Not a peep did they make.

Our Church Week—Fewer of our members have been at church lately, as many were on vacation, however we have benefited from others on vacation, so our numbers have stayed in the 30's. July and August are “vacation months” throughout Europe so we’ll see how that affects us in our Branch. We’ve seen this phenomenon before in Europe. Many take the whole month and travel throughout Europe; they even have category names for which type of vacationer you are a "July-ist" or an "August-tian": "juillettistes" or "aoutiens."

Europe has been catering to travelers since the Middle Ages and is set up well with a good train network and accommodations throughout. In addition to hotels, “gites,” “auberges,” and B&Bs are common fare. A “gite” is a specific holiday vacation apartment that is furnished and has a kitchen or kitchenette. An “auberge” is an inn typically with a restaurant.

Just as we had some leave on vacation, in came some vacationers who spent the day with us, enjoyed Pioneer celebrations and the “repas” after our 3 meetings. And some members had grandchildren visiting. How fun! Another family of 3 was vacationing from Spain. Mom and Dad spoke only Spanish; but the daughter was able to translate into French. Mom said the prayer in Relief Society and the Sisters loved hearing some similar words and Church phrases. And she was able to follow the lesson and add some comments on our lesson on “Ministering” having just had that lesson in their home Ward the week prior. They brought a picnic lunch which them and invited the missionaries to join them after our “repas.” The missionaries at a Branch meal, picnic lunch and dinner at Anne’s. The missionaries ate well Sunday! Good thing, little did they know what was coming.

Our other visitor was from Australia. Imagine picking Tarbes to come to Church, all the way from Brisbane! He is a high-altitude runner and is here to set up a business in the Haute-Pyrenees. He will cater to high-altitude and long-distance runners needing high-altitude training. His plan is to seek out accommodations, provide meals and massage therapy that will be on the move with the runners. He’ll be in the Pyrenees and surrounding areas for 10 weeks running and scoping out the area. There are some stunning vistas and of course fresh mountain-air. He couldn’t have picked a better location than the Pyrenees.

We’ll extend the Conestoga Wagon and period clothes through the month since one family with 4 children was not there to enjoy the pioneer clothes and picnic in the wagon. We have an outdoor storage shed where we will keep the wagon. On “long” days at church, the children can bring out the wagon while the adults are in their meetings—the monthly Branch Council and the soon-to-start Branch Missionary Meeting, slated to begin this Sunday.

A week of service—Our week was full of service opportunities; we LOVE those opportunities. Other than teaching appointments and sharing the Gospel with those interested in the message we share, this is where the rubber meets the road. This is the essence of why we love what we do as missionaries. This week, service quickly became the theme by week’s end. None of it was planned or known at the start of the week. We are grateful to be “foot-loose” and “fancy-free” to be able to do these types of things, at the drop of a hat and when the opportunity presents itself.

First, our non-complaining missionaries—What a comedy of errors became theirs this week. First, their electricity was cut off. Through no fault of their own, the problem quickly became theirs. When the apartment they are now in was opened by another set of missionaries in February, the contract for the electricity was accidentally sent to the Elder’s “non-existent” mailbox. Normally, because the Elders rotate in and out every 1-6 months, so the Mission Office receives and pays the electric bill for all missionary apartments. But the proprietor (unbeknownst to any of us and knowing no differently) put the Elder’s address on the electric contract vs the Mission Office’s address. Even though the Elders pay for their own missions, the Office pays the rent and electric on their behalf to avoid any oversights when Elders transfer to other areas. Since those transfers happen in a matter of days, the system works quite well.

The local mailman, who now has a letter/bill from the Electric Company, but no address/apartment number for the Elders has been returning the electric bills to “dead mail.” The Elders never put their names on the mailboxes so there was no address to deliver the bills to. After several months of “no payment” on the electric bills, the Electric Company cut off their power due to lack of payment. No one would blame them.

Tuesday morning, the Elders called to tell us their power was out. We recommended checking fuses in case something tripped, checking with neighbors to see if their power was also out and checking the larger fuse box to the building. Or perhaps there’s some “French” switch we don’t know about? Hmmm….no, it was just them without power.

We spent the day on the phone with the Mission Office and the Missionaries trying to find out what went awry. It took some time, spelled all day. Once the electric is cut off, it’s purely bureaucratic….it was after-hours by then and they’d have to wait several days for the power to be turned back on. Then there was the back payment to be rectified and the future payments to be arranged…two different departments. Trying to expedite things, the Office called the emergency number….which was not responding. Then it was close of business hours for day #2. The after-hours number was also not working. It’s summer and it’s hot and humid here. They had no way to cook or take a shower at day’s end. But they didn’t complain.

We had them bring over their food from their frig. I had made a double recipe of chili for Sunday’s “repas” and “happened” to have it on hand…along with a double batch of cookies!! And we had just bought lettuce, salad makings and baguettes so we were stocked up. Refrigerators are small here and for that reason…as well as needing “French fresh”, you shop daily. We just happened to have just been to the store.

To add to the fiasco, and unbeknownst us, the Elder’s reimbursements from the Office were delayed….leaving them with no money until the beginning of August. Elder Templeton had just arrived from Switzerland and they are not on the Euro (ie, not part of European Union). So that delayed things even more. Apparently the turn-around time is not a quick electronic flick of the button, but a 2-3 day wait. A double whammy…..still sans complaining on their part.

As it happened, the same day the electric was cut off the Elders went by train to teach a new investigator (who by the way wants to be baptized) in an “outer-ville” (missionary lingo for a village farther away and reached only by train). The Mission Office usually cuts their trains tickets but for some reason only cut a one-way ticket. It was a fluke. So they stayed in the “outer-ville” (without lunch) tracting in the heat after their appointment until their return ticket was cut….7 hours later. BUT they didn’t utter a peep. They just did their missionary work. What 18-20 year old do you know of that would not utter a peep? I know a select few, but it seems they are fewer as the years roll on. And with years under belt ourselves, I’m afraid we’d be murmuring.

We texted the Elders while they were in the “outer-ville”: Have you eaten? What about lunch? What about dinner? Any word on the electricity yet? Any word on your reimbursements yet? Other than respond “no, not yet” to our myriad of questions, they did not complain. We know they burn off every calorie they take in walking the number of miles they do in a day….in an hour for that matter. But they uttered not a moaning peep. They were eating cans of beans from their shelves left by previous Elders….and calling it dinner.

Long-story short, we had them over for dinner when their train arrived back to Tarbes. Fortunately we had seconds and thirds on hand. Their plates were clean. We took them shopping the next morning to be able to eat the rest of that day, the next day and the rest of the week. They were able to use the Church kitchen to cook and cool off. Had we not asked the questions, we are not sure they would have said a thing. They just would have "gotten by". As it was when we took them shopping, they picked up a can of beans that cost 1 euro and they asked if that was ok….was that too much to spend, if so, they'd put it back. A bag of French Fries was 2 euors…more costly than their usual find of 1 euro at a neighboring store. “Is that ok?”

We have great admiration for these 2 young Elders and the sacrifices they make. And those are the ones we know about. They keep a rigorous schedule day in and day out; they live on a shoe-string budget. They walk umpteen miles and take the train for the other umpteen. It would be curious to know how many miles they put on in 2 years.

Alas, now all is well….power is on, stomachs are full, pantry is (somewhat) stocked and reimbursements are in.

Jean-Claude’s move—this has been in the mix on-again, off- again. Moves are never easy or stress-free by the time you coordinate keys, schedules, other people’s schedules and which end you’ll sleep on when you are closing out one apartment/place and opening up another.

But now, Jean-Claude will be closer to Tarbes and that was the goal. He was our farthest out-lying member at 1 ½ hour drive, one-way. It was easy to get snowed in during winter. We’re glad he is closer to be able to participate with Missionary Work and meet during the week. We also hope to start up an Institute Class, hopefully this fall. It just wouldn’t have been possible for him to commute in that far on a weekday. And in winter, it would just be out.

He almost quadrupled his living space for the same amount of rent and the apartment was just renovated. He can still be “with nature” as he enjoyed in his previous place. We brought out a load with another church member and helped him get set up. He needed to furnish all the appliances as well as furniture. Here, normally the “kitchen” goes with you when you move. That includes the kitchen cabinets. But in this case, the apartment was new and the kitchen cabinets (under “new” ideas are attached, provided and meant to stay). We’ll help with one more run next week; then he’ll be all in. He’s breathing a sigh of relief as he leaves for Switzerland in a few days and the move for the most part is now behind him.

Anne—We happened to drop by Anne’s to have her sign Elder Vera’s going away booklet we made for him with all the signatures form the Branch and those he has been teaching. And Anne was a central figure. In that visit with her, we found out Anne was having surgery in Toulouse, 2 hours from here (one-way). She was planning to go by train on the way over, but that wouldn’t work post-op and she was fretting about how to get home with her daughter now in the States. It’s always amazing to watch how the Lord orchestrates those “tender mercies” and places us just at the right time in just the right place when there is a need. Anne never would have called and asked us. But since we were in her home, we caught wind of the predicament and got to offer.

Anne gives. She’s always giving of herself. It’s very hard to find a way to return the favor. She has been feeding the missionaries for over 20 years now, she invited herself right over with her sewing machine to help with the Pioneer Day clothing, and she took us around Tarbes when we first arrived here. She is service-oriented and we are the better for knowing her.

Tour de France—France just won the World Cup and now the excitement of Tour of France came right on its heels. What is more….Tour de France passed by Tarbes, about 25 minutes North of us. How lucky are we? Since we are not allowed to be in large crowds, we found a small village where numbers were small and watched the cyclists whiz by. Most of the hype is in the “pre-race” atmosphere.

What a production of advertising! What an incredible entourage of support crews with hundreds of spare bikes! What a deluge of TV crews, motorcycles, helicopters, police and ambulances. All said and done, cars and floats numbered in the hundreds. Publicity cars and floats started about 2 hours before the cyclists came through. They threw candy, coupons and samples of their products. Each car and float had an amplifier and their own music to grab your attention. They'd whip around the round-about and you could see the centrifugal force of the floats leaning outwards.....all part of the hype. Bystanders brought bags to pocket all that was thrown their way. We just ducked.

The family in front of us told us how they strategically lined up to take the most advantage of the goodies that might come their way. The first one filmed the floats, person number 2 and 3 had backpacks on and the fourth person caught the item or picked it up from the ground while the bag-carrying children turned their backs toward their Mom to expedite the incoming candy or sample. Their plan worked; they must have gone home with 50+ goodies in their bags. Marc caught a few pieces of candy, a bag and a fold-able shade device for our car window.

We had no idea what went into these races. Towns pay several 10's of thousands of dollars to have Tour de France pass through. The Tarbes stage was a “flat” day. After the fact, we also found out afterwards that President Macron was to be present on this stage. We didn’t see him or any signs of security so we’re not sure it was exactly in the village where we were, just somewhere en route.

The next several days, Tour de France heads into the Pyrenees. It’s BEAUTIFUL countryside, unbeatable scenery, welcomed cooler, mountain air.....but, oh WHAT A CLIMB!!!

A la prochaine!