Bonjour friends,
France has been quite the adventure so far! It's a strange feeling being in another country - especially when the only language you hear is french. If you want to know how im managing you can watch the movie The Best Two Years - I am the new missionary trying to learn his language and understand the people.
My plane ride was 10 hours and I slept for 8 of those hours. When we landed, we were greeted by my mission president and his wife, President Babin and Sœur Babin. We were then driven to the mission office and president started interviews with the missionaries, those who were not interviewed had the opportunity to go try and talk with the people of France. I got rejected by everyone! It was fun though, I had no idea what they were saying and they had no idea what I was saying! After that we went back to the mission office and had lunch - I had my first French baguette and it was tasty. After lunch we went to the mission home, where president and his wife live, and they let us relax for the rest of the night - I fell asleep lounging in the sun, which was so relaxing. Sister Babin made us lasagna for dinner and then we had some french dessert, but it was chocolate, so sister Babin gave me some ice cream with strawberries - that tasted so good after 6 weeks in the mtc. Everyone went to bed after that and they all slept wonderfully - except me. There was an Elder snoring like a lawn mower the entire night, but I persevered.
The next day the assistants to the president took us to a spot called consecration hill. It overlooks all of Paris and is just a really peaceful spot. We had a few minutes to just write In our journals and decide the type of missionaries we want to be. It was a really nice moment for me because I received the peace I had been searching for, which is still helping me now. I was worried about the language, the work, cooking, all kinds of stuff and I just felt that everything would be ok. It was a nice personal revelation moment for me. On the way back I was talking with one of the assistants, who asked how I was feeling, so I told him everything and one of the things I said how I had been praying about the missionary who would train me, since December. He thought that was interesting because he told me that when they were choosing trainers for the new missionaries, my trainer was the first one picked and they felt that it was the right pick for me instantly. After that we found out who our trainers were and where we would be serving.
My trainer is Elder Walton and we are in Caen, France right now. Caen is a nice little city with a good amount of people, who aren't in a rush like the Parisians. My trainer is from Utah, he has 2 months left on his mission and is fluent in French. He is focused and knows everything about the mission and he also knows how to cook.
My thoughts on France so far -
-Everyone smokes. You pretty much smell cigarettes all the time and there are hundreds of smoked ones on the ground outside. Hopefully I don't come home with cancer.
-These guys know their style. Basically, it's either skinny clothes or nothing. The suits here look so niceee. My companion also told me that twice a year there is a country wide sale where everything in stores goes on sale, starting at 40% off and continues for a few weeks and goes up to 80% off. It happens in June and January. It's pretty awesome.
-Most people aren't interested in religion. They either don't have time to talk or they are another religion and aren't interested in changing. It's ok though, I know there are people out there who are prepared to hear the message of the restored gospel, we just have to find them!
I'm so tired all the time. We walk 8-10 miles a day, and do a lot of talking. It's ok though, the work is hard but I am learning to love it. If I could understand what anyone is saying that would be great.
I had dinner with a member and it was rough - for me. Everything we ate was everything I detest. We had raw ham, don't like ham, we had brie cheese, not a big fan, and we had salad, which I do like, but it had vinegar on it which I hate. I persevered though and finished the meal, but it was a trying few minutes.
We are teaching an investigator named Maud, who is an elderly woman. She loves geneology and has been working with some of the members at our geneology building. My companion, Elder Walton, and I were teaching her about the temple and family history and when we showed her a picture of the Paris temple she told us that she had seen that building in a dream. She told us how she had already made a reservation to see it, during the open house! What a miracle! She also told us how she hadn't been taking her pain medication for two weeks because she had received a priesthood blessing which got rid of all the pain she was experiencing. How cool is that!?
I have to admit I feel pretty clueless in France. I don't understand anything anyone is saying! I now understand a little bit of what people mean when they say missions are difficuot, but I'm fine with it! I am learning so much and I am grateful for these learning experiences because they are helping me learn so much.
Fun facts about France that I have noticed:
-Kleenex makes toilet paper and paper towels here.
-Water fountains don't exist
-Light switches for the bathroom are outside the bathroom
-the toilet has its own room
-Most of the cars you see here are BMWs, mercedes, Audis, and a lot of Nissan jukes. Oh and mopeds are everywhere.
I will see you all next week!
Elder Molinari
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