"Ask and ye Shall Receive"

Bonjour Tout le Monde!  I hope, once again, you have had a great week.  It's been a great week here and super busy.  This week we traveled quite a bit.  We had exchanges, a trip up to Caen in Normandy to do Elder Velazquez's legality so we traveled a good part of France and had some awesome experiences along the way!

After P-Day last Monday we had a rendez-vous with Francois.  We had decided that the Restoration film would be a good way to help him to better understand the importance of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.  We showed up and as we started to watch the film one of his roommates, Eric who is 22, came out and said Hi and watched the film too.  After, we asked him what he thought and he said, "That was really powerful!"  We explained who we were and why we were there and testified of the Book of Mormon and gave him a copy.  He said we could come back this week...so cool!

We had an awesome rendez-vous with Vincent and Srdan and his family who are doing great and progressing well!  Srdan and his family always make us laugh because they often just start taking in Serbian to us and act like we understand.  (I wish we did!)  They are so awesome and we love them so much!

Elder Johnson and me on exchanges in Epinal!

During our exchanges this week I was with Elder Johnson in Epinal  He is a great missionary and we had a super night teaching recent converts and less actives.  The next day we had about an hour before we need to catch our train so we started contacting.  After a half hour, in a downpour, and no success we stopped and said a prayer that we would be able to teach someone  in the last thirty minutes.  The last person we contacted was Okel. We testified of modern day prophets and told him we knew if he would pray he'd be able to feel something and know that what we were saying is true!  We had a prayer with him and then asked if he had felt something.  He said, "Yes, but it's not something I can explain."  We told him is was the spirit telling him it's true and then we were able to fix a rendez-vous for later that day.  What a great way to finish our exchange and it testifies of the truthfulness of one of my favorite scriptures in Matthew 7:7-8:
     Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you: For       every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be         opened."
I know prayer works and I know He listens and is always there for us.  This is one of the things that I've truly learned on my mission.

Last, but no least, on our voyage to get Elder Velazquez's legality we had to spend the night in Paris so we stayed in Nogent.  We got to see Jean Paranton again and he's doing great and wished all of you a Happy New Year full of happiness and good health.  It was great to back there with him and see how he is doing. We continued to teach Davis and celebrated Elder Ursua's 21st birthday by going to a BBQ restaurant, Papa Joe's, that was delicious.  I hope you all have a great week.  You are in my prayers and I'm so thankful for all that you do for me!

Love you all...
Elder Player

Elder Ursua's 21st birthday!

Jean Paranton in Nogent!

Ribs at Papa Joe's

Not Much Time Doesn't Mean No Miracles

Bonjour!  I hope you have all had a great week.  I want to let you know that the missionaries over here are doing great...despite the terrorists attacks.  President Babin has kept us up to date and taken precautions to keep us safe.  Even when we were in Paris on Thursday everything was going good with heightened security. Thanks you for all your prayers.  I know they keep us safe and that God is watching over us!

This was a busy week with a lot of traveling.  Two days in Mulhouse and two days in Versailles.  It didn't leave us a ton of time in Nancy but the time that we did have was amazing and we are being so blessed. 

While we were in Mulhouse we found out that it was moving day for the Elders and the Sisters so we spent time as movers.  It was pretty fun and great to see their new apartments.  On Tuesday, while we were moving, we received a call from an old ami that elders had taught about 8 months ago.  Alexis had been receiving texts every Saturday inviting him to church but had not come.  He explained that he had been reading the Book of Mormon and had some questions and would like to talk to us.  Very cool!  Then later that night we received a call from Vincent.  He's the one whose brother passed away suddenly and he went to Marseilles for a month.  We hadn't heard from him but he wanted to get together.  Wednesday night we met him at a Cafe and had a coke.  We talked about the Plan of Salvation and then asked if he'd had time to read the Book of Mormon.  (Last time when we asked he said "yes" but that he hadn't read much, only about a hundred pages)  This time he said he'd finished the book!!!!  We asked if he'd been able to do as Moroni invited us and pray to know if it was true.  He replies, "Yes and I think I'm ready to be baptized if you think I am!"  Wahoo...it was so cool and the spirit was so strong!  We were able to set his baptismal calendar and as we showed him the steps he was going to need to take he said, "I've been studying the commandments, The Word of Wisdom, the Law of Chasity and Tithing. I'm ready to respect all of them!" We are going to teach him again tonight!

Coming home from moving the Mulhouse
Elders and Sisters...no time to change!

Mulhouse Elders Apartment

Next we had great exchanges in Versailles.  I was with Elder Lam.  He's an awesome missionary. We were able to have a great time and talk about the things we are learning as missionaries. After we got back we had a referral from headquarters for David. We had a rendez-vous with him on Friday nights. He told us that he's been searching his whole life for something that he has yet to find. He know that Jesus Christ is his Savior and he has been looking for His church. He wants something reputable and then he remembered about the "Mormons" and decided to look into it.  After reading on the website he decided if he was going to know it was true he needed someone to teach him.  He asked for a Book of Mormon and wants to read it and see if it is true.  We will see him again this Wednesday and see what he has discovered.

One of the finishing touches of the week was our awesome rendez-vous with Luis and his family.  He lost his wife about 7 months ago and was a member referral.  He's back from vacation and we were able to teach the Plan of Salvation and he loved it.  He came to church yesterday with Emilie, who's nine.  The members were awesome to him and he said next week all three of his children would be there with him.  I hope and pray if you ever see anyone you don't know or recognize at church you will go to them and make them feell welcome because it makes all the difference in the world.  I'm grateful for all they did for Luis and Emilie yesterday!

HIGHLIGHTS:
*A great FHE with the YSA and the L'Homel Family
*Srdan, Sladjan and Uranela are doing awesome and came to Sport Saturday...they all want to be baptized
*Had an awesome lesson with Alfred and the importance of baptism "clicked"
*Heard from Marilia, who got baptized while I was in Nogent, who moved back to Brazil and is doing great

There you have it in a nutshell!  Thanks for your prayers and support.  We are doing great over here in France.  Love and miss you all!

Love...
Elder Player

Elder Velazquez and the Arc de Triomphe

A demonstration against terrorism outside our apartment
Je suis Charlie!

2015 Here We Go!

Friday in Paris!

Bonjour tout le monde and Happy New Year!  I hope you all have had a great week of celebrating and bringing in the New Year.  It's been a great week here in France and we still are in shock that it is 2015 already!  I can say that 2014 was an awesome year and I've learned so much here in France and can't wait to see what 2015 brings to the picture!

Last week has been very busy with a Ward New Year's Eve party, District meeting, saying goodbye to the Gionet couple and to Paris on Friday for mission council.  We have had some great experiences that I will try to quickly share with you.

Tuesday after district meeting and our meal we took off for our first rendez-vous with Ismael.  We were able to finish re-teaching all the lessons in the week and a half that he has been here.  We watched the Restoration film, which he loved.  He spoiled us with a macaroon cake and quiche lorraine which later we were extremely thankful for.  We took off from his house and headed back up to the the church to teach Srjdan. (The church is on the opposite side of the city but we made it!)  We had a great rendez-vous with him and were able to talk more about baptism and give him a baptismal calendar.  Next we rushed half way down the hill to teach another amis, Francois.  We had a great lesson with him that was guided by the spirit.  It wasn't exactly what we had planned but we couldn't have taught more simply and testified more clearly and the spirit was so strong.  We are hoping he will take the commitment to pray and ask if the Book of Mormon is true and that God has only one true church.  We'll see this week.  After that we rushed to Rene's to teach him and watch a conference on the Sacrament that was awesome.  As we left we had 20 minutes left.  We hadn't been home since district meeting, we were carrying our bags with our French and English stuff that were heavy and we hadn't eaten any dinner.  We felt prompted to talk to someone on the way home.  As we walked to the bus stop there was a lady walking towards us and it was the first person we had seen so I bore a very sincere testimony saying, "Bonjour, I'm Elder Player from the U.S.  I am here for 2 years.  I know that when you are tired and don't have more to give, God gives you strength to continue."  (I'm sure that we both looked a little weary ourselves)  She responded and opened up to us about her life and how she wanted to try other religions because what she was searching for wasn't what she had found.  She started to talk about a book that she had once read that talked about two civilizations that had been taught by Christ and that it had really interested her.  Elder Velazquez and I looked at each other and said, "The Book of Mormon talks about that!"  It was so cool and she took the book.  We were able to say a prayer with her and she said when she came back from Portugal she would come to church. We could have easily taken the last twenty minutes and just gone home but a loving Heavenly Father gave us the ability to keep going even when we were tired and hungry to meet this woman and tell her about the Book of Mormon. (We were so happy when we got home to enjoy Ismael's quiche lorraine)

Wednesday was my birthday and I was spoiled and had a great day.  (I'll let the pictures do most of the talking)  To start the day two of the Elders went to a boulangerie and got me a warm croissant for breakfast, Marie-line made me a cake, Ismael had a gouter for us and then that night we had a great New Year's Eve party!  We had dinner at a restaurant on New Year's Day (a rare treat) and than on Friday we went to Paris for mission council.  We were able to hear President Babin's vision for the mission in 2015.  Sister Babin and President spend so much time helping us succeed and I can't wait to work and see this plan come to pass!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes.  Have a great week as you get back to "real" life!  Haha  Love you all and will write next week!

Love, Elder Player

The New Year's Eve Party

Ismael on our last lesson with him

Marie-Line and the Birthday Cake she made for me!

Winter Wonderland

Snow at last!
Cleaning the walks with brooms!

Bonjour!  I hope you have all had a Merry Christmas and now are getting ready for the New Year.  This past week has been so great and filled with some cool miracles.  The last two days it has been a blizzard here in eastern France and it's the first time I've seen snow on my mission and I love snow!  It's awesome!

Christmas Eve dinner at the L'Homels

Let me start out with our Christmas Festivites!  On Wednesday night we had dinner with the L'Homel family.  We started the night out by dividing up into groups...a missionary companionship with two family members.  We took cookies to their neighbors and of course they asked who we were and it was a chance to share a little bit about why we are there.  Cookies and family members helped to make it extra effective!  We even got offered a bottle of champagne as a Christmas present.  We thanked them but explained we didn't drink.  They were in shock and asked, "Isn't that hard?"  We had an awesome meal of salmon, fish eggs, olives, 12 escargots/person and a buche de Noel for dessert.  It was delicious - even the escargots!

Christmas morning we opened our presents and then took off for the church to have a Christmas Brunch with the missionaries in Nancy, recent converts and members who didn't have a place to go for Christmas. We had Christmas music playing, cinnamon rolls and quiche.  It was great and Srdjan came!  We continued the day with dinner at the Langouet's house with another delicious meal of pheasant, exotic fruits, and delicious desserts.  We were able to play games with the family and then Skype with our families!  It was great!

Christmas Day!

Friday it was back to work with a Zone challenge to find at least two amis to teach.  We were on a mission!
The first person we met was Antonio who is a practicing catholic.  He spoke Spanish and so Elder Velazquez was able to to talk with him.  We are going to see him and his family after the New Year and he even invited us to eat with them!  As we continued contacting in the morning we also contacted a man who spoke Serbian.  We explained that we didn't but knew someone who did, Srjdan.  He said, "Srjdan is my cousin and he goes to your church!"  It was sooo cool.  He is interested to learn more with Srdjan's help!

After a long day and night of porting for 3 hours we were still looking for another ami for the day.  We tried to think of potentials we'd taught and could maybe fix a rendez-vous with for later in the week.  About three months ago Elder Gram and I met Francois and so we called him.  After doing all that we could a miracle gave us our second new ami for the day!  He said we could meet with him later in the week.  When we had our lesson it went great and we were able to teach him the "Plan of Salvation".  We watched a "Mormon message" that was so good and he asked a question about the Book of Mormon and now we are seeing him again tomorrow night!

That's only a small part of our week but here's a few highlights:
-It snowed...a lot!  We only had Sacrament meeting because there is so much snow!
-We got to see Jean Jacques and give him a Christmas present (Suit, tie and coat)  It was his first Christmas present of the year and he was smiling from cheek to cheek!
-Got to see a man, Ismael, who is a member from Aix-en-Provence.  He's been here for a vacation with his family and is so nice to us and his family (non-members) came to church yesterday!
-Met three cool people after contacting for 3 hours.  We were able to teach two lessons and turn one of them into a new ami!

Jean Jacques opening his Christmas present!

So there is a little summary of our Christmas week.  This week should be crazy with New Years too!  On Friday we go to Paris for mission council!

I'm so grateful to be in France for Christmas with these people who I've come to love so much!  To end I want to share a video that the church used for Easter but I saw it for the first time last week and I loved it. With a New Year and New goals remember that anything is possible BECAUSE OF HIM!!!

Happy New Year!
Love...
Elder Player
Website for the video:https://www.lds.org/church/news/church-to-launch-because-of-him-easter-initiative?lang=eng

Place Stanislas with the Nancy Christmas Tree

Elder Velazquez and me!

There is much which lieth in futurity! Et Joyeux Noel

Our 2014 Christmas Card
Don't you love the mustaches?

Bonjour tout le monde!  Wow!  Christmas is coming in just a few days!  We are all pretty excited on this end and have had another great week with success and seeing people's hearts opened to hear a message about Christ during this time of year that we celebrate his birth!

This past week was so crazy and busy with exchanges, a conference and lots of train rides.  We made the most of the time we had and had an awesome week.  Monday night we were able to go and give one of the less active members, that the Soeurs are teaching, a blessing and then had an awesome FHE with Guillaume with Pizza Hut for dinner.  (When I first came to France I was surprised they had Pizza Huts but it's delicious!)

On Tuesday the real craziness began.  We took our first train to Paris to stay in St. Ouen for the night since we had to be to the Versailles chapel by 8:45 in the morning.  We made it to Paris and then the Elders met us to take us home to their apartment.  We had 30 minutes to do a mini exchange with them.  I went with Elder Brockbank, who I've done exchanges with in Paris, and we were able to meet some really cool people and sing Christmas songs for them on the street.  It's amazing what we can do in a short time. The Elders here live next to the Stade de France, where Paris St. Germain plays their games and where "Taken" was filmed.  (It was pretty cool or scary depending on how you look at it.)  Thankfully, we made it out alive! Haha

On Wednesday we had our mission Christmas Conference with half of one day and half of the next.  It was awesome and we were able to have President and Sister Teixeira  there.  He's the Area President and they gave us some training about how we can continue to have more success.  My favorite part was when Elder Teixeira shared his experience about how the missionaries met his family.  It was an uncle, not even his immediate family.  It started with an Elder following the prompting to leave a huge apartment building and knock on a door where they could see a light on in a tiny 3 story building.  That's how they met his uncle and eventually they were baptized.  His uncle introduced his parents to the missionaries and then, because of that one prompting, there were over 40 people baptized.  I think that missionary could never have imagined that it would lead to a general authority, several mission presidents, stake presidents and many other leaders and active members today!  His message was to have faith to follow the promptings and the faith to see what it can bring.  It reminded me of a scripture that I studied that is in D&C 123:15-17
"Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things.  You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept work ways with the wind and the waves.  Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

I love this scripture, especially the part I underlined.  In missionary work, in trials, or whatever it may be we can know of God and that he has a plan for us.  Everything has a purpose, and though our actions may seem but small now or that nothing good can come from a trial, with his plan there is always some great purpose. He will continue to reveal it to us and one day we will see Him and have Salvation.  I'm so grateful for the Plan of Salvation and for the principle of an eternal perspective.  This week we asked a sister what she was doing for Christmas - would she be with her family etc.  She responded that it wouldn't be a normal Christmas this year.  Her sister and her had been in a car accident earlier in the week.  Someone had plowed into the back of their car while they were stopped.  Her sister was in the hospital paralyzed from the neck down and she was devastated, to say the least, but she knew that it would all be alright because of the Lord and his plan.  For me it was an amazing example of faith.  And like the scripture says, "do all things cheerfully", even though it wasn't a cheerful situation at all, she chose to acknowledge that one day her sister would be better and things would work out in the end.  I'm grateful for examples like this that teach me so much and how the gospel can helps us in all situations.

After conference we were able to go have an exchange in St. Die.  I was with Elder Fults and we had an awesome exchange.  St. Die is a small ville and so we were able to contact almost everyone we saw.  That is a great feeling at the end of the day.  We had a car, I can count on one hand the times I've been in a mission car, so it was cool because we were able to go to a couple of villages and go contacting.  At the end with 5 minutes left before we had a rendez-vous we said a prayer that we could find one more person to teach. Sure enough the next man, Moses, was the one that we were able to teach and have a prayer with.  It was another testimony of how our prayers are answered by the Lord!

I hope you all know how much I love you and how grateful I am for all of you!  When we ask what Christmas is to most people we hear that it is a time for the family to be together and that's why they think it is the best time of the year.  Even if I can't be with you I am there in spirit and I'm so happy to be where I am, sharing the best Christmas gift of all...Christ and his gospel!  I can't wait to talk to you on Thursday!

Till next week...
Love, Elder Player

Elder Utahia and me
I love this guy!

Souer North from the 1st ward
She just arrived!

Christmas in Nancy!

It All Started with a SMS...

Guillaume, Elder Gram and me having
a Family Home Morning together!

Bonjour Tout le monde!  I hope you have had a great week and are feeling the Spirit of Christmas!  It is quickly approaching!  It's been an awesome week here in Nancy full of change and miracles.  On Wednesday Elder Velazquez arrived.  He's an awesome missionary and we've already been blessed to see so many cool things happen this week.  I can't wait to see what miracles we will have this transfer!

Elder Gram and I had a great two days together visiting our amis and members so he could say goodbye.  We had a FHE with Guillaume, a FHE with the L'Homel family which featured a German dish that Elder Gram loves which had sauerkraut, sausages, meats and potatoes and was pretty delicious.  On Tuesday night we met with the Freard Family.  When we got back we did "face masks"! (Got to keep it exciting at the end of the day!)  Wednesday morning we took Elder Gram to the Gare and waited for Elder Velazquez to arrive.  While waiting we got a message from Vincent.

Vincent is the man that Elder Gram and I met about two weeks ago on Sunday night.  After about three hours of no success we were blessed to finish with three lessons the last hour.  We were able to teach about the restoration to Vincent in the street and give him a Book of Mormon.  He was touched by the message and said he was going to the South of France for a few weeks but to call him the week of Christmas because he'd like to talk more.  The message this morning was, "Hey, could we meet this afternoon...I'd love to talk more?"  We sent a text saying "yes" that we would be free after three and he promised to call when he was off work.  We met at a Cafe and had a coke and taught him.  Throughout the rendez-vous we learned that he had read 100 pages of the Book of Mormon and loved it.  He found it easier to understand than the Bible.  He'd been told by people at his church and work that we were a cult and to not go near us but he knew we weren't and wanted to know what our church could bring to his life.  The spirit was so strong and prompted us to ask him to be baptized.  He said yes, to my surprise, and then we were able to fix a date and he was so happy.  We set a rendez-vous for later in the week.  An hour later we got a SMS telling us his brother had died suddenly of a heart attack and he asked us to pray for him and his brother's soul.  Our hearts were broken.  Talk about a trial of faith right after accepting to be baptized into the Lord's church.  We were able to talk to him on the phone later and he asked, "What can your church give me now...my brother is dead."  It was an amazing moment to be able to tell him that through the Gospel of Jesus Christ he would be able to see his brother again.  We testified that we knew it was not by chance that we had met him when we did and he said he wanted to do anything he needed to so he didn't have to be scared of death.  It was such a miracle, so unexpected, and I'm so grateful for the spirit that prompts us to do the Lord's will.  I know you will never regret following a prompting.  I'm so grateful for the peace and hope this gospel gives to us.  Even when it seems like things aren't going our way, or we feel alone.  If we turn to the Lord in our hour of need we will feel the unmistakable love he has for each one of us.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Srdjan and his wife came to church, loved it, and accepted baptismal dates.  Thankful for "google translate" and the ability it gives us to teach them in Serbian!
Within the first hour of Elder Velazquez's arrival we taught a lesson in Spanish!
Met many new people contacting this week...so cool!
Saw a change of heart with Alfred...from saying he didn't want to meet with us anymore to saying he'd read and pray every night and see if it makes a difference!
Had an awesome ward Christmas party and picnic.  The Nancy ward is so great!
Last night we had a late night miracle.  We met a French man, Nicholas, who wants to see us again in the New Year!

There is so much to share but so little time to do it.  It was such a great week and I'm excited for our Christmas Conference with Elder Teixeira and the great things we have planned for the week.  Please know how much I love you all and pray for you.  Till next week...

Love...Elder Player

Our festive tablecloth my mom sent!

I know...kind of scary!  This was Elder Gram's last night
and we decided to do face masks!

L'espirit de Noel est dans l'air!

The Spirit of Christmas is in the air!

Salut tout le monde!  I hope you are having a great morning and a start to a great week!  This past week has been awesome and the Christmas Spirit is in the air!  It's the end of another transfer here. (it was only a 4 week transfer and this time it will be 8 weeks with the holidays)  We got news on Saturday and found out that Elder Gram is off to Paris, I'll be staying in Nancy and my new companion is from Dallas, Texas, Elder Velazquez.  This Wednesday will make for a lot of changes but we are excited and I'm grateful for the experiences Elder Gram and I have had together over the last 4 months.

This past week we were able to go to the Christmas capital of Europe, Strasbourg and do an exchange with a companionship there.  I was with Elder Davis and we worked together Thursday and Friday and saw some amazing things happen.  Everyone during this time of year is more open and when we sing for them most will listen.  In Nancy it was the weekend of St. Nicolas, which is based on a legend, and is a big deal.  It includes two days of parades, a huge fireworks show with videos that tell the legend and several other events throughout the day.  To say the least, there were plenty of people to contact and we were able to see the fireworks with some members and eat with them after  It was amazing and everyone was happy that the Christmas season has arrived.

We were able to teach some new people this week.  About two months ago a man contacted us and asked us where out church was.  We told him but hadn't heard anything more from him but we were able to fix a rendez-vous with him and taught him on Tuesday.  Srdjan is from Serbia so the language was difficult but we could communicate a little bit in french.  With pictures and the help of technology we were able to teach a lesson and invite him to church on Sunday.  As the third hour started there was still no sign of him and he wasn't answering his phone.  Just as our last meeting started who should walk in...Srdjan.  We were so happy to see him.  He apologized and said he got confused with the buses but hoped he could still come for some of it.  He was there for Fast and Testimony meeting and the Sacrament and after we were able to teach him with a young man in the ward.  He asked if his baptism would be next week and we said "no" but how about when you are ready and he accepted! So cool!

On Tuesday we received a call from a member of a different ward who wanted to give us a referral of a friend living in Nancy.  We took the name and were told it was a single father with three children. The week was busy but we wanted to stop by before the week ended.  Finally on Sunday night we went to his apartment and met him just before they were about to leave.  His name is Luis and his three children are 11, 9 and 6,  He invited us in and we were able to get to know him and explain why we were there.  We found out that his wife died about 5 months ago and now he is left alone with their three children.  We testified of how families could be together forever and thanks to temples and the ability to be sealed he could be with his wife again.  It was so cool and the spirit was telling him it was so.  We were able to finish by singing for him and the children and we are going back this Friday to teach him again.  They are originally from Mexico and Elder Velazquez, my new companion, will be able to speak spanish with them, even though they speak perfect french and english.  It testifies to me that transfers are inspired.  I can't wait to see this family progress and see how the gospel changes their lives.

It was a great week and we are continually being blessed here.  I can't wait for the things we have set up for this week.  We have our huge ward Christmas party this coming weekend which we are looking forward to as well.  Know how much I love all of you and have a great week!

Love...
Elder Player

Beautiful Strasbourg

Christmas Fireworks

Our District with our number of transfers.
Souer Bennion is on her last one! (12)

Our name tags with our number of transfers!