It’s a Small World, after all

Our Church Week— This was Maïly’s last week.  She’s headed to Paris to enter a program in her career field working with small children, but specializing in newborns through the first year, sometimes until age three.  She has completed the child developmental side of her training. In Paris, she will complete the medical side of her training.  It’s a bit different than Stateside Neonatal Intensive Care because she may follow the children for some years in their home after leaving the hospital.  Examples may be for newborns hospitalized just after birth or needing surgery just weeks to months old through age three.. Other scenarios would be special needs children who will be under her care.  It makes for a smooth transition for the children because they get to keep their caregivers until after hospitalization and through the home care phase. She’s a beautiful girl and we will miss her.  We hope to see her from time to time when she comes back to Tarbes to see friends here.   

Small world story #1—This week we met with Chantal who lives several towns over. She wanted to meet us, so the four of us went to visit her. Chantal has been away from the Church almost 40 years but wanted to come back.  She did not know where the closest Church was near her.  About 2 weeks ago, the Elders were at the train station in Tarbes and Chantal waved them over. The Elders always tell us they really cringe when someone motions them to come over because sometimes they get a tongue-lashing because they are not Catholic (in a very Catholic country). Other times they get a tongue-lashing because they are teaching Religion in general, sometimes anything in between. Chantal said she was a baptized member of the Church when she was 8 years old.  She told them she wanted to come back to Church.  She told them upfront that she smokes and drinks and asked if she could still come back.  ABSOLUTELY she can come back.

She’s working on stopping.  All proactive choices—wanting to come back to Church and beginning the process stopping smoking and drinking.  Went to visit her in her home and she is a delightful person.  All the way there (30+minutes one way) we are wracking our brains wondering how we are going to get her to Church.  Too far out for a train, buses don’t run on Sundays, no members live close by and it would be close to 2 ½ hours of travel to go over and back to get her and over and back to take her home.   We thought we’ll just have to figure that part out later.  She WANTS to come back, no sweeter music to our ears.  We visited about 2 hours then she told us she was planning to move to Tarbes ASAP!  Whew.  We hadn’t brought up the transportation challenge.  Things have a way of working out.  And what a small world that the Elders and Chantal were at the train station at just the right time!!  More like a miracle.    

Small world story #2—On the way home, Elder Wolfgramm showed us a picture of Elder Vera who is now back in Canada.  We didn’t recognize him in “street clothes”.  As I was looking at everyone in the picture, low and behold there is Brandon Warren!!  I recognized him before Elder Vera and said, oh, there’s Brandon and showed Marc.  He was just as surprised to see him.  Brandon now goes by “Jay” and has been recording music the past while, sometimes with “James, The Mormon” who was also in the foto.  They were in Canada on a singing tour….in Elder Vera’s ward.  Brandon danced at the same Ballet Studio as Nadya for years and of course we know him Mom from all those years backstage.  What a small world!  Needless to say, we were re-living days of yore.

Small world story #3—A few months ago, we were in Pau where we have our baptisms (minus children from member families who can be baptized in a local pool).  Anaïs came up to us because she recognized our names…POUSSARD.  She asked if we had a daughter serving in Montreal.  “Mais, oui, bien sur!”  She met Nadya briefly as Nadya was coming into the mission field and she was heading home to France. Anaïs asked if she could be on Nadya’s blog so we added her name. We shared stories. She was an absolute delight and cute as can be. And we understood her (fresh into the mission field ourselves) as she spoke English…along with French and Spanish.  Last week Nadya mentioned that Pedro, a person that they were teaching in Montreal was going to be baptized Saturday. Today Anaïs sent a picture of Pedro who was dressed in Baptismal clothes alongside of Nadya at his baptism Saturday. Sometimes we never know how far-reaching the lessons are that we teach.  He wasn’t quite ready to make the commitment when Anaïs was teaching him.  But he didn’t give up on learning more. How exciting that Nadya could be a part of the seeds laid by Anaïs. What a small world! 

It's hailing as we type.

A la prochaine.

 Maïly

Marc and Maiïly

James the Mormon in center left, Elder Vera to the right

 in green T-shirt, Brandon on the far right

                             Pedro with daughter, Nadya Poussard on the right in Montreal

Kamon and Elder Wolfgramm 

exchanging goodies. Kamon bought 

expensive peanut butter for the Elders, the Elders made him cookies!

Kamon and Carolie

 Chevez wearing Elder Vera's Mandarin Missionary plaque

 Marc and Second counselor, David

 The 4 of us on the way to see Chantal 

traipsing this way and that trying to find the right building...

they were all out of order.  Lots of on-lookers

Marc helping Chantal with her genealogy

Out trying to find addresses....nothing here but the squirrels

 View out Marc's office window

 Celebrating Elder Templeton's 21st birthday

at restaurant

 We got into the restaurant just in time before it rained

and the rain cleared

 The big 21 !!  Of all the restaurants in France....

he wanted an American burger

 We don't drink caffeinated (green or black) tea, only herbal tea.  This was herbal tea that the restaurant prepared for us on the house when they heard us sing Happy Birthday.  Elder Wolfgramm has never had any kind of tea.  It was comical because he did not know what to do with the stacked teapot on top of the tea cup.  Getting the tea bag out of the hot water was really comical and it kept falling off his spoon.  After all that work, he said "tea" tastes like dirty water.  

He doesn't care to have "dirty water" again.  

 This is us delivering a wheelchair to a Church member.  We visited he and his wife at their home and asked if he thought he was ready to come back to Church.  He just lit up.  He thought he was ready.  So last Sunday he came after a long absence due to some serious health problems involving dialysis 3 times a week.  It was very hard for him to walk so we asked if he would consider a wheelchair.  Yes.  The NEXT DAY, our neighbor across the street was getting rid of this wheelchair.  Have miracles stopped?  We say nay. Does God know our needs?  Absolutely!

 Pink puddle after a light rain

 Hard to believe since summer is still very much here.  

But fall is also very much around the corner

with ever-so slight signs of leaves changing.

 Crepe Myrtle

 Very old pony-express mailbox

 Argeles-Gazost is one of our favorite towns in our branch

 Argeles-Gazost

 We bought some bikes for our P-day (day off). Are you sure this isn't heaven?

 Michel.  A short while after his retirement, he was pruning a tree 

and fell severing his spine.  What a jovial soul, through a difficult tragedy.

We met on the bike path.  He is interested in having us over to talk about the Church

  

 Very common to be on a country road and come across crosses, shrines and chapels

 Saint Savin...readying itself for their summer festival this week

 Ah....France.  This chapel is 10th century

 Medieval home with beams hewn by hand and "nailed"

 together with wooden pegs

 All original beams; home completed in 1441

Yes, this building was constructed in 1441

We have a winter shot of this view in our 25 March blog with snow on the mountains.  This is the summer version

 Pictures from our bike ride atop the mountain, 

back down to the valley floor.  Incredibly beautiful day.

The altitude?  Well, that's another story.  We huffed and puffed.