Hello Everyone,

Well it has officially been my first week in Aix-en-Provence and in the last couple of days, the weather has really started to cool down! That does make it pretty nice, summer was pretty warm here so the change is well welcomed. It has been a little different getting adjusted to the new city, and new companion, and just getting into the swing of things in a new place. I am happy to be here and excited to see the things that we will be able to accomplish here.

Tuesday we took care of the things we couldn't on Monday, like grocery shopping and emails, etc. and that took the morning and some of the afternoon and then we went and did some contacting before a lesson with Gerard. Gerard has a baptismal date, he is an older man that is French but lives in Madagascar but is here for some medical treatments. We had a good lesson with him, talking about the Plan of Salvation, I wasn't completely sure about his comprehension level because he has a difficult time really retaining things. It was a good lesson none the less. We then tried to pass a recent convert but she wasn't home so we did some contacting before heading home.

Wednesday morning, we did some contacting and passing a couple people. We came in to eat and then went and had a lesson with a girl named Becca that is here to do her studies for a couple months, she is American, fairly recently baptized and doesn't speak too much French. We had a good lesson and then headed to go and take a bus to pass a brother of a member from Montauban. Frère Dieutre right before I left gave me the address of his brother so that I could try and go pass him... well his brother was not at all interested. Ha, I didn't even get the chance to tell him that I know his brother, I kind of had to yell it at him as he was closing the window. Afterwards we went to meet with a new investigator that lives in the same area. He was a young kid of 18 who was curious because he had heard about us from South Park. We had a pretty good lesson with him and answered his questions. He told us how much he truly respected what we do but at this point in his life he is happy with his life and doesn't really have any interest in changing anything and knowing more. It was still a great lesson and the kid said, I will never ever be able to say anything bad about you guys or any other member of the church because I truly respect the way that you live and values that you have. It was really cool. We then came back into town and did some contacting before heading to the institute building for English class. It was a good class and we had about 8 to 10 people who showed up. We then went home for the evening.

Thursday we contacted to the church and then made a list of less active members to pass later and made some calls with some investigators trying to fix some rendez-vous. We then headed in for lunch and started the afternoon on a less active hunt. We passed about four or five but only one was home. We then went and did contacting until seeing Gerard again. We talked about following the prophet and the law of tithing. He understood pretty well and he said that he would obey the commandments. We then hurried to give a blessing to a man that he and his wife have known the missionaries for about 40 years! They both have a lot of medical problems and don't leave the house often. We gave him a blessing and had a nice talk about the importance of faith when receiving blessings. We then hurried to get to church for our meeting with the Ward Mission Leader to talk about missionary work in the ward. After our meeting, we went to see a member that left Aix a while ago but came back again for his studies. He is a bit alone here, because he is from Angola in Africa and his wife and three kids are still there. So we talked a bit and just got to know each other, it was really nice. It is so important that the church is really for strengthening each other.

Friday we had weekly planning in the morning and then after lunch, we did some street meeting, and that dropped the kit back at the apartment to head to the institute building. We had a lesson with a Chinese less active, Ma Fang and talked about sacrifice. We talked about how coming to church was a sacrifice but that we are truly blessed because of it. It was a good lesson and she said that she would be at church on Sunday. Right after we met with Wang Quin, a chinese investigator, and talked about tithing and fasting. We really focused on the importance of fasting to receive answers because at one point she was going to get baptized but it didn't happen. She agreed to fast with us on Sunday and come to church so that she could receive an answer whether baptism was the right thing for her or not. She left and then said she was going to come back for institute later that evening. We stayed and did our language study that we didn't do earlier and then we had a meeting with the institute council, I guess you could call it, and then we stayed for institute and Wang Quin came. I think she really enjoyed it and then she stayed a bit after too but we had to head back home.

Saturday we went to play soccer with some young adults and with some investigators but unfortunately, only three people came and so we just kind of messed around a little bit and then headed back to the apartment. We showered and then went out to contact a bit, came back inside and then did our studies. We went back out, did some contacting and then met Gerard at the church. We were going to watch the Restoration movie but he had a bunch of questions and problems about tithing, we talked about, stressed the importance of having faith, the blessings we will receive. At the end he kind of said that he would follow the commandment but a bit of an I guess, maybe, so I am sure that the discussion will not be over with. We then went back home really quick to eat really fast and then went to do some service for the Casels, the couple that have known the missionaries forever. Because they both have severe medical problems, they accumulate a lot of things, they also really like to save little bits of nothing. So we helped them clean up a bit and organize for awhile before heading back in.

Sunday we left to go meet Wang Quin to go to church together but she didn't come and didn't answer her phone. So we headed to church and Gerard was already there. We had some great lessons and Ma Fang even came too. Unfortunately Gerard noticed a missed call right before sacrament so he left the room to listen to it and then just left without telling us. It was kind of weird. After church we went and taught Frank, another investigator, the word of wisdom and then headed home to take what would be our meal time, but since we were fasting, it was nap time. We then headed out, passed a couple people, stopped by institute to grab a movie and then went to see Irma and her daughters. Irma was recently baptized the beginning of last transfer. She is a super nice lady from Colombia, I think, and so we watched the Joseph movie with her and her daughters. It was really nice and we all felt the spirit of how grateful we are of the sacrifices that all of the early pioneers went through so that we could have the blessings of the gospel today.

Well, that was my first week in Aix. I hope that you are all doing well and having a great week. Always remember to be grateful in life, even if it is for the little things! I love you all. Have a great week.

Elder Kirkpatrick