Week #95
Played my guitar in church

Monday was pretty fun, but I am pretty sure I already informed you guys that I went bowling with some of the youth, our DMB and the sisters. Then after we had a FHE at the church and not too many people were there this time just us, the sisters, and two amis. 

Tuesday was super cool. We went to the train station and gathered all the missionaries from our zone then took them all to the church in Tours. Then we had separate district meetings. We left a little early so that we could pick up the pizza. Then we ate lunch together and played some games and shared some pictures and videos it was really fun. Then we made a stand in the middle of Tours and half of us worked at the stand then the other half went out and contacted then half way through we swapped. We had a ton of success, in 2 hours we taught 50 lessons gave out over 300 cards and gave out 20 Book of Mormons it was super cool. Then the Elders from Bourges stayed the night with us because they were going to Paris in the morning for legality. 

Wednesday in the morning we had to go give a member a blessing. Then we went and visited a recent convert and he brought his friend to a lesson, but his friend was higher than a kite haha so it was interesting teaching him. Then we are playing a song at church this Sunday so we practiced it with the sisters at the church. Then we did some pass-backs and ended up teaching a less active guy that we saw on the bus. 

Thursday we had DMB meeting in the morning and that went well. We are trying to work with members more in Tours because the members never do missionary work in Tours (I feel like I've had to do this in every ville I've served in). Then we had a ton of phone calls we needed to make from the finding day and other things. We updated the area book. Then went out contacting and ported near our apt. 

Friday we did some weekly planning and made a bunch of phone calls because people from the day before told us to call today and a lot of people didn't answer. After that we went out contacting. Then we tried passing by some of our amis houses but none of them were home but then we got lost trying to find this ladies house and got home a little late.

Saturday was a super fun day. We stayed busy throughout the entire day. In the morning we practiced the song that we were going to play in church. After that we got the transfer list and I am getting a new companion and I can't wait because he is super cool and I like him a lot! Then we had a RDV at the church it was decent I think we are dropping this guy though he never keeps his engagements. Then we  taught our other ami at his house, he's a professional dancer and I like him a lot he actually gets it. Way better than the lesson before that. Then we had another lesson with a family that we found it was just our second lesson with them. We taught them the restoration and it was awesome! They have tons of potential After that we ate at a members house and I love them so much they are easily my favorite family! 

Sunday we played our musical number and it went really well. Then we after church we taught our amis. Then we headed home and changed and did some finding. After that we visited our American neighbors and taught the husband a little bit of the Restoration. Then we made some brownies for some members that were going through a hard time. 

Thanks for all your love and support. Peace out.

-Elder Beck

Week #94
Chenonceaux

Yo! Had a super killer week this week, one of my favorites for sure!

Monday was p-day and it was the best! We visited a castle in Chenonceaux, it was the most beautiful thing I've seen in France. I took like a postcard picture of the castle so I hope it will attatch well to the email so y'all can see. Then we had a FHE at the church - it wasn't a huge turn out. Our ami came and said goodbye to us because he was leaving on vacation for the week. 

Tuesday in the morning we did confidentiality reports for our zone and that’s always pretty boring and takes a lot time but it wasn't too bad. We even got to do it in our apt this time so that was nice. Then we went out and did some finding and found some cool people, and we saw one of our amis and she's pregnant now... #awkward. But we like never see her anymore because she never answers.

Wednesday we had DM in Le Mans it was really fun, our DL there right now is a pretty energetic guy. Then after that we tried seeing one of our amis at the train station, but he ended up not showing up, so that was a bummer. And our other lesson fell through as well... So we ended up having a whole lot of nothing that day so we just went finding. 

Thursday we had another DM, but this time in Bourges. It's a ville really similar to Auxerre (my second city) it's actually right next to it as well. It's pretty also. We did a finding day there so we had about 8 missionaries there all working in this little ville it was pretty fun! I was with a missionary that I really like and we taught a lot people together and bumped into an old ami on the road. Then we came back and were walking home to eat and we met this guy who spoke English and was super cool and prepared for the gospel. He gave us his address so we are planning on stopping by soon. 

Friday was just packed of planning honestly nothing too interesting happened. We went to DMP meeting, our DMP is a good guy. He was originally Muslim and converted when he was 18 and then served a mission! Then we planned for our upcoming activities and week because we are going to have a big week coming up! Then we went to a ville called Amboise it's super pretty and we visited an awesome family with another member who is visiting from Germany, she is doing like an internship for like a month or something. But it was awesome! She served her mission in Berlin and the other family lived in Frankfurt for a while because the husband works for the church. Their house is super nice as well and it was just an awesome night! We got home super late though haha. 

Saturday was sooooooo much fun. We had a branch activity and this "recreational park" we all thought it was just going to be like a picnic so (luckily) we wore normal clothes because our DMP told us to, because it ended up being like a mini Boondocks type deal. They had a mini mountain bike trail (with jumps and everything) these push go-cart things, tramps, rope swings, and like we lived it up haha. It was so much fun. The members were so impressed haha. We also had 2 amis there so that awesome they both came to church too. Activities are awesome. When we got home we showered and stuff then went out contacting. 

Sunday we went to church and it was good. Elder Gee had to teach the lesson so that was nice. I had to bless the sacrament ( I do every week ) but this week something kinda cool happened. The kid next to me blessing the sacrament kept messing up and like I was reading it for him and helping him pronounce French words (even though it's his first language) it was kinda cool to think how much my french has improved in 2 years. I remember doing it in my 2nd ville and having to repeat it like 4 times. Then we taught a recent convert and jammed a little bit on the guitar. Talked about the law of chastity all that good stuff. Then we visited our American amis!!! They are so awesome and they only live 3 doors down from us. They are an older couple and super Christian and so awesome. It was nice explaining the gospel in English to real Americans...I think serving state side would have been awesome! Although I am really happy to have the call that I received :)

Thanks you guys for everything! You're the best,

love you all!

-Elder Beck

Week # 93
Super cool miracle

Hey y'all I had a super good week! Let me fill you in...

Weekly Update!

Monday nothing too big happened, just like normal -pday. We had a FHE at the church, no members came (again) but we did have 3 amis there which was legit! We played uno and ate chips then the sisters shared a spiritual thought. 

Tuesday was a good day, we were in Paris the whole day. We woke up at 5h00 in the morning in order to get to Paris on time so I was pretty tired that day. We had zone conference! The formations that were given were pretty good... (not my personal favorite but they weren't bad) then we gave a formation on finding people because we felt like that's what our zone was lacking the most is good finding attributes. Later we had interviews which was a lot of fun, it was my favorite interview with both the Babins, they pretty much just made me feel good haha. Then we took a train and headed home and hit the hay because we were exhausted. 

Wednesday we didn't have too much to do, in the morning we went and did some contacting, we found some cool potentials. We tried to check some stuff off our bucket list. Then we taught a cool guy on bridge but he lives in Reims. Right after that Elder Gee started feeling sick (he kinda had a rough week) so he took a nap and I called some people. Then we knocked on some doors. 

Thursday was an awesome day! One of my favorites. In the morning we went down to the train station to go pick up Elder Omohandro from Kentucky because we were doing an exchange. And this exchange was so much fun, we went to the church to have our DMP meeting, but he actually ended up canceling 10 mins before... so we went back home and ate lunch then headed over to a members house who then gave us a ride to another members castle! Then we just chilled at this castle and the family was awesome and super nice, they made us real French Toast and we played bouchée ball and it was super fun. Then we went home and went contacting. 

Friday was a pretty weird day - we finished our exchange, then we changed our clothes and did a service project for a family. We just painted their kitchen.  Then we just went home after that and did some weekly planning.

Saturday we visited a recent convert and he has a electric guitar so I got to play for him, expect he loves like metal so our tastes of music were a little different, but it was still fun playing on a electric.  We taught this recent convert how to teach the Restoration because he wants to go on a mission some day. Then we had a super cool miracle, a family that we found on the road a week ago we passed by their house and long story short we found their son on the road (by luck) asked him if he knew the family we were looking for, he said ya that's my family. So he took us to his house because Elder Gee messed up on the address and they were super excited to see us and we had a super good RDV with them. Then we went contacting and found a lot good people. 

Sunday was a super good day as well. We went to church and we taught Sunday School class (on the spot I chose the topic and pretty much taught it on the spot because the teacher just didn't show up) and after that I had to give a talk! But actually the talk went really well, it was the only time ever I

've ever wanted more time to talk and I already took 20 mins. Then a lot of members wanted to see us after the talk so that was the part that made me the most happy. Then we went home and had to do Zone stuff, and then went out proselyting and we passed by a less active guy from Brazil and he was super nice. Then we came home and did our weekly calls. 

Today we went and saw a castle in our sector in a ville called Chenonceaux! Its was suuuuper pretty, I will send some pics of it. But honestly it was amazing! Then we ate a nice restaurant it was an awesome pday! 

Love you all! 

-Elder Beck

Pics - Zone Conf, Chenonceaux, and the members castle! 

Week #92
Tours Religouse

Hey guys! 

I had a great week! Monday we had a normal p-day, nothing too special happened. We had a FHE at the church, but only 2 people came and they were both amis...one is super solid! We gave the spiritual thought on Charity then played some card games - then our ami gave us a ride home. 

Tuesday was a pretty fun day, we went straight to DM in Le Mans. I fell asleep in like 4 minutes on the train! Then we had our DM and it was pretty fun it was on "Real Intention", and after we played that game Mafia and it was pretty fun because I haven't played that game since I was a kid. Later that day we did an exchange with the Elders of Alencon in Tours. I was with Elder Vance and Elder Ashcraft. It was my first time ever being in a 3 sum since Charleroi, and it's pretty awkward not going to lie! We looked liked the Mafia! We went contacting, and we got to see the Cathedral in Tours. We ate at the famous "Tours Religouse" it's pretty much like a giant ball version of an éclair. We got to teach some people too, which was cool. 

Wednesday finished our exchange with the Alencon Elders first thing in the morning, their train was super early. Then we packed for our next exchange with the APs in Paris. Our train got there at like 3h and then we headed over to Versailles. I was with Elder Amaya he's a good dude we had a lot of fun. We taught some guy on the road and then went to an RDV with someone that was recently baptized that I actually got to teach before she was baptized so that was cool. Her dad isn't a member so the lesson was more centered for him and it went really well. Then we came home for diner - we played Monopoly Deal and it was super fun. 

Thursday we finished up our exchange with the APs. I got to see Elder Karl in the morning because he was in Paris doing his comps legality. We took a train home, we didn't get there till later because it takes a long time to get to Tours. Then we planned out our training that we are going to give our zone and set up all our interview times. Our training is going to be on finding and so far it's looking pretty good. 

Friday in the morning we went out contacting and taught some people and it was cool because almost all of them started out being super negative towards us, but in the end we were praying all together so that was cool. Then we taught this lady that we found at a park with the Sisters because we were passing her because she lives all alone. Then we ate lunch...and something happened...I'm not sure what but Elder Gee and me both got some minor food poisoning! I went to bed a like 8-ish. 

Saturday I was feeling pretty sick, but Elder Gee was feeling a little better. In the morning we saw our ami who has been progressing a ton lately! He is praying for a date and our next RDV we are going to try and fix a date with him, it's super cool too because he has been an ami for like 8 years now and he's finally progressing. Then we got flaked on twice, but honestly I wasn't that mad because I was feeling sick so I slept for like 3hrs. When I woke up I felt a lot better but Elder Gee got worse haha. We just kinda sucked it up though and went finding and it was awesome because we found a normal french family! Also we taught a guy on a park bench and it was super awesome. He said he'll come to church. Then we went and got a kebab with a guy that was recently baptized in Tours. He moved after being baptized, but now he's moved back and he's a cool guy too. He plays guitar so I'm hoping we can jam sometime.

Sunday we went to church and there were so many Americans there it was crazy! There was a family from Pleasant Grove, plus all the other Americans that are part of our ward had family over it was cool. Also there were a lot of students there from Sweden and Germany who speak English, so it was legit. Then we went home and just planned for the week nothing special then went out and did some nightly contacting! 

Thanks for all your love and support you guys rock!

-Elder Beck

Week #91
Max

Monday I had my first p-day in Tours! Sadly we didn't get to do much sight seeing, but there are a lot of castles in our sector so hopefully I will be able to visit some pretty cool things. We just went shopping for a bit. Elder Gee, Elder Player, and Elder Powelson have all bought the same suit as me now! We went to the church to do some emails, but the wifi wasn't working so I barley got to email anyone so that was a bummer. 

Tuesday was fun we had district meeting in a ville called Le Mans. We had to wake up at 5h30 to get there which wasn't fun. Then we had our district meeting - it was on fixing goals and it was well done. Then for our zone we created a "finding bucket list" personalized for companionships in our zone, we are hoping that it'll be successful and help them stretch. If anyone is interested in seeing one of the bucket lists let me know I can forward you one. Then we went on an exchange in Alencon and there are 3 Elders there for the moment. I went with the district leader ,he is a good dude and our exchange went super well. We contacted 3 people the whole time and taught every single person and got all their phone numbers and with some return appointments. Then we called a potential investigator after dinner and he said we could come over and meet with him. He goes by Lil' Charles and at first we were kind of like "we don't really know what to think about this guy" but he ended up to be super cool. He is from Nigeria and he raps haha (in English) but he is also super spiritual and interested. We invited him to be baptized (on the fist rdv) and he said he would pray to ask Heavenly Father what day he'd like him to be baptized! Which is super awesome because Alencon hasn't had a baptism in 5 years! I was really glad to be apart of that.  

Wednesday we finished our exchange with the Alencon Elders and took a train home right after our studies. When we got home it was about 2-ish and we took lunch then we went out contacting. We found a sweet new ami, he is a professional dancer and was super nice. Then we took dinner and after that did some pass-backs and porting. 

Thursday we went to Blois district meeting in Orleans. Orleans is a super pretty ville, I was amazed! We were in a pretty big hurry though, so sadly we didn't really get to see anything other than the chapel haha. But the district meeting was good. The district leader is from Kentucky and he is a pretty funny guy. Then we headed home and we just did some finding and tried checking things off our bucket lists. Then at night we tried seeing some less actives but no one was home!

Friday was a super busy day. We had a RDV right after our studies, but we tried going to the train station to catch our train there because he lives about 30 minutes away from Tours, but there was a problem and we missed our train! We just returned our tickets and got new ones and we are going to visit him later. Then we visited that guy we found on Wednesday he was super cool! The RDV went super well. Then we had our DMP meeting. After that we headed straight for the church because we had an RDV and the guy that we were suppose to meet there (after we confirmed with him twice) cancelled 1 minute before... so then we took a bus home and did a little contacting. 

Saturday we had another RDV in the boonies first thing in the morning at a place called Chateaux du Loir, its amazingly tiny. The people we visited are eternal investigators and they were interesting to say the least. They didn't really want to be taught so I think that will be the last time I go over there. Then after that we visited our ami Max who is super sweet. He had some pretty difficult questions we had to answer (about Brigham Young, Kolob, DNA evidence of the Book of Mormon, Plural marriage) things like that... We didn't get to teach him what we wanted, but our RDV still went really good because we answered every single one of his questions and it went good and he told us he wants to be baptized so hopefully that'll happen soon! 

Sunday was a good day. I got to meet one of my Aunt Jenna's friends named Rachel. Her and her husband, are super cool. I am really excited to get to know them. We had a lot of visitors this week at church. An American family came to "visit" but it turned they actually own a Castle here in Tours!  They said they'd invite us over to come eat with them before they leave so I'm really looking forward to that! The rest of the day was pretty boring just weekly planning and zone stuff! 

Thanks for all yours emails everyone! Thanks for your prayers and your support it means a lot!

-Elder Beck

PS Yes i am aware that my pictures suck this week, I was scraping at the bottom of the barrel because I didn't take any. I'll get you next week :)