75th P-Day (68th in France)

This week was packed!

Last Monday I got a haircut... it was the cheapest salon in town. The haircut was better than I expected it to be... But I eventually got a really bad rash around my head later in the week. I then realized it was because he used the same razor blades/scissors on me that he used on Elder Thomas without cleaning them first. Oh the joys of cheap salons! Just pray that this rash goes away quickly. 

The next day we had another district council up in Rennes. All went well! 

On Wednesday I made my first batch of Vegan chocolate chip cookies ever and they tasted terrible lol. They were for an old vegan woman in the Branch, so I hope she ended up enjoying them. Then we took a train to a nearby village and a family from Madagascar in our Branch picked us up from the train station to take us to the birthday party of Peter Banks, a now 79 year old Englishman in our Branch. It was a small, intimate celebration at his house, but so very good. He's such a kind man!

The next day we had a member lunch appointment which was so good. I love the classic old French couples; they always make the best food haha. And as a bonus, one of their adult daughters who has left the church came over and gave us "outsider" tips on how to be effective with the people here. We always get tips from members, but it was nice getting tips from someone who doesn't really agree with the church. She told us what annoys people and how to best get people to listen to us. Then we took another hour long train ride to Rennes so that I could give my first baptismal interview as a district leader. Luckily the man passed and all went well! 

Friday was good! I made cookies again for in-actives and investigators. Then a member messaged me, saying that he had finished the scrapbooking thing he made for me and wanted us to come pick it up. It's actually really cool, I'll put it in my photo album. Personalized to me and everything-- I love the members here! Then we took another train to a ville. We then met with an inactive woman and her family (who aren't members) and proceeded to give her a priesthood blessing. It was a really cool experience and she promised to come to church to thank us. 

On Saturday we visited by a woman in the Branch, whom just last month decided to get her membership removed from the church. Her name is Claire and she is a very broken woman. Our visit with her was very sad, as she is now very anti and believes that our church is the church of the Devil (because of freemasonry and tithing that goes into building "lavious temples" and "not helping others"). It was hard to hear all of her rants, but we just tried to show her love and kindness. Typically I think that people would want to argue and combat her on all of her claims, but my companion and I both followed the Spirit and felt like we should allow her to rant, but also bear testimony when possible/needed. She has a long way to go, but if we want her to eventually come back we need to love her, even if she says offensive things to us about our religion. Fighting will only push her further away. Then we went finding on the streets and found a young French woman that was raised most of her childhood in Orem, Utah. Like wow. That doesn't happen everyday! But with that being said, she definitely wasn't interested in our church-- she was very nice to us though, so that was appreciated. Then we ended with dinner at a member's house. It was so good!

Sunday was great! We had a good church service which included a surprise visit from a family in the Versailles Ward. I love them so much, so it was definitely a highlight of our day. After church, an elderly couple from Sweden made us an authentic Swedish meal to celebrate my heritage (Andersons with an "o" are from Sweden, Andersens with an "E" are from Denmark). It was so good and they were so kind. Way better than Ikea's food! We work with our Branch a lot and I love that. 

Today a member came over to give us a huge bag of homemade food that she prepares for us every P-Day. She is a SAINT. Such good food and she loves us. Now we're off shopping because it's "Soldes" time in France again. Oh how I love that <3

This week we had a lot of experiences with both in-actives and ex-members who don't agree with our church. In all of these cases, I decided to follow the Spirit as much as possible and really try to see them how God sees them. It's not always easy when someone is bashing your beliefs to your face, but if you decide to love everyone (as God does), everything works itself out. Everything can be accomplished with love and understanding, and nothing can be accomplished with hate and fighting. I encourage you all to love everyone around you. Even those whom you don't agree with. Politics, religion, society, etc., nothing is more important than being united with each other. Don't let things divide us, find common ground and build off of that. Follow the Spirit in all things and you'll see that that's really what matters. 

I love you all! Till next week! 

Elder Connor Anderson

74th P-Day (67th in France)

Hey everyone! Long time, no see. It's that time of the week again, so let me give you a brief little run-down on what's been going on here in Saint-Brieuc.

Last Thursday we had 2 meetings with investigators. One was with a really sweet old woman who has lots of questions about where she can find a religion that is 100% true. I have high hopes for her, so I'll keep you all updated. After that we went around the beach and explored. You can look out for pictures of this in my album. Then we had an English lesson with an investigator named General James, from Africa. It was an interesting time, as he was as high as a kite. No real lesson was able to get through to him, unfortunately, but he did share with us the fascinating story about how the Ganja plant (cannabis) grew out of King Solomon's tomb, and because King Solomon was supposedly the wisest person to have ever lived, smoking the plant will make you intelligent. Quite a captivating story, really. 

The next morning I delivered my very first district council as district leader of the Rennes District. We have a small district that consists of just us, the Zone Leaders, and the Sister Training Leaders, which makes it nice and easy. I still had yet to have my District Leader training call, but luckily the meeting went smoothly. Afterwards, I had my training call. It was a conference call with all the other new DLs and President Sorensen. I watched it on the train and fell asleep during the first half. Luckily my camera was off lol. I did watch the whole thing later though. That night we taught an inactive member, John, and then had an impromptu lesson with one of our neighbors. He was really cool and interested in family history. Here's hoping that he'll progress. 

On Saturday my companion, Elder Thomas, and I finally watched the "Be One" devotional that the church put on last Summer. It was so good and a fun watch. I encourage you all to go watch it if you haven't already. Nothing else too exciting happened after that. 

The next day was my first Sunday in Saint Brieuc. I was excited to meet the branch and see what 2 hour church is like. Our branch here is awesome. Upon arrival, I was greeted by an old woman in the branch, Monique, with a doll that she made of me. Every transfer she makes dolls of the new missionaries, after the companion calls her and tells her what the color of the new missionary's hair is. She's so sweet, as was the rest of the branch. It's definitely quite the change from every other area I've been in regards to the people. After having lived all over France, I can firmly testify that French people are nice everywhere, not really like what the rest of the World thinks of them... But the people here are different in the sense that they're more personal with us. Which is a change that I'm very open to. I like the personalness of this region. The fashion here is different as well. The fashion can best be described by the surroundings. Everyone wears a lot of navy blue and ANYTHING with an anchor on it. Very British and sailor-like style here which I think is cool. That night we had a dinner appointment with a really cool old member who loves the missionaries. After he fed us, we did some crafts together. It was fun!

Today I was called Ken on the bus by a bunch of middle schoolers. Long live this nickname; I'm embracing it now haha. 

I know that the Church has changed from 3 to 2 hours because we really do need more learning within our own family units. I hope you all enjoy this change and come to appreciate the time you have with your families. It truly is the most important time in the World. The Prophet was truly inspired with this change and I can't wait to be able to spend the "new 3rd hour" with my family when I return. I encourage you all to take more time with your family for both spiritual things and fun things. There's nothing better you could do with your time!

I love you all! Till next week! 

Elder Connor Anderson