20 septembre 2009 (Day 20)
Church was really good today. I ended up meeting up with several other members and all four missionaries on the tram, so we were quite the parade this morning all dressed up. I got fantastic French kisses like always when I got to church. My mind was wandering a little in Relief Society, but I understood pretty much all of the other lessons. In Relief Society I was thinking a lot about how differently they view the church here. It is really interesting. I don’t really know how to explain it; they are a lot more liberal in a sense and don’t always give the “Sunday School” answers. We talked about the Salt Lake Temple today in Sunday School. To them, the pioneers, the Salt Lake Temple, it is all such a distant event and place, almost like a dream. For them it was superb if they have even been to the temple once. It made me realize how much more we do really need to take advantage of being so close to the temple. A cute young man gave a talk on the ‘Strength For Youth’ packet and one of the Elders spoke. It made me feel better than his French accent stunk like smelly cheese.
After church I talked with the Elders, my friend Isabel from England (who is Spanish and proud of it), and a man named Phillip. He is friends with a member and Phillip has a friend who wants English lessons, so I am probably going to do that! It should be an exciting, worthwhile adventure. I am starting to think that I am going to need to get a phone while here in France.
I went back to the church for a rebroadcast of Sister Elaine S. Dalton’s talk. I was late because I missed the tram and then the next tram was late. But what I did catch of her talk was superb. I got to listen to it in English which was nice and afterwards I got a ride home (partway at least) with a member. They are all so nice here. Some of them are quite hilarious as well. I talked to a girl who got back pretty recently from her mission and this is her crazy story: her now husband proposed to her BEFORE he went on his mission. He waited to go so they went out about the same time and then they got married FOURTEEN days after she got back. Zoinks!
