Tout est Bien!

7 May 2017

We hope you are all well and happy and doing THE BEST things! Thank you for all those who took a minute to write this week. Happy Birthday to my friend Ann tomorrow. And Happy Birthday to our sweet little Hannah who will turn 1 year old on Thursday. We love you Hannah!

Our 8 month mark was yesterday! ........... No, not really. Our 3 month mark was yesterday. Ron and I feel like it has been at least 8 months! Maybe because we have been busy and have packed a lot in that amount of time. Nevertheless, its still going well and we are loving it.

Before I tell you about our week, I want to finish a story I told you about last week. Remember Downham and Lord and Lady Clitheroe? And how when Heber C. Kimball and Joseph Fielding preached and baptized there? We came across the historical account of the incident, and a little more of the story that explains the special feeling there.

"During his last visit to Chatburn and Downham in 1838, Elder Kimball experienced a great spiritual moment as the children of the villages walked the mile between them singing hymns and holding hands, while their parents called down blessings upon Elder Kimball from their houses. He reported he wept so profusely at the time he had to leave the road three times to bathe his eyes in the nearby streams so he could see the road. He felt the spirit so strongly he removed his hat and felt like removing his shoes as well. Finally he bestowed an apostolic blessing upon the whole region in response to the great spiritual manifestation he felt."

And here is the rest of the story . . . .

"When Elder Kimball returned to the United States, he reported the experience to Joseph Smith. The prophet then told him, "Did you not understand it? That is a place where some of the old prophets traveled and dedicated that land, and their blessing fell upon you."

I wish you could all come see it . . . and more importantly, feel it. It is truly a magnificent place.

We have arrived in Paris! Met some
handsome Elders
from Utah at the train station!

If you follow us on Instagram and Facebook it might seem like we play more than we work! We do get out and experience a lot of fun things, but we have more days where we are in the office working at a desk. So much of it we can't be specific about, so my weekly letters home and social media posts mostly reflect the time out of the office. We are so grateful for the days we work in the office as well as on the road. A whole new side of the Church has opened up to us . . one that we didn't even know existed a year ago. We are meeting people that are changing our lives forever as we learn from them. We feel so blessed to be called to serve in this beautiful country with wonderful people. I love the British accent, the British lifestyle, the British language. I love the green foliage, the fields of yellow saffron flowers, purple poppies, and the rolling hills. I love reading about Prince William and Duchess Kate and what they are doing and wearing. And I love it when I catch myself saying British words or phrases that I didn't even know 3 months ago. And I love the new friends I have made, some of which will be lifetime friends I know.

Traveling with the Parrishes

Last Monday was a Bank Holiday. We spent it cleaning the car, the flat, going to Costco, getting my hair cut, and going to the office for a few hours to work, even though it was a day off. Those catch-up days are always nice. Tuesday through Thursday were office days.

As I mentioned before, we were fortunate to have the Europe Area Public Affairs Director (Malcolm's boss) encourage us to take a long weekend sometime this month to attend the Open House of the Paris Temple. We were specifically told not to ask to go to the dedication, as they were reserving those tickets for members in France. We were lucky enough to go with the Parrishes this past Friday and Saturday and returned home tonight. We went by train, under the Chunnel. It is a great way to travel. While in Paris we took trains, buses, and taxis to get us where we needed to go. We, especially me, had some feelings of trepidation about going ahead with our plans to go to Paris after the last terrorist attack. After much consideration and prayer, we decided to go. Security was heightened everywhere, and it ended up that we felt safer than if we had gone another time. Those darn terrorists!

The new Paris Temple is exquisite. The Church spared nothing. Every window is stained glass with french fleur-de-lis. Every piece of furniture reflects the French style. There is a Christis in the courtyard garden that is a fulfillment of President Hinckley's request some 20 years ago when a temple in Paris was first considered. It takes your breathe away.

Notre Dame

Our private VIP tour was given by Sister Elizabeth Cottom who is the missionary we went to Norway with from the Frankfurt office. She was in charge of all the VIP tours of all the non-LDS religious, government and opinion leaders. She and Will have been there for the last 6 weeks. It was fun to see her again. She shared with us some great stories. She said that all the tour guides agree that the two sealing rooms in the temple have been where the visitors have commented most about the special feeling there. They feel it is because of what it represents, that families are together even after this life. It is a room where visitors feel a sense of family love and hope. As I said on Facebook, we can't wait to return sometime in the next year to attend.

Chocolate Mouse at lunch!

Saturday was a wet, cold day. I had dressed for a chilly, spring day, but not quite right for as damp as it was. Despite the cold weather, we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, saw Notre Dame, the Louve, and toured the city on a bus. We ate baguettes, chocolate mousse, French Onion soup, and crepes. When we come back, we will visit Versailles, go inside the Louve to see the Mona Lisa, see inside a cathedral or two, and make sure to hit a fun market place . . . hopefully in warmer, dryer weather. There is so much we could see here!

Afternoon tea: crepes and hot chocolate

Good morning from the Eiffel Tower, bottom and top! I've waited my whole life. It's a chilly, rainy day in Paris!

Elder Bishop from Kaysville!

Today we attended a Sacrament Meeting just outside of the city. I can't really call it a chapel. It felt more like an office building. It was so disguised on the outside we had a difficult time finding it. Once inside, we were greeted warmly as usual. It was fast and testimony meeting, and as you can imagine, the testimonies were about the temple. We wore headphones and one of the missionaries (from Cheyenne, WY) translated for us. It was awesome, and cool, and sweet, and spiritual all wrapped together. We also met Elder Bishop from West Kaysville, Coach Bishop's son. They live in Amanda's ward. That was fun!

Friday night at the temple, after the tour, we met Phillip in the visitor's center. He was a volunteer taking pictures of families with a picture of the temple in the background as they do at Open Houses. He had his 11-year-old son with him who was just learning to speak a little English. It happened that he was in the ward we attended today and bore his testimony. He said he took a week of vacation from work to volunteer for the Open House. When his week was up he went back to work and asked if he could take his second week of vacation also so he could work in the temple another week. It was such a great experience for him. We heard many tender stories today, and feel so blessed to have been able to come. I'm glad we didn't let those darn terrorists scare us away.

The closing song for our meeting today was "Come, Come Ye Saints". At the beginning of the meeting, the RM (cute girl who returned not long ago from serving a Temple Square Mission in SLC) offered us a French hymnal. We said "No, thank you." We sang the Opening song and Sacrament song in English. Maybe we were offending her ears, so on the Closing song she passed us back a French hymnal. We took it as a hint and sang phonetically, the best we could, in French. I'm glad we did. And as we sang the last line of each verse, "Tout est bien, tout est bien!" I thought to myself, "Yes, all IS well, all is well."

We wish you a wonderful week full of good health, sunshine, hard work, play, and time with those you love. We sure do miss spending time with all of you! We love and appreciate you and all you are to us. Tout est Bien!