Neuchatel 4

Wow, lots of questions. I am still loosing weight, though the members love to give us chocolate, and the chocolate is sooo soo soo soos oos oos soo good here, but yes I am running usually every other morning.  Sometimes all four of us go, sometimes just two at a time.  Elder Sorhaitz is the only one with the willpower to go every morning.  To give you an example.  there is a shirt here that another missionary left behind (a p-day shirt)  that I tried on and fits really well, I looked at the size, and it's a medium!  I don't remember ever wearing a medium shirt.

Yes I still have the guitar, and I played it in the mission office with the assistants and president, just so you know that it is approved.

Keyboards in Switzerland are almost the same as they are in the states, but the y and the z are switched, and there are a lot more symbol keys to do léttèrs wïth äcçènts, and the things like the ? ' and ! are in different places.  Also I got used to the french keyboards which are even more different than the swiss ones.

No we are in the same time zone, but we go to the church in Bienne in the morning to do emails, we study on the train, and do the rest of our studies at church.  The other Elders take the computer at the neuchâtel ward so, we go here:  Then the german elders just came by... so it looks like there isn't enough room for the both of us.  They said they would come back in an hour or so, so that was nice of them.

After this, we do our shopping in Bienne (because for some reason the shops are closed until 1 in Neuchatel) Grab lunch and get back to Neuchatel around 1 oclock to play soccer with the other equipe of missionaries.  That's what we did last p-day anyway.  It seemed to work.  Did you know that I love playing soccer now?  I suck, but it is way fun.  Maybe it is because I don't get winded after 2 minutes, or I have no other video games or what have you.  I really like it though.  Today some other missionaries are coming for exchanges, so we are all going to play together today.  If the weather holds up.  it snowed last night, but there was snow the last time, and we just borrowed a shovel from a catholic church and shoveled the field (it was an astro-turf field)

I have yet to try any uniquely swiss cheese, but I here Racclete was invented here, and I loved it in france, so maybe we'll have to see how that is.  By the way, the kebabs here, way expensive (8 franks is really reasonable compared to 4 euros in France)  However, they kick butt compared to France's kebabs, holy cow, they are unbelievable, and less greasy and more veggies inside.  They are almost like the gyros mother would get at crown burger, but mixed with that kebab magic.

Yes we have a phone.  We didn't have one when we got here because it was waiting for us in the apartment, that's the only reason we didn't get it when we arrived.

Communication was pretty limited between other Elders in France, and it is pretty much all cut off here, because it is too expensive to call international, it isn't on our phone budget, so no talking with anyone in France.  In our district, I am the only American (Well E Sorhaitz  has a french passport, but he is American in every other way, his dad is french, but he didn't even speak french before the mission. In my zone, I am one of ... two Americans, so it is a little different.  French swiss is split into two stakes, Lausan stake which is everywhere in french speaking swiss except Geneva, and Geneva stake which also includes a few French wards like Annecy and Animace etc.I love switzerland, but I kinda miss France.  I like a lot of things more here like how swiss people are actually proud to be swiss, and they believe in God, unlike the French, but I feel like France has a charm and warmth to it.  The people here are... like i said proud, which isn't all bad, but I feel as though the people of france are starting to be humbled because of the bad economy and the crummy state that many are living in.  Here, they are not humble, but I've noticed people are still more religious... I  don't know it is hard to explain.

Because of E Ihalmo's extra studies, we just do them all in one go in the morning (whereas elsewhere we would spread them through the day)  this takes us to 12 to get all the studies done, then we eat, and take the train and are in Bienne from about 1:45- 2 till our train to come home at 8:19 or 8:52  We usually eat late, though, when we are really hungry during the day, we'll grab a cheap sandwich from a grocery store, or a kebab.

Yes E ihalmo and I sleep in the same room.  The other elders have their own room as well.  And we even have our own walk-in closet, nice apartment.

In church when there were 17 people, we taught priesthood, then class des amis, then blessed the sacrament, so yeah, we did a lot ha ah.  There were a good 30 or so this week, so that is good, getting better.

Gervain and Lara are both progressing great, and are so ready to be baptized, the only problem is that the font is in Neuchatel, and there is an activity there that night, so we have to organize things around that.

There are miracles happening every day.  We saw a member family yesterday who fed us delicious African food, and then gave us  six families to go pass and teach, so there should be some new amis rolling in soon.  I love it here in Bienne.  Lots of stuff is in German, but there is still lots of French speakers who are searching for the truth... Mostly the Africans because all the white people are german speaking ha ha, but Lara is Italian, so yeah, there are a lot of Italians as well who choose to go with French because it comes easier to them than German. anyway, tote zeins to yah, I'll try to send pics.  No promises, this comp is kinda old, but I'll see what I can do.

Love you so much, keep the faith, the gospel is awesome I LOVE THE LORD! CIao, Arividercci, aufweiterzheine (however you spell that)

Neuchatel 5

Hi.  so we are at the church, waiting for Gervain to arrive so that we can do his baptismal interview.  He said he is on his way, but we thought why not do our emails while we wait!  So I'll see how much I can do before he gets here.  Then I'll write more after ne t'en fais pas.

Gervain and Lara are both awesome and ready to be baptized this week.  Gervain actually asked me to baptize him, so that will be a real honor cool cool.  We had a little trouble organizing things at neuchatel for the font, but I think/hope that it is all worked out.   Yes we do have the lake, but... a warm font sounds better to most people then a lake in the middle of winter ha ha.

This week was really good.  We found two more families to teach.  One from a member who introduced us, and one from porting (knocking on doors)  They both seem pretty cool, and I'll keep you updated on how that goes.  It just is a testimony builder that it is really in the fourth quarter that God comes in and blesses you after trying your patience.  There is also another guy that the German speaking elders found us.  They gave him to us because he is a french speaker.  this guy is nice... stopped smoking weed last spring, and has already reduced his beers from 6 to 2 cans a day, and one pack of cigarettes to a couple a day.  Although he doesn't seem to have much intention of stopping all together.  We'll see how things go.

P-day, we did our shopping, and played soccer with the Neuchatel, Yverdon, and Fribourg elders. lots and lots of fun:  I was pretty stiff the next day.

I was thinking about buying some shoes, because both of mine... well the one, my feet are always soaked after an hour or so, and the other pair has no soles, so they are pretty uncomfortable... so I will look for replacement soles today, but even then, my shoes are pretty wet by the end of the day and need a day to dry.

Didn't get the valentine yet

We sometimes see the German elders around town.  They are open to help us if we need it, and they even said their apartment is open to us if we needed it.  They are really nice.  We usually talk once a week to pass numbers of people we have contacted, and to see how each other's amis are doing that we passed from one to another.  we haven't really worked together much, but we did have the idea of doing german french english classes for those who would want to learn.  That will take some planning and coordination though.

Yes I use the backpack now. It still bugs me a little that it is so big, but it is just easier than the shoulder bag, also it is a swiss army bag, and my shoulder bag has a big french flag on it, so I kinda thought it'd be good to use the swiss bag here.

Kebabs kick butt here, they are so delicious, but about twice the price than they are in France.

we have a key to the ward yes.

I did bring a coat with me yes, but now it is kinda like a tent cover on me... it is huge, and it took up like half of one of my suitcases, so I left it in St Etienne.  I would have sent it back, but the thing weighs like 40 lbs! anyway I left that in St etienne along with half of my American suits.

Bienne (Biel as it is called in German)  is a city that is technically in both of our missions (lyon and swiss alpine), and we share basically the same area.

So the Elders got here to do the interview, Hopefully things go well.  I don't see why there would be a problem.  

So this week was lots of fun.  Lots of talking to people in the road, and not lots of success, but working through the members there is lots and lots of success.  Last weekend was the first baptism by the missionary game.  I think I mentioned that before.  It is just a way of helping the members do missionary work, and it has been having great success int he mission.  Well, I'm going to let the other elder use the computer to to his emails.  love you very much!  have a great week.  Sorry there is still no day to day, maybe one day I won't be so rushed... when I get home.¨

Ich liebet dich

Neuchatel 3

Hello all.  I am at the computer in bienne, but I am still getting used to the weird swiss keyboards.  Let's get to the questions

Yes we have a washer, only one for the whole building though.  It is in the basement and we have to sign up to use it.  I is a little inconvenient, but ça va.

No I didn't get the package, it will be a long time before I get it if ever.  because it'd have to be moved through zone conferences and ours is before lyon's so it would take another transfer, and that is assuming that they got the package in st etienne.

we do have a bus pass and a train card, but only for a week (it is freakin' expencive)  Right now our office is in the process of getting us a magic card that will get us on all the trains buses and boats in every ville in all of Switzerland.  It is expensive as well but less than what we are paying now for our weekly pass.  Just to give you an idea.  It is 26 franks for the buses and the little train/tram thing here in bienne each of us pay that each week.  Then the train pass to get from neuchatel to bienne every day is 77 franks per week per person.  Then whenever we need to take the bus here in Neuchatel which we will today at least a couple times,  it is yet another 3 franks each trip on the bus.  That adds up very very quickly,  so i hope the office gets us this magic card soon because... yeah.  In all we are getting close to 1000 franks per month just to get around.  That is hard to do when you only get about 200 every month ha ha.  that card i mentioned would bring it down to 470 per month. better...

Church is fun.  it is a pretty small branch here.  35ish the first week and 17 this week... lots of people sick.  that was weird having so few, especially because we meet in the big german ward's building.  The ward is great though. We found a new ami who was an old ami, but got kinda forgotten when the missionaries left Bienne.  He is really cool and agreed to be baptized our first rdv, so that is cool.  he is very African though meaning he doesn't keep his rdvs very well and he has a lot of faith, but not a lot of drive to ... read and do other stuff.  hopefully things will go better with him.

E Ihalmo is funny he wants to be perfect and he gets a little frustrated that he can't speak the language freely, but that will come.  We are getting along well, and we both take turns cooking, though I probably do more because I enjoy it more and E ihalmo has never cooked in his life ha ha.  Sometimes we eat with the other Elder equipe, but not every meal, just with different schedules and us being in another city all day.

Things are going well.  Gervain is progressing nicely towards his baptism.  and then there were two other cool things.  first,  after church on sunday,  we passed an old member who told us her whole life story, and the whole life story of her daughters etc.  It was actually a really powerful spiritual moment.  she said that she was particularly sad that day and she felt like we were and answer to her prayers.

Then that evening I called Lara (someone who we are teaching)  To confirm our rdv for today.  Earlier we invited her to be baptized the 16 February,  she said that was way too soon, and she would like to be baptized, just later.  Anyway when I called her, she said the rdv would work, and she also asked me if the 16 was still valid.  I said of course, she said she had thought about it a lot and that she wanted to be baptized that day.  WHAT'?  So cool.  It is going to be a little complicated organizing everything with not a lot of time, but it should be possible.  yeah, that was really really cool.

Other than that, the week was ok.  passing less actives, old amis, members, etc.  Talking to people on the road:  I've taken about four numbers in german now:  Thankfully I still remember ince swie drie wire, and all that:  I am also learning a few phrases.  I don't really have a goal of learning German, but at least enough to contact someone who doesn0t speak french, or says they don't speak french.  I love you all very much  Ich liebe sie or something like that.  Je vous aime tous tellement (that's much prettier)  I am sorry that this is another kinda short email, but our train is coming, and there is a member who needs to use the church computer.  We are staying strong and obedient.  The members here are awesome and so helpful, the only problem is there are only 30 or so, but we are working on that!  Have a wonderful weeek ciao

Neuchatel 2

Hey everyone;  so, I do not have much time, I am at a library computer, and I basically need to go when someone else comes here because i've already been logged on longer than I should.  I loved your emails.  The keyboard is different here in suisse, so i'm typing really slow; 

The appartement is really great, big and clean, Elder soarhitez (half french half american) and elder carré(french) our roomates are really awesome;  Elder Ihalmo (ee-hall-moe) is funny and finnish.  his French is great for someone who has only been speaking for a month and a half, but he wants to be perfect now. 

 

The trip here was crazy.  We had to run from the office to the trainstation with all our bags,  we just barely made the train to geneva.  I left my carte 12-25 in the mission office (something you need to be on the train) so I was freaking out;  I yent to talk to the guy and he said it was OK and checked me off so that was a nice blessing;  When we arrived at Geneva, we had no idea when or where our next train was.  While Elder Jensen and I were looking (we were travelling with him and his comp to Lausanne) Someone tried to steal Elder Jensen's bag with 600€ in it and almost did it.  Thankfully I saw the guy as he was bending down to grab it, and I yelled at him and he ran away (pretty cool right?) 

 

So then we find out E ihalmo's and my train is in four minutes.  Ye ran ran ran to the train with our six heavy bags and got on really a second or two before the doors shut.  We got to Neuchatel... no phone almost no money, people were speaking German or weird french, and the person who was supposed to pick us up wasn't therte.  After a 20 minute panick attack of what todo, he finally did arrive.  we got to the apparteéent to find out that we were sharing it with another equipe (I didn't know there was another equipe there).  I then asked the member some things about neuchatel, thinking he was our DMP.  I was soon informed that we weren't even assigned to work in neuchatel, but our real city is a place called Bienne, a thirty minute trainride to the east. What?

 

Really a big surprise;  I was even more surprised when I went to Bienne, and found out that everything, I mean everything is in German.  the city of Bienne is about 60% german speaking and less than 40% french,  It is actually shared with the Alpine Swiss mission.  There are german elders who live there and are assigned to the German ward.  We have a very small french branch of 30 or so, and it looks like lots less because we meet in the same building as the big german ward.  The memvers are reallzy great however, they have already introduced us to a bunch of people who we are teaching now;  There is one Gervain who already has a baptismal date.  It has been about a year since there were french missionaries in Bienne, and a few years since they had french missionaries dedicated to bienne;  It is fun;  It is much different.  ich nebeh dich buch van mormon and all that jazz,  I've already picked up a little german (very little) 

 

OKm I'm being kicked off now:  love you much;  We'll go someyhere else for emails next week so I am not as rushed. 

 

PS it is really really really expencive here;  77franks for the train ticket and 26 franks for the bus;  and that is every week.  They^ll get us a better pass soon;;; I hope:  love yzou

Neuchatel 1

Hello all, I don't have ... any time, I just read your emails, loved them.  I probably will get time to write latter, so I'll answer questions and tell you about life and all that soon.  In the mean time, mother you called it, I am transfered.  I am going to Neuchâtel and I will be training a new new missionary, so we'll both be new to the area, oh well we'll figure it out.  He will probably (he'll have to be) french or at least European because they aren't letting any more americans in switzerland (oh yeah, Neuchâtel is in switzerland!!!!!!) Except for me because I'm so cute.  I bought a new coat and look really good, so they had to let me in.  Love you à tout!

 

PS Do you realize that out of my 10 transfers on mission I have been trained or been training for seven of them?  Geeze that's a lot of time in the appartement studying, I guess I'm not bad at it, at least I put the impression upon President that I'm not bad at it.

Hey all, so I am in the mission office I don't have much time still but I'll tell you some things.  Lots of questions:

Elder Leau made the fireplace and the fire, but I colored it blue.... it was mostly him

I forgot why, but I wrote down to tell you about my pets in st Etienne.  There are two dogs that are in the back yard of our appartement building who I give my beef jerky to sometimes.  They'(re cute, I said goodbye to them today.  then there is a black and white cat that will come to me when I call him that lives in the building next  door.  But don't worry monte, there is no replacement for you!

David is a member, but a fairly recent convert who needs support a lot.  We brought food to his place and made it.  Burritos yum.

i didn't get the package, hopefully the other elders are there when the factor comes so they can sign for it, because if not, it is going to be a pain to get, if it is possible.

yes i would like you to send pics from time to time.

yes monopoly was in french

So I spent the whole day today in the gare and at the mission office talkking to the missioinaries who are going home.  It is weird because I have known lots of these missionaaries for my whole misisonand it is kinda hard to see them go, but it's not like thye'( dying or anything.  I haven't even eaten today... I am really hungry.  We are going to stop by bellcour to look for a suit for Elder Handset (my temporary comp) and then eat something and probably just do some contacting.

In Neuchatel, we are oppening a second equipe, so there will be other missionaries there.  I am not the district leader anymore, which I'm not bummed about.  It is not that I didn't enjoy it, but it is just more things to do, and more phone calls to make, and I prefere to just work; Also apparently my equipe will do exchanges with the elders in Bien or some other city that is actually in a different mission.  They are a german speaking equipe, but there are lots of french speakers in the ville, and there are lots of german speakers in Neuchatel, so we do switches often.  Maybe I'll learn a little bit of german, that could be fun =)

Uh, like usual at the beginnin of a new transfer I don't have my planner to give you the day to day.  I bought a new coat... I already told you that though, it is brown grey, i'm not really sure what, but I have been getting compliments all day about it.

Also elder Sorhitze who I will be with (not as collegues, but he'll be in the appartement as well) He goes running in the mornning all the time, so I'm going to make him take me along, so I can get back into the weight loosing mode too.

I am really excited.  I've been in the Rhone Alpes and Provence my whole mission, so I'm really excited to see not just a new country but a new area, it is so diverse in this corner of the world.

I am so lucky to be here.  I LOVE THE LORD  I have been thinking about how I have changed since the beginning of my mission, and I don't think I have been giving myself enought credit.  I have grown and changed so much, I've found out that the atonement is a tool to use to find happyness and awesomness and not just something that happened a long time ago.  My testimony has become Inébranlable because I see miracles every day, and in exercizing my faith, the lord blesses me.

 i hope there was some sense to that.  I really need to go now.  Sorry it's a short email. I'll write a better one next week love you.

St-Etienne 12

hello, questions:

Non, I havn't gotten the package yet, but Elder Leau just got one.  A camera from his older sister.  Very nice.  

What did we do for New years?  Well we were at a ward party for a little bit, but we had to be in our appartements early to avoid drunks and such.  So we were in our appartement from 9H00 onward.  It was still fun, we had a bottle of sparkling cider, and played monopoly.  We stayed up until midnight, and our neighboors made lots and lots of noise.  I ate a chocolate.

I feel like I have been in France... all my life really.  It is funny, it feels like I have always been a missionary and my life before is just a dream I had one time.  At the same time, it feels like I will be a missionary forever, and that there is no time left.  If I think about it.  I only have six transfers left, and that ... transfers pass by really really quick now.  So yeah, it is better to just not think about it and work.  Time is really weird on a mission.

Well there were a few cool miracles.  We just got another coordonee from the internet, so we'll see if that goes anywhere.  Then I was talking to a member at church, and he said that he had a neighboor who was asking questions about our church and wanted a book of mormon.  He also said he would see about fixing a rdv with us, so that would be awesome.  The work progresses here, and I'm happy and all that, loosing weight and stuff etc heay! 

I am right now at David's house, we are making lunch for him for letting us use his computer, and so there is lots of noise and smells that are kind of distracting.

Yes I got the card from the buckwalters, could you pass the thankyou for me?

My favorite french food is tartiflette, it is sliced baked potatoes, with bacon bits, melted cheese, a cream sauce and more cheese on top.  quite a heavy plate, but soo so soososo good!  But there are so many other good things.  Elder Leau... he likes vegitables, which I guess is a good thing.  He really eats everything.  

Elder Leau has never been to the US, he went to the MTC in Madrid, for theree weeks because he already speaks french pretty well.  He is going to go the BYU hawaii, so he'll be in the USA before long.

Papa, I would be delighted to have a job at sinet.  Really anything, If I could get a job that is a little bit better than Fry cook, I'll be happy. Have I told you my goal?  Well I'll tell you again.  I want to be 100% autonomic within two years after getting home.  So I'll try to stop beeing a leech on your accounts ha ha.  So yeah, a job at sinet would really be a dream come true.

Monday:  Did our shopping and cleaned and such, helped decorate for the party and then ate really fast, said hello to everyone, goodbye to everyone, and then went home.

Tuesday:  Went to Soeur Galetti's house for the first, it was really good because there was a less active, and his non-member wife, who live far away.  It was really good to be able to talk to them and get to know them.  That took pretty much the whole day

Wednesday:  saw Samuel again, Louissette, and then taught English class.  We started English class again, and we have a good number of people who come, including a non-member family, so we are conspiring to start teaching her etc.  That brings up somthing.  JJ asked me what my favorite thing was, and I think it is actually to teach English, it is so much fun.  Maybe an idea for the future, but I think that it would have to be teaching English as a second language.  it would be really fun to go to New calledonia, hang out with Elder Leau, and teach English there.  But yah, just an idea I had this week.

thursday:  saw David, helped him with something, then samuel, this is a different samuel, he is a member from Africa.  He wants to learn the piano, so we started teaching him.  Again it's really fun to teach that, even though it is Elder LEau who does most, because i've already taught him pretty much all I know about music.

Friday:  Saw samuel our ami, then Salvator which was a real miracle lesson, because he thought that he was well informed on mormons, and that ... voila it was done.  At the end of the rdv, in following the spirit, he was touched and agreed to come again to church and to keep seeing us to appy our message etc.*

Saturday:  Saw Alain who is a less active kid of 15 years.  He came to church this week.  He is cool and likes all the video games I played before the mission, and listens to all the same music, so we get along really well.  He's a good kid, he wants to get the priesthood this year and go to the temple.  those are his resolutions, so that's really great!

Sunday:  great day at church.  Almost all of the converti recents were done, then we did our planning, and did some less-active passbacks.  All of them that we passed had moved... clear them off the list.  However we did get a ride  from a nice musilm guy.  I thought what you would say mother if you saw me getting into a car with a stranger in the evening when it's dark outside.  Don't worry we're protected, and he was very nice and saved us a lot of time finding the addresses.  he wasn't interested to learn more tough. Oh well, he'll be blessed.*

Love you all very much.  Soyez sage. We are going to eat burritos, but I think I'll be able to send some pictures.  Ciao.

St- Etienne 11

Howdy y'all.  So this week was pretty crazy for us too.  Lots of travelling and sickness etc, we only were able to actually work one day of the week ... well work in St Etienne one day.  But furst, like normal, let's get to the questions:

Yes, it gets dark here about 6 in the evening and we are still out til 9 every night, so it's dark when we get home.

No new amis yet, but some cool progress that I'll tell you about in the day-to-day

No I have not sung at church, but the word is out that I play guitar and sing, and so Soeur Grail (the ward music directrisse) has asked Elder Leau to think about doing something in the future.

I would say that member families here are... well every family is different.  They are French, and that makes a difference, but obviously the gospel is the same.  In some ways they are similar, some ways they are a little ... pessimistic (that's the french side showing) and in some ways they are incredible workers and wonderful people.  President Rony said he loves french members so much because they already do so much to first off stay active, secondly share the gospel with others, and then us americans in our assez cushy lives come and ask them to just give a little more.  They are great on the whole.  It is very inspiring to be around these people.  Somehow they make happy families with good values in a place of the world that, while it might not be third world, is rather difficult to raise a family.

I think that May 2014 sounds like a winner.  I'll leave you to work out the rest of the details about that.

Monday:Kinda, the same old same old for P-days.  IN the evening we had a dinner for all the people who would have to spend Christmas alone, and a few others.  It was really good and fun.  We had lots of various salads and fondu which failed, but still tasted good, and lots of bûches for dessert (like a roll cake thing that's really good and the traditional desert this time of the year.).

Tuesday:  I got to talk with some people on skype that I hadn't seen in a while.  It really was a joy to see you all again, and little monte.  It was too bad I didn't get to see max, but maybe it's better his smelly warty goitery old self stays in memory ha ha., Tell him that I love him too and that all dogs go to heaven, even ones that pee on the floor.  It was fun to catch up with you.  You know what's weird?  I'll be there with you for the next Christmas? Wow, and it will be here before you know it.  The transfers here feel like long weeks honestly and I only have six left after this coming one.  Hélas, There is still much work to be done and much to be learned here in Frog country.  After calls, the same familly just thought it would be easier if we sayed for dinner, so we had round two of deliciouse food.  Mostly Sushi and other rice dishes, thankfully much lighter than the lunch, but still deliciouse!  I know I have said this before, but I want to say it again.  The food here is sooooo so good!  THat doesn't even begin to describe it, it is like magic really ah I love it!

Wednesday:  Went to Lyon for an exchange with the zone leaders.  now those are some hard working msissionaries as in contacting every living thing that they see.  It was a good learning experience.  Not quite the way I work, but then again I still have a lot to learn.  I do talk to lots of people in the road, but ... I don't know, it was a good experience.

Thursday:  We stayed in Lyon that night because we had a zone training the next day.  This is something new that prez started a couple transfers ago.  It is basically the same thing as a district meeting only with the whole zone.  Usually zone conference lasts until 3 or 4 in the afternoon, this only goes until noon.  It wasn't fun, because the night I spent in Lyon i was up all night throwing up and doing other things in the bathroom.  I had a bad fever and terrible stomach pains.  i couldn't consentrate during the conference thing, and I spent most of that in the bathroom as well.  What was worse is I had fasted the day before, so I wasn't throwing up food, just stomach acid, any way not good.  A couple missionary gave me some french meds which stopped my body from killing itself, but like most french meds, it put me out of it pretty bad.  Everyone was asking me if I was ok because i was yellow ha ha.  Anyway getting home was not fun, and the walk from the gare to the appartement was really really difficult.  i was cold and tired and in pain, so I just undressed and went to bed around 5 that afternoon.  

Friday:  I woke up around 9 the next morning, feeling a lot better, but still sick.This whole day was spent in the appartement sleeping and playing monopoly and cards and running to the bathroom.

Saturday:  I felt almost 100% magically, still slept in until 8ish.  We saw Salvator who had a really good lesson.  He agreed to baptism, not with a date, but when he knows it's true he said he'll be baptised.  THen we saw Samuel who was going throught depression because of the holidays (acting kinof like a child honestly).  After that I was feeling really dizzy and out of it so we went home and straight to bed for me... no I took a bath, first bath on my mission (the tub was too small I'm in Europe and everything is so small!) then I went to bed.

Sunday:  Woke up and felt great, good day at church.  Had lunch whith Soeur Grail, her mother, Soeur Galetti and her nice, and a couple other members from other wards.  It was really un dégustation incroyable!  foie gras, bisque aux omars, I felt like I had stepped into France in the fifties, really, it was magical.  soeur galetti's nice is going to get married soon, and since the missionaries were the only male influence there... lots of girl talk about her dress and about how he proposed, it was like a romcom.  Still really fun.  We had to run from that lunch party over to a dinner party at soeur allard's place where we were fed very well also.  Spinach, greenbeans, porkchops, bûche again, and brioche avec confiture d'orange.  Really I hope I can learn to make this stuff for you because it is to die for!  That dinner was much different.  THe last one was a fifties very proper tea party feel, this one... well she is a single mother (a tomboy as well) with three boys, lots of talk about movies and guns, and all that good guy stuff.  It was a fun experience to go between the two extremes like that ha ha.

Now today we are invited  to lunch with a member, and tomorrow lunch with another member... so lots of eating;  Elder LEau and I are going to start running in the mornings.  Ok, I need to go.  I love you all so much Even after all that eating, I still lost 8 pounds after my sickness, ha ha , so still loosing weight.   Je vous aime de tout mon coeur
Je vous embrace fortement!
Elder Luke Crossman missionnaire extrordinaire!  Not really. lol