I'm Dreaming of a White Aix-mas

This week was wonderful just like the last 17 weeks in Aix, I lost my brother though. Elder Claflin has been transfered to Montpellier and I will be serving with Elder Baret, he will finish his mission one transfer before me, he is french, he is from Grenoble. I have know him since the very beginning of my mission and we are going to have a blast. He has already served in Aix, I actually replaced him, and now he is coming right back to Aix. He spent 4 months in Geneve. We are going to have blast! I am really going to miss Elder Claflin, I don't think that I can explain to you how much I have enjoyed these last 3 transfers with him. The day that we meet up again in Utah, will be alot like the sons of mosiah and Ammon. He is going to be a life long friend.

This week we kept working with our amis that are engaged for baptism.

Our ami DODO, who is from togo, has started the Book of Mormon, he is really cool, but he struggles understanding why he would need another book of scripture and not just the bible, we taught him with one of brothers that is here in Aix that is from Cameroon. It went well and I hope that we will get to see him a couple times this week.

Our ami, NICHOLAS, who is french and has grown up his whole life in the south.( His accent is soooooo strong, I don't know if I have told you, because I have been in the south for my entire mission, but it is like serving in the south of the united states as far as the accent goes). he came to church and is really progressing towards baptism, he had lots of questions and is very very sincere about knowing if the Book of Mormon is true. He has read it 3 times and he as read all of the other standard works, he knows that it is true with his heart, but he is really searching for an intellectual testimony, we explained to him, that we can't know all things with our heads and that we need to trust the spirit in our hearts. It went well and as soon as he can stop some small bad habits with chewing tabacco he will be ready to be baptised.

Our Ami, SERGIO, is being taught again, he came to the first half of church and he is doing well. We had a great lessons about prophets with him and he now understands why he needs to read the Book of Mormon.

Our ami, GREG, is doing great, he is again super close to baptism. He told us that he knows that the church is true and he wants to get to a point where he has the faith to be baptised. His wife is a member, and so he has some questions about the temple and the fact that he can't go inside gives him some small doubts. He knows what he needs to do, and he is so close. Elder Baret taught him alot and greg asked us if Elder Baret could come back to baptise him, and then the Lord sent Elder Baret back. WOW! I have never ever seen someone come right back to the same city just 4 months after! We never said anything to our mission president, but the Lord was listening to Gregs prayers. I have the faith that Greg will be baptised before 2012, he is great! I love him!

Our ami, Francoise came to church!!!! we were going to drop her, because she just kept giving "excuses" about not coming to church, and then we were walking to the church and she was at the bus stop waiting for the church to be opened!! That was a miracle and we are going to keep teaching her.

Robine is doing great! She is golden, she has asked if she can teach with us and she testifies like a machine! She is a great missionary and she has only been a member of the church for 8 days!

We also went up to Manosque and saw our ami Dominque, she is struggling a little and we are not sure if we are going to keep seeing her. Right after we went and ate with the Kempton family! They were great and we loved being there, it was awesome to meet up with a utah famliy, especially since she is a good friend of sara's.

I love you

Elder Smith

Ps, I don't know if you remember Jonathan from Perigueux, back he has come back to church and is doing great! Miracle!

1 Francoise

2 Greg

3 Sergio