BLOG 27 - APR 10 - APR 16, 2023

DUCWORTH OUTINGS – AMAZING!

We are so grateful for the time we have had with our daughter and her oldest son, Kyson, for the past week. Sadly, our time with them has to come to an end. They left Wednesday morning of this last week, but what we experienced was fabulous. Even in the midst of our busy mission we knew that our time with them would be priceless, and it was.

Last Monday morning we left for Annecy, France. Annecy is only 1.5 hours from Lyon. Our photos can’t do it justice, but we first visited Lake Annecy, which was beautiful and pristine, as they begin preparation for the summer tourist months. School was out, as it must’ve been their Easter break.

Lake Annecy

We then visited the Medieval historic center of Annecy not far from the Lake, which reminded us of Strasbourg and Colmar, France, which we visited during our mission in Paris. It was so beautiful and enchanting to walk through the ancient streets and winding river walks. It was renovated in the early 1950’s-1960’s to where it’s at now. But since the end of the19th Century the lake has become a prominent tourist spot.

Amazing photos by Camille below! 

I never knew when Camille was spying on us to take photos, but it was nice to have something, other than selfies! ;)

In Old Town (Medieval Historic Center of Annecy) Kyson having a few Senior photos taken throughout their fun trip.

Gelato was Kyson's favorite wherever he went.

Renée's Photos below from Cell! 

Love having these last photos of Kyson together prior to his mission. 

These Cathedral within the Old town. The Pipes and stained glass windows were awesome!

Can you guess? I love photographing flowers even with just my cell phone! I was grateful Camille had her pro camera with her though for other awesome shots. 

We left in time to go to the apartment/hotel we were staying at, to check in and then leave all our belongings.

Camille did some searching and found an awesome castle that wasn’t too far from where were staying. Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard is the castle that inspired the Sleeping Beauty castle. We were in hopes that we could view inside, but prior reservations were needed for tours, yet they were having their outdoor festival which was so delightful. The grounds are beautiful and still maturing for the summer. The view of the village down below was breathtaking. Steve and I definitely want to return in early Fall.

“The first fortress was erected in the 10th century, around 923; it was originally a simple wooden guard post, built on a promontory dominating the ancient Roman road and Lake Annecy. The present buildings were constructed between the 13th and 19th centuries.”

On our way to see the Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard we would see lush green growth everywhere, which was amazing, and so mystical. 

Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard, which was not open for tours yet.

On the back side of the Château, was this stunning view!

There was a festival going on and fun characters would walk all around. 

Amazing photos by Camille below! 

Steve was so thoughtful to drive us up a little higher in the mountain to get this beautiful view of Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard.

We were all smitten with the Château and all of it's beautiful surroundings.

On Tuesday we traveled to Geneva, Switzerland for a brief visit to a couple of places we had previously visited last Fall. We found that Lake Geneva is so expansive. It’s stated online, that “Lake Geneva is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. Additionally, it's the largest body of water in Switzerland, forming a crescent with horns pointing south. It has a surface area of 224 square miles and a total water volume of 21 cubic miles.”

Aerial Photo of Lake Geneva

Jette d'Eau - water fountain in Geneva.

The clock was not accurate as they were planting flowers and had to stop time! ;) It's a famous clock either way! 

Amazing photos by Camille below! 

After our Geneva visit, we drove for an hour and a half to another charming castle. We drove around Lake Geneva to see Château Chillon in Montreaux. This castle was amazing. Instead of being high up on the mountain, it sits right on the edge of Lake Geneva. We took a self-guided tour of the chateau, and the history was amazing. Since the end of the 19th century, Château de Chillon has been open to tourism. “This medieval castle began as a Roman outpost and its first construction began during the 10th century. It later became a castle and was used by the House of Savoy to control the road from Burgundy to the Great Saint Bernard Pass.”It’s known for being one of the most beautiful villages in France.

Just inside Château Chillon in Montreaux - you were able to take a self-guided tour. It was so fascinating!

These boxes were of all different sizes and shapes, but were basically made to store all sorts of items and also to haul possibly from ships to bring items into the castle.

This was a bathtub, lined with cloth, as to not get splinters. 

Kyson window shopping, not!

Amazing photos by Camille below! 

Prisoners of royalty were often detained for years in this cold and musty room, chained to one of the poles.

Beautiful Château Chillon in Montreaux

We finally took the 3-hour drive back to Lyon, first being directed up high into the mountains, to finally get to the highway. Everywhere we looked were beautiful and enormous mountains. This is the beginning of the Swiss Alps.

It was great to be back in our apartment, but so grateful for this fun getaway with Camille and Kyson.

They headed back to Paris on the train Wednesday morning to catch their plane back to the state of Washington. They have so much going on in their family, not to mention getting their two oldest ready and off to their mission in the next week to 2 months.

Camille and Kyson on the train back to Paris to fly home to WA.

All went well for them…We miss them though, but then we miss all our family. Please come to visit!

INSERT OF MONDAY ZOOM CALL WITH RENÉE’S SIBS

While in Annecy at our apartment hotel, I joined in with our monthly Sibs zoom video call. It was later in the evening than normal, so without thinking I had gone ahead and gotten ready for bed, meaning pj’s, no make-up, etc., so I cut me out of the photo below, but we were actually all there. It was wonderful to visit and catch up with everyone. I feel blessed having each of them in my life!

My Wood Sibs

WEDNESDAY BACK TO BUSINESS

We are back in full swing for our mission, though running behind, but we don’t regret our time with family.

     Zoom meetings

Early this afternoon we met with Elder and Sister Riley in Corsica. They are on a beautiful island, but so far from everyone in their district. They have secured a building for the church to turn into a meeting house and then a Center for Sharing Church Resources (Resources for a Better Life). What they are finding out, which we found out in Paris, and here, is that everything takes such a long time.

Elder and Sister Riley in Corsica - they are preparing a center for reconstruction, such a long process.

We also met with our Zone Leaders in Lyon with questions they had about the Webpage and QuickReg (registration system). They are wanting to really learn more so they can help the missionaries better in their zone.

Elders Candland and Johnson - Great Zone Leaders meeting

THURSDAY’S ZOOM, SENIOR DINNER & PREPS FOR TOULOUSE TRIP

Thursday was a full day with all our preparations for our travels to Toulouse, France for Stake meetings, but it seems that whenever you have a lot going on, more is put upon your schedule. Somehow it all works out.

     Dyers Zoom call

We had a zoom meeting with our dear friends, the Dyers in Vancouver. We’ve been anxious to see how things are going with them with Sharing Church Resources and we can always learn from each other. We definitely want to visit again.

Brother and sister Dyer from Vancouver, WA - amazing and faithful people carrying the work of Sharing Church Resources in their area.

At 6:00 p.m. we met up with some of the Senior Couples in Lyon to bid farewell to Elder and Sister Nichol, who served in the Bordeaux Stake.  They are a delightful, fun couple, who have only been married for four years.

Elder and Sister Nicole - at a Farewell gathering for them

 Back left and around, Hardy's, Packers, Elder Mcnevin, the Nicols and Sister McNevin. 

Our evening afterwards was getting ready for our trip to Toulouse the next day to give training to the Toulouse Stake. We’ll share more shortly on our experiences there. It’s a 5-and-a-half-hour drive.

FRIDAY’S DRIVE AND AMAZING AVIGNON VISIT

We took off for Toulouse around 10:00 a.m., and on the way we made a detour to Avignon. When I was a young girl, attending school in Belgium, we all learned a well-known song, called, “Sur le Pont d’Avignon.” I wanted to at least stop and see the bridge (pont) that this famous song in France was known for. We had no idea what an amazing venture we would experience. I will share a few photos that has a bit more history about this bridge, but I was quite determined to visit the bridge and sing the song that has never left me, nor my siblings that were old enough to remember.

The history of the city is fascinating, and the large stoned walled enclosure that the bridge is connected to, is enormous and was fascinating to walk through. We walked almost 4 miles (as recorded on my phone), mostly from and to our car and around the old town area.

It then took us another 3 hours to travel the rest of the way to Toulouse, but well worth the time to stop. 

One of the massive walls in Old Town Avignon, that connect all around.

Behind us was Hotel de Ville.

An amazing musician playing and singing inside the stone walled Courtyard. 

Renée standing on the bridge of Avignon or "Sur le Pont d’Avignon"

Just before walking through the drawbridge, on the bridge of Avignon.

Steve is Sur le Pont d’Avignon (on the bridge of Avignon)

This is where I bravely sang the song, "Sur le Pont d’Avignon"

Just beyond the bridge is the walled city. 

Fascinating story behind the song, "Sur le Pont d’Avignon." This "song has become famous throughout the world and has contributed more to Avignon's fame and reputation than any advertising campaign ever could have done!"

SATURDAY’S MEETINGS IN TOULOUSE

We had our first meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, where we presented our SCR presentation in 1.5 hours, with great discussion, questions and moving forward. The whole stake will move forward with this effort, but there will be 2 wards in Toulouse who will spearhead this effort more aggressively and will be a great example for each of the other wards.

This was part of the Stake Council that we gave the presentation to and we will continue to help them proceed forward. They were very enthused about this effort. Momo Djemai, Welfare and Self Reliance Manager for all parts of French speaking Europe, was present as well, sitting on the right of Steve. 

We then attended a leadership meeting and then the final Saturday evening meeting for the adults. At one point they had a musical number (this stake gratefully loves musical numbers) and sang a beautiful song I have never heard. I began to cry throughout, for several reasons, one is that we don’t hear musical numbers very often and I was hungry for them, and also the sweet and tender spirit that was reflected in their voices. It did my heart good. Our experience in each of these meetings spoke so highly of the Stake President and his leadership, as a new Stake President. We were so impressed by his humble energy in this beautiful part of France.

Momo Djemai speaking at the Leadership meeting. 

Us with President Silbermann, a new and amazing Stake President.

Sister Caroline Campaner Brenders, who knew and loved my parents well. Her parents are in our Lyon Stake and were very close to my parents. I found out though, that it was Caroline who cross stitched a beautiful piece for my mother, with a musical theme. My mother gave it to me, well before we ever knew we would be serving here. The Brenders family were very close to the Léporé family at the time my parents served in Lyon. Many sweet connections!

President and Sister Léporé with their dear friend that we actually met at a Family History Fair in Paris, but his name has left us!

President and Sister Léporé

Us with Josyanne Rouzaud, dear sister over Self Reliance courses in the Stake. We'll be working with her as well. 

These dear Sisters and Elders of the Toulouse Stake are so vibrant. Elder Ogose on the bottom right was our first District Leader when we got to Lyon almost 6 months ago. He's now a zone leader and his companion, on the back right, is Elder McKay. 

SUNDAY MEETINGS IN TOULOUSE AND DRIVE HOME

We attended Stake Conference this morning, where we heard beautiful talks, beautiful music, and heard Sister and President Léporé speak, which we always love. Then, President Silbermann finished the conference with whatever time was left. He spent the last part of his message talking about the blessings of utilizing all the many Resources of the Church, not only for Church members but to also share them with neighbors and friends who have these same needs, be it financial help, strengthening job skills, family relationships, family history and so many more. He was gearing them up for what was ahead, as most of the members don’t have any idea. Even though it won’t formally begin till August, he knows there are steps to be taken and preparations to help get this ready. We’ll also start training a new missionary couple prior to their coming in August, who will be sent there. They’ll have to hit the road running.

These dear Sister Missionaries were so tender to visit with!

President Léporé speaking. We sat very far away, but I still snuck a photo. His amazing wife spoke prior.

Sister Anne Terreaux-Rouzaud and her father Brother Terreaux, which we got to know well in Paris, as he worked for Family Search fixing computers. He now lives in Carcassonne. 

This is not my photo, but we drove past the Castle Carcassonne. I only wished we could have stopped. Some other time, hopefully.

You know if you know! I finally had a water bottle to try this trick and had to take a photo. 

SUNDAY EVE CHAT WITH AUSTIN/EMMA PACKER FAMILY

Sunday night once we got home from Toulouse, we had a wonderful chat with Austin’s family. I don’t always post photos of our chats, as they aren’t always with photos, but it was so sweet to see 1 of the 3 children, as Bowen, the oldest is Zoom shy and Leo was napping. So, we had a private visit with Rose and her parents. It was just what my Momma and Gma heart needed. Austin had just come back from playing his cello in our son Jaron’s old Syracuse ward.

Emma, Rose and Austin Packer in a sweet Sunday chat! How we love this dear family! The other two children were unable to be in the photo, due to a nap and shyness! ;)

COME FOLLOW ME BRIEF INSIGHTS

• Always listen to the Spirit of truth to strengthen our testimonies of the Lord and His gospel.
• Priesthood keys are essential for the Lord’s true church here on the earth.
• It takes diligence to increase our faith in Jesus Christ and to receive convictions of His gospel. It is worth every effort!
• Don’t let the mechanics of life get in the way of the Two Great Commandments, to love God and our neighbors.

     Renée’s testimony of gratitude for my Savior, Jesus Christ

Christ has stated, “Whom say ye that I am?” Can we each answer this question with a firmness of hope? And if not, what do we need to do to answer with stronger conviction and love for our Savior, Jesus Christ? If we do not know Christ, His mission, His purpose for our eternal salvation, and truly know that He is our Redeemer, our advocate, and our friend, we can begin to take time to know Him now, truly know Him and see the blessings that a loving Savior has for us, as He gave His life for us, Atoned for our sins, our weakness, our inadequacies, our sorrows and our ultimate joys. We can truly glory in Him. As we come to know Him, we will begin to witness blessing after blessing come into our lives. Of this I testify in His name, Jesus Christ.

 

We are grateful for this opportunity to serve on this mission, even though we miss family more than we can say. We know the Lord is watching over them and us and that the time will come sooner than we can imagine that we’ll return home, and our children and grandchildren will say, “you’re home already?” We wish each of you a wonderful week filled with hope and love.

With all our love,

Elder et Sœur Packer                                                                                          Grandpère et Mémé

801-336-6153 (Steve’s)

801-564-1332 (Renée’s)

New Address below: Please include the name and address as stated

Les Missionaires – PACKERS

59 rue Bossuet

69006 Lyon FRANCE