We arrived!

After an incredible 11-day stay in the MTC and saying “Goodbye” to our beautiful family (who have become our dear friends) and our dear friends (who have become our family), we boarded the plane and headed for France. After an all-night flight, we arrived safely on Saturday and were greeted by our new best friends, Boyd and Terry Sillito, who will train us and whose shoes we will try for 18 months to fill. They helped us to the car with our 200+ pounds of luggage and treated us to French pastries (croissants and pain au chocolat) and fresh pears. Such a welcome and yummy treat! We drove an hour or so to the mission bureau (office) and met our other new best friends whom we will serve with in the bureau. We checked into a hotel and then went to dinner with the senior couples who are in the area. Fun and delicious!

Sunday at Church was a wonderful experience. Thankfully, the missionaries translate for us non-French speakers. But the most touching moment of the meeting was when the beautiful little French children sang to their fathers for Father’s Day and ended their song enthusiastically with the words, “une grande bise” (a great big kiss). So incredibly cute. Oh how I love the fathers and grandfathers in my life and wish I could give them une grande bise.

On Monday, we met President and Sister Babin—what wonderful people! They welcomed us warmly (they had been out of the country the weekend we arrived) and then we got to work.

This is what jet lag looks like (yikes!):

Jet-lagged Barnes with beautifully French Babins