Road trips, genealogy and fun (Transfer #16 Week #2)

Hey! So this week went very well. Well, we drove for about 19 hours total, first we had a conference in Lyon where we had to drop off Elder Suisse in Fribourg so me and another elder could drive to Lyon, that was super fun though and the conference was awesome. We were shown a super simple technique to find ancestors who had not yet had temple work done for them yet.  Basically you go far down a line of ancestry and then view all the descendants of someone down that line up to 4 generations and you look for the green temple icons! Super cool, I found some already! Anyways, we are going to be helping a lot of people get their genealogy going to prepare for Paris! And my invitation to you this week is to also try that little tactic in your genealogy, it is super cool and you may find some people you can help out!!! It's super easy too. So take a look at your genealogy anyways, its super cool.

Exchanges in Lausanne

We saw Frere Owusu this week and got him pumped on the temple too, and then had district meeting which was great, and then we got to help out in an Easter activity for the Primary which was a blast. Lastly, Sunday went well and we ate with and taught Steve and Loveth, and we had a great experience with them and helped him understand a few things, we are hoping he will be more available to start really looking into the church soon, he wants to know if its true and is just trying to pass his exams at the moment. Great guy. 

Conference in Lyon

Anyways it was a great week in all, including a super fun exchange in Lausanne and i can't believe how much I love these people here! Perhaps the greatest news was a change of date of our zone conference by 1 day, making it possible for me and Elder Suisse to now attend Poe and Tatiana's marriage!!!!!!!! We're so excited!! Oh my gosh its so cool, Heavenly Father is working miracles and that one was just for us. Anyways I'm so pumped and this next week should be a good one here in Dijon with some exchanges, I'll keep you up to date. Bonne Semaine! 

Love,
Elder Laney 

Dijon District

Tiny Terracotta Warriors

Good times as usual (Transfer #16 Week #1)

So our week 1 went well, we got to see Poe and Tatiana at the end who fed us like kings, we forgot to eat dinner later since we were so full, anyways they are getting married on the 12th May and then Poe is getting baptized the day after!!!!! It's going to be tight but should work out, if you could say a quick prayer for him I know it will help. He is so awesome, and I can't wait to see him take that choice and continue.

Porting in Dijon

I'm also super excited for our recent converts Nomena and Arnaud who are both doing super good and have both been to the temple now for baptisms! They both loved it and thought it was the coolest thing, so that is so so awesome. This week we saw some less active members and got in contact with an ancient ami named Regine who I hope things go well with, we hope to see her this week as well! We also got to visit the Poepaert's who are awesome and the Cuisiat's as usual, but this time for an Easter feast, and she brought out all the nice silverware and plates so we ate literally like Kings. 

Frog's legs - DELICIOUS!!

We get spoiled here! Anyways we made the dessert for that... a cheesecake that kind of was just a really good crust with what resembled melted ice cream inside. We'll keep working on that... 

Cheesecake attempt #1

Great week though, a huge miracle and lesson I learned once again this week is how God gives us the words we need to share to help those in need, especially when giving Priesthood blessings to those who are sick or in need emotionally. It is a great thing to take part and to give such a blessing, which is like a prayer given to promise and help someone know what the Lord wishes for them, to promise them blessings and give them a blessing of health or recovery. It is a great thing we get to do and it helps a lot of people. 

Love,
Elder Laney

Colza fields

Final Lap (Transfer #15 Week #6->T#16)

Hello everyone! Well, here it is, the last transfer. I'm excited and so is Elder Suisse since we are staying together. It is going to be a good transfer full of miracles and joy in the work, and we are both pumped. Crazy how time flies, it is odd to think I have been in France for so long, and also odd to think I have been anywhere but France before! Feels kind of like a dream I remember of home. It is good here and I am lucky to serve with such wonderful people as well as spend so much time in such a beatiful country sharing with it the coolest message ever. It's quite the experience! I highly recommend it :) And I've never seen myself grow more or change more for the better. Well enough sentiment you'll have the full rundown in about 5 weeks. til then...

Springtime in France!

This week went great! We had a good experience seeing many active members, passing them out in their towns while doing some work or looking for less active members who were in the area as well. It was so great to get closer to these awesome pioneers in Dijon, and to hear their experiences and what makes them tick in the gospel. It was moving to hear their testimonies and comfort them in their fears. It is amazing, I realized this week, how often we feel the Spirit of God in each visit and rdv and even conversation on the street, it is here frequently testifying through us, and we feel it's joy and love and happiness and peace each time. We shared that video I shared last week like 20 times this week too, haha, showed it to everybody, it was awesome! I love that video. Besides this we viewed the beauty of the sunlit hills, fields and vineyards of Bourgogne, what a sight! And, as far as our gourmandise, we tried, for the first time ever on my mission and in my life... Frog legs! They were pretty darn good, like little tiny chicken legs, tasted great and Ii was a fan. Soeur Cuisiat is literally our hero and came to our rescue making us those. Anyways, a great week, and more to come. We are seeing a lot of people this week and it should be fun, we are also focusing on finding new amis since we have a few (Agne, Hadye) who are taking some time at the moment and don't wish to currently be taught, but we have faith and keep them in our prayers, and until their time is ready we will go find who we are meant to teach now. 

Local church - (looks kinda like Provo City Center Temple!)

This transfer is going to be the best, with Poe and Tatiana's wedding in May with his baptism and then the temple dedication in Paris on the 21st.. I can't wait. Have a great week everyone!!!

Love,
Elder Laney

By the words of my Prophets (Transfer #15 Week #5)

Hey everyone! 

So this week went by SO fast, I don't even know, we did a lot of porting and contacting and met some cool people. By some interesting miracles we were able to get back in contact with Agnes as well as get some more experience in finding! Great week, and it was a breather to get to do some good old finding after a long time of too much driving.

Road trip to Lausanne

Beautiful springtime in France!

It was good. District Meeting also went well, we all shared good ideas on how repentance and hope bring us to have confidence due to what we know we are worthy and capable of, once we have prepared ourselves to be so.

Dijon District

This weekend we got to watch General Conference again! It was so great, and I learned a lot, some things I'm doing well, some things I need to work on, and tons of tools and ideas on how to live a better life. I just wanted to emphasize the importance and blessing of a modern day prophet and apostles who guide us. One of my favorite messages was from Elder Holland on respect and acceptance in the Church, how God loves ALL his children, no matter who we are, what our past is, what our opinions or ideas or tendencies, he loves all of us. And so He will accept all who prepare themselves to meet him, conditions of purity are focused around abiding by his commandments and believing in Him, and any who do these things are fit for the kingdom of God. I loved that and it shows how much we love everyone, no matter who, and how God looks at us all differently. In a talk by President Eyring he also referenced an experience of his meeting someone who had drunkenly run a car into a bank, yelling "Don't shoot! I'm a Mormon!" After, when President Eyring shared this, he said he prepared to use a little bit of fire in his speech to make this man feel remorse at his large and embarrassing error, to correct him, but when he sat there he heard the words "I'm going to show you how I see him" and after his image of this man changed to a glorious and noble son of God. He afterwards treated the situation so much differently. So no matter where we are in life or what we've done, we can always come back through Christ. I know this and love Him for what He did so we could do this, and know that peace can come. I hope you can all feel this peace, and I know He is the Prince of Peace as pronounces this awesome video the church recently shared. I invite you all to watch it and ponder upon the love and grace of God and Christ and how we much all love each other for our eternal worth and potential no matter whom we are. Have a great week and love you all! 

Love,
Elder Laney

Hope (Week #4 Transfer #15)

Hey friends and family, 

I hope you are all doing well. A quick update on the week:  Had an exchange with Bienne, I was with Elder Walton, super funny and awesome Elder.  We got to do some service in which I fixed a rendezvous with our member to help me out with my geneology!  (we have an hour long study each week given to us by President Brown to work on our geneology or other spiritual or temporal self-reliance to follow the region plan of Europe.)  So I met with her Sunday and she taught me how to get going in geneology!  It is so cool, and the more I try it the more I get excited to do more after the mission.  I plan on doing some each Sunday afterwards and this is a really cool opportunity, we were able to look a bit into my French ancestry where some of it I believe comes out of Djion.  Anyways, we got to see Hadi, Soeur Cuisiat's friend, and we engaged her to baptism!  She is really cool and wants to know if this is true and is down to follow this path when she gets her answer.  After we got to eat escargot with Soeur Cuisiat and Jean her husband, such a fun opportunity, and to be honest i really like escargot. 

Escargot cconnoisseur

Friday we got to go to Geneva for a conference which was amazing, I got to see a lot of people I know, including Elder Brady-Haug who is finishing this transfer, and it was crazy to say goodbye to some poeple, some perhaps until much later in life. I know God gives us the opportunity to get back in touch with people and i'm going to do my best to keep in contact with these awesome elders and sisters.

Crossing into Geneva

 President's message this week was on Hope. We all have need of it today, more than ever. We need God's help in the most important and difficult moments. Hope is gained as we experience His love. His love is most manifest when we understand what happened when he sent his son, Jesus Christ. Christ gave his life for us. In this sacrifice and more, in what we call the Atonement, he took upon himself all our sins, or mistakes, and all our trails and difficulties (Alma 7:11-13). So he knows exactly what we go through because of that. And when we understand what that means it is then where we find a new source for hope. He gave his life so we can overcome all of this: anything that brings us down, that makes us sad, makes life hard, or makes us guilty or depressed. And so Because of Him, if we choose to, we can be free of all these negative and sad things by accepting Him and this gift. How do we do so? By repenting and becoming better people, by repenting, or changing for the better, and no longer choosing the things that ultimatley lead to sadness, but instead that which is light, and good, selfless, whole, chaste, worthy, great, happy. When we choose God in this way, and ask Him to forgive us, he is already waiting, and accepts us with open arms. In doing so we partake of that mercy, and love, we know we will live with Him again someday. I know this is true and that in this hope we can put perfect confidence and trust in Him that all will work out. That's my message and testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

love,
Elder Laney

Delicious French meal with  Soeur Cuisiat and Jean

Going about doing good (Week#3 Transfer#15)

Hey people! 

So this week felt great, we got to spend the entire time in our sector in Dijon, not a single trip outside of it, got to see a ton of our members and it was lit almost the entire time with blue skies, a warm spring sun, and a nice breeze/perfect temperature as flowers started blooming everywhere in the city. It was a great week in almost every category so I everything to be happy about! So great.

Beginning of the week we got to start off with a Family Home evening with Souer Cuisiat and her friend.  Turns out her friend is very interested in the gospel and Soeur Cuisiat is even taking her to go see the temple open house in Paris!  After a lesson on the temple, Soeur Cuisiat told her she was welcome to take the missionary lessons whenever she wished.  After the prayer I felt I should ask her if she was interested in learning more, and so I did, and she said yes!  In fact she is very interested and wants to learn more, so we will be teaching her this Wednesday with Souer Cuisiat!  So awesome.  Jean Cuisiat is doing so much better too in his health which is awesome.  I'll take a picture with them next time, they are awesome. 

The rest of the week we spent passing back members who haven't been to church in a long time as well as active members to share some quick spiritual thoughts and lighten their day. It worked great and one member, Soeur Pichon, helped me realize we have a common ancestor (Agnes de Bourgogne) who was in a line of dukes who lived in the Palais Des Dukes here in Dijon!  So basically... that's my palace. Picture below of me in my palace. Anyway, the 1% of French ancestry I do have comes right from Bourgogne and even Dijon itself, so I guess the Lord really does put us in places meant just for us!  I will be looking more into some of that while I have the chance to be here. 

me standing on the staircase of the entryway in the Palace of the Dukes of Bourgogne. The door was open, never is and not sure why, so we jumped in and took a picture! After we left some guys working there closed it since they are doing construction. Haha!  Got the picture, good thinking Elder Suisse! 

Anyway, we also got to see Frere Taukafa who is awesome and give him a blessing, and Frere Bornand who is super awesome and help him out.  We taught Nomena, and even got to see her and her friend Felina at lunch at her uncle's on Saturday; we all shared testimony and Felina's was so cool.  We finished the week with great food and an awesome lesson with Poe, even threw all his tea away!  (thank you Elder Mitsukawa who served in our ward a few years ago with his example trying to do the same thing).  I ate a ton of food and we got to end the week with a great Sunday and seeing Loveth and Steve, they are so awesome.  He read out of the Book of Mormon and believes and likes it already, and he can't wait to learn more. Such an awesome time when we see them. 

Village of Bligny-le-sec

That was our week, and the thing I learned from it was the chance we have to "go about doing good" as Preach My Gospel teaches us in a section with that title in CH.9.  As we share the light we have and find opportunities to serve, as we did our best to do this week (with some service this week as a result! woot!), we will be able to help everyone around us and many will be touched by our influence, and many will open to the gospel as well. Have a great week and I invite you all to do one random act of service :)

lots of Love,
Elder Laney

A rather sunny week! (Week#2 Transfer#15)

Hey everyone!

So we had another great week, one full of traveling and meetings and lots of fun.  Monday after some good rest we ate at a member's house and they were awesome.  Elder Suisse did half of the spiritual thought in French no problem, he is seriously such a pro already.  The next day we got up early to drive to Lyon where I and the rest of the District Leaders as well as Zone Leaders and stls met with President and others for a big leadership meeting.  It went really well and the Spirit was strong as we made goals and plans together as a mission and all got on board to follow President's inspired direction. 

Leadership Conference in Lyon

This transfer the focus is baptisms, and we're ready to see a lot in the mission with a lot of miracles to prepare for the Paris temple about to be finished.  Wednesday we got to eat at this awesome Madagascan family's home, and Thursday we had district meeting in Lausanne and an exchange the next day.  Haha, everyone was so excited to meet Elder Suisse in la Suisse (that's what they call Switzerland in the French speaking sections, Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg all that).  We then had a great family home evening with one of the Tahitian families in the ward with their friends, such a fun time!

Headed to Switzerland...

Saturday we helped with a move and visited Poe as well as another Tahitian family, and ate with Poe and Tatiana afterwards, they are doing awesome and heading towards their marriage still.  Sunday we had church and later saw Loveth and Stevenson, a member who hasn't been to church in a while with her nonmember husband, both from Nigeria.  He's big into religion and shares spiritual thoughts with tons of people on the internet.  We had such a cool rdv, the spirit was so strong as we taught him, and he at the end told us "The Spirit is telling me to read that book. I'm going to read your book!" So he's going to read the Book of Mormon now. He is so cool and willing to learn now.  Funny guy too.  Well that was our week.

Beautiful church in Lausanne

 As a little message this is something Steve from Nigeria told us: "You cannot grieve the spirit. Because if you grieve the Spirit, it leaves you, and you might be doing something wrong, but the Spirit is not with you, it is just at a watching distance..." Let us all keep the spirit close to us so it doesn't have to remain at watching distance when we say or do things that are not good. I hope you all Have a great week et a bientot! 

love,
Elder Laney