85th email from France (Albi)

Hey Everyone,
So this week was pretty good, just kinda normal. I can’t believe it’s already Monday. Church yesterday went well. We had one ami that came, Veridienne. It was cool to have her there. She seemed to really like it. Getting her there was kinda hard. Saturday night she said she wanted to come so we started calling all the members for someone to come pick her up. Finally we got a single soeur but she wasn’t from Albi so she wouldn’t have know where to go so we wanted to go with her but then we realized that we couldn’t go cause it would be just her so finally we called someone else to meet us at church early to go with us. Then go with the soeur to pick her up, it was pretty complicated and took alot of phone calls but it all ended up pretty well. Also at church we had to teach like the class for the kids so like from ages twelve to sixteen. It went well, I think they liked it. This week I did an exchange in Toulouse. I was pretty excited to go see people I knew when I was there but we ended up not having a whole lot of time. We had to go do service for a frère in the other ward but it was fun and he really needed help so it felt good to help him. We were with the other missionary equipe also so it ended up being a pretty good day. We did insulation which made me think of the elders a long time ago at our house doing the same thing except it wasn’t exactly the same work. I would call where we worked more like a stable or barn just with super old rock and brick walls- way out in the French countryside. They cooked for us also which was nice. His wife made a huge lasagna but it was different cause all the meat was salmon which tasted kinda weird at first but I really liked it. Before I’ve eaten spaghetti with salmon and caviar mixed in so it’s kinda the same idea- same taste anyways. We were also able to go and finish painting with our amis David and Aurore so that was fun. They want to invite us to eat with the Arnolds before they leave. I hope we can. They already have their whole last two weeks planned out- everyone wants to see them before they leave but thankfully with all of that the members aren’t forgetting us. We have two things planned this week where we should eat so we are looking forward to that. The only problem is here no one that comes to church lives in Albi so it takes us a long time to get where they live either on the busses or trains. There is an American family here because he plays professional rugby. We were hoping to get invited for Thanksgiving but that didn’t work out. I think we might go eat at a Thailand place though.
So we got the flight plans! That’s cool! I heard the Margret Sales has been talking to dad to try and figure something out. Ohh, I just realized that was the other email you were talking about yeah I got that but didn’t look at it yet- sorry. Yeah, so the bureau knows it’s all worked out now. Yeah, those first plans looked bad-flying in at 6:00 in the morning. These are much better. I talked to Elder Sellers in the bureau about the first flight plans and all he could say was ‘man, that sucks’. Are you taking your good camera to Thailand? OK, well I have to go. Thanks- have a good week and a great trip! Really try and email me from there. That would suck if I didn’t have anything!
Love y’all,
Taylor

84th email from France (Albi)

This first one is me and Elder Page. That's probably the last time I'll see him for a while- he dies this transfer!

Us with Samuel at the baptism...

Us, Samuel and the Arnolds...

Hey Everyone,
So we had a good week. I'll start out talking about the baptism- it went really well. It was kinda shocking being there and realizing that someone was actually going to get baptized. I figured it out and it’s been like sixteen months since the last time one of our investigators went all the way without having opposition or any problems but it was really, really good! There were alot more people that came from the branch. We were only expecting a few to come but then more and more kept showing up. They were pretty happy to have someone else and since he is a really cool, funny guy there shouldn’t be any problems with integration in the branch so that’s awesome. The confirmation was really cool too. One of the members brought her neighbor to the baptism and she seemed to be pretty touched. She had alot of questions after and we even got to sit and talk to her a little. I hope we can see her again. So today is p-day but we just got back from a rendez vous. I thought about trying to fix it for another day to not waste any of our free time but I’m glad we went. It was a good rendez vous with a guy named Mr. Zaradzki. He’s older and has alot of health problems but I think it helps him alot to talk to us. I hope we can see him more often. Today was the second time since I’ve been here. Church went well yesterday. There were actually over fifty people so that was exciting. It was kinda crazy at first- we were in our classes and they had just kids everywhere mostly in the hall running up and down. They were supposed to be practicing for their primary program that was later on but they were just making alot of noise and I’ve been having an ear ache thing so I was trying to hear but just couldn’t so by the end I was just super mad at all these kids. But then later for their program they actually did a really good job and I ended up really liking it so I was able to forgive them a little. So this Wednesday we had our zone conference. It was really good. We pretty much just went over all the things that Elder Holland taught us while he was here. We do this thing every conference where everyone prepares little like five minute talks and then the zone leaders choose someone randomly to give theirs. Well, I have avoided this little talk my whole mission but sure enough very unexpectedly they called my name. I hadn’t prepared much at all cause I thought there would be no way I would be the one cause it normally falls on elders the zl's know aren’t working very hard or the greenie, stuff like that- so I kinda winged it but it ended up really good and even President and Soeur Carter were making references to stuff I said for the rest of the conference. I compared missionary work to the old Nintendo 64 game, NFL Blitz and if we do good work without messing up for a while we can become “on fire” then having the power to pretty much do whatever we want. You just dominate the opponent, so that was cool. This week will probably go by really fast. Tomorrow morning we have our district meeting then after that I’ll stay in Montauban for an exchange then we have service with our amis Wednesday then after that the zone leaders are coming for another exchange then another exchange Saturday where I will go back to Toulouse. I’m pretty excited for that one- to go back and work in the area I was when I was in the bureau.
You never sent pictures of anything. The rock concert seems pretty cool. I’m glad that the passport worked out with no problems also you made me scared when you said I would have to go to the embassy here to do some final stuff. French people always make stuff like that super complicated and I’m sure it would have taken alot longer than expected.
In the mtc I took a picture of me flexing- you don’t happen to have that saved anywhere? If so, I want it. I made the bureau buy me a curl bar and send it for zone conference so I’m trying to kinda start doing a few exercises every day.
I’ll send some pictures now! Love y'all, Taylor

83rd email from France (Albi)

Hey Everyone,
So we had a pretty good week. Everything seems to be going by so fast. Every week seems faster and faster. I was pretty sick also which didn’t really help but it’s a little better now. I went and bought some medications that helped then some strong cheese and French mustard kind of helped for the sinuses. I’m just not used to the cold here. The temperature dropped alot this week and I’m kinda getting scared for December and January cause I don’t do very well when it’s really cold. Well, I’ve been here for two weeks now but yesterday was the first time I really met the members with the stake conference being last weekend. It was good, lots of people kinda crammed in our little meetinghouse. It actually reminded me alot of St. Raphael. It had the same feeling with kids running around. We spent the whole hour of priesthood planning out a service project, just things like that but there was a good family-like spirit and they all seem very willing to help us with missionary work so that’s good. We’re going to need help especially after the Arnolds leave in December. So we have a baptism this Saturday! It’s kinda crazy but I’m pretty excited also. It’s a guy around 40 years old that has known the church over ten years and has been an on and off investigator. He hadn’t seen the missionaries in a few months. Three weeks ago he came to church, then the next day to the family home evening, then we saw him during the week and then he came Saturday and Sunday for stake conference. He was really touched and then pretty much had no problems when we asked him to be baptized. We will see him again tonight for the fhe at the Arnolds then he has a little interview with the zone leaders that have to come up Thursday night; then if all goes well, the baptism will be in Toulouse Saturday at two o’clock. The branch is pretty excited to have a new member also. I think it’s been a while since they have had a baptism. The district meeting went well, better than I thought. I was pretty nervous having so many people but it kinda just made it easier cause there were more people answering and helping with roll playing activities and stuff like that. I just need to be sure to be really prepared cause it’s alot harder to wing it in front of that many people than it was with just one or two other companionships back at the bureau. Another cool thing about Albi is that Frere Moukilou is here.’ I dont know if I ever said anything about him but he was a member in Toulouse when I was there. He helped us alot and was the assistant to our dmp, the missionary coordinator person but a while back he was searching pretty seriously for a wife. That was like six months ago but a while back he got married to a recent convert here in Albi then they moved here just a few weeks before I came. I was pretty happy to see him here when I came. We also taught the coolest couple this week. Their names are David and Aurore. They are both school teachers and probably the coolest, smartest people I’ve ever met. They were asking some questions about the Book of Mormon like how Nephi knew the word gentile and just some other things no one ever thinks about. They are in the middle of building a house kinda in the middle of nowhere so it’s kinda hard to go see them but hopefully they will keep reading and searching with open hearts.
So I sent all the papers and passport to Houston. It’s going to take like six or seven days. I think they had a two day service but it would have been 60 Euros so I chose the next one for like 15 that took a week. I hope it gets there ok. There aren’t any really reputable mailing places here. There is only la poste which is like the UPS for France but it shouldn’t have any problems. I had a question at the top of dad’s work. Is it owned by like a royal family of Saudi Arabia or is just like a normal CEO? As for buying me clothes- if you want you can. I’ve been kinda thinking about what style I’m going to go back to. I think it’s going to be mostly polo shirts. They don’t have to be polo polo but just polo style then just jeans or whatever. I came with two pairs of jeans- one was kinda loose before and now it’s just impossible to wear then the other which was tight is loose. The ones that are loose now are like 30’s but don’t really buy alot of stuff like that because they all fit differently. I’m just gonna have to go shopping but that will be fun. Also I think don’t worry about Christmas stuff. I’ll be back right after where I will need real stuff and it costs so much to send stuff. I would say just don’t worry about it just some letters or something. Love y’all,Taylor

82nd email from France (Albi)

Hey Everyone, So we had a pretty good week. Ahh, so I just looked in my agenda for the list of cool stuff during the week that I had written down but I guess I grabbed an old agenda so I don’t have it but anyways we had a lot of cool stuff that happened so I should be able to remember. I guess we can start with this weekend. We were mostly in Toulouse. We left early Saturday morning with the Arnold’s for the mission conference. We got there pretty early and it was really cool to see everyone. After a while we all just kinda sat down waiting for Elder Holland and President to arrive. Finally they came, him and his wife, Elder and Soeur Holland then also Elder Kopischke. We started by going up and shaking his hand. He was asking everyone where they came from so I thought Saudi Arabia would be a better conversation starter than Louisiana so I told him that. Just like I knew he would, he said that he had been there earlier in the year then we talked for a few seconds. Still pretty short but cool. Anyway, the meeting started as normal- his wife talked which was really good. She kinda made us all feel good by saying that Europe will bloom when it’s day comes and we’re all doing a really good job and not to worry too much about the outcomes just as long as we’re doing our part. She said to just to keep faith and obedience and we will be protected and see miracles. She didn’t talk for very long just a few minutes leaving most of the two hours for the two authorities. Next was Kopischke who also had a really good talk. He kinda checked up on some of the engagements he had given us a year ago when he made the tour to all of our zone conferences so that was cool. I probably liked it more than others seeing there weren’t a whole lot that were even there a year ago. Then Elder Holland spoke. It was pretty powerful but he wasn’t exactly feeling as sorry for us as his wife was. He talked alot about how he is sick of seeing returned missionaries from France becoming inactive because of how the people here use their free agency. He told us to just learn the gospel, use faith and then what happens happens but there aren’t any excuses to say it’s harder than anywhere else in the world. He also talked alot about the urgency of our callings not only for the people here but for us as future members of the church. It was all very good. We spent the day in Toulouse. I wanted to do an exchange with Elder Gunter and Hill from the bureau but since there was a new soeur coming from the mtc they had to stay and do their presentations for the new missionaries so me and Elder Butler took their car and went and saw a few of our old amis. We actually ended up teaching two of them. We didn’t have much time before we had to meet the Arnold’s who came with two of our amis from Albi back at the church for the Saturday night session. This was good. Also Soeur Carter spoke then a few others and then Elder Holland who talked about Christ much more calmly than the morning conference was. It ended with some kind of a primary program song thing which was weird cause it’s the adult session. Then a ten year old kid gave the closing prayer- just not something you would see in America but whatever. Then apparently some guy went crazy trying to go after Elder Holland and had to get taken out. I didn’t see anything but some random member was pulling us up to the front for backup. I don’t think it was a big deal though. We stayed Saturday night in the bureau then went at ten for the big session. That was right next to the bureau in a big building we had rented so that was cool. We had to meet one of our amis early that came from Albi on the train then we went and found our seats. There were tons of people there. I got to take some pictures with a few Toulouse people I had missed before I left. Tonight we have our fhe again. There should be a few amis that are coming so that should be cool. We don’t have many things planned for the week yet but I think we should be able to find some people to see. Tomorrow morning is the district meeting in Montauban which I’m kinda nervous about but I’m sure it will go pretty good. I told the bureau about the big envelope that should be coming. They should send it right away then I’ll try to get it back pretty fast. If I have question we can just stop by the email place really fast or do it from the Arnold’s. I had some questions for you:
What are the days your going to Thailand?
Are you going to be home for Christmas? If so, what days?
About Dad- that stinks. I hope it’s nothing too bad and he gets better soon. I’ve been pretty tired lately but I think it’s just going to be like this until I come home. I’ve had a cold, too. I bought these pills I thought would help. It had one for the morning, noon and night then before you go to bed so I did that for four days. It’s what the pharmacy gave me but it didn’t seem to help a whole lot.
Why does Chelsea go to a groomer? Sorry I don’t have my camera with me today. I will try to send some next time for sure.
Love y’all,
Taylor

81st email from France (Albi)

Hey Everyone, I hope you had a good week. Everything is pretty good here. Um, I didn’t email yesterday cause I was on the train. I was pretty sure that I would just stay in Cannes until the end but I guess President wanted me elsewhere. I’m in Albi now. It’s a town about an hour north of Toulouse that so far seems pretty nice and has a little branch with about thirty people. We did service this morning so I got to meet the branch president and some other members. Also, there is one of the two mission couples here in Albi so it’s super cool to go and work with them. They are at the very end of their mission and are pretty excited to help us with whatever we need. When President called me he said the work was going slowly so he was counting on me to pick it up a little. I’m sure he says that to almost everyone but we will see how it goes. I thought I would be sad to leave Cannes but actually this move will help me work hard until the end. I’m still district leader just with a much bigger district than ever before. I’m kinda nervous but it shouldn’t be too bad. Also, I have Elder Hill and Gunter from the bureau so I should get to go on exchanges there and see some old amis. There should be us then four more companionships so that will be one of the bigger districts in the mission. So you know this Saturday we have our mission conference with Elder Holland. I’m really excited. The cool part is that now I’ve moved into the Toulouse stake again so we get to go to the stake conference which is the real reason he is coming. So yeah, Albi seems to be pretty cool. I’m sure it’s gonna be freezing by Christmas time but hopefully I’ll be able to get through it. I’m sure a new ville will make the next few weeks fly by cause there is always alot to learn with the investigators and just to get to know the town always takes a while. I’m with an Elder Butler. He’s from Chicago but kinda went to high school in Seattle- just kinda moved around a lot. He’s alot younger in the mission, I think sixth transfer. He’s cool. Right now he has some knee problems and has a hard time walking around a lot. It’s really cool having a senior couple here. We had a fhe last night at their house with another member and one of our amis that came also. This morning they drove us to service then they taught with us today at four. We had a really good rendez vous with an old African lady name Amandine. We were actually able to set a baptismal date for the 21 Novembre which is cool and it seems pretty solid. We didn’t do very much, it’s mostly the Arnolds (senior couple) that really want to see a baptism before they go home in December but anyways, it’s a baptism and that’s awesome. We also have another lesson at their apartment tonight with another one of our amis so things are going pretty good. So thanks for doing all that school stuff for me.Cannes was cool just to go back for a while and see everyone. I kinda realized we didn’t have much going on with our amis or anything so I wasn’t too sad to leave. Well, I don’t have alot of time. I think I might send you some pictures from the Arnolds computer if I can. We have to go back to our apartment now then go over to the rv. I hope you have a good week. Love y’all, Taylor

80th email from France (Cannes)

Hey Everyone, So we have had a pretty good week starting with last week. We went to Nice. It was really cool to see everyone. We had a couple of hours to play. We started with soccer then ultimate Frisbee and yeah, as expected we creamed them. Also, this week we had our zone development meeting which was cool. We had to wake up early and drive to Aix en Provence to meet up with everyone but it was cool to see President and Soeur Carter again. Then after they just ordered like two hundred Euros worth of pizza so everyone got to chill for a while with President. In our interviews he said that I would probably stay here in Cannes for a while. I think we are going to be in a trio for one transfer then just me and someone else until I leave which I’m pretty excited about. It’s really cool having the car. We are actually the only missionaries with one in the mission that aren’t zone leaders or assistants. Our week went by pretty fast. We were able to see a few people and even had someone that came to church. It was a black girl named Precious that only speaks English but she liked it. This coming week should be cool. I get to go back to Toulouse for a big meeting for all the district leaders so I’m looking forward to that. I also talked to President about my foot he took a picture on his blackberry then emailed it to the regional doctor guy then the doc called me the next day and said it was a fungus thing but wasn’t that bad and shouldn’t spread or anything. He said just to wait till I’m home then ask a doctor about it so I guess I’ll just do that even though it seems better to just do it now. Yeah, I got Whitney’s letter. I'll try to send some more pictures. I have a bunch of sweet car pictures. There are just really nice cars everywhere here- Ferraris and Lamborghinis, Porsche, Lotus, Benz, BMW- they are everywhere.For school, I think that would be cool to go for three semesters then get back on the normal track but yeah I really don’t want to wait until August. I got an email from Soeur Daun today. She is up there with Sister Spencer the one from my mtc district that went to New Caledonia. They are roomies now. It’s weird that they are already back in school. You know today I have exactly three months till I’ll be there with y'all! Sorry but this week I didn’t make my list of things from the week and my emails aren’t nearly as good without them. This morning we went on a huge hunt for Elder Diamond’s wallet. He left it at this tobac like drug store when we were buying a map last week then the guy brought it to the police but that’s where we had to go to like four different places to finally find it. But he got it back which is cool. I gained a few pounds this week but not like fat, just from walking around and stuff so that’s good. That bureau was killing me. We should get transfer calls this week so next Monday I’ll know exactly what’s happening but I think Elder Hansen will go home cause he is at the end- then we will have three from the two groups there are here now and we will stay together and just dominate the whole French Riviera in the car- well at least from Antibes to St. Tropez. It’s cool that me and Elder Diamond have these few weeks to try and find some people in Cannes we have been able to see. It’s been great to see some people I taught while I was here but it’s still been kinda hard- we haven’t had a whole lot of rendez vous this week. Elder Diamond is cool. He’s from Provo and he is the same age in the mission I was the first time I was here, just before his year mark. Thanks for Aaron’s address and stuff. I don’t know why they need it. I think Pres. might send the bishops emails to say if we did good or not. He seems to really like me for some reason though I’m not sure why. St. Raph was cool but all the members we passed by weren’t there. Today I think we’re going to go bowling again so that should be pretty fun. Also, Elder Hansen dies so he wanted to buy some stuff for his family so we will probably chill in centreville for a while. Well, I don’t have much else to say. Sorry today’s email wasn’t structured very well. I’ll try to write stuff down this week. Love y’all, Taylor

79th email from France (back in Cannes!)

Hey everyone, Sorry I don’t have a whole lot of time to talk. We’re about to catch the train to Nice. We’re gonna kick their trash in ultimate Frisbee. It’s cool to be back here. What happened is before here in Cannes there was a trio, so President kinda wanted to start up two teams again so I said I would like to come back. It’s been really good so far. Most people remembered me even though it’s been about a year since I came the first time. One thing is for sure, I kinda forgot that the missionary work is a little harder here than in Toulouse! I kinda miss all the college students and people that were willing to listen but so far it hasn’t been too bad. We have fixed three rendez vous for this week just by talking to people on the streets. Also I’ve been trying to contact all the people I taught while I was here but we haven’t had much luck but being here also I'll be able to work a little in Saint Raphael. Actually tonight we have a rendez vous with a St. Ralph family. We’re gonna eat so it should be awesome. I will miss the bureau and all the cool stuff we did there but it’s cool to be out here. I’m back emailing you from this dumb cyber cafe but nothing too bad.I’m working with Elder Diamond. He’s alot younger in the mission but we’re doing good together. He is really cool and I can tell were gonna be friends even if it’s only been a few days. There are two more in the apartment both from Utah. One is going home in two weeks so he’s trying not to be too trunky. So, I was with Frère Paya, you know the French mark Morris? He’s still really funny but I was with him in the hall and he said to someone "yeah, if you don’t remember him its cause he had more hair the first time" I, to say the least, did not think his joke was very funny and now I’m more paranoid than ever about my hairline, even though it’s really not that bad. Last night we had a little rv with a member family. We just all talked and ate a bunch of crepes. It was cool. It’s still pretty hot here in Cannes and people are still in summer mode- not too bad, just kinda crazy down town near the beach and stuff. This week is zone development so its gonna be cool to see everyone then we only have about two more weeks until Elder Holland comes. Everyone is pretty excited about that. I’m gonna try to send a few pics then I’ll write more. Hey, I hope you got all those pics. There are some pretty cool ones. There are so many cool cars here. Hopefully soon we can go to Monaco since I didn’t the last time I was here. But today Nice should be fun. Love y’all, Taylor