Week #3, Transfer #5 - Manosque, France

Bonjour! We got to see all our Amis this week!  Started off seeing Jean-Luc finally who we haven't been able to see yet, haha, so then we saw him 4 times this week! He's doing so awesome.  He's taken a lot of steps to change his life and says he's happy for the first time.  He saw some miracles in his life while we couldn't see him and all the sudden he's ready and prepared for baptism! He's so pumped and we've seen God blessing his life left and right haha, so many blessings it's crazy!  We're so happy, it's so cool, so we'll be having his baptism at the end of the transfer!  I'm super excited.

Another gorgeous sunset in Manosque, through the apartment window

We got to see Patrick again yesterday, had a good lesson and he was as cool as ever.  Haha gonna keep them shorter - he seemed to lose attention after 50 min, always working on improving my teaching so good learning experience!  We also got to see Hervé who had a lot of good questions, he's super cool and one of the few people I've found shorter than me.  He's so cool, he looks like he stepped right off a cartoon and is super funny.  So it was a cool week with Amis!

It snowed in Provence!!!  Had to bring in the heavy equipment to deal with it...

My favorite part this week, besides teaching all of them, was the Worldwide Mission Conference, a broadcast with a lot of the leaders in our church to all missionaries in the world, which took place right in Salt Lake City where Nick is.  Anyways it was really cool and while I was in Aix to watch it I met a lot of cool missionaries in the moving companionship who deal with moving missionaries to new apartments, including Elder Carlson from my MTC district, Elder Keller who was in Rodez by Albi semi recently and Elder Tindel-Biscaut from Malaga Spain who is in Albi now after some emergency transfers got figured out.  Elder Omohundro is doing better which is good to hear, I don't think he's in the hospital anymore, and turns out a promise I made to our ami Brigitte in Albi really happened. It was something I honestly felt inspired to tell her right before I left, all I know is God really does work through us. It was amazing.  To explain, we feel what we call the spirit in the church, who can help us in life by peace and aid in decisions (I pray a lot when trying to make a good decision!) and by good thoughts and feelings we can be inspired to help others.  I felt so recently and it's powerful to see the results; sometimes we don't see them immediately, but like this week with what I heard, it really works! It's so cool.

For my mom.  Just to remind her what she's missing there in California...

Also make sure to eat some good food and happy MLK Jr Day!  Had no idea that happened this week, thanks Nick for the update haha!  A little detached from the US right now. Tell me what cool things are happening back in the homeland! Love you all lots!

Avec amour,
Elder Laney

Week #2 Tranfer #5 - Manosque - Fun stuff!

Hey everyone!! This week was amazing as usual! We have been working very hard and with some new inspired direction from President Brown and working in the right direction too. Really awesome!  This week was cold, the mistral, a wind that comes from the Swiss alps comes in and it is freezing! This week we started off with some shopping in Aix on Monday.  Soldes, a 6 week period where all the shops drop most prices below minimum 20% and many to 50% off, have started, so I bought a little, but not too much, and I'll try not to spend all my money!

Manosque is in the hills of Provence

We found a lot more people and even engage Patrick, our new ami from Kenya, to be baptized!  He wants to know its true, but every time we meet with him it's so cool. He's so happy and we even found 1 Book of Mormon in Swahili for him that was in our apartment.  Who knew! Anyways, I'm really excited for him and all our other Amis.  It's so cool how hard work and strict obedience immediately will bring about wonderful change and so much in our lives.  I've really been working on this and acting in faith to do what God needs me to do for these people here in France, and were finding those who are ready and helping them along the way, and it's so cool. Haha, Patrick told us again he was "very happy" and was so cool, we're seeing him later this week.

If you look REALLY close you can see the Alps in this photo!  Where the white meets the blue of the sky, toward that top of the photo, that is the Alps.

I also got to hold what I believe might have been a violin worth several thousand dollars this week at a members house, they wouldn't say how much it was worth, but it sounded beautiful when their daughter played it, though I was too afraid to try it.  I will give it a go next time, haha, I'm not good at violin and started a year ago and am out of practice, but it's fun anyways!

Manosque is so picturesque, even if it is freezing right now!

Below is my favorite scripture, I wanted to share it with you this week. It's Helaman 5:12 in the Book of Mormon. 

".. remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, ...because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

I love this verse and it has given me strength in the past and continues to do so now. 

This is a painting that just works with that that I found this week. It's really beautiful.

Have a wonderful week! Love you guys and I miss you all so much. Lots of love et

Avec amour,
Elder Laney

Some French fun!
Baguette literally means "stick"
So guess what "baguette pour manger" means?  Manger means eat, so I thought it meant a beaguette for eating, so you know the bread you eat. It means a chopstick! Because it's a stick you use for eating. I find that really funny and ironic. 

Week #1 Tranfer #5 - Hakuna Matata

Hey everyone!! This week in Manosque was great! I will tell you it was the hardest working week I've had so far haha. Literally the entire week every day all day we contacted people on the street and went porting (port-a-port which means door to door), and so I was a little exhausted but that's all right. Me and Elder Garside are having a fun time together, similar work ethics and we get along great, so no complaints haha. We're going to make his last transfer a good one, that's our goal! Manosque is a cool little city, hahaha much like Tarbes, I walk everywhere and the church is a 30 min walk from our apartment so basically the same. Lol. It's a gold mine here though, as Elder Garside put it. We met so many cool people and are meeting a ton of them this week!

Manosque from my apartment window

Favorite part of the week comes in 2. 1st, I read a letter to a missionary by his dad known as the Ricciardi letter. I believe this may just be changing my mission. The perspective I now have includes the change I can have on all people, including myself. That's what a mission is for, by following Gods guidance by the spirit and doing our best when left to our own, we find and baptize those who are prepared and ready, while changing ourselves in ways we could never have. Try to go into every day with the mindset that it is full of opportunities to grow, enjoying the journey and learn and improve and help others as you try to do so, in every day life!

Manosque at night

Second favorite: We met 2 people yesterday after church who both are new Amis now! We had to skip the ward lunch, which here is uncommon and looked sooooo good, because we had scheduled a rendezvous at 2, and an hour after church people were still talking next to all the food and hadn't prayed and started eating yet (France lol) so we had to skip it. We were also didn't think either of the rendezvous would happen since both the people we met showed the typical signs they wouldn't show, one even gave us the wrong number. But we went anyways and tried to find some faith on the way over. 7 minutes after the scheduled time we were waiting on a bench when we saw who we thought was Patrick, a man from Africa we had met during the week and who we were waiting for. Turned out to be him! So he came over and we had the coolest 1st lesson ever! ( the first lesson is where we share the story of Joseph smith's vision and how we can know God is there and if what we are teaching is true) At the end when we were finishing he told us in his heavy Kenyan accent "I am happy!" He had already fixed another meeting with us and it was so cool to see how happy he was after our message, I just knew he felt the spirit as he said those words, I had felt it strongly in recounting the vision that Joseph smith had of God the father and Jesus Christ. We had another slightly less doubting experience meeting our 2nd new ami Adil who came too and is interested in learning more and wants to find the truth! So cool. And the Best part, speaking to Patrick it turns out he speaks multiple languages including English, a little French, and Swahili. So my companion elder Garside asked him to teach us some. First he taught us habadiako which means hello, and then said "here's anatha, I don't know if you know this one, you may have heard it: "Hakuna Matata." It means "no problems!"" Haha, just like saying "no problem", I had no idea that was a real phrase! Me and Elder Garside loved it. Haha he and Adil are so cool and I'm so excited to teach them!

I hope you all have a wonderful week, My invite is to go do something nice and when someone tells you thank you or asks you to do a favor you can reply with Hakuna Matata :)

Public restroom here are a little TOO public!

Also our beautiful faces in case I forgot to share with you a pic of me and my new companion! 1st pic with elder Garside last Monday. In Aix trying not to spend all my money today. All the sales are in full swing, soldes as they call it in France.

Elder Laney and Elder Garside

Week #6 Tranfer #4 - On the Road Again

Surprise! I'm moving again! I'm currently at the Toulouse train station waiting to take 2 more trains and a bus to get to my new ville, Manosque, which is a little north of Aix en Provence, so I'll be in Provence! 

Lavender fields outside Manosque

I've heard it's beautiful. Also my new branch president is the best friend of President Bernardi, branch president of Albi.  Haha the connections between French Mormons are crazy. I'm finally leaving the Toulouse zone, it's been fun and I'm really going to miss it.

here's a little castle on the hill along the way...

 I've seen all the villes and met a ton of super awesome men and women, and it will be sad to leave, I'll especially miss Albi, it's been such a blessing to serve here and I'll miss everyone and my basically 4 comps as we spent so much time with Rodez :) I'll also be leaving Elder Zhu who I've been with the whole mission since I got dropped off at the MTC in Utah!  He's going to a French companionship in a different zone too to learn French though so that will be cool.

The amazing Elders of Rodez and Albi.  Gonna miss these guys...

I will say it has been an eventful week!  Besides getting transferred half way across the country, Elder Omohundro has not been eating like anything recently so we got him checked out and it turns out he has gall stones, so we spent half the week with Elder Wall while he went to the hospital and today Elder Wall is coming to Toulouse to pick up Elder Omohundro's 2 new companions while Elder Omohundro goes to the hospital with Elder Woodward from Rodez.  Oh ya, by the way Elder Robards got transferred too, he's off the Jex which is right by Switzerland, quite a different climate to where I'm headed.  Anyways, should be an interesting day. Pray for Elder Omohundro and that he gets better, he may have to undergo surgery but I think that even if he'll be alright.

Anyways this week was pack full of member visits and some super cool miracles. My takeaway: when you see something good, or identify a good cause, go for it. Yesterday our ami Bridgette couldn't come to church due to some grave circumstances with her family, so we got a call from a member suggesting we see her. I thought it sounded like a good idea, so we put packing to leave Albi on hold and me, Elder Robards and Elder Wall , (Elder Omohundro wasn't feeling well) drove 40 min to her house hoping she was there. After we said a prayer and got out of the car, as soon as we got to the door Brigitte opened it and got super surprised, but super happy to see us. She and her friend Eric were on there way to go to help with her situation and we had walked up exactly as they we leaving the house. Haha her friend Eric, who we know and is super cool and who had been super gung-ho for her baptism even though he's not a member, anyways as soon as the door opened he pointed at us and told her "c'est une signe!" (It's a sign!). Haha he thought it was so cool we showed up at that moment. We talked for some time and she was feeling so much better afterwards. We were able to help her know that no matter what situation God is there to help us. And when we got home we were able to pack in time too! Haha so it all worked out.  From all this I know God works through us to help others
in trials.

New year service project!  Stocking the woodshed

I hope you all Have a great week and I love you all!

Elder Garside, my new companion!

Avec amour,
Elder Laney

Week #5 Transfer #4: Toulouse, Lyon, Albi

I would like to start this email with my thoughts, love and prayers to Mimi Descamps, a member here in Albi who passed away Tuesday. We got the call and we weren't expecting this so soon, I've been seeing Mimi twice a week since I got here, it was always the highlight to have dinner at her home. Despite this sad news, I know she is now happy and at peace, able to walk again and smiling. We had the funeral service on Christmas eve morning, and it was one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever had in my entire life.  In the words of Elder Omohundro, "heaven and earth really did come together today", something our mission president had talked to us at the conference this week.  We all felt the spirit, and heaven and Mimi with us that day. This experience was really special and we will all remember Mimi and know she's with us.  After the funeral we had gotten out all our emotions and then made a decision to celebrate lots for Mimi and for Christmas in honor of her!  So that's what we did this week :)

Lyon Mission Conference

We started the week in Toulouse for P-Day, I parked the car and got out, then scrambled on my jacket to find my nametag which wasn't there!  So I wore Elder Duckworth's (my old zone leader) tag for a day and then wore Elder Zhu's full Chinese plaque for the rest of the week at the Mission Conference.  Haha!  Many people were confused.  We boarded next morning at 4 on the bus and all 4 buses in the mission rounded up all the missionaries and got us to Lyon! 

We had a blast there with an awesome devotional with games with President and Sister Brown in an aquarium, and then toured the aquarium, and then all got to watch Lion King in the ampitheatre there eating Master Taco's, a super good burrito place in Lyon.  

Lyon Musee de Confluences, where the Rhône meets the Saône

Best night, it was so fun!  On the mission we don't watch movies for these 2 years to stay focused, except on Christmas, and President surprised us with an extra movie then!  Next day we had a cool conference and I got to see all my friends then and the day before including Elder Kelsey.

Josh and Elder Kelsey (from early MTC days in the mission)

We got home from all this on Christmas eve, then had the funeral, and then went hard and had a lot of fun for Christmas, starting with exotic sea food and escargot at the Bernardi's home Christmas eve night. 

Eating escargot and oysters on Christmas

Christmas was so cool!  We spent the night with Rodez elders and opened presents in the morning, and then we visited Frere Mausse in his super cool french countryside home, then spent the rest of the day at the Allal's!  We watched How to Train Your Dragon 2 and it was amazing. We watched a few others too. And I got to Skype the fam which was so cool!  You all are growing up so fast!  And you adults are all looking great!  We do have a very youthful looking family don't we? 

Skyping with the fam!  Got to talk to Nick as well (on the phone from Salt Lake City)

The rest of the week we did service for Frere Mausse and moved a ton of wood, then spent dinner with Mimi's daughter and son-in-law and their adorable baby, as well as Mimi's caretaker for 13 years.  So cool, she was so touched by everything that had happened, and accepted a Book of Mormon when I explained what we believe.  Since Mimi's passing she's felt a difference, and she knows there's something more. So as Mimi tried to give her a Book of Mormon multiple times, she was finally able to accept it on Saturday night!  I know Mimi's spirit just touched her and helped her know she's still with us, she was with us that night at dinner it was so cool.

Christmas dinner with the Bernardi family

It was one week I will never forget. I love you all.

Elder Laney

Week #4 Transfer #4: Toulouse, Rodez and Albi

Week 4 done, the weeks are going by very fast now!

Lunch with the Toulouse Elders!  

This week was a really cool one, we had a ton of awesome experiences finding people. One day we met 4 guys who were all on the rugby team and super cool and even bought us hot chocolate and cookies! We shared a brief message after hanging out with them for a bit after a guy Elder Robards had seen earlier got back. He, Dan, is from New Zealand and has family who's Mormon, and is looking for a church to go to! He's planning on coming next week and we got all their info and should see them soon! They were all so cool.

Our Rugby Pals

The rest of the week was fun, went contacting people on the street with a member, met some awesome new people, we also met a less active and are teaching her sister now who's super interested! We had a whole day of meeting new potential Amis and they all fell through, but We finally got to meet Ritta that night, a member who hasn't been to church In a long time, and she was so cool. Her sister who isn't a member was staying with her, and we got to share the new Christmas Video with them. Her sister even started to cry during it and was super touched by he message, and afterwards Ritta explained a bit about the church. Elder Omohundro then gave her a little lesson on the Book of Mormon and we gave her one. I then asked her if she was interested and she nodded with a smile and said yes! She actually really wants to learn more and we will be teaching her! We had planned on 3 new Amis, and the new friend we made we didn't even know! So cool and I feel really blessed to have been able to share this with her.

Octogonal Tower of Saint-Amans-Soult

We Got to have a fun talent show at the church later in the week and us and Rodez all did a skit that is normally really funny to Americans... no one laughed and it was super embarrassing but I didn't design the skit so that's ok haha. We still had a ton of fun with all the members and got to do a lot with them throughout the week and after!

Chapel door of church of Saint-Amans

That about sums it up! We are going to our Christmas conference tomorrow in Lyon and I forgot my plaque and planner so it should be an adventure! We'll see how I solve this challenge...

Rodez and Albi Elders.  From left: Elders Robards, Wall, Laney, Omohundro and Woodward

Anyways Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope this week is the best!!!!!!  I'm so excited to see you family and hope everyone of you has the best week of the year!

Joyeux Noël et Avec plein d'amour, (Merry Christmas and with lots of love)

Elder Laney

Week #3 Transfer #4

Hey everyone!!!!

This week was a fun one and a tough one lol, we had a lot of rejection on the streets but also the most successful day of contacting people on the street that I've ever had! 

Christmas lights in Albi

Our beginning of the week we had a really good visit with our ami Brigitte and our less active Eda, some super fun member visits, including with Soeur Delouche in her harry potter house (the inside is covered in well tended plants and ancient books, literally looks like something out of Hogwarts, so cool, and she gives me a Coke while i'm there so highlight every week). 

Soeur Delouche's amazing Hogwarts-style plant-filled apartment!

The rest of the week Thursday through Saturday we spent the whole day talking to people on the street about Christmas. Our first day of that, Thursday, was the coolest contacting day I've had my whole mission! We met multiple people that we could seriously start teaching, our first contact we got to share the video with them and well meet with them in a week. We then met a man from Africa who had more energy than I've ever seen someone use to talk!  Haha, anyways, he had had a near death experience that was super cool he shared with us, and he believes we are their to help him find the path he's been searching. Later Elder Omohundro met a lady who wants to learn more too. Then while walking I stopped a french couple with a baby to ask if they'd like to do the questionnaire and it went really well, they want to hear our message seriously and even are making us a traditional french snack tomorrow!

We are in the midst of developing the perfect pizza!

The rest of the days we didn't find anyone but we tried anyways!  Haha, it was good though, still got to pass our cards and share the video and brighten others days, as well as do card tricks for people that our district leader is doing for fun to spice up our conversations with people.
 So cool. 

Beautiful French countryside near Albi

The Christmas season is full under way and lights are everywhere so its super beautiful here! Rodez has the coolest lights, something resembling a river flowing down the cathedral made out of blue and white Christmas lights that move. The lights in Albi are also super pretty. I'm so psyched Christmas is in only a week!!!! I'm going to watch some Disney movies as we're allowed to on Christmas and i'm so excited to Skype the fam and to celebrate Christ's birth. It'll be super fun, different away from home but we'll make the most of it! 

I wish you all a wonderful week and that you have a ton of fun with your friends and family! 

Avec amour,
Elder Laney