We attended Luisa’s baptism service on July 7th
at the stake center in Ecully, a suburb of Lyon. The talks on the subject of baptism and the
Gift of the Holy Ghost were well prepared and given by members of the
Villerbanne Ward. Luisa was baptized by
Rock who is from the Congo. She bore her
testimony after the baptism in Spanish.
Elder Escamilla translated into French for her. It was a very humble and heart- felt
testimony. The next day her ordinance of
being confirmed a member of the church and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost
was performed by Elder Hughes, the other office missionary that helped teach
her. The Elders continue to meet with
her and teach her the after baptism lessons.
This past Sunday, Luisa had the courage to bear her testimony in French
during sacrament meeting. The week
before, Noella, another new member from Madagascar, gave her first talk in
sacrament meeting using the scriptures and did a wonderful job. Guy (another member from the Congo) is returning to activity in the church. We met him during a dinner with a member a few weeks ago. He is very happy to be attending church again and help to bless and pass the sacrament. He is very friendly and gives me a big hug every Sunday. Another “ami” of the church, Simon who also ate dinner with us at a member’s home continues to study with the missionaries and comes to church every Sunday. A couple originally from Peru came to church for the first time a week ago Sunday.
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| Ecully Chapel |
We are now busily helping President and Sister Roney and the Assistants prepare for the next transfer on the 31st of July when 26 missionaries leave and 11 arrive. They returned from their tour of the mission and came to work in the mission office on Tuesday with their three sons. This was nice because they furnished sandwiches for lunch and brought a basket of what must be the Costco small candy bar mix.
Sister Jeppson has been preparing a large volume of correspondence relating to this big event. She also has prepared two laminated pictures of all of the missionaries. One set of pictures have Velcro backing and are placed on a portable board under headings of locations where they are currently serving. The other pictures have magnets on the back and will be placed on a large metal board yet to be mounted in President Roney’s office. These tools help President Roney and the Assistants as they prayerfully seek guidance from the Spirit of the Lord to determine where each missionary should serve across the different areas of the mission.
Nos Petits-Enfants
We encourage you to learn about the different countries of the world and their people and cultures. This information is fascinating to learn about. All of these people are Heavenly Father’s children, and He loves them. Also, take advantage of opportunities to study a foreign language like your oldest cousin, Megan, who is studying French and your Uncle Alex who studied Spanish at BYU. This kind of knowledge will prepare you for educational and missionary opportunities in the future.
