February 7, 2011

Hey family, how is everything going? Well, thing here are going great. Le Havre is great also. It is a lot bigger then St. Lô and Coutance, but I have to say that I do miss them though. I really did like it even though it was small. Well, things are going great with Elder Hayden and me. We have been working hard and getting along. The travel here was fun also...NOT. JK- no it was good, long but good. I did get a good work out though lifting the luggage up and down, on and off the train, and the bus. Elder Gull and I drove to Caen and after he left with our Zone Leader and drove to Paris. I jumped on the train then. I took it to a little town called Bernay where I had to hurry and get off the train, find my bus and get on. I only had about 7 mins but it was good. I made it. Then I took the bus to Rouan where I met my companion Elder Hayden. We took a train to Le Havre. On the train Elder Hayden pulled out of his bag a...can anyone guess? A Dr. Pepper....Oh yes, he said he got it for me. It was so good. The last time I had a Dr. Pepper was in Brussels and before that back in the states. It was so good. I really enjoyed it. I had the chance to get some before when I was in Anger but it was expensive. It was like 2 euros for a can so we never got any. But I may be getting some here maybe. I will see if I can resist. Well, that was my travel. It was good. The next morning though my arms were dead tired and sore. I never thought that moving so little an amount of things would be such a big work out.

Well, our last night in Coutance was pretty cool. We went over to our branch president’s house where we were talking about our investigators and after he looked at the clock and said, “Do we have time? Yes, I think we have time.” Elder Gull and I were like “time for what.” He said have you ever been to Uncle Scotts? We said “no” so he said lets go for dinner. So, we go - then I remember what it is. It is called Uncle Scotts the Country Restaurant. It is like an Applebee’s or a Stake house. So he took us there and I think it is an American restaurant. Due to the fact that when we got there, there were American flags and American signs all over. So, we went there for dinner. He ordered a big, big hamburger for each of us. When we got it, it looked so disgusting, but when you ate it, it was good. After though, you felt disgusting. But what can you do, right? He took some funny pictures with my camera while I was eating. We also took a funny picture where they told me to put ketchup on my face to look like I was a messy eater. I will see if I can send it. I am a little scared though, but oh well. Nothing I can do about that. It was good and really nice of him to do that.

Well, things here are good. We have a nice apartment - not bad - I like it. The city Le Havre…. Well, if you look at pictures it is really beautiful. And it is actually, but right now there are no leaves or anything because of winter. But ya - it is beautiful and will look better shortly. Now beautiful is not the first word I would use to describe this place. There is only one word I can think of and it fits in 6 letters. It starts with a GH and ends in an ETTO or in other words the ghetto. Yes, it is a ghetto, but I like it. It reminds me of Charleroi in Belgium. I like it. We still have a branch here but a little bigger, about 30 members, not bad. We have a good building so it’s cool. Well, Elder Hayden is cool. He is from Austria. He was born in Africa and moved to Austria where he was raised. So, it is cool. His main language is German, but he speaks really good English. He also speaks really good French. He may not be able to understand everything but he speaks really well. A lot of people are shocked because this is only in his 2nd transfer. He is really spiritual though. He has been a convert for about 2 years and he is 26 years old. He is really cool though and I think this will be a great transfer with him. I am excited.

Well, I had some things to write, and I wrote them down in my planner but I forgot my planner today. So, I will have to tell you next week. Well, I love you and hope you will have a great week. I love you all and I know that if you stay close to the lord, read, pray, go to church, and keep the commandments, the lord will take care of you and everything will be great. I was reading a talk by Elder Joseph B. Worthlin in the 2008 General Conference in Oct. His talk was called “Come What May and Love It.” It is a really good talk and you all should read it. I think it would be really cool. Well, I love you family. et que Dieu vous bénisse. Je vous aime.
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TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER