(Sorry Dad, I bought a french suit.)
Bonjour,
This week has literally skidded right by! We have been working as much
as we can with the members and what ever time we have left we pass by
addresses of previous investigators.
All I can honestly say is the south west corner of France just might
be my favorite :) The beach, mountains, views and landscape are honestly breath taking! Especially when you have the Atlantic Ocean to your west, the sunsets are literally soul stirring!
Our Apartment is set on a plateau just east of downtown Bayonne. It
is right next to the Clinique Belharra and is a 25 minute walk to
downtown. It is a great location with a bus stop a 2 minute walk away
and a Carrefour (name of a French grocery store) 3 minutes
Every morning we run to a couple soccer fields west of our apartment.
I run around the field and Elder McDaniel does speed training/body weight exercises.
The mentality of the people here is quite unique and separate from the
rest of France. We are in the Pays Basque. They are called the Basque.
This people and culture has survived over the centuries amid quite a lot of difficulties and influences from neighboring countries. The Basque language is completely different to anything I have every heard and sounds nothing to French or English. If you can imagine the elvish language on Lord of the Rings, it sounds a little like that. Mostly the old timers speak Basque but to my
understanding, Basque is gaining popularity and is in the rare
category of growing languages.
One of the reasons the Basque have been able to sustain and survive
over these years is its unique location on the Atlantic Ocean. Have you
ever asked yourself why their are not more French cities on the
Atlantic coast? If you zoom back hundreds of years (even today), the Mediterranean Sea was the hotspot for trade and civilization. The Mediterranean location kept the Basque more or less safe or untouched from prowling countries and people.
Bayonne and Biarrtiz have gained attention ever since Napoleon made a vacation mansion in Biarrtiz where he would spend his summers.
Sorry for the little history lesson, I just find it fascinating. The
Lord is sustaining us in this work and Elder McDaniel and I are happy.
We are defiantly not perfect but we are trying, repenting, and keep on
going and enjoying the journey for what it really is. Something I have
learned on my mission is it's never about the destination but the
journey. Destinations are just the starts of more journeys.
I love the Gospel and the answers of the souls in which it gives me. It gives
me peace for I can know and see things as they really are and not be
tossed to and through from the advertising of the world and
unsteadiness of myself. Jesus is the way and the light. As we search
read, discover, and apply His teachings, we will discover our true
selves and be on the journey of reaching full capacity and
comprehension which leads to joy and seeing things as they really
are, has they have really been, as will they be.
Let us be humble and see things as they really are is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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