BLOG 54, OCT 16-22, 2023
OUR RETURN DATE SET – MARKS 6 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF OUR MISSIONS
As we mentioned last week
in the conclusion message, that our return date is Tuesday, March 5,
2024, a month earlier than planned, for good reasons since a grandbaby would be
coming so close to our original return date that we asked for an earlier release
date.
The date of our return marks
a special date for us, as it will be exactly 6 years earlier, that we started our first mission together,
entering the MTC on March 5, 2018, going to Paris, France for 23 months. Immediately
after the Paris mission serving as missionaries with the Priesthood Department,
till our mission started in Lyon, France.
We feel so blessed having
served these consecutive missions (all with the same purpose and same person;) with guidance and
a joint effort with Roland Léporé in all three missions. We now look forward to spending
time with our family and serving in our ward at home. I can attest, and there
is no doubt, that the Lord has watched over, showered miracles upon, and
blessed our family immensely through it all, regardless of any challenges that
have occurred.
At this point, we will be
having our mission report in Sacrament meeting on Sunday, March 17.
We are not sure of the time, but we will send out a zoom link to any friends
who wish to watch from home. We will not be having any kind of gathering
afterwards, but our immediate family will gather a few weeks later once baby
and mommy are well.
MISSION CALL RECEIVED
Tuesday evening in UT,
but very early Wednesday morning in our Lyon, our grandson, Adam Jr Hunsaker,
received his mission call to the Texas, San Antonio Mission, leaving December
26.
He is the oldest in his family
and the third grandchild to be serving in our family. We are so excited for this
young man and know he will be an incredible missionary. He is amazing with
people, strong in his faith, a hard worker and is dearly loved by everyone.
 |
| Adam Jr Hunsaker in his family photo - having received his mission call this week. |
 |
| Adam Jr reading his mission call! He's been called to the Texas, San Antonio Mission! Friends and family attended at his home and others via zoom. It was all worth it! |
 |
| Some of the zoomers! |
 |
| Adam Jr and his mom! This feeling is so real! It's still fresh in my heart, after all these years. |
 |
| Adam and Janine Hunsaker family! Beautiful new photos! |
 |
| Brigham |
 |
| Adelaide |
 |
| Micaela |
 |
| Cooper |
Tuesday was one of my the
most spirit filled councils we’ve had in a long time. Elder Cheney, our
District Leader, engaged us all in a wonderful council meeting, by asking spirit
filled questions, which in turn brought out amazing discussions, comments and
experiences. Elder Cheney has been an amazing leader, and the whole district has
responded accordingly.
 |
| Our beloved District! |
GISÈLLE CHATILON – MORE INFORMATION
Thanks to our dear
friend, Heidi Sugden and her friends at the Family History Library at the church,
we were able to find a little more information about Gisèle, that being her
birthdate, and that someone has created a family tree for her and her husband
on two different French genealogy sites. The efforts continue to contact her
children.
FURTHER UPDATES FOR GUIDEBOOK COMPLETED
We’ve continued to make minor adjustments to the Guidebook, but
now it’s at the point that Steve is putting together the translation by using
Deeple.com. Once that is done, we will have a French member go through it to
make necessary adjustments. We are grateful to be at this point and to know
that when we leave, we will have all things in place to leave with those
overseeing the effort of Sharing Church Resources.
A WALK IN THE PARK, FINDING A BREAK FROM THE
RAIN
This week has been rainy
and not my favorite time to go on a walk, though Steve is much better at going
out on rainy days. Saturday was lovely and it brought a smile to my heart. Yes,
for the hundredth time, we will miss this park more than we can say, but still
not as much as we do our family.
 |
| And yes, more park and zoo photos! |
 |
| Baby Sand Cat or Chat des Sables in French. |
Wife of President Henry B
Eyring, Kathleen Johnson Eyring, passed at age 82, on October 15,
2023, with funeral proceedings on Saturday, October 21. She has
always been an honored woman to me, ever
since her husband, President Eyring was
my college president in the mid 70’s at Rick’s College (BYU-I), and she has since
become a beloved woman of God to all members of the church.
 |
| President and Sister Eyring. |
 |
| This is not easy saying goodbye! He's 90 years old and will be with her again! |
SUNDAY WORSHIP
Today was another Sunday, where both the Écully and
Val de Saône Wards met together, because of another Stake event in the building
during the morning, where all the Bishops from the Stake, and their spouses, joined
together for leadership training. We love the Sundays when both wards come
together because the chapel and gym are so full and everyone rejoices seeing
each other, since the two wards used to be one. It really would be too much
every week, since the wards have grown, but it was wonderful again today.
One of the speakers, our dear friend Joa-May Brenders Issartel from the Valence ward, spoke and she shared something that was tender that her parents would repeat to their family when they were young. This is what they would ask and the children would answer after each question. It is simple, but when the kids are young, they love filling in the answers, and it sticks with them what Sundays are about and continues to stay in their hearts throughout. I loved it!
Parent –
Today is?
Child – Sunday
Parent –
We’re going to the?
Child – Chapel
Parent –
We partake of the?
Child – Sacrament
Parent –
And we think of?
Child – Jesus
CHARLOTTTE SETCHFELD’S BAPTISM
We loved attending Charlotte’s baptism after church today.
She has such a darling exuberant and vibrant spirit about her. Charlotte’s
parents are both from England but have lived in France for many years.
Charlotte’s grandparents are also in our ward.
This baptism was no ordinary baptism. We’ve never seen
so may people attend a baptism of a sweet 8 year old or any age at that. There were as many there as we have at a
normal Sacrament meeting, which is the chapel full and several rows in the gym.
The Setchfeld family are a wonderful family, that are loved and they love everyone.
Charlotte is their youngest. We are grateful to know and love them and to see
Charlotte glow with so much joy!
 |
| I caught Charlotte all by herself dancing with glee and grabbed a selfie! |
 |
| Charlotte and her parents. |
 |
| Family sang a beautiful primary song, both in English and French. It brought such a powerful spirit in the room. |
 |
| I brought my sugar cookies and left them there, yes, the orange ones up front ;), and then we had to leave. |
Birthdays this week:
Lincoln Packer – October 17th
Sweet Lincoln turned 9
this day. This boy is full of energy, love, smarts like none other, witty and
bright and loves Taekwondo. He keeps his parents hopping. Though his parents
have helped him through his autism, he continues to defy so many odds. He attends
a special school for advanced children and is thriving. We can’t wait to see
him and his family when we return.
 |
| Lincoln, the birthday boy! |
Aaliyah ran in her State
race Tuesday (only her 2nd race ever), running with 100 girls and
received 17th place and beat her time by 2:02 minutes, running 1.26
miles in 10:20 minutes. We’re so proud of this young girl, who will be turning
7 this month.
 |
| Aaliyah running in her last race of the year! |
 |
| Aaliyah with her mom, and 3 of her 4 brothers. The whole family is so athletic, and they are united and supportive of one another. |
 |
| Two of Aaliyah's brothers walking beside and supporting her for her big race. |
Jacob Packer’s State Bike Race
With 200 bikers
competing, Jacob started in 96th and finished in 41st place. We are
so proud of this boy, who keeps defying his physical handicaps with all his athletic
abilities.
 |
| Jacob coming to the finish line in his awesome State Bike Race. He's done incredible this last year! |
 |
| Jaron and Jacob after the race! Love their smiles! |
Brent continues to work
on his roof. Thankfully he’s been able to secure the right equipment from
neighbors to help with this project. Also, neighbors have been so helpful with
his roof, siding and such. This step of installing wooden slats is mandatory
prior to putting on the metal roof for his awesome barn style home.
 |
| Praying for good weather to hold up, so he can finish the roof! |
 |
| Here's the bus! Praying that he can make an awesome profit to a school district that needs another bus! |
Jordan
and Larrisa’s family trip to Moab
It was fun to hear about
Jordan and Larissa, Lydia and Lincoln’s trip to Moab, and along the way seeing other
landmarks that are fun memories from our former Packer family trips, which then
in turn become their fun memories. Each of our kids and their families seem to
follow suit.
 |
| Jordan, Lincoln, Larissa and Lydia! This place, we stopped at maybe once, but usually just drove by! Good for you taking the time to stop on your way to Moab! |
 |
| This is the place, just after Hole in the Rock, that we ALWAYS stopped at and walked or ran up to the arch. The tradition continues with all the family. |
 |
| Hole in the Rock has a zoo? Or is it one animal? |
 |
| They made it to Arches! It's on my bucket list! |
Camille and Duck had an
awesome opportunity to fly to Hawaii on a dime, since Duck had to work on the
island of Oahu this last week, they decided it was worth bringing Camille
along, since they have plenty of sky miles because of all of Duck’s traveling.
The kids were well taken care of by friends.
 |
| Those are faces of joy of being away together! |
Part of Camille’s time
there, while Duck was working a couple of days, Camille met up with her cousin,
Natalie Portugal who lives on the Island.
 |
| Camille with her cousin, Natalie Portugal who lives on the Island. |
Brian goes all out for Becca!
How fun for Brian to plan
a date without children to Tucanos and Hale Theater, watching “Catch Me if You
Can.” This is double treat for any momma to be with her husband, without
children and to such amazing places! He’s scoring high points right here!
 |
| Brian, you scored big on this one! Not to count all the awesome trips you take, on a dime as well! |
 |
| Henry and his girlfriend, walking to nursery, (A future Brian and Becca;) |
Sister Maliyah Duckworth missionary email thoughts
“Zone conference (zc)
with Elder and Sister Sabin!! [This may actually have been a mission wide
conference, but this may have been half of the group] And in case you don't remember,
Elder Sabin gave a FIRE talk in general conference a few weeks ago, so it was
such a treat to be able to meet him in person and hear from him all day! The
things he talked about were exactly what I needed and I'm so grateful for the
spirit and light that he brought to all the missionaries. Also, I got to say the
closing prayer too lol which was cool. Here are just a couple notes from the
many many amazing things he spoke about:
The 8 daily P's to a HAPPY LIFE:
1. Pray (spend time with the Lord!!)
2. Page (meaning scripture pages. God
speaks to us through scriptures!)
3. Ponder (open the gate to revelation)
4. Purity (let virtue garnish thy thoughts
unceasingly)
5. Praise (be kind! Seek for the good in
others and compliment them. Never leave a good thought unsaid)
6. Play (make it fun!! The best missionary
is a happy missionary;)
7. Pride (avoid at all costs--recognize
the pride you have and do something about it)
8. Patience (all good things take time.
It's not gonna be, nor is it supposed to be an easy walk in the park. But I can
do all things through Christ)
Elder Sabin emphasized
the reminder that the Lord does magnify our efforts! And he promised us that as
we are faithful, miracles assuredly will come because of our efforts. I can
testify to that!! The days that we work the hardest (without overworking, gotta
find the line) are days we see the most miracles.
I love everything that
Elder Sabin had to offer us, and especially the reminder that we need not be
weary in welldoing. This work is a joy, this gospel is a joy, the Lord is on
our side, and we should be excited to share it with others!!! Never postpone
happiness.”
 |
| Maliyah loves her copies of the Book of Mormon and palm trees! |
 |
| Missionaries always eating, it appears anyway! ;) |
 |
| Mission Conference with Elder Sabin - Maliyah is right behind him. |
Elder Kyson Duckworth - missionary email thoughts
“Elder Bingham is a
new missionary and has been here as long as I have, a little over 7 weeks. We
came to Brazil in the same group together from the Provo MTC. He has a very
great sense of humor that is very sporadic and you just never know what’s gonna
happen next. Elder Aragon has been here for an eternity, a whopping 21 months
and has one transfer left after this one and is literally fluent. Give him just
about any document in Portuguese and he'll translate it to English.
At the beginning of last
week I was really sad that I had to leave my last area. I loved the people and
was excited to be working with the investigators (sorry U.S. missionaries we
don't call them Friends) that we had. I was worried about having to relearn a
new area, people, roads and whatnot. But then I noticed after just the first
day that I already had grown a love for every single person we taught.
I was so confused! My
first area, it took me weeks to learn to love the people I was teaching but
here I did it in a day. Then I remembered something I learned about in a
personal study the other week:
47 But charity is the pure love of Christ,
and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it
shall be well with him.
48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray
unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this
love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus
Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we
may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.
Moroni 7:47-48
I don't remember if I've
shared this already, and if I did whelp you get to hear it again because it's a
scripture that applies to EVERYONE and is something that everyone needs more
of. I think I've been praying for charity since day 1 of the mission and I'm
seeing the blessings of it so much in my life right now. Love for people, my
companion(s), the weather, etc. It's not easy to just love everyone you come
across, but I've been able to do so easier this week through asking for the
gift of charity. And I know your life will be blessed too as you pray for this
gift always!”
 |
| Did I say missionaries are always eating? Yes, they are! Kyson is in a threesome, and they are doing great! Nope, that is not beer! |
GOSPEL STUDY REVIEW
Book of Mormon
- The Lord’s everlasting kindness is filled with so much mercy for us.
- Search the scriptures diligently and hearken unto His words.
- It is very important to write the miracles and stories in your life.
- Write things of great worth.
- Our faith and efforts in the gospel will allow us to receive greater knowledge.
- Christ’s purpose on earth was to Atone for our sins, allowing us the opportunity to repent and return to Him.
- Receive the words of Christ.
- We are called to repent, turn to God and have hope in Christ that we may have a remission of our sins and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Come Follow Me
- Listen to the Holy Ghost * Be examples * Be bold in Christ to speak about the gospel * Offer our whole souls.
- How can I improve my service?
- Increase my devotion to God through thoughtful, deeper study, through making changes in my life, to reflect what I’ve learned and follow through, and as I do the Lord will help sanctify and purify me one step at a time.
- Deception is another sign that has been happening ever since Paul’s time and before, and to this day.
- The Lord will teach us along the way.
- We are to increase our love toward everyone. We can never do this perfectly but must always be striving to do better.
- Seek for living water that is deep and will grow having Charity.
- Who am I becoming, what course corrections do I need to make?
Conclusion:
I wish I could adequately
express how I feel each week, but sometimes I am stumped for the right words to
express my gratitude for all we’ve been blessed with, or with a fear of
repeating myself too frequently. But our gratitude stems especially from the
gospel of Jesus Christ and our family and these wonderful opportunities to serve.
Though being far away from family, our hearts are sustained with a lot of peace
and love for this work.
A part of our morning schedule
here on our mission is our daily devotion to the Lord, as we read and study the
gospel, go through and study the conference talks over and over again, and in each
of these areas we do so together as a couple and then also individually. This is
a must in our lives, not only as missionaries but has always been back home,
even when on vacation or traveling, we make sure to always rise early enough
for this daily devotion to Him. We can testify with all our hearts, that the
Lord has blessed us immensely. No matter what trials may occur, we have seen
His hand in our lives and in our efforts here in the mission field and He can
do the same in yours, no matter how little you are able to do as often as you
can.
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
Comments
Post a Comment