To the North (Week #6 Transfer #13)

Hey everyone! So this transfer I'm finally off to the northern parts of France, (not really, our mission is the south, but it is the northernmost sector of our mission and I've been in the south the whole time with Tarbes, Albi, Manosque, Mont-de-Marsan and Toulon), so this is exciting! I'm now in Dijon, France (yes, where all the spicy mustard comes from) and I'm super psyched, my new companion is Elder Perez! From Salt lake, so that makes my 2nd Utah companion while in France, and he just finished Elder Robards so voilà, ran into Elder Robards when we switched in Lyon, so crazy he's going home. Well I'm excited for new things :) anyway, Dijon is a pretty ville with snow and is not far from Switzerland, we actually go there a few times each transfer which will be fun (Swiss chocolate!) and we also have a car!!  Last and most importantly the members and Amis here are great according to Elder Strong, Robards, and Perez so it should be awesome. Starting off with a good mangezvous tonight.

Elder Perez and Elder Laney

So our last week in Toulon was quite eventful.

So on P-day we checked out some shopping (soldes hadn't started yet so I haven't dropped on anything quite yet..) and watched Elder Thorne run a mile in 5:19.  Like a gazelle (went running in the morning a few times and I'll just say I can't run quite as fast...)  Tuesday we saw Etienne and Soeur Consales, Etienne is doing really good and reads what we give him, he's starting to learn more and get interested in the gospel. We saw Yvette and Didier a few times (Yvette came to church!) and it was fun, it was hard to say goodbye to them Sunday. On Thursday we went out to an outer ville called Hyeres to meet a referrel, Bernard.  Hilarious man, really nice too and super interested, it was funny because he would just go so hard on these big théories and stuff about religion. We left him with a Book of Mormon and though he didn't want to set up a 2nd rendezvous he was appreciative that we were there to answer any questions if he has any.  We saw Dominique as well and he seems to be doing better, still working towards giving up smoking and he's such a strong person.  We got to go visit Christoffer Saturday and I got to take the boat one last time, so fun, I love taking the boat.  It was Super windy last week and absolutely freezing so I was bundled up and wearing thermals even, despite the fact of being on the Azure coast.  Fun stuff. 

LDS Chapel in Dijon

It was a good week, and one of the miracles we had was this epic bus catch we had coming back from Hyeres.  We had come down from a hill from a passback and looked at the time and it was 10:40, we had a bus at 10:45 and were over a kilometer away.  So Elder Thorne tells me "we can make it!" and takes off, so I'm in a sad pursuit but we run all the way in the direction we believed the bus stop was, and as we approach it I see a bus pulling into traffic and yelled to Elder Thorne, and we just barely made it.  Because of that we were able to be on time and have our refs that most likely would have been canceled otherwise.  Haha, it was pretty fun, and we just kind of happened upon the bus stop not at all knowing the ville just the general direction, God can help us out with the small things too :) anyways have a great week and don't get too cold, especially those in Utah I hear it's insanely cold at the moment, so stay warm!

Lots of love
Elder Laney

Dijon France

ReBonjour (Week #5 Transfer #13)

Hey everyone! We had a good week, a little slow as we are still having trouble with seeing some of our Amis, but we've been fixing some rendezvous so things should be going forward a bit more. For example Didier got back from vacation and seems well, and his mom is making a lot of progress, she even read the chapter we gave her 2 times and understood the atonement super well so that was cool. 

Adventures in French travel...

Last P-day we just relaxed and then did a lot of contacting the next few days. One day we got a call from Efoma, Abraham's sister, telling us her sister Joy wants to be baptized and start coming to church with the new year. Such a cool miracle, we went to see them and we have started teaching Joy and Efoma which is really cool, and it's in English so even better! Haha, always refreshing to teach in English. Haha I get thrown off though, not used to it. 

Charles de Gaulle and the French fleet in Toulon harbor

We've also started teaching a less active lady over 90 years old named Soeur Varlet who is awesome, she's super funny and super fun to see. We found her after passing a name on a list I felt like we should pass, she was home and ever since has been telling us how God does his thing and how crazy it is we found her. So cool. Our bishop told us after she is "absolument délicieuse" which apparently In French is not weird to say at all! Haha, just means she's awesome. Anyways it was a good week for that, and we made some calls and should be seeing some new people too this week.

Petrified Bread.  This is what happens when Elder Golightly bakes...

De tout façon I hope you all have a good week! Make sure to follow the Spirit, I know as we do He'll tell us small little things we can do to help people and He'll do it in small ways.  I've learned we just need to follow good thoughts most of the time, but I also know as we follow the Spirit we will come to recognize His voice more and more. That's definitely one of the greatest gifts I've had on my mission so far :)

Avec amour,
Elder Laney

Bonne Année!! (week #4 Transfer #13)

Hey friends,

We had a great windup to the year, just a good week full of miracles and contacting, seeing some Amis and doing work as usual. I always have such a testimony of this work as I go each week, little miracles and things that would never happen otherwise always take place as we work hard, seek revelation and do our best. Miracles are super cool, and we see a lot of small ones on the day to day, and more significant ones as needed. It's really cool, an the mission has already shown me a lot of this and that that is true. As for our Amis, Dominique is doing really good and Azam is learning some which is cool, we found this family who is really cool and needs our prayers, the family Fernandez Gomez, they are having a hard time but are very open an know already this is true which is so cool.

Toulon Bay

Well after 2016 in France it is interesting to reflect on it, it went by real fast, but also it is amazing and incredible to think about how much happened during just a short 12 months and how much I have learned, grown, and changed. It is a great blessing. I encourage you all to reflect on your past year, remember the good memories and then think of this year, think of what you would like to do, goals and adventures you will have and plan on them. I know Planning helps :) (we plan a LOT) but really it is a cool opportunity to reflect on cherished memories and to look forward. I did the reflecting part this morning and it was cool.

Toulon Harbor

Well I hope you all had a great week! Love you lots and I wish you all again a happy new year! Bonne année!!!

Avec beaucoup d'amour et gratitude,
Elder Laney

And a Happy New Year!!! (week #3 Transfer #13)

Salut les Amis!

This week was really awesome! I would say the highlight was getting to see so many of you on the family Skype, I am so grateful to have such an awesome family, and I can't wait to see the rest of you real soon,but until then, the work goes on :)

Christmas morning Skype session!

Lots of holiday goodies!

This week we were able to see some really cool miracles, notably one was the Consales Family, a week and a half ago Elder Thorne called this family who was referred to our area a bit ago, the mom picked up and said she was having a hard time, but instead of saying that because of such it was not the right moment she responded saying maybe our call was a sign. Anyway, we've been trying to see them since then, and finally got a chance during our exchange, turns out her husband had a Book of Mormon already and reads from time to time. The whole family is really cool and open, I'll let you know how things go with them. Also during this exchange on my side with Elder Connell (who's a boss) we found this really cool member who hasn't been to church for a while and I'm excited to get to know her, she was super pumped to meet us. 

Christmas with the Manoa family

Anyways lots of little miracles like that, Dominique is doing well and working on smoking and Didier should be back in about a week. Some of our other Amis haven't been progressing, so that's always hard but I know when they are ready and have a real desire God will either lead them back to us or us back to them again. Til then we will search for those who are ready. It's sad since we haven't seen Abraham in over a month, no idea where he went, we are starting to teach other members of his family which is really a blessing and we will see how he is doing from there.

Early morning hike above Toulon

En tout cas, a good week with a lot of blessings, especially Christmas, and thanks for all you guys do and for your prayers. Be happy and have a good week, we can in all situations and life is fun :) Happy New Year! Make some good New Years resolutions!!!!!!! I'm going to too :)

Lot of love,
Elder Laney

Sunset at Toulon Harbor

Merry Christmas!!! (week #2 Transfer #13)

Hey !!!! Merry Christmas everyone!!!!  In a week anyway but well, I'll just tell you in advance :) We had a really good week! We got to head to Lyon for 2 days for a few conferences and it was really fun to run into and meet a lot of missionaries I love dearly who I have not seen in some time, including Elder Kelsey, Elder Carlson, Elder zhu and many more.  We actually had all the gang from the MTC back together :)  Super fun.  We were really taught by the Spirit as Elder Sabin from the Area Presidency of Europe met and spoke with us, along with his wife and President and Sister Brown. It was a really great experience, and I learned a lot, especially as I prepared for Conference and gained some answers to questions I have had for a while now. I know the Spirit really does teach us.  

French-y Christmas tree!

Anyways I got my Christmas package from home (thank you family!!) and we got a Christmas tree from a  member and decorated that well, and we are all planned for Christmas so it should be a fun experience, especially getting to see some of you on Skype! So pumped. 

Christmas goodies!

Well it will be a great week again and we have a lot to do this week, we have many of our Amis who can see us and it will be great to pay them all a visit to share the wonderful spirit of the season. I wish you all a Merry Christmas!  Have fun and live up this occasion for family to come together.  That has to be one of my favorite parts of Christmas, and I'll do my best to fit in :) 

Lighthouse in Toulon harbor

I hope the memory of the Savior and his birth and all that means brings you all some joy, I know He lives, and He loves us all and is so happy and glad to have done what He did, and it means that we can all be happier because of it.  Love you all and have a great week :)

Season's greetings,
Elder Laney

Week 1 miracles (week #1 Transfer #13)

Hey everyone!  Our week went well, My new companion Elder Thorne is a standup guy and we're doing well working together. Elder Golightly is also a stud and I'm excited for all of us to work together. 

Elder Thorne and Elder Laney

The week was a bit long, nothing  but of the ordinary but we did have some cool experiences and some cool miracles too!  e got to see Azam who is doing really well, we had a great rendezvous where we just got to know each other better and I feel like he's getting to know people better and is more open which is really cool. Didier is doing well too, just super positive now and looking towards baptism.  His mom even got interested in the lesson last time and asked for the brochure to the Plan of Salvation which was really cool.  We also saw a friend of Frere Sassi and were able to bless her home and give her a blessing as well as she's been having a hard time, she really felt the Spirit and was so grateful telling us how she got way more of a spiritual boost than she was asking for haha.  It's cool how the Spirit works. We also taught Bernardino again yesterday, he's super cool and accepted a Book of Mormon, once again the rendezvous upped his spirits and he was super receptive. 

Enormous avocado tree

Also we saw the Consales Family who are new, husband is not a member, so we taught them and he accepted a Book of Mormon and told us he would read it.  We also on Thursday night were making some calls to clean up some unupdated referrels to be sure in case they weren't able to contact them, and Elder Thorne calls this one lady.  She picks up and after finding out her husband is having a hard time, she tells him that maybe his call is a sign. She goes on to tell us how her husband even had a Book of Mormon and reads it from time to time and loves it.  So we fix a rendezvous and see them on Saturday, he had been back to the hospital but she was there and at the door we were able to refix the rendezvous and give her a restoration brochure.  She actually took it and with a huge look of gratitude gave the brochure a kiss and told us thank you.  I'm excited to meet with this family, they are really nice and so cool.  Then we met a lady from Ireland doing groceries and traded numbers, she's "big on Jesus" as she put it haha.

Gotta love a bowl of fresh free avocados!

 We've  been super blessed this week which is just awesome, God knows when His children are ready and for what step. It's cool to be His hands in small occasions as these. I know He watches over us and will do what He can, including promoting us to do our part, to help others progress and return to Him. That's my testimony. Love you guys and have a great week!!!! Also Joyeux Noël and can't wait to see you all soon :)

Lots of love,
Elder Laney

Light the World (week #6 Transfer #13)

Salut! Comment ca va? 

Well it's official, I am now an old missionary. I lived out my youth to its best, but now as I approach the next 6 months I am going head first, I'm excited and really looking forward to the experiences and miracles to come. Today Elder Tehahe and I sent off Elder Richmond and Elder Steadman, who will be heading home soon as their missions finish today! So crazy, I'm pumped for them and to hear how the normal life is going. Here I am receiving Elder Thorne and Elder Tehahe is receiving Elder Golightly, who was in the zone just up in Avignon, so I'm excited to have him down here. Elder Golightly is a boss and I've only heard good things about Elder Thorne so I'm super excited :) it's going to be the best transfer yet!!! 

 "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." from Invictus

This week was really well spent, first off I'll start with yesterday, so we'll just recount this week backwards. Yesterday I met Soeur Manoa who came to church for the first time in a while, turns out she's from California, and for the first time someone from California told me they were from San Francisco!  (Most ppl end up from LA haha) and en plus she's from Concord!!!  What the heck! When they found out I was from Danville they flipped, talked about how they passed Danville all the time to go to In-N-Out. We had a good time, her husband is on the rugby team here in Toulon and they invited us for dinner so we all had a good time, so cool!  Anyways I love America :) it's super cool to meet someone from the hometown, 1st time I've met someone from right at home. So cool. And he gave us all free USA rugby jerseys too. Basically just like the best night of my mission so far.

The Family Monoa and free rugby jerseys for the Elders!

Soeur Manoa and Elders 

Anyway, the week went well, got to see Azam and play some ping pong with him, he wrecked us!  Turns out he trained in ping pong as a kid haha.  He's doing good, came to church and we'll hopefully be able to start seeing him more often now.  Got to see one of our members and her husband who are both really cool, he's open and might be interested in the lessons so we'll see where that goes. Trying to get into contact with some of our Amis, including Abraham. We were sad to have to push his baptism a bit further, we haven't had contact.  Anyway, I know he wants to and had faith in God, and he's ready, so well just help him jump on a bit more and he'll make the decision. We do what we can but in the end it's up to each of us to make our decisions, and this one is his, as it is for all of our Amis. We will do our absolute best to help this happen.   

Wonderful Family Home Evening dinner with elders, members and amis

Well I hope you all have a great week. Sorry about last weeks message; apparently part of it got cut off, so I'll just repeat it this week!  So my little thought today is to #LighttheWorld :) This December the Church has a program inviting us to go and serve someone every day. Each day before Christmas we have an activity or 2 we can do to help others, and a small video to watch that goes along with it to make Christmas a greater experience as we turn outwards to others. It's at www.Mormon.org where you will kick off for the season starting December 1. 

I love how much happier I am when I am focusing on others, and I think the program they have is super fun. Love you guys and I hope you all have a great start to winter :) again I am so grateful for the Christmas season, and also for this beautiful world God has given us, nature is always a testimony of Him to me, and I love this world's natural beauty. I'm grateful to have had a chance to see such beautiful sights today. 

Love you all and have an awesome week! 

Love,
Elder Laney