BLOG 32 - MAY 15 - MAY 21, 2023
MONDAY VISITS IN CLERMONT-FERRAND
Monday at around noon Steve
and I drove almost 2 hours to Clermont- Ferrand to first visit with my cousin (twice
removed) and her husband and then Brother and Sister Garon.
Mikenzie
and Florian Brioude
We spent about 45 minutes
with Mikenzie and Florian in their lovely home. It’s been almost 5 years since
we last saw them in our apartment in Paris, shortly before they were to get
married. Florian is from Lyon, where his mother still lives, and Mikenzie is from
CA where her parents still live. Her grandmother, Betty Teela, is my cousin
that I was very close with, who passed away about 15 years ago.
Florian is a professional
film maker and photographer, and Mikenzie is a professional photographer. They
are both extremely talented and they were fun to visit with. It was fun for
Mikenzie to finally see family in France, a rare occurrence for her.
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| Florian and Mikenzie Brioude. Mikenzie is 1st cousin, twice removed. |
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| Florian and Mikenzie's large, stemmed roses outside their home. |
Joel and Anne Marie Garon
We then drove 20 minutes
to a small and ancient village (Saint-Maurice-es-Allier
– population 801; began around the 12th Century) , through winding,
narrow streets, to the home of Brother and Sister Garon. The surrounding landscape
was amazing, and their renovated home was beautiful and very quaint. Brother
Garon is a Stake HC in the stake over a ward and over the Saint-Etienne. We
were there to give him and his wife our presentation and invitation. They were
so delightful and took the challenge with faith and desire.
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| Joel and Steve walking towards the Garon's home! |
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| We finally made it! |
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| It was like walking through ancient times in history. |
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| Joel Alan and Anne Marie Garon after our presentation and discussion. They were so incredible! |
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| Joel Alan and Anne Marie, in front of their beautiful, quaint home near the top of the village. |
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| I took this photo after our visit, but these small roads became narrower the higher we drove all while finding their home. |
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| There were so many small villages like this as we drove to Clermont-Ferrand. |
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| Loved this awesome bridge in our travels this day. |
Benoit and Veronique Membré
Once we got home, we
quickly hopped on Zoom for our last meeting with Benoit and Veronique Membré,
who also are from Clermont-Ferrand, but were not able to meet us earlier while
we were there.
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| Benoit & Veronique Membré couple |
TUESDAY WIFI JOY
We have been waiting ever
since we moved into this apartment, almost 4 months ago, to get our Wi-Fi cable
internet set up. It has been so hard to not have reliable Wi-Fi throughout our
time here and we are so grateful that it finally got set up.
TUESDAY OFFICE PICK UP OF PASS-A-LONG
CARDS
When we went to the
mission office, we met up with Elder Gibby and his new companion. They are
white washing in Clermont-Ferrand (meaning the previous missionaries were all
transferred, and they are both new to the area). They will be incredible!
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| Elder Gibby accompanying a new Elder to his new area, along with Elder Cottam. |
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| The front of our pass along card |
Once again, we enjoyed a
wonderful training session with the Hansens, giving them more information on
how to assist their new area with Sharing Church Resources. They are preparing to
arrive at the MTC in about 5 weeks. They are excited for what is to come.
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| Last meeting with Hansens before they arrive to the mission field. |
DISTRICT COUNCIL ‘GET TO KNOW YOU’
Instead of having a
normal District Council, our District Leader decided to have a get to know you
meeting with our new District. We played a get to know you game and it really
was helpful. We have a fabulous district, and we are so excited to work with
them.
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| The new Lyon District! |
LEROY MERLIN AND REMEMBERING MY DAD
We needed to purchase a
few items at LeRoy Merlin (like a Home Depot) to get some wood cut for our
window for when the cooler is put in place.
While we were waiting in
line to get a piece of wood cut, the smell of the saw dust from the cutting
going on in the back put me in a huge memory recall. As we sat in line, all I
could think of was my dad, since he was
a building contractor and also a Choral director in the public school system. I
have so many memories of my dad working with wood, wearing his metal work hat
and wearing his work apron. My dad loved both his contractor work and his
choral work in the school system. It didn’t take much though, for the sweet
memories of him to flood my mind from when I was a young girl, living in
Charleroi,
After Leroy Merlin, we quickly
went to Ikea for a quick purchase.
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| The huge wood cutting machine in the back, which we were not allowed to enter! |
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| It was just a little piece of wood being cut, but the other pieces in the back being cut, permeated a lovely sawdust smell! |
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| My dad on the far right, with his hat and apron, as I always remembered. |
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| This was one of my father's choirs. He's the handsome one on the far right! I actually believe there are two of my sibs in this photo. |
We are so grateful for
the amazing efforts happening in the Wards and with the Missionaries. We are
noticing a lot of miracles happening with the missionaries really understanding
how to approach people with more interest towards others and sharing Church
resources to help them.
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| Elders Cottam and Gibby sharing a miracle video about sharing the SCR Pass along Card. |
FRIDAY - THE GOOD AND THE BAD
Elders Gibby and Cottam Zoom
Today was a catch-up day
and later in the evening, we held a Zoom meeting with Elder Gibby and his companion,
to share with them how to use the new Webpage and QuickReg. They are both new
in Clermont-Ferrand and have had great experiences contacting people who want
to learn English. They are amazing missionaries and will do so much good in
that amazing city.
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| Elders Cottam and Gibby |
Farmington, New Mexico sad news of friends the Packer family
We were given sad news today
of the tragedy that happened this week on Monday, the 15th, in Farmington,
NM. Three individuals were shot and killed by an 18-year-old gunman. Two of
them were friends of the Packer family. It happened within about 2 miles from
the home where Steve grew up. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families. We
reached out to some of the family members who lost their loved ones, and our
hearts are with them in their great loss. The Ivie family are in our prayers
for the passing of Melody Ivie, 73, and her 98-year-old mother, Gwendolyn
Schofield.
SATURDAY VISIT WITH MARCOU FAMILY
We enjoyed our 45-minute
drive and visit with the Marcou family, to share our presentation. They attend
our ward, but Brother Marcou has a High Council assignment in the Stake. We
were so inspired with their enthusiasm and great ideas on how to help the
leadership and members become more involved in this effort. We could see them
as wonderful drivers of this effort here. Great things continue to happen!
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| The Jean Phillipe and Virginie Marcou family, at least with the youngest of 3 children. |
Today we were assigned to
speak in the Porte des Alpes ward in Lyon. We were grateful for their warm welcome
and the kindness of the members. It’s always very daunting when we are speaking
to a ward where we know more of the members. As we were singing the hymns together,
I sat there with such love and gratitude for Steve, hearing him singing the
songs in French, and also his sharing a French talk, all with such poise and sweet
humility, that it caused me to rejoice again, knowing we are serving yet
another French speaking mission. He’s doing incredible!
Julie Fraikin De Ligne
was the sister directing the music in Sacrament today, and she came up to me
afterwards speaking really good English, and I found out she and her family were
from Brussels, and had moved here for her husband’s work 3 years ago. I then
asked her if she knew Tom and Anita Herway, Steve’s sister and husband, who
lived in Brussels for 28 years and was a Stake President during that time. She
most definitely knew the Herway family. If you are from Brussels, you can’t
help but know them. Julie and her husband were so delightful to visit with.
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| Jean Charles and Julie De Ligne formerly from Brussels |
Isabelle’s sad loss
We were so happy to meet
the sister of President Léporé and part of her family, who were visiting
briefly from Nancy, France, to pick up their son, who lives here. As I was speaking
with her, one of her sons quickly came in to say that their car had been broken
into during church and some important items were stolen. Our hearts were heartsick
for this occurrence and loss. We quickly followed them, to see what had
happened. They were devastated. A couple came up to me later and told me that
they witnessed the break-in from their apartment next to the church house. I took
the woman to Isabelle where she spoke with her. We pray that they are comforted
as they drive 5 hours back home with a broken window and their losses.
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| With Isabelle Brun Léporé, just before we all found out about her car break in. She is the sister to President Léporé |
GRANDCHILDREN MOMENTS
Ryan Packer’s Rubik Cube competition – Congrats Ryan!
You are amazing and keep getting faster!
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| Ryan, continued to improve, but I didn't have a good photo from the video I saw. |
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| Sweet Olivia on the left, with her awesome Mom! |
Henry and Mason – These two boys and their parents
all had an eventful week with the 24 hour + flu bug and it ran its course through
them all, with no stops for a good 5 days or more. They are all well, but not
so fun!
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| Mason with his amazing Mom, Becca! |
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| Mason, the first to get sick, and was told he should go to the ER and was a trooper, but he checked out fine! |
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| Henry - poor thing! Be thankful I didn't post the vomiting mess photos! 😒 |
GOSPEL STUDY REVIEW
Book of Mormon
- Keep our heart and mind riveted on the Savior.
- Always have a pure heart and clean hands.
- Am I laboring diligently to write and persuade others to believe in Christ?
- The Lord’s salvation is free for all who come to Him.
- Be a light to others when they are confused with the many oppositions all around them.
- The Lord will always keep His promises and we must trust Him.
Come Follow Me
- The Lord judges by the righteous desires of our hearts.
- Hypocrisy has no place as followers of Jesus Christ.
- I can honor the Savior by keeping my covenants and being true.
- When we truly love God, we naturally want to please and serve Him, as well as our neighbors.
- Keep our temples clean, remembering our body is a temple.
- See ourselves in each of the parables we read so that we may learn more personally from them.
As we reflect, coming on, nearly 8 months of our
mission so far, I’m reminded of how patient the Lord has been with us and with all
our inadequacies. Yet, even then, it’s easy to have expectations and feel a
tinge of impatience with things that may not always be going forward as quickly
as we wish with our efforts here. We want things to happen in our time frame, and
not necessarily the Lord’s. I’m reminded repeatedly of lessons I have learned
from our own experiences or others, that teach us to wait upon the Lord and do
all we can and leave the rest to Him and never give up, with faith and His
plan. His plan is more glorious than we can imagine! Poursuivre avec foi!
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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