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| Elder Skousen and Elder Laney |
He's super awesome, from Albuquerque, New Mexico (he doesn't know any Walter White..) and is excited to be out here. I think he is my shortest companion! Only 3 inches taller than me haha ( how short do I really look? I always wonder when I see people I think are short who are actually taller than me..) and we had a good first week together. Got to do his legality on Thursday and headed off home, ran into some train troubles and barely made it to Montpelier where we got to Toulouse for the night, and then got into Mont de Marsan the next day at 2 o'clock haha. So for the 3 days this week we were actually in Mont de Marsan - it went really well, we got to meet some really cool people on the street, and we were able to fix some rendezvous with one of our amis Vincent, our ami Kael, and an ancient ami who's name is Melanie who is super cool and we'll see next Sunday.
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| Train to nowhere... |
Our meetings fell through so we passed Melanie and she was home! Been meaning to for a while, and it worked out, she is super cool and I hope we are able to help her find what she's looking for next Sunday when we meet. Sunday went well and I really liked church, had triple duty (blessed the sacrament, gave a talk, taught priesthood) and I didn't have any trouble staying awake this time (the chapel is usually super super warm and so is the suitcoat) since we have air conditioning on full blast now, and I was giving a talk and lessons haha.
I learned a lot at the "Trainer's Training" this week, one part of the missionary handbook stood out to me, when it speaks on leaders it says "They should feel that the leader is motivated by a sincere concern for their welfare, not by his or her own interests." I really like this little excerpt because it reminds me of the value of being genuine and really striving to love others. I know it can be hard at times, and sometimes we have a work self, or a home self, or a French missionary self (guilty) but if we can just focus on others, really just them, and just how we care for them, and not pretend anything but just show our actual love for them, our lives will be happier and others will care and respect and appreciate us more.
At Albi with Elder Robards and Elder Omohundro we would always share our strength during what is called "companionship inventory" to help each other know each other well and to improve. I remember we would often tell Elder Robards he was really "genuine", and it hasn't been until now that I realize how important that quality is, and how I learned from him to be so. I know I'm happier as I am more real with those I know and love and those I meet and do my best to love from the start!
Have a great week and gros bisous as the French say!
Elder Laney
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