Quatre images d'un jour pendant la vie de mon fils.

La voiture est trop petite pour mon fils! Il marche dans les rues à la place!

La jour de soleil à Calais

Il fait froid, oui!

Un dîner de thanksgiving pour tout les missioniares à Calalis et à Lille aussi.

Christmas Day phone call...

Us: How was Christmas Eve? (feeling very sorry for Tony that he wasn't enjoying our little family dinner that night)

Tony: Well, it all started with a 12 course meal at a member's house (no longer are we feeling guilty). First course was caviar. Second course was goose liver pâte. Next course was oysters...(and he went on to list the remaining 9 french courses...I think he ate at La Caille!).

Us: How is the missionary work? (assuming he is able to actually move and teach after a 12 course meal)

Tony: Très bien. President gave us a challenge to pass out more copies of the Book of Mormon than ever during Christmas. We were able to give 17 away in 2 weeks. Lots of teaching appointments came from that.

Us: What are you doing after this phone call? (again, feeling very sorry that he isn't home to watch our annual Christmas evening movie)

Tony: Oh, we are going to ride this huge open air ferris wheel that looks over all of France in the evening (did I mention we were just going to watch a stupid movie?)

So, in summary...pizza vs. 12 courses, huge success with Book of Mormons, Toy Story 3 vs. a view of the Eiffel Tower at night. Un Joyeux Noël indeed!!

Les amies de les grand parents de Tony

I met the friends of Grandpa George and Grandma Chloe in Lille. I leave to go back there this week for transfer. I'm way excited about it, but not excited about dragging all my bags and Christmas packages on the train. Luckily Ford is coming with me to pick up his new blue so he can help me carry it all. I am living with the zone leaders and my new comp. It will be tight. I don't know where I will have Christmas yet. Last week in Calais we found a lot of people to teach so that will be good for Ford and his new blue.

Note from Ruth: This is the child who wore flannel and sweatpants (together!) Tony is now going pure Parisian with his jaunty purple scarf casually tossed around his neck. If he starts wearing capris and les chapeaux, I am going to fly out to France and have an intervention.

Joyeux Noël de Lille, France

Les missionaires qui travaillent bien ensemble

Novembre est froid mais je l'aime.

Yvana (name on the sign) is a neighborhood prostitute who leaves her name and number on street posts. We called...and she is not interested in the church. But hey, we tried!

So now I am in Calais which is right by England on the English Channel. We can see the cliffs of Dover when it's clear outside. We are on the border of Belgium too. It has actually gotten a little warmer this week here. So that is a plus. But soon im sure it will get cold again. What is Dad going to do without me as his slave this year to go out and shovel all the snow for him?

We had an ami show up to church and we are going to get him a date this next week for the 18th of December. He is way ready to be baptized so I'm excited for it.

The new ward here in Calais has some way cool people, one guy looks like Mr. Magoo, another looks like Cameron from Ferris Buhler's day off. So that always cracks me up seeing those two at church. They are both totally cool though. There is a way big guy that is tight too, and then our DMP is way sweet. He is trying to move though, so when he is gone things will be a little harder here. My best learning experience of the week would just be reading the NT and then studying the Christlike attributes with it all. Its been really good.

Les missionaires de Paris qui sourient toujours

La vie d'un missionnaire en France

Tony and his apartment in the background...nothing like life in a castle on the hill! If only!
The German, Tiny, The Tahitian, E. Long...
"Sitting outside the nunery with a look of rejection. I was flirting with a nun but she wasn't catchin' what I was throwing down."
Paté facial every Sunday...it's so important for a missionary's beauty regime. This from a kid who hated to shower as a child.
P-day on the coast. Rough life.

vingt et une de Septembre duex mille dix

On Tuesdee we ate at a members legit chateau. It was fenced in between a ton of trees and had huge ceilings. It was legit. He is a huge jaguar car guy. It was amazing and they are way cool. His wife use to be Catholic before she was baptized.

We have one ami who was supposed to get baptized last year but she didn’t. We are starting to go and teach her.

My favorite meal would have to be the kabobs that we get every once and a while. We don’t make them but we get them from this Turkish guy and they are way good.

The language is coming along great. I can’t wait for the day when I realize that I can understand it all. That will be awesome.

On Monday we helped this American family move into a legit castle type house. He had all these floors bought from an old French castle in the south and all the stone was brought in. It’s nuts but way sick.

Finalement, il est en France!

Tony's first day in France - August 17, 2010 - with President Staheli and his wife.

"...the President and his wife are amazing. It is really awesome and I'm having a lot of fun doing this. I gave a prayer at Zone Conference and the President said my french sounded really good. My companion (Elder Long) is tight. I definitely lucked out with who I got set up with. Rennes is beautiful. It is an amazing place with three universities and beaucoup belle filles. The houses are like 150 years old. Our apartment is the biggest one in the mission (which is good because there are 4 missionaries living there and they are all huge football players averaging 6'2" and 230!). It's way cool. We live across the street from a vet and everyone has dogs here. I have seen so many french bulldogs. I think they are the coolest dogs next to my girl, Daphne.

I had to bear my testimony the first "Sundee" here and the guy who was conducting turned to my comp and said that my french sounds really good. But I know that all of it is God doing me a big solid and I am grateful for that.

My new favorite scripture is Proverbs 28:1 (I think) something about the wicked flee but the righteous are bold as a lion. That has helped me a lot.

I definitely will have some style when I get home. There are so many dope shoes that I have had to hold myself back from getting!!! I will wait until the end.

Funny fact right now as I am typing this email to you...I am sitting next to our "competition"...by that I mean a 'monk.' There are like 25 computers in this place and we reserved the ones right next to each other and we are the only two people in here! He gave me a funny look and I gave him one too...so it's all good!

Je t'aime!

Son compagnon de chambre sera baptisé demain...c'est magnifique

p.s. i don't have anything to say but i feel like i should put a p.s. at the end of every letter and email i send so maybe one day it will have something funny there.

I just rememberd what the p.s. was going to be. I don't know if you remember my roommate from college mason who i said was taking the missionary lessons? Well he is getting baptized tomorrow and so i thought i would share that with you. He is the one who looks like me from viewmont.

Une petite partie de lettre de Tony...12 juillet

Bonjour,

...Funny story: In San Francisco yesterday we were talking to this family who stopped us and had a missionary out too. We were talking about random stuff and I got the feeling I was being stared at - you know the feeling I am talking about. Anyway, I started looking around and I see this family's highly attractive daughter giving me the stare down. So, I did the right thing...I faked a bloody nose and ran because I'm socially awkward now!!!!!

...Quick question for you: could you possibly send me some bright colored ties. Word has it they bring out my eyes. Thank you. And let's keep in mind that if you buy 5+ ties from the "tie guy" it turns into $5 a piece. Merci beaucoup. Je vous aime (I only use the formal vous form now).

...p.s. I also put styling gel in my hair now...I don't know what is going on!!!

MTC - une mois là..il va rapidement avec ses amies

nous lui disons "au revoir"

The curbside drop-off is SO MUCH BETTER than going inside the MTC. It was like leaving a huge piece of well-dressed luggage with a skycap and not having to tip him :)





Tony went into the MTC on June 16. Kait opted to stay home with Grandpa and Grandma. Kait had to hold back Daphne because she kept trying to get in the car with Tony. So, it was a very tearful 13 year old sister holding an equally tearful 10 year old puppy! Quite a sight. After lunch at the Olive Garden, we went to the park across from the MTC for pictures (Tony's least favorite thing to do). We were all pretty good when we finally drove across to the MTC and his drop off...well, except Niki...but she finally was able to stop crying when we pulled back home after the hour long drive!

Les amies de Tony la nuit avant qu'il parte

I'm sorry...did you say Paris????????

oui, oui. June 13th at 10:50...Tony in a suit and...a tie! It will be worth the wait. MTC bound on June 16th.

Are you smiling and wearing a suit at the same time? Miracles do happen!

Sweden and France...trouble on the other side of the Atlantic!!

Sam is Sweden-bound. A great day for two friends: one is a conservative missionary suit and the other in an understated, low-key sweater!!!!

Le missionnaire qui ira en France