So last P-Day was a little stressful. I received a package, but it didn't go to the regular post office... It went to a place called the Chronopost, which is way far away. We, of course, underestimated the distance and decided to take a bus part way and then walk the rest. Yeah, the "walk the rest" ended up being nearly 2 hours. Once we had it, we had to get back to our apartment and pack our bags for Paris, where we were going that night. Well, our train to Paris was in an hour and we had no hope of making it back and packing in time for the train. Then I had the brilliant idea to use Facebook as a search engine and find the local taxi company to give them a call. It was a blessing, because he got us back just in time and charged us the exact amount of cash that we had on hand. We then caught our train to Paris and made our way to a city called Nogent for the night. We were staying with Elder Swensen, whom I used to be companions with, and the Lille Zone Leaders who I know and love. It made me really miss my time in Valenciennes, which I believe was truly my happiest time on the mission, so it was good to see everyone again.
The next morning was an early one. We had to be up and out of the apartment super early to make it to Versailles on time. It was at Versailles that we were having our mission-wide conference with Elder Andersen. It was a strange feeling being back in Versailles; I miss it! It was also interesting seeing our whole mission in one place, something that hasn't happened the whole time I've been serving as a missionary here. It was an odd atmosphere for me, because most of the missionaries I've served around at this point are now already back home. So many new faces that I had never seen before, re-affirming the fact that I'm officially one of the "older" missionaries in our mission now. We were at the Versailles chapel for a while, studying in reverence, before we were directed to the cultural hall to get in place for a picture we'd be taking with Elder Andersen when he'd arrive. We were standing there forever before he came lol. After the picture, we shook hands with him and then went back into the chapel for the conference. Elder Andersen said some really cool things that I really needed to hear. He gave an optimistic perspective on missionary work, which meant a lot coming from him, because he served here himself. He knows what it's like and that, to me, made his comments even more valid. His message was basically that if we have a positive perspective and faith that we can find success in France, we can and we will. After the conference, Elder Thomas and I went off to the mission office where I had left 2 packages to send back home when I was transferred earlier this month. After we retrieved the packages, we had to go send them off. We had to be fast, because the post office was about to close and our train back home was coming up. I hurried and filled out all the paperwork and had the woman weigh the boxes. 160 Euros for only two packages. That's $182 USD. What a joke. My card was also declined, so I had to run to the nearby atm and pull out as much cash as I could before she closed and still make it to our train. The stress. We luckily were able to make it all the way across Paris to our train station before it left.
The next day we had an early morning district council in Saint Brieuc. It was nice that it was going to be held in my city for once, and not Rennes, but I was still so worn out from the day before. After district council we all grabbed some lunch. I got my first Kebab in a whole year. The only reason I write this, is because it's next to impossible to not have one in this mission for that long. It's the cheapest type of fast food you can buy in France, so all the missionaries get it a lot. Definitely quite the accomplishment on my part. Then we all went out finding, which was a huge blessing for my companion and I. Some really cool people were found and we had extra missionaries to help us.
Thursday was a good day. We had a lesson with a cool, young African couple, Emmanuel and Stella. They are English speakers and currently looking for a Christian church to attend. What golden investigators they are! I have high hopes for them. Then we went to an American family in the ward, the Semerau's, house for a dinner appointment. They have a lot of kids, so it was quite the experience haha. They're very nice people and were willing to drive us over an hour there and an hour back to our apartment. The drive was half of the fun, however, chatting about conspiracy theories and such haha. I love this branch!
On Friday we had planned to visit in-active members, but we didn't know what we wanted to do. We had a member that was coming with us, and we'd be able to use his car to get places, but all of the people we were going to see had different problems and needs. An idea I had was to go over and sing/play instruments for all of these people. Elder Thomas has a guitar that he plays and the member has a violin. We decided to go with songs out of the Children's songbook, not only because they are light and entertaining to listen to, but also because they invite the Spirit. We went to a different number of houses and did this. All of the people we visited were great experiences, but the last one, a 91 year old woman named Lillian, was the best. She started crying and it was so touching. The Spirit was strong. Sometimes a spiritual message doesn't need to be spoken, it can be heard and felt through music. It was a great time!
The most exciting thing that happened on Saturday was that we met with a new investigator and his girlfriend at the train station for a lesson. They are both from Africa as well and it was a very interesting dynamic. The girlfriend is atheist and the boyfriend is a strong Christian. Because of this, we were teaching the Restoration lesson for 2 different points of view and it went really well. Afterwards, they were kind enough to be willing to walk with us to the cinema to get me some theater popcorn, which I haven't had in 1 1/2 years now. Let's just say that it's expensive, small, and not as good here in France. I guess we can't all hope for our Megaplex tub, filled to the brim with warm and extra buttery popcorn. It was a good lesson though, and I have high hopes for both of them as well.
Sunday was fun. We were able to get 2 investigators to come to church. One is our neighbor that we contacted named Serge, and the other is a referral we got from the Elders in Vannes, named Tresor (Treasure in French). Both guys are so cool. Serge is very interested in family history and Tresor wants to be baptized. We taught them the Restoration for the 2nd hour of church and they both enjoyed it. After church, we had another lesson with Emmanuel and Stella, where we taught them the Restoration as well. Man am I Restorationed-out or what?! Haha. Just kidding! We have literally given this lesson in full so many times this week, which I guess is a really good thing. The thing I love, however, is that I can see all of these people progressing so much in the gospel. Here's hoping!
My Spiritual thought today could be on so many things. From the power and spirit of music to Elder Andersen's message about perspective and optimism. So why don't I combine the two for ya? This week really taught me that if you work hard and don't quit, blessings will come. We have been working hard ever since I got here, and finally we have some really cool people that we're teaching. That's definitely God blessing us and I know it's because we have kept a positive perspective throughout this transfer and were never tempted to give up. I also testify that it's really not us that convert others, it's the Spirit. So if there's any way to invite the Spirit into the hearts of others, do it. Gospel music is one of those ways and I know that music can work miracles in this regard. Never think that a fully prepared spiritual message is the only way to do things, God has given us many tools and talents that we can and should use to help others come closer to Christ.
Thanks for reading all of this. Y'all are the real MVPs. Love you all. Till next week!
Love,
Elder Connor Anderson
Mission-wide conference with Elder Neil L. Andersen
Me & Elder Fund
France Paris Mission
Inactive woman let us come & sing Primary songs to her
Meeting at the train station with potential investigators
First Kebab in over a year!
ZL in Lille-- copying an old gay investigator in Valenciennes
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