Packers in Paris Blog 52 –March 3rd – March 10th,
2019
BREAKING NEWS!
If this is feeling like the evening
news, where the most pressing, exciting, and remarkable stories are announced
at the front of the broadcast, I’m afraid you have just tuned into the Packer Daily
News! I will share the most miraculous and thrilling news at the front of this
blog, and the rest of the news/stories will follow afterwards!
CANCER FREE – MIRACLES ARE REAL!
It was only 18 months ago when Janine,
our daughter and their family received the news that their youngest boy,
Brigham was diagnosed with cancer (neuroblastoma). He was only 20 months old at
the time. It’s a long story from that point on, but I think our daughter’s
words to her extended family and then afterwards on Facebook, so beautifully
captivated this joyous news!
This week at Brigham’s appointment was one to
be remembered. He had to get a CT scan of his tumor and he’s always had to
be sedated for that. We made a huge milestone and he actually did the scan
without sedation! I was so impressed. We only used a minor bribe of
earning a hot wheels car if he did it! It worked like magic and the child
life specialist was so helpful as well!
He finished his 4 week round of Rituximab
infusions and is doing really well. His doctors want to wait 6 weeks before
they see him again. Then, the best news of all. The scan results came back
with no traceable tumor mass!!!!!!
It actually took me a while to process this. I
was skeptical that it was actually true and possible, because 5 months ago,
his tumor was still the same size as it always has been since his resection
surgery.
I’m still having a hard time actually saying
this out loud, but.....My little boy is CANCER FREE!!!! Prayer is a
powerful thing.
We can’t express the joy we felt when
reading her message! We were shocked and emotions welled up! We then paused to thank
Heavenly Father for this remarkable gift and the miracle in their life and for
all of us who have been praying multiple times daily! Miracles don’t usually
occur without a lot of faith, prayers, fasting, devotion to Him and a
willingness to accept God’s will, no matter the outcome! This was what we
were all trying to do! We were all willing to accept God’s will, but the faith
and prayers that were given in Brigham’s behalf were very tender.
Many have given so much in their behalf
to care for their children or go to the hospital with Janine and to send meals,
donations and countless prayers and fasting for sweet Brigham. Thank you to
each of you who have willingly done so much through your powerful aid from
prayer alone and so much more. We will forever be grateful for all who have
done so much while we’ve been away!
It was hard learning about the news of
his cancer prior to our mission making it hard to leave, yet we knew the Lord
would bless us, bless our family and that our faith would be strengthened
because of it! This it has! We’ve witnessed many other miracles while we’ve
been gone, through the faith of so many!
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| Brigham during his CAT SCAN (First time not sedated)! Becca is in the far left background to support him and encouraging him to keep his arms above his head, while holding the hot wheels car. His Dr. is on the far bottom right with him! Far left paper describing the outcome of the scan. |
MIRACLES
STILL OCCUR IN ROME!
Though the news above was a personal family miracle, the miracle that is
taking place right now in Rome is unprecedented. Who would have ever imagined an
LDS temple in Rome, Italy?
On October 4th, 2008 President Monson announced the plans for
construction of a temple in Rome, Italy. The site of the temple though was
purchased in the late 1990’s for another use!
There are so many articles with images that have been posted on Facebook,
so I will not share more than a link of a video or two and photos! We have had
several friends who have attend one of the dedicatory sessions or gone to the
Open House prior and can’t say enough of the enormous blessing this will be for
the people in Italy.
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| Rome, Italy Temple |
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| All 15 members of the Quorum of the Twelve and First Presidency dressed in white! |
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| All 15 members of the Quorum of the Twelve and First Presidency dressed in white! |
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| President Nelson with Pope Francis as he receives gifts from the church |
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| Pope Francis and President Nelson |
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| President Nelson, Pope Francis and other General Authorites |
Open House
Virtual Tour
VOLUNTEERS
ARE COMING OUT OF THE WOOD WORK!
With our new direction in the center, we
couldn’t do it without the help of volunteers. We have tried before, but people
were always so busy. As we began another search, we were amazed at how willing
people were in wanting to help. They love the concept of what we are preparing
and they will be able to help from home, come to the center at their
convenience, and in a myriad of other ways. Our hearts are grateful and know
that the success of any worthwhile venture is involving others, especially when
it comes to service. Through the week we continued to fill our list of willing
volunteers. We’ll be hopefully meeting this week to discuss ways they might
help us out!
INTERVIEW
WITH PRESIDENT SORENSEN – GRATITUDE FOR THE CHURCH’S NAME!
We were grateful for the insightful
discussion we had with our mission president, President Sorensen. He continues
to see the great value of the new direction of the center and made a couple of
suggestions that could only make it better. That’s what we’ve been working on
this week with some improved adjustments.
First off we need to recognize the
church on all of our publicity, by stating the name of our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. We are in the process of making these changes along with all of our
other preparations to follow through with all of the courses offered. As of
this date, we haver over 70 people signed up for classes in two weeks.
We are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus
Christ! Those attending the classes will quickly see that it’s a service we are
giving the community to help strengthen individuals and families. They will come
to realize that we are not a cult, but Christians who love the Lord, love to
serve, and that we have a profound love for others.
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| President Sorensen and Elder and Sister Packer |
VISITORS
AT THE CENTER ALWAYS BRING JOY!
This last week, we had several visitors
other than those brought in off the street! Because of urgent needs, we did not
ask as many missionaries to contact outside the center this last week and this
week. At that the numbers are still coming in!
We love it when members of the church
come. Sister Tiaihau Heirani and her daughter Naomi came in to have me help her
locate names. It was so fun getting to know her! It was also a pleasant scene
to watch her daughter playing in our children’s area! We don’t get small ones
in here often!
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| Naomi |
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| Tiaihau Heirani and Naomi |
FULL
TIME HELP COMING FROM SALT LAKE
This last week we received an exciting
phone call introducing us to Heidi! We’ve been discussing with Bro. Léporé for
some time that there was a sister from the Family History Department who was a
service missionary there, who wanted to come and live here to help in our
center. We finally got word today that she will be coming. We could not be more
grateful! She is a delightful woman who is an expert Family Historian with German
origins and has lived in France. Her help will be incredible and so
appreciated.
NEW
FRIEND WHILE WAITING AT THE AIRPORT
While waiting for my brother to come
through the doors at the airport I sat next to two women, a mother/daughter who
I got to know and become quick friends. Dominique and her mother are formally
from the West Indies. She has lived in Paris for some time. We had such a
pleasant visit and look forward to meeting again!
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Dominique Lair and mother on far left
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HOW
OUR VISITOR BROUGHT 9 MORE – THE MORE THE MERRIER!
This last Thursday, my brother Alan came
to visit again for a week! Before he left the Salt Lake airport he saw some
friends he knew from my parent’s ward in Burley, Idaho. Preston and Mindy
Taylor were bringing their 5 children and Mindy’s sister and her son for over 2
weeks in Europe. Their main purpose in coming was to attend the Rome, Italy temple
dedication. Mindy served her mission in Italy, and this was her desire for many
years. They were blessed enough to get a reservation in one of the dedications.
|
 Alan Wood - Renée's brother |
Our plans were to go to the airport to
pick up Alan and bring him to the apartment and keep him busy in Paris so to
help him overcome some of the effects of jetlag. The Taylor group had 1 day in
Paris before traveling on to Rome, and didn’t know where to start or how to
make it all happen. Alan graciously offered our apartment to keep all their
luggage while touring around Paris. So, instead of bringing my brother back
through the RER train system, there were in total 12 people navigating through
the massive crowds back to our apartment. This is never an easy task, but they
were amazing! We made it, unloaded their belongings at our apartment and then I
decided I should go with them to help them get to some of the sites they had
time for. They were exhausted, but if we kept them going they would do much
better for the remainder of their trip.
First we went to Notre Dame. Then we
took the RER for a 10-minute ride to the Eiffel Tower and Trocadéro. They had a
wonderful time and were then ready to call it quits! They were so kind afterwards
to buy Alan and me dinner at a local restaurant near our apartment. They were a
fun and delightsome family and were such great sports for being so tired! We’re
grateful for our unexpected day guests from Idaho!
Though the weather was a bit chilly, there
were beautiful blue skies made for a day to remember for sure for these guests!
Steve was at the center the whole time!
He’s so awesome to keep the fires burning!
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| The fun Taylor crew! |
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| Crêpe stand near the Notre Dame! |
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| The Eiffel Tower |
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Alan and his sister, Renée at the Eiffel Tower
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| No matter how you take it, the Eiffel Tower is beautiful! |
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| Eiffel Tower from Trocadéro |
Italy
bound
The main reason the Taylors were going
to Europe was for the Rome, Italy Temple Dedication. Mindy Taylor served her
mission in Italy many years ago and their dream was to go to Italy for this
purpose. The ability to get 9 tickets for the same dedication session was quite
remarkable and so we were pleased that we could spend a day in Paris with them!
DANIELLE
AND THE PARIS TEMPLE AND HISTORY OF WHY THAT NAME
This last Friday, my brother and I were
able to take Danielle Keryel to visit the temple in Versailles (Paris Temple).
We had such a wonderful time there! She
later told me that she only wanted to come with us because she treated it like being
a tourist, to go see a cool edifice in Versailles! Certainly it can’t compare
with the Chateaux in Versailles as far as grandeur and worldly elegance, but
she learned something of far greater worth.
What Danielle didn’t realize until she
actually attended the Visitor Center and temple grounds, is the incredible
feeling and love she felt there, were not present elsewhere. She received such
beautiful explanations and direction of what we do in temples. Danielle had
just finished telling us about a plaque she had seen in Boulogne many years ago
that stated that this place represented where the first missionary to preach
the gospel in France served! She had just brought it up again when the very
film we were watching talked about this very thing.
“The first Mormon missionary to preach in France was William Howells, who
entered the country in 1849. Soon afterwards, he was joined in his preaching by
his daughter, and later by William C. Dunbar. In April 1850, the first
congregation was composed of six members in Boulogne-sur-Mer.”
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| Danielle with Elders Kiene and Durant - she was thrilled when she found out that Elder Kiene was first cousin once removed from Donny Osmond. She loves the Osmonds! |
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Danielle and Renée as we prepare to depart for the Temple
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| Alan Wood - Paris Temple grounds |
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| Danielle, Renee and Alan |
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| My obsession of the gardens of the temple grounds |
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| Danielle K. |
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| Danielle in front of the Paris Temple |
At what I thought was the end of our
visit, Sister Bourroux, the wife of the Visitor Center Director, continued to
talk with Danielle and though I had no idea what about, there was no rush.
There’s always someone to talk to or things to see while there! It wasn’t until
we began to walk back to the train that she shared with us what they talked
about. Sister Bourroux shared with Danielle her conversion story. Danielle was
so touched by the story of this dear woman. They too had connected and Danielle
was touched by this remarkable story. Sister Bourroux was Catholic while
growing up, and as a young woman was about ready to take her vows to become a
nun. As she was walking one day, a bright light poured over her head and at the
same time the thought came very strong, do not take that path. It was shortly
after that that she turned a spiritual corner and found the gospel and never
turned back. She knew that it was the right thing and that her life has never
been the same since.
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| Danielle, with Elder and Sister Campbell and Sister Bourroux on the far left front |
Why was the name of the Paris Temple, not the Versailles Temple?
On our way home on the RER train, we sat
by a man who overheard us talking and ended up visiting with us. As I
introduced myself and what we were doing in Paris and why we were at the
temple, he began to tell us what he knew about the Paris temple.
He works in City Planning and during the
decision time of whether to allow the temple to be built in Versailles or not,
they went through a process to learn more about our church. They were thrilled
to have it come their way and it would be a great benefit for Versailles. When
it came to name it, though, the city didn’t want it called the Versailles
temple as there was already the Versailles Chateaux and so it was more perfect
to name it the Paris temple. I then showed him the talk by Bishop Gérald Caussé that shared some of the story of how the temple came
to be.
IBRAHIMA’S BAPTISM
Saturday my brother Alan and I attended
Ibrahima’s baptism at Paris Lilas, while Steve stayed at the Center again.
Ibrahima was very hopeful that we would attend. Ibrahima is smart, hardworking
and loves the gospel! Before he was baptized I helped him with getting signed
up for FamilySearch and I remember thinking then what a remarkable person he is!
He’s committed to doing good things!
Near the end of the service, they always
ask the newly baptized member to share some thoughts and testimony. Ibrahima
stood up and shared the most powerful and beautiful testimony. It lasted for 23
minutes. I was blown away that anyone just newly baptized could do that, but he
had a lot of friends there who are not members of our church and he wanted them
to know how he feels. It was so amazing!
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| Ibrahima |
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| Elder Calabuig and Ibrahima |
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Ibrahima's amazing 23 minute testimony
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| Elder Calabuig, Ibrahima and Elder Connors |
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| Ibrahima's numerous supporters! |
STAKE CONFERENCE IN VERSAILLES
This last Sunday we attended Stake Conference
in Versailles at the Palais de Congress! It was a magnificent Hall to meet in.
It is located literally right next door to the Versailles Chateaux. It was a beautifully
place to meet, but what I personally gained and all of us gained, was
absolutely one of the choicest messages from our mission! Our visiting authority was
Elder Cziesla from Germany! There were other wonderful speakers that we
dearly loved. We were very touched by the profound message Elder Cziesla gave
us. He never seemed to use notes and spoke beautiful English, with a small
German accent. He had an amazing translator that kept up with him, so there
wasn’t much of a lag in his speaking. He challenged us to not only know who Jesus
Christ is, but to know how we can see Him. We do this by living lives like they did in
the City of Enoch! We know this is a lifetime pursuit, but well worth the joy
that comes from the pursuit. There is so much more that was shared!
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| Entrance to the auditorium |
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| Notice the comfy seats! What were they thinking! |
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| Inside Palais de Congress for Stake Conference |
Beaucoup d’amour à tous (Much love to all),
Elder et
Soeur Packer
Grandpère
et Mémé Packer (Please be sure and use the last name on any mail, or
it will get returned)
PHOTO TOO SWEET NOT TO POST!
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| Local artist finding a fun place to paint out of the cold and rainy, in our church's courtyard! |
Our Address:
4 quai du Marché Neuf
75004 PARIS
FRANCE
Email address: Renée: srpacker10@gmail.com
Steve: wf-packer@hotmail.com
You may still text or
FaceTime Renée at 801-564-1332
We are 8 hours ahead of
Mountain Standard Time
Alan Wood - Renée's brother
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