Dec. 7, 2015 - Adam's first letter from Paris. He's happy and doing great!

Adam's new roommates in Paris!
Jeuness on the left and Roth next, then Pro on the right
(Pro must be short for his companion's last name, Prodeomides.) 

Hello Family! News from the week and Nogent Update


So I realize just how little I have told you all about my new area and i feel very very bad! Haha I guess that sometimes I am so wrapped up in myself and in my own environment that I don't really realize how much you don't know. So here goes.

I got here in Nogent on Wednesday the 25th, after staying a good full six months or four transfers in Nantes. We got to the apartment fairly easily, as Nogent is part of the Parisian area and thus not too far from the mission home and the very center of Paris, relatively speaking. It is less than thirty minutes to get right into the very center of Paris on a train, and trains and buses and metros are very sophisticated here--it is pretty incredible! 

Nogent, or my area in general, is not as pretty as Nantes, I would say, as far as the exterior of buildings or the look itself generally. But it is still very pretty and I like it a lot. The people here in the ward and also the people we talk to are GREAT!!! Oh yeah, a  lot of the members here in the ward are really young, there are a bunch of young families. I would say that makes up a majority of the ward. I love it too because I love the feel of real, legitimate, cool members who understand me, who are energetic and who speak straightforwardly, who are closer to my age, not that I don't love our wonderful mature members as well :) they are also great. In other words I am learning to love all the good attributes of French people, like being on time and not wasting others' time. But it is nice to be in a young ward and I love our bishop, he just had his birthday party for his thirtieth birthday! Haha! He is really cool and we are going to his house this Friday. We also know a couple people in this ward who are related to members I knew in my last ward and that is really fun! So yeah. We had a great day at church yesterday, it was my first normal day of church in this area as last week was stake conference here in the Paris East Stake. 

My new companion: Elder Nathan Prodromides, you say it "pro dro MEE deez". He is in his seventh transfer, so he has been out just about a year, about exactly the same as me! Haha it's funny I have had a lot of comps either two younger than me or two older. Apparently I do well with that or something, I don't know. Elder Prodromides comes from Tuscon Arizona and his family is now living in Las Vegas. He is the youngest of his family and really really likes MUSIC. I have NEVER had nor do I think I will ever have a comp who is so incredibly MUSICAL!! Haha it is so fun and so great! He has a ton of music, classical etc. and he loves to play piano and the ORGAN!! Oh yeah. He has been in this area for three transfers before me so he will probably be headed out at the end of this transfer, but of course that is inspired and so it is impossible to say. But he is very very laid back as far as the decisions we make, he often goes with what I say. It concerns me a bit because I know that can't feel good to hold frustrations inside, it also shows what a good sweet person he is, but it is kind of nice at the same time. But we are helping this area get back on track, there was a missionary before me who finished his mission here last transfer, and he died or finished his mission pretty hard, which I attribute to that missionary and the difficulty of finishing a mission, not to my current comp, I hold him blameless there. But we are working to get this area and ward back up to full strength, and we are pushing especially the member work, such as teaching with members. We got our first member present lesson in months just last week which was a big success. But we will be getting our area up to speed, under God's supervision, it is His hand that guides this work, and it is going well. It is funny because he also reminds me of Hyrum in some ways so that is really fun! Love you hyrum buddy!

By the way we are in the Paris Lilas District, in the Paris Est Zone. 

We have the privilege of having four excellent sister missionaries, two of them sister training leaders, here in the same ward with us. One of them happens to be Sister HILL from our same stake in Syracuse! Haha! Didn't see that one coming, didja? Weird because we,re the only two Utah missionaries in our massive district of fourteen, and...we're both from the same stake...like I actually know her parents, they taught mission prep. Haha, so there you go small world. I also know Elder Bigelow who is currently in Belgium who is from Syracuse too, went to the same Junior high for a year!

Other than that I am happy to hear from the family. Glad that everything worked out well for you last week dad, I was a little bit worried about you and I am glad that it all worked out well. I still worry about you guys sometimes! Love you tons. Thank you Mom also for sharing with me your cool lesson from Seminary! You guys enjoy the Christmas break as MUCH AS YOU CAN because you need it so much! You especially mom and dad! You guys wear yourselves out for others, don,t be afraid to take some rest. Love you. 

Other than that, we have lots of fun stuff that goes on or goes down at our apartment. I love the other two elders who live with us in the apartment. Elder Roth and Elder Jeuness, from California and Indiana respectively. They are so much fun and they are super funny. We basically have great times all the time. 

Christmas is going well, we are going to ask if we can get some appointments figured out for Christmas. It should be fine, should have some places to go to. But either way we are going to bake some stuff and buy some candy stuff and just LIVE IT UP. haha. not really just as much as good Mormon missionaries are allowed to. So that basically entails lots of food and people and Christian living :) 

Also we have about three investigators we are consistently working with. 

• Tessia, a man from Cote d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast, is incredibly motivated to get baptized and we just taught him for the second or third time last week. Now he is out of the hospital so we're hoping to see him st church this week. 
• We also have Charles, who showed up at church just out of curiosity a few weeks ago until someone talked to him and gave us his number, and he is really awesome! He understands the Restoration really well and we will teach the Plan of Salvation next time. 
• Then we have Oxcene, who is an ami who comes from Haiti, and we're working with him since ten years. Life is good we are hoping to hold a baptism on the 27th and the bishop is really happy. 

Also we are doing a special fast, you may have read about it on Facebook, but the goal is to get one new investigator every day and to become more motivated and dedicated by letting go of things holding us back, such as music that is under par or things like that. So the work is going well. 

Funny thing: I now have met two member families who are related to two different French elders I met and knew in the MTC and who went to Tahiti!! Haha just in this ward! So it,s pretty funny :) like I see pictures of them and I recognize them and everything! One of them lived in this ward, the Nogent ward, and the other one is the nephew of a young member family, he's from the south of france.

Mom: i am so excited for all those packages! Yes I do still have the christmas tree. I love you so much and you can trust the address I gave you. The other one arrived safely at the sisters' apartment so the office must have simply given you their address. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING ME PACKAGES! Please don't go too far out I don't want you guys to be bereft of Christmas at home because of me! Thank you , I'm so grateful. 

Visiting our ami in Paris in the hospital--Pro took this sweet picture, so good huh