Weeks 39&40 in France

The most important event of this past week for us occurred in Utah, not in France.  We had hoped that Janet's mom (Janet Heiniger) would be there to greet us upon returning home from our mission to the Paris Temple. We knew that at 97 years old, the odds were against us, and now she is gone from this Earth. We thank Gloria and Aline for all their tender care and for making it possible for us to give her our love one last time. We were about to go to bed when Janet decided to check messenger again, even though she had checked it just a few minutes earlier. We got Gloria's message about mom's condition and called her right back after getting dressed. We talked with Gloria and Aline for a few minutes while mom slept. But when she stirred, they took the phone over to her so we could express our love. Although she was only semi-conscious, she responded by saying "I love you, too." When Angelica called us at 3 a.m. our time later that night, we knew immediately why she was calling.

As we served in the temple all day the next day, our thoughts were constantly about her. We are so grateful that our whole family is sealed together. We have no doubt that she was received in the spirit world by the loving arms of her husband, sisters, brothers, mother and father, and many others who knew and loved her in mortality. Because she was a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ, we know she will one day be able to greet the Savior with a joyous heart.

We will miss her warmth and love for now, but know for a certainty that she lives and that we will again be able to feel her loving arms around us some day.

A few weeks ago while playing basketball with the other missionaries (both old and young) I tripped and managed to hit my chin on the asphalt. I chipped one tooth and broke two others, and so am now looking forward to getting 2 more crowns.  I suppose that means I'll be a king!

Janet finally found a bundt cake pan and put it to good use.  Here's her very first banana bread, which tasted just as good as it looks.

On July 8 we were invited to the country home of Cyrille and Isabel Destribois to wish goodbye to two senior couple temple missionaries, Alain and Nellie Deladerriere and Brig and Karen LeSueur.  We will really miss them.  They took us under their wings when we were new, and their love and kindness will never be forgotten.  Elder LeSueur was the assistant temple recorder whom I am replacing.

Comparing Dr. Pepper with similar French soft drinks

feeding the chickens

chicken coop

Alain Deladerriere snoozing

Nellie Deladerriere makes the most wonder French bread


Last Saturday I served at the temple because they were so short-handed even though I wasn't supposed to go in. .  Janet went shopping and for a long walk and took lots of pictures:

This last picture shows just how dry the grass is in our back yard.

We had Elders Duffin and Prendergast over for dinner last Wednesday.  We love to feel their spirit and enthusiasm and to discuss the gospel message they prepared for us.

We pray you will feel the Lord's comfort and love at the loss of Janet's namesake mother, Janet Elizabeth Matson Heiniger.

Weeks 36 to 38 in France

So much is happening so fast that it's hard for us to keep up with our blogs.  Since our last blog we've been invited to spend a weekend in Rouen while the Tall Ship Festival was happening, and been invited to dinner at the lovely country home of a French couple we serve with.  We attended a farewell dinner for the Jones family who has lived in Paris for 30 years.  He served as our English translator in church, and she was the music coordinator who assigned me some Sundays to play the organ.  We attended the Chateau of Versailles night fountain, music, and fireworks show. The biggest change, however, has been with my responsibilities at the temple.  I have been called to serve as the assistant temple recorder, replacing another missionary who is returning home next week.  In this new calling, I spend much more time at the temple, often going as early as 6 a.m., and sometimes staying as late as 10 p.m. Janet often walks to and from the temple alone.

Our blog continues to be mostly about our activities during our preparation day (P-day) on Mondays, but we hope you don't get the impression we are here on vacation.  We serve at the temple every day except Sunday and Monday, when the temple is closed.

This is the tourist season, so we see many Americans as well as people from many other countries coming to attend the temple.  Last week I had a delightful visit with Craig Jessup, former conductor of the Tabernacle Choir.  While we meet people from all over the U.S., it's the people from our own neighborhood that we have the most fun visiting with.  All 5 of our children and their families spent a week in Oregon helping our youngest daughter, Rebecca, move there for her work as a photographer.  We exchanged many "Marco Polo" app videos so we could follow their adventures.  We miss them all a lot.

As assistant temple recorder, I, along with the temple recorder, am responsible for insuring that all of the sacred ordinances performed in the temple, such as baptisms for deceased ancestors and  marriages for time and eternity, are properly recorded.  I also help people who come without their temple recommends by looking up their valid recommends on the church computer system.  I observe ordinances to insure they are done correctly, and help resolve problems when they arise.  Janet now has most of the ordinances memorized in French, so she spends a lot of time serving as an ordinance worker as well as a greeter in the garden room where people first come when entering the temple.  She also spends time helping direct people to where they're going inside the temple, and often serves in the beautiful Celestial Room.

We have two more couples finishing their missions next week, which means that after only 9 months, we are now the longest serving senior  missionary couple at the temple. Time is truly flying by.

I will continue putting captions on pictures instead of trying to comment on them in the body of the text because it's so much easier. Here goes:

Spires of the Rouen Cathedral

Base of the Rouen Cathedral

Rouen Cathedral serving a a projection screen for an amazing show

Projection  made the cathedral look like a Mayan ruin

Stained glass window of Joan of Arc.  We enjoyed the re-enactments of her life in the museum there.

Statue of Joan of Arc being burned alive at the stake.  She was tried by English Catholic theologians and found guilty of heresy, but 25 years later was found innocent by French Catholic theologians, and re-instated as a saint.

Catherine and Bruno Barnjak were our hosts in Rouen.  Catherine was 6 months old when I taught and baptised her parents as a young missionary in 1969 in St. Nazare.

Tourists in Rouen

Rouen is filled with very old houses, some dating from the 1200's.

Tall ships at night

Tall ship "Tolkien" in daylight.  The crowds were big and the lines were long, so we didn't wait to actually go aboard.

The Statue of Liberty was actually loaded and shipped to the U.S. from Rouen. This is a commemorative copy.

Jody and Randall Jones are moving back to the U.S. after 30 years in France!

Some of the goodies served at the Jones farewell dinner.  Janet's chocolate chip cookies disappeared fast.

We had a wonderful dinner and family home evening with the Pelous family at their country home.

Costumed actor at the Versailles night water fireworks show.

We are able to watch the Versailles fireworks each Saturday evening from our apartment balcony for free!

Well, that about rounds it up for this time.  We are in great health and high spirits here, and wish the same for all of you.  I guess I should mention that I chipped a tooth when I tripped and fell on my chin playing basketball last week, but the dentist is making it right.  Bye for now.