Week 48 (Dunkerque)

I'm finally headed to Paris! Oh sorry, spoiler alert.

I guess I might as well get to that first. I'm finally leaving Dunkerque, and I'm headed out to Paris Lilas! After almost a year in the France Paris Mission, I'll actually be serving in Paris. I am actually a little sad to be leaving, I've gotten to know the Branch members here so well. I'll miss them.

And we actually were able to set a baptismal date this last week! Dunkerque is finally starting to make progress! Just as I leave, but it's OK. I've been working to prepare it these past 7 or so months for the first baptism it'll see in three years. The change I've seen here from when I first arrived to now is astonishing.

And May 1st was interesting. Apparently it's a big thing here in France, so everybody got off work. Even the bus drivers. And we were in Calais that morning for our District Council, so when we finally got back to Dunkerque with the few trains that were running, we had to walk all the way back to our apartment. That was a fun walk. But we saw a less-active member on the way there, so it was totally worth it!

And Dunkerque had their Branch Conference on Sunday, so the Stake leaders and their families all showed up. We also had a bunch of returning members there as well, one of whom hadn't come since December! And we ended with a branch lunch, so everyone got to eat and talk as French people love to do. It was great to have the returning members fellowshipped like that, because everybody needs a friend.

A bientôt!
Elder Wood

With Jean-Bernard, their Branch Mission Leader

"A sign that looks like it fell in the river. Oops!"

Week 47 (Dunkerque)

This week, was a week.

We had so many rendez-vous scheduled at the beginning of the week, but one way or another most of them ended up getting canceled. It was kind of weird and disheartening. But those rdvs we did have were just that much better! It's the kind of "Fourth floor, last door" mentality that you have to have as a missionary. (Editor's note - he is referencing this talk: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/10/fourth-floor-last-door)

It's just because we're impatient human beings. As I've heard said many a time, "'No, not now,' does not mean, 'no, not ever.'" People change, but often not as fast as we'd like. God's time is not our time, He doesn't even count! So when we do His work, we must remember that it works on his timetable. Like with the growth of a tree, we usually won't notice the progress until it's already finished. So we shouldn't be surprised if we don't see the end result right away. We often just plant the mustard seed that will one day, in the distant future perhaps, lodge the fowls of the air under its shadow.

À plus tard!
Elder Wood

Double rainbow!

Photo received from Elders Ritchie and Poll in his district; they said "Our most quickly progressing ami..."

Food photo: "I made a gâteau au yaourt from a member's recipe. It turned out pretty well"

Week 46 (Dunkerque)

I feel like the longer I'm on my mission, the less I know what to write. At this point it's all normal to me!

But one funny story, our water heater started acting up a few weeks ago. It would occasionally throw an error code and stop working, so we'd have to reset it to start making hot water again. This week we were finally able to get someone to check it out. Turns out he needed to order some replacement parts, so we're stuck with no hot water until those get here. That means every morning we get to boil water to use for our shower! It's been fun I'll tell you. Really makes you appreciate the little things in life, that's for sure.

I hope you all had a great Easter! What a wonderful time to celebrate Christ's resurrection. We celebrated here with a lunch at our Branch President's house. They invited a bunch of people over and made a great meal for us all. We also talked about the Book of Mormon, how it's a testament of Christ and His resurrection, and also what our life would be without it. Without the Book of Mormon, we wouldn't know most of what we know about Christ's atonement and resurrection. It's such a blessing to be able to read it and feel God's love for us. I invite you to read it, and find a scripture that speaks to you. Something that is a testimony to you of how important the Book of Mormon is in your life.

Bonne lecture!
Elder Wood

One more photo from last week's beach outing, with a monument.

District photo from the beach outing. Elders Hulet, Rosales, Ritchie, Wood, Wallace, and Poll.

New pass-along cards printed that they can hand out to interested amis.

A cool landscape that he liked near Calais

"A spider interrupted our District Council. We trapped it." 

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.)