Packers in Paris Blog 73 – July 29th
– August 4th, 2019
FOR THOSE
WITH BIG POCKET BOOKS – NOT US!
Our P-Day last week was a mini outing to Printemps,
one of two topmost luxurious department stores in Paris. Though our time was
limited, we certainly knew that this department store was not one we would make
any purchases at, nor did we have a need to! It wasn’t even window shopping at
the worst! It was simply curiosity!
We chose for the most part not to check out prices,
but as we passed by a Gucci bag section, you couldn’t enter without going
through a security check and then it was controlled by how many entered and
exited. Just outside that small department, were purses of much lesser value selling
for 500 Euros, but no doubt Gucci bags are outrageously expensive (I saw some
online for over 30,000 dollars).
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| Printemps |
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| Printemps one of the entrances |
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| Printemps one of the top floor stained glass windows |
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| Printemps top floor restaurant |
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| Printemps top floor restaurant ceiling |
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| Printemps Gucci store |
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| Printemps Gucci store |
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| Printemps Gucci store - entrance only through security |
THE SOUNDS OF PARIS
One of our favorite things to hear is the music as
you stroll along streets of central areas of Paris, or in Metros or at nearby café’s.
Most of the time they are very good, seeking for a way to make an income. Last Tuesday
as we were walking back from our wide-eyed ‘price’ Printemps adventure, we were
delighted to walk into this fun musical delight, on the Ile de la Cité, just
around the corner from our apartment. It put such a big smile on our faces,
after seeing the incomprehensible department store prices. The last video link is actually a couple of days later as I was walking to the center.
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| Ile de la Cité Musicians |
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| Ile de la Cité Musicians |
TRANSFER DAY – DEPARTURES, NEW MISSIONARIES AND TRANSFERS
We often count by months in our lives, but in the
mission field, missionaries count by transfers which is every 6 weeks. Some
missionaries may be in an area for 3 transfers, or 6 or less, but for us senior
missionaries we still count by months. We can’t help be being caught up though
in each missionary’s path of how long they’ve been in each place by transfers
and how long till they will be returning home in transfer time.
No matter, we look forward to this time each 6
weeks, as all of this happens right here at Saint-Merri, where all departing
missionaries bring their luggage (Steve making sure luggage for them goes in
one area), and new missionaries arrive (making sure their luggage goes into
another area), and transfers happen for the most part in their respective areas!
We are here each transfer to welcome new missionaries and help missionaries who
are returning home when their mission is complete. There’s a lot of joy and
fear of the unknown coming or leaving. Having a Senior couple to manage the comings
and goings is helpful and a tender blessing for us!
Once all the new missionaries have arrived,
President Sorensen will arrive and meet and a brief training with all new
missionaries and their new companions. He never stops, and yet never lacks the
ability to love genuinely each of the missionaries that come into the field.
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| Departing Sisters - Sisters Ethington & Montalvo |
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| Departing Missionaries - we love them! |
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| Elders Durant and McDougal with their convert - Brother Nanad Mitrovic |
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| More and some of the same Departing Missionaries |
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| Me with Sister Montalvo - Such a choice woman and missionary! |
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| Elder Johnson - He was 20 lbs overload, and so we mailed his books home for him. It certainly cost more than we had expected and yes his family paid us back! |
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| New Missionaries! They are incredible! |
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| YES! A new missionary brought a violin! More music in the mission! |
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| Ahhh, the luggage maze, such fun! |
NEW DISTRICT LEADER
Elder Poulin, has been called as our new District
Leader and Elder Ballard was moved to eastern France! Elder Sun is now a new
Zone Leader with Elder Nelson and everything else stayed pretty much the same.
This always brings new thoughts and ideas and Elder Poulin has been amazing in
just a matter of hours, he took charge. He is amazing.
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| Elders Ballard and Nelson - their last cookie together as companions and Zone Leaders |
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| Elders Jones and Poulin (new District Leader) |
While he was in the center his first day after
transfers, he came over with me to help register someone on our online
registration form to see how it’s done. This was his first time and we were
helping a person who was looking for addiction recovery, yet as he began to go
through the form, he saw all the other areas he could use help with and checked
those boxes. He was so grateful for these services. Elder Poulin saw a miracle
happen, though this happens almost daily. When people see how much we want to
help them and lift them in their temporal needs, they end up wanting help with
their spiritual needs as well.
ELDER JOHN DURANT AND JOHN DURANT
SR.
Last Thursday, Elder Durant, one of the returning
missionaries, with his father who was picking him up stopped by the center. His
father, John served his mission here about 34 years ago and we were pleased to meet
him with his son! Elder Durant was one of our choice elders who spent many,
many transfers with us. His father’s French is still impeccable.
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| Elder Durant getting a first taste of the Celestial Sugar Cookie |
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| The Packers and Elder Durant |
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| Former Elder John Durant and his son, Elder John Durant |
8-1-19 PRESIDENT SORENSEN ZOOM MEETING
President Sorensen requested that we hold a Zoom
meeting with our district, so that he could give them more direction coming
from his mouth, not always ours, to help them know that he is very supportive
of our new initiatives with the center and missionary work. The missionaries
have been great to try but were still feeling that it was not always what the
President wanted. They were now able to receive a go ahead that our center
contacts count in their 20 invites for the day. They were very grateful to have
finally heard it from him. There was a greater sense of commitment from the
district and willingness to move forward. We are still an unofficial pilot, but
a pilot it is, so that we can show the great work that is happening here and
the difference it is making.
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| President Sorensen with us for our Zoom District Meeting |
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| Newest and Most Awesome District Elders Nelson, Sun, Poulin and Jones and Sisters, Tabiliran, Doughman, Matice and Scofield |
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| The newest Dream Team District! |
DINNER BY THE CHINESE SISTERS FOR ELDER JONES AND OUR
DISTRICT
After our meeting we went to the church where the
Chinese sisters, Sisters Guo and Ding, in the ward put together a dinner for us, but mainly to honor
Elder Jones’s (one of our Mandarin speaking missionaries) birthday. The
missionaries also invited three others to join us. It was so amazing what these
women go through time and time again to honor and bless the missionaries and often
putting on feasts for the ward, or other Chinese members, and always inviting
the missionaries. We have been spoiled and we are grateful for their love!
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| Happy Birthday to Elder Jones! |
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| Our Chinese Sisters, Guo and Ding with the Chinese Speaking Elders |
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| The Kindness and most giving Chinese sisters we know here in Paris! Sisters Guo and Ding |
STEVE ANDERSON FROM THE TEMPLE DEPATMENT – ONE WORK
COMMITTEE – A MAN WHO ALSO KNOWS MUCH SORROW
Friday was a day we had been looking forward to in
meeting with Steve Anderson. Brother Anderson is the representative from the
Temple Department in the One Work Committee that comprises many departments of
the church.
He was a bit embarrassed that he was dressed down in
casual clothes, as he had sites he was seeing before and after our meeting with
his two adult children. We didn’t mind one bit and felt his attire put everyone
at ease!
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| Elder and Sister Packer and Steve Anderson from Salt Lake's Temple Department and the One Work Committee |
We first went out to lunch nearby with him, for him
to try out falafels, and then we came back to the center to discuss more of
what we do here. He had been briefed quite well by Roland Léporé, but needed to
come and see firsthand what the center was more about. He spent at least 4
hours or more with us and asked a many questions and was as kind and personable
as can be. He talked with the missionaries, he saw great contacting going on
with people off the streets coming in to learn more about the center and
signing up for classes, and he saw patrons come into the center for Family
History.
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| Brother Steve Anderson |
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| Steve Packer with Steve Anderson |
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| Elders Sun and Nelson visiting with Steve Anderson |
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| Elders Poulin and Jones with Brother Steve Anderson and Elders Parkinson and Nilsson -AP's |
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| Elder Poulin getting a one on one with Steve Anderson |
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| Steve Anderson with Sisters Doughman and Tabiliran |
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| Steve Anderson with Elder Sun - they made a fun connection |
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| This fun Evans family came in with one of our YSA's of Paris, Celia Vassaux - they have a great connection with Elder Sun's family! |
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| Sisters Doughman and Tabiliran visiting outside the center |
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| The Elders helping patrons in the center |
At one point, I was showing one of the new Chinese
member our new Chinese discovery activities on the large screen and came across
one of the videos on the Salt Lake Granite Vaults with Chinese subtitles. As we
were watching this video, Brother Anderson, shared with me, that this was a
film he put together for the church approximately 10 years ago and didn’t know they
were still using it. Thus, the photo below!
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| Steve Anderson - standing next to the film he had created 10 years ago on the Salt Lake Granite vaults |
A man who
knows much sorrow, but knows where healing comes from!
At one point, while Steve was helping a patron and
Bro. Anderson was observing the goings on of the center, I asked him more about
his family. He then quietly told me that his wife had passed away 3.5 months
ago, leaving two children, the oldest, a daughter of 23, and the youngest, a
son of 19 and high on the autism spectrum. This boy’s mother was everything to
him, his wife was everything to the family. My heart sank and I was in absolute
shock that Bro Anderson was in our presence carrying on with love and a big heart
but also carrying this heavy load quietly within. I continued to ask more and
though I can’t remember the exact cause of death, they only knew two weeks
prior before she passed away! This time away with his family, while doing
church business, was a healing time for them to be together to lift their heavy
hearts.
I could not stop thinking for several days about what
he’s had to go through, what he has yet to go through and how his faith is what
will bring him breath every day and know that he will have his whole family for
eternity. There was much more that we spoke of, but we were left with awe of
this faithful and devoted husband and father. Our prayers have been with him
more specifically ever since! His family knows where to find joy, and knows that
their faith and the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ will heal continually
their aching hearts.
STEVE’S DAY AT THE CENTER AND MINE IN THE APARTMENT
Since we were recently asked to speak at our
Saturday evening Stake Conference session at the end of August, and knowing we
only had 10 minutes total between the two of us to speak and give it in French,
I knew we had to get on top of it right way. Having a quiet environment was
just what I needed.
Steve graciously took Saturday day at the center so that I could write my
portion and then Steve will do the same on Sunday after church. We will need
time to have it translated (google won’t work for this) and then we need to
rehearse frequently, so to feel some sense of comfortableness with our message!
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| Patrons on Saturday |
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| Elders Rozsa and Vincenzi |
AUGUST 3, 2019 – 41 YEARS OF MARRIAGE – HEAVEN ON EARTH AND IN
PARIS
We plan on celebrating our anniversary in a couple
of weeks by going to Strasbourg and Colmar, but we still made sure that we had
our date night on this day, after a full and long day!
If I could sum up the last 41 years, it would be
full of our devotion to the Lord and His Gospel, our love of family, and work
and some play! It seems that everything that really mattered fit into one of
these categories and it has been glorious. Not perfect, but glorious
nevertheless!
Serving with one another, side by side, has been one
of our sweetest joys, though a lot of work. We have been blessed to be able
share many tender and heartwarming experiences here while serving together. We
have also witnessed how strong our children and grandchildren have been while in
our absence. They have been remarkable through their trials, challenges and
triumphs! We are so grateful for our family and each other!
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| Date night at the local Indian Restaurant for our 41st Anniversary |
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| One of our favorite backgrounds for our 41st Anniversary |
SUNDAY BLESSINGS
We find
each week such diverse and tender blessings come because of the people we meet.
At times it may be the members we see week after week going through their
personal challenges of life, and yet they are here at church serving and striving
to receive the blessings of being faithful and devoted, and witness receiving an
added measure of joy and peace in their afflictions.
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| Bailey Hall - came to visit a few weeks ago, hoping to find work, and she has and will now be staying here and has accepted to help us however she can! Her willingness to serve will bless her immensely. She served a French mission a couple of years ago. She also lived in China for 5 months and knew my sister, Janine Green! Such a dear Young Adult! |
We love
how the visitors are boosted for having not only come to sit and listen, but also
for participating, then leaving feeling an immense joy for their efforts in
coming.
Week after
week we witness this same miracle! But honestly, we are the ones that feel the
most blessed, as we greet and meet people from all over who come with happy,
heavy or hungry souls and walk away with so much more hope in their hearts!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We hope
that you have a joyous week, one that you can look back on and take note of all
the blessings that are in your midst. Even if there are challenges, may you see
the hand of God in your lives and know that He lives, that He loves us and that
He only wants us to be happy with the things that will bring us lasting and
eternal joy! With much love to each of you!
Vivre avec ma famille 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
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