Small and simple things (Week #5 Transfer #9)

Hey everyone!

This week was a blast. There was a huge party in Mont de Marsan with 300,000 people and fireworks and bullfights and theme park rides and ... We left Mont de Marsan the whole week to purposefully miss it!  Haha, apparently according to members there's a little too much... certain types of drinks,  so we skipped town to be a little safer and more productive. Spent the whole week in Pau with the elders there, had a really fun time!  Favorite parts include visiting the Leungs who are from Cambodia, so funny, Frere Leung sang us a song in Cambodian on the way home, and they fed us such good food!  Oh man. Also got to see Pierre's baptism!  I'm really happy for him and the Pau elders, it was a really cool experience.

Finding Day in Toulouse with Elder McKenzie

Another fun part of the week was yesterday my birthday! I'm now 21!  Man I feel old haha, I'm one of the older missionaries in the mission now, when I was in Pau I was with two 18 year olds and a new 19 year old haha, everyone is such a little young chap.  Me and Elder Nelson celebrated with some Canadian cookies and some nutty bars, it was the perfect birthday treat, and we'll go buy a cake this week with the cake money I received! (thanks mom!!!)

Birthday cookies...from Canada...

So this next week is transfers so if I get to emails a bit late or the next day it just means someone got transfered!  Lol.  I hope we stay together, it's been an awesome transfer training Elder Nelson, he's picking up super fast and just killing it at the missionary work, he's not afraid of anything.

Locals headed to the Madeleine Festival in Mont de Marsan

Anyway, I liked the lesson I've learned on my mission and at church on Sunday about small and simple things. 1 Nephi 16:29 in the Book of Mormon says that by small things the Lord brings great things to pass.  I have seen that and in the small example of my daily sincere prayer and scripture reading, as well as going to church, the little things like that I've seen my testimony grow so much and a power come to choose the right.  I know how awesome the little efforts we do as missionaries can turn out and as a person everyday, I wish you all to keep that thought in your thoughts as you do little things each day that count for you and for others :)

Elder Laney

I can GUARANTEE that my local McDonald's beats your local McDonald's hands down!!  #McAroons

Prier (Week #4 Transfer #9)

Hey everyone,

First I want to acknowledge and wish courage to all those affected by the events in Nice this past week. Our prayers go out to you and I ask everyone to keep these people kept in their thoughts and prayers. It's horrible to see the things that keep happening nearby, but I know the French are stronger than such tragedy, and we are not disheartened. I know it will all be well.

This week went really well. It was really cool, since Tuesday, every day this week we found someone with real potential who wants to see us again and learn more about the gospel. It was so cool, and we met them in a variety of ways in finding them, be it meeting them in the street, calling an old ami (who just showed up for church for the first time on Sunday! So cool!) or porting into them, Heavenly Father really lead us and put people in our path this week. That was so cool and I know it will lead to baptisms and the advancement of the Lord's work. We taught 12 lessons this week, which was a record for me.  One of those was on the street where we shared our testimony with this lady, Catia, who is so cool and we answered a lot of questions for her.  At the end I felt like I should ask her if she believed what we had taught her, she's pretty religious in her own faith, but I did and she said yes, that she felt what we said was true. She accepted the Book of Mormon we gave her and she gave us her #s so we can see her later.  Just one of the many cool miracles we had this week!!  So awesome, what a cool experience.

Happy Birthday Elder Laney!

You know last week felt like 2 weeks of work put into one, it was so successful, and good thing too since we'll be gone all the next week!  Off to Toulouse at the moment, and we'll be doing a zone finding day tomorrow and then we're off to Pau for the rest of the week due to the giant party going on in Mont-de-Marsan this week. Not the best circumstances for missionary work, and members have been helping
missionaries to avoid this for the last few years since it's not a very safe situation for misisonary work (these French people party pretty hard haha)!

Service activity 

Anyways I'm excited for another week and it'll be a fun one!!  Well then get in contact with all those we will see in a week and it will be cool to see so much progress and teach so many cool and prepared people. I really was so grateful for everything this week, and Elder Nelson reminded me of that.  Something I thought was so cool was how if we had an awesome experience, or weren't feeling good Elder Nelson would stop and say "we need to say a prayer". So if you really see God help you, take some time and thank Him, and if you aren't feeling good, just say a prayer and ask Him for some help.  He's always there to help us and you'll feel your love grow for Him in gratitude for all He does, and he'll even bless you with more peace afterwards.

I wish you all a good and fun and safe week!! Miss you all and bonne semaine!

Amicalement,

Elder Laney

Service and Love (Week #3 Transfer #9)

Hello everyone! How was your week? Summer has tried to hit us here in the south-western corner of France but it hasn't quite succeeded, a few hot days but honestly a lot of just cloud cover without rain and its felt great! Haha I feel lucky.  However next transfer is a year from when I came into France and I remember how hot it was then so... I'll just enjoy the cool weather while it lasts :)

On exchanges in Mont de Marsan centre ville

Besides we had a great week!  I love all the time we can spend with other missionaries, especially all the exchanges.  As District Leader we have an organization of the mission into zones which are split into districts, so our district includes Pau Elders, Bayonne Sisters, Agen Elders (where Elder Robards is now!) and Tarbes Elders. 

The District

All awesome missionaries and I feel really lucky to be able to help them in any little way I can.  I really enjoy just being able to help them - it's cool.  Leadership really is service, I don't do a whole lot of leading haha. Anyway, all exchanges are now in our area except when we do exchanges with Toulouse zone leaders in Toulouse. But we had 3 this week, one with Pau, one with Agen, and one in Toulouse (got to be driven there by them in their car!  Cars are the best..).  It was awesome to work other missionaries and help them out while they helped me out and our area a lot, and to see what I could learn from others.  

Dinner and exchanges with Cadeau family

And Elder Nelson is seriously just killing it, he would just be like alright new comp, lets go contact! And he'd be off already teaching his first solo lesson on the street and taking conversations all by himself.  Man he's learning fast!  So cool. 

Lunch with Elder Nelson

I got to give a district meeting too which was fun, had 12 missionaries there total which was fun and it went well! Also ended it early to give my first baptismal interview, a little new but the spirit really helped us find out where he was ready, and after he had his 2nd interview looks like he's all set for baptism in 2 weeks! So cool, and I think I'll be in Pau to see it, Pierre is a really stand-up guy from what I just learned from him in our short encounter. I notice how my love for people grows as I serve them. And that's my spiritual thought this message, A little scripture on true joy: 

" 12 And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly,to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit. 

13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;"

I know as we do good, especially as we serve others we start to love others more, and as our love grows we find a true joy, something not fake or temporary, but a real lasting joy and we are happier in our lives as we improve those of others.  I invite you all to serve somebody this week and I know you and they will be both happier :) 

Lots of love,
Elder Laney 

Requisite Pastry shot

Set the Example (Week #2 Transfer #9)

Hey everybody, we had another good week here in Mont-de-Marsan. It was a bit of a slow one with plenty of travel once again, but not too much.  We had the chance to teach Felix in the beginning of the week, and he's making progress.  

Toulouse Zone Conference

We got to go to Toulouse later for zone training, and that was cool to see the new plans for members and missionaries to work together and other things President had us learn from our zone leaders.  And another change - from now on we will be having exchanges with missionaries in Mont-de-Marsan each time so that will be interesting since we won't be leaving the ville very much this transfer, just receiving lots of other missionaries which should be fun.  

I did get to see Tarbes for the first time since I left!  I've passed through a bunch of times, but picking Elder Nelson back up after our last exchange we got to get the Oasis kebab there -- felt just as crummy afterwards like it usually does, so worth it though :) and I even ran into this random guy we knew a little bit while I was there who was a little crazy,  we both recognized eachother.  It was cool, and the elders there are doing a great job, they are both really cool.  Everyone in the district is really awesome and good missionaries and really hard workers, so i'm happy to work alongside them and help them out where they need it.  

Kebabs from Oasis Kebab with the Tarbes Elders

The rest of the week we got to finally go back to church in our branch after having Stake Conference last weekend, and Elder Nelson met the whole branch minus a few who were absent.  And the Ecuadorians are back! Love that little couple, and now they are here with their son and daughter-in-law. The daughter-in-law at least speaks some French and English, the rest only Spanish.  It was fun to see everyone Sunday! It feels like one big family at church :)

Cactus flower in bloom

A lesson this week I learned was on loving care.  As a trainer I've seen how important it is to raise someone right starting off in the mission field, and sometimes I realize I have already been negligent!  But as I keep working hard and try to really do my best to help him become the best missionary he can be, I know Elder Nelson will be trained well.  I feel like I need to make sure to be the very best example I can be to show the way, and as we do that for others in our life we really help them to see the right things to do and help them make the right decisions. Leading by example is so much better than just expecting people to listen to what we say. 

Anyway, I wish you all a great week, and happy 4th of July!!!!!!!!  My recommendation, don't celebrate it by eating pig tripe with a French man... just look up what tripe is..

lots of love,
Elder Laney

An interesting note:  This is an old French Book of Mormon where they use an asterisk * in the place of the phrase "and it came to pass"