WEEK 44

well this week was pretty special!! it was really great and im super glad i got to spend it with the people that i did! i got to go on an exchange with a francophone (someone who only speaks french), i saw the Royer family yesterday for the day and got to talk to them, and we had a baptism and i guess thats kind of a big deal :) but it was a good week and had its ups and downs and stressful moments that make you want to cry but those come and go so we just learn to deal with it! if there is anything that i have learned these past couple of weeks it is "il ne faut pas accepter l'unacceptable" :)  (we must not accept the unacceptable ")

MONDAY NIGHT

tonight was one of our last rdv's with jean parfait and it was really interesting to say the least! so we went over the baptismal interview questions with him and he had some really interesting questions to go along with them! he ended up telling us a lot that has gone down in Rwanda and all the genocides that he has seen and that stuff and he was telling us all the sufferings that him and his family have gone through...it was really interesting...but after all the questions, comments, and concerns we had finished the rdv and we went home for the night!

TUESDAY

well to start off i just want to say thank heavens for the ward members! they made our day and it was just awesome! we received a phone call from a really old couple in the ward, the really nice old lady who likes to sew and tailored my suits and they invited us over for lunch and asked if we needed any sewing done! luckily i had some wearing holes in the crotch of one of my pants (sorry if that is TMI) and we said yes! so we went out and did some contacting and nothing too special happened and then went over for lunch! we were there for a solid 2 hours i kid you not! they were just talking up a storm about all the tiniest little things and it was just killer cute! old people that just love to talk kill me! i love it. after being there for a long time they thanked us for coming and then took my pants to sew and then we were on our way! during the time that we were in their house we received 3 missed calls! one was from cristian, our recent convert to the ward, asking if it would be possible to meet up tonight! so we scheduled him in and because of that we needed to go and plan...so we planned and of course had to practice teach and then made our way to the rdv with him and it was really good. he told us some very personal things that are going on in his life right now and how hard it is for him and asked that we continue to keep praying for him. after that we went to the gare to print off some train tickets and then home for dinner

WEDNESDAY

today went by super fast and i felt like the worst person in the world cause i was in charge of a brand new baby bleu missionary and we did almost nothing! it wasn't my fault! it was the trains and it was just really bad and i felt horrible! but he seemed to like it and he was really nice! he is 26 years old from Madagascar and speaks only french! it was very interesting to be on an english fast that is for sure!! we woke up this morning and made our way out the door for district meeting. we got into paris and hurried and made it to the chapel and met everyone in the district and then the ZLs showed up and.....PULLED THEIR IPADS OUT RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. and of course they get them before everyone else! i was so jealous just sitting there watching them on them haha but we found out that we will be getting our ipads on July 2 at zone conference! so that is something to look forward to! after all was said and done and all the tartiflette was eaten and everyone was happy and fed, me and the baby bleu made our way out to do some contacting before we needed to head home for the night. we talked a lot and he was telling me all about how hard the mission was and how different and discouraging it was for him...i didn't know at all what to say than just remember why you decided to come out here. he is 26 years old remember. i told him to remember that heavenly father will bless him as long as he tries his hardest! we got on the train to get home and then made our way home and we walked in the door at 5.......so after we hurried and got the church for our rdv with jean parfait and it went well. we watched the restoration video and filled our his baptismal form! it went really fast and it was good. we then made our way home for dinner!

THURSDAY

well today started off with some studies and then right after me and the baby bleu made our way to the gare to catch our train into paris! it feels like its been forever since ive been there but on the train ride in we got a call from mustard man and he asked us if we were coming in for french course....but they told us they were going to be out of town! so we didnt plan on going and it was just interesting....we talked and they agreed to come back tomorrow. so we got to the gare in paris and met up with our normal collegues and me and my comp just sat in the gare and waited for our train! we were interrupted by....AN AMERICAN!! haha there was a guy that came up to us telling us that he was in france on business and for his brothers wedding and that he was from the seattle area and that he had served his mission in brazil 20 years ago! he offered to buy us lunch but our train was leaving in 20 minutes so we had to decline until next time! it was fun to see someone though and i accomplised a weekly goal;) meet an american! we came home and took lunch and then had to go to the gare to pick up the ZLs who came in to interview jean parfait for the baptism! so we went and got them and after a 45 minute long interview, he passed and all was a go for the baptism! it was so cool! we then went out porting and had dinner to finish up the night

FRIDAY

well today was definitely interesting haha i was thinking all about friends from home cause of the fact that today was a year mark from when one of my very best friends from home left on his mission! i cried a lot that day and i was just thinking of all the things that i did that day! it was fun to go back and think that we only have a year left til we see each other again! today started off with some french course and today she brought us some pains au chocolat! it was fun! then we came home for lunch and on the way home we got a call from the same old couple that had us over the other day! he said he had some computer problems and that he needed some help so we told him we'd go over later in the day! we came home and did some weekly planning and got all the things planned for that we needed for the baptism! then we went over to his house and he sat us down at the computer and said that he was supposed to be giving a talk in church this week and needed help finding what to say...so long story short...i wrote his talk for him to give this sunday! lol!!! it was pretty funny. we just wrote his talk hahahah he then took us to the kitchen and sat us down to eat some ice cream and just when we thought we were done, he turned around and pulled out some more ice cream bars from the freezer!! it was so funny. we came home and got ready to go to our meeting with the ward mission leader and priesthood of the ward. we talked a lot about jean parfait and the practice sunday meeting that we are having out in chateau thierry cause they want to open up a branch! it was a good meeting and it went well.

SATURDAY

today was pretty interesting!!! but it was really good too! having a baptism is really good sometimes! haha we started off with some contacting and my comp was CONVINCED that it was not going to take 3 hours to fill up the baptismal font...little did we know that it was going to take a little longer than that! (stay tuned) we were out contacting and when we had planned on going in for lunch he stayed out and walked a different way and oh la la hahaha we finally got in for lunch and over to the church at 2:20 when we had planned to be there at 1... so i ran downstairs and sweeped out the font and then turned on the water and it started to fill!! we went and did all the stupid things we needed to...print off the program find some mormon messages and all that and then i went in about 2 hours later and it was almost full and i put my hand in the font......IT WAS ICE COLD. so i ran to elder ericson and told him and he goes that sucks and then goes back to the computer...so i ran upstairs and started to boil some water in pots and then dumping them in the font for 45 minutes thinking that maybe it would change the temp a little bit! and after all that....it did nothing! ahhhh!!! i was freaking out but then everyone started showing up and i didnt really have a choice but to change into my clothes! so i did and then jean parfait came and we got changed and started! when we walked into the font, his eyes got wide and i just had to smile cause i knew exactly what was going on...ahhh! then i baptized him and he just was shaking and then we went into change! we came out and our ward mission leader gave him the chance to bear his testimony and it was so good! jean parfait was definitely prepared by the Lord! after the baptism we chatted and then he was interviewed to receive the aaronic priesthood tomorrow! after everyone had left, we made our way home and went and got some victory kebabs for dinner!

SUNDAY

well today was just really good! we got to church and started to get a little worried cause jean parfait wasnt showing up so i called him and he said he was on his way. after that pierre walked in and i started talking to him and during that time jean parfait walked in and him and elder ericson disappeared and i was still talking to pierre! when all of the sudden out of the blue!!! the royer family walked into the building!!!!!! it was so good to see them!!!! we talked and laughed and there were no tears at first!! then sunday school started and we all went in and turns out that the royers are actually really good family friends with my ward mission leader here! so frere royer and jackie started talking a lot and it was good fun! then we had sacrament meeting and Jackie, the ward mission leader, got to give jean parfait the gift of the holy ghost! he gave such a strong and beautiful blessing! he was just smiling from ear to ear! and right after we had a ward meal cause there was this family in the ward who is leaving as well as meghan and so it was fun to be able to sit and talk with the royers for a while! after the meal the bishop wanted to give jean parfait the aaronic priesthood and so we left the room to do that. after that jean parfait had to leave and so we hugged it out and then he left. i went and had a couple minutes of what you call a heart to heart with frere royer and Jackie and then they offered to give me a blessing! it was a very good blessing and something that i was in very much need of! i was so happy to see them today! after all of that we went home and parted ways and forgot to take pictures!!!! dangit!!! we finished off our night with some porting and got told by 2 people that if we didnt leave they would call the cops on us! lol it was a great night!

well theres my week! hope all is going well at home! you're constantly in my prayers and i hope it's the same for you! thanks for all the love, support, and mail! keep them coming;) loves!!!!!

elder libby

 

pic 1: jean parfait can we take a selfie? yes. k cool! ......... dang its blurry!

pic 2: here let me try to take one ..... nope still blurry

pic 3: alright lets try to get someone else to take one!

some funny pic we got of jp;)

WEEK 43

well this week was a whole lot better than last! thank you for all the prayers and love that is being sent my way! my heavenly father is watching over me and sending angels all around to help me. he does truly watch over us! and he knows what we need and when we need it! i am so grateful for him and the opportunity that i have to be here to serve him! well probably the most exciting news from this week is that our investigator has asked me to baptize him this saturday!!!!!!! i am so excited and he is so prepared! i love that man! i'll get down to the dirty details in a minute but i wanted to make that something for you all to look forward to!

MONDAY NIGHT

tonight we started off with some porting and then we had a rdv where we taught him our investigator about the temple, in preparation for his baptism, and what it is and what we do there and all that. we taught with our recent convert in the ward which was really good cause he just got back from the recent temple trip and so he was able to express how beautiful and sacred the temple was for him! it was good and needed cause at the end of the lesson, the investigator told us that he had thought this whole time that the temple trip that the ward took was something up in the mountains and all the people there took their tents and and pitched them and listened to the bishop for 3 days and then took down the tents and made their way back home! i thought it was funny! he's such a cool dude!

TUESDAY

today was just another day in paradise! i mean reims! we started off the day with some contacting and then stopped by the train station to find some train times for a meeting in paris that we had this week and then stopped by a boulangerie on the way home and then went in for lunch. after lunch was over we went out and did some contacting and then we stopped by the church to go and use the bathroom only to find out that the other elders were sitting there waiting for an investigator to come so we started talking with them and after a little bit they decided that the investigator wasn't coming so we all left together and then did some contacting on the way home for dinner. we decided that for porting tonight we'd go over to a building that has some of our members in it and do some work there. when we got there, the man next door to one of our members said no i'm not interested but go and talk to the lady next door. she goes to church every sunday! she might be interested!;) yes, so interested, that she's already a member!! so that was something funny!! we then came home for the night and the phone started ringing and i answered and it was a family from metz, my first area!!! they called and said they wanted to check to see how i was doing and that they were sorry it was tuesday night cause they'd been trying to find my number since yesterday afternoon! it was so good to talk to them and they said they might be calling me back later in the week;)

WEDNESDAY

so it was tonight at the lesson that our investigator asked ME to baptize him!! i am so happy and so glad that he chose me! i've seen him progress ever since march and i was just hoping that he would choose me! it was a good rdv with him!! so today was transfer day and Beef left for his new ville in st quentin. so after he left we finished up our studies and then went out to go meet a new investigator that we met on the road the other day and said we could meet. so we got to the place and he wasn't there and so we called him and he said that we planned to meet another time during the day! so we just went contacting and all that fun stuff and taught a lesson! we got a call from our investigator changing the time of the rdv for tonight so we just went contacting more and then in for dinner and made our way over the church for the rdv. tonight we went over the schedule for the baptism and he chose me to baptize him and my comp to give a talk on baptism and then he chose to sing Nearer My God to Thee for the opening and closing hymns! haha he said it was all for the memories and that he loves that song because whenever he hears it, he thinks of the titanic and when the ship is sinking...? haha he is so funny!!! i just love him

THURSDAY

today i think i found out one of the reasons why i was sent to france on my mission...i needed to meet a particular French family, whom I just fell in love with while I served in Metz! they are the most amazing people i've ever met and heavenly father has definitely blessed me to be able to know them.  we started the day off with french course from mustard man and his wife and that went well and was fun just as always! then we made our way home for lunch and half way through lunch i got a call from that family!!! The father asked me what time sacrament meeting was this week and i told him that we had stake conference this week...so he said what about next week and i said 11 and he said good! we'll be there! they've decided to come and see me and see what is going on. they are so amazing! he had put my name on the the swiss and madrid temple prayer rolls and i believe they said something about ghana as well but i don't know for sure. they are so amazing. we then went out for a very long contacting session and that was fun..but we made it through! we came home for dinner and then met an ami at the church and it was a very interesting lesson on the importance of the book of mormon and then met with our investigator that's getting baptized this week! he told us that he didn't have any white shirts so i told him i had one that was huge for me and that i'd give it to him so i brought that for him! we went over the baptism and had a mock baptism in the room and he was just smiling the whole time!! he then told us that he wanted to come to stake conference this sunday in paris so we started figuring out how he could get there with some other members

FRIDAY

i got a letter from the family from Metz today!! it was a cute little postcard with a quote that said the distance between you and your heavenly father is the distance between your knees and the floor. so that made me tear up a little bit! i am so beyond excited to see them!! we started off today finishing up the service that we had from last week and it was good fun! this member that we've been serving was so funny this morning! she just sat and talked to me in the living room while i was cleaning her window's and since missionaries are "special" people it is important for most members to use the formal way of speaking VOUS...not just the common family and friend way of TU and she was just using TU up the wazzoo!! it was cute. i cant wait to see her after the mission and use TU on her as well! we then came home and had some weekly planning and that is enough said. tonight was so funny though!! we went porting at this apartment building and were sitting outside at the doorbell and this dude on the main floor was just blasting music with his window open and i was thinking how funny it would be if he played a song i know and then all of the sudden RETURN OF THE MACK comes on!!!! so i pulled out my camera to record it and put it up to his window and all of the sudden i hear someone yelling at me saying what the heck! why do you have your camera? get out of here! and i got it all on video!! lol i was dying... it was so embarrassing...but i got the music so thats a bonus! hahah it was so funny

SATURDAY

so today went by really fast but it was really good...started off with some contacting and then went from there...not a ton. i wanted to stop by a post office but we never did so that was that... we came home for lunch and after that we went down to chateau thierry for the day! it was good today. not a ton happened. we tried to stop by a couple referrals but they weren't home and then we went to 2 less active houses and the one has a son who will be baptized in august and the less active father wants to baptize him. we were advised by the bishop and ward mission leader to teach them both the missionary lessons and that will hopefully make it happen. so tonight as we taught the restoration, the dad pulled out a cigarette and started smoking while we were teaching! ahhh!! i hope he prepares himself though! he really wants to baptize his son and i think it would be terrible if he couldnt so keep him in your prayers!!

SUNDAY

well today we told our investigator that's being baptized that we would call him at 6:30 am so that he would be at the church on time to make it to paris for stake conference! when i called him at 6:35 he said that he was already walking to the church! isnt that amazing?! so we got up and we got ready and then some members drove us to paris for stake conference! it was good! we pulled up and the way that they do stake conference is so much better than in utah! we had it in a movie theater! comfy seats and all! it was awesome!! i got a little too comfy a few times! but our investigator was there and said that he got to the church this morning at 7 just to make sure he wouldn't miss anyone leaving the church. so cool!! after the sessions of conference there was a fireside for all recent converts and investigators and i thought he had left by that time so we got to the fireside and i look up and he was sitting in the front row! and the area seventy that was there asked him to get up and bear his testimony since he was going to be baptized this saturday and all he said was "i can't bear my testimony cause we'd be here all day. but i know jesus loves us and that this church is true. grateful for the missionaries and all they do. in the name of jesus christ amen" it was so cool!! so then we made our way home and had dinner and went out porting for the night! we found a family that said we could come back next week so that was really cool!

my week was really good! i'm doing fine, but remember me in your prayers! i love and miss you all!! cant wait to see you again!! love you!

elder libby

 

WEEK 42

well first off i'd like to bring up the fact that i am on the french computer today and so you need to excuse all the typos!! the keyboards are messed up and i am trying my hardest to recognize any mistakes!! this week was a little hard but we all have those days...so ya...i am staying in reims though!! which is really good cause i love all the members here. they make me happy when other people can't:) anyway...here goes my week!

MONDAY NIGHT

well after emails we made our way in to take some dinner and i was reading the talk given by henry b eyring that talks about how it is important that we fast and pay our fast offerings cause when we do that, we will stand before god at the last day and he will say that we fed him when he was hungry, we gave him drink when he was hungry and when he was naked we clothed him and then we'll be all, "what? lord we never did any of that to you"; and he'll be all, when you have done it unto the least of these my brethren you have done it unto me: and i was thinking about how cool that was. then we went out and did some porting and some guy let us in to pray with him and that was cool cause for the first time on my mission, that actually happened! so i was happy! then we were just porting some more doors and this one dude was like no...but would you like some sandwiches? and we were like sure! and i just thought of that talk and how even though missionaries aren't exactly hobos, he fed us and treated us kindly just like the savior would have. it was kind of a humbling experience! it was really neat:)

TUESDAY

so today was our last district meeting for the transfer:( kinda sad...but whatever haha life goes on. it was also the last time that i probably will ever see one of the elders that i've really grown close to :(  anyway we made our way to the church just right after studies and we got going with our district meeting. we then took some pics and ate some food and this transfer we had some booming pics! it is awesome! we had 3 people transfer out of our district and a new companionship open up so in all we are getting 5 new people in our district! it's going to be huge! but i'm excited. we went back to the apartment cause we needed to drop off all of our stuff and i needed to go to the pharmacy to get some drugs for my allergies and so we went to the pharmacy and then to the church again to have a lesson with our recent convert. it was really well. he didn't end up reading the scripture chapter that we gave him the last time so we read over d&c 19 and it took up the whole rdv. but it was very good. then we went to the member's house who has done all the alterations on my suits cause i had some holes in my normal pants and i needed her to sew them! #missionarystatus #wearingoutclothes so we went and of course it wasn't just a drop off the pants and leave, but we went in and ate some cookies and then we talked, haha. i love old couples!!!! then we went out contacting and we contacted this one kid who was from the US and he was looking for a change in his life and wanted to make things right with god. he said his phone was broken but he took our number and said he'd call us...but so does everyone else! then we had a rdv and it went well...we talked about the spirit again and what it does and why it is important. it was a good rdv!

WEDNESDAY

today was good! we started off with some service at a members house and it was fun to spend some time with them! we were there for the most part of the morning just sponging down some walls and ceilings and having just so much fun! then we came home and i did the dishes and when i walked in, my comp was waiting all dressed up in missionary clothes to plan..OOPS. jk so i changed and made my way to plan..it took us about an hour and then went about our day contacting and such..we were walking for about 3 hours straight and i was about to die of thirst so we stopped in a store and grabbed some ice cream and a drink and then took a 5 minute breather and then went to this less active rdv and so that was fun...the guy was probs a little CRAZY lol and his apt stunk so bad....but we made it through and then went home to make our way to our appt that we had. it was good. then we went and did some crazy sketchy porting in this huge buildings that are so scary...it was fun i guess you could say!

THURSDAY

today was easily the hottest day of the year! it was awfully hot! i wanted to die. jk don't die, don't die, don't die. it was seriously like a brick wall every time we walked outside...oh my goodness it was hot! we got a text from one of our investigators this morning telling us that she couldn't come to this little dinner thing that all the youth in the ward put on for her...so that was a let down...all day we were trying to figure out what to do...i couldn't figure out how to make things happen! but we kept going and were hoping that something would come up! we went out contacting and then made our way home so that we could take lunch and make it to the church for our rdv with our newest investigator..we taught him follow the prophet and showed him a talk by thomas s monson and that went well! during the talk, he said that he answered one of his prayers he'd been asking for! it was cool! then we gave him a liahona and sent him on his way. we went and did some contacting and it was good...again, just bloody hot! i couldn't believe it honestly...but while contacting, we got a text from the kid we met the other day saying hi it's me! call me up sometime!! and he remembered our names!!! so we called him and asked him to come to the meal thing tonight and he said ok! it was so cool! a little tender mercy of the lord! then we got to the meal thing and had some fun.

FRIDAY

today was just another day... nothing too exciting. we started off our FREAKING HOT DAY with some french course that the mustard man and his wife do for us every week. it was good fun. just as always to be with them! we spent some time there and then went home for lunch and to start some weekly planning...yay! we were doing that and then realized that it was time to leave to make it to our next appt and so we left and quickly made it to the church. we taught about tithing and he told us that as soon as he got a job that he would pay tithing. but at the moment that he wouldn't be paying because of his situation. so after that we had 20 minutes until our meeting with the ward mission leader and so we just waited at the church cause again it was so hot outside! we had a good meeting. i think he made my comp a little mad cause on the way home he was telling Beef how much he hates our ward mission leader...so ya. we then had ward council and for the spiritual thought one of the members shared the new mormon message called lift! it is so good so go and watch it! then we were walking out and one ward member asked if i needed some claritin for my allergies and i said sure! then the bishops wife asked if i had sunscreen and i said no and she said she would bring me some on sunday! i love this ward!

SATURDAY

well we found out transfers today and i will be staying another here in reims!! which is good in most cases! we make do with what we can! as we were leaving from the church since we found out transfers, there was a couple standing outside who yelled out at the elders and so we went to them and they were all we are from idaho and i served my mission here 37 years ago and i would love to come in and tour around so we took them on a little tour of the church! it was fun to be talking to them!! we then made our way home for lunch and then finished up weekly planning and that was just a blast...took forever but we made it. we then went down to Chateau Thierry and did some work down there and then made our way home for the night. we even called the zl's for a little cause we had a little problem to discuss;) lol

SUNDAY

it was a good sunday i guess. during fast and testimony meeting , yes, the french do have fast and testimony meeting, one of the soeurs from the ward got up and talked about how grateful she is for the missionaries and for the opportunity she has had to email my mom back and forth for a little while and how amazed she is at the love that she has for me. i teared up a little! but it was cute! i tried to get a picture with her but she refused! so maybe mom is going to have to email her asking for one!;) but it was a good sunday. i sat by another member today and during sunday school she told me that she has some drugs that she has for her allergies that she wanted me to try so she told me that i need to go to her apt and she'd give me some! so i have a drug dealer!!;) so after church we went home and ate and then we went out and did some contacting and waiting for the buses! haha sundays are not a fun time to take the buses! but we were walking and got thirsty and were by mustard man's house and so we stopped by asking for some water and they invited us in for about 20 minutes and then we went and ported up a building for the night...nothing too exciting happened. but it was a week!!

thanks for everything everyone! i love and miss you all! i can't believe how fast time is going...it's a little scary sometimes but it's also for the better! like i said i will be staying in reims for the transfer so be sure to start sending the letters and packages;) tout mon amour!!!!

elder libby

 

WEEK 41

well this week was crazy and today was crazier! i don't have a ton of time so i am going to try to make this email as good as i can! we were just out and about today and i wanted so badly to come emailing but my comp wanted to shop and all the computers were taken out of the church and so we had to come to an internet cafe...AH. but i'm here and i guess all is well right? so like i said sorry if this week is just short and sweet!

MONDAY NIGHT
well we had an interesting night with some investigators that some old missionaries found and they invited us over for dinner! it was good and fun. we had to help him haul a big huge table upstairs to put on their patio and so that was really fun! but she fed us this really kinda gross stuff that was flavored like crab...and then some veal along with it! so that was an interesting meal! lol but we made it through with no vomiting and just chatting away and before we knew it it was time to be home for the night...so we hopped in the car and went home.

TUESDAY

we decided that since it was ridiculous to go all the way to paris for district meeting and that it was almost impossible to get home at a decent hour that we were going to try having district meeting in reims! so we were actually able to have studies this morning before having to leave the apartment for district meeting! it was good fun. we got to the church only to find a ton of tools and workers everywhere and found out that the outside of the church is being renovated! what is it with me and churches being under construction?? so we made do and had to go around all of them. we got started on our district meeting and it was all about the importance of planning and practicing. it was good stuff. we then had some lunch and it was grilled cheese sandwiches and caesar salad! it was delish! and it's always fun to be able to eat lunch with your friends;) then i was able to go on an exchange with elder nelson again! i love that kid with all my heart! it was so good to hang with him and be with him! we had a pretty great exchange! we started out with some contacting and walking around talking. we then decided that we wanted some drinks and so we went to go get them and then had a lesson with the recent convert in the ward! it was really good. we talked about the plan of salvation with a focus on the atonement! it was really good. we turned it into like a testimony meeting! it was really good. then we had a dinner appt with mustard man! him and his wife invited all 4 missionaries over and it was really fun! we laughed and talked and then elder nelson wanted a picture! it was really fun.

WEDNESDAY

so we had to leave early this morning cause elder nelson needed to get back to paris!:( sadly. but we left and went to get on the train and for some reason...i don't know why...but the lady who orders tickets in the office bought us some first class tickets! so we got to ride into paris in first class! not that it was that much different but we had recliner seats and that was fun. so naturally after we got there we had to take a picture:) we got off and were just waiting for the other elders. when they got there they had to leave to make an appt so it was me and my comp just chilling at the gare waiting for our train. when we finally got on it, she ordered normal tickets this time so me and my comp just rode back in 2nd class which was fine! when we got on the train we heard the people across the aisle from us speaking english so we asked where they were from and they were visiting from texas! they went into reims for the day to take a champagne tour...apparently the best in the world cause this is where champagne was invented! so we talked to them the whole train ride home! it was fun to speak with some americans for a while. we got home and planned and took lunch and then went to go and teach our investigator with the baptismal appt! we taught him the law of chastity and it went well. we found out that he is legally married to his wife and that he already follows all of the law! so that was good! we then made our way home while contacting and then got home and my comp fell asleep cause he was feeling sick. he then woke up and said that one of the less actives that we were working with called and asked us to come over..so we went to that and it turned into a huge fest of him and his friend trying to prove that the church was false and that they don't really know it's true but believed for a time that it was....ah! it was bad. then we went home for the night.

THURSDAY

well today was just great...i wish you could hear the sarcasm in my voice...my allergies came on today. they came on just like you fall asleep. slow at the beginning and then all at once. #GUESSTHEMOVIE so that was really crappy. i was congested and blowing my nose and dying all day. we had our studies and then went to the french course offered by the members! it was really good. we just did some exercises and then after my comp had to go make a phone call so i stayed in and got some extra help. it was fun to stay back and talk with the members. i love them here! then we went on a contacting adventure and then back home for lunch and i had my conference ensign from mom in the mail! it was awesome! i ran upstairs to open it and sat down and read a couple talks! it was fun. then we went out contacting and less active finding and it was a good time but then had to get home cause we had a rdv with a part member family who lived out by chateau thierry! her husband is just a less active but we got out there and had some small talk. he is just like dad! he is a contractor and works for himself and buys houses and apartments and fixes them up...and she was just like mom saying how badly she wants things in her own house to be fixed! it was like a little time at home. it was good. he expressed his desire to have his life together by august so that he could baptize his son so i really hope that happens!

FRIDAY

so today was just weekly planning and i don't have a ton to say. we went out contacting first thing this morning and my comp bought some eclairs and then we went home for lunch and right after we had all eaten our lunch, he gave out all of his eclairs to us. so that was nice! haha we then started weekly planning and then realized that we had scheduled a rdv with a less active for right in the middle of planning...so we left and headed to that and may or may not have knocked on the door and interrupted on a drug deal...haha jk i don't know it was just super sketch and there were 4 guys in there and it wreaked of smoke and all the lights were off so it was just really interesting. he asked us to come back another time. so that was interesting! then we just went home to finish up planning and not a ton happened. we ended the night with some good old fashioned porting!

SATURDAY

well today marked 1 year from my senior graduation! that's super crazy that it's already gone by that fast. i still remember the all night party with all my friends! AH! i miss them! well for the first time on my entire mission, i was lead in porting! it was a really cool experience and i can't wait to tell you about it! we went out contacting and it was good. by the time we had finished, my comp decided that he wanted some pastries to get him through the day. we went home to eat and then left to go to chateau thierry for the day. it was good. we met up with a member who showed us some of his friends that he thought might be interested in listening and then invited us over for dinner and so we went to go and try and find his house. when we found it, we decided that we would go porting to pass some time. we were just going around and knocked on this door where two little girls came up and said oh we'll go get our mom and dad! so their mom and dad came out and they invited us right in and offered us some vodka! lol. we then got to their back patio and they had their entire family over for a dinner! they were a georgian family (the country not the state;) ) and let us tell them the restoration and by the end of the lesson they were asking all about how baptism works and how we receive the holy ghost and it was really interesting! we had to leave cause we had to get to the members house for dinner, but they exchanged numbers with us and then we left. it was cool and they want us to go over again! we then had some dinner with the members and it was fun. it was the mom's birthday and so they had a big cake for her and we all got to eat some! we finally left and got home around 10:15...:/

SUNDAY

well we had a really good sunday i would say! it was really fun! first off, today marks 1 year since i went through the temple for the first time! it was super special! i remember that day well and being like, what the heck..lol! it was very good though and it is something that i miss so much! i can't wait for the day that i can go back inside the temple! we got to church today and our new investigator had told us that she was staying the weekend with her aunt and so she'd be coming to church! then her aunt walked in...without her:( i guess she had to go home for last minute and something happened..but she didn't come...we had some good lessons and during sunday school and sacrament, i sat by her aunt and talked to her. about 20 before church ended she stood up and ran out to the hallway and when she came back in, our investigator was right behind her! it was fun! she came cause she needed to talk to a member about an internship that she needed to get in and so that's why her mom brought her! so that was exciting! then we ended church and i had to get a picture with her and her aunt and her uncle! so that was super cool. we then went home and ate lunch and went porting, and then came home for dinner and then went porting. not a ton of exciting stuff happened tonight. but it was a good day!:)

well there is my week! i hope that makes you happy! i'm sorry it's kinda all over the place! i hope you all know that i love you and miss you! talk to you soon!

elder libby:)