I thought that meeting people in France would be tricky because - well, with the exception of Brennan, we don't speak French, but that didn't seem to be as big an issue as I first thought it would be. I was also intimidated by the rumors of rude French people I had heard before leaving. Other than the gypsy woman whom Dave insists put a curse on our car, we didn't meet a single rude French person. From the Church members who invited us into their homes to the hotel clerk who went out of his way to help us find the Church where Dave had left Brennan and then forgot how to get back - a long story - everyone we met was very nice.
This is Marie-Lour, a member in Pau and her Mother, Francois (pronounced Frahn-swaz) and brother, Kevan. Sorry, not a great picture. The light was very dim and by the time I got a picture to work they were kind of tired of sitting for it.
Here is a better picture of Marie-Lour with Brennan a day earlier at church. This was a happy, delightful family who teased and laughed and entertained us during our stay in Pau. Francois told me, through Brennan, that I was a typical American. When I asked her what that meant, she said, "Very white, very beautiful." I liked her immediately!
And this is the Visconti family. Sister Visconti is from Morocco and, along with French and Arabic, spoke English, much to our delight. She joined the church in her teens, served a mission in France and met her husband while serving in Marseille. We were fascinated by the stories of their conversions to the church, but when Dave told them a story about his ancestor, Heber C. Kimball, they all listened with a quiet reverence and awe. They thought the story of a man who had ties to the beginnings of the church was much more important than theirs.
We ate chicken and Couscous, which was a first for me and a wonderful tomato salad that I am still craving! The Visconti house was filled with children, who were excited to practice their English skills on us. Dave had a great time playing with this cute little girl!
In Brive we met Jeremy who had also joined the church in his teens. Jeremy was from La Reunion, an Island off the coast of Africa. Dave asked him how many generations his family had lived on La Reunion and, after a few moments of thought he said, "Well, I had relatives who were cannibal's!
I wish I had taken pictures of each course Jeremy served us. He had been a chef before joining the church. He quit so he wouldn't have to work on Sundays, but we could tell he had been a very good one! This was MY desert. The French have many different dinner courses and we had them all at Jeremy's!
We found Isabelle, whom Brennan had baptized while in Marseille, when we were in Nice. And those were just a few of the wonderful people of France who welcomed us into their lives and helped make our trip so memorable. And I learned that though their language, culture, and food were very different from ours, their beliefs and testimonies were much the same. Without Brennan I couldn't understand a thing they said, but I could feel their spirits and I understood that their hopes for the future and their goals for eternity were just like mine. And I began to understand why Brennan loved it here so much.
This is Marie-Lour, a member in Pau and her Mother, Francois (pronounced Frahn-swaz) and brother, Kevan. Sorry, not a great picture. The light was very dim and by the time I got a picture to work they were kind of tired of sitting for it.
Here is a better picture of Marie-Lour with Brennan a day earlier at church. This was a happy, delightful family who teased and laughed and entertained us during our stay in Pau. Francois told me, through Brennan, that I was a typical American. When I asked her what that meant, she said, "Very white, very beautiful." I liked her immediately!
And this is the Visconti family. Sister Visconti is from Morocco and, along with French and Arabic, spoke English, much to our delight. She joined the church in her teens, served a mission in France and met her husband while serving in Marseille. We were fascinated by the stories of their conversions to the church, but when Dave told them a story about his ancestor, Heber C. Kimball, they all listened with a quiet reverence and awe. They thought the story of a man who had ties to the beginnings of the church was much more important than theirs.
We ate chicken and Couscous, which was a first for me and a wonderful tomato salad that I am still craving! The Visconti house was filled with children, who were excited to practice their English skills on us. Dave had a great time playing with this cute little girl!
In Brive we met Jeremy who had also joined the church in his teens. Jeremy was from La Reunion, an Island off the coast of Africa. Dave asked him how many generations his family had lived on La Reunion and, after a few moments of thought he said, "Well, I had relatives who were cannibal's!
I wish I had taken pictures of each course Jeremy served us. He had been a chef before joining the church. He quit so he wouldn't have to work on Sundays, but we could tell he had been a very good one! This was MY desert. The French have many different dinner courses and we had them all at Jeremy's!
We found Isabelle, whom Brennan had baptized while in Marseille, when we were in Nice. And those were just a few of the wonderful people of France who welcomed us into their lives and helped make our trip so memorable. And I learned that though their language, culture, and food were very different from ours, their beliefs and testimonies were much the same. Without Brennan I couldn't understand a thing they said, but I could feel their spirits and I understood that their hopes for the future and their goals for eternity were just like mine. And I began to understand why Brennan loved it here so much.
2 comments:
its amazing that no matter where you go the gospel is the same and the people are just as wonderful as what we are used to here in america.
Wow, you were right. Marie-Lour is a very beautiful girl, what I can tell from the side anyway. I hope I get to meet her someday!
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