11th P-Day (4th in France)

Hey everyone!!!

This week officially marks me being in France for a whole month. Wow! At times it goes by really slow and at others it goes by really fast, but in the long run it seems fast which is good! This week had a lot going on, but I'll try to sum it up as fast as possible haha (we all know that I'm bad at summarizing, but that's because details are IMPORTANT). 

I finally made my desserts for district meeting that my companion has repeatedly told me I didn't need to make/buy because other missionaries had it covered... But guess what? They didn't. And instead of showing up empty-handed again, I was prepared! I made these "Oreo Truffles" that I got from a recipe on the Tasty Facebook page (thank goodness for online proselyting. As well as converting others, it will help me out with so many recipes!). They tasted good but looked awful so I didn't take a picture of them. Luckily I was able to tie the truffles into a lesson about how we need to look on the inward appearance of others and not their outward appearance. It was beautiful :')

That night we got Kebabs which are a huge thing for missionaries over here. It's because they're in every ville, they're cheap, and they're filling. It was actually really good too. I'll upload pics of that below to show you what they are. 

The next 2 days we did exchanges with the other Elders in our district back in Epinal. We would do "finding" on the streets with people who were walking around for HOURS and it just got tiring. At least we were being productive though, right? And exchanges give me a new companion until the exchange is over, so that's nice too. 

After they left, Elder Asato wanted to go to the church and practice some hymns (he is now the Branch's pianist). He practiced for literally 3 hours while I just sat there studying. Not to mention that he can only play with his right hand because he only took a few months of lessons. So I sat there and listened to him play the right hand to almost every song in the simplified hymnbook. This same thing happened 2 more times this week. So fun! hahaha. 

The next 2 days we had exchanges with our Zone Leaders in Strasbourg. I was excited to go because Strasbourg is a huge city that is so close to the German border and has a lot of German influence. It was a 2 1/2 hour train ride to get there, but man was it worth it!!! The city is both the European capital of the World (The European Union is headquartered there) and the Christmas capital of the World (Christmas markets were started there). Lots of cathedrals, churches, and stores. So cool!

When we got there, I was paired with one of the ZLs and we went to teach a Spanish woman named, Maria. They've been teaching her for a while now and they want to prepare her for baptism, but her French is really bad. Most of the lesson he used Google Translate to teach her. But she gave us shortbread cookies and dark chocolate (I swear all old people here love dark chocolate), so all was well. After that, we went street finding for a little bit. We talked to a few people who all rejected us, but then a drunk man came up to us to ask a few questions. I couldn't understand him at all, but he was basically saying that he knew everything about Joseph Smith and our religion and that it's not true. Then he said that since he's older than us that he knows more haha. After that, we met up with everyone else back at the apartment.

The ZLs are in a trio, so there's 3 of them. Me and Elder Asato switched which missionaries we were with and then we went on our own ways. I was now with the other 2 ZLs. They had a meeting with a man named Jean Michel. They love him and say he's very rich and takes them out to dinner all the time, so I was excited. We went to his apartment which in fact was the nicest apartment I've ever seen. He had HUGE furniture very nicely placed everywhere. The stairwells and elevators in France are really tiny, so this only leaves a person to wonder how he even got everything into his apartment. A big crane and open windows maybe? IDK, but it was really nice. He fed us this huge, delicious French cake and gave us lots of sparkling juice to drink throughout the conversation. He said next time I'm in Strasbourg that he'll take me out to dinner with the other missionaries because I'm "tres gentil" haha. Love that man and now I'm even more excited to go back to Strasbourg. 

The next day in Strasbourg was also good. We started the day in McDonald's to use their free wifi for a little bit (their menu here is triple the cost of America, but it looks like the ingredients are better quality, in case you were wondering). After that, we continued the exchanges with the people we ended the night with. We decided to go street contacting. Most people rejected us, but at least they were nice. There were also a few people I talked to that spoke English!!! Because it's the European capital of the World, people from all over Europe immigrate there. It's very diverse and people who speak all languages can get by there. One English speaker was a very pretty college student from Bulgaria. Haven't met someone from there before, so that was new. We also spoke with a really awesome Muslim college student. He spoke English but no French and had to migrate to France from Bangladesh for safety reasons. So sad, but he was way chill with us and I loved being able to speak English. We also saw a huge Cathedral that day and it was good. 

Before we left we went to the grocery store to get bread. I obviously made my way over to the chocolate aisle to find myself some Milka Chocolate. While there, this college student bumped into me and asked if I was "a Mormon missionary" in English!! I asked her how she knew the missionaries and English, and as it turns out she's from Ontario, Canada. She's in Strasbourg for college and her family aren't members but they apparently always have the missionaries over. That was really cool. I was even wearing my Canadian socks that day, so I think it was meant to be. I tried to turn it into a teaching moment, but we were in a rush so we had to go. She was really nice though. Her Asian friend (also from Canada) came over half way into the conversation. She heard me say, "I love getting to speak English" and thought I was a French native haha. She responded with "your English is really good!" HAHAH I hope it is! I'm American lol. That was just a funny moment. 

That night we went back to Epinal. We were so tired but had an appointment with Alhin. It was really awkward for me because he just kept complimenting my companion and saying how much he loved him, how he's welcome to his house anytime after the mission, etc. I just sat there for a couple of hours listening to compliments to my companion haha. Then he fed us. He's really nice for feeding us whenever we go over, but his meals are always my least favorite. They start with an appetizer that always smells bad and looks like dog food. Then dinner always involves raw meat and stinky, old cheese. My tolerance has definitely gone up since I've got here, because I would've thrown up if I had to eat that stuff back home. To make matters worse, he buys lots of raw meat for us to eat and he WATCHES us eat it to make sure we don't give it to the dog. It was so bad. But at least he finishes with dessert which I usually scarf down to cleanse my palate haha. He's a nice guy, so I can't complain too much. His meals are just heavy and gross haha. Ah, Ahlin! 

Church on Sunday was good! We had a bigger turn out than we've had in months (and no one from the Branch Presidency was there, nor were their families) so that was a surprise. I, again, had to give the sacrament prayers but I didn't mess up this time so that was a bonus. Then me and my companion were asked to give the lesson for second hour. It was painful, but luckily the member who speaks both French and English (Frere Courage) was there and he taught with us. It was essentially an open discussion about missionary work, so whenever someone said something I could understand, I would try to chime in. It was a good discussion in the long run. 

Frere Courage's wife asked Alhin what his family was bringing for his baptismal buffet next week after his baptism. He responded with, "my family isn't coming". It was so sad. He has kids and grandkids, but none of them are going to his baptism. I felt bad. But now the ward is on top of it! We are all secretly planning on bringing treats to make his baptism the best day ever. 

After church, Soeur LaForge (the lady in the Branch who loves the Osmonds) asked us to help her with Family History on Family Search before she travels to the temple this week. It was complicated, but we entered a lot of names onto her family tree and printed a lot out. So much work actually, that it took 5 hours and we only got 10 names in and printed. But hey, it's what you gotta do for eternal families to happen haha. After that, we went back to our apartment to get ready for bed. 30 minutes later, Soeur LaForge texted us saying that she had food for us. We went out to retrieve it and it was literally a ton of food from a boulangerie. She literally broke the Sabbath to feed us! But- It was so nice and the food was amazing (pics below).  I LOVE THE BRANCH HERE. 

Today we went to some ruins of a historic chateau. I'll attach pics of that also. 

Thanks for all of your emails and prayers. Sorry this email was super long, but it was a good week. Idk if my companion is improving or if it's my tolerance level, but I can actually (somewhat) stand him now haha. He still has his moments that frustrate me, but at least they've calmed down. Hopefully, things continue to improve. This week was definitely the best one in France so far. Can't wait for this week! Thanks again, love you all! 

Elder Connor Anderson

canderson@myldsmail.net

The infamous Missionary Kebabs

Autumn in Epinal

Liberte statue in Epinal's Centreville 

LIBERTE

The front of La Basilique Saint-Maurice (A basilica in Epinal) 

Beautiful stonecut depiction of Christ on the side of La Basilique Saint-Maurice

Me in front of TNS - Théâtre National de Strasbourg (Salles Koltès/Gignoux)

Église réformée Saint-Paul

Me in front of the Église réformée Saint-Paul

The cake and drinks at Jean Michel Ober's house

Me and 2 of the ZLs with Jean Michel

Night time in Strasbourg

Some thatched cottages in downtown Strasbourg (real German looking haha)

Some major craftsmanship/detail on the Cathedrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg (Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg) 

Me in front of the Cathedrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg

A close up of the detail on the Cathedrale

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg

The food the Soeur in the Branch broke the sabbath to buy us. So nice. So good. 

A side shot of the Cathedral

A view of Epinal and the Parc du château from the château

These little cakes are called, "Madeleines" and they are so good! You can buy a huge pack for only a couple of euros too!

A view of Epinal from the Ruins 

The ruins of the Château d'Epinal (an old castle)

Me in front of the Château d'Epinal

Another view of Epinal 

 From the inside of the Château d'Epinal

Epinal's flag on the inside of the château

Me in the château, overlooking the city 

10th P-Day (3rd in France)

Hey everyone! I wanted to start by saying thanks for all of your emails this last week. They were much appreciated :)

Luckily, this week was better than last. There are still some improvements that need to be made in my companionship, but I'll get to that later. 

On Tuesday, we had district meeting in Nancy. I was in charge of desserts, so I was going to make something. Because we were helping that family move last P-Day, I didn't have time. So, I decided to just buy something at the store the next morning. My companion straight up LIED to me and said that they called and said that they had desserts covered, so we didn't buy any. When I got there, they were all mad at me because I didn't bring anything. I was not very appreciative of him in that moment, but I smiled through it LOL. 

On the train ride back he opened up to me. He said that he's the way he is, because he's from Kearns. He says that people who come from elsewhere in Utah get stuff handed to them and they don't appreciate anything. He also said that girls don't want to marry guys from Kearns, so his life is hard. And after his mission he might never marry because of that. He said that me and all the other new missionaries annoyed him, because he could tell that we all came from money (LOL what even?) and that our parents just fund our way through life. I was pretty offended, but I wasn't gonna argue, so I just slept the rest of the train ride. He didn't apologize for his behavior, but now I know why he's acting the way he's acting. This topic played out the rest of the week whenever he would tell investigators that I'm "rich" and that he's not. He tried to pull the pity card with them so much this week. I don't know why, but he did. It was so awkward because they would straight up ask me, "What's it like to be rich"? WHY DO PEOPLE ASK THAT? It was so annoying, but because of my companion, I probably got asked that by 4 different people this week. 

We had lots of meetings with less active members this week. The first one was the little old grandma that watched General Conference with us. Her house was cluttered with old creepy porcelain dolls and things from the 19th century. There was barely room to walk, no joke haha. BUT, she was super nice and gave me a chocolate bar. The next day we meet with 3 different inactive people. It was a long and good day. The first family was really nice. I told them that I was from Utah and the mom freaked out. She asked if I knew the Osmond's and then proceeded to pull out a book she made with tons of Donny cut-outs and such. It was so funny. They went inactive because people in their last ward offended them. That seems to be a common reason over here, but we gotta get people to church!! haha. The next lady we spoke with lived about 45 minutes away and the Branch President drove us there. She was sarcastic and a little rude, but overall a good lady. She just mocked my French a few times. Talk about a confidence dropper haha. After her, the Branch President bought us BURGER KING. It was so good! It's expensive over here, but 10x better. After that, me and my companion met with Alhin (the former member, gay man). He actually just received word from the 1st Presidency that he can be baptized in 2 weeks! He's so excited! 

Saturday was probably the best day of the week. Apparently, there's this family a few villes over that the Epinal missionaries always go and do service for each Saturday, the Cuche family. Since I've got here, our schedules have been pretty whack so we hadn't been able to do so yet. Yesterday was going to be my first time meeting them. My companion refused to tell me anything about them and said, "for years the senior companions haven't told their companions about them, because it's supposed to be a surprise. You'll just have to see what they're like when we get there". Well, I don't like surprises like that. SO, because we are now a Facebook mission, I was able to find out a little bit more. They're actually a pretty cool family with a cool story. The mom, Maria Cuche Christian, is from Ireland and was actually on their version of "American Idol" (Eurovision) back in the 80's and made it really far (she might have actually won, but I can't remember). Anyway, she was really famous in Ireland at the time and in 1986 was voted as one of Ireland's top 10 most beautiful women. During her stardom, she dated another famous musician at the time who was a MORMON. They got really close, but she eventually broke up with him because she didn't want to marry a Mormon. Then along came her husband. He's from France but served a mission in Ireland. While there, he converted her and essentially her whole family. Apparently, he was a really good missionary and baptized dozens of people. So both of them are really well known in Ireland. After his mission, he went back and married her. I wonder what her ex (who was a Mormon) thinks of this haha. She's also 95% blind. Anyway, since then they have had 7 kids (who are all musical prodigies) and live in France. The mom also went on to be a contestant on "The Voice" (in Ireland though haha). Because their dad baptized so many people, he knows people all over the World, including a bunch of friends in Utah. One of which lives in South Jordan, so they talked to me a bunch about living in SoJo because they've spent a lot of time there. Then the dad asked me "what's it like to be rich"? Really, this question again haha?! He said everyone in South Jordan are multimillionaires and wants to know what it's like (their friend that lives there lives in the Polo Club area, so of course it's nice haha). Oh, I just hate that question, but at least I like their family. Here's why:

So after I knew what they were like, my stress went away. But I didn't tell my companion that I looked anything up beforehand haha. They live in this nice house with a nice pool and everything. Apparently, the missionaries have been doing service for them once a week for the past 25 years! The dad was telling me that the missionaries: built their house with him (took a couple of years), dug out and finished their pool, did all their landscaping, set up for all the holidays for them, etc. So basically, missionaries are free labor for them and they've been able to have nice things because of us haha. I don't mind it though because they are nice and feed us really well. Apparently each week they make a huge lunch complete with desserts and all the works. IT was soo good this week. Their kids are really nice too. They're all good looking and talented! Talk about a perfect family haha. Each of them play instruments (really well too. Their oldest children have even studied music in Paris and have degrees. Their oldest son was even playing Mozart upside down on the grand piano), speak both English and French fluently, and are easy to talk to. After meeting and doing some easy service for them, I was wondering their religious standings. One of their daughters, Stephanie, was really open and actually told me. She said that her dad has a really strong, sarcastic personality and lots of people don't like that (he does. He kinda came off as rude when I first met him. He also has a really crude sense of humor. I'm just gonna have to get used to it haha). She says that they're inactive because members in the two closest wards/branches offended them and they were sick of it. She also said that it's really hard to be Mormon in France, because everyone has wrong impressions of the religion and there are no teenagers in the church. She said she wants to be active, she just wants to be able to have other people her age at church so she doesn't feel alone. THAT MEANS I HAVE SOME WORK TO DO!!! The family told me that they feel so bad that I'm starting my mission in Epinal. They say it's the "armpit" of the mission. I asked them why and they said that the people are mean and there's nothing to do there. I haven't experienced that yet, but it's funny to know what people outside of Epinal think of Epinal. They say that it's the place of "inbreds" HA. I almost choked on my baguette! They were also shocked that I am 18. They say that I'm a "baby" haha. Anyway, they said that if I'm still here for Christmas, they always have the missionaries over then. And they say that they do Christmas the "Irish way" so it's so good. I guess if I'm still in this area by that time, I'll be happy. It's good to learn French, but spending Christmas in a nice, English home would be really fun. And I'm sure the food will be top notch as well. 

The next day was church. We had more people show up than last week which was nice. I was asked to give a talk right before Sacrament started. I said yes, but I was so nervous. I messed up on the sacrament prayer and had to do it twice. Oh well, I'm new at this haha. After that I went up to give a talk. It was bad, but I was trying. The dad of the family we moved last week was there and he helped me with a few translations (because he's fluent in English and French). The Branch Presidents wife also knows English and smiled and gave me thumbs up every time I said something correctly. She made me feel so happy haha. They all congratulated me afterward (even though it was really bad) and the Branch President's wife gave me and my companion a bag full of food. So nice. I like these people a lot. Hopefully, I can show the Cuche family how cool the branch really is and get them back? I don't know how, but I can try. 

Today we went grocery shopping. The possessed man that chased my companion a few weeks back was there, so now we know where he shops. He looks like Rasputin from Anastasia, so really creepy. He kept coming over to us and chanting weird things. I definitely felt unsafe, but it was good knowing that we were in a very public setting with lots of cameras. 

A member of the Branch gave me and my companion a huge McDonald's pamphlet with lots of coupons. The grocery store was right next to McDonald's and the coupons expire at the end of the week. So what did I suggest? Getting McDonald's for lunch. What did my companion say you ask? "No, I don't have the money for it." Then I suggested paying for both of us. His first response, "No, that's a waste of money". With one of the coupons, we could've gotten both of us meals for only 7 euros. So I told him that 7 euros isn't a lot for 2 people and I was more than happy to pay. Then his argument was about how we don't have time to stop and eat to be able to catch our bus. The bus runs every 30 mins, so I told him that. He still wouldn't budge. Don't worry people, I WILL FIND A WAY TO USE AT LEAST ONE OF THESE COUPONS BY THE END OF THE WEEK, MARK MY WORDS hahahaaha. American food is definitely worth the trip, especially when you have lots of coupons. Any suggestions on how to get him on board? Let me know! He also says that he's going to try to get the Mission President to let him finish his mission here with me, because he wants to be here for Christmas time with the Cuche family. OH NO :'( I might be with him till February if that happens. Wish me luck! 

Overall, the companionship was better this week. He never apologized for anything or recognized that it was wrong of him to be bossy, but he let me know why he's so grumpy. That's all I could ask for. At least now I know that it is not my fault. He also says that his personality is really stubborn and advised me to never bring up "facts", because he knows them all and if I get something wrong he'll "argue" with me. Oh well, I just have to be careful with what I say apparently. But overall he was nicer this week. Not a lot better, but a little. That's all I wanted, so I know Heavenly Father is answering my prayers. AND Heavenly Father put a wonderful, English speaking family for me to interact with once a week and (hopefully) have Christmas with. So that was definitely a tender mercy. The ward members were also especially great to me this week and I'm really thankful. Right now, there's no place I'd rather be. Even when my companion is driving me crazy, all is well. Thanks for all your prayers and emails. They all mean a lot. 

I definitely didn't take a lot of pictures this week, so forgive me. I know that most people like the pictures way more than the actual email. NEXT WEEK THERE WILL BE LOTS, I promise. If I take anymore today I'll send them over!

Thanks again for all the love and support. Love you all. Feel free to email me whenever!!! :)

Love, 

Elder Connor Anderson

9th P-Day (2nd in France)

Hey everyone! My 2nd week in France had its ups and downs, but it luckily ended on a high note. 

The reason my e-mail last week was so long was because me and my comp literally did nothing last P-Day. We went grocery shopping (which in France is a little chaotic, but I loved it nonetheless... Definitely, a new experience) and did laundry. Other than that, my companion just wanted to sit in the room. I even tried to get him to go with me on a walk around the town, but he refused. He just says it's because he's almost done with his mission and doesn't like sightseeing anymore. How sad? I honestly think France is so beautiful, but I might not be able to explore it for a while if he keeps up with this attitude. And I'm with him for at least 3 months haha. So the last P-day we had a lot of time to write. I promise I won't write any more 23+ paragraph emails anytime soon haha. I am DETERMINED to explore the beauty of this place though, so don't worry. I'll do it eventually. 

This week we were barely in our own ville. We had so many things going on each day in villes that were an hour or more train ride away. Because my comp hates traveling, he insisted we pack a bag with all of our clothes and sleep over in other missionaries' apartments so that we wouldn't have to keep traveling back and forth. And in one of the villes we were doing service, so I had to bring regular clothes, shoes, etc. This was a struggle because my over the shoulder bag isn't that big and my comp wouldn't let me bring my carry-on suitcase as well. So I had to shove all my toiletries, garments, shoes, etc. in a small bag. Not to mention one of my suits which aren't wrinkle free. The bag almost broke lol. Oh well, I survived. I'm sure I'll complain less as the mission progresses, just because you get used to stuff like this (even though no one should have to live their lives this way lol).  

The ville we were going to do service in is called "Vittel". IT IS BEAUTIFUL AND SUPER CLEAN THERE! We had to take an almost 2-hour bus ride to get there and once we were there, the family texted us and canceled. My companion was bummed and wanted to just sit at the bus stop for 3 hours until the next bus would come. I finally convinced him to walk around and explore the town with me (something he hates, remember) by walking away from him. You have to stay with your companion, right? No matter how stubborn he is, that's a rule he likes to obey. Maybe I'll just walk away from him more often so that he has to follow me? Haha JK. Anyway, I like that ville because on top of being beautiful and clean, the people are amazing. We walked by so many people and only 3 of them didn't smile and say, "Bonjour", to us. I felt loved. If you ever go to France, make sure to hit this town up. It's for sure a long ways out from Paris, but it's definitely worth it. Everyone is old and they have a beautiful, huge park. Pics below!!

After Vittel, we returned to Nancy and went out to eat with the Elders we were staying with. I was so excited to go out and eat, because my comp doesn't like spending money and won't allow me to either. We went to STEAK n' SHAKE!!! I'm honestly so surprised that they had one here, especially because Utah didn't even get one until like 2 years ago. The food has more quality ingredients over here and different types of shakes to choose from (Including a "Smarties" one, which is one of my fav Canadian candies. Not the same as Smarties back in the U.S. haha). I could go on about my first fast food experience here, but I won't haha. It was perfect. 

This week we had district meeting, zone conference, and a "new missionary training". District meeting and zone conference were both long and boring in Nancy, France. They were both about Facebook and how to be safe on it because we are now a Facebook mission. All-in-all, each meeting was individually about 10ish hours just listening to common sense rules haha. The new missionary training was in Paris. I was so excited to go back and see my friends from the MTC again! It was basically the same as the zone and district meetings though. Really boring. But the company was worth it.

On one of our train rides this week, there was a young woman sitting across from us listening to music. She looked stress, but she tried to stay calm and collected. I had a prompting to go give her some of my Euros. Doing this would technically be disobeying a "safety rule" on my mission, but I thought about it for a while and determined that she would need it more than me. As I proceeded to take some money out, my companion SCOLDED me. He was infuriated! I ended up not giving her the money and I have never regretted anything more. I saw her walk off into the dark, all alone with no sign of happiness. My comp didn't talk to me the rest of the walk to the apartment,  and he sped walked so that I wouldn't have time to "give it to anyone else". Then he said, "sorry for being direct with you. That's how French people are. Living here for almost 2 years, you basically become a French person. But I needed to tell you that it was wrong what you were trying to do". I know that there is a rule and a purpose for it. But, I felt strongly prompted to give it to her. No one else was in the train cart with us, so I definitely wasn't trying to do it to show off either. I just wanted to be a good person and follow what I thought was right in the moment.

Oh well, now onto happier subjects: 

Sorry, I don't have any stories about investigators this week!! We left our Ville on Monday morning and didn't get back until Friday night. So we didn't really have the opportunity to teach. On Saturday and Sunday I got a lot of interaction with the Branch members here. They are so nice. I can barely understand them, but at least they're trying to communicate with me and they're easy going. That's all I could ask for. Our branch is so small that there were only 7 members that showed up on Sunday. I had to bless the bread (a little nerve-wracking, but the small crowd helped me nerves out a ton) and introduce myself all in French. The members are so nice and I love them. Because it's such a small Branch, church is only 2 hours! I think that's something that should happen everywhere. Who needs that 3rd hour anyway? haha. Sacrament meeting (including announcements, full hymns, the sacrament itself, literally EVERYONE bearing testimony, and both of the prayers) was only 25 minutes haha. We literally started church at 9:30 and we were in Sunday school by 9:55. 

Kinda sucks we were gone all week because I was so pumped to get some French learning in and really build my confidence talking to people. Unfortunately, however, all the meetings this week were in English and my French skills are just where they were last week. Hopefully, next week is calmer and I get more interaction with others. 

Although, today me and my companion spent our P-Day doing service for a less-active family in our branch (almost a full 12 hours). They're the ones who live in Vittel and canceled on us last week. They're actually so nice. I was so worried about helping them do a "Canadian" move (moving completely in 1 day) out of their house and into a new one because I don't understand a lot of French. Luckily, the husband is from England and gave all the instructions in English (he served a mission in Paris back in the 70s, and moved back afterward. That's how he knows French). He's so funny too. Communicating with the rest of the family was difficult, but they found ways to help me understand... And they'd use the dad as a translator as a last resort. The 21-year-old son was smoking up a storm the whole time and I'm pretty sure I got second-hand smoke from working with him so much, mais je suis en France lol. At least he's a good person and he was very funny. Picture with them will be in one of the following emails! BTW, we helped them move into a 200-year-old Chateau in the French countryside that they just bought. It has 2 acres of land and is 1,250 Square metres (in American terms, it's around 13,454 square feet). I wish I got a picture of it. He's wanting to renovate it and resell it for a high price before he dies haha.

One funny thing you'll definitely notice if you ever come to France (or have been before) is that even the homeless people dress nicer than most people in the states. When people say that French people have style, they are not kidding. And it's literally everyone. Not just a few of them. It's so cool haha. Even the people in small villes will not leave their house without looking good. So funny. The dad of the family we helped move even studied "Fashion Design" at university in Paris after his mission. I'd say it's the best place to do so if that's what you're interested in haha. 

I just want to let everyone know that I have a huge testimony of the gospel and that if you come unto Christ in hard times, He will make everything better. I've definitely noticed that on my mission. I'm so grateful for the relationships I can have with both Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Thanks again for all of your emails throughout the week, they really mean a lot to me. Feel free to keep them coming! :) I'm loving the food and the people here in France, so do not worry. 

Elder Anderson