Quimper

We had an interesting week with Bethany. It turns out someone “stole” her debit card number while she did some shopping on her last P-day in Paris. The thief then did some on-line ordering in the US. The bank notified us and requested that we find out if the card had actually been stolen. And we also had to cancel her card. We called the Paris Mission office and they gave us permission to talk with Bethany briefly. Luckily she still had her card and the bank was able to catch the charges in time to reverse them. All is well and her new card is on the way. We hear this is a huge problem in Europe and missionaries are victims quite a bit. But it was nice to hear Bethany’s voice and her description of her new town. She told us then that she would be driving a car while in that area. Here are some additional notes she sent us: “It turns out that everybody can use their home country's driver's license for the first year that they live in France. After that they have to get one in France. That means if one companion has been on the mission longer he or she can't drive. However, since Sr. Alves is from Tahiti she's technically a French citizen and can use her own license as long as she wants. She'll be driving this transfer and I'll just be observing how to drive in France. Plus, there are a lot of hills here, which makes me nervous in a stick shift. I'll most likely be driving next transfer though.” Larry is feeling pretty pleased with himself that he insisted that both girls learn to drive his stick shift Honda! Dear everyone!   Bonjour from Quimper in Bretagne!! For those of you who don't know Bretagne is a region of France with a reputation for being very picturesque. It's also near the sea (actually it's the ocean, but don't tell the French that, to them everything is the sea). I haven't seen the sea yet, but I want to soon. We have a car 3 weeks out of 4. We share it with the Elders in Lorient. They had it last week and we get it back on Wednesday during district meeting. For now we're using the bus, which is good because in 2 1/2 weeks we will have exchanges and I'm staying here this time. I'm not allowed to use the car this transfer (and the GPS), even during exchanges, so I'll have to use the bus that day. I'm practicing how to use the system here now so I'll be ready then.   The town is actually bigger than that of Torcy (Dad, Torcy actually has about 20,000 people), but my area in Torcy had a bunch of other relatively large towns all around it so in that sense it's larger than Quimper. Everything around Quimper is just teeny towns. Everything here has an old, antiquey feeling to it which I love. Everything is Torcy was so new and really didn't have much personality. Also, Quimper has a nice little river that runs through it toward the sea, and hills that have really nice views. It has rained a lot, especially this morning, but we've also had two sunny days. In fact, the rain went away and it's sunny now! This town is so pretty in the sun. The branch here is very small and mostly full of women. The sacrament meeting room is the size of the Young Women's room at home. I was worried that it meant church would be boring, but nay not so! Everyone here comments a lot and makes the conversations lively. And there are plenty of children running around to make everything interesting. The Branch President's (President Caplain) father is American and was born in Alabama. All of President Caplain's cousins still live there which is hilarious to me because he has a super strong French accent when he speaks English while his cousins apparently have a strong Southern accent. We've already had two meetings with the Branch President and the ward missionaries to discuss reasons why we should have a companionship of Elders here in addition to us. At first I had no idea what I ideas to come up with, but soon we began to think of a lot. I really feel that Quimper is going to see a lot of missionary miracles in 2013. They don't have a lot of amis here so we'll be doing a lot of finding over the next few weeks. We have seen one inactive member, Elise, who is also from Tahiti. Unfortunately her sister died the day after I met her and she was really sad for a few days. We told the priesthood holders at church and they went over right to give her a blessing. It worked perfectly, and when we saw her that night she was much more positive. We also had a miracle my first day here. Sr. Alves decided to call a former amie that she had never seen before. Miraculously the woman, Dieuname (I know right? What's with the names around her?), answered and said she'd meet with us. In fact, she's supposed to be here now. Guess I have to go! Until next week!   Bethany

Bethany found out this week that she is transferring out of Torcy. Below is her new address effective Wednesday, Jan 16^th:

Sister Bethany Paxton
17 bis. Avenue de la Gare
29000 Quimper
FRANCE

Quimper is located in the Finestere (Land’s End) or Bretagne region of France. It is the westernmost point of the country and juts out between the English Channel and the Bay of Biscayne. Her address on Google Maps shows a hotel located across the street from the train station. Busy area of the town!

Hey there ya'll,

Wow! That was a super dumb greeting, but I'm running out of creative ways of saying "hello".

So, I am being transferred. It was inevitable after staying four transfers in Torcy. I'll be going to Quimper (pronounced CAMPAIR) which is in the very west corner of Bretagne. I wanted to serve in Bretagne because of its reputation so I'm satisfied. I hope it will be a little warmer because it's near the coast and a little farther south than Paris. Regardless though, it will probably be cloudier. I'm really starting to miss the sun, sigh, Tant Pis!

Once again, my companion will not be an American, something I like because then people don't get the impression that the church is full of only Americans. She's Sr.Alves from Tahiti. If you recognize her name it's because I talked about her before. I did my first exchange with her when she was serving in Rouen. She's dying this transfer (going home) and I get to be the one to kill her (her last companion). It's a little bit of an honor to kill someone on your mission, I don't really understand why.

The next transfer is only going to be 5 weeks to accommodate the new MTC schedule where missionaries only stay for 6 weeks instead of 9.

Sr. Alley from Nogent is also leaving, which was a surprise because she was in the middle of training her new companion. However, her “blue” had already done one transfer in SLC and already knew French (she’s French Canadian) so I guess the Lord figured Sr. Alley was needed in Caen. This will be hard for us because she and I have lived together since we both got to France. She really had become a true friend and confidant. I plan on writing her until we both go home next December. Luckily she's from Farmington (Utah) so I'll see her after the mission as well.

  

We had more miracles this week. On Tuesday we taught N____ with the Meaux Elders since she's moved into their area. She got along well with them and we felt they would take good care of her. Then on Wednesday the Meaux Elders said they were able to fix a baptism date for January 26!!!! The big hurdle is that she is a big smoker, so our whole district fasted for her. They still haven't taught her the Word of Wisdom yet, but I have faith things will go well. I look forward to updates from Sr. Soares.

On Tuesday we passed by a house to see a woman who had told us to come back later. We thought her name was Mudel, but it turns out it was New Deal. Yes, you read that right! She's 20 and taking care of her cousins while their mother is in the hospital. Her 12 year old cousin Dusty (yes, again, you've read it right) also listened. We've seen them 3 times already and they are progressing very well. Dusty even gave a perfect summary of the first lesson after we gave her the Restoration pamphlet. They both promised to pray to know if our message was true. Yesterday Dusty's mother was allowed to leave the hospital just for the weekend to see her children. She allowed the Elders to give her a blessing. It was such a marvelous experience! I'm sad I'm leaving Torcy at this time and can't wait to hear news about everyone.

  

Here's something interesting I read on lds.org this week: “In the weeks following the missionary age announcement, the Church reported that missionary applications had increased dramatically (from 700 applications per week to 4,000), with women comprising more than half of the applicants. While the number of post-announcement applications is still double what it has been in the past, the total number of men and women who have applied since October is now about equal. Prior to the announcement, approximately 15 percent of missionaries were young women.”

Well that's all there's time for this week. I love you all!

Bethany

Disney Village!

Hello Everybody, Six months on the mission this week! So strange to think 1/3 of my mission is over. I wrote in my journal about how much I've grown as a person since July and can't believe I still have a year more of growing. Someone told me that not only in the mission the best two years (or 18 months) of your life, but the best FOR your life. It's definitely true; I'll never be the same person again. For New Year’s Eve we ate lunch at a member's home and then planned to go to the Champs Elysée that night. However when we got there, we both had a feeling we should leave. And so we did. We don't know why, but we both recognized it as possibly being a warning from the Spirit. So we took a couple of pictures and went home to watch the “Testaments” (isn't that a gem of a movie, stellar acting right?) Guess what Daddy! I went to Disneyland (see attached picture) for New Year's Day!!!!! It felt good to carry on the Paxton tradition of going to Disney while being a missionary. Plus, it just felt good being around Disney stuff. Ok, ok technically it was just Disney Village, but it was still awesome. I just kept quoting the Emperor's New Groove and saying "I'm so happy!" On Saturday we went to Diana's apartment for our rendez-vous, but her brother, Elyzé said she wasn't there. We were sad because there was so much promise the last time we saw her and her family. I spoke with Elyzé for awhile and he seems to like us. He even said he wants to go to college in Tennessee, haha! I told him he'd been my neighbor.  We went back later that night to see if Diana was home, but only Elyzé and her mom were home. The mom said that she had read a little of the Book of Mormon and prayed, but hadn't gotten an answer. We taught specifically about where the Book of Mormon came from and what it was about. And then we re-emphasized the importance of gaining a testimony. They both responded very well and we felt the spirit. But then for some reason the mom kept dodging setting up another rendez-vous. We hope we can set something up later and maybe even see Diana. We've been working with N____ on trying to get her to commit to baptism for awhile, but she was always hesitating. We could tell she was getting tired of us talking about baptism, yet we couldn't move on to teaching the commandments because we knew she would have no desire to keep them unless she was getting baptized. So Saturday night was a "make it or break it" lesson where we invited a former Muslim woman from the Nogent ward to talk about her conversion. I was SOOOO nervous and was not really able to concentrate on what was happening.  Suddenly I looked up and everyone was crying. My lack of faith had made me miss the Spirit!!! The Nogent woman's (Fatoumia) testimony was exactly what N___ needed to hear. N___ said that she felt shivers and we testified that it was the Spirit. She said that now she can see herself being baptized one day. That wasn't a direct "yes" so I said "are you will to continue meeting with us to prepare yourself for baptism?" and she happily said yes!! We didn't set a date because we understand how fragile this commitment is, but hopefully soon. The gospel has really started blessing her life in many ways, including the fact that she had found an apartment and can move out of the hotel. She's now in the Meaux Elders' area so we'll be passing her to them tonight. I'm a little sad to let go of her, but I know the Elders will be great. The only problem is that there is little public transportation where she's moving to and she doesn't have a car. It might be hard for her to get to church. I spent the morning praying, as I got ready, that Heavenly Father would help me have faith that things would still work out for her. We have several other amis that we're working with and many of them have a lot of potential. There is a different feeling among the missionaries. We all can tell that there will be great miracles happening in France and Europe in regards to missionary work. So big that I believe we'll look back on this year as a pivotal moment to tell our children.  We are expected to get 70 new missionaries during the transfers of March and May. 70!!! And the rumor is that nearly half of them will be sisters. The Lord is preparing the way for His children to return to him. What a wonderful time we live in! Bethany P.S.  Pictures are of Bethany’s visit to EuroDisney Village...the recent convert Delphine and her gift to Bethany...and a picture of Bethany on Skype with us at Christmas.

 

 

Sorry this is late getting out to you all. Here are a few personal notes that Bethany sent to us with her email on 12/31/12 :

I can't believe I forgot to say HAPPY 25th ANNIVERSARY when I was talking to you (at Christmas). . I had been planning on saying that ever since I left for my mission. Dang it! There were so many things that I had wanted to tell you when I was talking to you that I thought about later. And now I can't remember them again! Typical.

Dad, I really have no idea what you're talking about when you mentioned "passing off" stuff. We don't do anything like that; we don't really memorize scriptures or the lessons. However, I realized after Soeur Soares got here that I needed to step up at least knowing where scriptures are and being able to find them fast. I made a personal goal about it and I really think I've improved. I feel pretty confident and using scriptures now. In fact, I gave a talk yesterday and was surprised at how many scriptures I used and how quickly I found them while talking.

Bonne Année! 

First, a big thank you to Sister Swenson and Sister Williams for their Christmas packages. I just got them two days ago and I've already used every item, needfully.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will have a great New Year. The Torcy ward is going to have a Ball and “Just Dance” competition all the way until Midnight. I wish I could go SOOOO badly, but alas such is missionary life. Tonight my companion and I are going to go the Champs Elysee (so tough to have to spend New Year’s Eve walking down the Champs Elysee!) and then tomorrow to Disney Village. We're not allowed to go to Disneyland, but we can go to Disney Village!!!!

Last week for Christmas Eve we went to Notre Dame with the Nogent Soeurs. It was busier than usual, but not too bad. Then we walked around the area and saw some things that you can only see in Paris: a bridge covered in locks by people who are getting married soon, a band playing jazz (complete with crazy man off to the side mimicking them), bought stuff at the shops next to the river and ate crepes.

Then we went to a family in the Ward's home for Christmas Eve, they're very French AND very English, because the mother is. It was an interesting mix of both. It was a very homey feeling that I enjoyed very much.The next morning we got to sleep in!!!! Yay!!!!!!! Best thing ever. Then we opened presents and had a relaxing day. Then at 3PM we went to Peruvian family's home to eat again and Skype with our families. So good to everybody's faces. And I got to talk a little bit with the Huntsville Elders who were talking with their families at Mom and Dad’s.

We are working with several amies concerning their fears of baptism. It feels good knowing that I'm doing everything that I can for the situation. I just have to have faith that the Lord will provide the rest.

 

We had a miracle Saturday night. We went to teach a young woman who came to church the week before, Diana. We couldn't believe that she actually came because people we meet in the road tell they will all the time and then never do. But she DID! We got to her home Saturday night and her mother and brother were there. Diana explained a little about whom we are and what we believe, she had read some the Book of Mormon and was prepared to explain it to her family!! Then we taught the first lesson and showed the Restoration film. Afterward the mother said that she didn't want the film to end. The spirit was so strong and they all agreed to pray about the Book of Mormon as a family and individually!!! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!

Happy New Year!

P.S. I totally forgot to say that I went to Luxembourg for exchanges Thursday/Friday! It's such a pretty place even if it did rain the whole time. I've now been to all three countries in the mission, even if I don't get to serve in all of them.

Here are a few notes that Bethany sent to us before writing her “public” letter. We did get invited over to a family's home on Christmas Day and they do have a way to do international calls and Skype. The father is the one you'll be keeping in contact with. He speaks English so no worries there. I'm also going to ask for his email address to give to you in addition to his Skype address. Also, I'm not exactly sure when I'll be making the call on Christmas day. I'm going to try and set it up so I'll be calling you at 8am, but it may be earlier than that. Yes, I did get the Christmas package and I've put all the presents under the "Christmas Tree". And thanks for the cookie mix; it was such a good idea for it to be gingerbread. And the frosting too! (It is a family Christmas tradition for the girls to make gingerbread cookies for their friends.) Thanks for letting me know about the money. I'm not sure if we can buy food for that Muslim family. They might be offended if we did, however I'll use the money for N___ and her kids. We're going to teach them about Christmas because it's their first one as Christians! We're going to watch a Nativity video and teach them exactly why it is so important. Then we thought that we'd give them some presents. Joyeux Noel!!! Since this will be my last email before Christmas I thought I'd tell everybody that. Next week I'll be Skyping with my family. We'll be having p-days for both the 24th and 25th. We've only been invited over to one family's place for Christmas, but we're ok with that. We'd like the 24th to rest, but President heard that and said they'd try to find us a place for that day as well. I think they don't want us getting into any shenanigans. Haha! Too bad that KC (Bethany’s Cousin) didn't get his mission call before he left for break. I know how frustrating that is! I can't wait to find out where he is going. That's actually way cool that you were Santa Claus for the Ward Christmas party, Dad. Where did you find the suit? Were any of the kids scared of you? I'm glad to know that the party went well. Wow, Ben Matsen (a young man from our Ward in the MTC right now learning Albanian) is a Zone Leader? That is certainly impressive. Three months is a long time to be in the MTC.  You just want to finally put into practice everything that you've been learning. We have a new sister in the apartment! Her name is Sr.Thibault and she's from Quebec. She speaks English very well and with a really cute accent. We're excited to have a new bleu! This week was rather uneventful and we continued to teach N___ and Mailys. We were given a lot of referrals this week from other missionaries and so we taught a lot of new people, including one pregnant woman. However, we weren't really sure if any of them would go anywhere. And then yesterday, Sunday, a woman visited the ward (who is a member) with her cousin (who is not a member) and she said she was willing to take the lessons. A new amie! I'm pretty sure I've contacted her cousin on the street before. She looked a little embarrassed to see me and I think she must have turned us down. Oh well, what matters is what happens now!  And then, Marie-Claude, the pregnant woman actually came to church. She cried during Sacrament meeting too and said she really liked it. And THEN a BUNCH of inactives came that we have been working with for a long time. To make it even better all of the lessons and talks were very spiritual. It was such a perfect end to a slow week. Thank you again to the Activity Girls for their Thanksgiving and Christmas cards. It was really great of you to think of me. And thank you to everyone else who've been writing letters so continually. This Christmas season I've been thinking a lot about why exactly it is so special that we celebrate the Savior's birth. I've come to realize that it is not the birth, as miraculous as it is that is so important. It was the life that was about to follow, specifically the Atonement. I love my Savior. I love His example, His teachings, His love and His sacrifice. In reality, the message of Easter and Christmas are the same. Without the Atonement we could never have true joy. We could never live with our families for eternity. We could never live with our Father in Heaven again. I celebrate Christmas because I celebrate Jesus Christ, my elder brother and dearest friend. I hope everyone remembers that this Christmas season and has a very Merry Christmas!!! With Love, Bethany