July 28, 2025

We listened to a live broadcast from Brussels with Sister and Elder Oaks. I was surprised to see him helped to the podium by two men and a chair placed behind him so he couldn’t fall. I loved what he said:

‘There are many interferences with unity: economics, politics, controversies over  doctrine.  There is one sure and permanent solution. Pres. Hunter - Only Christ can be our ideal.  Avoid anything that robs you of your agency because obsession becomes your God.  Be different from the world.  Act, speak, and dress like you are disciples of Jesus Christ.  Seeking perfection is a Destiny which will take âges to accomplish —line upon line, example to example, even beyond this life.  Overcome our natural self-centeredness by serving others, motivated by the pure love of Christ or it counts for nothing.  Pray unto the Father that you may be filled with this love.  Be a witness, testify of him - the more excellent way.’

Also heard  a podcast of Markus Martine, the first black missionary (Brazilian).  He spoke of the role of thinking - not just feeling, of pondering, of having questions but not doubt, of having absolute faith that eventually there will be an answer.  Can I be patient and continue to build a connection with Jesus Christ?  He quoted Elder Eyring from  2010.  

´Reading, studying and pondering are not the same. We read words and we may get ideas. We study and we may discover patterns and connections, but when we ponder, we invite personal revelation from the Spirit. Pondering is the thinking and praying I do after reading and studying the scriptures carefully.’

The question Martine is pondering at the moment is ´What effect does eating of the fruit of the  tree of life have on us?´

Last week in Chalon on the weekend was the second largest street festival in France.  It was called ‘Chalon dans la Rue’.  Thousands came to town to watch mimes, jugglers, musicians, break dancers, theatre productions,  lights on the river and even a levitator.  Most were great entertainers but there was one I walked away from.  It was not appropriate for a person with the  name tag of Jesus Christ and his Church pinned on her shirt, to be standing there.  The young missionary sisters said they had never seen so many hippies.  I was not sure they knew what hippies were since most of them were born 40 years after the fact.

We had the largest exit and entry days of our mission career.  Tuesday, 24 mlssionaries, including both APs were going home.  It was a raclette dinner for them plus 4 senior couples.  It was exhausting.  For advice about going home we shared the ideas of being your best self (Renlund) and our Sackley plan.  Next day we received 24 assigned to our mission plus two visa  waiters - one from Tahiti and one from northern France.  The group from the Provo MTC  arrived at 4:30.  All were interviewed and fed and were preparing to leave when the others arrived from Preston England.  We were very late leaving the Sans Souci Chapel.  Thursday was the most exciting day because each missionary met their trainer and accepted their first assignment.  By the time Tom and I got home, we were exhausted. 

Last p-day, at the mission home

New arrivals

Friday Ben and Christy and Jeff arrived from Paris.  We were able to watch  the sweet memorial service for Ross with his children sharing their love for their father verbally and in song.  Jack was the closing speaker, basing his comments on four of his own poems. 

Our week ended checking off part of my bucket list.  We drove to Champignon to observe part of the 20th stage of the Tour de France.  WOW!  A parade of sponsors  preceded the actual race.  They threw to the bystanders everything but the kitchen sink: hats, sausages, cans of Orangina, and even Asterix books.  This was not the candy at the Raymond Canada Day parade.  Then came the support cars with extra bikes on top, the Gendarmes, the street sweeper, the EMT vehicles, the helicopters and finally the lead cars with flashing lights and the camera men.  The bikers themselves sped by in literally seconds: the leaders with the crowd erupting wildly, two minutes later the peloton - the crowd exploding again, the third group and the fourth group.  An hour and a half drive, two hours picnicking, waiting, and within eight minutes it was over.  ALL WORTH IT.

                                   

Sponsors parade - Orangina!

The leaders arrive

                     

Support car & photog on moto

The rest of the pack

                               

We visited the Comte cheese museum after the race

July 20, 2025

We had the opportunity to testify of personal revelation in response to the question ‘How do you recognize God’s will for you?’ Tom told this couple of his lightning strike answer on moving to Florida. I told them of waiting patiently, praying  about the same thing. It came after three months - both a spiritual confirmation in the temple and a physical confirmation in that the Lord provided our housing. It is humbling to realize how much the Lord has guided our lives.

We spent 3 days in Lyon with all 16 senior mission couples.  A retreat.  My favorite parts were visiting with each other, a religious tour through old town and the testimony meeting. Lyon had Christian missionaries around 150 AD.  Gaul was of course part of the Roman Empire.  Near the St. John the Baptist Church, there remains an immersion baptismal font from that time period.   Within a few years the members were being fed to the lions because they would not deny their faith in Jesus Christ. 

Early Christian baptismal font

Arch entrance to early church

Explanation of the early churches in Lyon

I loved a statue on the river called Le poids de soi or the weight of self.  Very thought provoking considering the burdens that each of us carry.

Le poids de soi

Friday morning we, with the David Spackmans, the Powers, and the McCoys visited the Museum of Résistance and Déportation.  Lyon was also one of the centres of the French Résistance during the Nazi régime.  We watched a film of the trial of Klaus Barbe -  the Butcher of Lyon.  Those who testified had survived his heinous tortures.  It was a powerful reminder of man’s inhumanity to man.

We have had some interaction with two of the area mental health advisors from Fernie B.C., who came to teach in the recent round of zone conferences.  Elder and Sr. Mcdermid are both licenced councillors and had great ideas -  "As we Really Are--Recognizing Ourselves".  They talked about challenges, emotional resilience, the cognitive triangle [thoughts, behaviours, emotions]. The best way to open thoughts and feelings is to journal with positives in one book and negatives in another.  We address the negatives so that we do not loop them over and over in our minds.  That can become very serious and dangerous. They also suggested being in the present, not living in the past or not too far in the future.  What can I do today?  Their definition of who I am is quite different  from self esteem: 

I am a child of God

I am a child of the covenant

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ

Self esteem is external--dependent on circumstances, culture, and what others say about us. They ended with always remember that you are becoming and look for gratitude.

On July 3, I got a call from my sister Pudge telling me that her husband was saying things that didn’t make any sense and that if that behaviour continued, it would be tricky taking care of him.  Three days later, on Sunday, we got notes from Will and Darin saying Ross had passed away.  We were so grateful that all their family had been together for the weekend of Canada Day  and that Ross and  his 5 sons sang a spécial musical number in church that Sunday.  It was something they did many times when the kids were growing up.  It was determined that he died of congestive heart failure. Ross was always a gentleman and accepting and kind to us. He was buried in a family service at the cemetery the following Wednesday.  There will  be a memorial service in Raymond on July 25.  We are sorry that we will not be there but I am sure the church will be overflowing.  

Srs. Schow, Spackman, and Later after setting up the buffet

The lunch buffet, with Elder Dinkelman

The accordian player at the entrance to the Basilica of Notre Dame

Walking to the church

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.

Exercise for balance and co-ordination at zone conference

What a surprise. .One of many fields of sunflowers along the A6 Autoroute

A  dear homebound sister who we visit Sundays. 

A few photos from our visit to the Chateau de Couche on a p-day excursion: 

Srs. Peterson, Spackman, and Lewis

The keep, dating from the 1100's

View of the chapel and a tower from the 1300-1400's. Tunnels  underneath

June 30, 2025

Il fait très chaud - sweaty with some days in the high nineties. Tom figured out an air conditioner, déhumidifier, that we found in the front closet. It has an eight inch wide hose which goes out the window and a normal hose which drains the water into a bucket. He also found a big fan in the store room so we are surviving. The forecast is for cooler temperatures after next Thursday. We may hit some 100s before then.

Where has June gone? In Raymond they have started the celebrations for Canada Day with the 10k race yesterday.  Some of Pudge's kids and grands came especially hoping to win that race.  The rodeo starts tomorrow and the parade is Tuesday.  Next year we will be there with some of our family. 

Our fifth Sunday discussion was Elder Renlund’s talk ‘Personal Preparation to Meet the Savior'.  His examples resonated as truth with me, just as they did the first time I heard them. I will share one of them. I was thinking about Ben specifically but this applies to me, to Tom, to all our children, their children and to everyone.  It is the incident of Zusya, the great Hasidic scholar and teacher of Anipol who was anxious about his death.

    "His disciples asked, “Master, why do you tremble? You’ve lived a good life; surely God will grant you a great reward.”

Zusya said: “If God says to me, ‘Zusya, why were you not another Moses?’ I will say, ‘Because you didn’t give me the greatness of soul that you gave Moses.’ And if I stand before God and He says, ‘Zusya, why were you not another Solomon?’ I will say, ‘Because you didn’t give me the wisdom of Solomon.’ But, alas, what will I say if I stand before my Maker and He says, ‘Zusya, why were you not Zusya? Why were you not the man I gave you the capacity to be?’ Ah, that is why I tremble.”

    Indeed, God will be disappointed if we do not rely upon the merits, mercy, and grace of the Savior to magnify the God-given abilities we have received. With His loving assistance, He expects us to become the best version of ourselves. That we may start with differing abilities is irrelevant to Him. And it should be to us."

We saw pictures today of the temple grounds in Jacksonville.  Old buildings have been cleared away, the grounds are being cleared, and there is a sign showing an architectural renduring of the building that will be constructed.  No mention yet as a date for groundbreaking but we are excited.

June 22, 2025

It is always significant to listen to promptings.  Early this morning I was preparing a little (2 1/2 lbs) pork pot roast for dinner.  I wanted to cook it at a very low heat because the high is 94 today and didn’t want to heat up the apt.  I had the feeling that I should throw in some extra potatoes, carrots and onions, so I did.  No choir today but I noticed our branch president, his wife, and 21 year old son still in the building.  Leandre told me they were waiting for his brother and girl friend to arrive on the train from Paris at 3pm.  I invited them to come to our house because it was cooler than the chapel.  I made a good salad and they brought a picnic of sorts and together we had a great lunch. They had never had pot roast with such tender roasted veggies and Catherine especially liked the gravy.

It has been a busy week of travel, family, friends, and music!  It began when Erin and Elizabeth from Texas arrived Monday at the Geneva Airport.  Their flight from Austin was delayed due to weather and they were rebooked in Paris to arrive about 9:00 PM in Geneva.  It was light just long enough to get a sense of going through the Jura mountains on the way home, but too late to avoid the closure of the autoroute for 40 km due to night construction.  The backroads in the dark were interesting but slow and we arrived home at midnight.  We did a walking tour of old town the next day and we waited for Ethan and Haley to arrive at 6 pm on the train from Geneva.  We had borrowed two mattresses for them to sleep on in our small living room while Erin and Elizabeth had the guest bedroom.  Everyone enjoyed beef stew and went to bed at 8 to recuperate.  The apartment was at capacity but it worked well.

Wednesday we took them on a ride through the countryside to the Cormatin Chateau, built by the warrior Marquis Jacques du Blé in 1610 to show the favor given him by the Queen Regent Marie de Medici.  Parts have been restored and the grounds are beautiful.  We learned a bit about the history and customs of the time and subsequent eras.  People who have visited there (to stay) include the author and poet Lamartine and the opera singer Enrico Caruso.  Thursday our crew flew together from Lyon to Biarritz and then caught the train to St. Jean Pied de Port where they started their trek to Santiago de Compostela on the camino, which will take about 5 weeks and 450 miles.  We are happy to not be with them but are cheering them on from here.  They will drop in again when they are finished.

Friday we left again for Geneva for the music festival after getting official pictures taken at the Photo Booth at the mall for our visa for the next year.  A pretty slick system. The Photo Booth gives  you a number which you send to the processor and they pull your photo for their papers.

The drive from our house to Geneva is spectacular: forest, rolling hills, deep valleys, viaducts and then mountains and mountain air.  We had only been to the airport and to Zone Conference there. This trip we were visiting friends who worked with us in Nairobi in Family History.  Did they ever give us a different perspective of their city!  We rode the tram to the lake to see the water spout (jet), the beach, the park where a large screen was being set up for the outdoor 4 hour version of La Traviata the next night.  We took a boat ride across the lake (crystal clear water) and hiked to the venues of our three free musical concerts that evening. On the way we saw Reformation Wall in Bastions Park, honoring Calvin and others.  The first concert was a carillon accompanied by improv dancing (not from the audience) in the church courtyard.  The second, an organ recital at the famous Église de St. Pierre and the third at Église St. Germain - Baroque Français using ancient  instruments.  The acoustics were exceptional and by that time I was pretty excited.

Next morning the Stafflers introduced us to white peaches and muesli with cream and strawberries before driving us to see the International Red Cross and the United Nations buildings.  Then we went to four more free concerts: a cellist, a Ukrainian choir, a harp siesta (she played soft relaxing music while parents and children relaxed on pillows on the floor, some completely laid out) in the Grande Théâtre de Genève, and then a brass quintet with organ accompagné.  Sorry I keep flipping into French.  These men were superb musiciens.  Not only did they play their chosen instruments, but also alphorns.  Have you ever heard a Mass played on alphorns?

It was time to drive home. We stopped once just to catch our breath.  We were exhausted but what a day of many firsts and memories for more than a life time. Thank you Josette and Karl for teaching us to love Genève.

Visit to Cormatin

Erin, Haley, Ethan, and Elizabeth

Tram and clocktower

Le Jet d'Eau

The Reformers

6-stringed cello and Long Necked Theorbo Lute

Ukrainian Choir

Siesta Harp

Brass Quintet

The Alphorn Mass

Tom & Sue with Josette & Karl Staffler

June 15, 2025

Such a joyous exit afternoon on Tuesday. Seventeen missionaries returning home honorably with experiences to cherish and refer to for a lifetime. Some had five different mission presidents in their two years and each had difficult adjustments to make.  All had learned more about themselves but more significant was the time spent ‘walking with Jesus’ and serving his children. We were grateful to be included in their enthusiastic hymn singing and invited to share some words of advice. Mine: Your life is just beginning. Continue with the good habits you have developed. Move forward in your relationship with Jesus Christ by following Him and loving as He does.  Tom mentioned our recent visit with the Sorhaïtz family,  56 years after attending the baptism of Sr. Sorhaïtz,  and then at the Bayonne Sacrament meeting, being Introduced to her grandson, preparing  to submit his mission papers. Seeds sown for generations to come. We served a lovely raclette dinner and all said their good byes. It is always a touching experience. Five hours later they were on a plane back to their different worlds.

The mission home has a beautiful yard with huge trees, a grassed area big enough for a pick-up soccer game and an in ground swimming pool.  It also has 2 basketball standards,a pickleball, tennis, or volleyball court, a trampoline and a boules court. I especially enjoyed swinging on the patio where there are tables and seating for at least 30.  It is a lovely space.  When new missionaries arrive we feed them lasagne, crusty bread, a big salad bar, and ice-cream.  Then they are interviewed by three people individually: Pres. Schow, Sister Schow and Tom.  He goes through their medical info to find out if anything has changed or anything undisclosed. This week he found a sister who has been having panic attacks.  Knowing this helps in selecting a companion who can understand the situation and be extra supportive. The sister has the opportunity to receive professional counseling as well.

I was very impressed with a new elder from New Zealand. He had worked at several different jobs to earn money, in a hospital, as a bouncer and as an artist. One could tell he had people skills. It is fascinating to meet these kids fresh off the plane and watch as they develop under the direction of their mission leaders.  I feel the role of mission leaders is to relate or connect with each missionary as he or she build a relationship with Christ and through service becomes His disciple. Our role is to help those mission leaders in whatever they ask and however we can. I find the Schows extremely encouraging and motivating.

Elder G. helping

A raclette celebration

Sunday June 8, 2025

What an outstanding week! Thursday morning we were part of a Zoom meeting with the mission - a broadcast from the mission home with Pres. and Sr. Schow talking with Elder and Sr. McConkie.  Several important points were brought out during that meeting:

1. If we are to become disciples of Jesus we need to spend time with him as did his original disciples.  We can’t follow him over the dusty roads of Judea and the Galilee, but we can spend time with him in the scriptures.  Elder Wirthlin taught this and it has been amplified by other apostles.  Nephi said that we need to liken the scriptures to ourselves and then went on to quote Isaiah - why?  Isaiah was the best scriptural reference to the Savior that they had. No four gospels or third Nephi. The difference between being a student of Jesus Christ and being a disciple is the difference between information and a covenant relationship. The key to that relationship is to be on our knees, in the scriptures, and serving others. There we can learn how to emulate Christ.
2. When a disciple has a covenant relationship with the master, he or she has pledged allegiance to him, active loyalty and fidelity.
3. The Sacrament facilitates the development of our faith through repeated remembering of previous spiritual experiences.  That explains the emphasis on attending the meeting every week and of thoughtful preparation to receive the ordinance.

Thursday we were able to experience a bit of that as we took the Sacrament to a shut-in widow who lives about 40 minutes away.  We will probably change that schedule to allow other priesthood holders to participate.

Yesterday evening we participated in the long-anticipated branch talent show.  It was an amazing evening!  Normally I (Tom) would try to find a way to avoid the flawed performances.  However, knowing these folks made their offerings all the more fascinating.  The chapel room was transformed into a stage with lights, decorations, etc.  The whole program lasted 4 hours (!) with 36 listed performances in the printed program by members and friends.  They ranged from original poetry and art, embroidery, a reading, wood-carving,  and tiramisu consumed during the intermission.  Then on to a slide show of Portugal, original computer art, break-dancing, a recorded display of Serbian dancing (by someone from there), a demonstration of martial arts, a family performance of mime since they don’t speak French well, a demonstration of a 72 hour survival kit.  And more dancing - colorful costumes  from Colombia and Polynesia and the western line of the Cupid Shuffle. Tahitian singing, a saxophone solo, a bit of jazz piano, and some comic opera concluded the program. We all had a blast - lots of clapping and appreciation and lots of laughter.  And the cleanup went very quickly because everyone helped.

Viva Colombia!

Polynesian dancing

Misty - Sax and piano

Today in meetings we were visited by Pres. and Sr. Schow and they spoke very well.  I want to repeat a story about the Sabbath Day as told by Sr. Catogni, the wife of the branch president.  They have four children and would often take them for a ski vacation growing up.  When their two daughters were getting ready for one of those weeks, the first day of ski school was on a Sunday.  It lasted five days with the best skiers given an award at the end.  They wanted to let their daughters decide what to do about that.  Both decided on their own that they had the faith to do well despite not attending the school on Sunday.  Their younger daughter ended up getting the award despite only having 4 days of school, and attributed that as a blessing for keeping the Sabbath Day holy.  The older sister fell and broke her leg on day 3, and so didn’t get any award.  However, she told her parents that she wanted to keep the Sabbath Day holy not to get the award but to please her Heavenly Father.  

After meetings today we were also able to witness a small miracle.  Two older sisters in the branch have had bad feelings for many years because of something that happened in the past.  Today, as we exited the building onto the sidewalk near the street and several parting conversations were taking place, we noticed that these two sisters said goodbye with bisous - the traditional two-cheek kiss.  Whatever the situation was that provoked the division, it is now resolved and forgiven and peace reigns again.