Week 45 (Dunkerque)

I never know what to write for these. There's so much that happens in a week and it all starts to run together.

I had a neat experience on Sunday, the Derones' baby Owen got his baby blessing in sacrament meeting, and Président Derone asked us to help with the blessing. It was super cool, and then we all took a picture together, Owen included!

We also had a nice Bible bash one day. These Evangelical guys were handing out cards on the street and gave us one. So we struck up a conversation. They immediately started bashing. Ah bon. As would be expected, it went nowhere but in circles. But it was interesting to see how other people interpret the Bible, and how important the Book of Mormon is to our understanding. So I hope you all appreciate it as much as it deserves!

Je vous aime!
Elder Wood

The photo from Owen's baby blessing

Elder Wood and Elder Rosales at the beach in Calais

With a statue near Calais

P-Day outing as a district. They rented bikes and rode to the beach.

Week 44 (Dunkerque)

Wow. What a conference. Who else liked the big announcement? The one where they didn't have any I should say. I guess I sorta called it last week though, didn't I? ??

But as for the rest of the week, it all pales in comparison to General Conference. It was still good though. We finally figured out where people go when they aren't at home and they aren't at work! The beach! Yes, even in the early springtime. We walked along the beach talking to lots of people, and it was great.

Funny story, we ran into this one lady who said she was Catholic. We said, "Oh that's great! We're Christian too!" To which she responded, "I'm not Christian. That's different." Ah. Well then. Goes to show how ignorant people are about religion, or maybe just what nonsense they'll say to get you to leave.

Follow-up funny story, Saturday evening we were getting ready to watch Conference. We have wifi in our apartment, so we were all excited to relax at home and have a great conference. But when the time came around for conference to start, we realized, it didn't work on our phones. So after about 30 minutes of making sure there was no other way to watch it, we finally scrambled over to the church building to use a computer there. So, we ended up missing the first bit of it, but it was still amazing, the parts we did see. And luckily we can always go back and rewatch it.

And speaking of rewatching Conference, that's going to be great for the next six months! There was so much good stuff said, I need to go back and look closer at it, see how it all applies to me. And that's the lifelong challenge isn't it? How can I continually improve?

Bon courage!
Elder Wood

"It started pouring just as we were getting home. You can see the wetness on our coats. It reminded me of home."

Easter invitation

"A tower not too far from our place. It looked aesthetic with the sky and everything."

"We're growing avocados! They finally started sprouting."

Week 43 (Dunkerque)

Poisson d'avril! How did you all like that April Fools prank? What prank? You know, the one where you were expecting an email yesterday...

Anyway, besides getting to go to Bruxelles again today, it's been a good week. Long, but good. We did a lot of talking to people on the streets, but also a good amount of teaching. So a good balance.

The other day, we met a couple different people who weren't really interested, but talked to us a lot anyway. They were just trying to prove us wrong. So we listened, mostly, with some comments thrown in, as they presented their arguments. Then what did we do? We testified. They didn't want to listen, but we stood our ground anyway. And the thing about trying to argue against the truth, is that there isn't a sound argument to make. Claims against truth are either based on ignorance or plain falsehood, so they can't stand inspection for long before they start contradicting themselves. And more importantly, they can't shake someone's knowledge that's been confirmed to them by God.

This week we pretty much taught at least two people a day, which is amazing. Teaching is the best part of missionary work, it's what we're called to do. We are called to invite people to come unto Christ, and there's no better way to do so than to teach the gospel. "The study of … the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior" (Elder Packer, 1986). It's also difficult to talk to strangers on the street sometimes, so a teaching missionary is a happy missionary!

And with Conference coming up this weekend (most likely with more changes, specifically regarding missionaries) it's an exciting time. But don't let the logistical announcements distract you from the spiritual message meant just for you. Of course, pay attention to and get excited about whatever changes are announced, but be sure to keep an ear out for what your Heavenly Father is trying to tell you through His prophets.

À la prochaine!
Elder Wood

Elder Rosales, Elder Wood, and one of their amis

New baby Owen! He is finally healthy and old enough to attend church (he was born preemie).

"Saw some friends in Belgium"

Food photo: Gaufre from Belgium.

More food: "We needed to reheat some pizza, it fit perfectly!" 

One more food photo: "We tried making pizza"

"My pant leg came unhemmed, so I fixed it"

Week 42 (Dunkerque)

Another transfer has come around! Place your bets as for what will happen!

Ready? OK. The big news: I'm going ... nowhere! I've officially become Elder Koshiol, I'll be in Dunkerque for a fifth transfer. And I've got nothing against Dunkerque, but this is a long time to stay in one place! If you do the math (which is dangerous as a missionary) 5 transfers is scarily approaching one third of a mission!

On to another topic, we had our second round of exchanges this week. We were in Calais this time, and I had a great day with Elder Hulet. We ate lunch with a family in Calais, and since we both thought we were going to leave, we took pictures with them. But now we're both staying 6 more weeks, so even I might get to see them again!

We also met with someone cool this week. I'd actually met him on the bus two or three times before with Elder Koshiol, but we just recently exchanged phone numbers. He's really cool, and has lots of potential to be baptized! We're great friends, but we just need to make sure he's converted to Christ. If he's only converted to us or even to the members, that's not a conversion that will last. The only thing that keeps people (us included) active in the gospel is a love for Him whose gospel it is. Christ is the sure foundation that we must build our testimonies on to ensure we can endure to the end.

Prenez courage!
Elder Wood

"I'm officially Dunkerquois, I'll be spending enough time here to merit it. So I bought the pin to commemorate." (Translation of the pin is roughly "I didn't choose to be from Dunkirk, I just got lucky.")

With the family from Calais

Exchange selfie with Elder Hulet

A photo from last week's district visit to the beach on Preparation Day.

Also from last week, on the bus back from the beach. Elders Poll, Wallace, Wood, Bell, Hulet, and Rosales.

Food photo: "This happened by accident one time while cooking"

"TJ visited again!" (TJ is their friendly neighborhood bird.)

Week 41 (Dunkerque)

Another busy week, but I'm never sure what to say!

We had a nice amount of rendez-vous this week, and it was great to teach everyone about the gospel. We had one rdv that was amazing, our amie was not afraid to ask questions, so we got a really great discussion going. It went longer than we thought it would, but it was good nonetheless. She now has a pretty deep knowledge of the Plan of Salvation.

Sunday was great too since we had a bunch of people show up! We had two families come from other wards, and we celebrated the anniversary of the Relief Society's creation. All the sisters got up and bore their testimony about an important woman in their life. It was cool to hear what kinds of women have impacted them, pretty inspiring.

Today we had a great time in Calais, the whole district went and played some soccer and such at the beach. It's always great to get some exercise and spend time with friends. Two very important things, especially for a missionary.

Bisous!
Elder Wood

With an éclair 

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!)

Week 39 (Dunkerque)

How is it that it's been so long, but only one week? I'm not sure that will ever make sense.

We met with lots of people this week, the first of which was the ami who turned out to be a member we met a couple weeks ago. He's super cool. He was telling us about how he has a master plan to help us "win souls for Christ" as he put it. He wants to introduce us to all of his friends and help them get baptised! He was giving us a pep talk about how we were going to go about it & he got so in to it! It's going to be great.

Later in the week we visited a less-active member on a whim. Her kids are members, but not her husband. But when we were talking to them, it turns out her husband is super cool! His personal beliefs are just like the gospel, which made us wonder why he wasn't a member. He honestly could have some serious potential for baptism, he'd just need to feel and recognize the Spirit.

We also passed by an address we had for an inactive member, and luckily he still lives there! He and his family to be exact. He remembers the missionnaires and the Church well, and was glad to see us. It was just interesting to wonder why he ever stopped coming in the first place. Since there didn't seem to be any specific reason, it might have just been a gradual slip out of activity. Who knows? But what's important is that we need to avoid it. We need to make sure our testimony is strong enough and built upon the rock of Christ. Because then, nothing can erode our sure foundation.

Bâtissons!
Elder Wood

A photo from their Lille Zone Conference last week

He got a haircut!

Food photo: Eclair!

Food photo: Brioche!

People celebrating Carnaval

Making crêpes for breakfast