This Has Nothing to do With Valentine's Day (Hope Yours Was Great, Though)

After some consideration, we have decided to return to the United States. Sevak has been done with his first week-long class for a while now, and his second class (also only a week long) is not until March. We decided that it doesn't make much sense to sit around another month just so that he can take that one class. He'll be taking some classes at BYU during second block, and he'll still fly back to France in March for that one class, so he's getting the best of both worlds. I think we had visions of exploring our environment during the break between Sevak's classes, but we feel like we've already explored most of what there is to explore (all that winter and our budget permit anyway)! We've also been missing our home and friends--there have been times where I've felt pretty lonely and bored because I don't really have any outlets here. Ever since I told Rose we're going back, she hasn't stopped talking about her friend Jane. Seriously. I'll ask her if she wants noodles for dinner and she'll say, "Noodles--Jane" (indicating that she wants to eat them with Jane). She even said "Jane" during her sleep last night.

Anyway, even though we're extremely excited to return home, I will miss France. We're not bitter at all about our experience and are very glad we've had it. Thank heavens for the church--all of the friends I've made have been through church. Even Rose, who is dying to get home to Jane, has enjoyed her time at church and couldn't wait to go to "nursy" (nursery) every Sunday. Our branch was so cool and diverse! There were Peruvians, a Danish girl, an English lady, people from Suriname/French Guyana, etc. And, of course, we added some Americans to the mix (besides the missionaries). Today we met an elderly investigator named Jean-Pierre who spoke to us in English with a charming French accent. Then he started speaking broken Spanish to the Peruvian members of the branch. THEN, later I walked out into the foyer and he was speaking with Sevak in Russian! He was also quite well-versed in Armenian history and sympathized with Sevak about the Armenian Genocide. Anyway, I'm rambling on, but this is just an example of the interesting sorts of people we've met.

Yesterday Sevak went to a stake priesthood meeting in Lyon and that was certainly an experience. He rode over two hours (each way) with two elderly men from the branch. The car was old and the heating system was shot. Sevak doesn't speak much French. You do the math. He was optimistic, though, and it was so funny to hear about his experience upon his return. While he was gone, I invited my friend Laurence over for a little snack. She's one of the members from French Guyana. She's a high school student and has been so nice and helpful to us. Simon really likes her--here's a pic:



So anyway, the branch was great. I liked it so much that I even agreed to give a talk next Sunday. Hmmm...what was I thinking, anyway? A talk? In French? I guess we'll go out with a bang. To be continued!