Week 92 "Blois is Beautiful!"

Blois is Beautiful!!

Hey!  Blois is really fun, Elder Smith and I are doing really well! Monday night we met some guy who gave us strong opposition, but we gave him a Book of Mormon, so it went well in the end. Tuesday we taught a lesson in a café, then taught some people in the afternoon. Wednesday we taught more Amis. Thursday we had a cereal party at district meeting, then taught piano at night. Weekly planned Friday and taught some really nice people.  I was having a hard day but things work out in the end.  More on that later. For the weekend, we talked to people in a beautiful area of town. And I met the branch this Sunday, and taught more people!

Went to Orleans this week and snapped a pic in front of the main Cathedral.  We missed our first train back, so we had time to see the cathedral!

As we can see, most of our week involved meeting people who were sometimes not so nice, and sometimes very very nice, but overall, I'm loving Blois and the people we're teaching. One thing that's really getting to me is fatigue.  I just had some really tiring days this week.  Elder Smith and I are working well, and I feel surprised when I feel so tired, well I shouldn't be that surprised.  Some people talk about how a missionary can get 'old' and stop working as hard as he/she did at the beginning. I refuse to go down that path, I'm going to work hard till the last day! Even though it's difficult. That's the thing; you can feel tired, It's perfectly normal.  But it's what you do about those feelings of tiredness that's important. I had a lot of times when I felt tired and wanted to go back home and nap, but I know that Heavenly Father shows us good things when we keep working till the last minute, even if we're tired.  I'm not perfect at this but I know it's true.

St. Louis Cathedral.  Center Piece stained-glass of the Last Supper.

A couple of times this week, I saw this happen. Last night Elder Smith and I passed by some people we met on the road during the week, who said to come visit.  Not one of them was home.  Hah, well one lady was home but she wouldn't come to the door even after we knocked three different times; she also lived on the twelfth floor of the apartment complex, and we had taken the stairs... ouch my legs were sore.  Then as we got to the bottom of the complex and went to wait for our bus, a family taking a walk crossed our path. We talked to them, and they spoke almost no French but they were excited to hear we taught about Jesus Christ, and they gave us their address.

Elder Smith Eating Gnocchi

BTW he can play the  entire Bergameuse suite on the piano.  He's really good actually!! He can play "Fix You" by Cold Play.

I really enjoy working with Elder Smith as well.  Just to give you a quick bio. He’s from Portland, Oregon, has a really chill  personality while still being obedient, and plays the piano like a champ.  We have a lot of fun working together, or playing the Casio piano in our apartment.  Sometimes we have too much fun... meaning we're laughing way too much. We have set a goal to calm down and be a little more serious about missionary work. One example of excessive laughter included the time I told Elder Smith to try and walk up the stairs (the big 40 foot incline) in downtown Blois without bending his knees.  Just try it and then you'll see.

Main Street, Rue Denis Papin.

Springtime in Blois (Magnolia Blossoms)
This Pic is for Mom and the girls; I saw this out walking!

Well I have just been loving General Conference. I loved Elder Kearon's talk about refugees, because we teach a lot of refugees in France, and I enjoyed getting Kearon's support in that domain.  I loved D. Todd Christofferson's talk as well.  I loved the thought that came into my head today, in regards to finding a job: the career I choose will be important, but even more important is the way in which I carry out my responsibilities as a father.  I think this is a great lesson to remember, the career path we take is important, but our responsibilities as future parents are even more important!  I love the mission. I learn important life skills; and things each day that will help me for the future. The mission is a training ground for life!   I love you all and don't hesitate to send me an email if you have questions.  PS. As you'll see in the pictures, Blois is very beautiful!

Love

Elder Jones

"K" our investigator from Torcy got Baptized last weekend! 

Elder Jones eating a Chocolate Eclair