🎶🎶🎶 I love to see le temple de Paris France! 🎶🎶🎶

Beautiful on the outside but beyond description on the inside.

During a meeting in Paris in 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley told some 2,400 Latter-day Saints, “The time will come … when we can construct somewhere in this area a house of the Lord, a sacred temple. …”

It's been a long time coming, miracles have happened and now the time is here.

We have to say we cried tears of joy when we first saw this sign the day the construction fence came down:

The art glass throughout the temple is incredible and incredibly inspiring.

Impressionistic in nature.

Native French flowers growing upward and reaching toward the Sun (or the Son?).

Magnificent.

French in every way. 

Perfect in every way.

Incroyable!

Faith, family, friends, and forever...

How I love EVERYONE in this picture.

Doug and Pauline Todd, our dear friends, who have been working
on the temple since construction started over four years ago.

Gordon and Jackie Lambert were visiting when
we heard the construction fence was down for an
hour so we ran over to the temple and got to see
the temple unobstructed AND at sunset. A
highlight of our time with them!

Doug's friend Sylvia Contesse from Lausanne where
he served part of  his first mission. He and Sylvia
together wrote ten songs for the original French
"The Children Sing." Two of their songs are in the
current French Primary Songbook.

The week before the temple opened for the public open house, we were blessed to be able to help take the 200+ young missionaries through the temple so they could see it for the first time. Here we are with President and Sister Babin. How we love them and the missionaries and all of their beautiful spirits. We are incredibly grateful for that experience.

--------------------------------------------

When the temple, talent, and timing came together and blessed our already blessed lives:

During the first week of April in the afternoon before the open house for VIP's began, Elder Neil L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited the temple. As he came out into the gardens, he expressed great concern that the gardens were not French. He said that they were unacceptable as they were and needed to be corrected by morning. (The gardens had small hedge-type plants around each one, some bulbs that were coming up but wouldn't bloom for quite some time and lots and lots of bark. French gardens are very symmetrical, colorful, and do NOT use bark.)

So an urgent call and emails went out to the ward and the missionaries to please come to the temple grounds at 7:00 p.m.--there was an emergency! I received the call, called Doug, and sprang into action (at least Doug did). Chris, Krista, and their three children were headed back to the apartment from Paris and were unreachable. The mission assistants wanted to go but didn't have transportation. So we decided that Doug would take the three assistants in our little car and head to the temple while I stayed at the apartment, fixed dinner, and spent the evening with the Wells, since we didn't have room in the car for all of us anyway, even without the assistants.

When Doug returned home at 1:00 a.m., what a story he had to tell! When he arrived at the temple, there were three big black vans pulled up and people were unloading flowers of every color and combination and setting them on the ground. The temple project manager Ramon (who must have been devastated at hearing that any part of this temple was "unacceptable"), ran up to Doug as he arrived and asked if he had any experience with flowers. Doug, who has always kept a beautiful home garden and sold flats and flats of annuals to many friends and family every Mother's Day weekend for 28 years, said, "Well, I don't have a degree or anything but I do know a little about planting flowers."

Ramon gathered everyone together, pulled Doug up beside him and said "Listen to him. He's in charge." So there he was--in charge of the temple gardens! He swung into action, designing symmetrical gardens in his mind and then telling everyone where to plant each flower. The children who were there would run to him and he would say, "Bring me two of these, or three of those" or whatever he needed and they would run and get what he needed and run back to him. 

So by 1:00 a.m., all the bark had been dug out of the gardens (mostly by hand), underground watering pipes held down by huge metal brackets had been pulled up, repositioned to allow for flowers to be planted where they needed to be in order to achieve the envisioned symmetry then put back down, and hundreds of flowers planted--they worked until there were no more flowers to plant. Many were saying how grateful they were to be a part of this "gardening miracle." 

Doug came home exhausted but on fire. As he fell into bed (after taking several ibuprofen), he told me he couldn't tell me the whole unbelievable story now, but he did say that he felt that he had probably made the most valuable contribution of his mission here just from his experience that night. Upon later reflection, he talked about how excited he was to be in Paris when the temple was dedicated and how he hoped he might be able to contribute to the temple dedication--probably using his musical talents. But that didn't happen. Instead, the Lord found use for him in a very different, but no less meaningful and wonderful, way. I'm grateful the Lord works with willing hearts in mysterious, marvelous ways.

Oh, and by the way, the next morning, Elder Anderson exclaimed that the gardens were "100% better." He was thrilled with the change and the beauty.

Elder Barnes with Elder Richards, Elder Larsen, and
Elder Griffith along with special "runner" Matthew.

Elder Barnes with three of our many beautiful grandkids
in front of one of his many beautiful gardens.

The garden in the lower part of this picture
shows how all the gardens were when
Elder Anderson  first saw them--definitely
NOT French!

A side view of the temple at night--I don't know if it is more magnificent at night or during the day; but, I do love seeing the light come through the stained glass windows at night.

The temple is located just a stone's throw away from the Palace of Versailles. Because of zoning laws in the area around the Palace, the height restrictions for the temple did not allow for a steeple or Angel Moroni statue. But imagine our joy when this Christus was placed in the outside garden--Paris is the only temple in the world to have a Christus outside the visitor's center.  It's a wonderful testament to the world that we are, indeed, Christians.

A view at dusk of the back of the temple where the fountains and Christus are located

(Thanks to our friend Valerie Umilgia for most of these beautiful pictures.)

🎶🎶🎶 The temple is a sacred place, 

a place of love and beauty 🎶🎶🎶

We feel so blessed to be here at such a time as this in France

2016--A Year of Miracles

For Doug and me, 2016 can be summed up in one word: MIRACLES! Yes, we believe in miracles.

As 2015 ended with a wonderful Christmas season filled with celebration, laughs, hugs, joy, tears, music, food, traditions, wonder, and mostly love for and from our collective 15 children and 27 grandchildren

 

Christmas lunch with five of our fifteen darling daughters.

we looked forward with some trepidation, but mostly with great excitement to whatever 2016 would bring. Little did we know what was in store.

In October 2015 we had submitted our application to go on a mission for the LDS Church. We were willing to go anywhere in the world, but with Doug having served a mission as a young man in the French East mission  50+ years previously, we thought it would be amazing and wonderful to go to France. Our hopes were dashed, however, in late October when we received an email from the current mission president in the France Paris mission that the mission had the maximum number of senior couples serving, with more coming in the spring, and that we would not be able to serve in that mission. Also, because of still some puzzling circumstances and events, we learned of another mission we would not be serving in. So we could cross two places off our list of possibilities. What we did know is that six of our friends from our congregation who were being called as missionaries were called to Colorado, Washington state, and California. With all that information, we concluded we would probably be called to Wyoming or Idaho.

So on January 22, 2017, the mailman brought the envelope, we called our families and we invited them to join us at Doug's office in person or by Skype or telephone as we opened our call. Imagine our surprise when we read:

(for the actual opening, check out the video on the January 2016 post on this blog)

I do believe being called to France was a miracle. And then actually being able to go with things settled at home, involved many, many miracles.

Our call packet included SO many pages of instruction and information. We had already filled out the medical part but it asked again about up-to-date testing for routine prevention. I had had a mammogram six months before and so had said on my medical form that all my testing was up to date, which it was.  However, I found myself thinking, "a mammogram now would be covered, since I have new insurance and I won't be able to have one for another year and a half, so I guess I'll go ahead and just have one now." I couldn't have told you at that moment that that thought was inspired. But, as it turned out, it probably saved my life and I believe having that thought and making that decision was another miracle.

Everything had been fine with the mammogram six months earlier so I had no fear at all about getting "the phone call." But in March, while at the "Happiest Place on Earth" with Doug and all his high school students on a band and orchestra tour, I got "the call." No problem--just a misreading or need for further testing, I figured. When we got back home I went for an ultrasound. Hmmm. "Looks like we need to do a biopsy tomorrow." Then the results: "Karen, I'm sorry to tell you that you have breast cancer." Unbelievable. So I called my favorite surgeon who had saved my life and my dignity five years ago when I had a perforated bowel, and scheduled a double mastectomy for the next Tuesday. Thankfully, the surgery went well, they were able to remove all the cancer (it had just barely broken through the milk duct into the surrounding tissue), and also discovered that it wasn't in the lymph nodes. I went home on Thursday feeling very healthy and very blessed. Sunday was Easter and I went to Church--no pain pills, no bad effects, no radiation, no chemotherapy, no cancer.

Penelope, bunny, and I are ready for Church just five days after my bilateral mastectomy.

 It was all truly a miracle and I will be forever grateful. We had to report the new information to Missionary Medical and I was a little nervous about that (I didn't want to tell them). A few days later I got a phone call saying that we could go ahead and leave for France on time. (I found out after we were in France that the protocol for someone in my situation was to allow them to go on a mission but that the assignment should be changed to a mission in the United States--I figure Idaho or Wyoming was calling to me, but was so grateful that France won!)

Next came preparing to leave the house and Doug's business. Both were major concerns. Through a series of ups and downs, we were able to rent the house to a wonderful, clean, caring, responsible couple and also find a solution for Doug's business travel agency due to a chance meeting between two old friends at a funeral and a subsequent call to Doug, who was on the ski slopes. No need for details but we felt the Lord's loving hands in these details and many others as we prepared to leave in June.

My Mom suffered from Alzheimer's Disease for nine years and it was so hard to think of leaving her. Although she didn't know me or seem to know that I was there with her, I KNEW and I didn't know how I could leave her--it was such a hard decision. But I knew my sisters would take care of things and going on a mission was the right thing to do. Thankfully, our prayers were answered and Dad came and took her home just a little more than two weeks before our mission. Another wonderful miracle and great blessing for all of us--especially Mom.

Now that we are here in France, we have witnessed daily miracles--some big and others small, but so important. I've wrestled for the past six months with what to include on my blog as far as things that are spiritual, sacred, and meaningful to me and to Doug. It's a hard thing. I want to share, but realize that some things are not meant to be shared. I know there are people who don't understand my belief in miracles. That's okay. I know what I know is true for me--I know my heart and I know my truth. So, without a lot of detail, I want to share just a few everyday experiences that are miracles to us in the office and to me and Doug personally:

• A missionary called to say they have someone interested in learning more but their native language is Armenian. They wondered if we knew how to find Armenian-speaking missionaries she could Skype with. We didn't. Just then, four missionaries came in the office for some obscure purpose and heard our discussion. One of them said, "My friend just arrived in the Arcadia, CA mission and is assigned to speak Armenian" (which happens to be the only Armenian-speaking mission in the United States). What a coincidence! NOT!
• The gift of tongues is real--whether it's computer commands, Excel, or French. Remarkable.
• So often thoughts pop in our minds that save the day--be it work that needs to be done, a problem that needs to be solved, or a word, gesture, or hug that needs to be given. Out of the blue but critically important.
• I received an email from a woman that started, "I know this is a long shot and probably impossible, but I wonder if you could help me find two young women who were riding the bus in Luxembourg and spoke to me." She explained how she has been having some severe trials lately and wasn't interested in their message but when they asked if they could pray for her, for some reason she said, "Yes." She said no one had ever prayed for her before and she quit praying herself years ago. She wanted to thank them and tell them how much it meant to her and she was trying to find them--it was very important to her. Somehow her search led to my inbox. A long shot or impossible? Not at all--we only have one companionship in Luxembourg and they are sisters.
• Doug and I both recently fell and each broke a rib--but we are okay. I fell walking around a cathedral at night in the dark as I stepped off into space, not knowing there was a step there. Major face plant on my right cheek.
  
  Doug fell UP the stairs a few weeks later and damaged his rib and his pride severely. BUT, it could have been so much worse for both of us. We feel so blessed.
• The greatest miracles we see are the changes in people's lives as they develop a relationship with Jesus Christ and embrace His Gospel. The worth of souls is, indeed, great in the sight of God.

And so the miracles continue--year by year, month by month, week by week, day by day, and moment by moment. And we are so incredibly grateful to be recipients and witnesses to these wonders and loving hugs from our Father.

Merry Christmas 2016--Paris, France

Our Christmas this year was wonderful in very different ways than any Christmas we have ever experienced. At age 67, one wouldn't think this would be my first Christmas away from home, but it was. How we missed our children and grandkids! We are so grateful for FaceTime, Skype, and telephones. Although there were some hard moments, we made it through with few tears and lots of smiles.

We started our celebration early in December by attending 42nd Street in Paris with our friends the Todds. The theater was beautiful, the show was great (and in English!), and the company was extraordinary.

Pauline and me at intermission

After the show, we went to "The Smoking Dog" for dinner--one of Doug's favorite restaurants from years ago

The weekend before Christmas weekend, we went to brunch on the Champs Elysees with three other missionary couples--it was a delicious, somewhat extravagant treat. After brunch we went to the markets, saw the windows at Galleries Lafayette and Printemps (what a show in every department store window) and had chestnuts that had been roasted on an open fire while Jack Frost nipped at our noses. Wonderful!

Delicious roasted chestnuts

The week before Christmas was filled with the mission's Christmas conferences--200+ missionaries spread over three days. Bishop Gérald Caussé (presiding bishop of the LDS Church) spoke each day; beautiful musical numbers performed by extremely talented missionaries; ham and turkey dinner served; letters and presents from home, caroling, pictures, and so much joy in the season it was hard to imagine or contain. 

Tables ready for 80+ missionaries

French salad served before dinner

Feeding the masses our homemade potatoes and gravy

My companion and me

Senior sisters and forever friends

Our Zone

 We spent Christmas Eve at the Todd's with the Bendios and Monsons, before we all hurried home to Skype or FaceTime with our families.

Pauline is the hostess with the mostest--
wonderful appetizers before dinner.

This is after cooking--tastes kind of like a mixture of
broccoli and cauliflower. Delicious!

We love this edible Christmas tree
This is before cooking

Christmas morning we went to church and then had the Todds over for brunch. THEN, we got to "open presents" with some of our grandkids in the States. It was just like being there. Well, almost.

It was a Christmas we won't forget. Merry Christmas to all! We love you and miss you!

Are you enjoying your mission???

Rather than spend several thousand words (a picture is worth a thousand words, right?), I'll opt for the easy way and post a few pictures to answer that oft-asked question. Draw your own conclusions:

Look me in the eyes and tell me this: are you as happy as I am?

The Friday morning ritual when Doug arrives at the office and greets the lovely Cecilia, a convert of ten+ years who makes us smile and keeps our office looking good.

A few of the  missionaries who make every day joyous:

Our mission's amazing assistants--Elder Pieksma and
Elder Stephenson who are both leaving next month.
So sad for us!

Our Elder Nagloo who always brings light and life into the office--
oh, that smile!

And, especially enriching our lives...

The incredible Président et Sœur Babin--always teaching, enjoying,and loving.
This day at Consecration Hill

Then there are the P-days (preparation day) in Paris--why stay home cleaning, doing laundry, shopping, etc. when you could go to Paris?

  

The Pantheon

Voltaire--love the look on his face.

A really fun bookstore (so small that only a few people can go in
at a time--hence the line)

Love walking across the bridges over the Seine

Luxembourg Gardens--so beautiful         

This Saturday we were asked to help with the children while the adults enjoyed celebrating the 50th anniversary of the church building in Versailles. Doug made it fun and easy--for ALL of us! VOILA!

We love going to dinner with our friends and this night was especially memorable. Doug's mission president from over 53 years ago, Henry D. Moyle, Jr., came to town and invited his two former missionaries--my Doug and Doug Todd--and the wives to dinner. What a delightful evening!

The Dougs with The President

Doug Barnes, Henry D. Moyle, Jr., and Doug Todd

A lot has changed in France in 50+ years, as I constantly remind Doug. But, I don't think these three have changed THAT much! Still such handsome missionaries!

So, there in a few more than 17,000 words, is the answer to the oft-asked question:

Are you enjoying your mission?