone another round of drinks, host the celebration next year, or have good luck. At one time the fève was to remind us of searching for the Savior but I have seen everything from dinosaur disks to the winged victory. I have collected second hand a donkey, a sheep, Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in a manger all in porcelain. These are one of the few purchases I am bringing from France. I am hoping to start a new tradition at home.
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| Creche fèves (about an inch in length) |
It has been a good week peeling 80 apples for apple crisp, baking 75 potatoes for a potato bar and making chili for 55 hungry missionaries in the Lyon zone. I had great help and everything was devoured except some butter and some humus which we donated to the Young Singles leaders. I always just stare at the wall the day after as I recover but am grateful to contribute to the health and happiness of those dedicating their energy, time, talents, and all to serving the Lord.
I was invited to assist the young sisters on Friday evening. They are working with a family of 5 from Nigeria who are English-speaking. I was able to answer some of the mother’s questions, share some of the history of Joseph Smith and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and testify of it leading us to Christ and clarifying his gospel. It was a marvelous experience for me as I felt the Spirit guiding me. I rarely share my feelings in French for lack of vocabulary.
Tom: One of my least favorite responsibilities here is the oversight of a few missionary apartments. When something isn't right we become first contact. This week the soeurs in Chalon had a mishap requiring the need for a new mattress, and they also decided they would like a vacuum cleaner - a standard apartment item but previously not wanted. Fortunately we've been here long enough to know how to do this. Ikea in Dijon carries a standard single bed mattress, so I made a quick trip to pick one up. Also, Amazon has a Basics vacuum cleaner that does the job for a small apartment and it was delivered Friday. It really wasn't that difficult!
Scenes from a recent walk:
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| Tour boats (7!) lined up for their winter refurbishment |
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| Swans browsing |
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| An empty German-flagged boat headed downriver |
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