We're in the Big Leagues now!

Our Church week—Looking back over our 6 months in France, and in terms of Church, you could say we are “settled into our routine.” Technically, we’ve been here 7 months....but Marc only claims 6 months, since he was in bed to varying degrees all of February. Once his feet hit the ground and for the first several months, there were lots of changes made. Every week brought some new administrative change, new assignments or restructuring of the Church schedule and programs. It was a lot. Almost every week something old was tweaked or something new was introduced. We’ve felt the support from the Branch as changes were made. It could not have been easy, but openly and willingly the changes have been embraced.

A branch is one of the smaller congregational/ecclesiastical units. In a branch, there are always the innate challenges trying to run all the programs with few numbers. Sometimes we have to modify or pinch-hit if someone is on vacation or gone a particular week. Many do the work of several people and for years at a time. (The branch clerk is also the Sunday School president, my two counselors are also instructors for Primary and Sunday School, our Elders quorom president is also the Branch Mission Leader). Now with the start of school, we lose two young adults who eagerly stepped in to help. They’ll be noticeably missed. Maïly has gone to Paris and Siobhan is slated to go next week, pending her housing in Nimes.

But it seems we have a new visitor or a special musical number that still keep us in a “ramping up” mode. Today we started Church on Cloud Nine due to a special activity we had on Saturday. We all felt the spirit of unity that service for others can bring. The unanticipated but very palpable feeling that accompanied us to Church on Sunday from Saturday's activity just seemed to bring us to a new level. That collective special feeling (times all present) of being engaged in a great cause larger than ourselves is just remarkable.

We had been asked by our Stake (collection of several wards/branches) to assemble 1500 hygiene kits that will be dispensed in Europe during emergencies or refuge situations. Our neighboring ward has 190 attendees on Sundays. With summer and vacations we have between 30-40 members. That is NO small task for a Branch our size! Ten are children. But everyone that could come, came. And stayed. And WORKED!! We did the same amount of work as wards six times our size. Hats off to this small, but very mighty Tarbes Branch.

The Branch worked a 7-hour day putting in approximately 175 man-hours with 27 people. Our youngest was 2 and our oldest 80 years old. What a feat! And not just from our end. Five and a half pallets full of boxed supplies were organized and crated in Germany, arrived in France by freight train, then were trucked to Pau to our West and driven by a private shipping company to Tarbes, 45 minutes away. We received the pallets Friday at 10:30am and uncrated them with the young missionaries. We were very impressed with their work effort as they brought in tables, hefted boxes and organized supplies. All in a white shirt and tie, mind you! Elder Wolfgramm is 18 and Elder Templeton who is about to complete his mission, just turned 21 last week. We still wag our heads and marvel, somewhat in disbelief. Yet there they are.

Saturday, we arrived at 9am. The assembling phase began--a zippered bag held a wash cloth, comb, razor and shaving cream, soap, shampoo, Kleenex, band-aids, toothbrush and toothpaste. The assembled toilet kits were package, labeled men/women/infant and boxed. The kits will go to a central location and will be dispensed wherever and whenever the need arises. We swept and mopped the floor for Sunday’s meeting closing the door at 4pm. Most stayed TO THE END and helped get every chair back in formation for Sunday’s first hour.

Louise—Louise is investigating the Church and taking the missionary lessons. It was her birthday on Saturday. But where was she? You guessed it, working the assembly-line. Louise celebrated her 80^th birthday on Saturday. When you see her photo below, we think you'll agree, you won’t believe she is 80. We had a surprise cake and sang Happy Birthday to her after our lunch break. She was SO touched and emotional when her new-found friends sang her Happy Birthday. A few jaws were on the floor when they found out her age and her stage of life where she wants to join the Church. We heard some “Bravo-s” and on both counts.

Old Missionary Apartment—Friday after we received the pallets, off-loaded them and organized them (about 3 hours) we headed over to the Missionary’s old apartment which had not been closed down yet. The 4 of us worked another 3 hours getting it back to shape, French style. Then after Saturday’s activity, the 2 of us headed back over again to finish painting and calking. It’s very different here closing out an apartment than in the States. It seems most everything to fix falls to the tenant who is leaving. With the younger missionary’s rigorous schedules and frequent transfers, the Church was losing a lot of sacred volunteer money by not being able to recoup their deposits. So, enter in two already-tired Poussards. We have a few more touches to do Mon/Tues then Tuesday at 4pm we meet with the Proprietor, Agency and the Zone Leaders (one of whom is French and knows “the system”). These Zone Elders will train over two hours from Toulouse to negotiate the closing out of the apartment. We will be present as adult "ballast" and to represent the Church. Then the Toulouse Elders will wait for the next train and train home the same two hours. Quite the effort. Yet it has cued us in to closing down an apartment properly in France. We hope all the behind the scenes efforts pay off. And literally.

We won’t close out many apartments, as that is more the exception than the rule. We’ve easily put in 20 man-hours and then some. But with our new assignment of routinely inspecting apartments, that will help keep repairs on track and current so when the apartment is turned over, there won’t be so much to do at the last minute. And, we'll keep our eyes on the hidden prize…traveling through more French-countryside on the way to and from.

Needless to say, we slept well this week. J

Sarrant, France. After the pictures of this week we included some pictures from June that we have not posted yet of a medieval town to the west of Toulouse. It is a beautiful town from the middle ages. http://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/en/sarrant

Enjoy the pictures!

A la prochain!