Seventeen

14 novembre 2015

Dear Families & Friends,

Please be assured that all of our missionaries are safe and secure. Given that France has closed all of her borders, and even though we know of no terrorist sights within our mission, pending further information I am advising all of our missionaries to stay in their apartments and avoid public transportation.

We will keep you informed as all information becomes available.

Love,

President and Sister Brown

Hello family and everyone else,

This week was a whirlwind. So the first 5 days of the week were like
super busy with lessons and things. When we woke up at 6:30 to do
mangoes (which is exercise) I looked at our portable and saw that we
had gotten a text. It was President Brown and he said that there had
been some attacks in Paris so until further notice we were to stay
inside for the rest of the day. The text did not tell what actually
happened so like for the next while after that we were wondering what
was going on and joking that we will all have to leave France and be
missionaires somewhere else so that was fun:) We got dressed and
 in the middle of etudies we received another text
explaining what happened and that we were not to take public
transportation, like buses and trams. That kind of messed up our
Saturday because here in Montpellier everywhere you go is by tram but
ca va. It was a lot of good walking:)

A really awesome thing that happened Saturday is the relief society
made us thanksgiving French style and it was super good, but not like home,
 but nevertheless super good.
Now we have to be in by 6 p.m and we need to stay away from
big groups of people. So we are going to have a super good Area book:)
That's really all that has happened. We have 4 super awesome Amis.
Xia, Jeremie, Ronald, and the Quezzada family. Xia is a student here.
He is from China so he is still studying French and other things. He
came to church which was great.   Jeremie is like 27 years
old and super cool. He speaks really great english and is super chill.
Ronald is super. He went to Cambridge and he is from Britain. He is
here to write a book and he is literally super smart in the ways of
the world. It is crazy that he comes to us to be taught:) Quezzadas
are a part member family. They are super cool also and sister Quezzada
made us banana bread so that was awesome. (Was not the best I have ever
eaten though) #MyMagnificentMom.
So that was basically my week. It has been a little
rough but I know it will be all for my good. My Allez-Vous for
everyone this week is just to smile. C'est tout. Men and Women are
here to have joy. Not to be happy all the time but to have joy. The
Gospel is true. As in the words of President Uchdorf (or almost in the
words) if the Gospel is not working for you, simply simplify.

Love ya,

Elder Duffy

Sixteen

France is going well, it is still pretty hot here. It is like still really nice outside. Some days it is kind of on the colder side but not a lot.

Honestly I have not eaten a crepe from a restaurant. I have eaten one at our apartment but I need to buy one:) 

So we have 3 really solid Amis Xia, Jeremie, and Ronald. They are really cool and coming along.

Actually there are a lot of refugees. Like in the city probably 40 percent.

The missionaries like to eat a lot of Kebabs. Some restaurants are actually pretty sketchy. The general rule is if a Kebab is under 4 euros don't buy it:) 

Well thank you for your love and support, it truly makes all the difference.

Love you, and thank you for everything you do.

Sincerely,

Elder Duffy 

Fifteen

Hello Everyone!

Does time fly or what? It is crazy to think I have been out for almost four months. 

It is hard to tell weeks from each other. This week we went to Nime for district meetings.  In two hours we are going to Aix en Provence and then Saturday we are going to Toulouse. This week we are only going to be in Montpellier for 3 1/2 days. I am pretty excited. 

How was everyone's Halloween?! Here Halloween is when a lot of crazy people get out (plus everyone else) so it was kind of interesting.

But really C'est tout! Something that I have really been thinking about is Elder Anderson’s talk on how “believing is a conscious choice”. If you want a testimony, and want to believe, all you need to do is act. Action is the remedie to fear. An interesting video that I watched before my mission (I believe it is a Ted talk) is the main reason why people don't accomplish their dreams is not lack of resources, it is simple because of fear. I like the scripture that talks about “God has not given us the spirit of fear but of a sound mind”. So my invitation this week is get out there and don't be afraid. Master your fears and become the person that you have always wanted to become. 

Have a fantastic week! 

Elder Duffy