Week 55 (Les Lilas)

This felt like one of the longest weeks. And we aren't sure why. Transfers probably didn't help though, with all the newness they bring.

Speaking of which, it's been lots of fun with Elder Hulet, and we've been keeping ourselves busy. We went to the temple with our ami Matin on Friday, and that took up a lot of the day. But it was really great! It's always a good experience going to the temple, especially with him his first time.

And then the next day he was baptised! It was so cool. I'm so glad we were able to help him make this covenant with his Heavenly Father. And it's such a blessing to be here helping all these people come closer to Christ. But that's not to say it's easy! We spent a lot of time trying to make sure the baptismal service would go through, and that everything was in order. Not to mention doing everything else we have to do as missionaries! Super busy. But that's just what missionary work is, work. And it's the best work! Which is why we do it. Because we know that this work saves lives, in this world and the next.

Bonne semaine!
Elder Wood

Elder Hulet, Matin, the member who baptized him, and Elder Wood

Missionaries and ward members and friends after Matin's baptism

His companion, Elder Hulet

You can see Sacré-Cœur from their apartment

A picture from the temple Visitor Center that shows all of the French-speaking congregations/units

Week 54 (Les Lilas)

Transfers come around again! Let's get right to it!

So if you couldn't guess, I will be staying in Paris Lilas. No, I'm not one & doneing it here. However, I am with Elder Connors, he's off to St. Omer of all places! And there really must be some sort of conduit from here to that district, because Elder Hulet from Calais is replacing him!

As for the week, we had an exchange in Reims which was fun! There was a lot of crazy stuff that happened that day, one of which was getting stopped by the police. They were in their car driving by and stopped by us. They asked us what we were doing, for what church, where we're from, etc. Then they said, OK have a nice day! We think they were just making sure we weren't the Jehova's Witnesses or anything. But it's a neat milestone!

We also had Stake Conference this Sunday. It was really cool since they rented out a cinema to fit everybody, but that made it more difficult to stay awake. There was an area 70 who spoke and I really liked what he was saying, especially because he's a funny guy. His main point was that we can always be happier by making the choice to, whether life is rough, or going just fine. So go out there and make some happy choices!

Avec amour,
Elder Wood

Food photo: Elder Wood and Elder Connors enjoying some ice cream

Their setup for the Book of Mormon Experiment

At a nearby park on P-Day

"A giant ball. Can you find me in it?"

"Elder Connors in a cage thing at the park"

"A bike we found. We thought it was some kind of art, but it isn't bolted down. Turns out it's just a bike someone fished from the river."

"The cinéma we had Stake Conference in had a revolutionary idea for couples: Le Duo. A double-length seat with an optional 'Just Friends' armrest built in."

"I've done a lot of Duolingo"

Week 53 (Les Lilas)

Wow, so much happened this week. Seems like forever ago that I last wrote one of these.

One reason is because Zone Conference was this week. It was my first time meeting everyone in my new zone! And what was cool was that the main theme was revelation. We talked about how repetition is a key way that we receive revelation, like with Joseph Smith. Moroni came and delivered the same message four times, but it was still different every time. So the next time you're about to zone out because the lesson at church is on faith, or reading the Book of Mormon, or something else you feel you've heard a thousand times, don't. There's always more to learn. And often it's not what is said.

Something cool that's happening right now actually is what's called the Book of Mormon Experiment. It's where we're out on the street and give people a clipboard with one page of the Book of Mormon and ask them to mark every place they see God or Jesus Christ. And lots of people are surprised that they've read from the Book of Mormon, at least those that have heard (bad things) about it.
(Read more at TheBookOfMormon.org!)

We also had an amazing rdv! We finally met with this one lady we hadn't seen in forever, and she's super prepared now. We were talking with her and she was eating up everything we were teaching! She couldn't wait to learn more! So we set a date for her baptism and are planning to meet with her again this week to teach more. It's great to be a part of such a marvelous work.

Passez une bonne semaine!
Elder Wood

Elder Connors and Elder Wood at the training for the Book of Mormon experiment

A beautiful sky

These are Elder Nilsson and Elder Labbe, the other companionship in his apartment, at a recent baptism

Food photo: "Cucumbers we found in the church fridge. They're probably still good, right?"

"A neat quote Elder David showed me"

Week 52 (Les Lilas)

It's been a nice busy week, what about you?

We kept busy with lots of rendez-vous. For one of them, we were meeting with our ami Matin. He doesn't speak French or English, so we had a member help us translate. It was going a little long because of that, so Rubin showed up partway through for the rdv we'd planned with him to go over one of the lessons again. We had him join us, even though he couldn't help teach through the language barrier. But he took notes on what we were teaching, and at the end said he came out learning something!

At the end of the lesson, we asked if he wanted to be baptized. He said he did, so we set a date for it! He even marked it on his calendar and everything! But then he asked us if it would be an issue if he left France before then. He isn't sure if or when he'll be leaving, but he's fairly certain he'll stay for at least three more weeks. So we changed his date to the 22nd. And so we'll do our best to make it happen!

Sunday was great as well, it was Fast Sunday so everyone was bearing their testimony. I was sitting next to Alhasanne, so I felt I should tell him, "You can bear your testimony if you want." He responded by gesturing to the sandals he was wearing; as if to say, I can't go up there looking like this. But the Spirit continued nudging him. After a minute or so, I saw him look at his sandals again, shake his head, and get up to walk to the podium! When he got there, he started by saying (more or less), "I didn't want to come up here, but I had to." Then he bore his testimony about the temple and it was really good! It goes to show that listening to the Spirit is always a good idea, even when you don't want to. Especially when you don't want to 

Passez une bonne semaine!
Elder Wood

Last week's visit to the temple visitor's center with their ami, Mamady

Elder Wood, Mamady, and Elder Connors

"We went to a Chinese restaurant, this is a 'Dragon Ball,' as named by missionaries. Mystery meat inside."

Notre Dame, post fire

Another angle of Notre Dame

Week 51 (Les Lilas)

We had three baptisms this week! That's right, three! So a good portion of the week was dedicated to preparing for that. The service went well, and I even baptized one of them!

And the next day two of them asked me to confirm them, which was interesting since one spoke French and the other English. So I did one in each language!

We also got to go to the temple this week! It was great, we took our ami for his first time and he loved it. He has a baptismal date for June, so hopefully you'll hear about him some more soon!

À tout à l'heure!
Elder Wood

The three that were baptized: Rubin, Alhasanne, and Mohamed

Week 50 (Les Lilas)

Mesdames, messieurs, bonjour. Nous sommes arrivés à la semaine cinquante. Not quite halfway, but it's still scaring me.

Anyway, we had exchanges this week, and it was kinda crazy. The Elders from Reims came here and we had quite the busy day. Since one of them, Elder David, is our District Leader, he did a couple baptismal interviews. But one of our amis hadn't been taught about all the commandments, so Elder Connors and Elder McLeod met with him right before to finish teaching.

Before they finished however, we had another rdv. It was interesting, since I didn't understand most of it. We have an ami who speaks Persian, so we met with him (and his friend he brought!) and a member who speaks Persian as well. He translated for me, but the discussion kind of went all over the place so I was still lost. It went well though, they want to keep learning more and maybe come to church next week!

And since we've had the interviews now, it's official! We're having baptisms on Saturday! How exciting! Keep an eye out next week for them.

À plus tard!
Elder Wood

Food photo: Une tarte aux pommes

Another food photo: He made crêpes.

Farewell visit with the Golding family (from last week in Dunkerque)

Invitation to the "Come and See" meeting they are holding next month

"The moon in Gare Lille Flandres"

"Someone drew a face on the pedestrian button"

Week 49 (Les Lilas)

First week in Paris! It's kinda weird to be in such a big city / ward.

Speaking of which, transfers were on Wednesday. The only thing is that it was a holiday, so there weren't many trains running. But they seem to have figured out a way to get everyone where they needed to be! It just meant people stood around for a while at the train stations, which meant I got to see a bunch of old friends!

I also met my new companion, Elder Connors! He's great, but he's only been in France for three months, so I'm the more experienced companion again. But this time, I know nothing about the city, so I guess I'm the "more experienced" companion, entre guillemets :-)

And Paris Lilas is great! There's a lot more people, and I don't know any of them! But every Sunday the bishop directs a food distribution for the poor people in the streets. And the missionaries (and a couple other ward members) help out. We gave out sandwiches, hot chocolate, small treats, etc. It was great to be able to serve all these people!

À bientôt!
Elder Wood

Serving hot chocolate at their food distribution

Volunteers at the food distribution service project.

Meeting old friends at the train station during transfers: Elders Wood, Calabuig, Koshiol, and Graham

Farewell to the Golding family in Dunkerque

Saying farewell to his previous companion, Elder Rosales

Meeting his new companion, Elder Connors