Week 40 (Dunkerque)

Another busy week, can you believe it?

We had a weird experience on the way back home from a rendez-vous this week. We had just taught a great Plan of Salvation lesson, and on the way to the bus, someone stopped us. We had said bonjour, but then he asked if we were the missionnaires. We talked briefly before he invited us in his house and gave us a drink and a snack while we discussed further. Turns out he'd met the missionaries about a year ago, but they never taught him about the gospel. It was a really interesting discussion, mostly because it's always cool to pick up where others have left off. Some sow, others reap.

The highlight of the week was definitely Brussels. Yep, I went back to Belgium! For a day. Since I'd started my legality back when I served in Charleroi, I got to go back and do the next step. Which meant I got to taste belgian frites and chocolate once again! I also got to see a couple old friends again which was nice. All in all, Brussels is great!

Dunkerque on the other hand gets a bit crazy this time of the year. This is when they have Carnaval, a huge party with who-knows-what that spans like two months. Each day is centralized in a different part of town, and on Sunday it wasn't too far from our apartment. So after church, we came straight home to avoid the craziness. Then we stayed inside the rest of the day. It was weird. We didn't see much of the party, but there were people on the street dressed up we could see from our window. A member showed us a picture he took of it last week, so many people! So here's a friendly reminder, inspired by the SafetyZone (our new friends as missionaries), don't do stupid things, and stay safe out there!

À la prochaine!
Elder Wood

Happily reunited with his Belgian frites!

St. Omer district council meeting with their zone leaders - food photo at Subway! Around the table from the left: Elder Bunker, Elder Rosales, Elder Wallace, Elder Belka, Elder Hulet, Elder Bell, Elder Poll, Elder Wood.

Photo of Carnaval in Dunkerque, taken by a church member from their branch

"Chocolate explosion!" - Elder Rosales was trying to open a bag of brownie mix. Sadly, they may not have gotten to make their brownies.

"We found the city of Ascq on the way to Belgium (and not the Villeneuve kind)." - He was serving in Villeneuve-d'Ascq for one week before being emergency transferred to Dunkerque (where he remains 5 months later!)