Narbonne - Week #33

Eating crabs that mémé caught

Porting at Port la Nouvelle (that's the funny part about it)

Mahaawwwwmmmm

Wowie wow, um, it sounds like you guys had the sweetest weekend there ever was!  You went to Virginia?!?!  How long are you staying there? How much school does Sam get to miss?

If you send the video on a DVD I should be able to watch it on our little DVD player.  Also, John's videos if you have them?

Where did Sam get an accordion?!

The baptism in Gex!  Yeah, I heard about it!  It was the girlfriend of one of the coolest members, Greg Plug.  We always joked about her getting baptized.  Well.  Voila!  And I didn't recognize the name in Bordeaux, but that's also really cool!  

In primary we sang that "Oh it is wonderful that He should care for me enough to die for me" one.  In french it's "Merveilleux Amour."  Kids love the chorus.  I think we sang that one about three times, and that was it

THIS WEEK

Starting with mercredi, because I already told you about lundi et mardi because of the craziness of last week.  The mission had asked us to take a picture of us in the prettiest part of our sectors, so we went down to Port la Nouvelle, the beach, and took a picture of us knocking on the door of the lighthouse.  I'll send that to you.  Then, we had to get on a train and go to Nîmes to stay the night so we could get to Zone Training the next day.  Cool.

Jeudi was zone training, in Nîmes, because the church in Montpellier is under construction.  Nîmes is beautiful, and there is a huge colosseum for bull fighting, which they do here.  Cool.  If I serve there in the summer, I'll have to go to a bull fight!  Zone training was sweet, always a nice remotivation.  Afterward, we went back to Narbonne, did what we do, and talked with a really cool guy with an amazing moustache from New Zealand (the guy was from NZ, too).  He thanked us for reminding him of the things that we know, but we often forget, and for helping people back on the path.  He was sweet, and also had some pretty good jokes n stuff.  Then that evening we went to Elder Phelp's grandparents, and we pulled some tricks out of our sleeves.  He had his mom send testimonies from the whole family, including some really close friends that meme and pepe have met before, and we're gonna read them to him and show him that the gospel blesses families, because the famille is number one to this little spaniard.  It went really well, the spirit was rich.

Vendredi matin we went to the Mudarra's again, but this time we just read a scripture with them.  We tied it in to familles again, about how every time the Lord asks one of His prophets to do something, He always says "and take your famille with you."  That's cool.  GAME NIGHT.  We did game night.  We got there, and there were the usuals there, us, the missionnaires à Béziers, the senior couple, and the old people that normally come.  So we did it anyway, thinking "eh, it was a success because at least people came?"  AND THEN.  We were playing a game, having actually a really good time, and then, through the windows, we saw people flocking.  Two big ol less active familles that the elders à Béziers had invited showed up.  We ended up have 21 people there, and it was a hoot.  The kids were awesome, the parents were awesome.  The senior couple took care of the oldies, and we took care of the hip youngsters.  Lots of fun.  Big success.  Miracle.

So the day before we had invited some of the kids to samedi sportif with us, and they said oh yeah.  So the next day we went to play b-ball, and the usuals were there, us, Béziers, Emmanuel (ward missionary), and then Carlitos who normally comes had brought three friends, and then two of the kids from the night before came!  It was awesome.  And Also Greg Farrands came, and he's young men president (you know, if we had any active young men :)).  that was also a hoot.  then, the afternoon we went out to the Mudarras for a lunch with them and some of the oncles.  It was delicious.  And then we played pétanque.  wow what a good game.  What a good day.

Then dimanche, we went to church.  It was nuts, as usual.  I love this little branch.  Then we came home, snuck ourselves into the Mudarras home again, played some Rummikub, and then read more famille testimonies.  We can tell he's feeling the spirit, but he doesn't want to admit it, and he's hiding it so hard.  Fighting it.  But we'll get him.  Once we pull out the big guns.  Then that evening we had dinner with our DMB, who had invited us earlier.  I don't know if this is appropriate to share, but it's funny.  When we were driving home, he invited us to eat with him, and I saw a pizza guy drive by on his moto.  I joked saying "we're having pizza tonight" and he said "you like pizza" and I said "of course" and I thought we were just teasing and joking, but when we got there, he said "the pizza will be arriving in about 15 minutes."  HA.  He wasn't joking.  Next visit is talking about the Sabbath Day.  The pizza was good, though.

So that was the week.  Most of our amis have gone missing or are on vacation, but that's not just here in Narbonne, that is throughout the zone.  So we're calling this next little bit "spring cleaning" where we find more amis and kind of start over.  Doesn't mean we won't still try to teach the old ones, but, yeah.  We've found some pretty cool characters recently, hopefully we can start teacing them.  Neat.

I love you all, and you should go to church next Sunday, you sinners.  Meh.  Who am I kidding.

LOVE

Elder Max Liechty

Narbonne - Week #32

The Béziers branche

SUNSCREEN!

Nasty ol octopus

We ate sardines.  When I send the card, you can watch the video!

Whoa ho ho ho ho whoa probably scared you real good this time, didn't I!  Late email!

If you send the video next week, bien sur I'd watch it!  That sounds hilarious.  Hil.  Arious.

Uh um I didn't realize you had to order No-AD.  Mmmmmmmm.  I guess that shows how much my momma loves me!  Thanks luuuuuuuuuuuv you!

So, like, Brandon Jared got his call.  what what.  The youngsters are starting to swaaaaarm.  Elder Phelp's little brother just got called to North Carolina mission!  Nuuuuuuts

EASTER IN FRANCE

They have TWO DAYS here!  Sweeeeet.  It starts on Sunday and that's when everyone goes to church and thinks about Jesus, and then they have Mondee when they hide eggs and eat candy n stuff.  Every chance the French get, they take a holiday.  So that's why we didn't do emails yesterday, because everything was closed because it was second Easter.  And of course you got your JWs out protesting Easter those two days, those guys don't celebrate nuthin, the poor children.

The week!

So yeah, we went fishing lundi, that was really fun.  This time I have pictures!  To be continued...

Mardi we........well, lundi evening Elder Phelps started getting the same symptoms that I had had that started my sickness, so we started freaking out and running all over the place and throwing tables over, not knowing what to do.  But then he took some meds, all that, but to no avail.  He woke up sick as a dog.  Luckily, after a little nap, we were able to get out shortly and have a RDV with Isabel, the ami that we're really planning on working with this transfer.  Then he started dying again, so he laid back down.  This time, however, instead of wasting the days of his sickness by watching church movies and doing nothing, I read boat loads in the LdM n stuff and it was cool.

Mercredi, poor Phelpsies was still sick as a dog, worse than the day before even!  We went to his grandparents that afternoon and pretended that he wasn't sick so that they wouldn't get upset with us.  Ummmmm, after that we went home and he napped some more and I finished Alma!  Cool.

Yeah, sorry, this week was just about as exciting as yours!  But jeudi, I can't remember what we did.....All I know is that we had two lessons, one I'm assuming was with Elder Phelp's grandparents, and the other with Isabel.  Yeah, uh....sorry about this email....:)

So we had planned to see the grandparents a lot more often this week, to kind of sneakily make pépé live the gospel.  We planned on stopping by for quicker visits and just reading a chapter with them, to make it so he was reading his scriptures every day.  So we saw them again vendredi, as well as a member who is here in Narbonne for the next little while, from Lormont, just accross the river from Bordeaux.  She roooocks.  She'll help our little branch for the next while when she's here.  Then, that evening, we got over to the Fructuoso's home and watched part of the last session of general conference with them, because they weren't able to before.  General conference rocks.  And the mom, who hasn't been to church since they moved to Narbonne, said she missed that spirit.  So, uh, come to church please.  Takin it slow, gotta get her to go outside first, baby steps, baby steps

Samedi we headed up to Béziers to play some bball with Carlitos Gonzalez.  He's tight.  Then while we were in Béziers, we had a little coordination meeting with the other elders, and we talked about this sweet idea we had to have an evening at the church where we can invite our amis and just play games.  Because, after talking with our mission president and the stake mission leader, we decided that is what the branch needs right now.  Because our amis are not ready to come to the FHEs the branch holds every week where they always somehow delve into uncontrollably deep doctrined.  This is something simple that will let our amis meet the members, and show them that we are normal people, too.   Cool idea.  Stoked for it.  Starting it this vendredi, news to come.  Then, later, we passed by to see if some less actives still lived where we had their addresses, and they did, but we didn't get an opportunity to talk to them.  But then we went to E Phelp's uncle's and we talked a good time, learned some good stuff about Pépé.  And, now, I am branche pianist, so, we went to the church and I practiced the piano.  Yes.

Dimanche we had planned to go to Mémé and Pépé's and just go on a walk with them and teach a lesson, but then it rained, so instead we played cards and ate and taught a lesson.  So.  It was a good day, because it was Easter, and church was fun.  We got to take care of the primary because the primary teacher was out of town with her famille.  They're a bunch of little nutsos, but it was fun.  Talked about Jesus and his resurrection, of course.  That's still so cool that that happened, I gotta say.  He loves us!

Then, yesterday, for Lundi de Pâques, as it is called, we had a tasty tasty lunch with the g parents. The RDV we had with pépé on lundi went really well.  We watched a video about the saviors life, and bore our testimonies, and then pépé bore his little testimony.  It was cool.  And then one of the uncles was there (he's a little handicapped) and he kind of broke the spirit and all just went nuts.  But before that, it was really good.  The savior does miraculous things, that's for sure. In France, Easter is all about the lamb.  So we ate some delicious lamb.  Then, that evening, we tried with no avail to pass some less actives because the Fructuosos didn't come to church for Easter :( but then we went out to Coursan to see some of those we haven't seen in a while because we just got Elder Phelp's bike fixed, and we set up a RDV for this saturday.  Coolio.

Today was our new pday, then.  We had some missionary coordination meetings, we stopped by a music store and played some guitars because it's not open on mondays, and then we went to a mall that is not open on mondays either, and I bought a french dictionary.  Very handy.  Lots of meetings.

Well hopefully this sickness is gone for good, dang it.  And we can finally get out and work.  Should have a pretty righteous week.  Pray for us pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaasssssse

I love you all,

Love,

Elder Liechty

Still Narbonne - Week #31

Mommmmmaaaaaa

I'm....staying!  Staying in Narbonne for another with Elder Phelps!  I'm excited.  we got this place started up last transfer, and this one we should really get it moving along.  stooooooooked

As far as the package, I was also wondering if you could sneak in there some No-AD sunscreen or something because around here it's all really expensive, and I only have the face stuff, and I really like No-AD :)

Oh, you'll like the spanish game.  It'll take a lot of playing until we all get it down and we can kick booty at it, but once you get it down it's a real blast.  It's way more fun than silly little kid games like Dominion (aimed at zach)

Did you know I've always wanted to go to four courners........

Ah whatevs, it'll be there in two years probably

The weeeeeeeeeeeeeeek

Lundi was really cool, because we had the surprise RDV with Isabel!  We called her that morning as we were finishing weekly planning to see if there was a moment during the week we could meet up, and she said that day, so we did.  Did I already tell you this story?  Eh.  Maybe.  but it's still a good'n.  We had the RDV with her, and it was the first real teaching RDV we've had with her since even Elder Phelps got here two transfers ago now.  So that was cool.  More news on her to come.

I don't remember everything we did mardi, but the end of the day was really cool.  We had invited Isabel to come to the FHE they hold up in Béziers every mardi and she said 'uh yeah' so she did!  Little did we remember we had a RDV in Coursan that evening with a new famille we wanted to start teaching, so we were in a pickle.  Luckily, the zone leaders were free to do a major exchange (long story short, district leader Elder Smith had to do a colon cleansing that day because he was getting a colonoscopy the next day because he is sick (I don't know if I should put a frowny or a smily face because it's sad that he's sick but also funny that he got his colonoscopy already.  We made lots of jokes about it, I assure you)), and we managed to have two lessons that evening, one in Béziers with Isabel and one in Coursan with the new famille.  I went with Isabel and it was neat cuz she got to meet lots of the members, and Elder Phelps went to the famille in Coursan and there were sweeeeeet and stoked about the LdM, so we'll see where this all goes.

Mercredi we went to E Phelps' grandparents, talked about recognizing the spirit and how we are all different when it comes to that.  He said he has never felt the spirit, and he is an honest man, but we believe that he has felt it before, just not recognized it.  He's been to almost every church history site, as well as general conference.  So.  that's what we're focusing on.  Then, later, we planned to go out in shorts and shirts and search for service like president Roney told us to do here.  but as we went out, E Phelps' bike has been having problems, and it just acted up again and we couldn't go any farther, so that evening was a bust.

Jeudi evening we had a RDV with a less active famille, the Fructuosos.  We played pétanque with them (that's bocci ball), and we learned that the wife never goes outside.  Ever.  We don't know what's wrong, but that's our new goal.  To coax her outside with love.  Because she can't come to church and renew her covenants if she doesn't go outside?  We've got good plans for them.

Vendredi I woke up sick.  Like the beginning of a sickness.  So I mostly shrugged it off and took some meds, and we went and taught E Phelp's grandparents.  But then when we got back I was out and I was dead.  That evening I dragged myself out to go to a soirée d'information that we had invited some amis to that our DMB would be presenting a historical approach to the restoration.  It was very good, except for the fact that I was dyyyyyyiiiiing.  I lived, however, and Isabel and David both showed up!  and Frère Fructuoso.  And some other members.  very cool.

Samedi I stayed inside and died most of the day.  This transfer turned out to be a huge chiasmus, with Elder Phelps dead at the beginning, and me dying at the end.  Interesting.  Hopefully we've taken care of all the death and sickness this last transfer and can consecrate the next to working like a couple of chiefs.  After a long nap, I was well enough to go play pétanque with E Phelp's uncle, aunt, cousin, cousin's girlfriend, and David, our ami.  I really like pétanque, and it doesn't even take any energy.  That's why you see really old French geezers out playing it all the time.  I got to play some of them the other day.  However, I forgot the stuff for my camera, so, uh, no pictures this week.....eh.....sorry :)

Dimanche was awesome, it was Elder Smith's last, and the Senior Couple's first.  their from Quebec, they're called the Laplante famille.  They're sweet.  No offense to all the other senior couples I've met, but, uh, they seem like they're out here more because their solid testimonies than the fact that they have lots of money and not lots to do........I like all the senior couples, don't get me wrong, but I love the Laplantes.  And, Isabel came to church!  Very cool.  We're hoping to work a lot with her this transfer.  Very neat.  Then I finished dying that afternoon, we tried to pass the Fructuosos, too, but they weren't home.  Bummers.

So the end of the week was kind of a drag with me being dead n whatnot, but it was still a pretty dang good week.  glad I get to stay another!

today we went fishing with mémé and pépé, I didn't catch anything...Elder Phelps caught a pregnant crab that we threw back so that next time there will be more crabs :), pépé caught three dorades, and mémé caught a big ol' fish of some kind and, get this, and OCTOPUS.  that was sweet.  I'll send the SD card home soon so that you can see the videos of her killing it.  Nuts.  also, this morning, we took some time to do some contacting, andt he first lady we talked to we got her number and should get a RDV with her soon.  It's been a while since we went contacting, but I always like to remember how good it is like that.

Momma, I'm glad you came to the church, too.  REALLLLLLYYY.  I love your testimony, and I love your mom-ness.  I love yooooouuuuuu.

We should be getting the Liahona chez nous, so no worries about sending a copy.  If not, I'll let you know.  sometimes we get them, sometimes not.  Meh.  I'll let you know.

I got lots of pictures, so, uh, next week I'll show you :)

LOVE YOU

love,

Elder Max Liechty

Narbonne - Week #30 (possibly his last week here? I doubt it)

Whoa whoa hold the phone what.  You have an iPad since when?!

Anyway,

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM,

General conference was siiiiiiick.  I'll get to that, but yeah.  I loved it loads.  Lots of loads.

(I do still want the face stuff.  that's all I can really think of.)

I'm pretty sure Bobby strained his MCL, too.  Or maybe it was his ACL.  Whatever, they're the same as far as I'm concerned.  Except the MCL grows back, right?  Wow I can imagine that stuuuuuuunk.  Sometimes my legs hurt from lots of biking or walking, but, like, I've never torn nuthin.

This week was really fast and I don't remember anything we did :)  But I wrote some of it down, so let's see if it starts to come back.

Cute Pepe 

Lundi we went grocery shopping with mémé and pépé (the name is Mudarra, Francisco Mudarra), and then afterwards we went to there house and ate with them and played cards and it was fuuuuuun.  I'm finally learning how to really play this one spanish game, that I will have to teach you crazies in a year and a half or so.

Tuesday was pretty cool.  One of our amis called us, Isabel, because she needed to translate a letter from French to English.  It's a long story, but she was married to an American, who lives over there now, and now he wants a divorce, and she had to respond to the divorce statements or something and it needed to be in English, so we translated it.  We hadn't seen her in a really long time, so it was cool to meet her.  Then, she had said something in passing about how she doesn't really have any food or nothing, so when we went back to our place, we finished translating the letter and made her some foods.  She was really grateful, and said she'd repay us somehow (she brought us croissants a few days later and they was yummy).  It was a cool reencounter, and it sparked her up nice, now we have RDV with her today!

Mercredi we went up to Béziers because there is a senior couple moving in!  so we went up to build their IKEA furniture and set the place up.  So we spent the whole day building stuff in their apartment.  They're from Quebec, and they have such a Quebecois accent it's fuuuuuuun (and sometimes hard to understand).

Jeudi we were back in Béziers for district meeting, which is always sweet.  Always a good reboost.  Then we went back, and it was raining raining raining in Narbonne.  So we went out on bikes, like you should in the rain, and tried to pass some old amis and potential amis.  Afterwards we saw la famille Mudarra again.  Prez told us to really focus on how all these things in the gospel blesses familles, and as we have started doing that, he has been listening a lot better, and we are starting to see some kind of progress!  Thanks for your prayers, by the way.

Vendredi we were back up in Béziers (we might as well live there sometimes) to finish up with the senior couples apartment.  We arranged, cleaned, and then waited for the electricity guy to come and turn on the electricity (because the other elders were on exchange in a distant land and couldn't be there for this).  Then, we went on exchange with the Béziers elders, I with Elder Palfrey, from Canada, in his second transfer.  This was a nice little taste of how it feels to be senior companion.  It was fun.  :)  It was hard, but it's always a good learning experience, as well as eye opening experience.  When you know there's someone there who can speak better than you and who can bail you out in times of need, it's easy to sit back sometimes and do little.  But when you're with a bleu missionnaire, it's time to take charge.  But then you start to talk and words come and it all goes pretty well.  That was nice.  We had a lesson with a less active famille as well as Dénis and his famille, the ones from Martinique, 7th day Adventists.  Yeah.  Pray for them, too, please :)

Samedi, we...went back up to Béziers!  We played basketball with some members and their friends, and then we was off to Montpellier to watch general conference.  Oh, it was good.  I don't have my notes with me, but I'll tell you what it was filled with goodness. We watched the first session in English and then...

Dimanche was the priesthood, second, and third sessions.  We watched priesthood in French because we were with everyone, but the second in English because they got the missionnaries their own room, and then the third in French because we went to a member's house for that one.  They were all AWESOME.  I tried real hard this time to do the whole listen by the Spirit instead of the exact words spoken, so that made it sick.  Oh, and there was so much that our amis needed to hear, so I hope they took our invitations and watched it.  I really liked Henry B. Eyring's talk from Saturday morning, because it made me think of my momma and her decision to be baptized :)  Sunday morning session was chock full of goodness, too.  Man.  Good stuff.  General conference is the biggest reboost that anyone could want.  Now we just need to APPLY what we learned!

This is potentially my last week in Narbonne....I don't want to leave yet.  There's lots to do.  But, you know, where I go is where the Lord wants/needs me to go, so, like, I guess I'll go :)  I'm excited for this week, got some good stuff (or at least, should).  Pray pray pray pray and pray, THANKS!

Love you bunches,

love,

love,

love,

Elder Liechty