Poussards Resurrected

Where to start? "The best laid plans of mice and men"....that about sums up our last month.

Picture version toward the bottom

The overall update: We were so proud of ourselves for working off our 9-hour jet lag stateside. We faithfully worked off an hour a week with our final week at the MTC getting up at 1:30 am and to bed by 7:30p most nights. It worked out well and we loved being up 5 hours before our US counterparts were up. We studied our French and other Church Scriptures and Manuals. We felt ahead of the game and our engines were ready to go. We knew part of what to expect when we arrived in France which is why we chose to work off our jet lag prior: 2 days of orientation in Lyon, Visa requirements and First-year legalities; drive 7 hours the next day to Tarbes, stay at a hotel one night until our apartment was ready, buy and assemble furniture so we could eat and sleep that next night in our new home. Part of our assignment was to open up a new area for Couple Missionaries in Tarbes. We will be here 18 months. So, I packed several quick hearty soup mixes to get us through that first week....just add fresh cut-up potatoes and vegetables; buy a baguette and orange juice. We were well-rested, well-prepared and eager to start our journey.

We miraculously avoided the San Diego flu and the almost-epidemic level flu at the MTC where a "no-contact policy" was enforced to avoid the rampant spread of flu there. Just under a 100 missionaries were quarantined. Some 15 years prior almost 500 were quarantined and they successfully had kept it as much as bay as possible.

We were ready and we had prepared....or so we thought. Marc caught a cold about 4 days after we arrived. It was a typical cold but then went south fairly quickly in the next 2 days. But we had Tylenol and Mucinex that we brought with us for such a time as this and we had had the flu shot. Minus the typically miserable bad cold inconveniences we thought he'd be able to get over it fairly quickly at the hotel interim between our arrival in Tarbes and getting into our apartment.

But then the comedy of errors began. His cold turned into a cold with a high fever and was looking more like the flu every hour. His energy level was very low and he was sinking at fast. We now had our 4 suitcases, printer, crock pot, cleaning supplies, water filter, several boxes from the Mission Home and several goody bags given to us by some very kind members of our church all loaded in our VERY small Toyota hybrid Yaris and all to be brought up to our 2nd floor apartment....sans elevator. We had fruits galore, wonderful vegetables, some home-made bread and a warm casserole. We felt loved and ready to move into our apartment. As we approached our door, the Elders came running down the dark street with a box of French pastries and a BIG, warm welcome. All seemed well.

Over the next few weeks, the wrong-sized bed was delivered requiring more hotel nights. Half our things were in the hotel, the other half in our unfurnished apartment. No problem. We are Navy and we have done this before. Just not with one very sick Marc. The window sill was our refrigerator for about a week, the heat kicked off one very, cold snowy night. The hot water and heat are connected so that next morning we had no hot water. The part needed was in the next major town over so 1 night was now 2, then 3 until the part arrived. 4 days with no shower. But we are still in good spirits even living off the floor.....after all, we had a bed and we had a gas range on which to cook and our life was far better than some have it their whole life long. That is until the cook top went from 4 functioning burners, to 3, to 2 and then to 1. The sofa deliveries were delayed 3 weeks, the oven, micro and washer/dryer required Marc's expertise in French and with 220-volts and a funny-looking hook-up all pulling off one VERY old single outlet. And there was no way he could go out yet.

We now have a "Barbie-sized" oven since the wire cannot carry the voltage for a normal-sized oven and is awaiting hook-up. Our washer/dryer arrive next Tuesday. So we will soon be out of camping mode and will be living like royalty with all our new appliances.

Enter in the second part of our assignment: In the middle of Marc's illness, he was called as Branch President....requiring him to be at church to be sustained (where the congregation agrees to support him--not financially but organizationally). Unfortunately, it set his illness back quite substantially and he was in bed for 17 days straight after that with a fever. The minute he did anything, it would set him back to bed, including sitting up in bed. It was so hard watching him be sick for so long and so leveled. Not his typical get-it-done-yesterday energy level. It was viral and stayed viral so it just had to run its course. We checked in with the Mission Nurse weekly just to be sure. It's causing havoc here in the Mission Field and locally. He is now working half days successfully and managed to get to church this past week. So we build in rest to his days to make sure he does not have a set back. This definitely goes on record as his longest illness and at a rather challenging mo.

Marc's 5-week experience: A white ceiling, a bulb hanging from the white ceiling, sleeping 20-24 hours a day. Repeat.

Meg's 5-week experience: Miraculously NOT ill. In such close living quarters and 7 hours in a sealed car, I am flu free. We often wonder what we would have done if both of us were bed-ridden a the same time. Navigating round-abouts sometimes 3 in a row, shopping for food, tables, chairs, bedding, plates, utensils all in French. I've met the most wonderful and helpful local people as I go about in my broken French. They see me coming and smile; some have taken me under wing and have given me credit for trying and helping me speak French. I enjoy the sing-song Bonjour/Au revoir greetings and I return with what I went out to buy: mission accomplished. Both missions: many peer at my name tag and I can see their wheels turning. If they ask, I can answer.

Our apartment: Perfect. Wood floors. 10-foot ceilings. Three fireplaces (once functioning, now blocked) Huge floor to ceiling windows with nice lighting. Typical wrought-iron scrolling and shutters on windows. French doors with nice architectural detail. Great location. Huge 20' x 40' balcony for entertaining. Spacious, too spacious almost. 2 grand-sized bedrooms and study; enormous living/dining/family room. The Elders did a great job finding it and all ahead of schedule. I'm sure we won't want to leave it.

What has made it ALL worthwhile: The teaching appointments. That one 30-minute lesson keeps us going for weeks at a time. Watching one person make changes for the better. Watching one person smile or return to church after a long absence. We've now been on several appointments and are eager to visit members of our branch that live in outer-lying villages.