Alas The Paris Temple; Repas; Périgord Region: Dordogne River area and town of Domme

Our Church Week—This week was rather special and a rare opportunity during our mission. We got to go to Paris (really near Versailles in La Chesnay) to attend the Paris Temple with the youth from our Stake. We had special permission from our Mission President who had to seek permission from our Area Presidency located in Germany. So it’s a big deal, though they easily said yes.

We tried attending the Paris Temple during our study-abroad in 2017 but had just missed the open house because of an unforeseen delay. We had hotels and B&Bs booked ahead of time so we didn’t have the flexibility then.

But this time, we were able to attend 2 full days and it was worth every minute of waiting! The stained-glass artisans, architects, painters, woodworkers and chandeliers have a long line of excellent craftsmanship to live up to if you live in France. They’ve been at their trades for over 1500 years, and each has proven stellar and have withstood the tests of time.

The stained-glass throughout the temple was in rich French blue and the Claude Monet inspired floral motifs made the temple feel like a garden rich in color at every turn. The floral motifs were repeated in the carpet, carved chairs, stained-glass, chandelier rims and all trim work.

All the painstaking and tastefully executed beauty sets an inspiring tone for the spiritual feast within the walls of the temple. When the spiritual instruction comes, our spirits have already begun the feast; we are uplifted and we stand in awe. We want to be better and do better from being in The House of the Lord. We bring that spirit of love, inspiring beauty and spiritual perspective back home with us. What a feast we had!

The inside photos of the temple are from the internet taken prior to the dedication of the temple: no inside photos are allowed after its dedication.

Apartment inspection—Marc does the majority of the repairs needed. Meg’s contribution is “talk therapy”. This time it was for the Sisters; but it’s equally the same when we visit the Elder’s apartments. They love to talk; we love to listen. It’s a great match. They just talk away and are excited for company. Missionary rules state to not have others in their apartment so they just bubble over with excitement that they can visit in their own homes.

Richard Moulis—was released from his calling (assignment) Sunday at Church. He will be back and forth between Paris and our Branch for a few months. He is the co-architect to his son’s Intermarche (international grocery) store. They’ve just had their first set-back. Intermarche is a chain, franchised store and headquarters is behind. They were slated to open in October but now the new date is February.

Richard already gave his required 3-month notice for his apartment to be rented out. It’s already been rented so he could not extend a few more months or even month to month. So now he has to put everything in storage until he moves to Paris and accommodate the delay. They are doing this from the ground up (a building shell only to be converted) Unfortunately that’s the nature of the beast: this will likely one of more-than-one set-backs. Richard will stay with his sister and visit his children in the interim. He is energetic and resilient.

Maria—Maria’s husband is in rehab and they too were slated to move this month. Through an unfortunate set of unforeseeable events, they too are in a similar situation. This is a family with Spanish heritage and old-school culture. In their culture, the husband makes all the external decisions. They (he) gave their 3-month notice and were in the process of finding an apartment when he had his stroke. His hospital stay and rehab stay have gobbled up their notice and their apartment has also been rented out. Maria’s daughter left a few months ago, then her granddaughter followed. So they are not in need of so spacious an apartment. Maria will stay in temporary housing until Gilles finishes his rehab in 3 weeks and can resume the head-of-household task of finding an apartment.

Patrick Grattepanche—called as Elder’s Quorum President to replace Richard. He will double as the Branch Missionary Leader. He is very excited, stating he’s only been Branch President (for 30 years): he is thrilled to try a new position. He is organized and already loves Missionary Work.

Chevez—since Chevez injured his knee, we have coordinated a ride for him. Even though it’s his knee this time, he already walks 45 minutes one-way so this will become a permanent arrangement. He lives by Martine who just lost her husband and is normally picked up by her brother. The newly created space in the car will help Chevez out. They are glad to pick him up and Chevez is grateful for the ride.

But this first go-round was a mishap. Chevez stood waiting in a purposefully highly visible place where he could see their car coming from either direction. But his ride came in through the back streets so they missed seeing him. They didn’t think he was coming so they left. Chevez never saw them go by so he thought they must be running late. After 55 mins, he finally walked back home, on crutches. Richard caught wind of the mishap and went back over to pick up Chevez and the ride took Chevez home so they could agree on the exact spot where he’d be next week. Whew, another mishap averted.

Town/region of the week—Dordogne River area.

A la prochaine!

PS Our Easter pictures didn't have time to upload before we started our drive north last Sunday.