Elder Chase Player: Kept From the Truth because They Know Not Where To Find It!

Bonjour! Tout le Monde! I hope you are having a great day as you read this. It's been an awesome week here in Nogent and I can't wait to share some of our experiences with you.

After P-Day last week we decided to make calls and "stack the deck" or try to get rendez-vous set up for the week. After that, which was a success, we had 45 minutes left so we decided to go see Jean. We started our way there but when we arrived the door to the building was closed and when we called Jean he wasn't there either. He was out for the Bastille Day celebration with a friend. We changed our plan and went contacting around there. In the next 45 minutes we had 2 awesome lessons with 2 French woman and their dogs! The first lady we talked to listened to us talk about the Plan of Salvation. She had lost her sister and hadn't believed since but loved that we'd pray for her and give her some hope. She could remember her father meeting with Mormon missionaries a long time ago. The second lady asked where we were from and when I said Utah she told us that her son went to school in Utah and would be going back soon. I asked which school and she said the University of Utah. So cool! We are hoping to get to see them both before he goes back to school and talk more about our message. It's a sure thing that it wasn't by chance!

As the week continued we had our district meeting, which went great, and then I went on an exchange with Elder Gutelius from Paris Lilas, who is awesome. We had a rendez-vous at the church which fell through but we went crazy with contacting and talked to everyone in sight and ended up at a lake. As we continued to contact we met so many cool people. Two were young families and we taught a few more lessons with others. It was so awesome and Elder Gutelius is such a great missionary. His French is great! He's from the states but has lived in Peru and Japan. He was Elder Davis' last companion and we had a successful time. When we got home ,Elder Utahia, had bought us both a kebap and fries. It was payment for getting their phone that they had left with another companionship. Such a great day!

As the week continued so did the miracles. I don't have time to share all of them but I want to tell you about Victor Oliveira and Sebastien. We went out to try and contact some referrals we had received. One had an address and phone number but the phone number wasn't correct so we tried the address. When we arrived it was a house that had been turned into apartments and the last names were on mailboxes. We started porting the doors to find him. At the first two doors we struck out but at the third door it was his wife who told us he was in Lyon for work but could give us his number to set up an appointment. We called and made an appointment for Thursday. When we meet we asked how he had found the church. He said he was born Catholic but knew it wasn't right and so he's been searching for the truth but has never been able to find it. As he was talking it reminded me of what I had studied earlier that morning in Preach My Gospel/Chapter 9. "Many of these people have been kept from the truth only because they know not where to find it." (D&C 123:12) He continued to tell us that one day he was looking on the internet and found our site. He was shocked to see how much it focused on the family and it just felt so right. That's when he requested a visit from the missionaries. WOW! The lesson went awesome as we taught him about the restoration. We answered his questions and we can't wait to see him again this week. They have a super cute little boy, David, who is 2. At the end of the lesson I asked if he knew Marilia, the recent convert from Brazil, and sure enough they are cousins. Such a small world!

Finally, we were able to see Sebastien and he said he'd come to church with his oldest daughter, Lilas. He missed Priesthood and Sunday School but made it to Sacrament Meeting. I felt pure joy and I'm so excited for him. Lilas asked when she could be baptized too when we showed them the font. We get to go see them tonight again!

The Lord is blessing us so much and people are being put in our path who are ready. It is so great! I'm so grateful to be out here and it's been such a great week! Elder Meng is awesome and yesterday, when we finally did see Jean, it was entertaining to watch his eyes as he did the nail trick. We are doing great and being blessed. I hope you have a great week and remember I love you all. Have a great 24th of July and party it up