March 29, 2011

Hey family, how is everything going? Well, this past week has been great. It was a hard week though, not too many rendez-vous but we fixed a lot of rendez-vous for this next week. We have about 10 at the moment which is really good. We also had a very cool thing happen this week. Well, it actually started about 2 weeks ago or a 1week and a half. But we were on this tram thing and we were speaking English. When we got up there was this girl who looked at us and asked if we were American. It turns out she is American also. She is from Nebraska. So we get talking and she asked why we were here so we told her. Then we asked why she was here. We thought maybe for studies or something, because she wasn’t that old. We found out that her husband plays pro basketball here in France and he is on the Le Havre team - which is really cool by the way. Then she asks if we liked basketball, we of course said yes. Then she asked if we would like to go to a game and she could get us tickets. So we talked about it and told her that would be cool. So we gave her our card hoping she would call us and we could go. We were also hoping to talk about why we are there and what our message is. So a couple of weeks go by. Then Saturday comes around and Elder Whitecar and I were talking. We were saying just like “hey, you know there is a basketball game today.” Then we were like, “I don’t think she is going to call us.” Well around 3 or 3:30 we get a text message saying, “Hey, I didn’t forget about you, If you still want to go give me a call.” So we gave her a call and ended up going to the game. They also gave us front row tickets which was sweet. And the game was awesome - they won. The best part was when we were talking to them after. We met also her friend who is from Philly and lived in California. Her husband plays on the same team. So we talked with them and they are so cool. We were talking about religion and how it’s hard here. One of them said, “Ya, when my husband and I moved here we were looking for a church.” Then they started to ask us what we do and why we are here. It was really cool. Then the husbands came out and I loved it. It was so American mixed with French. He said, "YO ça va" no one says that here. Elder Whitecar and I were just in ah. We were just thinking to ourselves, “that is so American.” Well we talked with them and they were awesome also. One of them asked if we could help him with his French. We said yes and gave him our card. They were so cool and I hope we can see them again. I know they were looking for a church when they came here so maybe we can meet them again and explain more of our religion. They were AWESOME!!!!!!!!! It was so funny also. When the husbands came out they came and shook our hands.....dang they were huge. His hand was the size of my face and he had to be like freaking tall - 6'6 or 6'8. After they invited us to go to the V.I.P. party thing where the sponsors had some treats and drinks for after the game. They had tickets for us to go also. Unfortunately we had to say no. It was getting late and we had to get back. They were really cool. I hope and pray we can see them again and talk more. They seemed really cool and interested in what we do and I hope we can see them again. Another thing that is awesome is CONFERECE GENERAL OR GENERAL CONFERECE IN ENGLISH! It’s the same just backward in French. But ya, General Conference this weekend. Oh ya! I love general. It is so great. It is a great time to learn and grow. We get to watch all of the sessions, but the Sunday afternoon one because of the time change. But it is all good. A little bit about our investigators. Donatien is doing really great. He came to church but he worked right after so we didn’t have time to talk about the baptism. We have a rendez-vous with him on Thursday. We also have another investigator, Françoise Daniel, who we have a meeting with tonight. So I hope that is all good. So that is our life. I am loving it. It is great! I love being here. I hope you all have a great week and an awesome General Conference. Well, Love Ya TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

March 25, 2011

Hey family, how is everything going? Things here are going great. The new transfer went well also. We got Elder Hayden off to Nantes safely. I actually went with him to Rouen along with Elder Hartley. I waited with him while he was waiting for his companion. Then Elder Whitecar showed up in Rouen and we took a train together to go to Le Havre. Well, that was all good. Elder Whitecar seems to be an awesome missionary. He works hard and he is cool. His French is really good also. He is in his 3rd transfer. This will be his 2nd city and his 3rd companion. He is really cool. We seem to be getting along great we haven’t had any problems yet which is always good. So I am happy about that. Well, this week was good. The first week of the transfer is really hard though when everyone is moving around, but it wasn’t that bad. Saturday we went back to Rouen to help them with a service project. They do this every year were you go with the members and hand out “Family Proclamations to the World” to everyone on the street. There is also a contact paper with questions people might ask. It was really cool and it went great. We handed a lot out and hopefully people will read them and want to know more. It was a fun activity and we had a great time. Thursday was the anniversary of the Relief Society. It was an African theme. They had some sweet African people come and play some really cool music on their African instruments. It was awesome. The meeting was only for the women but they said we could come for about 15 mins and listen for a little bit. We ended up staying for the whole concert. It was about a 1 hr long. It was really cool. We were not the only men there also. We had our branch president and our new DMP (ward mission leader) there also. It was cool. I didn’t feel too bad. The best part was the next day because one of the members called us and told us there was left over food in the fridge at the church just for us. So, Elder Whitecar and I were happy about that. We got some food out of it so it was all worth it. One of our investigators was there also, Françoise. Which I think it was awesome and I hope she had a fun time. We couldn’t get a lesson with her this week but we have one for next week. Our other investigator, Donatien, is doing great. He couldn’t come to church this past Sunday because of studies but I need to call him tonight and fix another rendez-vous with him this week. This is when we want to fix a baptism date with him. Hopefully we will be able to see his friend Joseph this week also. Well, things are going great here and things are fun. Being district leader is fun also. I have learned so much. When you are preparing a lesson you get a lot more out of it I think, but it is good being district leader. I truly have loved it serving others. Well .things here are great and I hope everyone has a great week. -- TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

March 14, 2011

Hey family, how is everything going? Well, sorry I didn’t get the message out to you on Saturday if I am staying or going. We didn’t have time to check our e-mail because we were helping a family move. After the move we had a big general priesthood meeting at Caen so we didn’t have time. But - the elders from Rouen told us what is happing. Actually though, I already knew what was going to happen. I got a call Friday morning from the assistants so that is how I already knew. They actually called to tell me President Staheli felt inspired to call me as a district leader. Sweet! I said yes. I am staying here though but I am getting a new companion. His name is Elder Scott Whitecar. This will be his 3rd transfer. I haven’t heard much about him, but what I have heard is that he is pretty cool. So I am excited about that. Well, being the district leader means I just have a couple more responsibilities. I have to teach district meetings, do exchanges and take numbers down. Besides that I still have the same responsibilities as all of the other missionaries. It should be a good learning experience though and I am excited. I know the Lord will be there to help me out, but I am very excited. Well, besides that this week was pretty cool. Last Tuesday we went to a choir concert at a church and it was really cool. It was an all girl choir because it was for the Women’s Day here in France. It was really cool and I loved it. They sang some great music. There was a really great spirit there - really peaceful. It brought back some good memories from when I was in the Bountiful choirs. I really liked it and I was glad we were invited. We also had some great rendez-vous with our investigators. We have an investigator named Françoise who is really cool. She comes to church every week and is just awesome. She told us though that she has not been feeling an answer to know if this is the true church or not. She likes the stuff we teach and she really likes the Plan of Salvation. She told us she wants to believe it’s true but can’t get an answer. We know she has felt the spirit but she may just not recognize it. So, this past week we taught about the Holy Ghost and how to feel the spirit and what he does for us and the feelings he gives us. It was a really good lesson. We also asked her to bring a question to church on a piece of paper and if she listens and has the faith we promised her that she will get an answer. So hopefully she did and we will be able to see her again this week. We also have another Amie whose name is Donatien. He is cool. He is the one that wants to be baptized. We have a rendez-vous with him tonight and we want to invite him to be baptized. It should be a great rendez-vous. Oh, and last Sunday he brought a friend to church. His friend took notes the whole church block and he loved every minute of it. He told us that he was so grateful for his friend inviting him. I think he has got some great potential. He couldn’t come to church yesterday because he was sick but he wants to see us again and get a Book of Mormon. Awhile back we ran into an inactive person on the bus. She was in Paris and just moved up here in Le Havre and then she met us. We have been working with her and it has been awesome. She came to church again yesterday and loved it. Then we had a little family night at a members’ house where she came and we had a good time. She has started to read the Book of Mormon again and loves it. It is so cool and we have another rendez-vous with her and she wants to come to church next week. We also had a missionary workshop at our ward where we had to talk about the Book of Mormon and how we can use it in our lives. We also talked about how we can share it with our friends. It was really good. So that was our week. It was really good. I liked it a lot and I liked the priesthood meeting. I also got to see some of the members in the Coutance branch because they were there at the meeting also. It was fun to see them. Well family, I love you and hope you have a great week. Bye!
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TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER
Here is Chris, Elder Hayden and their Boo Boos...too funny!

March 8, 2011

Hey family, how is everything going? Well things here are going great! So, I have heard that you are having some fun with the weather there in Utah. Rain, snow and freezing temps. Sounds fun. Here the weather has been great! The past few days there has been sunshine and temps in the high teens - which are about the 60’s in America, and it is awesome. Yesterday for our P-day we went to the beach and we played a game on the beach with blue skies and a calm ocean. It was awesome. Well, that is our weather here. I don’t know how long it will last for but I hope it will last for some time. I like the cold and all but I think it is time for a change. Well, we have been having fun here. We had to go to Paris again last Friday to have another training session or I guess it was Zone Conference. We talked about the last two points in the simplified curriculum which are the Doctrine of Christ which is our missionary objective and the role of the Holy Ghost in conversions. It was really good. We talked about coming unto Christ and how we can come unto him. Then we talked about the Holy Ghost and what he does in the conversion process. Also, how the Book of Mormon combined with the Spirit is the most powerful tool in the conversion process. So that was Paris. After the training we didn’t have time to go and explore Paris, but we did get....BOO BOOS. I have no clue how to spell it but it sound like that - boo boos. You may be thinking what is he talking about, and what is a boo boo. Is he talking like a little kid when they say, “Mommy, I got a booboo”...no I am not. A booboo is the best. It is a sort of clothing one can say, but African clothes... Oh YA baby. These boo boos are sick. I would send a picture, but I forgot my camera so next week for sure. They are sick and if I am ever in Paris again I will get another one. They basically look like jammies, but sweeter.
So we got those then headed back to Le Havre. Well, that was our trip to Paris. It was great. So there has been a lot of news going around about getting a new mission president this summer. His name is Frank Ponozki. I don’t think I spelled it right - sorry. But the cool thing is that I already know him and his family. He actually lives in Anger, France. So when I was there I got to meet him and his family. They are really cool and he will make a great mission president. A lot of people like him and I like him also, so that will be cool. Well time is running short, but I want to say a last thing. Transfers are coming up and we will find out this Saturday if we stay or if we go. Whatever happens we will be happy. Oh ya Cuz - Sister Whiting - I read her e-mail and she said she is serving with a Sister Dungan. I actually think it is the sister of my old companion Elder Dungan. Elder Dungan told me one day that his sister was in the same mission as Sister Whiting. So that is cool. Well, I love you family and hope you have a great week. Bye

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TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER

March 1, 2011

Hey family how is everyone this week? Well, things here are great. We had a great week this past week. We didn’t have much time this week to do everything we wanted, but we still had a fun week. Thursday we had to travel to Paris for the day and we spent Friday there also. I didn’t get to see much as we went straight from the Gare (train station) to the church in St. Mary. It is pretty much in the center of the city. So, unfortunately I was not able to see any of the sites or anything. We just spent two days in a church having leadership training by President Staheli, the assistants and the zone leaders. It was really good. Then Thursday night we stayed in Every with the elders there. It was fun. Then Friday we went back to the church and had another training session. Oh, and guess what? We have to go back this Friday to have another meeting. This one is our Zone Conference. So it will be fun to go back. Well, let’s talk about the things we were taught. The first day we talked about PAR’s. Prayer, attendance, and reading. In other words, more revelation through prayer, revelation through church attendance, and revelation through reading. We talked about how our investigators and ourselves will be able to receive revelation through these three things. We also talked about how these things are the things that will bring someone to conversion. One thing I liked very much is about the revelation through church attendance. We were told to ask our investigators to write down a question and come to church with this question. If they come to church with this question they will receive an answer. It was a great promise and it can also work for us. The one thing we need to remember though is that we need to have faith that we will receive the answer. If we do these things we will receive an answer to our questions. The next day we talked about teaching people not lessons. We invite, they commit, we follow up and I can’t quite remember the last - something about promising blessings though. It was good. the next time I will bring my notes so that I can tell you a lot more. Then on Friday we will go back and talk about two other things. They are the role of the holy ghost in conversion and my purpose and the doctrine of Jesus Christ. All of these are part of the new simplified curriculum. There are 8 things and that is why we are having so many meetings to talk about them. So it is good. I have learned a lot. Next time I will bring my note book to share more. Oh by the way, there is a new sister in our mission and the cool part is she was in my French class in high school. Elder Ryan Froyd will know her. Her name is Valery Reeves. So that was cool to see her. Well, got to go family. Sorry this letter is kinda short. Well, I love you and will talk to you next week.

P.S. Oh and I found out this week French people don’t like cinnamon bears. It is funny to watch them eat one though. Well, Love ya!

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TTFN LOVE ELDER WALKER