Week 17 Travelling and a Challenge

Hello all,

The last few weeks have been busy with travels, including this past week down to Paris for zone conference.

Zone conference was fun. Spiritually refreshing. It's always fun to go see Paris, even if just for a little bit. A few of the experienced missionaries and the AP's (we have an AP trio right now) gave presentations. The missionaries going home bore testimony. President and Sister Babin gave their lovely presentations as well. Then we went and ate pizza. They had ordered a bunch from Dominos I believe. It was very good and a nice break from the subway subs they had used in previous Paris trips. The cheese one was particularly good I thought. Missionaries went off contacting around a big Book of Mormon sign. Then we had a mad sprint through the train station to catch our train.

A couple of weeks ago I had a trip down to Paris for my legalities--is is a process of a short medical review and paperwork so that my stay in France will be legal.  All of the missionaries who arrive on the same day in France go and do their legalities on the same day, so I essentially got to have a little reunion with all the MTC buddies. Everyone took turns talking about their companions and the challenge of the language and stories about experiences with people,  It was nice to hear how they are all doing and see pictures of their cities and hear about their amis [investigators]. The actual medical part was mostly waiting. A wee urine sample. Pun. An X-ray. Looking sufficiently confused at nurses until they repeat whatever they had just asked me to do.

A couple of Sundays ago, we had stake conference.  It was held in a rented opera house thing right next to Versailles. We parked in the Versailles parking lot. Two members of the Quorum of the Seventy came and spoke. You could tell what members of the audience understood English because when they would tell a joke there where two ripples of laughter: the initial response and then the one from the translation shortly after. It was very nice. All kinds of inspiring. It really got me fired up for the work again. There was a particularly beautiful choir number. They changed up the stake presidency so the old ones and the new ones all bore testimony. I got to see two of the old MTC buddies again on that trip too.  Also on that trip, I got to see where the temple is being built.  Very cool!

As a Preach My Gospel Missionary I am supposed to engage people. There's a cycle: ask a direct commitment, talk about the blessings that can come into our lives, and then testify. So all cheese aside I'm going to do that. I'd like to invite you  to search and pray for a missionary opportunity. I promise that in sharing the gospel with someone you know, that you will find that your own personal testimony will be strengthened and that of your family. I promise that the Lord will provide you with the help required. I have seen this gospel change lives here on my mission. It has changed my life. It is the very reason we exist on this earth. It is our right as human beings to hear this gospel and I extend now the invitation for you and your family to play a role as the Lords instruments. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Elder Hacker