Packers in Paris Blog 83
– Oct 6th – Oct 13th, 2019
MEETING WITH
MELISSA DALTON BRADFORD
Melissa Dalton Bradford is well
known for her humanitarian efforts throughout the world. She has many accolades
and yet her heart is filled solely with pure intents to help each child and
human being she can possibly help. Knowing that she comes frequently to Paris,
having lived here several times, and lives in Frankfurt at present, I texted
her to see when she and I could meet, as I had been impressed that we needed
to. She quickly texted back and said she was already in Paris and had a free
day and would come to the center when I needed her. Wow, ok, just like that! Knowing
I had an appt later, I asked if we could meet at 11:30. We had an amazing visit
and as we shared back and forth, the need for what she is involved in and what
our center is doing is such a perfect match for helping others rise from such a
deprived state of life!
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| Melissa Dalton Bradford with Renee |
Because of some residual effects
from my accident on June 1st, the Dr ordered an MRI, which then led
to a CT Scan, which all ended up being fine, though a very long day, yet
feeling blessed that there was no visible problems and that the headaches and
overall head pressure I’ve been feeling will just take time to heal!
The blessings that occurred through
the day were that I felt peace all along, my dear husband accompanied me, there
were no concerns in the end, the people we worked with were very kind, and the insurance
picked up the whole bill! What more
could you ask for!
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| Doctors office - no other exciting photos! |
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| Gare-de-Lyon - on our way home from the Doctors |
ENDING THE
DAY WITH A RELAXING EVENING WALK ON THE SEINE
Tuesday
was my day for writing the blog, and so that night we enjoyed a much needed stroll
down the Seine, enjoying the beautiful scenery, architecture and a fun children’s
playground for building personal strength.
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| Playground for children's physical activities on our walk on the Seine |
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| Playground for children's physical activities |
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| Playground for children's physical activities |
MOM OF THE BRIDE DRESS SHOPPING - FAMILY
VISITOR FROM HOME
Last Wednesday, I met up with our dear friend from the ward, Dior Martin. She is very fashion savvy, and a professional
fashion designer. She was more than happy to go with me! I desperately needed a
dress for our daughter’s wedding, one that I could actually try on instead of purchasing
through internet. I previously sent her images of what I was looking for and
she took one look and said, “I’ve not seen those types of dresses here in
Paris.” I could be in trouble. We had a wonderful time and even though she did
help me find something I liked, it really wasn’t suitable for a wedding event. It
was just a lovely skirt, so I bought it! I enjoyed our time together, getting
to know her better and seeing her amazing abilities in discovering great finds!
We’ll keep looking, or otherwise pray for a miracle to find something in Utah
with the little time frame we have once we get there!
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| Renee with Dior Martin |
Alan Wood back in Paris
Meanwhile, Steve went to the airport
to pick up my brother, Alan (Renée's brother), who is here for another visit. We made sure that he
did not sit and relax much, so that he could sleep better that night. He was undoubtedly
tired, but I tried to keep him going once he got all settled! Steve left for the
Center, and I later came with Alan! As we walked towards the center, we were
caught in a horrific rain downpour and quickly entered into a store and had a lovely
visit with a store owner and his employee, till the rain diminished. Alan ended
up buying an umbrella in their store. You can always strike up a conversation
with just about anyone and express appreciation and for their goodness! It’s
one of the greatest expressions of love we can give in any circumstance. We
especially are grateful that we are representing the Lord’s church in this way.
Steve and I both gave Alan an update
about our center from when he was here last time, as we were just beginning
this new concept of the Family Resource Center when he was last here. There is
no chance I can adequately share all the insights of what is actually happening
here, which continues to be enhanced as we grow our experiments and the immense
help that is going on in Salt Lake with Brother Léporé heading this amazing
venture!
DISTRICT COUNCIL, THEN OFII, OUR LARGEST GROUP YET – THE CHALLENGES
THAT BLESS US!
We started the morning with our great
District Council but left early so that we could also leave with all the new
missionaries for their legalities. There was a total of 20 missionaries, including
the two sets of senior couples. In the last year since we have opened up the
center, I have only been able to go to OFII two other times, otherwise it is
Steve who takes them. It takes someone else to manage the center, for both of
us to attend. Knowing this could be one of the last times I could go, I chose
to head out with Steve.
The waiting time during OFII, this
time being longer than normal, gives us a wonderful opportunity to get to know
the new young missionaries and senior missionaries. What amazing people each of
them are. As we engage in conversation we also begin to appreciate some of the
struggles that come from preparing and serving a mission. It rarely is an easy
task to serve a mission and especially when called outside of your home country.
And yet, we find that when each of us can rise above our challenges, we are stronger
for the rest of our mission and for many areas of our lives and in each succeeding
challenge we are stronger and more resilient. We see this time and time again
with these missionaries, with our own children, as well as in our own lives. It
doesn’t always take a mission to learn this truth of how challenges end up as
personal blessings, as this is life! These dear people often learn this much
earlier and are much better because of it!
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| Sister Packer and Sister Uboldi - sometimes we get to be a second mom to these dear missionaries |
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| Elder and Sister Denton and Elder and Sister Favreau |
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| OFII group for October 2019 |
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| Elders Morrison and Coryell (new companionship) |
FAMILY RESORUCE CENTER ELDERS REGISTERS A FAMILY FROM INDIA
While we were gone to OFII, the missionaries who were
contacting outside of the Center, Elders Parkinson and Poulson, had an amazing visit
with a family from India. This kind and happy family had three people sign up
for the resources of the center that day. They also invited the Elders over for
dinner! This does not happen often, but they are hopeful for the sweet
blessings that the center gives others. Finding those who need our resources is
not hard, when we look with eyes of love and a desire to serve! This is what we
are striving to teach our missionaries.
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| Elder Parkinson (AP) on exchange with Elder Poulson |
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| Elder and Sister Denton and Elder and Sister Favreau |
MONET’S GARDENS IN GIVERNY – YOU MEAN I HAVE TO GO AGAIN?
Our dear Family History Specialist, Heidi
Sugden, has been wanting to go to Monet’s Garden in Giverny. I told her that I
would love to go with her again.
She was planning on going on the
next PDay, which showed rain showers all day, so we looked at the next possible
good weather day and chose the following Friday. We invited my brother, Alan to
go with us and he was pleased to join us! Even though the sky wasn’t a captivating
blue like the time when we went before, the weather was warm, overcast and the
flowers were magnificent!
On our way we met a wonderful
Chinese couple, their daughter and three friends, all traveling from Shanghai,
China! They were so tender and sweet, as all Chinese people seem to be. I had a
picture taken of me with them and then they quickly connected through WeChat
and I sent the photos to them. I have not been able to get them off my mind. We
have since kept in touch and hope to continue so. While we were in the train
visiting, the daughter spoke of her interest in the Bible and Jesus Christ. She
mentioned that there were many Chinese people who are Christian. She is very
interested in the Bible and Jesus Christ and looks forward to learning more from
her friends in China. They want to remain friends with us!
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| Our new Chinese Friends, Jane, second from left and Sunny was the furthest right |
Making our way to Giverny and back
took some real miracles and no doubt the Lord helped us and guided our efforts safe
and sound! The details of these miracles were very apparent of the Lord’s literal
and mindful care for us! In the process we were grateful we were able to help
others as well. It was enjoyable to be with Heidi and Alan!
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| Claude Monet's home in the background |
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| Heidi Sugden |
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| Claude Monet |
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| Renee, Alan and Heidi - we found our way back to Paris! |
SATURDAY’S COOKIES AND FAMILY RESOURCE
CENTER ONGOING TASKS
To get ready for the baptism tomorrow,
I made my Celestial Sugar Cookies! It always puts a smile on the missionaries’
faces. SORRY, NO PHOTOS! ;)
Once I got to the center, we
reviewed more of our pending tasks! We decided to move forward with our Family Resource Oversight Committee as we’ve had their names ready to call,
but was waiting for certain approvals to move forward. We decided to move ahead
anyway. As we went through our long task list, we realized we had better just
get it going no matter! We have on this list of people some of the most amazing
and devoted people in this Paris ward, who love this kind of work!
OUR SENTIMENTS ARE KICKING IN!
With each passing day, we are more
mindful of the many things that we will miss here in our mission. I know we
still have 3.5 months left, but it’s happening sooner than later.
We will miss our Sunday meetings, be
it in French or English. They both provide many sweet lessons we’ve gained
along the way. We will miss the church buildings, the Center most especially,
and all that has happened within the walls and outside of that building and its
immense purposes. That will forever be an experience we shall never forget! We
will miss the dear familiar faces, or those who are just starting to come,
those we have grown to love like our own, for example Charlotte and Max!
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| Charlotte, Max and Sister Pulley |
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| Charlotte and Max |
We will greatly miss the
missionaries we’ve grown to love like our own these many months! We’ve gotten
close to so many but are familiar with many more! We will miss every soul we have
worked with in the center, our Mission President and all the office couples,
the names are countless! We will miss the two awesome bishops we’ve known and
the tremendous support of our incredible Stake President!
We will miss those we’ve been able
to help along the way, the MANY who have helped us, the kind and gracious people
we see daily on our walks to the center. We will miss the many sites,
buildings, architecture, beauties that are so French and typical for this area.
The list could go on and on! This place has become our home and we love all whom
we have come to know and all the places we love dearly!
SUNDAY CHURCH
We are frequently reminded of the
sacrifices that so many make, perhaps when they have to come alone with no
support except their friends here at church and God as their comforter. Yet
they are here, willing to put aside their concerns in exchange for the joy they
feel each time they walk through the doors and participate or listen, learn
from each other, or when they give of themselves. This is what truly brings
them eternal happiness! Often the sacrifices of their service never seems like
a sacrifice at all, because they quickly learn that this is exactly what Christ
would have them and all of us do, which is to draw closer to Him.
PERU SISTERS
COME TO PARIS ON A TEMPLE TRIP AND THEIR MIRACLE STORIES
After
church I met four women who were all from Peru going on a Temple Trip
throughout Europe. Though they were all from Peru, one of the sisters was from
Los Angeles more recently! They were absolutely filled with so much joy and
delight being here, but not without telling me their heroic miracles of one of
the women, Lidia, from having lost her FannyPack to having it recovered (it had
everything important in it) to her remarkable conversion story of her whole
family. Her secret was giving everyone one of them a year’s subscription to the
church magazines. One by one they would say, “Mom, why are you giving us these,
we’ll just throw them away?” She told them to do what they felt good about doing,
be it to throw it away or share it with someone else. One by one, they each joined
the church because of those magazines and her devoted love. Lidia was the only one
who could speak English, but each of us could speak the same language of love
with hugs and French bisous!
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| Lidia is on the far right with family members! |
ALAN HELPING
JONATHAN TOMASINI ON THE GUITAR
After
church Alan met up with our good friend, Jonathan Tomasini (I’m his second
mother he calls me). He just got a new Spanish guitar and Alan was giving him
some tips on the guitar. Alan was quite impressed with his voice and playing
ability and Jonathan really appreciates Alan’s expertise!
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| Jonathan Tomasini |
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| Jonathan Tomasini and Alan Wood |
BAPTISM OF ÉDITH AKE
We witnessed the baptism of Édith
today and we were so grateful for the largest
gathering of friends and ward support that we’ve ever had. She was glowing with
joy and gratitude for this day, which she would even if only 4 had been in
attendance, but how sweet it is when so many are there to show support!
It was also a wonderful site to see Sisters
Mattice and Lofgreen as baptism witnesses for the first time at the baptism for
Édith, with the new recent changes that were made. They were thrilled to have
that honor.
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| Sister Mattice and Sister Lofgreen, first time being the witnesses at the baptism |
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| Some of those who attended Edith's baptism |
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| Sister Mattice, Edith and Sister Lofgreen |
SUNDAY INTIMATE PIANO EVENING
After the baptism, Alan, Steve and I
went to the home where Heidi Sugden is living, to listen to concert pianist,
Roberto D’Olbia in a little intimate evening of Chopin. There were only about
30 or so people in attendance in the home of Marie-Claude. Marie-Claude was a former
piano professor, but now teaches 20 or so students in her home. She’s in her
early 80’s. She is connected to the best of musicians in France and several times
a year hosts these performers in her home for family and friends. We were mesmerized!
He told us that playing on the 120 + year old piano was not as easy as what he
is used to. It was so beautiful no matter!
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| Roberto D'Olbia - Concert Pianist |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just as we begin to feel sentimental about leaving, we also are
feeling great anticipation and excitement of returning home not just at the
end, but very shortly for Becca and Brian’s wedding and then we return back to
Paris for a couple more months. To know of Becca and Brian’s love for one
another and their desire to make each other happy and plan so joyfully for this
sweet event, sends chills of gratitude and joy to our bones! What a blessed
Thanksgiving it will be this year!
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| I believe this was a photo of Brian and Becca on Brian's 31st Birthday on October 13th, 2019 |
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| This and the image below are a couple of some of the engagement photos! |
A FEW EXTRAS PHOTOS
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| Rendition of the Layton, UT Temple, announced at April's General Conference of this year ! It is stunning and so majestic with the mountains behind! |
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| The unveiling gathering of this new statue! I thought for sure it would amazing! Please explain the photo below! |
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| Do you think this is how it is before bringing the other half later, or is it really staying this way? |
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| Our street with the Ghost of Notre Dame! The sad look at night with no lights now |
Venez, venez, sans
craindre le devoir (Come, Come Ye Saints),
Elder et Sœur 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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