Last Tuesday we spent basically entirely in one neighborhood. We have two members living there, as well as the three children investigators and one adult investigator. We were already going there for the three children, so we decided, why not visit all of them? And that's exactly what we did. What a blessed area. The visit to the three kids was the worst visit, as all others were actually pretty good! We gave the son a tie, so that he'd have one for church, as well as a box of twinkies that someone brought us from England, and no one was grateful. Their mom was there and was super angry that the bishop had previously asked them if they eat well at home, because that's a "personal question." The dumb thing is that everyone at church was wondering and someone was going to ask eventually because they always seem to be starving and ask if they can have food every Sunday. So the mom is a little crazy, but oh well.
The next day we had a lunch appointment with a woman named Marie-France and her in-active husband. I love going to this house, because she makes the best food and they have an amazing ocean view from their house. I'll put pictures in my album. They're both incredible and I love them. They even taught me that apparently if you want to live in Corsica, you have to pay the mafia for protection, otherwise, they will blow up your house. So apparently it's super corrupt down there. Haha! The more you know, I guess.
On Thursday, we woke up early to do service for a British couple in our branch, the Banks. When we arrived, the first thing we did was that he took us around to the outdoor market and randomly introduced us to everyone haha. Even the Jehovah's Witnesses weren't off limits. It was a little awkward at first, especially because he doesn't speak good French at all, but I ended up really enjoying it. He even bought us sandwiches and such. What a man. Then we went to his house and did service, finishing off with a vegan meal prepared by his vegan wife, Janice. I love this couple.
The next day was our exchange up in Rennes with the Zone Leaders. It was a good time. I was put with our new Zone Leader, Elder Hill, and we taught some good lessons as well as attended a ward Valentine's Day/80's theme party.
On Saturday we set a new baptismal date with our investigator, Tresor! He's so cool and I'm excited for him. Then we had a lesson with the three children, in which they had forgotten about/weren't ready for. On top of it all, there's no way to get a hold of them, as their mom has blocked our number. Anyway, that was annoying and I don't know where to go with these kids tbh. We also visited some old investigators/some in-actives and that was all really nice.
Sunday was interesting. We had a really good branch meal (as always) and we all just had a great time. The kids were there again too, and they were piling up the food, taking it all before anyone else could. This caused people to come to us in worry. I told the Bishop not to ask the kids anymore questions, because the last time he did it got back to their mom and she wasn't happy. So what does he do? He goes and defends that question to the children and said that he had good reason to ask them about how well they eat at home. This made the son mad at me, because he knew that I told, and he started hitting me. I honestly just want to forget these kids. Their mother is exhausting and they have issues that need to be resolved. Any advice on them would be greatly appreciated. One lady in our Branch works for Child Services and wants to open an investigation. Hopefully this all plays out nicely and everything gets better. Other than that, it was great. The sun was out and people were happy.
Today we are going to a nice beach and sight-seeing.
I've recently really been reflecting on the importance of the temple and the blessings that we have because of it. I encourage you all to go to the temple as much as you possibly can. If you live in Utah, please don't take the temples for granted like I did. They are so important and I'm craving a visit right now haha. Go for me, go for yourself, and go for the Lord! Love you all!
Elder Connor Anderson
