Google Earth

Can you see the base of the Eiffel Tower?  See the soccer field in the bottom left hand corner, with the track (I think) around it?  Well, that's where Elder Guymon and a bunch of other missionaries played their Turkey Bowl (I think they must have played soccer) on Thanksgiving day.

And this is a google map picture of Elder Guymon's apartment building.  (The letter "A" there.)  (But all that would come up was building 52 and he lives in 56, so I think it wasn't yet built when they took this photo or it is just one of those buildings, not specifically where the "A" is pointing.

Photos

William's mission president's wife has a Facebook page and sometimes I find William in her photos, so here are a few from last week.  Looks like a meeting and lunch.  He looks happy!

AWESOME week

So this week was AWESOME!!! We went over to one of our ami's house and he invited all of his homies over to talk to us. It was way cool. Then we ported into a family's home and she was really interested. She said she studied with the missionaries a long time ago but then she went on vacation and they never called her again. So she was way excited to see us and she has a bunch of kids. We taught a bunch of lessons to really cool people this week.

At the turkey bowl we played like right directly under the Eiffel tower. If you look at it on google maps there is a soccer field right next to it and that's where we played. It was real fun. I toe it up.  They voted me "The OLD SPICE impact player of the game" hahah, but then I was really, really sore. (So was everyone).

Sunday was full of awesome stuff. We had 5 investigators at church. It was really cool and it was the primary program. We gave L****a the gift of the Holy Ghost and we gave F****s the Aaronic Priesthood. Then after church we had two people invite us over for lunch and then someone invite us over for dinner. It was like Thanksgiving again. I was soooo full I thought  I would die. Then when I woke up this morning I thought there was a baby alligator tryna claw its way out of my stomach, but i took some Tums. =)

I didn't know that Duke got his mission call. For when?

Andrew-  I kinda miss being able to go on the computer, but I really don't have any time. When I get home I just want to go to sleep.

Who has what callings in our ward? I've been wondering that. 

And also this Christmas I want to skype you, but I forgot my skype password. Can you try to find it and then send it to me, or create me a new one?

I still haven't gotten the package from Emmett's mom.

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be transferred next week but if I stayed I'd be really happy. I love Cergy and I love Elder Flitton. He's like my best friend that I've ever had and we are seeing a lot of miracles together.

France Paris Missionaries

This is a picture of all of the missionaries serving in the France Paris mission right now along with Neil L. Andersen and his wife and Elder and Sister Teixeira, who were all visiting.  It was a first time an Apostle had visited the mission (with this mission president) and the first time they had ever gathered the whole mission together for an event.

Neil Anderson, Baptism, Turkey Bowl, Catabombs

heyyyyyyyyyy! What's up?

 

This week was super awesome. So many just great things happened! Elder Neil L. Anderson came and gave an awesome conference. He told us a lot about how the church is changing and how missionaries are being sent to places that would surprise us (China). He also said that there are 19 year old girls who are coming here. He sent them here. haha

And also we had L***a's baptism.. and she chose me to baptize her! That was so awesome and she invited her friend and her friend was like.... I want to do that too. BOOM SHAKA LAKA

 

I have been learning more and more about how much God loves each of his children, and how he does things that we don't understand (or sometimes want) just to get his children home. My companion blew out his knee while he was skiing and then decided to come back to church and serve a mission. He said, "God broke my knee, but now I can have eternal life."

In our church there are like 150 people who attend. Our building is too small, so next year they're adding on to it.

I had a random thought that when I get back I want to drive to SVU. That'd be cool.

This Thursday all of the missionaries are having a turkey bowl and we're going to play football.

We didn't end up doing the USA presentation thing.

I think it would be better to just give me some money on my card for Christmas. orrrrr if they still have Chico State hats at lids... that'd be soooo cool!

I found some sweet duck ties at a thrift store!!!!

I still haven't got the package from Sister Norris.

We found these underground catacombs that connect a bunch of apartment buildings, so we can get into them now. but they are extremely scary. There's graffiti and slime and pipes and burn marks and bad smells. It makes me so scared down there.

Rough Start, but Good Week

This week started out way rough. We did a bunch of porting on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and found no amis. On Wednesday, we knocked on 91 doors and no one wanted to talk to us. Elder Flitton and I have been trying to tighten the screws because we know why we had such a bad week. On pday, we went to the one of the biggest (if not the biggest) mall in France because another elder had to buy a new suit. It took him a million years to pick one and then we got back late. We have planning and schedules for a reason and the lord doesn't bless us if we don't even follow our own plan. 

But then on Thursday we started finding some new amis. On Saturday night one of our amis decided to be baptized. It was her mom who we baptized last week. I found them both last transfer by knocking on doors. Her daughter wasn't there for a couple of rendez vous and she had a lot of doubts. (she's 15) and she wasn't prepared to be baptized on the same day as her mom. She even told me that she knew that our church was true but she just didn't need to be baptized. (She had been baptized when she was a baby). But on Saturday night we had a super super spiritual rendez vous and her mom was bearing testimony like nobodys business about how awesome she felt now that she had been baptized and that all her life she's been searching for truth because she knew the catholic church wasn't true because they don't baptize the same way Jesus was. I could tell she was feeling the spirit. She opened the window because she was feeling really hot (at night it is below 0 degrees) and elder Flitton asked, "How do you feel right now?" and she was feeling really uncomfortable and said, "I'm really hot!" and i said "What else?" and she said, "I want to be baptized."

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!

Then on Sunday I gave her mom the gift of the holy ghost (in French).  Afterwards I looked up and her daughter was crying. After church everyone I talked to told me how good I am at French compared to when I first got here.

OK so about Maddy. That is way awesome. I really, really wish I would have opened my mouth to her (and other friends) a lot more. I never really did.but it also shows that everything has to be right for someone to be baptized and truly converted. When I used to be good friends with her it wasn't really the right time for her, (even though a lot of her friends were Mormon).  It took her like 4ish years of being around the church, so I shouldn't get as discouraged when people don't want to get baptized in 3 weeks.

I'm so glad that Bradley's face is healing so well. Every morning and night, Elder Flitton and I pray for his face.

weird food, haircut, cold, creole

Some of the things in this latest Elder Guymon e mail were written because of the things we sent in our letter, so hope it's not too confusing---

Bradley's face got TOE up! and he needs haircut. (Bradley got in a bad bike wreck and we sent Elder Guymon e mail photos) but Andrew should keep his tail (Andrew is growing a piece of hair on the side/back of his head for as long as William is on his mission, I want it GONE).

 

 We had a baptism!!!!

 

I ate some weird things this week: fish bones and peanut butter fufu, horse, and couscous.

I don't really know what to say but I'm doing great.

 

I like the Louvre the best (Andrew asked him which he liked the best the Eiffel tower, the Arc de Triomphe, or the Louvre.)

 

Today I got a haircut by a gay french man.

 

It is so cold in France!

 

We found someone who told us that he is already a Mormon because he has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and of Joseph Smith and he had been waiting for the missionaries to come find him. So we have a lot to do this week.

 

I feel bad about writing such short emails, but I don't really have that much to say.

Cal skate is FUN! (He thinks we should go there on a double date with his friend's parents on Wednesday night.  I want to go to Outback Steakhouse.) 

The noob (newest missionary) in our apartment speaks creole, so he said he'll teach me. That'd be cool!