BLOG 47, AUG 28 - SEP 3, 2023
MEGA COOKIE BAKE OFF
Monday, I prepared about 10 doz. cookies for tomorrow’s Zone Conference, having been asked by our Zone Leaders. I decided to split my 10 doz. cookies, with half being my Celestial Sugar cookies and the other half being my Oatmeal White/Chocolate Chip cookies. They were devoured!
ZONE CONFERENCE
We loved Zone Conference!
It was filled with wonderful, inspired messages and encouragements. I would like
to list just a few thoughts below.
- Report to the Lord and then listen to His direction.
- Becoming is what we do to draw closer to Christ.
- There are good, better, and best interactions.
- Ask inspired questions.
- Be inspired by a better cause.
- Be inspired by love in all we do.
- Intentionally ask for miracles in your life.
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| Our beloved Mission Leaders, Sister and President Léporé |
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| Guitar music number! It was so awesome! |
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| The Lyon Zone |
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| The sisters |
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| The Elders |
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| Our Lyon District |
We had a follow up
meeting with Presidents Jubault and Obrecht (Stake Presidency) and the Chupin
couple. The purpose was to report on how the registration went on Sunday (91
registered and now up to 105) and what to do to follow up at this point. We
made several suggestions and heard from everyone on how to proceed to be ready
for when the courses begin.
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| President Jubault, Us, Johan Chupin, President Paul Obrecht, Betty Chupin |
In the evening, we received a surprise call from our oldest grandchild/missionary, Maliyah. It was her P-day, which changes from week to week. It did our hearts so good to spend this precious time with her and are so proud of her and how much she’s growing.
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| Maliyah's personal video chat with us! She called out of the blue and it was so awesome! |
THURSDAY ZOOM WITH HANSENS
We were very happy to
meet with Elder and Sister Hansen in Toulouse to hear an update about the
Toulouse Stake and their diligent work with President Silbermann. President
Silbermann had ordered banners for every ward and branch building and for the
missionaries to use during the week in their sectors, as long as they return
them each Sunday. Other announcements are being made in each ward to encourage
registrations by members and to invite their friends.
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| Elder Thayne and Sister Laurie Hansen in Toulouse |
Taking the Léporé teens to the train station
Friday morning we picked up Lydie and Charlie at their
home in Écully and brought them to the train station near our apartment in Lyon.
Their parents were returning from a Zone Conference and would be able to meet
them at their destination. The teens went on the train (only a 20 minute train
ride) to pick up their new passports, where their parents picked them up after
Zone Conference and then to brought them back. It all worked out perfectly.
They are adorable teenagers. The Léporé family is very dear to us.
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| Charlie and Lydie Léporé - our dropping them off at the train station. |
Cuche Wedding Reception
Marie-Elise and Tom were married Friday morning, first
civilly and then had a reception at our ward building that afternoon, and then
on Saturday were sealed in the Paris Temple. We are so happy for them and
grateful to have gone to their reception.
We were quite surprised, though, as we went to the
church for the reception how many people were there, and that they were all
sitting in the pews and chairs in the cultural hall, just as full as if it was
a Stake Conference. There was nothing set up similar to a reception in the
cultural hall. Once it began, we sat through what was like a Sacrament Meeting,
minus the sacrament, with congregational hymns, musical number, prayers and
talks by the family, and the bride and groom made a few remarks at the end. We
heard that this is a common reception type event here with the members.
Following a 40 minute program, we all gathered outside in a small area to wish
them well. We had to leave quickly for our next appointment, but we were so
grateful for our time to honor them.
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| Marie -Elise and Tom - Newlyweds! |
Catchup
with Sue Mac
Our dear friend, Sue McNamara, a Service Missionary,
whom we worked with when we served with the Priesthood Dept between our two
France missions, was curious how things were going with us here in France. We
were so grateful to visit with her. She is an incredible, inspired and
efficient woman and was able to give us a little more of an update of what’s
going on with Sharing Church Resources at Church headquarters. We were quite
pleased with her report and she loved to hear the things that are happening on
our end as well.
SATURDAY EXCURSION
Saturday we decided to take part of a day and visit
Abbaye (French spelling) d’Hautecombe, sitting on Lac du Bourget. We enjoyed a
lovely drive, walk through the Abbey, learning of it’s amazing history, the
exterior and a walk down to the lake. It was all so peaceful and serene. We
arrived prior to a much larger group that came as we were nearing our
departure. Once down by the lake, though, I saw 5 older women helping one
another walk down the pathway to go to the lake. I figured they must’ve been in
their 80’s. I stopped to tell them what beautiful women they were. We began to
have a lovely conversation and one of the ladies went through each of the women
and told us how old they were. Each was in their 90’s, with the eldest being 98
and the youngest around 94. I asked if I could take a photo of them. They were
delighted.
Information from internet:
“The Abbey is a former Cistercian
monastery, later a Benedictine monastery, in Saint-Pierre-de-Curtille in
Savoie, France. The origins of Hautecombe lie in a religious community which
was founded about 1101 in a narrow valley (or combe) near Lake Bourget by
hermits from Aulps Abbey, near Lake Geneva. In about 1125 it was transferred to
a site on the north-western shore of the lake under Mont du Chat. The
Cistercians resettled the abbey from Turin, but the Italian monks soon left,
and were replaced by others from Sénanque Abbey, who remained until about 1884.
The premises were taken over by the Benedictines of Marseilles Priory in 1922.
The benedictine monks left in 1992 for Ganagobie Abbey in the
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, primarily to get away from the increasing tourist
flow.”
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| Lake Bourget - This view of the lake was taken up higher before descending to the Abbey. |
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| Abbey Hautecombe |
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| INTERNET PHOTO - Aerial view of Abbey Hautecombe |
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| Statues inside the abbey |
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| Beautiful skylight. |
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| Abbey Hautecombe |
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| We stopped these dear 5 women and spoke with them. Each of them ranged from ages 94-98 (the woman on the far left was 98). They loved that I stopped to talk with them and tell them how beautiful they were. They volunteered their ages all on their own. They had a lot of zest. |
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| Lake view! |
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| A personal castle home on the opposite side of the Abbey. |
SUNDAY WORSHIP
Another beautiful Sabbath!
Today we heard beautiful testimonies shared, with it being the first Sunday of
the month. After church, we saw one of our dear friends and former Paris
Missionary, Flora Piazza, who attended our ward today. She now lives in our
stake but has been studying in Paris. She is now living in Lyon with her
parents as she figures out what her next steps will be. She is such an
impressive woman and will do great things.
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| Flora Piazza made a special surprise visit today. She was a former missionary in Paris and is from Lyon. We love this woman! |
CHILDREN/GRAND CHILDREN/FAMILY MOMENTS
Calls with family:
Saturday evening, we had a
wonderful video call with Nathan and Dixie’s family. It was so good to visit
with them and to hear how well the kids are doing in school and their
extracurricular activities.
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| Nate and Dixie Family |
Sunday evening, we had an awesome visit with Brent and Shal’s family. We loved seeing the whole family all at once and could getting caught up with their school, their 8, 6-week-old puppies that they are trying to sell, and school for the kids and Shal’s 5th grade class and Brent working on finishing their home, all while caring for 8 puppies during the day.
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| Brent and Shal Family |
Sister Maliyah Duckworth – less than 3 weeks left with the Missouri
historic sites, before heading to San José, CA for the remainder of her
mission.
“I want you all to
know that God loves you!! He sees your efforts, even when you think nobody else
does. When you feel like a failure, turn to the Lord. He'll help you see
otherwise. He's there to lift, guide, comfort, encourage, refine, teach, strengthen, and love us. What more could we
ask?!? I'm so grateful for my constant best friend. I wouldn't be able to do
anything without Jesus. I'm frankly nothing without Him. I'm so eternally
grateful for the love that my Heavenly Father and Savior have for me as I
imperfectly strive to be a disciple of Christ and do the Lord's work. I often
feel soooo inadequate in this precious work, but I know I've been called for a
reason and that I'm needed. And all things are possible through Christ and to
them that believe:)”
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| Maliyah and Sister Tew in the center with visitors to the Visitor Center in Independence, Missouri. |
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| Maliyah and Sister Tew at the Kansas City Temple |
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| Getting locked out of their apartment, not so fun! |
Elder Kyson Duckworth now in Brazil
“Arrival day in the
field was pretty rough. It was unusually cold (about 45F), I hadn't slept in
two days (wouldn't have the opportunity to do so for 13 more hours), I ate bad
breakfast food on the airplane which caused me and 3 other missionaries to feel
terrible all day, and to top it off my mission president speaks Portuguese
FAST. (He's American tho)
When I was assigned my
companion I kinda freaked out a little bit because he didn't speak English and
he hadn't ever been to the area we were assigned to either so neither of us
knew anyone. When we finally got to the apartment late at night I definitely
had a break down session, emotionally. I had slept 3 hours in the past 3 days,
was scared, and missed my family for the first time in a while. I was grateful
for when I finally got a full 8 hours of sleep that night cuz I definitely
needed it.
I was writing in my
journal last night and realized I'd past day 50 of my mission just recently. I
was kinda shocked and realized I'd only have to do this like 14 or 15 more
times before I head home. So hopefully the time doesn't go too fast, but lots
of the ward members have lots of confidence in me becoming fluent in Portuguese
within the next month, so no pressure there at all lol.”
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| Kyson, right front on their way to Brazil! |
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| Kyson's new companion, who mainly only speaks Portuguese, but that's how he'll learn Portuguese much faster. |
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| Kyson's District at the MTC |
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| Kyson's Brazil group at the MTC, I think... |
GOSPEL STUDY REVIEW
Book of Mormon
- The story Helaman’s stripling warriors is such a remarkable example of courage and faith, as is the story of their fathers, who buried their weapons of war to show their faith and determination to never fall prey to sin again.
- In these latter days we must choose between bowing down to evil out of fear, or stand up for truth with faith.
- Protecting our families and our liberty must be something we are willing to always fight for.
- Head in a straight course, not turning to the left or the right. We must know where we are heading to keep ourselves firm in our convictions.
- The Lord spared the stripling warriors for their faith and firm trust in the Lord continually. They knew that what their mother’s had taught them was true.
- Stand strong in the face of adversity.
Come Follow Me
- God has provided a way to escape temptation.
- The Sacrament unifies us members of Christ’s Church.
- Personally apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives each and every day.
- Spiritual gifts are given to benefit all of Heavenly Father’s children. We need to seek to know what our spiritual gifts are.
- I have recognized many of my gifts from the time I was young, and continue to find others through the spirit over the years that have blessed my life and enable me to serve others through these gifts.
- Live our lives so that we are a benefit to others, always thinking outward.
- Embrace diversity, like a vibrant orchestra of varied instruments, coming together to play inspiring music to bless others.
- Suffering and loving kindness go together.
- Substitute the word Christ for the word Charity.
- Charity is a perfected attribute of Christ.
Conclusion:
With all the escalating devastations that continue in the world, it makes me/us wonder how do people survive and continue on when it becomes so difficult? How do they look up, instead of down or within, how do they reach out, instead of shrivel and die, after so much loss of life and belongings? I’m amazed by the stories I’ve been reading from the recent horrific Maui fires and the hurricane in Florida, the fires in Canada and so on throughout the world, who are joining hands to help the helpless, to comfort those who stand in need of comfort, to mourn with those who mourn and to turn their hearts outward. This is charity personified! We certainly don’t need to wait for our own disaster to do the same.
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
69006 Lyon FRANCE
PHOTO DUMP:
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