BLOG 31 - MAY 8 - MAY 14, 2023
MORNING PDAY WITH FRIENDS FROM UTAH
After a lovely and brief evening and an overnighter Sunday from our friends, Janine Creager and Johanne Hillam, we got up early and
took off for an enjoyable, but brief tour of the most notable areas in Lyon. As I’ve
often said, there may not be a lot to see right here in Lyon compared to Paris,
but what there is, is beautiful and filled with deep history. You have to drive
out a bit further to learn more and see amazing sites, as we’ve been learning.
We first took them to the Basilica Notre Dame de Fourvière,
in which they loved the history and the floor to ceiling mosaic tile art.
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| Basilica Notre Dame de Fourvière |
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| Johanne Hillam remembers having to go into these confession spaces at a young age, when her family were Catholic. |
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| Part of the Mosaic flooring. |
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| Mosaic wall mural |
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| Our Lyon Eiffel Tower |
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| Janine and Johanne enjoying the beautiful view of Lyon! |
We then went to the Ancient Roman Theaters, seeing how
immense it really used to be. The museum next door (free for Seniors) was closed
this Monday, since it was a holiday (Victory Day).
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| Ancient Roman Theaters - building projects to get ready for summer concerts. |
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| This was an unusual but stunning flower at the Roman Theaters. |
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| Johanne Hellam and Janine Creager |
Afterwards, we drove down the hill to Old Town. We took a brief walk through the cathedral and town, before driving them back to the train station to bid them farewell, and on their way to more exciting adventures. These two ladies were simply delightful to spend time with.
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| Old Town Square |
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| Underground baptismal font uncovered many years ago. |
DEPARTING MISSIONARIES
We had 11 departing missionaries this transfer, where each of them were given the opportunity to share their testimonies with the whole mission via zoom. I will briefly mention a couple of them that we grew to know and love. We are grateful for each of their testimonies and the amazing missionaries they’ve all become.
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| President and Sister Léporé |
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| One of the 4 pages taken of missionaries during the mission wide Farewell to missionaries going home after 18-24 months of service. |
Sister Whiting shared
some remarkable trials she experienced before leaving for the mission field and
while at the MTC prior to her mission. She had 2 major knee surgeries prior to
the MTC and then another one when at the MTC, which brought her home for 6
months to recover. All these trials brought her so much closer to the Lord and
she was an incredible missionary. She did not experience any more problems with
her knees from then on. At the end, she quoted the words from the song, “You’ll
Never Walk Alone”.
You’ll
Never Walk Alone
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There's a golden sky
And a sweet silver song of a lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Or your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on! Walk on! With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone
Walk on! Walk on! With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone
Songwriters: Oscar Hammerstein Ii, Richard Rodgers. For non-commercial use only.
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| Sisters Whiting and Ruetz |
Elder Rosales, from
Spain, has been one of our amazing Assistants to the President. He’s been a
humble and brilliant missionary and leader. He focused on the Savior and his
relationship with Him.
Our Mission Leaders, President and Sister Léporé
finished with their testimonies and gratitude for these departing missionaries.
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| Elders Rosales, Whitney and Griffitts |
DINNER WITH VAL DE SAÔNE MISSIONARIES
Tuesday evening we had
invited the missionaries from the ward to join us, as we’ve been doing almost
every transfer since we moved into this new apartment. We’ve gotten to not only
know them so much better, but we’ve also realized how much they need this time
with the senior couples who spoil them a bit, love them and feed them a good
homecooked meal. We always have such a wonderful experience with them.
They loved the meal of salad,
asparagus soup, potatoes au gratin, chicken thighs, baguette and carrot cake.
They then finished the meal with a spiritual message that brought a beautiful
discussion.
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| VAL DE SAÔNE Ward missionaries! |
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| Sisters Buysse & Zumbach |
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| Elder Keiser and Lauener |
Monday night, I texted
Maliyah, our granddaughter in the MTC, just to let her know we were thinking of
her and can’t wait to hear from her. She
then texted me back Tuesday morning to see if we could chat on our Tuesday
evening with her. I was so excited to talk with her and see how she was doing.
She loves the MTC, has never worked so hard, always tired, but exhilarated and
loves her companion, and her district. Could we ever relate! We’re so proud of
her and how much she’s already grown!
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| Sister Maliyah Duckworth at the MTC during her Pday! |
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| Maliyah and an Elder got to sing at a devotional. So proud of them!!! |
It was great meeting
again with the Hansens, who’ll be coming to our mission in July. We are in the
process of giving them training to prepare them for their assignment. They’ll
be a wonderful blessing.
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| The Hansens coming to the mission this summer! |
ZOOM CALL WITH SENIOR SCR MISSIONARIES
Thursday afternoon we had
a lovely zoom visit with our SCR missionaries from Mont de Marsan, Corsica and
Geneva, missing the Reneer couple from Chalons.
This has been a long awaited,
bringing our heads together, meeting to discuss ideas and questions each one
had. It was extremely helpful and we were enthused by all the English Connected
courses being taught with a good amount of individuals in each course. We hope
to have these discussions/sharing times more often, instead of one on one. It wasn’t
easy though getting them all together at one time, via zoom.
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| Senior couple friends, visiting about SCR. Rileys, Packers, Smiths and Rellafords |
A WALK IN THE PARK
All I have for you this week are a few photos and we loved the one with the squirrel who didn’t seem afraid at all and kept coming a bit closer to me. We love our park!
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| I may have had a similar reflection photo like this, before in my blog, but It's so stunning each time I see it and slightly different. |
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| The brave squirrel who had no fear to come up close to us. |
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| What are your guesses that this is? Is it a wasp nest, or a tree wart? |
LETTER FROM ELLIE! OUR ADDRESS IS AT THE END! ;)
We’ve received a few
letters from family, and this week we received a letter from Ellie Packer, our 11-year-old
granddaughter. She wrote the cutest and fun letter. We’ve received a couple of
others in the mail, and we’ve been told there are more yet to come. I hope they
all know how overjoyed we are to receive these letters.
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| Ellie's letter came just in time for Mother's Day. It is one of several others that have come previously and will yet come. It was so well written and very thorough after all my questions I asked her. Thanks so much Ellie! |
DISTRICT MEETING
This was our last
District Meeting with this District, and we were so grateful for Elder Lauener
and his leadership and great spirit in this district. We will miss those that
are being transferred.
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| Amazing Lyon District! Saying goodbye to half of them! |
DATE NIGHT FOR MOTHER’S DAY
It was just what I needed, to get out on the town, well kind of, for our date Friday night. We left early to go to our normal restaurant in Old Town! As we were driving towards Old Town, we could hear thunder and saw a little bit of lightning. After parking down in the parking garage, we walked up the stairs to walk outside and could hear the sound of rain. As we approached the open door to walk, it was a massive downpour with hail. We had our little umbrella with us and decided to quickly walk to the restaurant, which was not far at all, but still parts of us got soaked! It didn’t take long till the rain stopped and it was nice to walk a little into Old Town afterwards. It was enjoyable to get out and spend time outside of our apartment, before returning back to play games and watch a movie.
Steve had found a
beautiful potted plant which he gave me prior to our leaving to Old Town. A
perfect night!
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| Steve surprised me with beautiful, potted flowers and a card. There aren't any wife cards, only Mother, but it was beautiful, and his sentiments were so touching. |
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| We love being together and this is one of our favorite restaurants. |
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| These orchids were on the table at the Restaurant. |
STAKE RELIEF SOCIETY WOMEN’S CONFERENCE
Saturday, I attended the Stake
RS Conference at the Écully Building. It was wonderful to see such a large
number from varied wards in the stake attend, with many who had to travel quite
a distance. In the first hour the Stake RS Presidency spoke and the Stake
President. It was wonderful and inspiring.
We then broke for lunch all
while visiting some of the sisters from the different wards in the stake. Since
I needed to leave to get back home for our visits with our children in the
afternoon, I wasn’t able to attend the classes that were held afterwards.
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| Such fun ladies! I'm standing next to Sister Reneer. |
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| The theme was Walk By Faith. These three Stake RS Presidency members spoke along with the Stake President (Jubault). |
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| Because our stake is so spread out, this was a wonderful number of women attending this annual Women's Conference. |
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| Sister from one of the wards in the stake, and Sister Reneer. |
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| My dear friend, Patience, who knew and loved my mother! |
MOTHER’S DAY EVE VISITS WITH FAMILY
Saturday afternoon through evening was wonderful to visit with all but one of our children and many of our grandchildren (we’ll visit with them on Sunday). It did my heart good to see and hear from them. They are our pride and joy! I wasn’t able to get a photo of each family, as some were missing, so I used their latest family photo instead.
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| This is the whole Packer Gang, with almost all the grands! Not all had the whole family all at once, so we inserted their family photo here, but still missing 2 little ones. |
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| Maliyah called me from the MTC this Sunday and made my day! Aaliyah Packer, on the top right, is an amazing rock climber (she shared this with us during our call Saturday). This rock wall is in their home, and she climbs the wall, using the safety of the harness, multiple times a day. Lydia played a fun piano solo for us. She's doing incredible!!! |
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| My sister Janine, who lives in Nauvoo, went with her dear friend/neighbor to the nursery to choose some beautiful Mother's Day flowers. |
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| Janine and Sidney at the nursery, Janine's happy place she says! |
SUNDAY WORSHIP – BUT NOT MOTHER’S DAY IN
FRANCE!
Sunday, May 14th,
in France is not Mother’s Day. It will be the 1st Sunday in June,
but Father’s Day is on the same day here as in the US.
This morning we attended the
Écully Ward, where we spoke in Sacrament meeting. It was a wonderful meeting
where we also heard from Sister Whiting and Elder Rosales, who both are
departing from their missions this coming week. The Ward choir also sang a hymn
in Spanish, as there are a few Spanish families in the ward and in the choir. It
was beautiful and we loved getting to meet friends in this ward,
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| The ward choir in the Écully Ward. It was so beautiful! |
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| Sisters Ruetz and Whiting STL's (Sister Whiting will finish her mission and leaving next week)! |
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| Elder Rosales (AP), leaving next week to return home to Spain, after a faithful 2-year mission. |
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| Clothing weirdness this week!😕 With different pants or skirts, I still wore the same sweater alllll week long, when I needed a cool type sweater! 😳 |
We loved the rest of our
special visits with family, our missionary granddaughter and special notes and
videos of love from family today. My heart is full and grateful for our family
and their goodness.
SUNDAY FIRESIDE PRESENTATION
On Sunday evening we were
involved in a Stake Fireside, where we were given 20 minutes to present our thoughts
on Sharing Church Resources. I started out with an analogy story that helped
direct us to an awareness of how important it is that we don’t let things of
great worth sit on a shelf, collecting dust, and not learn more of their great
worth. But, instead, use the gifts we’ve been given, learn more about them, and
then share them with others.
We then focused on the
Webpage and QuickReg (registration). We were grateful for the missionaries
serving in our Ward, who helped read explanations of the different parts of the
Webpage as Steve displayed them on a screen after I gave the introduction and then
finished with the conclusion. After our presentation, the 2nd counselor
in the Stake Presidency talked about the importance and blessings of the
resources of the Church. The whole evening was of great value, and we were pleased
with the participation and attendance.
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| With Toky (Stake Communications Specialist and HC) He organized the Fireside mostly on Sharing Church Resources. He's a great advocate for this effort. |
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| Angélina & Paul Obrecht - Paul spoke after us to put great emphasis on some of the great courses. He helped us also during our Q/A segment. These two amazing people are document interpreters for the church. |
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| Their darling family! |
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| Saying goodbye to Soeur Zumbach! 😥 |
We especially loved seeing our dear friend, Flora Piazza from our Paris ward, who had served a mission in Paris prior to us. Her parents are in our stake and were at this meeting. This family used to live in the same ward my parents were in during their mission. They remembered my parents very well and loved knowing I was their daughter.
Flora was most amazed at our
presentation because she had no idea that we were here in Lyon, continuing with
what had begun in its infancy in Paris, but was and is still called the Family
Resource Center in Paris. We then helped her to know it has now grown in many
parts of the world, and supported by the church, and yet is still in its beginning
stages.
She remembers sitting in a ward committee meeting in Paris where Steve and I began to introduce this concept with these members, first helping to get the leaders enthused about this effort before it had really begun.
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| Flora Piazza - our dear friend from Paris. |
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| Flora's parents and our dear friend Patience. They were all in the same ward that my parents were in and knew and dearly loved them. |
GOSPEL STUDY BRIEF THOUGHTS
Book of Mormon
- Recognize His glory throughout each day of my life.
- The Lord always knows best!
- Wait upon the Lord,
- The Lord is my light in every sense, and I must be His light for others to see.
- Trusting in the Lord will guide my unknown paths ahead.
Come Follow Me
- What lack I yet, is a question that I desire to ask the Lord more frequently. I love what it implies and how I can focus on what the Lord knows I need to improve upon, as I humbly ask Him what am I missing to be more earnest in following the Savior.
- We are judged by our hearts and intents, our love towards others and God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
- Be All In!
- I can always rejoice when I see the blessings and successes of others.
- I need to do a “sound” check on my focus, my pride, my desires, my heart, my outward expressions, my willingness, my meekness, my striving, my kindness, my thoughtfulness, my compassion, my observance, my glorifying God, my increasing conversion, my love, my hope, my faith, and my charity. This list could be very long, but I know it’s a start and reminder to keep myself in check with the Lord.
With each passing week of our mission, we feel blessed
as we look back on the last 30 + weeks of our mission thus far. We have been so
blessed having met so many people in varied wards, stakes, people in the community
and all the dear missionaries these last 7 months. We find that amidst the
constant changes, the unanswered questions, and the constant flow of things to do,
that the Lord is with us, guiding us and teaching us to hold on, knowing all
will be well, and to be patient with faith.
We wish all of you amazing women, Happy Mother’s Day!
Are We Not All Mother’s?
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OR READ THIS TALK
CLICK HERE TO SEE JANINE, OUR DAUGHTER AND TWO KIDS AT 1:41 WITH TAB CHOIR MOTHER'S DAY SONG - 2014
With all our love,
Elder et Sœur
Packer Grandpère et Mémé
801-336-6153
(Steve’s)
801-564-1332 (Renée’s)
Address below: Please include the name and address as stated
Les Missionaires –
PACKERS
59 rue Bossuet
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