LDS Missionary: France Paris Mission

The War

Alençon turned out to be quite a trial. Elder McQuay and I were constantly out looking for people ready to hear the gospel, but there wasn't any success. Weekly planning and daily planning were almost pointless every time because it was just a reminder that we had nothing going on.

The only things that broke up the monotony was district meeting every Tuesday and church on Sundays. Exchanges were nice, but few because the Coutances area was closed, so Elder Walker and Elder Gull were no longer in the district. Elder Zimmerman was replaced by Elder Holcombe, who reminded me of Dax Shephard from "Employee of the Month" and "Without a Paddle."

Elder Draleau also left Cherbourg for the office to become the new accountant. He was replaced by Elder Paul, who seemed really cool. He and Elder Hoopes were in the same group and were finding people and seeing miracles like crazy in Cherbourg, which made Elder McQuay and I feel even worse.

I felt like I was slowly dying inside with nothing but finding in our planners. Elder McQuay and I were nothing alike. He was in band, likes classical music, and didn't watch many movies with a rating higher than PG. I loved sports, loved watching and quoting movies, and a lot of music.

"I watched football one time," Elder McQuay admitted to me one day. "It was a bowl game for BYU. They were playing Oregon or UCLA or someone like that. My family and I watched it because my brother was in the drumline at BYU and was part of the halftime show. We were disappointed though because they didn't show the halftime show, it was just guys talking about the game."

"Yeah, that's kind of what they do for halftime. The only halftime show they ever really show is during the Super Bowl," I replied with a laugh.

Quoting movies came with funny looks from Elder McQuay, so I would just try avoiding them, which was difficult because that is how I talked normally. The only two movies Elder McQuay understood were "Princess Bride" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl." These two movies were good because I had seen both of them so many times, I basically could quote them word for word.

Sundays were nice because we got to see the members and they were always so nice. The Boixel sisters always brought us random items or food. They were becoming somewhat of a haven for me as they spoke both French (being French) and English. President Oliver and his wife were also another great couple people we counted on, but felt like we were letting down because of the lack of work in the city.

The branch was looking to get another building, which would allow some of the elderly members to come to church because of the accessibility issues of climbing stairs. At the moment, the branch met in an apartment building, or so it seemed, right in the middle of Centre Ville. It was a nice area, but didn't have an elevator, so elderly members without the chance to walk upstairs weren't able to attend. The new building wasn't finished being built yet, but it was its own building and felt more like a chapel, but it was a lot further from Ville.

This particular Sunday, was a combined Elder's Quorum and Relief Society. Generally, it was taught by the Bishopric, or in Alençon's case, the Branch Presidency.

"Bienvenue à l'Église," President Oliver started. He always spoke so fast in English and in French, I struggled to understand him, but I was getting better. "I will be teaching the lesson today. I wanted to talk about member missionary work."