Yikes, another month evaporated; Perpignan

Our Church Week—Having a breather, compared to last weekJ  But there is always something on our platter.  The question we have always asked ourselves while here is: “Who will keep this going when we leave?”  Sustainability is the desired state. 

This week we’ve been working on music, both Sacrament and Primary.  We moved our new primary piano to the Sacrament Room and switched it out with the Sacrament Room piano so we can have organ music and if our pianist is absent, our Branch can push the button to program the music to play automatically.  How neat is that?  The Church seems to out-do themselves in many areas.  These pianos are wonderful in that they can be pre-programmed with our hymns if someone is not available or does not play music.  They’ve thought of everything in helping small start-up branches until the musical talent within the branch can meet the need. There are several options including piano and organ along with several other background options. 

Evelyn—We visited Evelyn with the Elders.  Evelyn deploys with the Police Force as food support whenever they deploy or are on assignment.  She rotates on and off a “feast or famine” like job.  When she’s off, she’s off for 1-3 weeks.  When she’s on, she’s working LONG hours and many days in a row.  She is based out of Marseilles but has had an apartment in Tarbes because her aging parents are here and her roots are here.  We have visited her many times over the past months when she is in town and we’ve had her to our apartment for lunch to get to know some other Church members.  She works on Sundays and travels back to Marseilles on Sundays so is not able to attend Church.  She is beginning to job hunt in Tarbes to be with her parents, both in their 90s.  It will be challenging since her job pays SO well, kind of a hardship tour as the Navy or FBI call it…..she is compensated in pay for the demands of the job.

But what a noticeable change!  It hardly seems like the same person.  Evelyn has been working on implementing some of the scripture helps we’ve been teaching her across time and the importance of reading regularly. Her growth and confidence has blossomed before our eyes and we were amazed at the insights she is gleaning from becoming now familiar with scriptural language and scripture study.  Just amazing and VERY noticeable.  What is more, she can feel it too.

This time, we introduced her to and worked through a lesson from the new Sunday School Program.  This is one powerful program that has you become familiar with the scripture story, the principles being taught or outlined in the story or parable then asks you insightful questions on how to immediately implement the principle.  Personal application:  where the rubber meets the road!  And if we can grow visible like Evelyn did we will be the better for it.  What an incredible experience for us to witness the power and potential in simply implementing a steady diet of reading the scriptures. 

Maria—The big day arrived. Gils came home from the Rehab “hospital” and Maria and he moved into their new apartment.  We’ve only seen pictures.  It’s a good location and not far from us.  That makes several church members now in our “neck of the woods”.   We are very eager to see her apartment, welcome Gils home and welcome our newest neighbor to our vicinity.

Tarbes Elder apartment inspection—We can’t leave out our closest and easiest-to-get-to apartment, 3 very short blocks from us.  We checked out their new hot water heater to make sure all is well and Marc repaired a coffee table leg, caved in upholstery chair and bureau drawer.  Meg collects all the clothes Elders leave behind—usually seasonal wear when that season is over or when they go home they usually leave behind France-weather clothing.  She gets them to the Stake Relief Society President who finds homes for them for future missionaries getting ready for their missions.  There are bags and bags of very useable mission-wear that really adds up for families of little means.  She collects them also from Sister Missionaries on our apartment inspection route and they are put to good use.

Christine and Christian—took us for an all-day outing starting with a Moroccan Buffet.  The restaurant itself is like a museum with all the décor and fabric-wrapped ceiling and walls.  The food was incredible.  Was it every flavorful with marinades and different middle-eastern spices from the appetizers to the salads to the entrée and desserts!  And of course we ate it French-style: 2 ½ hours of dining interlaced with hours of conversations.  Both are richly savored.

And we’re sticking to our story—France is not the place to try to diet: Food (gastronomy) is so important to their culture and everyone seems to want to treat us to home-cooking or a French dining experience.  Very yummy….and it showsJ

Afterwards they drove us about 45 minutes through beautiful French countryside to the Bigorre region.  Christian has roots there from the 1600s. at least that’s as far as they can trace it.  You really need to find a royalty link to help with the lineage and accompanying records when you get back that far.  More detective work required.  We gave them both a DNA kit for Christmas to hopefully extend their research capabilities.  And Marc will help again next Wednesday.  We saw the local Medieval Castle which protected the surrounding Tarbes area. It has a commanding view of the region, just incredible views for us centuries later.  And for them, to see the enemy approaching from vast distances.

Then off to a distant panoramic view on the other side over-looking that castle and Tarbes off in the distant.  The weather wasn’t crisp and clear (as a matter of fact it was downright cold).  But it certainly helped see the challenges at hand from an aerial-like view.  What a difficult period of history where land and land ownership determined destiny of invading tribes or invading religions. 

This was the Feudal System in action and the seeds of present-day Socialism.  Protection and security traded for tariffs on land and goods.  During the Middle Ages, it really seemed the only option for survival.  When you are sitting in this region of France that seems to have a castle at every turn, it’s easy to understand the outgrowth of centuries of survival tactics for the people.  Not that we prefer Socialism, just that we can understand more fully how its traditional roots of merely surviving day to day became the seedbed of a nation that embraces Socialism. 

Centuries easily sliding and surpassing a Millennium of tradition can be a hard thing to overcome.  Many a revolution in France alone, including the current Gillet Jaune (yellow-vest) have tried, but with little long-term success.  We see the limiting effects of Socialism day in and day out in the present day; it’s hard not to miss it.  Stepping down from the soapbox nowJ

On the trip up to the panoramic view, we encountered a shepherd herding his sheep up, down, over and across several grazing meadows.  We’ve seen many sheep and shepherds on jaunts out to high-pasture country.  Our more North American roots are mostly familiar with the Australian Shepherd Dog that herds the sheep under the direction of the shepherd’s whistle commands.  But this shepherd used voice commands only, no dog.  It’s an entirely different challenge. 

It was absolutely fascinating to watch him get his flock out of an area they preferred grazing in, but was not where the shepherd meant for them to be for the night.  He told them so; they got quite a scolding.  All heads looked up; but it wasn’t until the more “senior” sheep moved that the herd moved.  But that head sheep, and all the others, kept stopping to graze every few minutes along the way, as sheep do.  The shepherd continued to use voice commands until he lead the fairly sizable herd through a small chute in an enclosed high-pasture area where only one sheep could pass through at a time. 

We couldn’t help but hear Handle’s Messiah:  “All we like sheep” as some sheep were quickly obedient, others....not so muchJ.  Interestingly, there was no gate, only a very narrow path to gain access to this particular corralled pasture land.  These sheep could have easily turned around at some later time and exited that same way they entered.  But they weren’t inclined to do so.  They only wanted to graze….this way then that. But if one did accidentally and innocently stray out…. In that moment we understood:  sheep need a shepherd.  That made us glad for our Shepherd.

Town of the week—Perpignan. Perpignan is located to our SE on the Mediterranean Sea, hence the Pyrenees-Oriental (east) Department whereas we are Haute-Pyrenees. (high Pyrenees).  It’s 18 miles north of Spain and in the Catalan Region (ethnic). It became French in 1659; comparatively new in France.  We’ve been there half a dozen times and haven’t tired of it yet.  It has that “Je-ne-sais quoi”. (that intangible, yet distinctive quality).  It’s a friendly area and scenic as well.

A la prochaine.

Pampas-like grass, about 6 feet high

Mother's Day Repas, Anaïs

Gisele, really enjoys decorating and now Relief Society Committee, decorating

Anaïs

Yummy

 The Primary children's gift to their Moms

All signed the "good luck" dollar bill to tender in their new store. He was very touched.

 Richard, best of the best

Primary children singing for their Mothers....three of them but oh, so angelic!

Good thing they climbed the tree last week; the neighbor
requested they could cut the branches that reached over the fence

  

This should reduce further tree climbing at church

  Très fragile--very fragile. Pau Elders helping us with Richard's move.

Elder Church crammed in the elevator
taking a load down.

Now Elder Loh's turn to be squished.

Richard smiles from the inside out.

Moving crew, minus Meg.

So close after the move we took the Elders up to one of our favorite views. 

A little lunch afterwards....

The Moroccan Buffet with the Louits

An apartment inspection (really a maintenance visit) with our Elders, trying to add some years of life to this already see-better-days coffee table

  

Heading to do another apartment inspection in the town of Perpignan. 
Perpignan below.

Note under the balcony...very French, never miss an opportunity to add some flare or detail.

We've only seen the American flag twice in France, any way in our neck of the woods. 

Love France yet our heart always skips a beat to see the American flag.

Old well

 Very unique steeple, even for France.

 Perpignan is in the Catalan Region (meaning ethnic, hence the red/yellow banners)        

  but in Pyrenees-Oriental (eastern Pyrenees) Department.

Travertine building, now the Tourist Office.

 Language above is French; below is Catalan.

These bells rang every 15 minutes during our dinner.  Talk about adding to the ambiance!

 

Part of Old Town Wall, Perpignan.

Very common to have sycamore pruned like this throughout France.

  

A rather thick...and heavy....roof

 

 

Proud of their Catalan heritage!

Mail-bike, electric

AND=Andorra, just southwest of southern France

A bit dark, look in the carry to see who is out for a ride.