December 29, 2010

Hey family, how is everything going? Did everyone have a great Christmas? I hope that you all did and that you all had a fun time. Well, Christmas for me was great. A family invited us over to their house and the cool part is they live right on the beach. So, Elder Gull and I went to the beach for a little bit and got to check it out. It was pretty cool. The weather was nice so we got to see out a ways, but it was cold, very cold. Then we had lunch at their house and it was pretty cool. Well, that was our Christmas. After, we went home and had the best part of the day. Calling home and talking with the family. It was great to call and talk to you. I am glad everything is going great and it was great to hear your voices. It really was the best part of my Christmas. Well, New Years is coming up so HAPPY NEW YEARS! It is so weird to think that it is already 2011. Were has the time gone? I remember when it turned 2010 and it just feels like it just passed in the blink of an eye. I am shocked! Well, time must go on. Well, this week has been really slow and kinda bad. We have lost contact with our baptism date, Katylen. I saw her last Tuesday with Elder Hall and we haven’t seen her since. She said she was coming to church so we went to pick her up. We got permission from President Staheli to drive her. So, we went to her house but she was not there. So, we called her - no answer. We finally went to church without her and it was great. I had to give a talk. I gave it on un refuge contre Satan or a refuge against Satan. It went well. Well, after church we went throughout our day and at night I decided to call her, but once again no answer. So, I called her on Monday...nothing, and Tuesday...nothing. So, we haven’t seen her for a week or even heard from her. So, I hope everything is still ok with her. Then with our investigator from Canada - we haven’t seen him in awhile either. The last time was last Thursday. We found out that he caved in and drank some alcohol and smoked also. He said that he is trying to recover from that and he is still praying, but that was the last time we saw him. So, we are hoping he is doing awesome also. Well, besides that, the rest of our amies have been out of town but they should be back soon.

Well, besides that our week has not been too much out of the ordinary. We do have another rendezvous with our old baptism date, the mom and the daughter. So, hopefully it will go great. Well, this has been a great year for me and the mission. I have really grown to love the Lord for all that he has done for me in my life and the life of my family and friends. I have learned a lot about this gospel also by having the chance to study it everyday. This has truly been a great year for me and it isn’t even over just yet. We had our interviews with our mission president, President Staheli. He encouraged us to fix goals for ourselves, for this new year coming up, and to look back at our old goals and see what we have accomplished over the year. So, this year was great but next year we should make it an even better year. Elder Ballard said this about setting goals, “We need to set goals and learn how to master them. If we don’t, when we get to be a ripe old age looking back on our lives, we might realize that we only reached a part of our potential.” Those are not the exact words but close enough.

So, I encourage you all to fix some goals and push for them this next year and make this year even better then the last.

Well, I love you family and I hope you have a great day and an awesome New Year. I love you!

TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

December 22, 2010

Hey family, how is it going? Well, we all know what time of year it is so Je vous Souhaite un Joyeux Noël et une Heureuse Nouvelle Année or Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. So, how is everything? Did everyone have a great week? Well, things here have been fun. On Sunday we had to cancel church. This is the first time I had to cancel church on my mission. The reason why is because there is a lot of snow! Our branch pres calls us and tells us he can’t come so we started making call to all the members. A lot of them couldn’t come either so we had to cancel it. So, we stayed home, did our studies and we did our deep cleaning on our apartment. Well, Sunday night we went up to Cherbourg for a little exchange and on Monday it was our p-day. We went to Nez de Jobourg which is on the coast and it has these really beautiful cliffs. It was awesome, really cold, but awesome. There was also a beach that we found so we decided to go out running on it. The bad part was that it started to rain and by the time we got back by the car we were soaking wet. It sucked! Well, it was funny though. I took some pictures but not too many because it was raining and freezing cold, so that was fun.

Yesterday we had a bad but yet good day. We were driving to go to the train station and there was a turn so we slowed down. We were not going that fast but there was black ice on the road. We were supposed to take the turn but our car didn’t want to. Well, we ended up hitting the wall on the right side of our car. It was not that bad though. There is just a little dent above the right side front and back wheels, but besides that everything was fine. Well, that was fun! The rest of the day thought was great.

So, Christmas is coming up. Santa is loading his sleigh it should be great. Hey, guess what? Guess where I will be having Christmas? I will be having Christmas in a cabin on the beach next to a fireplace....oh ya! It should be great. A family invited us over and they live right on the beach so, it is going to be fun. I am excited.

Well, our investigators are doing well. Some of them have left because of Christmas and gone on holiday. Besides that they are doing well. Our baptism date is still going strong. She is having some doubt but she is coming along. Our Canadian is great also. He wants us to start teaching his kids which will be awesome. We have a rendez-vous with him tomorrow, so it should be great.

Well, I got a new companion today - Elder Ryan Gull. He seems pretty cool. I haven’t gotten to know him that well yet but he seems like a cool guy. He just came from Charleroi and Patrick so it was cool to talk about Charleroi and the work there.

Well, time is short. I love you and hope you have a great Christmas. Oh, and I can’t wait to call home!

TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

December 15, 2010

Hey family! Well, to start off I just have to say I love you. I am just thinking here now about all that you do for me while I am on a mission for the Lord. So, how ya’ll doing? Things here have been great. We had mission conference at Versailles last Wednesday. It was great to see the whole mission and all the missionaries. It was also good to see old companions. Well, it was great. They made this huge slide show with pictures throughout the year of missionaries and it was funny. Some of those pictures - I will get a copy and will have to show it to you. Well, it was also very cool because we took a huge mission picture with everyone in it and then we played a white elephant game. I sent in this 5 color changeable highlighter and I ended up getting a 100 French blond jokes. I have to admit some of them are pretty funny. It was a good conference though. When we left to go home that is where things got fun. We were there for about 4 hr and when we came, there was no snow. When we left there was about 10-12 inches on the ground.... Yea - everything was closed and nothing was working. So, we had to walk to the station after because the buses were not working; then when we got there the metro wasn’t working. We needed the metro to get over to the train station. We finally got on one that worked. Oh boy, Oh boy! That was fun. It was pretty much the only one that worked in Paris. That metro was packed tighter then a can of sardines. At one point I was smashed up against the window with a box of Restoration DVD’s in my stomach and millions of people pushing me. I looked like a pancake on that window. I have to say that that was the most uncomfortable ride I have ever had. Well, because everything was late and because of the snow we missed our train. So, we had to catch the later one. We didn’t get home till about midnight. The bad part is that we had to get up at 4 that morning to catch the train to Paris. What a day. It was still fun and it was a great time.

Well, this week we have some miracle stories to tell. One was today about an awesome lady who has been sick for a while. Well, we saw her today and it was awesome. We told her about the restoration of the church and she just accepted it. She just had an open heart. At the end we asked if she would be baptized and she said YES! So, we fixed a date for the 15th of January. It was awesome and she is so cool. She is also coming to church on Sunday. We had to get permission from our president to drive her there because she doesn’t have a car and it is a half an hour drive. So, we did that and now she is coming to church.

Another one which was so cool - we ran into someone from Canada. When we found him he was in bad shape. His wife just left him and he has been drinking and smoking cigarettes and weed. He was bad but we had a 3 hr appointment with him and at the end he told us he wanted to change. He hates his life. We taught him about prayer and how about God is always there for us. Well, we prayed with him and then we gave him a blessing of comfort. At the end we were just talking about how he can fight the temptations. We told him not to even have it around him. Well, he takes us into the kitchen where he gives us a bottle of red wine, a bottle of Jack Daniels whisky, a package of tobacco, and his weed. We left his house with all his drugs. Now don’t you worry, we threw it away. Well, we come back the next day and you can just tell by looking at him that he had changed. He told us he is doing a lot better and that he has not even had the temptation to smoke or drink. His wife came over the night before and he told us in 10 years he never saw her face look like that. She was proud of him right then, that night. And, she is also helping him become better. It is so cool. I am so happy for him. We have another appointment with him tomorrow, and it should be great.

Well, transfers are coming up. They are on the 22nd. Well, here is the news. I am staying here in Coutances/St Lo with Elder Gull. Elder Hall is leaving and going up to Namur, Belgium. I don’t know Elder Gull that much. I just know that he is the same age as Elder Hall, but that is about all I know of him. So, it looks like I will be having Christmas in Normandy which is always cool. I like it here. It is small but I can still have fun. Apparently we are also getting sisters in our district next transfer. So that will be cool to have sisters in the district again.

Alright, so next week is Christmas. Now about calling home – well, I don’t really know how it is going to work because I am trying to figure out if I call or you call and what times. I don’t know what times Elder Gull has either. Well, I know it is coming up. It is next week. There is a good chance I will be buying a calling card to call you but if not I hope you can call me. OK THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO. DAD AND SHANNON; MOM AND DENNIS - I NEED YOU TO EMAIL THE TIME THAT IS BEST FOR YOU BECAUSE I AM FREE ALL DAY BASICLY AND IT IS GOOD. I JUST HAVE A LUNCH WITH A MEMBER. I NEED YOU TO TELL ME WHAT TIME IN YOUR TIME - AS IN THE TIME IN UTAH - NOT MINE. 2 O’ CLOCK IS THE LATEST I CAN CALL SOMEONE BECAUSE 2 O’ CLOCK THERE IS 10 PM HERE. SO, ANY TIME BEFORE 2 WILL BE GOOD. CAN YOU DO THAT AND I WILL TRY TO GET BACK TO YOU NEXT WEEK OR SOME TIME THIS WEEK.

Well family I love you and am excited to talk to you next Saturday. I love you and hope you have a great day and week. TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

PS - here is a district boy band picture.

December 7, 2010

Hey family, how are you all doing? Well, I have to say this week has been fun, cold, and a little sucky. Well, let’s get on with the story. It has been fun because a member, our ward mission leader, took us to Saint Malo. It is a very beautiful city on the coast. Well, we went there and it was cool. The whole city is kinda like a castle fortress thing. It was built to keep out pirates so that was pretty cool. They also have this place where you could get the biggest ice cream I have ever seen.....and this is where the week started to suck. I am going to give you a little advice - never go 3-4 days without eating anything healthy and only eating junk food. Friday I had some bad food so I was not feeling very well. Well, Saturday came around when we went to Saint Malo. Our ward mission leader wanted to get us a treat. So, we go to this bar restaurant thing. The next thing we know he is gone and when he comes back he said he had already ordered. Well, they came out with two slices of the biggest cake I have ever seen, and it was all chocolate. So, we start eating, and I am still not 100 percent from the day before. Then a couple of minutes later they come out with this huge bowl of ice cream. Well, we eventually downed as much as we could. That just made me start feeling worse. Well, Sunday came around and after church we had a branch meal with the whole branch. It was pretty good. After the meal they bring out this huge bowl of chocolate mousse, which was awesome by the way. Well, after that we started our fast for fast Sunday. So, that is all that we ate Sunday. Monday when we broke our fast, we broke it by eating brownies......bad idea....and now let’s just say that Elder Hall and I are not doing/feeling too good. Ya – that’s a bad on our part.

Well, besides that things are going great. Our two investigators with the baptism date - well for right now they don’t have a baptism date for the moment. The mom is going through a rough spot and needs more time. But hopefully they will be doing a lot better soon. They want to get baptized so that will be a good goal to push them toward. We also had a rendez-vous with another investigator here in St Lo who is awesome also. We went over there and we asked if he had read in the Book of Mormon and he said yes and explained everything he read. His son also read it and joined in on the rendez-vous. That is freaking awesome! And he wants to join in next time also! Oh ya! It will be so cool if he is there and wants to join in again. They are doing awesome. We have another investigator who we think would have a baptism date and everything, but she is still in the hospital. She has an appointment with the doctors tomorrow, so hopefully that will go great.

Those are our investigators at the moment. Things seem to be going great with them. I just hope that they can hold on. Well, this week there has been a ton of snow and it is weird because it does not snow here in Normandy. We talked with a guy and he said he had lived here for 46 years. He has never seen it snow this early in the year, as in December, and has never seen it snow so much. There had to be a good 10-12inch of snow here. Everything was closed down. We were lucky when we went places that we never got stuck in the snow. There were many times though when we had to help people going up a hill. We were going somewhere and there were a bunch of cars that could not get up this hill. So, we made it up, parked the car and ran down to push people up the hill. It was great fun.

Well, my time is up family. I hope you have a great day and I love you all. TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

More Funny Boy Band Pictures

Looks like Chris is having fun over in Normandy. These pictures just make me laugh.

December 2, 2010

Hey family, how is it going? Sorry my email is a little late. The place where we do our emails was closed, so we had to wait to do them today. Well, things here are good but it is freakin cold!!!!!!! Oh my, is it cold. Normally it does not snow here in Normandy. But this year it already has been snowing and we have gotten a lot. It just actually started to snow here in St Lo yesterday but up in Cherbourg, which is right on the coast, they have got over 8 inches. It has been snowing all around St Lo but we finally got hit yesterday. I am ok with the snow but it is not just the snow, it is freezing. It was -7°c the other day. You also have to include the humidity and it goes straight to the bone. There is also a wind that feels like it is coming from the Arctic. It was bad, on Sunday we were out going door to door and we had been knocking on doors for about 3 hours from 3-6 pm. Around 6:15-6:30 we could not feel our hands and our faces, nor could we feel anything else. It started to hurt every time we knocked on a door. Eventually we just had to stop and come back inside. It was bad, but very funny.

Well, this week, besides the cold, has been great. Ok - I guess we found this one person who is just awesome and she wants to read the Book of Mormon. She believes in a life after death and she loves what we have been teaching her. We had a very good appointment. She then got sick and couldn’t come to church and we had asked if we could give her a blessing. She didn’t want to see us when she was sick. So, that kinda blows but it is good. She is so cool she could get baptized in 3 weeks, which is awesome. Let’s just hope that she gets better soon. She has a doctor appointment on Wednesday, so hopefully it will be good. Our other two baptism dates - well they are not.. let’s say.. doing the very best. We had to move the baptism date back and we have not been able to see her for a long time. We have an appointment with her today and hopefully they will be there so we can teach them. We were going to teach them about Modern Day Prophets, so hopefully it will be great and they will be awesome.

We have been doing a lot of contacting lately. We have knocked on every door in one whole little town. It took us a couple of days but we have finally done it

Well, this past Monday we had the elders from Cherbourg come down and we went to a place called Mont Saint-Michel. This is a very famous place. I guess there a lot of people that know about it in America. Well, we went there and it was beautiful. It is this church/monastery on an island. You should look it up on Google if you can. It is awesome. We went there with the elders from Cherbourg and took a tour of it. When we were there we ran into 3 members of our church, one from Costa Rica, one from Pennsylvania, and the other one was from L.A., but she lives in France now. It was cool. We got to talk to them and two of them didn’t know we had a church in their area. We told them we did and gave them the numbers of the elders in their area, which was really cool. When we were there Elder Easton had a great idea to take “boy band’ pictures. Ya, they are funny and I think they are cool. I will try to send you one in the email. Then we came back and did a little exchange and did some work.

Next week I think the email will be on Tuesday because we have our mission conference on Wednesday. This is where the whole mission is going to Paris or Versailles. it will be cool to see the whole mission. There are still a ton of missionaries I don’t even know. It should be a good time. We are asked to bring a 5 dollar gift and we are going to play a white elephant game, so that will be chouette.

Well family, I love you and I hope you have a great day. Thank you for your support and love. It really helps me get threw a hard day. Well, I love you again. TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

P.S. Sorry if my email is a little weird. I am a little tired. LOVE YA

November 24, 2010

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TOUT LE MONDE! Well, how is everyone doing? Well, this week has been great. Well, as everyone might have guessed, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. It is sad I will have to miss it. They do not have Thanksgiving in France. It is only an American holiday. Well, what we will be doing is working, because it is not a holiday, but it is ok. There are some other elders or missionaries who our going over to members houses for a dinner and stuff, but for us, we will be working. I think though that we will make some potatoes and gravy and try to do a Thanksgiving dinner with us. Hopefully it will work out though.

Well, things here are great. We have been doing a lot of port à port lately or door to door. We have been working in a little town just right out of St Lo. We are trying to knock on every door in that city. It has been going great. We have knocked on about half and we have found 3 potential investigators out of it, so that is really good. The work is a little bit slow but we are having a great time. We may have another baptism date here also. We already have two, the mom and here 9 year old daughter. They are doing great. We have a rendezvous with them today and we are planning to teach them about the atonement. We also have to move the baptism date back just a little bit because they couldn't come to church last week and they will be in Paris this Sunday. So, we will have to move is back but they are doing great. We also have another one named Sonya who is doing awesome. Her parents are members and last week they told us that she has read the Le Live de Mormon or the Book of Mormon and knows that it is true. So, we were very happy about that. We taught her the big two commandments on Monday. The word of wisdom and the law of chastity. They went well and she knows what she needs to do to change. We have another rendezvous with her tomorrow, so that should be great.

This past Sunday we had district conference. It is like stake conference but when you have just branches it is called a district. So, we all went to Caen and President Staheli was there also. So, we got to talk with him and it was great. He talked about the missionary work for members and how that they don't need to do missionary work, but just be missionaries. As in they should be an example and should invite people to come to activities. Then if they are interested, give them to the missionaries to teach them. And he encouraged every member to have a Preach my Gospel. The book is not just for missionaries, but for everyone to help them know the gospel more and help them with a lot of other things. President also talked about the miracle of 2010. For our mission, two years ago, 2008, they had about 105 baptisms. Last year the mission had about 120 baptisms. This year up to right now, we have about 230 baptisms. We have about 70 or more baptisms dates before this year ends. Our mission is shooting for over 300 at the end of the year. It is so cool. The work here has just exploded and it is just going to keep getting better. Our goal for our zone, the Normandy zone, was 12 baptisms. Last year we got 6 so they made the goal of 12. Right now we have 13 and another 7 more baptism dates here. It is so cool. I am lovin it.

Well, that is just some things that our going on with the work. Now on to the other stuff. Last Saturday was awesome. We were going to do some service with the elders in Cherbourg and we had some extra time before the service. So, we went and played football. And I mean football! American, not soccer, with a team in Cherbourg. This was like football and everything with pads, helmets and all. It was not a game but just practice, so we practiced with them. It was awesome. Their coach was in the army and he kicked our butts into shape. The next day we were all sore. They said we can come back so we are planning to go again this Saturday. Well, the service was cancelled and we were in Cherbourg with our ward mission leader. He took us to go see the world's largest nuclear sub. It was cool. It doesn't work anymore but it was awesome. I also found out that Cherbourg was the last stopping place of the Titanic before is sunk. Last week they had the Queen Elizabeth at the boat docked there, so that is cool. Well, we were coming back and we stopped by this church because we where with our ward mission leader lives. We stopped at this church, the St. Marie Eglise. I think that is what it was called where the 82nd air born landed in World War 2. There was a guy who got stuck on top of the church for two days and was not killed. So, at the church they have a manikin hanging by a parachute on the church. It was funny.

Well, those are just some things that are going on here in Normandy. Things are going great. Well time is short. I love you guys and hope you have a great week and a great day. I hope you are loving the snow. All it does here is rain and rain and rain some more. I think it has rained everyday since I have been here. Well, I love you. TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

November 17, 2010

Hey family, how is it all going? Things here are awesome.... well, some things at least. Well, the train ride here was fun. I had to change trains 3 times to get over here from Angers. I almost missed one of them also. But I finally reached Coutances. So, our church is in Coutances but we live in St Lo, which is about a 30 min drive away, so it takes some time to get there. Well, we have done some cool things here this week. We have two baptism dates here. So, we have been teaching them and they are doing great. It is a 9 year old daughter and her mother. They asked us if they could be baptized. They asked us if they could be baptized! It was awesome! They are really cool. Well, the first day that I am here, we go do some service for some members in our ward. They live about a 30 min drive in the other direction of Coutances. So, it took us some time to go out there. Well, they live on the coast and it is awesome. You really have about a 100 feet to the ocean. It was cool. Well, we helped them out then we went back and they gave us dinner, which was cool. We had some fish soup. Ever since I got here I think I have had some kind of sea food every day.

Well, eventually, Sunday gets around and guess what I found out.....? I found out that we have a branch and we the missionaries are the councilors in the branch presidency....! So, you have the branch president who is like the bishop of the ward and we are his councilors. Every Sunday we have to direct the meeting and direct sacrament and all those things. Ya, so we got a job on our hands. And, I guess our branch pres. sometimes isn’t there, so we have to do the things. Well, can you guess how many members we have in our branch? We have about 15-20. But last Sunday about 10 came. It is a little change for me going from a big city to a little city. You had Brussels with 1.8 million people, Charleroi, I don’t know, Angers with about 155,000 people and Coutance with about 9,000 ....ya there is a little drop. Well, after church we had a little branch meal with the members and it was cool to get to know them. They are really awesome. Then our ward mission leader, his wife wasn’t home, so he asked if he could take us somewhere. So, we said ya and we just took the time off of our p-day on Monday. But can you guess where he took us? He took us to the beaches of Normandy! To Omaha Beach. Now here is some history if you don’t know. The beaches of Normandy is the place where the Americans, Canadians, and the British landed for D-day in World War 2 to attack the Nazis. Now, I love the history of World War 2 so I was so stoked to go there. It was awesome. We went to the American cemetery where there were over 9000 young adults who died on D-day. The actual land belongs to America. France gave it to America in about the 1970’s. So, you can kind of say I was home for a little bit. But it was awesome. We got to go into bunkers, see the ocean and the beach. We got to see some cool stuff there I will send along a picture to show you, but it was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, we didn’t do much on Monday. Tuesday we had a district meeting in Caen. They asked us to bring some meet and cheese for the sandwiches. So, we bought some. We then were leaving the apartment to go to the gare or train station. So, we get on and I realized I don’t have my discount card and without it my ticket doesn’t work. So, we don’t have time to go get it. I had to buy a new ticket without the discount which sucked. Then, as we were on the train, we realized yet again that we forgot something important...the food. So, eventually we get to Caen and we had to run to the store to get some food for lunch. So, that was fun. But it turned out to be a good day.

Well, Normandy is awesome and Elder Hall is awesome also. We were in the same apartment when I was in Charleroi, so I got to meet him there which was cool. He is cool. He is from St. George, Utah. Cool thing is his mom is French, so he knew some French in the MTC. He only had to stay there for 3 weeks. So, he will have an extra transfer than all of us - but that is pretty cool.
So, yes, the time has come! I have been reminded a lot from my e-mails this week, but yes, the one year mark will be reached tomorrow, NOV. 18! WOW! Where has the time gone? It feels only like yesterday I left for the MTC - WOW.... Well, it only means one thing. Do you know what that is? It is WORKING HARDER!! Oh ya! gooooo wooork!!
Well, family, I love you and hope you have a great week. Things here have been great and things will only get better.

PS - if there is a package sent to the office for Christmas, it needs to be in at the latest before DEC 8. Because DEC 8 is a big mission conference with the whole mission and that is when we should get it. Thank You! TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

More fun Photos

Here are some photos of: last family home evening in Angers (only the young women showed up. It was kinda weird), and two pictures of our district; I hope you enjoy them.

November 10, 2010

Hey quick note family I made it to Coutance ok I am just leting you know that here we can not do our e-mails on monday. so we usualy do them tuesday, or Wednesday. mostly wednesday because I guess it takes to long to get back from district meeting on tuesday so it maybe tuesday or wednesday. We dont do it monday because it is closed.

I just wanted you to know for next week. I love you and hope you have a great week I love you and I will have to tell you about my transfer next week I LOVE YOU TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

November 8, 2010

Hey family, how is it all going? I hope everything is going well. Well, things here have been interesting. Did everyone get the news - I am leaving Angers. I am going to Coutance. Well, the church is in Coutance but we live in St LO and we do all the contacting there also. After, we have a 30 minute drive to our church for Sundays, ya - how fun. Oh well, I have some good CD’s so that is good. Well, life here has been good. Not much has gone on here this past week. Can anyone guess what our stats were for this week? Ya - they were not too good. This had to be one of my worst weeks here according to stats, but stats don’t really matter, so ya. Well, to tell you the truth we got straight ZEROS (0). How fun! No, we did do a lot of contacting and we had appointments but they got sick and couldn’t come, so that was sad.

We also had an investigator this week who called and dropped us because she thinks Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon. She says it is too much 18th century. So that was sad also. But, oh well, all you can do is your best and then move on. Things like this happen. We just have to keep working and find the elect. So, how is everyone doing back at home? I have heard that it has been snowing a lot and the worst news is that U OF U lost to TCU! That was a sad day when I found that out.....which happens to be today.......ya..... Well I have heard that it rains a lot in Coutance and it is very cold. Oh ya, I am going to freeze. So, I have found out that it is snowing a lot in Utah, just a sec I will write another e mail in about é min….

Sorry, people were talking with me and I got distracted. So, things here have been doing great. Just really slow but I am excited to go to Coutance with Elder Hall. So, I found out after I learned where I was going about the population. Brussels has about 1.8 million people, Angers 155,000 people and Coutance 9000.....ya it is a very small town. We have a branch of 25 people and only about 15 come. So, I am going to go to a very small town, but, oh well, it is in NORMANDE! OH YA I am so HAPPY. It is also going to take me a long time to get there. I have to go through 3 cities and I have delay stopovers in all of them. So, it is going to be along day. Well, things here are going great. I don’t have much time. I am at the church and we have family home evening about to start, so I have to go. Well, I love you family. Sorry my e mail is not that much this week but hopefully it will be better next week. TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

Here are some photos if you want…

November 6, 2010

Hey family how is it going? well I got the news about transfers I am Going to Coutances with Elder Gregory Hall Coutances is in the Normandie Zone....I wanted to go to Normandie so bad o ya whoo who well here is my address.

Les missionaries
Elder Christopher Walker
50 route villedieu n°17
50000 ST LO
FRANCE

Hey by the way There is a ^ over the O in ST LO. I can not figure out how to do it on the computer but there is one on the address Well I lvoe you family and I will tell you more on Monday

November 1, 2010

Hey family, how’s it hangin? I hope things are going great back at home. Things here have been a little fun and a little interesting lately. Well, to start off, Elder Berrett came this week so our companionship of 3 went to two companionships of 2. So, that has been fun. Well, we have done a lot of contacting lately. We contacted for the whole day on some days. One day this week, Thursday or Wednesday, we had to stay in the apartment for most of the day because it was the day of a huge manifestation. So, we had to stay inside for that but we eventually got out because we had to go to English class. So, that was nice to get out of the apartment. We were all happy for that.

Well, Friday is kinda the day when things started to get interesting around here. We had a rendez-vous (appointment) with a investigator who is only 12. Missionaries have been going over for about 2 years now. So, we went over and Elder Brady had a strong feeling that we should teach him a little different than usual. This kid knows that this church is true. He has grown up in this church his whole life and he won’t get baptized. And he doesn’t know why. So, we started to teach him about baptism. Well, we started teaching him and Elder Brady started to use the scripture Mosiah 3:19 “…the natural man is an enemy of god.” Well. Let’s just say we got to the point of the baptism and he was shocked about what was said. Now, the mom was there and she didn’t try to stop us and she seemed like she was supporting this. Well, it comes around to Sunday and we have a meeting with our ward mission leader. He starts getting a little mad with him because I guess the family took the lesson the wrong way and got a little mad at us. So, the mission leader talks to us. Then he had to talk with another member who is a counselor to our president somehow. So, that night President Staheli calls Elder Brady. Ya, so this is why things are a little weird. Well, the member who is the counselor to pres. is also the home teacher of this 12year old boy. He thinks Elder Brady just destroyed the progression they had going for this kid. Well, when president called Elder Brady was pretty scared but he told him he had a strong feeling that is what he needed to hear. And president said if you had that feeling then it was probably good that you said it. He also said that we have been set a part to know what our investigators need and how to teach them. So, it is all good now, just some of the members hate the missionaries, but it is all good. Maybe one day he will reflect on the things we taught and realize that it is what he needed to hear.

So, that is why things have been a little weird here lately but I hope things will work out. Transfers are coming up and Elder Brady doesn’t think he will be staying here. We also all think that Elder Ellis is leaving because he has been here for 3 transfers. President usually doesn’t let people stay for more than 3. They can, but it is rare. Elder Brady thinks I am staying with Elder Barrett and they will close a companionship here. President said he doesn’t know how long they are going to keep four missionaries here because they have to close some companionships next transfer. They are trying to get our mission down to only 100 missionaries. That is a lot of people and companionships they have to close. We have about 160 right now and they are just sending less and less missionaries here. So, it won’t happen for a while but they are working on it. Well, my opinion on whether I stay or go - I don’t know to tell you the truth. I can see me going and I can see me staying. It would be cool to stay or to go somewhere else. It would be cool to go to Normandy or back to Belgium. But we shall find out, I am not sure though. Well, we will find out this Saturday and I will see if I can e-mail you when I get it.

Well, things are going great beside all the fun things that have been happening to us. I love the mission. I have grown so much closer to our Heavenly Father through being here. I love it so much and it has been a great experience for me. Well, family Je vous aime I want you to know that. I am so grateful for everything that you do. I love you and hope you have a great week TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

PS - we also had the chance to see an American football game in France........ya it is not every day that you see that. It wasn’t the same but it was still cool to see American football - oh ya.....

October 25, 2010

Bonjour famillie vous allez bien. Allors cette semine etait chouette! Nous sommes fair le contacting le port de port, et tout le chose com ça. I have no clue what I was doing. I just wanted to go off talking about nothing for one sentence. So, how are you all doing? Things here have been good. It was a long week and a slow one at that. And, I have to let you know that I hate this country and its stupid grèves (strikes). It is killing the mission work for us. We only have 3 lessons last week and this week. We got a call from the Zone Leaders and they have had to cancel interviews, cancel all the exchanges and all the activities we have. Apparently there is supposed to be a giant strike this week because this is the week when they sign the thing for the retirement. And this week they will be closing everything. Nothing will be open. There will be no trains or anything. So, it looks like we will be spending some time in our apartment. Oh, I got some news. Our companionship of 3 will be over tomorrow. A visa waiter is coming in and he is getting trained in Nevelle, Belgium. Elder Berrett who was in Charleroi the same time I was is coming down here to Angers. So, Elder Ellis and Elder Berrett will be companions and Elder Brady and I will be companions. Good thing we have a 4 man apartment so we have enough room. It will be cool. We are hoping he will be able to make it through tomorrow with the strike going on and that there will be a train to get him here.

Ok, well this week was good. We had to go back to Nantes for Elder Ellis and we got everything worked out for him that day. It was a long day. First we had an exchange with Elder Crump and we had to go to Le Mans to pick up Elder Ellis. Then we had to take a train from Le Mans to Nantes for his legality thing. Then we had to catch another train to Angers. So, we spent the whole day on the trains. We were worried because there may not have been a train with all this going on, but it all worked out. So, we were grateful for that. Oh, this strike thing is so funny. We were on the bus and we drove past a fire station. The firemen were outside painting it. They painted a sign saying, “Non a cette réforme; tous ensemble” (which means “no” to this retirement reform) and all together we just laughed. Then they stormed the beaches of.....wait not the beaches, the Castle of Angers. I was going to say the beaches of Normandy but that was a long time ago. No, they stormed the castle here and they had big signs and banners and they were all freaking out. We all just laughed.

Besides that, there hasn’t been much going on. We didn’t do that hot this week but next week with the strike hopefully over, we are hoping for something better. Well, I am doing good. Everything is going fine, just working hard and staying alive. I do hope this strike is over soon because transfers will be coming up soon. I hope we will all be able to move around with the trains and everything.

Well, here are some pictures of the zoo we visited last week. Oh, and also, when the people stormed the castle. Well, I love ya family! I hope you have a great week. bon journé et je t'aime

LOVE ELDER WALKER

October 18, 2010

Hey family, how is life going for everybody? I hope it is all fine and dandy. Well, things here have been fun and not so fun as well. So, let me tell you about the life of a missionary in Angers.

Well, Monday was good. It was our p-day and we didn’t do much. We went bowling again and had a good time. Then after that we had FHE and the person who was supposed to bring the games was late. It just so happened that I had Phase 10 with me so we had to teach them how to play. It was ok. I went around helping everyone. My companions were playing and since I was helping everyone, I turned them all on my companions, it was great.

Well, Tuesday there was a big Grève (strike) going on because of the retirement age. They raised the age from 60 to 62 and everyone freaked out. Well, that was going on. There were a lot of people walking the street and they were pretty angry. So, we decided to go check it out in normal clothes because they are mad at the government and it wouldn’t be smart to dress up like a government person. So, we checked it out and we decided that we should go back to the apartment because it was bad. So, we had to stay in our apartment all day long. That was so boring.

Wednesday we had nothing special, just district meeting with the zone leaders. That was about it. Now, the best day had to be Thursday. Oh what a day, what a day. We had to go to Nantes for Elder Ellis’ medical visit for his French legality. Well, the strike was still going on. Well, I mean it is still going on even today. Since it was going on we had to catch an early train that got us to Nantes around 9 – 9:30am. Well, we get there and we need to buy stamps for the medical thing. Now theses stamps are expensive (sorry I can’t spell.) Well, they are a lot of money. They cost 340 euro’s which is about 470 dollars.....ya expensive. Well, before that we got pastries and they were very good. Elder Ellis put the wrapper in his pocket and when we got the stamps he put them in his pocket. Well, we were walking to the medical place and there are garbage cans along the way and Elder Ellis throws his pastry wrappers away. But, not just his wrappers, but his stamps as well. We eventually get to the place and we cannot find the stamps. He then realized that he threw them away. So, we went back checking every garbage can we passed along the way. But, they had just emptied them right after we left - so we never found them...... so, we just threw away 340 euro’s worth of stamps. How fun! So we had to call president and it was ok. We told the medical place and now we will just have to go back and get some more to give to them. I think we are planning to go back tomorrow which is Wednesday the 20th. Then, because of the strike there were no trains going back to Angers until 5pm. We spent the whole day in Nantes. It wasn’t bad and we even went to a cool castle that was there. We also did some contacting for the elders there. So, that was a fun day spending the whole day in Nantes - Oh ya.

Friday was a normal day. We did some good missionary work so that was fun. Then Saturday - oh what another day. Along with the strike which was still going on there was another big movement with a lot of people. We had a rendez-vous in the morning so we had to go in non pros clothes. We went in jeans and shirts. He wasn’t there which was disappointing. When we came back we ran into the movement. WOW! Let me tell you, there were thousands of people and we were in the middle of it. There were cars with big speakers yelling, very angry people! We just said, “Well, time to go!” We were trying to run away and get out of that mess. Well, that whole day was also spent in the apartment doing nothing. Ii finished the Book of Mormon again though. I have finished it now on DEC 17, MAY 17 and OCT 17. Every 5 months – fun. I didn’t plan it like that but it turned out that way - cool huh. Well, that is what we did.

Sunday was good - going to the good old church in France. It was fun and I like this ward so I am happy. Now yesterday was also a good day. We took a one hour and a half bus ride to La FLéche to visit the ZOO! It was so cool! They have white lions and white wolves, which are my favorite animal. The Arctic Wolf which is called Loup Blanch. They also had some really cool monkeys and polar bears. The cool part is that you can get so close to the animals. I mean you can get close! I forgot my cord to my camera so I will have to send some pictures next week. They were cool. It was a way cool zoo to go and see.

So, that has been our week. Fun and also not fun with the strike that is STILL going on...yea well, things are great. I love you and hope you have a great week. LOVE ELDER WALKER

October 11, 2010

Hey family, how are you doing? I hope everything is going great. Well, we had a great week this week. Monday we went bowling and it was very fun. I was about to go and it was my first round of the game. The ground was a little sticky and I am one of those bowlers who puts one leg behind the other when they bowl. Well, the ground was sticky and I went to put my foot behind me when my foot got stuck on the ground. So, now I have no balance. So, I just fell flat on my face and began sliding down the lane because at this point the lane is all slippery. Well, I slid down the lane flat on my face. Fun huh?! But, the good news is I got 9 out of 10 pins, so that was cool - painful but cool.

Well, the other big things that have been going on is the work here in Angers...I mean it is on fire! Last transfer we just contacted all day and now we have rendez-vous everyday and so much other awesome work. We still do contacting and I forgot how weird it was to contact with 3 people. But it is coming back to me. Well, Saturday, just another funny story, we do what we call “ping pong and pancakes.” This is where we play ping pong and eat pancakes if you couldn’t guess. Well, we had a lot of investigators there which was awesome, but we also play basketball. When we were playing I got elbowed in the face and cut my lip open. It was awesome! We were just playing in our pros clothes when the stake president comes out and just looks at me. At this point I was sweating and I didn’t look very good. He just comes up to me and says, “Oh, are these the new sports clothes?” We just laughed, then he took the ball and played with us a little, so that was good.

Well, I don’t have much time on my e-mail. I got a little screwed over with that so, this e-mail will be short. I just wanted to let you know that everything here is going great and that I am still alive and kicking. Not just that but I am hip hop and happening. Well, I love you and hope you all have a good week. I love you. You guys are awesome! I love you so much. Well, take care and TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER
PS - THE GUY IN THE PHOTO IS AN AWESOME RUSSAN DUDE NAMED DIMITRY. HE IS AWESOME

October 4, 2010

Hey family, how is everything going? I hope you all had a great week and a great weekend with conference. I hope you were able to see some of it. I was able to see some of it over here. I saw the Saturday morning session at 6 pm here on Saturday night. Then, Sunday morning we watched the priesthood session and then the Saturday afternoon session. Then we were able to watch the Sunday morning session live at 6 pm. We were not able to watch the Sunday afternoon session because it was from 10pm to midnight. So, we couldn’t watch it. I am actually listing to it right now while I am on the computer at lds.org. It is awesome. It is still not the same as watching it however, and I will not be able to watch it at all. But, oh well, I will just have to wait to read it.

Well, conference was awesome! It talked a lot about following the prophets and trusting the Lord and it just was awesome. I have learned to love conference a lot more then I used to. I took a ton of notes. I will just have to remember to read them and look over them to review what I have learned. It was a very good conference. We were all talking about the 2nd coming just before it started and then we hear all the talks on trusting the Lord and following the prophets. They just didn’t seem like their same old joyful selves. You know, the way they usually do. So, we were there and we were thinking, “something is up, something is going to happen and they are going to ask us to do something.” We were all kinda freaking out. I did get to watch it in English and from my own opinion I think it is a lot better in English than in French. You just don’t have the same voice and their attitudes. I was grateful to watch it in English.

Well, this week has been great. The work here is starting to catch on fire!!!! It is awesome!! We wanted 6 new investigators during the entire last transfer. We got 0. This transfer we have 6 just in 2 to 3 days. Oh ya, and we asked this guy if he would be baptized and he said yes! We didn’t fix a date yet, so the next time we can fix that. But I do have to say that the work here is picking up and it is awesome.

Well, do you remember the guy Joan that we baptized? Yeah, he hasn’t been back to church and wasn’t there the Sunday after his confirmation. He was not there this week either. Sucks! Right? No, life is good! He is just really busy. He already told us he wouldn’t be there and that he won’t be back till the end of October. The reason why is because of his job. He works with guide dogs and they are holding this big huge convention thing. So, it is taking up all his weekends, but we still see him during the week. So, don’t worry too much. It’s all good.

Well, transfers went well. It is a little weird to get back in the motion for contacting with 3 people, but it is all good. We go to a park every once in awhile and we just split up kinda. We stay close but we just go contacting. We will have a Book of Mormon tower and just stand by it. We talk to whoever wants to learn more. It is pretty cool. We have also got this new center for young adults in our ward. It will be good to start working with the young people in our ward.
Well, things have been good here I was going to tell you some stuff about conference but I forgot my notes. I can’t remember it all so next week I will be good with that. I hope you all liked conference and hope you all learned a lot of good things and loved it. It was really good and I am glad I got to watch a little of it. I don’t have much time because we have to be in Centre Ville at 5. So, sorry we don’t have that much time this week. I hope you all have a great day and a great week. I love you and hope you have fun. I am still alive so it is all good! LOVE YA LOVE ELDER WALKER

September 27, 2010

Hey family, how is it all going? Well, I got some transfer news and to tell you the truth, Elder Ellis and I did not see this one coming. Well, I am staying in Anger with Elder Ellis but we are also getting a new Elder in our companionship. His name is Elder Brady. He is in our District but is moving from another city. He is in his 3rd transfer, so it will be cool. You have me, in my 7th elder, Ellis in his 5th and Elder Brady in his 3rd. We are the only companionship in the mission with 3 missionaries. We have a lot of missionaries I guess on visa wait to come over. So there are a lot of missionaries that will come in, well, whenever they can. Some missionaries think that we will get one in our companionship and they will just make us into two companionships. That would mean that one of us will be training....fun. Well, that is the transfer news. We have a very young district. We have Elder Crump and I who were in the MTC together in our district. Elder crump is our district leader and he is also training, so fun for him. You then have Elder Ellis in his 5th transfer, Elder Smith in his 4th along with his companion who is in his 4th, and then you have Elder Brady who is in his 3rd and the greeny. So, we have a young district - how fun.

Well, on to this week. Life here has been good. We have been working hard and having fun. We have had a couple of mangez-vous (dinner appointments) with members this week. So, that has been real nice to go over and talk with them. A couple even tried to invite their friends over to have dinner with us. Awesome member referrals! This last Saturday we did a big district activity where our whole district came to Angers and we built a Live de Mormon tower. We then went on our way contacting. It was great. We got some good contacts and people who were really interested in the Book of Mormon and our funny tower that went along with it. Then we also went out to get a kabob for lunch. It is a sandwich and really good. There was someone who they stopped and talked to and we taught him after lunch. During the middle of the lesson some guy comes up and starts as he says; “just talking and sharing ideas” or in other words, trying to bash us and tell us that we are wrong and all the Christians are wrong and everything. The cool part was that guy we were teaching started to defend us and the Book of Mormon. He doesn’t even know us and he was defending us and telling that man what the Book of Mormon was. It was just awesome! We were all in shock, just thinking WOW! We have a rendez-vous with him next Saturday, so that should be awesome.

Well, we also did the same old, same old contacting stuff we do every day. It is something that needs to be done so that’s why you have us. I am now (and I can’t believe I am saying this) but I am officially OLD! I am no longer a teenager. Goodbye teenager childish years and hello to the adult childish years.....I mean you always have to have a child in you somewhere. It was a good day. It does fill weird to think that I am 20 years old but what can you do. It was good. I did some fun missionary work. Also Soeur (sister) Staheli called me, the mission president’s wife, to wish me a happy birthday, so that was cool. Elder Ellis was nice and bought me a pastry for my birthday.

Oh yah - on Tuesday we had a member who works with us, he is way cool, anyway, we go to the church and he had lunch for us. Guess what we ate.....it was a real French meal....we had ESCARGOT or in other words SNAIL.

It wasn’t the first time I had eaten snail. I had some in Utah but I don’t think they are that bad. They taste like chicken, just rubbery and chewy, but they were good. We also had shrimp. One problem, when we left we left some of the stuff in the kitchen. When we came the next day the whole room smelled like fish. So, we had to air out the whole relief society room. It was good though, it did not smell like that at church. So, that is good.

Well, I wanted to thank you all for your wonderful birthday wishes and your hopes that I had a great day - so thank you. And thank you for the wonderful gifts and cake also. I have not made the cake yet, but maybe today I will because I want some American food or dessert. So, thank you! I hope you all have a great week and know that I love ya. TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

September 20, 2010

Hey family, how is everything going? This week has been great. We had a baptism! Hooray! Well, it was a great day! We have had a rendez-vous with him all this week. Every night we had a rendez-vous with him and his wife. Then, on Friday, Elder Hass came down from Paris to baptize him on Saturday. That night we all went over to Joan’s house and had dinner with him and his wife. Then we watched “Special Witnesses” with him. Saturday morning we got up and headed over to the church to get everything ready. When we got there, there were people showing up and we didn’t even know who they were. We found out that there was a big stake meeting at the same time as Joan’s baptism. Because we meet in the stake center everyone came here. So, we were freaking out a little because they were here and taking up everything, but eventually it turned out to be ok. Joan showed up and we were able to take pictures with him before the baptism. When the time came Elder Ellis and I were asked to be the witnesses to the baptism, so that was a cool thing to do and the baptism was great! Everything went well the first time and there was a great spirit there in the room. Then, yesterday was his confirmation. He showed up in his wedding suit. He had class and he was looking good for the confirmation. We asked him about it and he said it was a special occasion so he wore that. He was looking good. Then, when the time came for his confirmation, there was a great spirit in the room. It was awesome!!!!!!

So, that was the baptism. It was great. A funny thing happened though when we interviewed him last Wednesday. The interview was great. The zone leaders came down from Nantes do the interview. Then, after the interview, we went to the store across the street to get something to eat. When we came out of the store Elder Ellis said, “Bonjour” to some guy and the next thing we know the guy says, “You fascinate me.” Our zone leader’s face was priceless and I just started to laugh. I could not help it. Good thing the other zone leader was there to cover me. Well, Elder Ellis says, “Sorry sir, I don’t understand. Can we help you with something?” That was the wrong question to ask him. Let’s just say that is when it got weird. He starts going off on how we can help him he said this as he pointed his finger to all of us; “Man, Man, Man and Man. There are four of you and you are always together.” Then he went off on other things. Eventually our zone leader says, “Look, we are not gay.” The guy goes off saying; “That is not a problem is it?” Then he went off on other things that were not good. Well, we told him that we had to go. We got in the car and locked the doors. Then Ellis asked, “Was he hitting on me?” We just all started to laugh. He said he knew it, but he just wouldn’t accept it. He just kept telling himself, “No! This is not happening again!” I guess when he was in his first city and was at his first rendez-vous, it was with a gay guy and he liked him also. Well, we all had a great laugh about that. It was pretty funny.

Oh, and guess what? Last Tuesday, Elder Ellis and I where potato farmers for someone in our ward. They called us up and asked if we could offer some service. We said, “Yes” and when we got there they taught us how to be farmers. We farmed potatoes! It was pretty fun. I liked it. Oh, and yesterday we went to a catholic church. It was weird. I have never been in another church for their services or mass. We stayed for a little bit then we just left. It got a little too weird for us and we didn’t want to stay. It is pretty cool here, they have a lot of old churches and they are really cool to go into and see them.

Well, time is short family. I want you to know that I love you and hope that you will all have a great week. Happy Monday to you all. I love you and TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

September 13, 2010

Hey everyone, how is it going? je spare tout le monde est bien. Well, this week has been fun. Tuesday there was a strike thing going on so we were stuck in our apartment for a little bit. We headed down in the morning to drop off our car at the shop because it was time for service and other stuff like that. When we got to Centre-ville the roads were closed off and there was a bunch of people. So, we went back to the apartment and headed back down by foot. When we got there we wanted to take pictures off the thing but as we were getting close we both felt like we shouldn’t be there. So, we turned around and we got a little French pastry before reaching our apartment. It was good. Wednesday was one of our most packed days and I also found out some great news about Angers. Well, first of all, we had district meeting then we had a really weird rendez-vous with a person we found going port a port (door to door). It was just weird but we left a live du Mormon avec elle and hopefully she will read it (Book of Mormon) with her. Then we went to a less active family where there was a bunch of construction on the road. So, we ended taking this small one lane country road and luckily it leads us right to their house. Ok, now this is where the good – no! No! No! Not good but GREAT news comes in. We found a GOLF COURSE!!!!! You should have seen my face when the less active members showed us. I was so happy. Big wide eyes, open mouth, couldn’t speak. I felt like I was in heaven. We so wanted to go today but people came to our apartment a couple of days ago and needed us to be home today. They where workers and needed to fix a couple of things. We saw them today and they told us they couldn’t come so we spent a lot of time in the apartment when we could have played golf.

Well, Thursday, we dropped off the car in the morning and I about had 4 heart attacks on the way over. One - Elder Ellis almost side swiped a car, two - this old lady on a bike about ran into us, three - a couple of times we went the wrong way around a roundabout and four - we also used an intersection as a roundabout. But, don’t worry, everything is fine. Then, later that day, different story, we were contacting in Centre-ville when this group of kids came up and two girls asked if they could recite a poem to us. So, we said ok....then they took our hands got down on their knees and started quoting a poem to us. I couldn’t help smiling and Elder Ellis just kept a straight face. Then, after they both got up and gave us both a bisous (a bisous is how they say hello and good bye in French. It is where you kiss someone on the cheek.) The mission has asked for elders not to give or receive these and the sisters can only do it with girls. Well, they both gave us a bisous. Elder Ellis was a little shocked because it was his first time getting bisoused. I was a little shocked thinking what in the world is going on but it was not the first time someone gave me a bisous. Some old black lady, who was really nice, in Brussels gave Elder Caywood and me one. She also took Elder Caywood’s gum from him. We just both laughed.

Now, I don’t want anyone to freak out but I did have some beers on Wednesday. It was over at the less active member’s house. BUT DO NOT WORRY! IT WAS NON ALCOHOLIC BEER. It still tasted horrible. I can’t imagine drinking it all the time.

Well, this past Friday I had a workday or an exchange with Elder Smith. He is the one from the Roods home ward. It was great to talk to him and get to know him. We had a great time together. Then, when we changed back Saturday morning, I had to drive all the way from Cholet to Angers. It was good! Just put in some music, nice, calm music and Elder Ellis fell asleep. I drove home. It was about an hour drive, so it was not too bad.

So, that has been our week in Angers. We don’t have that many amie de l'élise so we are doing a lot of finding. We go here and there doing port to port (door to door) contacting on the street. We still have our baptism date set. It is for this Saturday and we have a rendez-vous with him every day this week. So, hopefully he doesn’t get sick of us but he is so ready. It is so cool and I am so excited for him. His name is Joan and he is awesome. We also want to ask this 12 year old kid who comes to church every week. He has done everything to be baptized. So, we want to ask him why he isn’t baptized. Then, ask if he would like to be. His mom and his brother are already members so; it should be easy, maybe, hopefully! Well, that is pretty much the life of a missionary in Angers. Things seem to be going great. Well, I love you and hope that you have a great week this week and have fun at work or school, where ever you are right now. I love you and hope you all have a great day. LOVE ELDER WALKER

September 6, 2010

Hey family, how is everything going? I hope that you have all had a great week. Well, things here are going great. Well, we haven’t been doing much this week....no I take that back, we have done a lot of stuff but it’s all pretty much been contacting. The work here has been a little slow but things are good. Our baptism date is doing awesome. He just got married last Saturday so that is awesome. I am excited for him, it is great. He got married to a member, which is also very nice and now he is going to get baptized Saturday the 18th. It is awesome; he is so ready for the baptism. He has been investigating the church for almost a year and now he is ready. We had a rendezvous with him today which was awesome. We gave him a baptism calendar with days we can see him and what we are going to do when we have a rendezvous with him. He also invited us over for dinner with him and his wife the Friday before the baptism. I am so excited; he is so ready for the baptism.

Well, we got the car back from the other Elders in Cholet so, now we have it. So, guess what? I can drive stick now. It’s all good, no big problems. I haven’t grinded the gears or anything. I have stalled it a couple of times though but practice makes perfect, so I am still practicing on how to get better. But it is coming and I am doing pretty well though. The driving in France, now that is another question. They have weird rules here on who has the right a way or who does this and who does that. It is just very confusing. Well, I would have to say that I was scared out of my mind when I started because I haven’t driven a car in almost 10 months. Now I have to drive a stick and I am in France, so I was a little scared out of my mind but things are good. Now I am not so scared anymore so I am happy about that. It’s cool though, now I can say that I can drive a stick. We got a call from the elders in Cholet and they said they can’t drive it anymore so we would have to come and pick it up. So we headed down by train to Cholet and when we got there they were not home. So we did what every missionary would do, sit around and do nothing. JK JK No, we headed out and did some contacting until we found them. Then we went to a little library and I found this way awesome calligraphy pen and a book to go with it. So I can write in calligraphy. It is fun. I will have to write something and send it to you guys. Ok, so we are in Cholet and the other elders needed help to teach someone because she is a single person. You need someone to go with you if you teach a lady. So, we went but she wasn’t there, but we had a fun time talking. Oh, and guess what? The missionary’s names were Elder Montingé and Elder Smith. Now, I was in the back talking to Elder Smith and I found out he lives in Rood’s ward. His name is Taylor smith and he knows the whole Rood family, even Ben and Wendi. So, that was cool to talk with him and to get to know him. I have a photo of him but I forgot my cord to upload a picture, but it was cool to get to know him and what he does. After we dropped them off and we headed home on a nice country drive. It was cool to see a little bit of France while driving home. I like it. It is very flat though and I do miss the mountains. But, it was still cool to see some of France.

Well, we eventually got home in time for planning then going to bed. It was a fun day though. On Saturday’s we do a cool thing. Every Saturday is called ping pong and pancakes day. This is where you get to come and play ping pong and have real American pancakes made with French stuff. It is cool. My ping pong skills have gotten pretty good, I must say...well at least better than they were. So we do that every Saturday night. It is a good time and fun but, last Saturday we made a ton of pancakes and no one showed up. So, now we have a ton of leftovers. But, all is well, that just means more for us. Well, I do have to say that I think I like Belgium a little better then France so far. The people are a lot nicer there then here. But, it is still very fun. And I do have to say that I miss the Belgie waffles and chocolate and Belgie frites (fries). They were good! Maybe one transfer I will go back but things are good here. I like it I am having fun. And now I have the chance to visit Paris before I go home, which I do have to say that I am stoked for that.

Well, not much else has gone on. We have about 2-3 people who we are teaching and that’s about it. We have been doing a lot of finding though. It’s funny; Saturday morning we have the marché here. This is held in the center of city and there is a bunch of people selling stuff and there is a bunch of people looking around. So, what would a companionship of missionaries do? I would like to call it English Board Contacting. One of us goes around with this board that we wear around our necks. It says: “Practice your English for Free with the Americans.” So, we walk around with that on, and it is funny to see what people do. Here they all read things out loud. So some one reads it and they read it out loud as if they were by themselves. And we are just like “Oh, are you interested?” and they just look at us some weird way and walk off. The same with the name tags. They come up and they stare at your name tag and read it out loud; “L'église de Jésus-Christ des saints des derniers jours.” And the best part is when they look up and realize that you are looking at them. And then you start talking with them, it is so funny. I laugh all the time. Then there are people when you say “hello” that just say “sir” back to you. I love it. Just good times, good times.

So, that is pretty much all of our amies. We decided to work a little bit more with less actives and inactive. So, yesterday we drove pretty much to our boundary to see an inactive family who lives about a 45 min drive away. It was a long time but they where awesome. We have another rendezvous with them this week, so that is cool. Well family, time is running short. It’s been fun talking, but I hope you all have a great day and have fun at work or school. Yes, school has started even here. There are less kids on the street and more in school. Ya, those where the days. Well, I hope you have fun and have a great week. I love ya and TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

Sorry last thing here is a picture of Elder Taylor Smith who lives in the Roods ward.

August 30, 2010

Hey family, how is it going? It has felt like a long time since the last time we talked. Sorry, I never got back to you last week. We were just really busy. Well, no time to lose. I have to write about two weeks, so you better be ready.

Well, transfer day - what a day! Patrick, the member in Charleroi we work with, came and picked me up and took me to the gare (train station). Before I left he gave me a Belgium comic book called Tin Tin (in English it is pronounced Tan Tan) which was pretty cool. He took me to the gare and waited with me until the other elders came. I said goodbye then I got on the train all by myself to go to Paris. It was a nice train ride, not too bad. When I arrived there were a couple of missionaries there to help me get through Paris. I had to go to another station so they helped me on the metro. We got to the other station and I was by myself again waiting for an hour till my train showed up. Finally my train showed up and it took me forever to get to my car. Then when I did, there was no place to put my luggage. So, I stayed with my luggage for the whole trip down to Angers, which sucked because I had a reserved seat on the train that I didn’t get to use. There was also a mom and a little girl riding where I was. During the train ride the little girl threw up, but luckily nothing got on me. Well, after a long trip down to Angers with my luggage, I found my companion and he took us to the apartment. We had a car so that was nice. We have a car for 1 week then the Cholet elders have it for 2 weeks then we get it back. We switch off like that all the time. So, when we get the car back guess who has to learn how to drive a stick? Well, we then had to take Elder Montiney to the train station to get his companion and on the way over we get a flat tire. So, I took off my tie, rolled up my sleeves and got to work. I eventually got the spare tire on but my hands were pitch black and there was no place to wash them. Oh, and by the way, while I was changing the tire I ripped my pants. So now I am walking around with ripped pants and my hands are black with grease and stuff. Well, we drop off the elder and we get back to the apartment to wash up. We then had to go get food because they didn’t get any on p-day. So, we get out to the car and Elder Ellis forgot the keys to the car and to the apartment. He left them in the apartment. So, now we are locked out of the car and our own apartment.....but don’t worry this gets better. We tried calling everyone we could to see if they have a spare key - but no luck. We had English class that night so we headed to the church. No one was there so we eventually got back to the apartment. A member said he could come over to see if he could break in. He came - but no luck. So, now we are out of options and Elder Ellis decides to kick down or open our door.......ya.....well, he kicks it open and the door was fine but the lock - not so much. So, we found some glue and put it back together and the member took us out for a kabob sandwich just to relax. That was my day - flat tire, ripped pants, black hands, locked out of the apartment and to finish it off, a broken lock.

Well, the next day we got some stuff and put it back together and now it is better then what it was. Oh, some time that week, a “Captain Jack Sparrow” contacted us. He didn’t look like him but he had all the actions. He was drunk and he had all the hand motions and everything. It was a little funny until he touched my face. I didn’t like that - not one bit! But, he was cool - just a little special. On Monday it was p-day and I am sorry for not e-mailing you. It was good though. We had to take the car in to get the tire fixed, so we didn’t have a car. But, oh well, I like walking. We had other Elders come over to spend the day with us and also the night because we had zone conference the next day. They came early and spent p-day with us. We went to a sweet castle, the Chateau d'Angers. There they have a tapestry of the Book of Revelations from the Bible. It was SICK, as we say OR AWESOME, as you would say! I even got a book that had it all in it. It was really cool! After that is when Ii wrote you that little e-mail saying I would write later. Then we went back and got things ready for zone conference. Oh, the Assistants to the President came and slept over with us also. We had 6 elders in the apartment - cool huh! Well, early in the morning we had to leave to go and pick up the car. So we did that and headed over to the church for zone conference. We gave the car to the Cholet elders. Zone conference was awesome! We talked about how the spirit is the best tool we have and how in our mission calls we promised to be obedient to all the rules. Pres. Staheli gave us these formulas on how we can find answers, change behavior and more. I will have to write them next week because I don’t have them all with me. Well, after we had to clean up the church and get everything ready. I also got a package from the ward that was really cool. Tell them thank you!

Well, that has been all the big stuff. We have been doing a lot of contacting and a lot of door to door. Just to let you know, we do have a baptism date for the 18th of September. So, that will be cool. He had been investigating the church for a year now, so that is cool. He is also getting married to a member this Saturday, the 4th, that is also awesome. I am excited for him. He is so cool. We are just going to review the commandments with him and he should be good. Last week he taught us about the atonement of the savoir. It was cool from what I understood. Everything should be good.

Well, not much else has been going on. We have been doing a lot of contacting lately and we have had a couple of appointments here and there. Elder Ellis is really cool. He is a great missionary and speaks French really well, so that is cool. Not much is different being Senior Companion. I do have to do a little more work like filling out reports for the secretary. He needs to know about the credit card expense; for example, the repair on the car, buying tickets for transportation and so forth.

Things here are going great. This is a cool place. It is different than Belgium though. The people here are a lot more up tight, but its good. Their French is a little clearer, so it is easier to understand. Some people can’t understand me, so that is funny. Our apartment is pretty ghetto. Our dining room table stands about a foot and a half off the ground and is held up by 8 Book of Mormons. Our oven was in pretty bad shape so they got a new one last transfer, but the gas thing doesn’t fit. We have the worst shower I have ever seen in my entire life. It is so freaking small, and weirdly shaped. I can’t even explain to you how it is. I guess I will just have to send pictures, so that will be good. Our fan is held together by tape and a chair, so ya, well it’s fun though.

Well, things are great. I hope you are all having a great time and I hope you will have a great day today. I love you all and hope you will have a great week. TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

P.S. Here is a picture of the castle and a picture of what a missionary does when no one is looking. Love ya!
These last two are of his companion Elder John Ellis.

August 23, 2010

Hey family how is it going? well time is short I only got about 10 mins today because life has been busy. But I wanted to let you know everything is great here and I got a lot of fun stories to tell. We are planning to do Our actual e mail tomorrow or the next day but I think tomorrow, we just didnt have a lot of time today we had to get things taken care of and I promis that I will tell you all about it. I just wanted to let you know everything is good and I made it safe here in Angers and I am haveing a great time

Also the email place we usualy do email at is only open between 4-6 pm so You should all get my emails around 8 or 9 am in the U.S. so if the email is not there at 3 AM that is why. Well I love you and hope you all have a great day today on this monday It is probably around 11 o clock there so I hope you have a great rest of the day and Know that I love you and am truly greatfull for all the support you give me I love you and will probably talk to you tommorrw LOVE ELDER WALKER

August 16, 2010

Transfer note we received on Saturday:

Well, family how is it going? Well, it is transfer time and some sad news - I am leaving Belgium :( No, it is all good! I am going to Angers, France. It is in Nates and I will be with Elder John Ellis. And guess what else - I am SENOIR COMPANION. I think I am a little sick. I mean I didn’t even get to be co-companions with someone. I went from Jr. companion to Sr. I think I am going to be sick. No, I know that the lord will help me and this is where he wants me to be and I will be happy with that. I will serve where ever the lords wants me to serve. Here is my new address:

6 Square Alexandr 1er
49100 Angers
France

Wednesday is going to be fun - moving from Charleroi to Angers, I will probably have to go through Paris to get there.......it is going to be along day!
Well, I love ya and I will write more on Monday on p-day. I love you all and hope you will have a great day. LOVE ELDER WALKER


Monday’s e-mail:

Bonjour tu vas bien? How are things going? I am glad to hear things are going great. Well if you didn’t here, I am leaving Charleroi and I am leaving Belgium. I am going to Angers, France and will be with Elder John Ellis. I found out he will be in his 3rd transfer with me, and I have heard he is pretty funny and he is a hard worker so, I am looking forward to that. However, I am not looking forward to the traveling. I think am I going to go through Paris because Paris is right in the middle between Charleroi and Angers. So, I will probably go to Paris, change trains, then off to Angers.

Well, this week has been a little weird. Not much has happened. When we had more missionaries in Charleroi we had two apartments, but now they are closing one. So, the office called us on Tuesday and said that the other apartment had to be deep cleaned by Thursday morning. So we had to clean the apartment. Well, we had a district meeting on Tuesday which lasted forever. After that we went to the apartment and cleaned for the rest of the day. Then on Wednesday, we spent the whole day cleaning. We had one appointment in the evening, then back to cleaning. Thursday morning we cleaned until about noon when the office elders showed up and check the apartment. The apartment wasn’t that bad but we had to do a deep cleaning and get it ready to close. So, we spent a lot of time cleaning everything up. But the rest of Thursday we had appointments and stuff, so that was good.

On Saturday we had a ward picnic at our church or so we thought. We get there and other people show up. Then they said, “Time to go, everyone in the car.” We thought we were just going to a park, but the park was in Wavre which happens not to be in our zone, but don’t tell pres or the zone leaders. It wasn’t that far away, so we went. It was not bad. I got some cool pictures, so it was cool. Then we got back and that is when we got the news about transfers.
So, that was pretty much my week. Not much went on besides cleaning, but it was good. We had three investigators at church and they loved it and want to come back. So I am happy about that. Our baptism date is still going good. He didn’t come to church yesterday but we have called him and he is still reading the scriptures and praying, so that is good.

Well, not much else is going on - just packing and stuff. Well, things are great here. It is going to be a long train ride on Wednesday, but it should be good. Well, I love you and hope you all have a great week. I will tell you all about Elder Ellis and my trip down to Angers and also about Angers next week. I hope you all have fun and stay safe. LOVE YA, LOVE ELDER WALKER

P.S. Here are a couple of cool pictures from Belgium