WEIRDEST AND MOST WONDERFUL WEEK!

Wow this week has been absolutely crazy.. But to be honest, it has
been one of the coolest weeks on my mission. I'll try my best to get
all the details in.. Long story short, we met Linda K Burton and we
now have a super ami, Gabriel! I'll start off with my favorite
part!

NOTRE AMI!
So this all started on the very first day of the transfer. Elder Hutch
and another missionary were shopping in the mall (it was Pday and
their very last day in the mission). This guy contacted them in
English! He said he knew the missionaries in Toulouse, and he'd like
to see them again! So Elder Hutch passed his name and info over to me.
We were completely busy the first week, but we called him this last
Sunday and set a rendezvous.

His name is Gabriel! He's 20 and from Nigeria. We teach him in
English!  We had our first rdv with him at his apartment; he has been
in Lyon for about 3 weeks now. We had a simple lesson on our role as
missionaries and what we do. And we talked about the plan of
salvation! He told us about how he was doing things that he knew
weren't good, and so now he really wants to change. So we said we're
here to help him out! He was super happy and excited. We left the rdv
excited and had planned for another one on Thursday.

Thursday we took him to the institute and gave him a tour of it! We
saw a cool miracle with him that night.. I'll explain in a second.

Bellacour part of our Sector

MY PATHWAY TO TEMPLE BLESSINGS
Thursday morning was zone training. We talked about a lot of good
stuff, (such as business contacting! That'll be cool) and we talked
about the temple. They introduced these little trifold pamphlets
called my pathway to temple blessings. Basically it just shows us what
e need to do to receive temple blessings! It has a little pathway that
starts with baptism and leads up to the temple. At zone training, our
zone leaders were like "we don't have the pamphlets in French yet, but
you can have this one in English for practice!" And at the time we
were like "okay cool."

Later that evening we had a rdv with Gabriel! Like I said, we gave a
tour of the institute and then taught a lesson. We were talking about
eternal life, and out of no where he was like "can people that have
died still get baptized?" So Acheson and I thought for a second, and
remembered the trifold we had received that day! We pulled that
straight out. Again Gabriel is a native English speaker, so it was a
miracle for us cause we only had it in English! We were able to talk
about the temple and baptisms for the dead. He thought that was super
cool and he really enjoyed it! We talked about how amazing the temple
is and how that all starts with baptism. We asked him about baptism
and if he wants to be baptized! He told us "yeah of course! I knew
that I want to be baptized even before I met you guys" haha
Afterwards, we played ping pong and he destroyed both of us haha he's
really good. He said if you're from Nigeria and you don't play ping
pong, then you're not Nigerian haha! He's a super humble guy.

We had planned a rdv with him for Saturday night; we wanted to give
him a tour of the chapel. The grenoble elders were with us at the
time, because they were staying at our apartment for stake conference
on Sunday. So we got to the church with Gabriel and the other elders,
but it turns out that we didn't have the code to get into the
building! Haha so it was about 8:30 at night and no one was answering
their phones. So we decided to just do a little spiritual thought
outside! We talked about the power of prayer with him. Gabriel prays
with a really good intent! Listening to his prayers, you can tell he
cares! So it was a nice spiritual moment in this random parking lot in
France.

Sunday was stake conference; we invited our ami Gabriel to come! We
met up with him and went to conference. The conference was held in
this big conference center in Lyon! President Brown and his wife was
there, Elder Homer (he's in the quorum of the seventy) and the stake
president! Gabriel speaks French pretty well, but English is his
native language. Fortunately, Sister Brown, Elder Homer, and Elder
Homer's wife all spoke in English and had translators! After the
meeting, we went and introduced Gabriel to President Brown and Elder
Homer and a bunch of people. Gabriel told us he really enjoyed the
conference! For his first stake conference, he met the stake
president, the mission president, and a member of the seventy! Haha
pretty sick stuff!

Last night, we planned to see him again to actually show him the
chapel. So we met up with him at about 8PM. We were walking to the
chapel and Gabriel was saying how happy he has been today! After
church he had taken a nap, prayed, and read the bible and Book of
Mormon. He called his mom in Nigeria and told her about how he went to
church and all. He said that his mom was super happy about all that!
We taught about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. He's totally
engaged! He was telling us about how much he's already changed. We
didn't know him two weeks ago, but he said he's feeling like a changed
man from just two weeks ago. He's super happy!

Gabriel has become our best friend In just a few days.. I'm super
happy that we have this opportunity to be his friend and to teach him!
We're seeing him tomorrow and we're going to family home evening
together at the institute.. So we're pumped!

LA CONFÉRENCE SURPRISE AVEC LINDA K BURTON

So we had an unexpected surprised on the other side of our missionary
work.. We were doing some moving and work around Geneva and Lausanne!
We needed some keys for certain apartments so we could move stuff
around. All the missionaries in Switzerland were invited to a special
conference with Linda K Burton, the general relief society president!
So on Friday we had to go to Lausanne to get some keys to start moving
stuff around. We show up in the middle of their lunch. Acheson and I
were in our service clothing, because we were planning to grab some
keys and then just head out. We got the keys from the certain
missionaries. Then quickly, the Lausanne zone leader, elder Hladky
from Austria (elder Hladky is one of my really good missionary
friends), was like "hey come over here and meet Linda K Burton" so we
were like "haha sure!" So there we were.. In basketball shorts and t
shirts, meeting Sister Burton.. Haha we had to explain a little bit of
what we did so she could understand. We also met Elder Homer from the
seventy!

On our way out, I went to say a quick hello to President Brown! He
asked me what our plans were for the day. I said we're just moving
stuff around. He then asked if we would have time to stay for the
conference (Sister Burton and Elder Homer were gonna speak to the
missionaries) I said something like "oh I don't know, we're not exactly
dressed for the occasion." President Brown then told me, "don't give
that a second thought; this is your uniform for your calling. I think
you should stay for this." So of course I accepted haha! After that,
he asked Elder Acheson and I about the work. We told him about our new
ami and how he wants to get baptized. He was super stoked about it!

Elder Acheson, President and Sister Brown and me!

So here's where things get good.. All the missionaries, senior couples
(all the senior couples of the mission were invited to come) and
guests went into the chapel. A couple people spoke; Sister Brown
started. President Brown followed! President brown was talking about
unity! During his talk, he was like "Will Elder Steadman and Elder
Acheson come up here please?" Hahah again... We're still in our
basketball shorts and t shirts! He had us come up; he explained to
Sister Burton, Elder Homer, and the other guests about what we do. He
then had us share our story about our new ami Gabriel! We shared it,
and after, President Brown explained that every missionary, no matter
what their calling, takes part in every baptism of this mission. At
one point, he pointed at us and said this mission wouldn't run without
us. So that was cool! Haha it was a nice lift up for us.. Sometimes we
don't feel respect from other missionaries because we don't do as much
missionary work as they do. But I really liked what president said!
Often times, missionaries say "it was my baptism" or stuff like that..
But really we're all one team working for one goal! I loved it.

Speaking in Zone conference!

We've been driving around Switzerland and France all the time; 

Fall in Switzerland

We've been sleeping at other missionaries apartments; my back hurts from
sleeping on bad mattresses or floors in other place (also from
building IKEA furniture); we get less sleep than most other
missionaries; we eat terribly because we're always on the road; we do
physical work from 8am to 9pm, and we carry washing machines up 4
flights of stairs.. but I know that what I'm doing is worth my time!
I'm having so much fun and time is flying for us. I'm super grateful
for our new ami, Gabriel! I know the God loves me and loves him.
Through God, all is possible. I might not have the most normal calling
as a missionary, but the work of the lord is still moving forward! Im
thankful for my friends and family who have helped me get here!

Thank you so much :) I love you all!

We got to eat some pizza!

DRIVING TO CHAMBESY AND CHICAGO

Ok I'll explain what I mean by the Chambésy and Chicago in a second..
But first, congrats to my sister, Carly, for getting engaged this last
weekend! I'm proud of you and Camden!! You two will make a dope
couple! :)

So to throw it out there, this week was super busy and full of
driving. New transfers mean changes, which means more work for us
around the mission! This week we were working on getting beds and
desks to missionary apartments that needed them. We calculated and
figured we drove about 2235 kilometers in just this week! That's 1388
miles by the way. But that doesn't count driving within city limits
and stuff. So basically, it takes 1400 miles to drive from Salt Lake
City to Chicago (hence the title). Or that's also driving to
Disneyland and back! Super tiring, but super fun too.

NOUS SOMMES ENCORE DES ESCLAVES DES ESCLAVES
It might feel like we're slaves of slaves sometimes, but I love it! I
got my comp, elder Acheson last Monday! We ate some master tacos (the
best) and then went home. On Tuesday, we went to talk to elder Taylor
about our transfer, and then they needed our help with a bunch of
stuff. All the blues (new missionaries) arrived on Tuesday, but all
their luggage was on a different plane. So elder Boynton (the new
office elder), Acheson, and I went and searched their stuff at the
airport! It was weird being there again and remembering everything
from my first day..

Wednesday was our first voyage. We got a bed, and drove to Limoges! We
left bright and early in the morning, and got back at night. Probably
9 hours of driving in that day. Fortunately, elder Acheson got the
approval to drive! So we've been sharing the driving! Cause last
transfer it was all me.. So it's been nice to have a break!
Thursday, we drove to valence to drop off two desks, we ate lunch with
the elders there, and saw the brand new chapel! 

The Moving Crew

Then we went to
Grenoble to pick up desks, then we drove to Limoges to drop off the
desks. It sounds simple and stuff, but really that took all day haha.
We slept in Limoges for the night, then returned to Lyon in the
morning!

CHAMBÉSY
So we were doing a bunch of crazy stuff in Geneva this weekend. We
closed two apartments, and moved three teams of missionaries to
different spots. It was crazy but super cool at the same time! So let
me give a little background on Chambésy..

Chambésy is a neighborhood in Geneva! The church owns a nice plot of
land, with two nice homes! It's about 2 acres of land. The homes were
built in 1960, and it has been used for housing missionaries and
mission presidents, and moving the work forward in the Suisse Area!

Chambesy Home

We arrived at Chambésy on Friday night, and turns out there were some
people there. It was Brother Robert Orton, his wife, and a member from
Gex who takes care of all the church building work in the region. We
spoke with them for a bit! Brother Robert Orton was a temple president
in St George, a mission President in Romania, a general authority in
the Moscow Area, and now he is a United Nations Representative for LDS
Charities. It was cool to meet them! That night they were looking at
one of the homes for future use. They haven't been in use by anyone
for about 3 years. The building manager from Gex told us that
President Gordon B Hinckley told the managers to never sell these
houses or land! So they have some pretty high value. we moved
two sets of sister missionaries, into the lower portion of the house
of the left. The house on the right was used by the mission presidents
and family, the one on the right was for missionaries and the office.
For one on the left, the sisters will live in the lower portion, while
the upper portion will remain untouched (the upstairs has been blocked
off from inside the house below, so you need a key from the outside to
get in). We were told that the right house will be possibly used for
interns and representatives of the UN; they can work and live there,
and take care of their affaires in Geneva.

As missionaries we wish washing machines. (I think he means dishwasher haha)

But it was the two office elders and us two working for the whole
time! It was actually a really fun move. We got there on Friday night
and we all slept in the old mission home. So it was the first time in
3 years that that has been done; despite the fact that we slept on the
cold ground and didn't sleep a lot, it was really cool! On Saturday we
worked on moving the elders and both sister equipes! We ate lunch at
IKEA too... Those Swedish meatballs are the best! Haha we were able to
finish most of the moving that day. We got home pretty late back in
Lyon, and then we passed out at our apartments. (President knew we
would be late, so it's okay)

D'AUTRES CHOSES

I had to teach Sunday school yesterday to our investigators class..
All the missionaries are in there for that and all their Amis. I found
out I had to teach the class the night before driving home from Geneva
haha but with the spirit, I was able to teach it!

Geneva

We've set some good goals for this transfer; one of them is to work a
lot with the members. We have a car for the moment so we want to take
advantage of that, and visit as many members as possible! Another goal
is for us to make a rotisserie chicken... Stay tuned for that one!


This week we will have a lot more time to do missionary work! We have
a first rdv with a referral we got from some finishing missionaries
last week. So we have a rdv with a guy this Tuesday; we're excited
cause he was like "I'm always free!" Haha so we plan on seeing him a
lot.

I love my mission and I love Christ :) I know that I have been called
of God by a prophet of God! I can see gods hand in my life every day.
If you look at the simple things, you can see it too :)

I love you all! Have a great week!

Craziness in Cannes!

Ok my week wasn't actually that crazy, it was pretty chill, but still
crazy at the same time!

Also we got out transfer calls! I'm staying in Lyon, and receiving
Elder Acheson!! Elder Acheson was my best bud in the MTC, so I'm super
stoked to serve with him. President Brown said we would still have
some stuff to do around the mission, but we'll be proselyting a lot
more, so I'm excited!

CANNES
So Cannes is this nice beach ville on the Côte D'Azur. 

It's pretty close to Nice. This week we were closing an apartment that is no
longer in use. But some of you may know that Cannes had a major storm
last week and about 20 people died. It's super sad! Hutch and I saw
the aftermath of it. There are two elders and two sisters down in
Cannes, so thankfully they're okay! Hutch and I saw the aftermath of
it all, so I'll attach pictures of it.

But Cannes was a super nice
place; it's a lot like California to me. There was a big convention
down there, so there were a lot of English and Americans! Cannes is
famous for the film festival they do every year. They have super nice
beaches too! They also have a steak and shake in Cannes, so hutch and
I stopped they're to get some burgers and shakes.

It was super good!

GRENOBLE
We stopped in Grenoble on our way home as a pit stop on the road, and
cause I left my church clothes there from a week ago. We had a nice
tender mercy in Grenoble; we were gonna stay the night in Grenoble,
and that night we got a call from one of the office elders. They asked
if we would be able to take a bunk bed and two mattresses to Valence
in the morning. Turns out, we had decided to take a bunk bed and two
mattresses from the Cannes apartment, so we already had a bunk bed and
two mattresses in our apartment! And valence is only about an hour
away fro, Grenoble, so that was super cool! The coincidence was crazy;
it may seem super simple and kind of stupid, but it was God's hand in
our life that day! Haha

LE COIN DE FEU MISSIONNAIRE
Last night after church, we had a missionary fireside. Members and
Amis were invited, and so was every single missionary in Lyon! We
heard from a couple recent converts, a couple members, and also
president Brown! It was a really spiritual meeting. I loved it!
President Brown is really an awesome guy. He spoke directly to all the
investigators, and you could just feel his love!

D'AUTRES CHOSES
On Saturday, hutch and I just got home for the week, and we were
eating some lunch.. All of a sudden, we heard a bunch of commotion
outside. We looked out our window, and there were a bunch of
motorcyclists on the road. They were driving down the big road in
front of our apartment. There was a straight flow of motorcyclists for
about 12 minutes hahah there was easily over a thousand of them that
went past. We have no idea what was going on, but it was entertaining
to see.

Today, I dropped hutch off at the mission office, and I was able to
see a lot of my mission friends who are finishing! I'll pick up
Acheson at the gare later today, and we might be heading out to Geneva
tomorrow. We'll see :)

In this equipe, we don't feel like normal missionaries all the time,
but that's totally fine, because I know that God has called me to do
what I need to do at this moment. I love doing this! I know God lives
and that Christ is our savior. They love us all equally :) if you
haven't felt his love, try Him, ask him. If you have felt his love,
share it with someone who is in need of it :)

FHE with the Elders from the Lyon Confluence War

I love you all! Have a great week!

Dang Conference Was So Good!

 I hope you all enjoyed it :)

VALENCE
This week we spent a lot of time in Valence and Grenoble. Both places
are Villes that are about an hour outside of Lyon and an hour apart.
Because Valence isn't too far from Lyon and they had some good
condition stuff, we were mostly making trips back and forth from
Valence to Lyon so we could put stuff in the storage. We were also
taking stuff to Grenoble, so we made trips there too! Grenoble is a
super ville; it's a big university ville and its right up in the
mountains! There are a lot of ski resorts in the mountains Grenoble.
It's a super sick place!

One of my mission homies is in Grenoble! Elder Sorenson, who graduated
from Alta I'm 2012, is training in Grenoble. He was my zone leader a
couple transfers ago, so it was pretty fun seeing him again!

Also, the Albi elders had to drive to Grenoble (probably 4 hours away)
and had to stay there for two days because one of them has to do their
legality there; so I was able to see elder Johnson so that was cool!

Grenoble Elders, Albi Elders, and us!

LA CONFÉRENCE GENERALE
We spent our conference weekend in Grenoble, it was easier for us to
stay there with everything. But it was super good! We got some snacks
and we were able to watch all sessions in English, except for the
Sunday afternoon. But we'll probably take some time to watch it this
week. I really enjoyed it though! I got some super good notes so I'm
happy! One of my favorite talks was from President Eyring when he
talked about how Christ adds his blessings and magnifies our calling
when we put in a valid effort.

Grenoble (there are better mountains I just didn't get a picture)

D'AUTRES CHOSES
As you know, as we get to close apartments we can take stuff from them
that the elders don't take. This week I aquired a Didgeridoo and
cactus. I don't have pictures at the moment, but I'll send it next
week!

We get transfer calls this week! It's sounding like I'm staying in
this equipe after Hutch goes home. I'm pretty positive about staying
in this equipe because one of the office elders basically told me I'll
be moving apartments in and out Geneva.. So I'm stoked!

I'm grateful for this church, I really enjoyed this general
conference! I know Thomas S Monson is our prophet and I know that he
is a special witness of Christ :)

Conference with Grenoble Elders

I love you all! Have a good week!