Week 87 - Evry

Oct. 27, 2014

Hey family and friends,

 

I don't have that much time to write so I'm going to keep this short and sweet and just tell you a funny story haha.

 

(Sorry mom, you probably wont like this story haha)

 

So the other night, Elder Empey and I didn't have any appointments scheduled and we wanted to do something new with this "extra time" that we normally don't have. We decided to take a bus and travel to the edge of our area that hasn't really been worked in by missionaries for a long time. We eventually made our way out there and started knocking on some doors.  

 

We did some door knocking for a while and didn't really see any success. One guy even came outside, and said "Who do you think you guys are?? Why do you want to bother me with your Jesus nonsense... my God is my wallet, now get off my property!!"

 

At least... that's the edited translation of what he said haha. Basically, he was a real sweatheart...

 

Anyways... not a ton of success...

 

So we went back to the bus stop and realized that we missed the bus that was going to get us home! The next bus wasn't going to come until well after our missioanry curfew... so we were stuck in a little predicament.

 

We couldn't walk... we were way to far away so we didn't really have any other option other than wait for the bus.

 

After a while of waiting... we got a pretty dumb idea. We decided to stand by the bus stop and hold our thumbs out like we were hitch-hiking! We kind of just did it as a joke... but the second car that drove past us stopped and asked us where we were going! We told him Evry and he said he was going in the opposite direction.. so he wished us luck and sped off.

 

Haha we were amazed that somebody would even stop! Just for fun, I re-read the missionary rule book and couldn't see anything that said hitch hiking was against the rules... so we decided to keep our thumbs out!

 

Haha believe it or not, only a few minutes later another guy stopped and asked us where we were we were going. We said evry and he told us to hop in!

 

Haha we were super excited and couldn't believe our luck. The best part is... we had about a decently long car ride ahead of us so we were able to introduce ourselves and explain who we were and what we did as missionaries.

 

He turned out to be really interested! We even prayed with him in the car, right before he dropped us off. His name is Brice and he is a super nice, father of 3 and we should be seeing him and his family again this weekend.

 

Miralcezzz!

 

Dang, that turned out to to be a kind of long story... but I hope you still enjoyed it! Moral of the story, anything can be turned into a missionary opportunity! 

 

Have a great week,

Elder Davis

Pictures 10/20/14

These are my favorite clothes :)

From left to right...

Christelles Boyfriend, Christelle (19 y/o daughter of Jean Yves and Martine), Me, Martine, Jean Yves, Jeremy (who is Jean Yves son....  in this picture is holding his daughter... but he has a son named Gavin!!!), Elder Christiansen, Elder Johnson

Teaching the good word!

Going to find some doors to knock on!

Week 86 - Evry

October 20, 2014

Hey Everyone!

This week was amazing!

Saturday was probably one of the best days (if not the best day) of my mission! I got to go back to Versailles to see the baptizm of Jean-Yves and Martine Belin. Not only did I get to go and see it... I got to do it! Martine called me during the week and asked me if I would be willing to baptize her. I didn't know what to say, but I eventually managed to get out a "oui"!

Man it was unreal! I am so happy for their family. There were a lot of people there to support them, including the Poznanskis who came all the way from Angers to watch the baptism. It was so great to see the Poznanskis again!

Jean-Yves son, Jeremy came up to Versailles to baptize his father which was a super powerful thing to watch. Seeing a son, baptizing his father... how cool is that!

Basically, the whole experience was just amazing. I even got to see Alain (not Célia though because she had work and couldn't come) again and talk to him about baptism!

 

I sent a lot of pictures, so hopefully by looking at those you'll be able to feel a bit of the joy and love that was felt on Saturday!

 

It's days like Saturday that make it all worth while. I wouldn't trade these experiences for the world!

 

Being a missionary is great!

 

I love you guys,

Elder Davis

Pictures 10/13/14

So I hope this wasn't against the rules... but my whole mission I've always wanted to touch the Seine River. This week we had a lesson with someone who lived right on the bank of the river so I just had to touch it!

I was knocking on doors last night and found three new "amis". If you look really closely you can see the other 2 on my neck ;)

Week 85 - Evry

October 13, 2014

 

Ok, seriously so many amazing things happened this week that I have no idea where to start.

 

Let me start by telling you the coolest thing that happened. 

 

Yesterday, I got the best phone call of my entire life. Elder Johnson called me to tell me that two of my old investigators in Versailles (Jean Yves and Martine) are getting baptized this saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Words cannot express how happy I was to receive that phone call. I got to teach their family for a few months when I was serving in Versailles and now they are finally getting baptized. I love that family so much. Elder Empey and I are going to the baptism this saturday. So amazing!

 

What else happened this week?

 

Well, Elder Empey and I worked our hearts out all week and the Lord blessed us! We met a man named Marc Albert who was baptized about 8 years ago, but then went completely inactive only 3 months after his baptism. After about 8 years with no contact from the church, two mormon missionaries (Elder Davis and Elder Empey) knocked on his door this past week. He let us right in and we hit it off great! He opened up to us and told us his whole story of why he joined the church and why he fell away. Most of the time we just sat and listened... until the end when we were able to share a simple message and testify to him the importance of coming back to church. He accepted the invitation to come back... and he came to church yesterday! For the first time in 8 years he came back! It was so amazing to watch the members of the ward welcome him back. It was literally like watching the 1 lost sheep come back and join the 99. Just goes to show you that it is never too late to come back!

 

We also met another lady this week in a super amazing way. The way we met her was a long story... just trust me when I say that meeting her was either a HUGE accident or a huge miracle (and let's get real... we know it wasn't an accident). Anyways, she told us that she hadn't been to church in several months and that she has recently fallen into some past sins that made her feel unworthy to come to church. We testified to her that church was were she needed to be on sunday and she commited to come...

 

Not only did she come yesterday... but she got up in sacrament meeting and bore her testimony of how she knew the church was true and how it has blessed her life more than anything else she has ever come into contact with. She even gave us a referral to visit one of her friends. Watching her share her testimony in sacrament meeting was a super special experience for me and everyone who got to listen.

 

Ok, if that wasn't enough miralces for the week...

 

Guess what else happened at chruch.

 

So yesterday was my first sunday in the Evry ward since I've been transered (General Conference last week doesn't count). And so I didn't really know any of the members... Anyways, when I walked into priesthood I had the feeling to sit by a certain man. I talked to him before the lesson started and came to find out that he wasn't a member and that this was his first time at church. This man (Bernard) stayed for all 3 hours of church and loved it! He loved it so much that after church he asked Elder Empey and I what he needed to do to "be a part of this church".

 

We told him (right there in the church parking lot) that he needed to be baptized and that we were having a baptismal service on the 9th of November. He said that he would be honored to continue to meet with us to prepare to be baptized on that day.

 

Are you kidding me? Seriously, how does that "just happen"? It doesn't happen by accident that's for sure. God knows His children. The ones that have "left the fold" and the ones that are searching to be a part of it. God either guides His missionaries to find those lost children or He guides the lost children to the missionaries. Either way... He is in control of His work.

 

I'm so grateful to be a part of it.

 

So... basically to sum all of that up. Life is good. I LOVE Evry. I LOVE my companion Elder Empey. I love being a missionary. And missionary work in France is accelerating fast!!

 

Less actives are coming back, and people are flocking to the font to get baptized.

 

I'm a happy man! Have a good week everyone!

Elder Davis

Week 84 - Evry

Oct. 6, 2014

 

Bonjour à tous!

Hope you all had a wonderful week. This week was transfer week for us in the mission so it was pretty intense! Transfer weeks are always full of sad goodbyes and exciting hellos!

Lets start with the "goodbye" half of the week.... We did a FHE with the Belins and the Babins before I left so that was fun. The Belins are such great people and I'm realy grateful for the chance I had to meet them and work with them. I miss them a lot already!

Saying goodbye to Célia and Alain was sad too, but I told them they need to get baptized before I go home in December so I can go back to Versailles and see them haha!

It's so weird not being in the office and seeing President and Soeur Babin everyday. They're so great. They taught me so much and have done so much for me. I love them!

I also had to say goodbye to Elder Everett who just finished his misison and went home a couple days ago. It's so weird... all my old companions are going home!

As far as "hellos" go... I got to pick up my cousin at the airport! She was one of the new missionaries that came into our mission so it was a super great opportunity to be able to go with President Babin and pick her up along with all the other new missionaries.

That was the first time I've seen her after about 2 years! We got to talk, catch up a little bit and of course take some pictures so that was great. I'm really excited for her to be in the same misison as me.

Of course, General Conference was this past weekend. Geez, I hope you all had a time to watch/listen. I was super, super touched and inspired. I left conference feeling more motivated to be a better person. Such a great feeling.

So I am now serving in Evry (city south of Paris) with Elder Empey. Evry is great and Elder Empey is a STUD! I'm super grateful to be here right now. I feel like there is a lot of potential in this city and in this ward. These past couple days we've been finding all day long and we've met a lot of cool people. We're probably going to be doing a lot more finding this coming week to really build up our teaching pool.

I'm super grateful to be with Elder Empey too. He's a super strong, young misisonary. Full of energy and super willing to work hard and be obedient. We're working really well together so far and I know there are lots of cool experiences ahead of us.

Well, I think that's it for this week.

I love you guys, talk to you soon,
Elder Davis

Pictures 9/29/14

Me with the Grinotier family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

         This was the most unexpected picture I've received, but I guess even Elders need to relax and have a facial on occasion. ;)

Week 83 - Versailles

9/29/14

Hey everybody,

So, I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet because the past couple weeks I've said a lot! 

Well, today is the first day of my 15th transfer. which means that I have some transfer news for you. Turns out...... I am getting transferred! 

On Wednesday, I'll be leaving my dear friend Elder Johnson, my responsibilities as AP and the wonderful people of Versailles for another wonderful city called Evry. 

Evry is a city just south of Paris, and it it is the home ward of President Babin. 

 

This will probably be my last "area" and I'm going to be serving there with a young missionary named Elder Empy and finish training him.

I'm super excited to get to know him, serve with him and see some miracles in Evry. 

I've known I was leaving Versailles for a while, so this week has been full of goodbyes which is never easy. It's always exciting to go to a new place and serve new people, but it's hard to leave the people you've come to know and love. 

 

I've really made some amazing friends here in Versailles and I've had some really cool experiences during my time here. I pray that God will lead me to some more people to love in Evry. 

Have a great week,

Elder Davis

Week 82 - Versailles

9/22/14

Hey everybody!

So brace yourself, this is going to be a long one haha. Sorry in advance.

I just need to start by saying.... yesterday was probably one of the best days of my life! Oh my gosh, I can't even explain how legit it was!

So, this past week I did a bunch of exchanges... the 3rd one of the week was with Elder Lam. He is a super, super cool guy who is currently serving in Torcy (eastern Paris, right next to Disneyland). Anyways... at the start of every exchange, we set goals to creat a "vision" of what we want to accompish during our time together. 

One of our goals was to "find a family and help them progress towards baptism." So we got on our knees, said a little prayer, then we got on our feet and got to work. 

We were full of energy and purpose and talking to everyone we could see. After a while we decided to knock on a few doors and pass by some people in a neighboorhood. We were working hard and that was great, but we both felt like we weren't in the right spot. So we decided to pray again to know where God needed us. 

We prayed and asked God to help us know where to go. After the prayer, Elder Lam said he didn't know the area very well, but he wanted to go somehwere with a bridge and a roundabout. I said I knew exactly what he was talking about so we walked over there as fast as possible while talking to everyone else in our path. 

Once we got there, we saw a young guy (François) around our age sitting on a bench. We started talking to him and he seemed to be a nice guy. We started talking about the plan of salvation and how families could be together forever. 

During our discussion, he got a phone call... which turned out to be a phone call from his mother saying she was on her way to pick him up and take him home. At that moment Elder Lam and I looked at each other and were like... shoot, how old is this kid? Turns out, he was only 17, but I thought he was like 22 when we contacted him. 

Anyways, we keep talking to him and then his mother shows up. At this point we're thinking again to ourselves... ugh... this could be interesting. 

Well turns out, the mom (Anne) was super legit and also interested in hearing about what we were teaching her son. 

We talked to them both about the plan of salvation and it was great. Anne even opened up and got a little personal with us saying that right now is a tricky time for her and her family. She is the mother of 5 kids and her and her husband are considering getting a divorce. 

 

We testified to her that even though family relations can be tricky sometimes... that we had both seen in our own families how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ can help families stay strong and overcome trials. 

We prayed with them on the street, got their phone numbers, and that was about it. 

Ok, so the next day I call Anne and set up an appointent for Sunday (which was yesterday). Elder Johnson and I went to their house yesterday and we were shocked. Their house was HUGE! probably one of the biggest french houses I've ever seen. It was a white, stone house and kind of looked like a temple. 

Anyways, we saw the house and were like... no way, there's no way they live there. But hey, sure enough, it was their house!

We said a prayer before entering and asked Heavenly Father to help us know what to do and say to bless this family. 

We got to the big gate in front of their house and Anne let us right in. She was super happy to see us! then something funny happened. She was like... hey, I hope this isn't a problem, but my other son Pièrre (18 years old) just got out of a movie so I need to go pick him up from the theater... can I leave you here with the kids for like 15 minutes?

Normally as missionaries we aren't allowed to babysit... but thankfully her 17 year old son François was there so it wasn't really babysitting. We just thought it was cool how she was able to trust us with her family from square one. 

Anyways, she picked up her son, came back and then we had an AMAZING first lesson. We introduced ourselves, talked about our families, explained why we came to france and told them our purpose as missionaries.

 

We shared with them the scriputre Heleman 5:12 (my go-to scripture) and told them that our purpose as missionaries is to help families build themselves upon the foundation of Christ so that they cannot fall. 

It was amazing to see the spirit enter that home! Anne was so grateful for our visit and the spirit that we brought into her home. She told us that it couldn't have been an accident that we found their family. I love it when people recognize that by themselves! They didn't want us to leave, they invited us to stay and eat with them and everything. Unfortunately we couldn't stay, but they invited us over again on tuesday (to eat dinner with them and share more of our message).

Wow, it was so amazing. I didn't even feel like a "missionary" during that lesson...  Elder Johnson and I felt like the older brothers of all those little kids and that we were there to love them and support them and teach them about Christ. 

Such an amazing experience. By the end of the evening, the kids walked us to the gate and waved to us as we walked away saying "à mardi, a mardi les missionnaries!" Which pretty much means see you on tuesday missionaries!

Man, Elder Johnson and I left that house with tears in our eyes. That was it. That was another on of those missionary moments of pure joy and happiness. 

I say this all the time... but it's moments like that which make everything worth it. the hours of contacting and knocking on doors and all the rejection and blisters on feet and all the super hard days and people that tell you that you're wasting the best 2 years of your life. No, it's not a waste! It's all worth it when you finally find somebody to love!

I wouldn't trade that for the world. 

Keep the family Granotier in your prayers. Frédérique (Dad), Anne (Mom), Pièrre (18), François (17), Mary (13), Paul (7) and Emil (3) in your prayers!

So yeah, that was just one of my experiences this week, but definitely the coolest. I also got to go to Caen and visit Normandie and all that fun extra stuff. 

Hey just a little by the way... how many of you have heard the song "How Great Thou Art" by Carrie Underwood? Oh my gosh I just discovered that song this past week and it's AMAZING! Listen to it, and think about "how great" God is in your life.

Have a great week, I love you guys!

Elder Davis

9/15/14 picture

This week, we had a suprise visit. Frère and Soeur Poznanski were in the area and wanted to stop and see us! They're so great, I miss them!

Week 81 - Versailles

9/15/14

Hey family and friends,

So, just like that another week is in the books. I feel like I don't have that much to fill you in on. This week we were busy with zone conferences and exchanges... the usual. We got to go up to Belgium for one of the zone conferences so that was prety legit.  

Now we are done with our zone conferences for the transfer so Elder Johnson and I will have time to focus on our exchanges and working in our own area. 

Sorry, I don't have time to say much more. We're going to try to go into Paris and see the Eiffel Tower again!

Célia and Alain and all of our other investigators are still doing well. Keep them in your prayers though. 

Thanks for all you guys do, have a great week,

Elder Davis

Pictures 9/08/14

Check it out, President and Soeur Babin in mid contact!!!!!!!! They're awesome!

Add caption

Elder Johnson, Elder Platt and I right before eating our traditional curry Sunday dinner. I'm holding the french soda!

Week 80 (Versailles)

9/08/14

Hey family, friends and beloved fans,

Well, this week was one to always remember. On Friday, September 5th, we joined forces with the Lyon, France mission and participated in a "day of finding". Basically what that means is from 9 am to 9 pm all of the missionaries in these two missions (around 500 missionaries) did as much finding as possible. We were talking to people on the street, in metros, at their doors, in buses and just about anywhere possible. Of course, that's pretty much what we do every day... but, what made this day special, is that we prayed for each other every 30 minutes! Every 30 minutes, no matter where we were or what we were doing, we would say a prayer with our companion for all the other missionaries in the Paris and Lyon mission. 

It was quite a spiritual day and an awesome experience! 

I taught more lessons that day than I ever have in any other single day on my mission. Everywhere we turned, we found people that were willing to stop, listen and talk to us about our unique message to the world.

We saw soooo many miracles. Want to know what's even cooler though? Ok, so Elder Johnson and I were thinking about it, and we thought that it would be fun to get President Babin and his wife to come contacting with us so they too could participate in this special day of finding. 

We called them up, told them our idea, and they were really excited to come contacting with us. We met them in the heart of Paris and then got to work. Elder Johnson and I were working on one side of the bridge, President and Soeur Babin were working on the other side. People were stopping left and right to find out more about what we were teaching. Heck, people were even coming up to us by themselves to ask questions. To make the story even cooler, the place we were contacting was on one of the bridges crossing the Seine river to Notre Dame. Livin' the dream!

We found a bunch of cool people, one guy that sticks out in my mind is a man named Aries. He is from the Philipean and has been living in France for 20 years. He was really open to our message of the Restoration and we had a great discussion. Turns out, he doesn't live in our area, but we passed him to another companionship not too far away. No worries though, we're all playing for the same team!

Anyways, the day of finding was a huge success. In fact, we found more new investigators this week than ever before in the history of the France Paris Mission. Just goes to show that with a lot of prayer, and a little effort, big things can happen. Romans 8:31 "...If God be for us, who can be against us?"

Lets see, what else did I do this week....

I went on a bunch of exchanges... including an exchange with my "missionary son" Elder Player! Man I love that guy. I trained him over a year ago and haven't been able to work with him again since. It was soooo good to finally be able to work with him and see how much he's grown since he first started his mission. He's great. 

Let's see, what else should I tell you...

Oh yeah, this coming week is going to be a HUGE week. Yesterday, we fasted with Célia and Alain. They decided to fast to know if the Book of Mormon is true and so we fasted that they would get their answer. We are going to see them on Wednesday so pray that they got their answer and that we can help them move forward towards their goal of baptism!

Also, we have kind of a "make or break it" day on wednesday for someone else that we are teaching. We are teaching Jean Yves, Martine, and Crystel (the Belin family) and they are amazing. I can't give you a lot of details about their situation, because it's pretty personal for them. But, keep them in your prayers, this is a big week for them!

Ok, last little miracle for the week. So last night Elder Johson and I were contacting. We were actually in a trio with Elder Tibbetts. Anyways, we were contacting, and we saw lots of success! Taught some lessons, and even found a family. We were feeling pretty good about life. Then, it was time to go home, so we went to the little RER train station and waited for our train. Turns out, it said that our metro/train wouldn't be coming for another 15 minutes... so we decided to leave the station and talk to a couple more people. In the 15 minute period, we only had time to talk to one person. Her name is Eve and she was probably the coolest person we met that night. Before we could finish teaching her about the restoration she was asking for our phone number and when we could meet her again. I don't know how that happens.... but it does! Miracles.

Ok, that was a pretty long email for this week. I hope you guys have a great day!

Elder Davis

Pictures 9/01/14

I've never really been able to see the Eiffel Tower at night... but this is as close as I've been. At 9h00 the lights go on and it's super cool.

Coolest missionary morning workout ever!

Week 79 (Versailles)

9/01/14

Bonjour family and friends!

(So sorry in advance, this email is pretty long. If anything, just read the stuff I put in bold at the bottom)

I don't know how I'm going to be able to do this week justice in an email. Seriously, we had a GREAT week packed full of miracles and testimony building experiences! I know I say that pretty much every week... but hey, every week it's true. 

I'm on a spiritual "cloud nine" so I hope you can feel it as you read this email.

So, this week Elder Johnson and I did a bunch of exchanges. We worked with the elders of Paris, Liège and Tour. Three exchanges in a row is a lot, but it was so much fun and we got work done!

I'll send some cool pictures that I took during my exchange in Paris.

This week I really saw the hands of God working in my life. I'll tell you about one experience in particular. 

 

So... Célia and Alan. Oh my gosh, I love them so much. God has blessed me with so much charity for them. 

We got super honest and upfront with them this week. I asked them in our lesson on thursday, "What is holding you back from being baptized?" They responded that they believe everything we've taught them, that they love the church and that they want to be a part of it... they are just waiting for one thing before they get baptized. They want to know that the Book of Mormon is true. They are waiting for that spiritual confirmation, but they said that "If we could get an answer that the Book of Mormon is true... we'd be baptized tomorrow".

What great news! We made them a promise... We said that if they really do everything in their power to get an answer (read, fast, pray, come to church, etc.)... God will give them the answer they are searching for by the 11th of Septmember. They agreed right then and there to do their part and so they are excited to see what will happen. 

Well 2 days later we had another lesson with them. Before this lesson Elder Johnson and I felt like we really needed to go that one step further and set a baptismal date. The september 11th date was kind of cool to help them understand they don't need to wait years to get an answer, but we wanted them to have a goal baptismal date that they can work towards.  

We prayed really hard before the lesson, knowing that we'd really need the spirit with us if we'd want to pull this off...

I had a funny experience on the way to their house. I was about to get on the metro and I was thinking about the things we were going to say and how we were going to ask them to be baptized. I told myself that I wasn't going to bother contacting people on the train because I needed to think about the lesson and prepare myself for this really important moment. While I was on the metro, I was thinking to myself about what we were going to teach and I started saying a silent prayer to have the spirit. During that prayer I said something like "I'm doing everything I can to have the spirit with me, please help Elder Johnson and I be able to touch their hearts so they'll accept the invitation to be baptized"....

What happened was kind of interesting. During my prayer, I had the thought... "if you're really doing "everything you can" to have the spirit, why aren't you talking to that woman in front of you about the gospel?"

I was like, dang... good point. I sat up, and started talking to the lady in front of me. Turns out, she wasn't interested at all... but when I got off the train I felt like I did what I needed to do to have the spirit.

Anyways.... long story short... We eventually got to their house and the spirit was super strong and they accepted the invitation to be baptized on the 21st of September under conditions that they get their answer that the Book of Mormon is true. 

How exciting! So, please pray that Célia and Alan will get an answer before the 11th of September that the Book of Mormon is true so they can get baptized on the 21st! They are so amazing and have such good hearts. I say this every week but they are true and honest seekers of truth. I know they will get their answer because they are already doing their part. Alan read the entire Book of Mormon in 2 weeks and now he's reading it again and he's already in Mosiah!

Walking home from that lesson, Elder Johnson and I felt true joy. We agreed that that was probably one of the happiest times of our entire missions because we followed the promptings of the spirit and saw God work through us. Alma 17:28: "Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness."

 

I love you guys,

Elder Davis

Pictures week 8/25/14

"Let your light so shine before men!!!" Matt. Ch. 5

Elder Johnson and I got to stay in a hotel this past week with some of the new missionaries that couldn't fit into the mission home

Me and Elder Johnson at Consecration Hill (Saint Germain en Laye) with the new missionaries

Moi et Elder Johnson à la colline de consécration (Saint Germain en Laye) avec les nouveau missionaires.tion

Week 78 (Versailles)

8/25/14

Hey everyone!

 

Well I guess I should start by saying that this past week was out of control! It was the first week of a new transfer so we were running around all week. Sometimes I felt like a chicken running around with his head cut off... but in the end everyting worked out. I'd say all in all this week was a success. 

On Tuesday we got to welcome 31 new missionaries into the mission. Elder Johnson and I got to go pick them up at the airport and pretty much took care of them until wednesday afternoon. Picking up new missionaries is so great. They are so young and inexperienced... yet they are full of faith and desire to share the gospel. 

I got to have some really cool experiences with some of them on trains and in Paris as we did some contacting together.

Working with brand new missionaries inspires me and helps me keep the missionary flame burning in my heart!

Working with Elder Johnson this past week has been a dream come true as well. He is such a good hearted man and a great missionary. We have commited to do everything we can to fully consecrate ourselves to the work during our time together.

We even had the privilege to revisit Consecration Hill with the blues. While we were there we re-consecrate ourselves to be 100% focused on our purpose. 

I LOVE Elder Johnson!!!!!!!

Oh, guess what... I got to go to Paris Lilas again haha! Josée (the lady who was baptized last week) asked me to confirm her a member of the church so President Babin said I could go. Man, it was so good to be back (again) to see old friends and of course to participate in a confirmation. 

I am so blessed. 

Thanks for all your prayers and support. 

Have a great week,

Elder Davis

Pictures 8/18/14

Happy Birthday to me

Haircut right outside the mission home

This week we went to the Busseaus to eat. We told them that we wanted to eat something really french... so they cooked us up some frog legs! Super good, but very boney and hard to eat! Pretty funny looking before they're cooked haha

Week 77 (Versailles)

August 18, 2014

Hello everyone!

Man, I had a great week! I'm so grateful to be a missionary. Life couldn't be better right now!

Yesterday I got to go back to the Paris Lilas ward to see a baptism of Josée! She's a really great lady who has been working with the Paris Lilas elders for a long time and she finally was able to get baptized! I got to work with her a little bit, so I was super happy that she invited me to come and see her baptism.

Baptism days on the mish = happiest days of your life!

Being back in Paris Lilas was cool too because I got to see a bunch of old friends, including François. What a humble, sincere, spiritual man. He's been going through some tough times with his health lately. he's stuck in a wheel chair and has been needing to make frequent hospital visits. Keep him in your prayers. 

It was so cool to be able to see the Paris Lilas members again. Man I miss them. I think that's the third time I've been back to Paris Lilas since I've been in Versailles, but it's awesome every time. 

Today is the first day of a new transfer which means.... I have a new companion! Guess who it is? ELDER TYLER JOHNSON! I've known Elder Johnson since the beginning of my mission and I'm SO pumped to be able to serve with him. 

 

We're going to have an awesome, awesome, miracle filled transfer. I'm already convinced of that!

He has so much faith and energy so I'm really excited to learn from him. Basically I'm going to be living the dream for the next 6 weeks.

Elder Everett got transfered back to Paris so at least he's not too far away. I'll miss him, but I think he'll be happy to start working with the Chinease of Paris again. Elder Everett only has 6 more weeks left of his mission, but I know he'll finish strong! I'm grateful for the time I was able to work with him.

Seriously, I am so optomistic right now. I'm in an amazing city with an amazing companion and we are teaching some amazing people. We get to work with an amazing mission president on a daily basis and God blesses us every day. Can't complain 

I hope you guys are doing well. Take care of yourselves!

Elder Davis 

Picture from 8/11/14

Paris Opera House.

This is where they filmed Phantom of the Opera. Super chique 

 

Week 76

Hello Everyone!    
8/11/14                                                                                     

So this was one of those "could have been better, could have been worse" weeks. But oh well, let me give you a little summary of the positive things!

We started out the week monday night doing an interview with a guy who is writing a book about Mormon missionaries. He wants to write a book about 2 young guys serving a mission in a foreign country so he can portray how people endure trials and opposition for the things that they beilieve. He mostly just wanted to get to know us personally so he could understantd what makes Mormon missionaries tick. I think there's a chance we'll see him again for more interviews. Pretty interesting experience, I'd be interested in reading the book once its published haha. 

Lets see... What else did I do this week... We did a handfull of exchanges like always. 

Tuesday we went to Tour and did an exchange with the elders there. I got to work with Elder Wells and we had a GREAT exchange. We taught a ton of lessons, found some new amis and even fixed a baptismal date! We had a first lesson with a guy on a park bench and he was asking us a ton of questions about baptism... so we eventually just asked him if he wanted to prepare to be baptized on a certain date and he said yes! It was pretty cool because we both knew he was going to say yes even before we asked the question. Just goes to show that there are people out there already prepared to accept baptismal dates... even during the first lesson. 

Seeing Tour was super cool. I love being able to travel the mission. I'm super lucky!

Also this week we had some more quality lessons with Alain and Célia. Man they're super golden. They still have a couple big questions that they want answers to before they get baptized... but they are the definition of "sincere seekers of truth"

One thing really struck me this past week...

Alain said in one of our rendez-vous that he doesn't know if the church is true or not... but that he knows the church is good and he wants to believe that its the true church of God. 

That desire to believe is pretty big. 

There are a lot of people out there that don't believe in a lot of things. For example, in France TONS of people don't believe in God. But that "desire" to believe makes Alain a little more unique. 

There is a good scripture in the Book of Mormon that says

Alma 32:27 "But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."

On my mission, I've met a ton of people that don't believe in God and don't care to find out if He exists. Those people tend to not change. Its the people that are humble and searching that truly gain a testimony that He is there. 

That's what Alain is doing. He has a couple weeks of vacation ahead of him and he says he is going to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover during his vacation to find out if its really true. 

Pray that he'll find the answers to his questions! I know he will because God gives answers to those who humbly and sincerely seek them. 

 

I hope you guys have a great week,

Elder Davis

France - Week 75 (Versailles)

8/04/14

Hello everyone!

So this past week was pretty busy and good as always. We did 3 exchanges. For the first one, we went to Nancy in the eastern part of France to work with the zone leaders there. Then we came back to Versailles and we worked with the Lille zone leaders... and then to end off the week, I went to Torcy to work with Elder Coulumbe who is french Canadian! 

Nancy is a pretty cool city. I've never really worked in the eastern part of France my whole mission so that was a good experience. Torcy is in the eastern part of Paris which is really close to Disneyland Paris so that was also a fun place to work.  

We started teaching some really cool people last Sunday. I think I already told you about them. Their names are Alan and Célia. Man I love them so much! We've already been able to teach them a few more times since I last emailed you and they are progressing well. They are really motivated to find the answers to their spiritual questions. I love honest, sincere seekers of truth!

During our exchange with the Lille zone leaders, Elder Jacobson told me some really exciting news. 

So, a few months ago, while I was serving in Paris Lilas, I was on exchange with Elder Jacobson and we were working in Arras which is in the north of France. We worked really hard on our exchange and saw a lot of really cool miracles. Well, on that exchange we talked to a man in kind of an obscure, quiet part of the city. He was a nice guy, but really skeptical as to whether or not God really exists. We talked to him for a while, taught him about how he could know for himself that God really exists, testified, challenged him to pray, prayed with him on the street, and then set a follow up appointment for later that week. 

I went back to Paris Lilas at the end of that exchange and continued on with my missionary life. 

Well, turns out that this man who we contacted that day decided to get baptized! He was baptized yesterday with his two sons!!! How crazy is that? Awesome miracle. One conversation on an obscure French road resulted in the baptisms of 3 people! Just goes to show that you never know how your testimony could effect the lives of those around you. I also like to say: "you can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you can't count the number of apples in a seed"

Man, I've been so blessed on my mission. Elder Jacobson and I worked really hard that day, and then the Lord put us in the right place at the right time to talk with the right person. I'm grateful for that and I'm also grateful for the excellent Elders who are currently serving in Arras (Elder Lehman and Elder Nelson) who were able to teach him and his sons in order to get them ready for their baptism. 

Well, that's a lot of typing for one week et je suis quand même un peu fatigué. Donc voilà, je vais m’arrêter là. Elder Everett et moi avons décidé d'aller à Paris pour la journée comme d'habitude. Sachiez que je vous aime tous et que je prie pour vous. 

Bonne semaine,

Elder Davis

PIctures from week 7/28/14

This is what I do every day! :)

Last pday just hanging out in front of a castle at St. Germain en laye caption

Me in Liège this past week on exchange! this is the Gare (train station)

France - Week 74 (Versailles)

Hello family and loved ones!                                                                                                                    7/28/14

So this past week I did 3 exchanges... one of them being in Liège, Beligum! It was so good to go back and see one of my old cities. I even got to see some old people that I taught and baptized... What a great experience! 

We also had a super legit 1st rendez vous with a young woman and her father yesterday. Alan and Célia. Apparently they talked to missionaries a few years ago and were going to get baptized.... but decided last minute to change their mind. Well... they contacted us this past week saying they want to retake the missionary lessons and do what it takes to prepare for baptism. Oh, I think we can help them with that!

We saw them last night and it was an awesome lesson. We took Robin with us (he himself being a recent convert) and the spirit was strong. I love first rendez-vous. We have another lesson with them on wednesday so we're hoping to fix some baptismal dates soon!

I had a super, super french lunch on Saturday. Jean-Yves and Martine Belin invited us over to eat with the Bousseaus. They fed us lamb and rockfort which is a super, super strong french cheese. Basically Rockfort is known for being super moldy. I'm pretty sure it's illégal to sell in the USA. Man it was soooo good though. The french culture is really starting to get to me... at least the food part haha. 

The other exchanges I did were with the Angers and Brussels zone leaders. They came to us in Versailles and we saw a lot of cool things. Elder Tyler Johnson is one of the brussels zone leaders so I finaly got to do an exchange with him. I've been wanting to work with him my entire mission! I knew him in the MTC and last week... I FINALLY got to live the dream. He's such a stud and I learned a lot from working with him. 

Yesterday we went to Paris Lilas because one of Elder Everett's old investigators wanted him to baptize her. Elder Everett found her when he first started his mission.... Took her almost 2 years to get ready, but he was super happy to be able to be the one to baptize her. 

Just goes to show, no effort is ever wasted. Some people just take their time to gain a testimony.

I love the mission! Life is toooo good. 

have a great week,

Elder Davis

Picture

Téo's baptism!!!!! Smartest french kid that ever lived.

France - Week 73 (Versailles)

7/21/14

So... sorry in advance... this email is kind of long

Bonjour les amis!

Donc, voilà ça fait une autre semaine! I got to go back to Rennes this week! 

 

We did an exchange with Elder Brockbank and Elder Ireland and it was legitttt. I haven't been to Rennes since I left St. Brieuc (the first city I served in during my mission) so its been over a year. It was so good to be back. Brought back lots of memories.

During our exchange we saw some cool things. I was working with Elder Ireland who is a HUGE Canadian. We did a lot of door knocking together. We knocked doors for about an hour or two and didn't see much success. 

On the way home that evening, we saw a family of 5 not far from our bus stop and so we decided to go talk to them while waiting for our bus. They were super legit! They were way open to talk about the Plan of Salvation and how families can be together forever. We taught them, invited them to act, prayed with the 5 of them all together and then set up a follow up appointment for Sunday. #Familymiracles

Interestingly enough... the conversation we had with the family made us miss our bus so we had to walk home. On the way home some crazy French guy rode up to us on his bike and tried to explain to us how he was WAYYY more Christian than us. Haha it was super funny. He was pretty drunk and using some pretty colorful language to get his "Christian" message across. Crazy people in the world n'est-ce pas? 

I think it's funny how whenever something cool happens in the mission, Satan either precedes it or follows it up with a less cool experience. Always trying to get in the way with the work we're doing. Just kind of makes me realize that the work we're doing is true. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be so much opposition. 

ANOTHER COOL MIRACLE

So recently Elder Everett and I gave a training to the mission leaders about working with recent converts and less actives. We invited the entire mission to commit to teaching a certain number of recent convert less active lessons each week. We then decided that in order to be good leaders... we better practice what we preach!

So last night Elder Everett and I were 1 lesson away from the Standard of Excellence that we invited our missionaries to attain. 

It was the end of the night... and we were trying to find the house of a recent convert to visit. Long story short... we couldn't find it and  the night was almost over. While we were waling we decided to stop by a house. We knew a less active person lived there.. but the last time she saw us she didn't want to talk to us so we were a little nervous to pass by.

Despite what we were thinking... we felt we needed to pass by. Imagine our surprise when she answered the door with a smile on her face saying "oh làlà ce n'est pas possible. Il n'y a même pas 5 minutes j'était en train de parler de vous avec mon neveu" (WHAT! NO WAY? MY NEPHEW AND I WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT YOU!)

Super legit. She was talking about us and then we knocked on her door 5 minutes later. We were able to share a good spiritual thought with her and everything went well.

Makes me think of one of my favorite scriptures:

 1 Nephi 4:6 And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.

Geez... that was a super long email. Sorry about that. If you read all the way to the end you deserve a medal.

Have a great week!

Elder Davis

Picture

So this week we went to President Babin's parents house because they live in our ward! We did a FHE with them and some of our investigators. This is the Book of Mormon that missioanries gave to President Babin's mother back in the day. Basically... if it weren't for this book the Babins wouldn't be members and I would have a different mission president

France - Week 72 (Versailles)

7/14/14

Hey Everyone!

So today is a pretty important day for all the Frenchies. Today is like the 4th of July for French people... meaning we're going to be seeing some cool fireworks tonight! I didn't see any on the 4th so I'm excited for tonight. 

I know I say this all the time... (but its such a cool fact that I can't help repeating myself) We can see the Eiffel Tower from the balcony of our apartment so we'll have a really nice view of the Eiffel Tower fireworks tonight. #ohlàlà

So lets see... what can I tell you about this past week... well it was a pretty relaxed week as far as "week ones" go. This was the first week of a new transfer so we got to pick up new missionaries at the airport. New missionaries fresh from the MTC are so much fun!

Everything went pretty smoothly, except one of the sister missionaries temporarily lost her passport in the plane when she landed in Paris so we were worried they weren't going to let her in the country haha. That wouldn't have been good! Luckily she found it.

We spent a lot of time with President and Soeur Babin this week to help them welcome in the new missionaries. Working with the Babins is so great!

It was a busy week. As an assistant to the mission president I spend a ton of time worrying about logistical issues and what not... kind of like the buisness end of the mission. But we do have time to do regular misionary work too and we're always super blessed with awesome miracles. 

The other day we werer able to see the Registre family again. That's Jeff and his family who I told you about last week. We taught their entire family of 5 people and they accepted the invitation to get baptized if they get an answer to their prayers. We're doing a follow up lesson this week so pray that they'll find what they're looking for... they're LEGIT!

Well I think that about covers it... Today Elder Everett and I are going into Paris to meet up with Elder Gutellius and Elder Ruttan. I don't know what were going to do, but I'm sure it'll be good! Paris never gets old <3

I love you guys! Vive la France!!!!

Elder Davis

France - Week 71 (Versailles)

7/7/14

Hey Family,

I think "crazy" is the best way to describe this past week. Shoot... we were running around all over the place, but we had a good time! So two weeks ago we had a bunch of conferences with the whole mission to say goodbye to the Poznanskis... well this past week we did the same thing. We had all of the same conferences, but this time it was to welcome the Babins. I'd say the conferences were a huge success. The Babins are LEGIT and all the missionaries were super excited to meet them. 

On top of all that, we had to prepare for the new transfer because that starts today. I'll be staying here in Versailles with Elder Everett for at least another 6 weeks. I'm super pumped to keep working with him and with President in the office. I feel so lucky!

So literally... this entire week we weren't in our area so missionary work in our area was a little slow... slow until the weekend that is!

I feel like the Lord consecrates the time that we DO HAVE... so we still see the same amount of miracles as normal... it's just condensed into a smaller time period. 

We had our baptism on Saturaday!!! Les jours du baptême sont les meilleures jours dans la vie missionnaire! It was sooooo cool. Téo got dunked and it was a super spiritual experience for everyone... especially his family though! I'm super grateful that I got to teach him and play a small role in preparing him for his baptism.

Sunday was legit too. We had a cool miracle. 

So get this.... 3 weeks ago, I'm on exchange with my man Elder Wood and we meet this young guy named Jeff. I talked to him in the RER (metro type train), and then we took him to the park in St. germain-en-Laye and taught him a lesson about the Plan of Salvation. He was interested, but he said he didn't really have a lot of time to continue meeting with us because he is a busy college student. 

He said that "If it is God's will" for us to talk again... He'll make it so we cross paths again. 

Well yesterday (about 3 weeks later) Elder Everett and I are knocking on doors in a place we don't go to that often. And we knock on this one door...

A haitian woman answers and lets us come in to share a spiritual message with her family.

We sit down and she goes to get the rest of her family from the other room. 

A couple minutes later... Jeff turns the corner and enters the room! My jaw about hit the floor!

How nuts is that??? Seriously there is no way that was an accident. It was toooo perfect.

He couldn't believe that I was standing in his living room haha! All he could say once he saw me was "oh làlà, ce n'est pas posible!!!" (best english translation: NOOOOOOO WAYYYYY, HOW DID YOU FIND ME!!!!)

Haha he was super happy to see us though because he was convinced God led us to him... 

We taught their family a short lesson on the restoration and we will be seeing them again this week. 

Miracles quoi!!

So, that was my week in a nut shell.  Life is too good. the Babins are sooo amazing, I love them to pieces already. The Poznanskis and the Babins are the coolest french people EVERRRR.

I love you all,

Elder Davis

Pictures

My favorite picture!! Me hugging Soeur Poznanski right before she left! This was in the airport parking garage. Man I love that woman!

Me with the man himself!! He gave me that tie too as a parting gift

France Paris Mission was in great hands with the Poznanskis, and continues to be now with the Babins. I'm so grateful my son has had such amazing leaders.

As a mother, I will always be grateful to these two wonderful people for loving and caring for my son and being such a great example to him! 

This is me when I dropped off my trainer at the airport.  I love that guy! Elder Adams = Best trainer ever!