WEEK 36

well i should be on an ipad right now.....:( something went wrong with shipping and we didn't get them yesterday and now we don't know when we will be getting them! hopefully by next week because the bleus in the MTC have them right now and that'd be awkward to be without them while they had them;) WELL i am staying in reims, but i get a new collegue! things are good and i am so excited to meet him! so send off all your letters s'il vous plaît! je vourdrais les lettres de vous tous!:)  (I WANT LETTERS FROM YOU ALL!) 

Les Missionaires

Elder Tanner Libby

135 boulevard Pommery

51100 Reims

FRANCE

MONDAY NIGHT
so tonight was pretty good! i'm quite the good "winger" if i do say so myself....we were having a family night with the bishop because i decided that i wanted to go and meet with him while i still had my old comp so we got out to the bishops house and i realized i didn't have my scriptures to have a spiritual thought and so i asked my comp if he did and he said no...so we had a tiny freak out as we were getting out of the car and the bishop was staring at us but decided while walking to the front door, we'd show pics of our families and then talk about the importance of the family in the gospel. it was actually really good and the bishop's wife said that she was very grateful for it! we had fun and talked and then she gave us some dinner in a bag and they sent us off for the night. we scheduled a family home evening next monday night with our newest convert. it's awesome to see how involved the bishop is here in Reims! it makes all the difference!:) 

TUESDAY

so today was ummm what's the word....AMAZING! the lord's plan is beautiful! i realized today, and i knew it before, so ca va...no need to worry;), that the Lord really does care about all of his children! even these frenchies! he LOVES them all! and i know that with all the certainty of my heart. so today we had district meeting and it was good fun! and since my comp just hit his year mark a couple weeks ago he has to get #legalinfranceagain. so we had to spend the night in Versailles so that he could go to the national thing to get his papers and card and stuff....so we did a mini exchange with our ZL's and it was awesome! we went and taught two lessons and one lesson to a lady in the middle of a park. Literally in the middle of the park. remember that;) she told us that she had been looking for someone like us to answer questions about life. she said that she wanted to know for sure if we really did live after this life with the ones we loved! we were dumbfounded. it was amazing! we started talking and told her we'd love to meet again and discuss more of the plan of salvation, but she told us she didn't live in the area...we were a little disappointed to hear that but said there are missionaries all over and asked where she was from. get this! SHE LIVES IN VERSAILLES. we could have ran into her any other day, but god placed her in our lives on the day that he knew we'd be going into versailles and could pass her information urgently! it was amazing! we then prayed with her and her phone started ringing and it was her friends waiting for her in the park and we then parted and watched her leave. remember how i told you to remember she was in the middle of the park. HER FRIENDS WERE ON THE GRASS RIGHT AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE PARK. SHE WALKED RIGHT PAST THEM INTO OUR PATH. We have a loving heavenly father. and he knows our needs and desires, and he is ALWAYS going to help us when we need answers to our questions. it was a very touching experience for me! me and my comp then decided that it was time for us to head off to versailles! so we stopped for a little bit to take pics at this weird satellite tower thing;) and then went off to versailles! i asked if it would be at all possible to stop and look at the temple site and my comp said bah oui! so we hopped on the bus and made our way over to the site and it was so beautiful! the Lord's presence is there and it isn't even finished!!!!!! it is going to be amazing! my comp then treated me to a nice romantic dinner at macdo and then we made our way to the versailles apartment. we got a little lost but eventually we got there! elder reiss, my friend from the MTC is currently in versailles and he took me to the bathroom window and you can see the eiffel tower from the window! it was so cool! i showered and then went to bed. it was such a good day!

WEDNESDAY

so we woke up this morning and didn't have any time for studies cause we had to get the the prefecture for my comp so that we could get in and out as soon as possible! we got there and there was already a line and it wasn't too bad but still a decent sized line! we got all the way to the window to hand in the papers and the lady told us that wednesday's were strictly reserved for children and they would not be able to help us til tomorrow....so we had just traveled to versailles for no reason...and we couldn't just wait til tomorrow...so that was really fun. we were a little distraught on what to do so we prayed and felt to call the mission home...they told us thank you for our efforts but for right now we should probably make our way home and that my comp could try again next transfer. so we stopped at a boulangerie for breakfast and then made our way to the gare so that we could catch our train! it was a long wait but we finally got there. when we got home we had a rdv with an investigator and Meghan but then he didn't show up...so we then were invited to a bbq at a member's house! mustard man! it was really fun and we had a good fun night with them! i had a bbq in france. have you?

THURSDAY

so today was a day...haha we got a call from our priest quorum leader the other day telling us that there was this member that wanted to make food for us for lunch today...all the other elders were a little hesitant cause the last time they all went over they were SEVERELY food poisoned haah! so i was a little nervous about that...we had our french course this morning and it went well but it's always a really interesting time there. then we made our way to this lady's house for lunch and she had prepared the most interesting meal ever for us! we started off with nice and slimy escargots and then we went onto calamaris! for those of you who don't know what that is it is SQUID....ewwww the little tentacles were the nastiest looking things and everytime i put it into my mouth i wanted to gag...haha! it was really nasty...then we went to the church to have a little interview with the priest quorum leader on home teaching and received our new assignments so that was that and then we went on to the rest of our day. we then went to an "investigators" house and listened to him talk and it was just pointless....we seemed to have no potential with him, and he just wanted to have us over to talk about his 3 month trip to vietnam...it was a long rdv with no point...i felt bad just sitting there. then we came home and had dinner and then went to another rdv. it was a great rdv! we talked all about friends and then got onto the topic of the spirit somehow and she told us that she doesn't think she'd ever felt the spirit...so we felt like we needed to offer her a blessing. so we did and she said please! so we gave her a blessing and she started to cry...she said she'd never felt like that before! it was a very cool experience! i'm grateful i get to teach someone my age and connect with them like i'm connecting to her. her aunt was very grateful for us that night and it was a very cool experience!

FRIDAY

well today was just so fast and i'll tell you what....it was just fast...haha! we started off with a quick block of contacting in the morning with nothing too exciting happening but then came in for lunch and got a call from the ward member who was altering my suit and she said that it was finished and she just wanted to make sure that it fit and was wondering if we could come over now. so we went to their house and it was fun to sit and talk while she did the finishing touches on my suit. they are the oldest couple in the ward and they are just so dang cute! i want to be just like them when i'm old and senile too!:) we then came home and by this time it was close to about 3 or 4 in the afternoon and we started weekly planning until Beef came in and told us that our ward mission leader told us that he wanted 5 weekly progression sheets from the past 5 weeks of missionary work since we hadn't had a meeting in 5 weeks and we were meeting tonight! so we had to stop all the weekly planning and then go and make all those papers....ahh! it was terrible! then we had to run off to the meeting with him and then ward council where we got permission to hold a book of mormon study class for members and investigators and also to hold Samedi Sports! it was awesome! such a good night!

SATURDAY

well today we went to the church to get our samedi sports on and no one showed up...still! haha it was bad...but we decided instead to get our french study on and that was fun! and then the repertoire was released and we found out that my comp is leaving and i get a new collegue! we then headed out in the car to Chateau Thierry for a samedi sports event that we'd been invited to! the same family as last week invited us out to play some ball with them! it was so fun to play football and soccer with all of them! we spent some good time out there and then went for ice cream and then got a call from the dmp saying he wanted to take us out to dinner this week so we went to that! it was a good day and it was pretty fun!

SUNDAY

well today was just another sunday! not a ton of people at church for some reason...but we had a cool experience with some american exchange students that came to church and needed translating! they are here for 2 weeks for culinary school and aren't members but are staying at members houses! it was fun! and we hope for the best! we then went home for lunch and then began to weekly plan, but the other elders were having some difficulties with printing their tickets at the gare so they called and asked if we could run to the church to look at the email to see what the codes were and lets just say, it would have been a lot easier with ipads;) haha! but we did that and then got home and continued to plan when we got a call from mustard man and he asked if we could go help to deliver the sacrament to the lady who fed us the weird food the other day...so we went and after that was done it was pouring rain! and we had a rdv with Boniface and his family! so we asked for a ride and then he took us there. it was a good time. we talked and ate and it was fun to spend the night with them. they told us that everything was good for tomorrow night at the bishops house for FHE so we were excited for that! we got home and the one and only ELDER BROWN from kaysville utah was there! he goes home this week and was asking all about the family! it was awesome and fun to spend the night with him. we may or may not have stayed up really late talking and laughing!

MONDAY

well we were so rudely interrupted by the alarm at 4:30am and had to get up to catch our train to go and (not) get our iPad's! hahah we got to our train and got into paris and hurriedly made our way to the versailles chapel! it was a great conference filled with tons of training, laughs, and lots of good friends! i got to see everyone from the MTC and spend some time with elder wilson and elder orton! it was so great! i'm super excited to get to use ipad's for the work! it's amazing how much the lord has been preparing this people to receive his gospel like this! President Babin put this responsibility on the shoulders of the missionaries, so i'm going to be bold, but kind. i promise;) WE ARE ALLOWED TO START USING FACEBOOK WHEN WE GET THE IPAD'S, AND ARE ALLOWED TO REMAIN "FRIENDS" WITH EVERYONE FROM BACK HOME. BUT WE CANNOT CHAT ON FACEBOOK UNLESS YOU HAVE SOMEONE FROM HOME YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO START TALKING TO AND TEACHING ABOUT THE GOSPEL. please like and share and comment on my posts and pics, but DO NOT contact me unless it is a missionary issue! i cannot talk to you through facebook like that. That is what email is for! i'm super excited for this technological era throughout the gospel! we are going to find so many lost children of the Lord! like i said earlier! he does love us! after the conference me and elder wilson were walking and talking to people on the street and accidentally missed our train back so we had to wait for the next one and then met up with our comps and then headed home! we had the FHE with the bishop and Boniface's family and it was really good! we talked about the restoration and his family was really participating and it was amazing!

the church is true! god loves us! and i love you all! merci pour tout ce que vous faites pour moi! je vous aime! Vous me manquez, mais tout est bien ici en France. Gardez-moi dans vos prieres! je les besoin!  (thank you for everything you do for me! I love you! I miss you, but all is well here in France. Keep me in your prayers! I need this!)

elder libby

 

WEEK 35

well there goes a birthday!!! it was definitely a good one! i had lots of fun and it was a day well spent! so there is a very high chance that i will be staying here in reims...i would be very shocked if i leave...but we can never be too safe! and since it is already week 6 of the transfer, PLEASE SEND ALL MAIL TO THE MISSION HOME! haha i don't want to risk losing any!

Elder Tanner Libby

131 Boulevard Carnot

78230 Le Pecq

that would be much appreciated! i would love to hear from you all! this week was pretty great. much needed! i really have come to love the members here in reims!

MONDAY NIGHT

we had a really fun night at a members house with the #oldtimers at fhe! it was really fun! we had a lesson and talked and ate finger foods! it was quite the blast! then we made our way home for the nights and got a call from the other elders telling us they had missed the bus stop and ended up on the other side of Reims! so we had to go searching for them in the car! haha that was a cherry on top of the cake!;)

TUESDAY

well today started off with a #BUZZ from the good old mail man!! haha i wasn't expecting anything at all and neither were any other elders so it threw us for a little bit of a swirl but the mail man brought me a cute little package from one of my favorite families back in Metz! i was so happy! so i got all excited and then we had to go do service at this little ladies house. she needed help cleaning the windows in her apartment and cleaning off her light fixtures and a little help figuring out how to use her computer...so we did that for a while and then came home and took some lunch and then since we didn't get any study time this morning, we took studies! me and another elder were on an exchange today so it was fun to be able to spend some time with him. we had a rdv with a SUPER cool recent convert at the church and when we were walking out we found that we had been BOMBARDED with a billion ants that were eating up the left over onion in the kitchen! it was nasty! and we didn't have time to clean up so we sprayed some ant spray everywhere and then left and called the other elders and told them to go back and clean it up haha! our rdv went really well! he wanted to talk about temples, living worthily, and the #lawofchastity so that was a blast! he's such a cool guy! then we went and mailed off some letters and printed off some pictures and had to go try out my debit card for mom! so we went to the boulangerie and bought some patisseries! i'll never say no to those...that might be why i'm fat....oops! then we went out porting for the night! it was a good night. as soon as we got home, i called Pauline and talked to her for a while. it was a good talk and i really needed it!

WEDNESDAY

well today was special for some reason....oh ya...IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY!!!! #19!! i was awakened by the alarm at 6:30 and to my comp yelling "IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY." so i turned to him and said, "if it's my birthday you should let me sleep til 7;)" and he said ok! haha so i slept in a little bit! it was fun! and at 7 i was awakened to a (not so) heavenly chorus singing happy birthday! haha all the elders came in and sang to me! it was fun. they then told me that they had a present for me and i went and looked and the goof's had gone around the apartment and got random objects and put them in a bag....e.g. a juicer, tissues, a lint roller, a shoe horn, and MY watch...i was happy to get that;) haha it's the thought that counts though? i opened my few other presents and then we had to get ready to go to district meeting! we got there and the soeurs had made me a cake! during the lesson i also got a text from Soeur Babin wishing me a happy birthday! it was very sweet! we had a good lesson and we chilled and ate and when it was time for dessert, my comp had snuck into my package from mom this morning and brought the candles and they went and lit the candles for me to blow out! it was super cute. i got pics and vids so no worries! then we had to go and it was super funny cause we missed our train....so we went to exchange our tickets and the lady at the gare told us that we couldn't exchange them at that gare and that we had to go into another part of paris to exchange them...lets just say that everyone was a little on the nerved side of things until i reminded them that it was my bday and no one was allowed to be upset! i said come what may, and love it! learn to laugh! remember the time we missed our train going home from district meeting 5 weeks in a row??! haha it was good and after that everyone kind of chilled out! #gratefulfortheapostleswords then we slowly but surely made it back to the gare and got some tickets! there was a random group in the middle of the gare playing "This Little Light of Mine" so obviously i had to take a video and film the random crazy american in the middle who was crying! haha it was great! we were kind of laughing at the video the whole ride home.. then we got home and had a little bit of contacting time before we needed to be over to the church to get a ride to the party! we got to the apartment and they had decorations up all over, and a ton of people from the ward! they threw me a small surprise birthday party! it was very fun and very #frozenthemed! i got a statue of anna, some frozen cutlery, and a box of frozen cereal! and they even made me sing some LET IT GO! meghan got it all filmed mom;) it was a very fun 19 bday! (meghan is actually a canadian returned missionary, who served in sweden with our own kaysville stake president's daughter, candace richins. not entirely sure why she's living in reims right now, but thankful for all that she did to make tanner's birthday special!)

THURSDAY

well today i was definitely feeling the age difference! i don't know if it was just a bad night's rest or what but i felt so worthless today! i was so tired and so ready for a nap all day! haha but nonetheless it was good. i realized today how fast the days are disappearing and i'm super scared how fast time is flyyyyying! so that made me a little worried! we had french course at the church with one of the members today and we got there and had an interesting lesson...try learning french in french....it's not that easy! then we heard some noises upstairs so we went to look and it was the bishop's wife getting ready for ward counsel so we started to help her set up chairs and tables. it was good fun. then we ran home and ate some lunch and then ran back to the church cause we had a rdv. it was a good rdv...it went way to long, but it was good. then we needed to go downtown to renew my bus pass cause i've already been here for a month! how crazy. then we went and contacted all around and got a text from another member from metz! she was telling me about a less-active that she knows of here in the reims area so we went in and tried to find her. it was good to talk to her for a while! then we had a rdv and it went really well. we walked in and she made some food cause they wanted to celebrate my birthday too! it was fun to sit and talk for a while. it was a NUTELLA CAKE it was KILLER. seriously so good! it was fun and i love them with all my heart! plus they showed us some new songs and it made the night that much better;)

FRIDAY

so today i almost died...haha it was pretty crazy! no i didn't almost get hit by a car. and no, no one pulled a gun on me! but i ate so much that i literally thought i was going to explode! haha it was super crazy! i was literally dying! so we started off our day with some contacting and then we had a lunch appt with some members...shes the one who altered my suit...and she is altering my other suit now! so we went to drop that off and got there and ate! she had made us couscous and we sat down to eat and she just kept filling my plate....i literally have never felt so full in my life! i almost exploded, NOT EVEN KIDDING. so stop laughing! we went home after that to start weekly planning and i literally had to take off my pants cause they were hurting me so bad....(it reminded me of Paul Blart in his letter to Amy at the end...you're like a good meal! you fill me with really good feelings, plus i don't have to unbutton my pants! except I had to take my pants off...it was awful!) and i literally had to lay down on my bed the whole planning session cause i was in so much pain. i am not exaggerating this pain at all! it was legit, explosive pain. haha! by the time we had finished planning, the pain had gone and all was well and i could move! we then decided that since we are trying to get to the bishop's house for dinner sometime within the next week we'd go snag his wife at the church cause she was teaching seminary! so we went to the church and when we got there, we found some youth who invited us to stay for a little meal that they had planned. we then stayed for that and had a really fun night with the youth. they are so cool in this ward! i love them and i'm SUPER blessed to be here with them! i also got to see some birthday videos on fb from meghan from my family! it was a good night

SATURDAY

so by the end of tonight i was seriously considering and wondering on the question....is it possible for the eyeballs to sunburn?? because i am pretty sure that mine were! and i couldn't figure out if they were just red cause i was tired or if it is actually humanly possible to receive a sunburn on your eyeballs...if someone can tell me, i'd be very appreciative! we started out our day by starting up Samedi Sports! which is saturday sports...directly translated..we go to the church from 10-12 and play all kinds of sports and chill and have fun...except for the fact that none of the members here came! haha so we were outside playing until finally we decided to give up and go help the few members that were cleaning the chapel. so that was how we spent our morning. then we went home and took lunch and me and my comp then went out to a little village in our sector that we are supposed to go out to once a week and here it is week five in the transfer and it's my first time going out! it was good fun though. we got there and contacted and walked for a very long time and it was good to get some sort of feel for the ville so that i knew what to do next transfer when my comp leaves. we were invited over to a members house that lives in the area so we went to that and it was the craziest, funnest, loudest, and funniest night of my life. they made me feel right at home. i had such a fun night with them. then on the way home, me and my comp were jamming to french disney! it was quite a fun day.

SUNDAY

well today was ward conference and that took up a good chunk of our day! it was super busy and super good! we had the stake presidency here as well. there were so many people that were showing up! it was a good turn out! we had the regular meetings and then we had a little meal after. it was lots of fun. then we had a ward council meeting after that and we talked all about the baptism's in the ward, but i was really tired of being at the church! so as soon as we finished we went and said goodbye to everyone and then bounced out of there and went out to do some good old missionary work. we gave the member who was baptized a few weeks back a call cause he wasn't there today and he said that it was because he was sick and didn't feel too great so we offered to come and give him a blessing. we went out contacting as we headed to his house and someone from a building threw an EGG at us! they totally missed but we saw the shatter and it was awesome...haha i was laughing pretty hard! then we went to his house and explained how the consecrated oil worked, and all that, and gave him a blessing. he asked if his son could get one too cause he was sick as well, so we asked the son if he wanted one and he said yes. then the daughter, who is about 9 years old, goes "QUELLE CHANCE!" (he's lucky!) haha i bet she thought the oil was magic or something...it was pretty cute. we all chuckled and then gave him a blessing. after that we had to run to catch the bus home. literally! haha it was good.

well there was my week in a blur! it was super good and i'm super grateful for you all! thanks for all that you do for me! thanks for the support! just so you all know, i won't be on next monday! we have a conference to get ipads and i believe my pday will be tuesday! donc, passez une bonne semaine et �  bientot! (so have a nice week, and see you soon!)

elder libby:)

 

WEEK 34

and it just so happens to be my birthday week!!!!!! thank you to everyone for all the emails...i'm so sorry that i'm not responding to all of you individually but i just don't have time!!!! you mean the world to me! friends from school, ward members, bishop, teachers, family...did i miss anyone??? i love you all and you made my day! thanks again. i would like to tell you all that today as we were on our way to grocery shopping we saw a CAMEL on the side of the road. yes a camel! #firstcamelspottinginfrance! haha why he was there, we don't know! and as a birthday present from my president, they've gotten us ipads and we are getting them in two weeks from today! so thats really exciting! this birthday is going to be great!

MONDAY NIGHT

well tonight we had a rdv with a guy who was SUPER prepared and SUPER ready but he was just getting ready to move....and he was moving to the area where an elder from my old area is now serving! i got to call him and chat for a little bit and make sure that he had the number and information for the guy and then it was time for dinner and so me and my comp decided to go and get some BURGER KING cause they just happen to have that in Reims! it was delish!

TUESDAY

today was a long day! haha we really didn't do a ton of stuff today and it was really boring! we started out with a rdv at the church with a guy that we found while weekly planning and he told us he couldn't meet anymore cause he was in paris....#thanksforthecall... so we then got a call from the mission office telling us that we didn't send in the monthly car report so we went and got the car and then spent the next long periods of time taking pictures and checking levels and all that jazz and it took forever! then we started on my comps second year legality and it made me realize how soon that is coming for me! holy cow....then we had a dinner appt with the mustard guy in our ward...remember him??? hahah! it was good fun and we were talking a lot about the paris temple and i am so excited for that temple!

WEDNESDAY

well today was literally a fun day! it was one of the most exhilarating days i've had! it involved running away from a member cause we were using the wrong computer to finish up conference to literally climbing up a mountain to get to a mcdonalds! haha it was a fun day! we decided to go and finish up conference at the church, but no one can do that on an empty stomach so we went and grabbed some kebabs and headed to the church! we ate and watched conference and had literally a half hour left when we heard the little old ladies upstairs coming in to do family history and we were on the family history computer! so we ran and tried to get away but she saw us and gave us an earfull....i'm a bad missionary i know...then me and my comp went contacting and got a call from the other elders telling us that our 3:00 appt was at the church and it was 1:55! so we ran back to the church and taught him a small lesson and it was good and he said that he had blocked out his schedule so that he could come to church this sunday! he is another Rwandian man so keep your fingers crossed! then we made our way home contacting and ate some dinner and then went out porting for the first time in forever! (totally just had FROZEN going in my head) it was really good and when we were getting ready to leave we decided that we wanted mcdonalds and saw a sign saying there was one just 1 minute away...until we realized that meant probably by car...we had ran across the road and were climbing up dirt and grass hills! haha it was quite the experience! but it was fun and all for the memories!

THURSDAY

today started off with a fun BUZZ at the door and when i answered it....BEHOLD THE MAIL MAN, BRINGING ME GOOD TIDINGS FROM DEBBIE, my new sweet friend from SLC! it was so fun! i got it and opened it and there are a couple fun birthday presents that i am waiting to open until my birthday! i'm super excited and super blessed to know her! she is the coolest french momma, that doesn't live in france, that anyone could ask for! i love her! then we went to the french course that a member gives us every week and it was good. i still get really confused trying to take a french class in french...its harder than it sounds, but every little bit counts! then me and BEEF (his last name is branchflower ... he's another elder in my apartment. we call him beef cause his name is too long and the two syllables in his name start with BF) hahahah we had an exchange today! it was way fun. we walked all over and got some phone numbers and just got to know each other. it was a good break. even if you get along with your companion, you need the breaks that come from exchanges! haha! then we had a rdv with a recent convert at the church and decided that we were going to watch the restoration video and it was really good. it was cool to watch him bear testimony! then we got home for dinner and for the 4th time today, because we've decided that it is our new favorite movie, we watched Legacy! it was good fun! i think i've watched it about 10 times this week!

FRIDAY

i'll tell you what. days in paris always go by in the blink of an eye! i cannot believe how fast the time flies when i am with a ton of my friends! it is so hard to say hi and goodbye so fast:( but distance is what makes the heart grow fonder! we got to paris for zone conference today and had a really good couple lessons on contacting and finding people and how we need to become united more as companionships and get the holy ghost to be the #thirdmemberinourcompanionships it was really good! we had some really good testimonies from the AP's and from president and his wife. we got into paris and i ran into the one and only soeur hogan! we talked and found out that our birthdays are right by each other! so that was fun! then we got to the church and talked with everyone! it was a multi-zone conference so it was super fun to be able to talk to everyone! all my friends were there and we had quite the time! i asked president and soeur for a picture together for my birthday present so that was super fun! then i had a little heart to heart with soeur and realized just how much i love her! we talked and she told me that when she served her mission she actually served in Reims and got a baptism here! she told me that i was on train to become like her.....#futureAP? JK i would never wish that death on anyone! but it was really good and she told me she was going to call me on my bday! so that will be fun! and while talking to her she asked me when my train was to go back and we realized that we missed the train.....haha! so we had to go and exchange our tickets for another train! and i got my package from mom today so that was fun to have my bday presents! then we got home and took dinner and opened up my package!!!! it was a good day!

SATURDAY

today pretty much consisted of nothing but weekly planning! we had one rdv with a less-active who's brother called asking us to go and give her a blessing but besides that we literally were planning all day and it was really long! but i guess good none the less. we did studies and then went out for an hour to do some contacting! it was good. we found another baguette dispensor! it was fun. then we came in and planned until we needed to get to rdv. when we got there we walked in and they welcomed us and sat us down and talked to us about everything and then she asked for a blessing of comfort cause she was having some health problems and she was really worried about her son and she picked me to give the blessing.....first blessing in france and i don't even know if i helped....it was very interesting to say the least! then we went home and we finished up planning and we had a question for some of the soeurs that are in liege belgium so we had to call and lo and behold the soeur who is there is one that i came to know so well in the mtc!!!! it was just a blast being able to talk to her for a little bit!

SUNDAY

well i was dying today cause like during lunch we were watching the district and i saw the one and only SARAHBETH STOTT!!!! she's on the district! i was freaking out! i watched her part like a good 5 times! it made me feel a little close to home for a while! it was good fun! it was literally the highlight of my day. so it was fast sunday here in france and my stomach was growling all day but it was good none the less! we had our Rwandian ami come to church and that was really good! then we went home and ate food and then we went to the church because we had a rdv with this one guy but then he bailed on us so we went and contacted and then were invited to a members house to go and talk and see how their family was doing. it was good. we talked for a good two hours and then had to head in for the night!

well thanks again for all the bday wishes!!!!! i loved the email surprises! i'm so thankful for all you guys in my life! thanks for all you do for me!!!! talk to you soon! que dieu vous bénisse! (God bless you!)

elder libby

 

WEEK 33

what a great way to end the week! conference was amazing and i hope that i am not the only one who got so many answers to prayers! it's crazy how many answers you receive when you actually take time before conference to find out just what you need in your life. i'm so amazed and so impressed as to how much our heavenly father actually does care! he is always there for us and will never leave us alone! he knows what we need and will continually bless us. i love that!

MONDAY NIGHT

well we've got a super older, but super nice couple in the ward and i had talked to the mrs at church yesterday; shes wanting to alter my suit and make me look slim and french! she said she'd never done that for missionaries but would love to help! so we made our way home after emails and got a call from him, and he said, and i quote, "Simplelment, vous allez manger avec nous ce soir. On vous verra chez nous à 6:30." (simply, you will eat with us tonight. we will see you at home at 6:30!) then he hung up the phone! so we went over to their house and they fed us some really yummy couscous and she had me put on my suit so that she could pin me up and get it ready for the altering! that took up the rest of the night and then we headed home.

TUESDAY

today was such a good day but i was so dead tired after! haha my legs were hurting so bad..it was the first time i had actually done like intense missionary work in a while! i had an exchange with one of my zl's and it was really good. we woke up and had to finish up making the tartiflette that me and my comp had to make for our district meeting...those onions seriously were so ripe and i was crying for the whole time making them...then we went out to make our train and it was pouring rain...so you know those movies or videos that you see of missionaries running through the rain? ya that was me...i felt like a.......SUPERSTAR!!!!!!!! (imagine me with my hands in the air with peace signs, while i'm kneeling on one knee) i hope that someone can name the movie...when we got to Torcy for District meeting we had a really good time laughing and learning and of course eating...sometimes you just can't have fun without eating. then me and my zl went out on our little adventure we called an exchange. we had a really good time and i really got to know him and i learned that i really need to get better at being a missionary...i've been out almost 8 months...you'd think that i was somewhat good at being a missionary right?? we actually even had to run to an internet cafe so that i could email my mom because my neighbor from home, who was visiting in france, was bringing me a package! it was fun as he got our number and called me and we planned to meet tomorrow! then we took a 5 minute mcd's break cause sometimes a missionary just needs one...and when you've got a mcd's fund it's hard to say no sometimes! then we had a dinner appt with a member and they made us some chinese food! it was really good! then my zl was telling me how if we see someone from home we are supposed to call and make sure that it is ok with president...so i did and all is well! he said i was good to meet up with my neighbor!

WEDNESDAY

so we started off our day with the norm...we got our studies out of the way and then we decided that since we were meeting up with the neighbor in paris that we'd run out so that we got there on time! so on our way out, the zl's surprised us with a trip to a boulangerie for breakfast! it was so good! then we made our way into paris on the good old metro! or the RER as the locals call it...can i call myself a local yet? once we got into paris i was like legit running to the gare cause i was so excited to meet up and get my package! today was april fool's but it felt just like christmas! i was so excited! once we got to the gare we met up with them and i just gave him a big hug! i was so happy! he said he was happy too cause it was a really heavy box...haha! so we took some pictures and then caught up on some new life events and then i gave him another big hug and we made our way to our train so we could come home. we got to our train and finally after a long 45 minute ride we got home and i tore into my package and found a speaker and some candy and some deodorant (cause deodorant in france is AWFUL!) let's just say that i was super happy!! then we got a call from the couple who's altering my suit and she said that she was about ready to cut the material on my suit but she wanted to make sure that it fit so we went over so i could try it on and then they fed us a little meal and then we had a dinner with the young adults in the ward! it was way fun! we all got together and had some food and played some games! it was a blast!

THURSDAY

so today was really good! we did lots of walking and talking and CONTACTING!!! i know a lot of you know about #becausehelives but you all need to go and watch the video cause it is so good! doing the church's initiative for this is so cool! the contacting cards are so cool and they make it a lot more fun to share! we started today with a little french course from one of the members who teaches us a little bit of french every week and it was good. the members here in reims sure do take care of their missionaries! then we had a rdv with one of the members that invited us over to his non-member mom's house and they fed us the most delicious quiche ever!!! and apparently it's called a Quiche Lorraine...which is the region Metz is in...and i'd never had it before...and they thought it was crazy that i was there for 6 months and never had quiche lorraine...so that was fun! then we had to go to the church to get to a rdv that we had with a man who called himself DR SCHAWKY hahahahahah so we got here and waited for an hour and he never showed up so we went out to contact! while contacting we realized that we didn't have any contacting cards so we ran back to the apartment to get some. while we were making them, we got a call...from a man who called himself DR SCHAWKY hahahaha and he was all why weren't you there? and we were all we were! and he was all the gate was closed and we said that he had to open the gate and come in the church and he told us he'd be there on saturday....so ya that was interesting! then we literally went and walked around all the rest of the night contacting and finding! i remembered that i left a special cheesecake that the member made for me today at the church so we had to run home and get that and eat it all tonight!

FRIDAY

well during our studies we were so rudely interrupted by a buzz on the door which just happened to be a package from my comp's family and it was a little conference care package, not just for him, but for me too! so i got a pen and a notebook and some candies for my conference! we finished up studies and made our way out contacting and while out i found a new kebab shop....i'm still trying to find THE kebab of Reims...it doesn't seem to exist yet! so we got some kebabs and made our way home for lunch and i was satisfied but still a little disappointed...i guess you can call me picky?? heheheh then i walked into my room and noticed that with all the candy from my comp's mom and with all the stuff in the package from home the other day, and i still had left overs from christmas, i had a ton of food that i was hoarding so i pulled it all out and all the missionaries had a free for all and took what they wanted! it was good, i got a ton put away and got a little cleaned up! then we started weekly planning and we all know how much i love that;) i may have gotten a little bored and started taking some funny pictures! then we had a rdv with our new convert and got to the church and he texted and said he couldn't come anymore...so we were leaving and ran into the member from canada and we went contacting with her for a while and then headed in for the night.

SATURDAY

well after studies today we went contacting for a little while. it happened to be raining and there was no one outside so we had lots of time to work on my infamous-but-not-so-mission-wide famous movie quotes! haha jk i don't think there is anyone in the mission who knows i love movies....but i do love me some movies!!! while we were walking we ran into a little friend...his name was ratatouille and he went to live with heavenly father...it was a sad, wet little mouse, dead on the side of the road! so i took a picture in his remembrance. then we came home and took lunch and then went to the church to meet with the infamously famous man who calls himself DR SCHAWKY....hahahaha he got there and we gave him a little tour of the church and he sat us down and pretty much said, i know who you are but how do i get you to leave me alone. do i need to serve a mission too? how do i get a call to go on a mission? haha this all took about an hour and a half to explain that we could just leave him alone if he didn't want us to meet with him anymore...it was very interesting!!! then we had another rdv and it was a really good rdv! we watched a movie on the restoration and he really liked it and had a few questions about baptism and so i asked when he found this to be true if he'd be baptized he said yes! and he wants to plan to do that in July! so that was really cool! then all the sisters were starting to show up to watch the general sisters session and the soeur brought me my suit! so we went home and tried it on and got the other elders to go over to the church to watch conference! we were the only ones to show up to the session that night so we switched it right over to english and i loved every minute of it! then we went and tried to find another kebab shop and we found the nastiest kebab ever! haha it was very gross and we all went to bed feeling a little sick...

SUNDAY

well since the church wasn't going to broadcast the priesthood session until 11 we had a little time to just chill and do some studies on a sunday morning! it was really good. i read in luke about the crucifixion and resurrection and it was super fitting for the morning! the we decided to go over to the church so that we could download the sessions of conference so that we wouldn't be struggling to stay up with it live! so we got here and started the download and greeted with the members as they walked in! it was really good to see everyone. we were given some lunch by a member and after the first session we set up a table and ate some baguettes and quiche! it was really yummy! then we had the second session and during the middle of the session, we were attacked by a storm of angry ants that smelt our chocolate and lemonheads! ahhhhh so we had to go and find some ant killer and get rid of that problem...it was kinda gross but we did what we had to do! then after the second session all the members left and they cleaned up the projector and so after everyone was gone, we put the projector back up and watched the sunday morning session and the answers just kept coming! it was very inspiring. i was waiting for president monson to announce a kaysville utah temple....heaven knows we need it!!! but maybe next conference! we had a good time though and then we went home and had some dinner and went to bed!

it was kind of an uneventful week and not a ton of new and exciting things happened, but i was sure grateful for the one's that did happen! all is well in france, at least from what i know! i love you all! keep the prayers coming. i need them! je vous aime! (I love you!)

elder libby

you never know how strong you are, til strength is the only thing you have left