Packers in Paris Blog 69 – July 1st –
July 7th, 2019
PACKER FAMILY
REUNION – INFO AND PHOTOS FURTHER BELOW
The Steve
and Renée Packer reunion (no we weren’t there) took place this last week! We
are so grateful for each of our children honoring our dear family by enjoying
this precious time together! More to come below (sorry for the photos overload)!
PRESIDENT SORENSEN INTERVIEW
Continuing
on with our meetings to discuss our focus on providing service through our
center resources, we were grateful for this time to share with our mission
President what we shared last week with Fred Tan (the Ward Mission Leader) and
our Ward Council, we then presented the same with President Sorensen. He was very
supportive and enthused about the presentation and asked us to write up what
kind of support he could lend us with to send to our District, so they also
knew that he was on board with us.
New Office Couple and Assistants
We were
grateful to meet the new Office Couple, the Harmons! They are going to be such a
wonderful addition to the office needs. Their job is huge taking care of
apartments here in this mission.
We have
two new AP’s (Assistance to the President) Elders David Parkinson and Joshua Nilsson!
They are making a great team!
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| Elder and Sister Harmon - new office couple over housing |
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| New Assistant to the President - Elders David Parkinson and Joshua Nilsson |
PRESIDENT LOISEL ZOOM CONFERENCE WITH US & ROLAND LÉPORÉ
We held
our 4th presentation with our Paris Stake President held at the Versailles
chapel, in the form of a Zoom conference with Roland Léporé from Salt Lake
City, at church headquarters.
President
Loisel is a most delightful man, a professional cellist and orchestral
conductor and a wonderful Stake President. Our presentation, with the help of
Roland Léporé, went beautifully! President Loisel was very enthused about this presentation
and our plans to involve and help Ward members with these resources and involving
them to help seek for those of their friends and family who are also in need of
these services. We came away feeling grateful for the Lord’s hand in our work.
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| President Loisel, Roland Lepore on the Zoom and Elder Packer |
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| Us with President Loisel |
OFII
Finally I
was able to go this time with Steve with 8 young missionaries and 2 Senior
couples (one having come later). It was such a treat to visit with these new
missionaries. I realized why I love going and the time to get to know them and learn
from their stories and meet new people in the OFII office.
MOMO DJEMAI PRESENATION
This last
Thursday we were most grateful to have an opportunity to meet again with
Brother Djemai. He wears many hats, and quite well at that, but his most
occupied hat is his job as director of Self Reliance/Humanitarian over France,
Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands. He states that there are 47 countries that
are served by our Europe Area WSR Team.
He
directly support 5 Countries, 17 Stakes, 3 Missions and 159 Wards. He is also
incharge of The Self-Reliance Plan for the whole Europe Area (Bishops new tool).
He lives
in Tours France and comes weekly to serve in the Paris Temple. Even though he
is quite aware of what has been going here at Saint-Merri, he still was not
quite on top of some of our latest direction. He too was absolutely enthralled
with our plans with ward members with the missionaries help. He also told us
about many changes in the church organization that are bringing many of these resources
under the same umbrella within his organization, the Welfare & Self-Reliance
Services department. It appears we are all going in the same direction and that
is comforting.
JARON’S MIRACLE WITH A HYMN - A SACRED STORY
Last week
on Thursday I received a most remarkable email from our son, Jaron! Jaron
teaches seminary and attending BYU for his master’s in religious education (His
bachelors was in Music Ed (emphases in choral and instrumental). I will do my
best to minimize this story. It’s almost half as long as his, but not written
as spirit filled as His.
Jaron had
begun the process about 9 months ago of writing a couple of hymns for the church’s
new hymn book. He had two somewhat under his belt and yet had not completed
them till a couple weeks prior to the due date of July 1st. As he
got on his computer, within minutes his computer died, and everything on his
computer was toast!
He had so much
information on his computer, especially all of his notes for his master’s
degree. Certainly, there was lost information for his seminary work, music he’s
written, and much, much more. We can all imagine if that were to happen to us,
which for many of you this has, how we would all feel. Thankfully, one important
paper for his master’s thesis had been saved by his professor, so for that he
was extremely grateful! Obviously, he was heartbroken after so much work,
thinking at that point about the hymns he had already written and now lost.
The spirit
of his lengthy version is longer than I felt I should post, and so there’s much
more to this story I’m leaving out. On Sunday, June 30th, he started
over by helping his brother in law with a hymn arrangement to lyrics his
brother in law had written. Once he was done with his brother in laws hymn need,
having been fasting praying all the while, he thought he would start to
retrieve from his mind, the hymns he had previously written.
As he began, none of the other two hymns came to his
mind. He said it was as if his brain had been fried just like his crashed
computer. He then prayed to ask the Lord if there was anything he should write
(remember this is June 30th, and deadline is July 1st). A
scripture came to him at this point (DC 121:1-8), and then, what previously took
him months to write two other hymns, the lyrics and melody came almost instantly.
He knew that the Lord had been with and
comforted him. Whether the hymn was accepted or not, he knew that the Lord was
mindful of him. He then tackled the difficult task to take his melody and turn
it into a hymn. He stayed up till 2:00 a.m. the next day. He pondered over a
few other changes in the next 19 hours, as he spent the day at BYU and with very
little time after work, and other responsibilities. After putting the kids to
bed at 9:00 p.m. He knew that he had been guided to write a “song of the
righteous,” which truly was a prayer unto Him. He knew and felt how much the Lord
is an intricate part of our lives giving us specific direction, if we invite Him
to through His way.
By 11:30
p.m., the hymn was ready for submission. He went to submit it and was familiar
with the process, and it said, “Page Not Found!” After many attempts, he could
see the webpage was down for this site. All of his work would have been for
not, if he didn’t get it sent by midnight. However, through this process he could
see that he was not angry, in fact he laughed to himself. He said that maybe
all of this was to teach him something. He had learned much about God and his
relationship with Him, how to better get answers, and how to build better
relationships with his family, and be kinder and gentler. He saw all of these
things happen in the past 36 hours as he was trying to write the two hymns for
Joseph and Jaron. He was more dependent on the Lord during these times.
After much
thought and consideration, he decided to give a prayer of thanks and then
decided at 11:50 to try one more time. It worked! What had previously taken 15
minutes, he was able to do in 8 minutes. He finished it at 11:59:57 seconds, with
3 seconds to spare before the deadline.
He stated
that, “The main focus of the hymn that the Lord wrote through me was about not
just enduring trials, but HOW we endure them. The scripture that inspired this
hymn then came to my mind. “Peace, be unto thy soul. Thine adversity and thine
afflictions shall be but a small moment. But, if thou endure it well, God shall
exalt thee on high.” We all endure trials, but the true test of our faith, is
HOW we endure them. We need to endure them like he did. We need to endure them
WELL.”
He sent us
us his hymn and I was overcome, by the depth and simple beauty his piece. His other
hymn arrangement was so beautiful as well. Quite remarkable! He knows that it
doesn’t matter if it is accepted in the hymn book or not, but that the Lord had
accepted it, as it was the Lord who had directed his mind, heart and spirit to
write!
MADDIE’S HEALTH UPDATE & HAPPY 15TH BIRTHDAY
MADDIE
Your prayers
in behalf of our dear Maddie Packer have been greatly appreciated. She finally returned
home this last Friday from the hospital. She spent 2.5 weeks at Primary
Children’s Hospital for what was supposed to be a 3-5 day stay after surgery.
Bless her and her dear mother who stayed with her the whole time, while Nathan,
family and neighbors all helped.
She may
still be weak, but her spirits are better being home. The rest of her family
all returned home Sunday evening from the reunion, in time to give her a
welcome home and birthday celebration. She is such a remarkable young woman.
Hats off to her incredible parents who handled this with a lot of courage,
faith and love.
We were
grateful to have video chatted with her on her birthday (the 7th)
and see her still smiling through it all! We love you Maddie and Happy
Birthday!
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| Maddie - Sweet 15 (not 16) years old! - This was taken at another time! |
4th OF JULY!
Even
though we didn’t formally celebrate the 4th of July, it was
wonderful to see some of the posts and photos our children sent us from the start
of the reunion this day. They gathered together from Oregon, Colorado and Utah
to kick off the reunion with the parade and fireworks in little Rexburg, ID,
the place of my young adult college years (1975-1977)!
I love the
Tabernacle Choir’s Patriotic Music and the Spoken word each year, and so I may
just post 1 or two below! SECOND LINK GO TO 50 MINUTES TO BEGIN!
PACKER FAMILY REUNION IN REXBURG, IDAHO – JULY4-7-2019
We have
been anticipating, for quite some time, our children and their families gathering
in Rexburg, Idaho, for the bi-annual Steve & Renée Packer Family Reunion. The
only difference is that we wouldn’t be there, nor could Maddie and her mom, Dixie!
Since our last reunion in Bear Lake 2 years ago, there are no more additions to
the family, except that Emma and Austin are expecting.
The best
thing to comfort us since we couldn’t be there, would be photos and videos and
when we can, Facetime with them. We were most grateful for their efforts in staying
connected with us! It always brought big smiles and sometimes tears of joy when
receiving them!
Janine Packer
Hunsaker, our 4th child, was in charge this year and unlike the
others (all 43 of us staying under one large roof) they decided it would be best
wherever they met, to find their own lodging and gather once a day for a meal
and play time, and then during the day join together with other family members,
to build relationships and enjoy some of the many sites.
It appears it worked quite well! Thanks to Camille, our inhouse photographer, for most
of the videos and photos, excluding Marco Polos (which we loved as well) and cell phone photos.
It
was apparent that all of the grandchildren loved being together, as well as the
adults! It was fun to see families taking off to various locations and
exploring and spending time together! Some went to Yellowstone National Park
for a quick all-day trip, where others went to Falls Creek falls and others
went to Bear World, Air Museum, Splash Pad Park, etc. I will only label some of the photos as I will never get this completed! Our family knows who is who and for the rest, they can just know it's family! ;)
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| Jordan and Larissa coming through Jackson Hole, WY for the reunion |
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| Camille, Janine, Jordan and Brent |
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| Jaron, Becca, Janine and Jordan |
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| Jordan and Larissa Packer |
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| Brent with Allen Packer |
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| Brent and Shal Packer |
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| Kyson Duckworth |
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The Brent & Shal Packer and Camille and Brandon Duckworth Families at Yellowstone
|
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| Vanesa and Jaron Packer with Johnny jumping over his dad! |
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| Girls morning out! Janine, Larissa, Becca, Vanesa, Emma, Shal and Camille (Dixie still with Maddie) |
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| The Nathan & Dixie Packer Family (minus Dixie and Maddie) |
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| The Brandon "Duck" & Camille Duckworth Family |
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| The Jaron & Vanesa Packer Family |
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| The Adam & Janine Hunsaker Family |
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| The Brent & Shalamar Packer Family |
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| The Jordan & Larissa Packer Family |
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| Austin & Emma Packer Family |
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| Becca Packer (on right) with her niece Maliyah Duckworth |
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| Austin, Janine, Camille and Becca |
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| These next photos are from Falls Creek Falls I mentioned! |
Some of
the family left to travel home after church on Sunday and others traveled onto the
Idaho Falls Temple (where Steve and I were married 41 years ago). They all met inside
the new Visitor Center in a separate room gathered around a large screen TV. At
this point, we Facetimed with them and shared special memories of our wedding day!
It was priceless and very tender to recount with them some of our memories
because of some the sacredness of the miracles that took place. To this day our
marriage is still a sacred and priceless relationship, one that continues to
grow deeply with love, through the trials of life and the strength of family and the
gospel in our lives. I will forever be grateful for Steve and the union that took
place 41 years ago!
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| Idaho Falls Temple - where we were married 41 years ago on August 3, 1978 |
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| Becca, Janine and Camille |
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| Brent's Family drove home in 4 hours and got ready for a wedding of a cousin! |
TIME WITH CHARLOTTE AND MAX AND THE INSANE BUS RIDES
Charlotte and I had planned a get together for last
Friday to have lunch and maybe a walk in the park. We had just finished our District
Council, and shortly afterwards I took off! I had been on this 45-minute bus route
before and felt ok about getting there, but what I hadn’t expected was my
travels to and back. I will spare you the details of my travels, but I will say
that it was the most crowded bus I’ve imagined could ever happen. I’ve never
seen more people continually crowd into and squeeze into every possible crevice
there is. It was so insane, and I couldn’t believe I was caught in the middle
of this mess! The ride back was just as crazy! Thankfully I got home safe and
was grateful for the Lord’s protection.
My time
with Charlotte and Max was sweet and important for various reasons. I was
grateful for our time as we sat quietly in a restaurant and also enjoyed the
joy that Max brings into every conversation. We didn’t resolve any grand issues
in life, but what I was able to do most of all, is to reassure of her of my
love and willingness to always listen and help where and when I can. That’s just
what mother’s try to do!
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| Charlotte, Max and Me |
SUNDAY’S CONNECTIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED
A friend
from Layton, had informed me that she and her husband and two youngest children
would be attending church this last Sunday during their travels in Paris. It
was wonderful to see Tammy and Nathan Foote and their two youngest children, Preston and Maryn. After
Sacrament Meeting, they grabbed their suitcases and I brought them to the Center
for them to change clothing and I was able to also showed them around the center. Then they took off for London to be ready to fly back home.
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| The Nathan and Tammy Foote Family (children Maryn and Preston) from Layton, UT |
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| Nathan Foote noticed outside our door this Jalopy, as he called it! I was unable to get a photo from the front, but you can imagine it may be a Maurice from Beauty and the Beast replica! |
In the
English Sacrament Meeting, I always sit by the door to help direct people to
come through the correct door to the Chapel, for the English meeting. Next to
me was seated a family from Salt Lake, though the wife is originally from Lyon,
France and married a man from the states and moved to Utah and have remained
there.
Meanwhile,
Sharon, our friend from Utah, had met one of our friends from the Paris ward and
later connected with her. Dior Martin went to Utah looking for work to help her
find a better place to raise her two youngest children. Sharon had posted on
Facebook to see if there was anyone who might know possible places for this
friend to work, possibly as a French teacher and so on. It wasn’t but a day or
so after, that I met this family, the Wadels in church. I told them about Dior
Martin to see if they might know where she could go. Sister Elise Wadel was
quick to reply that she felt that there would be great possibilities to teach French
and maybe other jobs. They would be a fabulous resource.
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| The Wadel Family from Salt Lake City, UT |
Another
story is about, Rafael Valladares from Mexico City, and yet joined the church
in Shelley, Idaho! His story was so amazing, as he told us about his coming to
Idaho as an exchange student as a young man. In a very short time with the
family he was with, he knew that he wanted to learn more about their religion
and eventually he joined the church. It literally changed his life forever and afterwards
moved back to Mexico City where he is from! The light in his countenance radiates
with such peace and joy.
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| Rafael Valladares from Mexico City |
Lessons learned this last Sunday
-
Whom do I choose
to serve – Do we have any worldly loves that we worship or serve?
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We are
responsible for our salvation and the spirituality of our own family
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There can
always be something good that comes from our trials (if we let them)
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Important
to see ourselves as God sees us!
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Pockets of Safety, an analogy!
o
In Alaska,
in the wilderness, are little huts, that become pockets of safety for those who
may get stranded or not able to continue without some source of reprieve. Brother
Delguard from Pennsylvania compared this to our need for spiritual pockets of
safety. We can easily become stranded and become spiritually malnourished, needing
a respite from the trials of life. I loved this analogy of visualizing these
little huts that are there for our use when we get stranded. We all need these little
spiritual huts in our daily life for life sustaining food and spiritual
nourishment.
SHIMIN DENG’S BAPTISM
Sunday evening,
we attended the baptism of Frère Deng’s baptism. He has been an integral part
of our center and ward here in Paris. His baptism was amazing as he stood and
bore the most powerful testimony of his journey becoming a member of this
church. He has already been such a strength to the ward and those who need his kindness.
We are grateful to know him.
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| Shimin Deng and Elder Jones |
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| Shimin Deng and Elder Sun |
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| Elder Sun, Shimin Deng and Elder Jones |
DISTRICT TRAINING
After the
baptism our District met at the center for our first specific training. We had
a wonderful visit for about 30-40 minutes, minus the time to eat the
refreshments. We discussed the challenges, the concerns and what we need to do
to understand more clearly what their role is in this great work! The light
turned on with them much brighter! They are a magnificent team of missionaries!
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| Sisters Doughman and Tabiliran |
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| Sisters Mattice and Scofield |
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| Elders Jones, Sun, Ballard and Nelson |
May each
of you feel the love of your family, your country and the Lord for all the
blessings that each have been given as we live in a country to enjoy many
freedoms, some of which are; freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and freedom
to pursue, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Ensemble à tout jamais (Families Can Be Together Forever),
Elder et
Soeur Packer
Grandpère
et Mémé Packer (Please be sure and use the last name on any mail, or
it will get returned)
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
MADDIE’S HEALTH UPDATE & HAPPY 15TH BIRTHDAY
MADDIE
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