One Down, 15 To Go! (Transfers left in the mission that is.)

Photo by Adam taken across the Seine River of the Eiffel Tower 

Okay, time seriously flies as a missionary. 6 weeks already that I've been here. Just to refresh, that's a transfer, one of 16 total before I go home. That means time for a new planner, and often time for a new companion, but not yet for me, since I'm bleu (term for a new missionary) and all. We almost always have 12 weeks with our first companions to be trained. Anyway, time's blazing by. And it sounds like things are going pretty well for you guys too back at home! Band is rocking it up. And don't worry if the scores are kind of close. A lot of that is just that you're still in Utah. They're doing amazing. And best of luck at regionals this week!

Transfer Day #1. The missionaries are showing
the number of transfers they have had.

So, my week. I'm gonna try to go day by day to make it make more sense. You're getting the distilled version of my week, with all the boring stuff cut out, cause well, not EVERYTHING about being a missionary is exciting. But it's all worth it. :)

Elder Bigler and Elder Evans

"Proof that I went to the Eiffel Tower."

So, Monday after I left you (we were able to exchange a few emails while Adam was online), we headed off to the Tour Eiffel. Sorry if I made that seem like I had more important things to do, I was just out of time for emailing and that was what we had planned. We quickly hopped on a train and just walked around basically. It's vacances right now (like a little vacation for school and a lot of jobs) so the lines at the tower were way long, so we didn't have time to go up.

"The Eiffel Tower! It was much bigger than I expected it to be." - Adam

We hung out, took some pictures, and had some guys from Africa come up to us and make us sweet bracelets right on our hands. Of course, they asked for money afterwards, but we gave them some and now have treasured little bracelets made by our friends Mems and Bolba. That we can't wear as missionaries...against dress code and all. :)

Tuesday was a cool day! After our district meeting, we met with an old ami (the word for a contact or investigator) named Olivier. He's really cool, and has a really strong desire to follow Christ. He's also the lead singer for a metal band. Crazy huh?? He's got a few crazy piercings and stuff, but he's just so sweet. He's going to talk to his girlfriend and see if she's interested in talking to us. Then we met with Stevie and Ines that night, Stevie is the ami, Ines is a member, but they live together, not married (yet). They're really cool and he's totally ready to get baptized as soon as he receives a confirmation of the Book of Mormon. 

Wednesday was crazy. I've been exercising really well this last week, and feeling good in the mornings, but you could say it was kind of downhill from there... We met a sweet Muslim guy named Makhlouf in the park and taught him for a little while and he's interested about learning more about Christianity and our religion too.

Kebab Sandwiches for Lunch! Yum!!

That lunch is when we ate the two Kebab sandwiches. I don't have a ton of time, so just picture kind of a roast beef sandwich with onions, tomatoes, lettuce, sauce, and the meat is way saltier. And it comes with fries. They're big sandwiches and we dared ourselves to eat two. And we did. (Just cause we're missionaries doesn't mean we aren't still boys. :) )Then we headed to Michel's place. Oh my. First off, on the way there, my shoe broke (don't worry mom, it's my older ones, and I'm getting it fixed this week at a little shoe repair shop). And now Michel's apartment. Background for this, when we contacted him on the street, he told us to not be afraid, but that he had written on his walls. So we kind of joked about it but he was VERY serious...that place was FREAKY. We were still able to invite the spirit, but he had obviously been living there for years, never throwing any papers away (yes, certifiable hoarder), never cleaned up, and had all SORTS of crazy things written on his walls. It was a surreal place. But we tried to teach anyway. It went well, but he's not interested in acting or praying to know the truth, so we'll see what happens with him. Then that night we met with the Famille Angulo from Argentina (ask Cody if he knows them by chance. I'll try to get first names). They don't speak much French, so it was an evening full of good food and obligatory laughter. But it was fun. 

Treasure Found Helping Members Move
Lord of the Rings DVD in French

Thursday we went and helped a member move. They had lived there for 45 years, so it was a tricky move, down two flights of stairs. We were tired that whole day. We also taught a less active member that night and I don't have time to explain much but it helped grow my testimony.

Friday was just a super buys day. We had a rendez-vous (word for appointment) in the morning, weekly planning from 1 to 4, a lesson with Yannick, then we had dinner with the Famille Lam-Yam again, they're really cool and strong in the faith. After that, we quickly headed to our Ward mission leader meeting and then to ward council. It was crazy, but I got complemented on how well I can pray in French, so the day ended well. :)

And the rest of the weekend was kind of normal, just teaching a few good lessons and all that. I got a couple more compliments from Frère Mourier too (on my French). All in all a crazy week, but lots of fun. I really miss you guys, and I wish I could talk more. Halloween is small in France, but they still do it, just by the way. Anyway, I love you all, tell David congrats from me, and I'll talk to you next week!

Elder Bigler

One Photo for Mom. They do Halloween at Disneyland Paris too.
Future Travel Destination?