LETTRE VINGT-DEUX POUR LE 17 NOVEMBRE 2012

It is Tuesday afternoon on November 13, 2012.  Eighty-nine missionaries are gathered outside the Ecully chapel in Lyon in front of trees with their late fall foliage.  They are from our Lyon, Geneva , Lausanne and Nice Zones.  Our missionary leaders have done their best to arrange us with a small opening in the middle so that we are ready for a quick photo with important visitors that will arrive soon.  Our visitors arrive in a large van.  President Roney quickly sets up his camera on a tripod while Elder Andersen, an apostle of the Lord and his wife, Sister Roney and Elder Kearon (2^nd counselor from the area presidency from England) step into the middle of the throng of missionaries.  I find myself standing right next to Elder Andersen with Sister Jeppson at my side.  President Roney rushes to his wife’s side and the remote camera snaps several pictures.  The large group disbands and enters the building according to a plan.

Elder Andersen, Elder Kearon, and seven members of stake presidencies from Lyon, Nice and Lausanne have lined up to greet and shake hands with each missionary as they enter the chapel.   After everyone is seated a choir of missionaries with Sister Kofoed from Bountiful as a soloist set the spiritual tone for the rest of the meeting when they sing Merveilleux l’amour (I Stand All Amazed).  The meeting is conducted in English with translation into French though headsets.  Sister Roney shares some insights that she learned while reading the Book of Mormon again recently as a missionary.  President Roney speaks about faith and trust in Christ.  Elder Kearon discusses the importance of the power of the spirit.  Sister Andersen relates experiences relating to her husband’s calling as a mission president and later in 2009 as an apostle.  Elder Andersen concludes the meeting by describing his calling as an apostle, teaching  about the fruits of the spirit from Galatians 5:2, sharing insights about sharing the gospel, and teaching and testifying about Jesus Christ.

I cannot adequately describe the depth of feeling when an apostle of the Lord testifies of the Savior, and you know that he really is a special witness of the Savior because he testifies and witnesses in such a profound and inspiring way that you know that he knows that the Savior lives and has been blessed with sacred experiences in acquiring that knowledge.  At the end of his testimony he says to the congregation, “I love you”.  When I respond back like the others and say “We love you”, the spirit is very strong as I receive a personal witness that Neil A. Anderson is indeed an apostle of the Lord, a prophet, seer and revelator.

That evening we travel from the church by bus, metro and tram with other missionaries to a large assembly hall where hundreds of members from the Lyon area gather to hear Elder Andersen speak.  We are very pleased when our amie (friend), Hermine from Gabon, comes to the meeting and we have the blessing of sharing the experience with her of hearing an apostle of the Lord speak.  This time the meeting is conducted in French with translation into English.  The Lyon stake president conducts the meeting and also shares experiences with Elder and Sister Andersen as a young single adult in Bordeaux twenty years ago while Elder Andersen served as a mission president.  Elder Kearon requires a translator as he speaks about the symbol of roses.  Sister Andersen speaks in French and shares experiences and teaches about tithing.  Elder Andersen speaks in French about marriage and the family and the theme taken from the New Testament, “I was blind, now I can see”.  He teaches and testifies about the Savior and bestows an apostolic blessing on the audience.  After the meeting he graciously stays to shake hands with the members and amis of the church including our amie, Hermine.  We hear later that Elder Andersen traveled to give blessings to two sick children in hospitals after leaving the meeting.  We return home knowing that we have been blessed with a memorable, life changing experience.

NOS PETITS-ENFANTS

During the April 2010 conference, Elder Andersen gave a talk with the title, “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus”.  He quoted words from the Primary song:  Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear, Things I would ask him to tell me if he were here.  Then he talked about experiences of Jesus Christ just like he did with us during our Tuesday meetings.  I encourage you to read this talk again and encourage your parents to use it as a theme for a home evening lesson.  Grandma and Grandpa are reading a special book about Jesus:  Jesus the Christ by a former apostle, James E. Talmage.  We encourage everyone at the right age level to understand it to read or reread this marvelous book.

When reading and being taught about the stories of Jesus, you probably remember stories that include his apostles like Peter, James and John.  I believe that even though our current apostles including Elder Andersen were not with Jesus in Galilee and Jerusalem, they are so close to him through the sacred and spiritual experiences of their ministry that their desire to serve, their spiritual strength, their priesthood power and their testimonies of the Savior are just as strong as the ancient apostles.       

   

LETTRE VINGT-ET-UN POUR LE 06 NOVEMBRE 2012

Last Saturday, we hopped on the metro at our closest station, Garabaldi, and got off two stops later at Montplaisir-Lumière (Light) to visit a museum that tells the story of two brothers with the same last name of the metro stop, Louis and Auguste Lumière who Rick Steves calls the Eastman-Kodaks of France.  The home of their father, Antoine, has been transformed into the museum.  The brothers ran a huge factory on that site that produced four million glass photographic plates a day during the 1880s.  In 1895, they made the first cinématographe, or movie.  In 1903 they pioneered the “autochrome” process of painting frames to make “color photos”.  In the early 1900s they sent photographers all over the world to film and take photos of people and their surroundings in many countries.

Since the last transfer, our Villeurbanne District has become more international.  We noticed this during our district meeting last Thursday.  Elder Tromeur who comes from Como near Milan, Italy is now the companion of Elder Sopi who comes from a city near Paris.  Many of you may remember that my sister Jeri served a mission in Italy with headquarters in Milan.  Elder Bennallack who is from Australia stayed in Lyon and has a new companion, Elder Wulfenstein.  No, he is not from Germany or Austria, but from St. George, Utah.  We have a new area that was opened this transfer added to our district which is Corsica, the island in the Mediterranean.  The two missionaries now residing there are Elder Prunin from Nimes, France and Elder Gouttin from Bailluel France.  They participated in our meeting through a conference call.  You may have guessed by now that our meeting was conducted in French.  This was harder for Sister Jeppson to understand, but she still added wisdom and inspiration to the meeting with her comments.

We were very pleased last Sunday with the opportunity to associate with amies (friends) who continue to attend church meetings.  Our amie from Gabon returned from Spain and attended church meetings at the Ecully Ward building.  She called me on Saturday evening to let me know she had returned.  We will be supporting the missionaries when they teach her this Thursday.  Also, Yan our amie from China attended church meetings with us at the Villeurbanne Ward location.  She gave a closing prayer at the end of our Sunday School class. The missionaries are helping her to gain a greater understanding of Jesus Christ.  Sister Jeppson has a genuine way of letting people like her feel special and loved.

Today, the office missionaries and assistants met with President Roney to discuss plans for the visit of Elder Neil L. Andersen, one of the twelve apostles of the church.  He and his wife will speak in a stake conference meeting in Bordeaux, France where he served as mission president several years ago.  He also served as a young missionary in France.  He will then meet with missionaries from three mission zones during a two hour meeting in the afternoon.  He will come to Lyon on Tuesday and meet with the  rest of the missionaries in our mission area in the afternoon and then he and his wife will speak during a meeting with members and friends of the church in the area that evening.  We are preparing our hearts and minds for this special occasion by reading his conference talks since being called to serve as an apostle in 2009.

 NOS PETITS-ENFANTS

We mentioned earlier that we visited the Lumière Museum.  You may remember that Lumière was the name of the candle stick character in Beauty and the Beast.  Lumière is the beautiful and meaningful French word for “light”.  The Lumière family placed special symbols of light in their home including a rooster at the head of a staircase that welcomes the light of a new day as well as using decorations of stars and sunflowers.  While we were at the museum, I thought of a scripture about light from the Doctrine & Covenants.  After finishing reading the Book of Mormon, Grandma and I are reading ten pages in the Doctrine & Covenants in French while listening to it in English.  We read Section 50 verse 34 that evening, the scripture that I had thought about at the museum:  “That which is of God is Light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light growth brighter and brighter until the perfect day”.  I encourage us to continue in God and receive more light by praying, living the commandments, serving others and reading the scriptures and the messages of our current prophet and apostles.  I encourage you to join us in reading the talks of Elder Andersen and using one as the theme of your family home evening lesson next Monday evening, the day before he meets with us here in Lyon.  

LETTRE VINGT POUR LE 27 OCTOBRE 2012

In 1856, the Lyon city planners purchased a large farm called the Tete d’Or (Head of Gold) by the Rhone River and created a large park where  residents of the city could relax and enjoy walking and other activities in a spacious area that is one of the largest urban parks in Europe.  The park displays a variety of attractions including a roseraie (rose garden) with 70,000 plants and 350 varieties of roses and a jardin zoologique (zoo).  A large modern community center, the Cité Internationale  comprised of buildings that contain offices, hotels, restaurants, theaters,  lodgings and a large amphitheater that seats 3,000 people called the Palais des Congrès (constructed in 2006) lies between the park  the Rhone River.  I wish that we had pictures to accompany this narrative.  Unfortunately, this is one of the places in Lyon that we should have visited when flowers were at their peak of blooming.  

Last Sunday, Sister Jeppson and I attended the Lyon Stake Conference meeting at the Palais de Congrès near the park.  We traveled by metro and a bus and arrived early enough to find a seat in the front.  I enjoyed watching members and amis of the church enter and come close to filling about  80% of the amphitheater.  The stake covers a large area surrounding Lyon that includes the wards of Villeurbanne, Ecully and Gerland in the metropolitan Lyon area and wards located in the cities of Grenoble, Valence,  Clermont-Ferrand, and St. Etienne (a city where I served as a young missionary). 

The Lyon stake president, President Bennasar, and his two counselors spoke along with President and Sister Roney , and some other members of the stake including some recent converts.  Sister Jeppson remarked that she now knew a new definition of hope.  It is for her to bring paper and a pen for taking notes when talks are given in French.  I was inspired and uplifted by the music and talks.  We noticed today that President Bennasar is featured on the French version of Mormon. Org.   He is an impressive and relatively young leader, probably in his 40’s.

We enjoyed the opportunity of welcoming nine new missionaries this past week, including four sister missionaries and five elders.  Our plans for Tuesday where suddenly changed  when we received word at the office by someone in the church travel office that the missionaries had missed their plane and would arrive at around 6:00 p.m. instead of 11:15 a.m.  We were at the office discussing how we would adjust our plans when President Roney received a call from one of the sister missionaries at about 11:30 a.m.   who was at the Lyon airport wondering if anyone was going to meet them and provide transportation.  The plane had waited for them even though they were late.

We all sprang into action.  President Roney, the office elders and the elders who are the assistants to the president quickly prepared to head to the airport while Sister Jeppson and I assembled some sack lunches that we thought wouldn’t  be needed.  Our activities almost continued as planned  through the rest of the day.  Sister Jeppson and I met the new missionaries and those that picked them up at the airport at the large hill by the Fourviere Cathedral that overlooks Lyon.  Sister Jeppson took each of the new missionaries’ pictures with the city of Lyon in the background which is becoming a mission tradition.

We traveled to the mission home where the missionaries managed to stay somewhat alert by playing “Around the World” ping pong while waiting for a delicious meal prepared by Sister Roney.  While at the mission home, one of the office elders became aware that the airlines was in the process of sending the missionaries’ luggage back to the states because it hadn’t followed them on their almost missed flight.  They worked things out and picked up their luggage at the airport and delivered it to each missionary’s hotel room around 10:30 p.m. that evening.  While they were working on that problem, Sister Jeppson worked at the office to email the pictures from Fourviere Hill and pictures taken with President and Sister Roney at the mission home to parents in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Florida, Quebec and Denmark who were anxious to hear about their missionaries.

The next morning, the missionaries came to the office, met their trainers, learned where their first homes in France would be, received training and headed to their new locations in Bordeaux, Valence, Dijon, Chalon, Montpellier, Aix-en-Provence, Gap, Toulouse and Annemasse.  While they were traveling to their new cities, two of our experienced native French elders, Elder Gouttin and Elder Prunin began an historic event for the mission traveling to open up the island of Corsica to missionary work again and lend support to the small branch of Bastia.

Nos Petits-Enfants

We were inspired by the music at a recent fireside at the Villeurbanne Ward.  The hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, was performed by three young adult musicians playing the piano and violins.  Later in the meeting President Roney played the same hymn as sung by the Tabernacle Choir during his talk.  During the music, we felt the spirit strongly because we know that our family is truly one of the great blessings of our life.  We have attached excerpts from a talk by a German general authority of several years ago, Elder Enzio Busche, given to us in district meeting.  Parents: this talk would make a great family night lesson.

** ELDER BUSCHE'S TALK ("Unleashing the Dormant Spirit"):

•  When we are filled with the Holy Spirit we will not sin. We will be filled with wisdom, and we will be able to have the fruits to heal the wounds of the afflicted and to build a community of Saints. It is also obvious that without constant efforts, it will be very difficult to always be focused on our most righteous desires. Therefore, I want to share with you a vehicle, an instrument, that I developed some time ago for myself and for my family. It can assist us to reach our focus as we read the suggested vision of true discipleship as a Latter-day Saint. It helps when, from time to time, we ponder and seek identification with the following thoughts:
• * Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks. The covenant with God to which you are true enables you to become enlightened by him, and nothing is impossible for you.
• * When you are physically sick, tired, or in despair, steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them, in gratitude and love, toward God.
• * In your life there have to be challenges. They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make you stronger, or they can destroy you. But you make the decision of which road you take.
• * First and foremost, you are a spirit child of God. If you neglect to feed your spirit, you will reap unhappiness. Don't permit anything to detract you from this awareness.
• * You cannot communicate with God unless you have first sacrificed your self-oriented natural man and have brought yourself into the lower levels of meekness, to become acceptable for the Light of Christ.
• * Put all frustrations, hurt feelings, and grumblings into the perspective of your eternal hope. Light will flow into your soul.
• * Pause to ponder the suffering Christ felt in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the awareness of the depth of gratitude for him, you appreciate every opportunity to show your love for him by diligently serving in his Church.
• * God knows that you are not perfect. As you suffer about your imperfections, he will give you comfort and suggestions of where to improve.
• * God knows better than you what you need. He always attempts to speak to you. Listen, and follow the uncomfortable suggestions that he makes to us—everything will fall into its place.
• * Avoid any fear like your worst enemy, but magnify your fear about the consequences of sin.
• * When you cannot love someone, look into that person's eyes long enough to find the hidden rudiments of the child of God in him.
• * Never judge anyone. When you accept this, you will be freed. In the case of your own children or subordinates, where you have the responsibility to judge, help them to become their own judges.
• * If someone hurts you so much that your feelings seem to choke you, forgive and you will be free again.
• * Avoid at all cost any pessimistic, negative, or criticizing thoughts. If you cannot cut them out, they will do you harm. On the road toward salvation, let questions arise but never doubts. If something is wrong, God will give you clarity but never doubts.
• * Avoid rush and haste and uncontrolled words. Divine light develops in places of peace and quiet. Be aware of that as you enter places of worship.
• * Be not so much concerned about what you do, but do what you do with all your heart, might, and strength. In thoroughness is satisfaction.
• * You want to be good and to do good. That is commendable. But the greatest achievement that can be reached in our lives is to be under the complete influence of the Holy Ghost. Then he will teach us what is really good and necessary to do.
• * The pain of sacrifice lasts only one moment. It is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes you hesitate to do it.
• * Be grateful for every opportunity to serve. It helps you more than those you serve.
• * And finally, when you are compelled to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now. But know also that, as you are learning this lesson, God wants to give you something better.

LETTRE DIX-NEUF POUR LE 14 OCTOBRE 2012

 We loved the opportunity to watch general conference at the Ecully chapel with the missionaries and members and be taught and uplifted by our general authorities.  Our schedule for watching general conference included the rebroadcast Woman’s Relief Society Conference on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and the live Saturday morning general conference session at 6:00 p.m.  On Sunday, the Priesthood session was rebroadcast at 11:00 a.m. with the Saturday afternoon session being rebroadcast at 2:00 p.m.   We then watched the live broadcast of the Sunday morning session at 6 p.m. and returned home to watch the Sunday afternoon session live at 10:00 p.m.  There were many powerful talks.  I was especially inspired by Elder Holland’s talk during the Sunday morning session.  If you missed any sessions, I encourage you to watch them on lds.org.

We have continued on the path of helping to teach the truth of the gospel to our amie (friend), Hermine, from Gabon in Africa who we mentioned in our last letter.  She is a remarkable woman who already has a strong belief in Jesus Christ and the Bible.  She lives within the boundaries of the Ecully Ward and came to church meetings there on Sunday two weeks ago and today.  We attended that ward’s meetings instead of the Villeurbanne Ward so that we could be there with her.  I am impressed with how well she sings the cantiques (hymns) that she is singing for the first time.  She is building friendships with the members of the ward including a sister in the ward from her country.

Guy, with the missionaries

Last Wednesday evening, we supported the Ecully Ward missionaries from Canada (Elder Stanford) and Texas (Elder Blythe) while they taught Hermine the first lesson from Preach My Gospel about the apostasy, restoration and the Book of Mormon.  We felt the spirit during our discussion, and she participated  well because of her belief in Jesus Christ, her knowledge of the Bible, her belief in prayer and her desire to learn.  She also attended the baptismal service yesterday evening of Guy, an ami from our Villeurbanne ward who is from the Congo.  Frère Carré, a member of the Villeurbanne ward gave a well prepared talk on baptism and the Holy Ghost that helped Hermine to understand those principles better. 

Nos Petits-Enfants

Our message to our grandchildren is about two symbols that we saw at the Gallo-Roman Museum several weeks ago:  a sword and metal helmet.  The sword was used by the Romans while fighting their battles and the helmet was for protection.  Many of you will remember the Disney movie of Hercules who was a hero to the Greek people.  The two small figures of Hercules were toys for the children to play with. They were the original super hero play figures.  During one of the general conference sessions, the congregation sang the hymn:  Let Us All Press On.  The hymn includes the words:  “In the fight for right let us wield a sword, the mighty sword of truth”.  In the scriptures, the sword is a symbol of truth.  The truth of the gospel is what we as missionaries are preaching to the people in France and Switzerland.  We encourage you to study the truth of the gospel that is found in the scriptures, in church magazines, at church web sites and in conference talks like we heard recently at general conference as spoken by real heroes:  our prophet, apostles and general authorities.  Please follow the message of our prophet and many other general authorities and  prepare for missionary service which can now come at an earlier age.

LETTRE DIX-HUIT POUR LE 26 SEPTEMBRE 2012

Where would you find a place where the Pope of Avignon, Jean XXII was consecrated in the 14^th century; King Henry IV married Marie de Médicis in 1600 and an astronomical clock that was crafted during the 14^th century and still operates today with figures that move around and one plays a religious song? If you answered the St. Jean Cathedral in Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon) that was constructed beginning in the 12^th century and finished 200 years later in the 14^th century you would be correct.  We experienced that history when we visited the cathedral a little over three weeks ago.

Where would you find fifteen tired young adults from France, Belgium, Canada (2), Texas, New Jersey, California, Arizona, Wyoming and Utah (6) who traveled all night and early morning, stood for individual pictures by mission photographer, Sister Jeppson, on a hill above the St. Jean Cathedral; and then that evening would stand around a baby grand piano (well most of them anyway) at the home of their mission president and sing hymns accompanied by a Belgian missionary that didn’t need music to play with virtuosity any hymn that was chosen?  If you answered our September Transfer Missionaries:  13 elders and 2 sisters, you would be correct.  We were blessed to get acquainted with their enthusiasm and their testimonies and keep two of them in Lyon while thirteen others traveled with their new trainers to cities in France and Switzerland.

Where would you go to feel the spirit strongly among a group of missionaries and be taught by an inspired mission president, his wife, 2 assistants and 2 zone leaders as they presented a message focused on Jesus Christ and prayer and encouraged us to be part of the Miracle of bringing the people of France unto the  Savior and helping them find lasting peace and happiness as they join His church that was restored a little over 180 years ago,  not quite as long as it took to complete St. Jean’s cathedral?  If you answered the Lyon Zone Conference, you would be correct.  During the zone conference, President Roney encouraged us to be obedient, show love, exercise mighty prayer and trust in the Lord to achieve that Miracle.

Nos Petits-Enfants

We believe that Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, with the help of angels can guide us to be instruments in their hands to achieve the Miracle of bringing people to Jesus through our faith and prayers and the guidance of the spirit and helping them to be happy because they come to learn about Jesus and become members of his church by being baptized and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  We have been asked by our mission president do be united in prayer for this Miracle to happen.  We ask you and your moms and dads and anyone reading this letter to join us in prayer by not only praying for us but praying specifically for the missionaries and our success of bringing the gospel of peace and happiness to the people of the France Lyon Mission.

Just today, one day after the zone conference, we witnessed an answer to our united prayers when a woman who arrived in France just a little over a month ago from Gabon in Africa came to our office saying that she was looking for a church that worships Jesus Christ.  Sister Jeppson and I were happy to briefly teach her that our church was the restored Church of Jesus Christ and that we believed Jesus Christ and in the Bible like she did, but also believed in another book of scripture that testifies of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon.  We gave her a DVD about Jesus Christ and a copy of the Book of Mormon and the address of our church building and meeting time.  She gave us her name, address, and telephone number and indicated interest in having the missionaries contact her and her husband to learn more.  

LETTRE DIX-SEPT POUR LE 13 SEPTEMBRE 2012

In the last letter I mentioned our visit to Lyon’s Gallo-Roman Museum which is constructed in a hillside above the city of Lyon with views of the ruins of two Roman theaters outside.  The largest Roman theater seated 10,000 during its glory years.  The artifacts inside the museum are well organized and displayed in chronological order on four floors.  We were provided with English speaking headphones that explained many of the exhibits in an interesting way to supplement the displays with explanations in French and English.  Most of the artifacts were found locally including an unusual bronze chariot that dates from the seventh century B.C.

At the end of August, Elder Teixeira from Portugal, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and the Europe area president, and his wife toured our mission and spoke to the missionaries along with President and Sister Roney at three zone conferences in France at the cities of Lyon, Bordeaux and Aix-en Provence.  They stopped by to see our mission office the day before the Lyon Zone Conference, and Sister Jeppson and I were able to meet Elder Teixeira and his wife and speak briefly with them.  President Roney went out of his way to praise the extraordinary work of Sister Jeppson in the office.

We learned from and were inspired by the messages of Elder and Sister Teixeira and President and Sister Roney and the Lyon Stake President during the zone conference in Lyon.  Sister Teixeira challenged all of the missionaries to read the Book of Mormon during the next two months.  Sister Jeppson and I are going to achieve that goal.  We read at least ten pages in the Book of Mormon in French every day while listening in English.  We have reached Chapter 13 in Mosiah to this point.  During the zone conference meeting, one of the hymns that President Roney chose for us to sing was Angels We Have Heard on High.  He said that it is not just a Christmas song because it is about Jesus and should be sung at other times besides during the Christmas holidays.  I was especially touched while we sang that song and felt that Grandma Jeppson could be present and singing with us.  She was really enjoying the Glorias.

Recently, the Elders in our district organized a date night and invited couples in our ward to attend.  The main purpose was to fellowship a couple that they are teaching.  Four couples including Sister Jeppson and I were able to participate in an evening during which the Elders cooked and served the dinner and then taught us how to waltz.

Nos Petits-Enfants

A few weeks before celebrating Grandma Bagley’s birthday, I had the opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting in French at the Villeurbanne Ward and describe her story of meeting Grandpa Bagley in Kansas City, Missouri and her being touched by the spirit while listening to general conference that led to her baptism and becoming a member of the church in Star Valley ( La Vallée de l’Etoile), Wyoming at the age of 25.  She has demonstrated a depth of faith, testimony and perseverance through many challenges in her life that has been a great example to all of us.  I encourage all of us to honor her and follow her example as we strive to live the gospel in our lives.

LETTRE SEIZE POUR LE 28 AOUT 2012

 We are finally getting better acquainted with our city of Lyon.  Lyon was founded as Lugdunum in A.D. 43.  It was a critical transportation hub for the administration of Roman Gaul.  The city became the central metropolis of the Three Gauls---the integrated Roman provinces of Aquitiania (Aquitaine), Belgica  (Belgium) and Lugdunensis (Lyon Region).  Two Roman emperors were born in Lugdunum.  Last Saturday we visited some major Roman ruins (two outdoor Roman theaters) and a well organized and highly interesting Gallo-Roman museum that displays artifacts of ancient Lyon and surrounding locations.  I will write more about the museum in the next letter.

The ruins and the museum are located on Fourvière Hill which displays a dominating view of the Baslique Notre-Dame de Fourvière.  The construction of the cathedral began in 1872 and was completed at the beginning of World War I.  We caught the métro at our closest stop called Garbaldi and traveled past three metro stops to arrive at the Vieux Lyon stop.  From there we caught a funicular train that transported us up the hill.  When we got off the funicular and climbed up the stairs, we found ourselves right in front of and gazing up at the imposing view of the cathedral.  It took about thirty minutes to get there.  When we entered the cathedral we discovered elaborate mosaics on the walls that depict various religious events that took place in France with an emphasis on their view of the role of the Virgin Mary in these events.

In back of the cathedral we gazed out at the panoramic view of the city of Lyon and its two rivers, the Saone and the Rhone.  Of course the crayon building as it is called by the French dominates the view of the city.  We could also see the most famous “Place” (large square or park) in Lyon called Place Bellecour where there is a large bronze statue of King Louis XIV on horseback.  We celebrated our 44^th wedding anniversary by eating at a restaurant called PizzaPino located at one corner of the “Place” a few weeks ago.

We are fortunate to have good accessible public transportation since we are not driving our car right now because my wallet was stolen and I lost my driver’s license, some euros, and some credit cards that we are in the process of replacing.  Replacing my driver’s license is becoming a little complicated because I need my signature on forms sent by the state of Utah notarized.  The Notary process is more complicated in France especially when almost everyone takes off for three weeks of vacation in August.

A new couple, the Greens from the Salt Lake City area, arrived a week ago.  They replaced another couple and will direct the young adult activities for the Lyon Stake.  There is a building near our office where the young adults gather for activities and institute classes.  All of the couples from our mission traveled to Lyon for an afternoon conference last Friday at the office.  Six couples direct young adult activities in the cities of Geneva and Yverdon in Switzerland and the cities of Lyon, Toulouse, Nice and Marseille in France.  Two other couples serve in Member and Leadership Support roles.  I had not yet met two of the couples.  We enjoyed getting better acquainted and felt the Spirit of the Lord during our meetings as the couples shared ideas and discussed some of their experiences.

 Nos Petits-Enfants

On Sunday, I spoke for a while with Yan, a university student from China.  She will start school next week.  She is an amie (friend) who is being taught by the missionaries.  She told me that she is very impressed with our church’s teachings about the family and our family values.  She is the only child in her family.  Her parents live in central China.  I told her about brothers-in-law and sisters who have some connections to China through their experiences there.  She was very interested to learn about our family.  We are very blessed to have a close knit family that enjoys doing things together as demonstrated by all of the activities that took place while Liz was in town.  Many of our grandchildren have begun or will begin soon a new year of school.  Some of our children or their spouses will experience a new year of teaching.  Please study hard and take advantage of this wonderful learning opportunity.  During this time, it is also important to remember the words from the primary song, I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus.

Love, Grandma and Grandpa Jeppson      

LETTRE QUINZE POUR LE 2 AOÛT 2012

What is the significance of Place BirHakeim?  It is a park three blocks from our office where there is a monument containing glowing words from the main general of the French army during the 2^nd World War, Charles De Gaulle, paying tribute to Frenchmen who lost their lives there on June 17, 1942.  He was the President of France when I served in France as a young missionary.   

It was also the location where 26 missionaries gathered last Wednesday.  Thirteen were missionaries that just arrived the day before who represented families and wards in seven states and Canada.  The other thirteen were assigned to be their trainers.  They had come by train from all over our mission area.  Sister Jeppson took a picture of each equipe (missionary team) standing by some trees in the park with the marquee of a French café in the background (Le Grande Café Neuf).  One of the trainers was born in Cambodia.  His family now lives in northern France.  Another impressive trainer is a Navajo from the “Four Corners” area. 

The evening before we gathered with the missionaries and President and Sister Roney and their three boys for dinner at the Mission Home in Ecully about one half hour away from the office.  It was interesting talking with these twelve elders and one sister about their background.  They have a lot of enthusiasm and will become a great strength to the mission.  We really need them since we said goodbye to 26 missionaries the day before.  Two of them were an elder and a sister missionary from northern France.

After this latest transfer, we will be working with a missionary from Kaysville, Utah, Elder Frazier, who will train with his new companion to become the legal secretary.  Another missionary from Vancouver, Canada, Elder Ioannidis (his family is Greek), replaced one of the assistants to the President.  We will see a lot of him because they spend quite a bit of time in the office.  As we became better acquainted, I learned that he sang the Canadian national anthem before one of the major Winter Olympics events in 2010 and also performed with a group during the opening ceremonies.  His sister is currently serving a mission in Hungary.  One of the new zone leaders who will attend our ward is from Australia.

Nos Petits-Enfants
Two young men from our ward, David from Kenya and Johnny (English name) from China joined the church in February and April.  They then received the Aaronic Priesthood and were ordained to the office of priest.  Now they have the opportunity to bless, prepare and pass the sacrament.  Like these two young men, Zachary will receive the Aaronic Priesthood this year also on Sunday and will be ordained to the office of a deacon.  We will miss not being there for his ordination.  He will have the wonderful and sacred opportunity of passing the sacrament every Sunday and helping with the ordinance that allows his ward members to renew their promises with the Savior and Heavenly Father.  He will be a great example for his cousins who will one day receive the priesthood:  Brad, Caleb, Hunter, Noah and Cade.  His dad and Uncle Andy were good examples of servants and priesthood holders when they gave their brother Matt a priesthood blessing this week because of a serious health problem and then stayed to play a game with him and bolster his spirits.   

LETTRE QUATORZE POUR LE 18 JUILLET, 2012

Our blessing of associating with a wonderful group of membres de l’église (members of the church) and amis (friends learning about the church) with backgrounds from different parts of the world continues.  The two missionaries who work in the office with us have been teaching Luisa who is from Columbia.  Some of her family are members of the church.  The missionaries have taught her in French and in her native language Spanish.  One of the missionaries, Elder Escamilla speaks Spanish.  He is from New York City and his family traces back to El Salvador.  She married a French man and moved to Lyon.  They were divorced earlier this year.  Their child, Emilie who is about 14 months old spends time with both parents. 

We attended Luisa’s baptism service on July 7^th 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.

Ecully Chapel

We are now busily helping President and Sister Roney and the Assistants prepare for the next transfer on the 31^st 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. 

LETTRE TREIZE POUR LE 4 JUILLET 2012

Happy 4^th of July.  Our holiday ended well because we were able to Skype with some of our children and grandchildren. 

We have been busily engaged during the past two weeks with taking care of necessary office business before President and Sister Murdock departed for home.  We then focused our attention on welcoming President Roney and his wife and helping them understand their administrative responsibilities.  We also had the opportunity to participate in meetings with them as they met first with the mission leadership and then with missionaries from the Lyon Zone.

President and Sister Roney are from Provo.  They have eight children and four grandchildren.  They have two married children and two children currently serving as missionaries.  One son who just returned from a mission a year ago is spending three weeks here while their three youngest sons who are 11, 12 and 17 will live with them in France and attend school here.  President Roney served a mission in the Toulouse, France mission during the late 70’s.  He founded NuSkin and left his position as chairman of the board to serve as mission president for three years.

President and Sister Roney invited us to the mission home that is located in Ecully, a suburb of Lyon, for dinner on Sunday evening.  We enjoyed seeing the mission home and meeting them for the first time.  They are very friendly and expressed appreciation to us for our service.  We helped them get acclimated to their administrative responsibilities on Monday.  They and two missionary assistants conducted a leadership session with the zone leaders from throughout the mission on Tuesday.  We were invited to participate.  They taught the gospel of Jesus Christ while they presented their vision and plans for the future direction of missionary work in the mission locations where we serve.  They plan to conduct meetings throughout the mission area to present their vision and plans the rest of this week and next week.  President Roney will also interview every missionary during this time. 

Their first zone meeting occurred today for the Lyon Zone.  The Lyon Zone includes missionaries from Lyon, St. Etienne, Grenoble, Valence, Besancon, Dijon,  and Chalon.  They will conduct meetings on Thursday and Friday in the Geneva and Lausanne Zones.  Next week they will conduct meetings in the Nice, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Montpellier Zones.  One of their main themes is that our job on earth is to learn what the Savior taught and obey it.  They gave each missionary a small journal to use in writing down this theme and other main points that they presented.  They also encouraged us to search in the scriptures and Preach My Gospel for sixty major teachings and commandments that the Savior communicated himself or through prophets.  Another major theme centered around the second great commandment of showing love for others.  They asked us to write the things that we learn and related scriptures and stories in our journals.  He said that these journals if used productively will become a precious resource for giving talks and teaching others.

These past two days were very inspirational for us as we participated with President and Sister Roney and the missionaries in being taught the gospel and feeling the spirit.  We know that President and Sister Roney were called by Heavenly Father through a prophet to lead the Mission Francaise de Lyon at this time and that we will be greatly blessed with the opportunity to support them as we go forward in this great work.  We were also excited to hear that an apostle of the Lord, Elder Neil Anderson will visit the mission for a week in November when he comes to speak at the Bordeaux Stake which is in our mission and in the Paris Stake the following week.  He served as a missionary and as a mission president in France and of course speaks French.

I will tell about the kiss/quiche story that we related over Skype today.  When we first arrived at a neighbor’s home for dinner last Friday evening, the sister arose and said what I thought was “quiche” because she told me that is what she was serving.  I translated to Sister Jeppson that same word and that we were going to eat it for dinner.  However, we soon learned that I had misunderstood.  What they really were saying was the English word “kiss” trying to remind Sister Jeppson that French friends will kiss each other on each cheek as a greeting.  Everyone at the dinner got a big laugh out of our misinterpretation of what they were saying.  Then the next Sunday at church, they teased us with the words quiche/kiss as some of them stepped forward to greet Sister Jeppson and kiss her on both cheeks.

Our service here continues to be an international event as we meet people from different countries.  A week ago we met an “amie de l’eglise” (someone learning about the church) from a city near Bejing, China at a showing of the movie Seventeen Miracles on Friday and at church meetings on Sunday.  She had been invited to these meetings by a member of the ward who is a Chinese student that was baptized in April.  During these events, we learned that this Chinese “amie” travels to the church building to and from the same metro (subway) stop that Sister Jeppson and I use.  At the end of each meeting, we had the opportunity to walk with her and ride the metro together.  This gave us the opportunity to get better acquainted and discuss the gospel.  She has been studying French for sixteen months in Lyon and has applied for graduate school.  She seems very interested in BYU.

NOS PETITS-ENFANTS

Earlier in this letter I mentioned an important thing that our new mission president taught us:  “Our job on earth is to learn what the Savior taught and obey it.”  He mentioned that there are 60 commandments and teachings that the Savior communicated himself in the scriptures or through prophets and asked us to write them in a journal that he gave us.  With the help of your parents, we encourage you to discuss this in family home evening and communicate to us by e-mail some of those commandments and teachings that you would recommend to us to study and write in our journals.  Our mission president suggested one resource for this search of 3 Nephi 11 in the Book of Mormon which relates what Jesus taught when He appeared to the people on the American continent after his resurrection.  He also recommended the resource of “Preach My Gospel”.  We love you.