BLOG 3 – OCT 25th – OCT 31st, 2022
If we were to have had an overall title for our 1st mission
to Paris, it would have been ‘Miracles in France.’ The miracles continued
during our 2.5-year Senior Service mission, and we have no doubt this will be
the same here in the Lyon Mission. We’ve seen them multiple times and we expect
and need those miracles to continue. Your prayers are always welcome. Woven into
the fabric of our blog, I hope I can share the tender and sweet experiences and
miracles that will bless our brief time of service.
WHAT IS THE PACKER’S
ASSIGNMENT IN FRANCE?
For those who do not know our assignment, please read below. This in
itself is a remarkable miracle.
In a nutshell, the project that we helped develop in Paris, with support
and guidance from Roland Léporé, we then helped develop training for the
church, working with the Priesthood and Family Department, and began training
Stakes, leaders and Senior Missionary couples throughout the world, in how
stakes and missions can offer all the resources of the church that is available
in the local units to not only their members, but also for those in the
community. It has become a great tool to serve others, with no strings
attached, just to serve the community with all the Self Reliance courses,
Family History, English Connect, BYU Pathways, Just Serve, Humanitarian efforts,
joining hands with Interfaith efforts and a host of many others. We like to
think that instead of giving people fish we are teaching people how to fish and
we are building bridges with the community. These resources and efforts are for
all of God’s children.
Sharing Church Resources SCR (formerly Community Resource Initiative) is what the church is
naming this great effort. Once it took hold, the Priesthood and Family
Department, with the help of the Welfare and Self Reliance Dept., correlated a brief
3-page description and guide which is now on Gospel Library. Other tools are
available to help stake and missions to utilize these blessings for all in
their community for those who so choose to.
Our dear Mission President, Roland Léporé, helped us from its
infancy while we were in Paris and especially once they moved to Utah, working
at Church Headquarters and then later was called, with his wife, Amie, as
Mission Leaders, back to their hometown, of Lyon, France.
They waited for things to be more grounded in Salt Lake with these
efforts before inviting us to serve in the France, Lyon mission, for us to help
generate SCR throughout the Lyon mission area. We will be assisting Senior
Couples in the mission to work alongside Stakes and the missionaries in their area.
President and Sister Léporé have been preparing their missionaries in the most
magnificent way, by teaching them how to minister, as Christ did, to everyone
they meet. Meet people where they are, learn what their needs are and serve
them (and soon they’ll be able to offer much needed resources). It has been
life changing for those they’ve served and has blessed the missionaries in a
tremendous way.
ZOOM MEETINGS CONTINUE
Because of our last 2.5-year Senior Service Mission we became very
accustomed to all our meetings via zoom. We became very close to those
individuals, couples and leaders as we met this way. We are, at times, still in
that mode here and know that it certainly helps and saves time, even though we
would always rather meet in person, which we will at times.
This last week we met via Zoom with Elder and Sister Sumner, serving in Rodez, France, in the Toulouse Stake. They are in an area where the church is small and Elder Sumner is the Branch President. They have wonderful ideas to help begin Sharing Church Resources in their small branch, before opening it up to the whole stake.
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| Elder and Sister Sumner |
We then met with Elder and Sister Riley, serving in Corsica,
France, in the Nice Stake. Their circumstances are similar as the Sumners. He
is first counselor in the Branch Presidency of a very small Branch. They too
are planning on offering resources of
the church to those in that area with the help of members, missionaries and social
media.
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| Elder and Sister Riley |
We then had a zoom meeting with Elder and Sister Foote, our dear
friends, serving in the Area Office in Frankfurt, Germany. They are very much
aware of these efforts and the Area Presidency is fully onboard, hoping that
what they call Community Outreach, will take off throughout the whole Area.
They are excited to continue to help generate it in the Area even more so. They
have become such dear friends. They have been very instrumental in helping the
Young Adults in the Area to begin to look outward, to see the benefits of
serving, and aiding with the thousands of refugees from Ukraine.
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| Elder and Sister Foote |
SENIOR MISSIONARY LUNCH
Elder and Sister McNevin are the medical missionaries, well at
least Elder McNevin is, and Sister McNevin helps in a myriad of fantastic ways.
They are such a delightful couple and we loved spending time with them. As we
met up with them and the two office couples at the mission office, we all went
out to lunch at the mega mall. We love getting to know these Senior
Missionaries.
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| Elders and Sisters McNevin, Gannaway, Ovard and Packers |
TENDER MIRACLE
The McNevins then drove with us to the Sans Souci Chapel to see if
it could possibly be a Center for Sharing Church Resources (SCR does not have
to have a center, but some decide to have one). It’s an amazing chapel, with four
floors and so much to offer.
As we toured the building and finally approached the 4th
floor, we started to look inside rooms and saw a woman in an office on her
computer. We found out that the 4th floor is the Institute building
and she has been the secretary for over 20 years. I then asked her if she
remembered Elder and Sister Wood? I told her they were my parents. She started
to immediately cry, stood up, covered her face, turned away and kept weeping.
She then could not stop talking about my parents and how much she loved them
and has never forgotten them. I went over to give her a big hug. We wept
together. She shared sweet experiences with me and then told me she had some
things of my parents she wanted to give me. Certainly, those from above, the
Lord, my parents and other loved ones, are guiding our steps and experiences.
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| Samia - Institute secretary for 20 years and knew my parents well! |
We then went to the next room, and it was the office of President Simonet, in the Stake Presidency, who a CES director, of whom I spoke last week and his dear connection with my parents.
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| President Simonet - Stake Presidency and Institute Director and good friend of my parents in Lyon. |
FERNEY-VOLTAIRE, FRANCE & GENEVA SWITZERLAND TRIP
In Ferney-Voltaire, just outside of Geneva on the France side, is
a wonderful couple, Elder and Sister Rellaford. They are serving the Geneva and
the Lausanne Stakes. We went up to spend a couple of days with them (only 2
hours away). We went there to help them in any way, to get started with Sharing
Church Resources in their area. They are such an inspiring couple and have
wonderful ideas. This photo is taken from their window of their apartment.
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| Famous mountain peaks from the Rellaford's window! |
We took time our first evening to meet with the Stake RS President
in Geneva, helping her to see the vision and how she could help as well.
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| Sister Rellaford, Stake RS President and moi! |
Later in the afternoon we drove out to Chambésy to visit Elder and
Sister Munns, who are serving as a government relationship service missionaries
at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland (this includes LDS Charities). It
was a most delightful visit and to learn what they are doing. But it was especially
fun because they are from Orlando, Florida, and are very close friends to our
dear friends, Bruce and Sheri Clark. We had such a delightful visit in the amazing
home they are living in.
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| Sister Jacqueline Munns with me by the lake we walked to from their home |
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| Rulon and Jaqueline Munns in their home during their mission. It's beautiful, spacious, and so inviting. They have special guests, such as Sharon Eubank, who comes often for her assignments there. |
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| Sister and Elder Rellaford |
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| Standing in the backyard with the Munns |
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| Hannah Wilson - intern with the Munns and her parents are dear friends of Anita and Tom Herway from Belgium, now living in the states. Hannah is also dear friends of our sweet missionary from Paris, Belle Doughman. |
Early Saturday morning we met with the nearby elders and spoke of our vision of needing them to create brief videos for training, as Elder Mueller has the equipment he brought for the mission.
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| Elder Meuller and Hunsaker and Steve and Elder Rellaford |
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| This large broken chair represents those who were damaged by land minds, commissioned by Princess Diana. |
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| Reformation Wall, inauguration in 1917. |
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| Reformation Wall |
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| Reformation Wall |
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| Reformation Wall |
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| St Peters Chapel Steeple |
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| St Peters Chapel |
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| Inside St Peters Chapel |
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| Beautiful windows, not large as Notre Dame, but so lovely. |
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| Jet d'eau - Water Jet |
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| Explanation and history of Jet d'eau landmark |
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| Flower Clock - it had been known to have the largest second hand in the world when it was built in 1955. |
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| Ferris Wheel, that we rode to see all the landmarks |
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| Molard Clock Tower built in 1591 |
That evening we attended, in part, the 40th anniversary
celebration for the organization of the Geneva Stake. We were so delighted
knowing that our dear friends Susan and Dennis Bonny, from our Paris mission,
would be there, as he was the first Stake President in Geneva. They live in
Meridian, Idaho, but are now serving a full-time mission in London, England. We
couldn’t stay the whole evening, as we still needed to return home that night.
We did at least hear him speak and heard the choir practice that sister Munns
was accompanying. They were so awesome!
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| Dennis and Susan Bonny from Meridian Idaho, serving in London, was 1st stake President in Geneva |
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| Jaquelin Munns - accompanist for the choir- loved our day with her, Rulon and Rellafords pictured below. |
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| Elder and Sister Rellaford |
As we drove home to Lyon, we felt the Lord’s guidance helping us to return in the dark.
SUNDAY’S MIRACLE VISIT
Sunday’s meetings were wonderful. We had been asked to share our
testimonies and a little about what we will be doing on our mission. When Steve
spoke to share his testimony, I was so taken back by how beautifully he spoke.
He’s pretty much back to where he was when we left our mission over 2.5 years
ago. He not only shared it so perfectly, but so tenderly and it brought a
beautiful spirit to the meeting.
Before the Sacrament meeting, we met the Stake President, President
Laurent Jubault. He was anxious to get together
with us in a couple of weeks, so that we could discuss our moving forward with
him for the Lyon Stake. We knew of the tender background story with him, that
President Léporé had shared with us. He also took
President Léporé’s place as the Stake President
four years ago, right before the Léporé’s moved to Utah.
He caught us right after church and asked us if we could meet him right then in a
nearby office. We were more than happy to. As we sat down to discuss his desires, it was apparent that he did not know
our background with Sharing Church Resources, but only that we were to help his
stake move it forward. He began to share his vision he received two years ago
of this very thing that Sharing Church Resources is all about. We had heard
this all from President Léporé. President Jubault, not fully knowing our
understanding, stated that he did not know how this was supposed to move forward,
but that his stake was to move forward, and he needed our help. We assured him
that we knew what to do and was thrilled for his vision and inspiration. We gave
him a little background of our experience in Paris with President Léporé and assured
him of our gratitude for his vision and desire to move this forward. This was
another tender miracle that assured us the Lord is aware of President Jubault
and our efforts to help build this in His kingdom one place at a time.
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| President Laurent Jubault having just met with him and his inspired vision |
May God be with you each!
With all our love,
Elder et Soeur Packer Grandpère
et Mémé
801-336-6153 (Steve’s)
801-564-1332 (Renée’s)
Address:
Les Missionaires – PACKERS
17 rue Philibert Roussy
69004 Lyon FRANCE
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