well this is a fun week! start out in les Etats-Unis and end up in FRANCE! i can't believe i'm actually here...haha it feels so crazy! i can't believe that it is real life! well this week has been long and crazy and i may have already committed stupid in front of the mission president and his wife a couple times so stay tuned and you can hear my funny stories:)
MONDAY
what a crazy day! last night we were up til 12:30 helping and finishing packing and taking our last few pictures before BYU security came and yelled at us for not being in bed...haha so we went in our rooms and got ready for bed..but the kids that all left for Lyon were supposed to leave at 5:50 AM so we were back up at 4:30! ahhh it was a delight:) and so we sent them off and headed back to bed for a good 20 minutes and then we went to our last supper...or breakfast...haha it was a great feeling! then we came back got ready and all that jazz and we headed to the buses! then off to the airport! we were taken to a train station and headed to the airport and met one lady and talked to her about the church for a while so that was good! when we got to the airport, i kinda started to freak out a little cause i didn't know what to do, but then all of the sudden out of nowhere this worker came and figured out all my bags for me! then it was time for calling and cafe rio! so great haha. after crying and saying goodbye to friends and family on the phone we got on the plane and i might have cried when we took off..but i can't remember;) but i sat next to a lady from the czech republic and she just patted my arm and said it's ok change can be hard, but it's going to be good! she asked who i was and what i was doing so i taught her about the church. she said that she was catholic and looking for something more cause it her religion didn't seem to have everything. so i told her all about us and why i was going to france and she said she was going to go and see if she could find missionaries in the czech republic. that was cool! the plane ride was long and i couldn't sleep! but i played lots of sudoku and listened to frozen and waited haha! but we got to see....THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!! as we flew over canada we got to see them! so cool!
TUESDAY
as soon as we landed in paris i tried to call mom and courtney but i couldn't...we read the phone instructions wrong and i can only call internationally when i'm in the US...haha but i knew that sometime or another the mission president would email you all:) so we got off the plane got our luggage and i don't know how everyone knew where to go...(was there like an orientation of the paris airport before we came?) but somehow we went right to the mission president and his wife! so crazy to finally meet them! but we got to talk for a little and eat some pain au chocolat! then they took our bags and gave us a book of mormon and said meet you at the church and they left us! we had to find our way there by train and try to get rid of our book of mormon! so crazy! i actually didn't give it away but i did talk to a guy...didn't really understand him but i talked to him! then when we got there we ate and filled out papers and waited for our interview with the president and his wife! when i met with them they asked me what i needed from them or if i had any more questions and i told them i just wanted a shower cause i STANK! haha they told me i've never looked better and that i would get one in a couple hours. haha they are such nice people. then we had one last rendezvous with the entire group and then it was off to the hotel and mission home! it was the nicest shower and sleep i've ever had:)
WEDNESDAY
well here's where my stupidity comes in...haha we left the hotel...and i left my camera and wallet...i told the APs and they said they'd get them and take care of it! (they did tell me just today that they are getting them to me wednesday!) then we went off to consecration hill! it was just a hill that over looked a foggy valley and had a long iron rod. they compared it to Lehi's dream with the fog, the great and spacious buildings, the iron rod, and there was a vineyard right below us! such a neat experience. we got to sit and write down some goals that we had for our missions and i could tell right then that this was going to be a good place! then it was off to meet our new companions! we went off to the church again and they gave us a tour of notre dame and the lock bridge and then came to the meeting with all of our trainers in it! when they started it was a crazy heart-pounding experience! but they called Metz and my name! AHH! so cool! i met my trainer and an hour later it was time to go! it was really bitter sweet saying goodbye to my MTC zone but when we started leaving, it got better. we got on the TGV (train) and headed to Metz! it was about an hour and a half train ride! but we got here and headed right to the apartment! i put away my bags, ate some dinner and went contacting! so crazy! haha it was fun but we had no success...but it's all good! we live with two other elders! one is a francophone which means he doesn't speak english very well but is fluent in French. Elder Faura. and the other is from Logan! his name is Elder Pratt and me and him have become pretty good friends!
THURSDAY
today we started out with studies! it was good and i decided to make it a goal to finish the book of mormon this transfer. but then we had a meeting with the ward mission leader and my jet-lag was so bad that i was almost falling asleep and i was trying to stay awake! haha but we did good and we went to explore all over metz! we went to the cathedral and the republic and all that jazz! it's a fun little town! we tried to get all my passes bought today and went to get BAGUETTES! I LOVE BAGUETTES! but then we had language study and it was almost time for bed so i just went to bed! it was a fun day!\
FRIDAY
Today feels like a day that we didn't do anything. but it was a good we started off with our studies and then we went to go get our tickets so that we could go to general conference tomorrow in Nancy. we then were going to go contacting but we didn't have time...we got lunch and went back to the apartment and i accidentally fell asleep...when i woke up we were watching 17 miracles on the little dvd player...haha so then we got up and went to a meeting we had with an investigator named Nora. She was awesome and we talked a lot about the gospel of Jesus Christ. when we asked if she would be baptized she said not yet...she kept saying Je suis la...i am here...don't rush me...but it was good and it will come i know it will! when we got back home i really wanted a baguette so me and elder Pratt went and got one!
SATURDAY
started off with studies again and then we were supposed to go to this ward thing that they have every saturday called samedi sports. haha i guess it's when all the little neighborhood kids get together and play sports all morning. but we had a lesson and had to go to that instead. we taught a guy named Deka. he was pretty good, but he seemed really disinterested and really depressed so he said no to baptism today too....but we got another meeting with him and we'll just have to see how that goes. then we went back to the apartment and we had to pack cause we were going to stay the night at the elders in Nancy! so we went to Nancy and headed to the apartment. there were 12 elders there for conference...haha it was crazy! when we got to the church, one of my soeurs from the mtc was there! AHH i was so happy! i sat by her and talked to her all night haha but i did pay attention in conference so don't worry! but it went good and when we got back to the apartment, i realized that i was just so sad and depressed...haha and i had been like it all day long! so when everyone was asleep, i said a prayer...i asked Heavenly Father to help me understand what was going on and that everything was ok. i was just waiting for an answer.
SUNDAY
Woke up and got ready for conference..when we started walking to conference it was pouring rain! haha it was so crazy! but we got there all wet and all ready for conference. and the way they watch conference here, you watch saturday mornings on saturday night, then priesthood and saturday afternoon sunday morning. during the priesthood session during the medley of all the missionary songs, i got the strongest and most overwhelming feeling of the spirit and heard a voice in my head say to me "i need you here." i was astonished. i couldn't believe i got an answer to my prayer that fast. it was an amazing experience that i won't soon forget! then we watched the other conferences and i was just on cloud nine the rest of the day. it was amazing! i made so many friends with all the other missionaries and i just was happy! it was amazing. when we got back to our apartment i wrote it all down in my journal. it was a good day!
so that's how things are going in France! i hope all is well in good old UTAH! haha miss and love you all more than you even know. keep me in your prayers if i can be selfish! i love you all so much! thank you for all that you've done for me!
Elder Libby
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