Contact Info

You can mail a letter to Elder Wilson in the PARIS FRANCE mission at dearelder.com or through the postal service:

Elder B. Stanton Wilson
49 Rue Marengo
72000 Le Mans
France

The mission home address is:
France-Paris Mission
23, rue du Onze Novembre
78110 Le Vesinet
France

Monday, June 30, 2014

Miracles in Finding

Hello Family!

It's good to know that everyone is doing well. So this past week was a rather finding week. We did lots of searching. And are you ready for some finding miracles?

1. There was one night that Elder Rigby and I went out bat porting (that just means we went to apartment buildings and did porting there.) and we met this guy with a couple of young kids. He let us pray with him and told us we could come back another time, we weren't able to set up a rdv with him because we needed to go get our bus (the bus system in La Rochelle...is about the equivalent of the one in Cherbourg...ha).

So during an exchange, we passed him by, but he wasn't there. We decided to go porting around to the other bats and got rejected like all night...until the last one. They let us in and we prayed with them and set up another rdv with them and exchanged numbers. It was pretty cool.

2. So Elder Rigby and I went to that rdv, but they actually weren't there. So I called the father of the family to ask if he was still free, but he wasn't so we set up another time to go see them. After that, we decided, well, we have lots of time, lets contact. So we did. And the first family we talked to, we talked to them for about 15 minutes, teaching up until right after the apostasy. We were then able to set up a rdv with them and get their address to share the rest. It was pretty cool.

So, I just realized that I start lots of my sentences with so...so, I'm sorry. ;) ha

During the week we contacted a group of young adults, probably around 17-21 years old (it's hard to tell with Africans...) and they were super down to talk with us. We ended up seeing them on Saturday. They had a rehearsal for some musical numbers for their Evangelical church and they invited us to come and speak to all who was involved which that. So we shared about how we know there's a prophet today and 12 apostles that have been called of God, just like in bible times, to help us and guide us. It was pretty cool. Two of the people there that were adult leaders didn't seem to fond of us though...and we were pretty out of place. 14 African people, and just us two white americans...ha. But it was really touching to see how open the young adults were. They actually looked as if they were pondering on what we said, which was really cool. It made me wonder if I was in the same situation if I would be closed off or if I would ponder upon the words that were said to search for the truth therein.

And that was basically the week. Christian is doing very well. His interview is this Friday, and it seems as if there are forces trying to make his interview impossible to happen. But we're working with it, and his interview will be done. :) I'm so blessed to be here.

I love you all. And mommy, thank you for the small memory of when I was a baby. That kinda made my day. Ha :)

Have a great week! :)

-Elder B. Stanton Wilson

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Last Zone Conference with President and Sister Poznanski

June 23, 2014

Hello Family!

This week was pretty good. A little crazy, too.

Wednesday we left La Rochelle to go to Angers for a big zone conference. The missionary couple here was super nice and drove us there with them, instead of making us take the train...which was really great because there has been a strike for the past 2 weeks. We stayed in the Angers apartment with the Elders from Angers...and 8 other elders...12 elders in a 2 man apartment? Check :) ha.

Thursday was our zone conference. It was pretty relaxed compared to other conferences, since it was the Poznanski's last one. They both talked. President counseled us to make sure we listen to our new President and we don't say anything like "well President Poznanski told us to do it like this..." He told us to respect President Babin as our new mission president. Soeur Poznanski talked about how she has become a pro at facebook and that we don't need to worry about staying in contact with them while we're on our mission. And that after the mission they'd love to hear from us from time to time. There were a total of 5 musical numbers. I was able to participate in two of them. I accompanied a singer and cellist for Souviens-toi. And then was a tenor in Dieu Soit Avec Toi Jusq'au Revoir (God be With you Till We Meet Again.) I was very grateful for the opportunity I had to play the piano and sing in these musical numbers.

This week we did tons of porting. And guess what? We had some awesome experiences!! I have a testimony that porting does work. And that there are people who are willing to listen to us and pray with us. Friday night we ended up getting in two houses. It was super awesome! Elder Rigby is the porting MASTER!! :) haha. And Saturday, we got into two other houses, one of whom had a young, un-married couple. The girl said that she hasn't been baptized yet, but it's something important to her and that she'd like us to come back and teach her. So we will be trying this week to get in contact with that couple again.

Saturday night, just before we went to sleep, Elder Rigby asked me "hey, are you ready to get your agenda filled tomorrow?" Well...Sunday, our agenda got filled. Three or four members asked us to come over and eat with them this week...and then we also got Christian's baptism planned out. And there will be two children's baptisms soon (as in like 8 year olds that have been in the church since birth) and the members want us to invite our amis if possible to come to these baptisms. So that was pretty cool to see that happen.

I'm doing really well. Today for P-day the missionary couple is going to take us to see some Roman Ruins about an hour away from La Rochelle. I'm pretty stoked to go see them ha. :)

Well, I love you all! Have a great week!

-Elder B. Stanton Wilson

A Lesson on Faith

June 16, 2014

Hello Family!

It seems like there was some really good quality family time. And some super hikes you went on.

So more about Elder Rigby. He is from Sandy, UT. And he is a STUD of a missionary!! He has some of the biggest faith I've seen yet on the mission. I think last night I learned one of the many reasons I'm with him right now. I will explain this story later. Elder Rigby is in his last transfer, so I have this special opportunity to learn from an ancient missionary, and also kill him (haha...mission humor!). Also, Elder Rigby is in the same group as Elder Kendall...AND they were roommates before the mission at BYU! Small world right? Elder Rigby is very sporty, he loves to play volleyball and just about any sport. We have been trying to go running in the mornings to keep off mission weight. Also, we made a systematic diet kinda thing. We've cut down our portions together because we realized we both were eating too much. So breakfast is just a normal missionary breakfast. Lunch we have a decent lunch, one that is filling, but not engorging. And then dinner is a nice light dinner. It's pretty cool. And it's been pretty nice to do this with Elder Rigby. He's a chill guy!

This past week we had exchanges in a town called Nantes. I was with an elder called Elder Louis. He is from Boston. It was a pretty great exchange we found a potential family while porting. And it was good to get to know Elder Louis. I think I should keep in contact with him even after the mission because he has some good connections that could potentially help me out later.

Everything with our amis that we have is going pretty well. Except we did lose one ami this week. He got offended that he couldn't come into our appartement...he's from Albania and I guess the culture there is when someone allows you to go into their house, you allow them the same privilege. We tried explaining our rules to him but he didn't really have the patience to try to understand the way we live...

Everything with Christian is going well though. He is progressing toward baptism very quickly and he'll definitely be ready for baptism the 6th of July. We have another ami named Raphael, with whom we have finished all the lessons. He did have a baptismal date, but he felt like he wasn't ready to keep a couple of the commandments and he realizes the importance of baptism and the commitment that comes. There was one commandment that was really blocking him toward baptism, but last night he sent us a text asking us if we believe that if he makes the decision to get baptized, God will grant him with the strength to be able to live this commandment. With that text, I realized just how little faith I have. Here's story time:

Elder Rigby had told me that Raphael will probably get baptized this transfer or the next...but I, with my lack of faith, said no, it'll probably take about 4 or 5 transfers. But with that text, I realized at just how big of a desire Raphael has. I realized that Elder Rigby knows something that I do not yet know. That is faith, hope, and reality. We must look at reality, and look for what can be accomplished. Look with God's vision. And hope, and put faith in that. And then act accordingly. We can't just look at reality and be content with that mediocrity that comes by just going with the flow. I thought that I had some understanding of Faith, but last night, I just learned so much more with that small experience. I seriously am so blessed to be here at La Rochelle with Elder Rigby at this moment.

Next week we'll be going to Angers for Zone Conference. We'll be seeing Christian and Raphael again...and we'll be trying to drop by our vexed ami. And with all that, we're going to find some new amis to bring to Christ.

I love you, sorry I forgot about Father's Day...and that I've forgotten ALL of your birthdays...I was thinking, now that I've missed all of those important dates this past year, I'll repent and remember them all for this next time they come around. :) ha.

I love you all. Thank you so much for all the support you give. It means a lot to me.


-Elder B. Stanton Wilson

A Broadcast for Stake Conference

June 9, 2014

Hey famille!!

I got the whole email this week!! Yay!! Sounds like you're all doing pretty well.

As for this past week...it was pretty much the same almost every day...we do lots of porting and contacting every day...I'm pretty sure on Saturday and Sunday combined, we walked over 10 miles...and doing all of this porting reminds me of how inefficient it is...Dad, what were some of the finding things you did on your mission? Oh and visiting members here is really tough...the members that live in the area that we can get to are all 75+ year old ladies...ha. Do you have any ideas on other finding things we could do?

We did have quite the miracle this week though. We were out porting in a quartier (neighborhood) called Lagord. We ported into an old couple and said that we were there to pray with them. The wife told us that she'd love to, but they were busy. She told us to come back another time...and the way she said it kinda seemed like she was just trying to get us away...ha. :P Well we finished the street and then ending up walking by that house with the couple. She hurried and opened the window as we were walking by to talk to us and asked us to come back the next night around 19h00. So we did. It was pretty cool and we'll be seeing them again this week. What do you know? Miracles do happen from porting. :) ha.

We had quite the surprise yesterday for Stake Conference. It was broadcast to us in La Rochelle (because we're in the Rennes stake...and Rennes is quite a drive......) guess who spoke? Neil L. Anderson AND Dieter F. Uchtdorf!! AND Linda S. Reeves. And a member of the Seventy of whose name I have forgotten...José Something...ha :P It was super cool to hear and see them on the screen here in France. That is my 2nd encounter with Neil L. Anderson on the mission. First time was in the MTC. I love his talks. You can always feel the love that's radiating from him. It was super cool and super uplifting.

Our amis that came to church yesterday enjoyed it, too. Our ami with the baptismal date, Christian, said that he's super excited to get baptised. He loved the conference. Our other ami that was there, Raphael, said he was touched by some of the talks that were given. So that's super cool. :)

Well, today we'll be going to a place with the missionary couple. It's called Green Venice. It's supposed to be super similar to the way that Venice is (in the way of rivers...) but Green! So I'll take some pictures while I'm there and send those next week. Deal? ha :)

Well, I love you all! Hope all is going well! Have a good week!

-Elder B. Stanton Wilson

Welcome to La Rochelle

June 2, 2014

Hey Family

You didn't say too much this week...I only got the first paragraph...

This week was pretty good. I had so much fun in Cergy!! I will definitely miss it there and the ward there. Tuesday night we ate dinner chez the Family Kimbembe to say good bye. It was super delicious. They gave us lots of meat and fries. For our spiritual thought, we sang a couple of hymns. Frere Kimbembe loves to sing, and apparently so does his family. I'm always amazed by the spirit that comes from singing hymns.

Wednesday was super weird...the first time I've been by myself for a long period of time in about 10 months. I was on the train for La Rochelle all by myself for about 3 1/2 hours. SUPER WEIRD...ha.
But it was cool to meet my new comp after all that time alone.

My new comp is in his last transfer. His name is Elder Rigby from Sandy, UT. I will be killing him (mission humor...haha) He's a stud. He likes to play volleyball and he can actually sing!!!!! He doesn't really like to sing in front of people, but it's cool to have a comp who can hold a tune when we sing for comp study.

Right after I got to La Rochelle we received a call from a member asking us to come home teaching with him. We did two visits, let's just say I was super stoked to meet three members that day!!! :) Also, here at La Rochelle, there is a missionary couple, Elder and Sœur Fitt, from Orem, UT. They are pretty hilarious and super great to work with. Also, we do emails at their apartment. Right now, I'm using an iPad attached to a keyboard to email you. Next week, I'll be using the laptop. As soon as we walked in, Sœur Fitt said "Surprise!! Guess what today is? Pancake day!!" Let's just say that they are SUPER awesome!!

So here in La Rochelle, it is SO beautiful. And super French. It's super different from what I was used to in Cergy. Here there are like no black people. Also La Rochelle is a very touristic ville. I don't really remember what is touristic about it, but apparently lots of people come here for Vacances (vacation).

Yesterday was a huge carnival. We had to walk through it to go to where we planned on porting...and lots of people threw confetti and stuff on us. It was quite amusing. They even had a huge pirate-themed parade...ha.

Right now we have about three super solid amis, one of whom we gave a baptismal date to this past week...and he is beyond thrilled for his baptism!! He already knows about the Word of Wisdom (we didn't teach it to him, but I believe he has a girlfriend or a friend who is a member) and he gave up smoking years ago, he stopped drinking coffee like 2 weeks ago, he's never had a problem with alcohol either. He also knows about the Law of Chastity and he has no problems with that whatsoever!!! He is super cool. Yesterday, he came to church for the first time...and he bore his testimony in front of everyone about prayer. He name is Christian. And he is seriously super cool!!

I'm not too sure what else to tell you...ha.

I love you all! Have a good week! :)


-Elder B. Stanton Wilson

Goodbye to Cergy

May 26, 2014

Bonjour la Famille!

Alors, I'm pretty happy you answered my questions...ha I was beginning to wonder if you really read my emails...

This past week was a finding week. We dropped an ami because he's really only wanting to ask us controversial questions on our topics and find out ways to confound us. But there's no way to confound the truth!! And also he knows that our message is true. He's felt the spirit. So we gave him the testimony of Joseph Smith and told him to give us a call after he's read it and decided that he wants to be serious.

We had an exchange this past week. I was with Elder Johnson and Elder Tivles. It was a finding day though, so we did lots of contacting. We were able to find a guy from Africa, who is apparently a Muslim-Christian. He says he's a Muslim, but he recognizes Christ as the Son of God...and recognizes the Apostles and all that. He also reads the Bible and the Koran...so he's both Muslim and Christian...we'll be trying this week to get in touch with him again.

Speaking of this week, TRANSFERS!!! Guess what? Elder B. Stanton Wilson will be transferred......to La Rochelle!! :o That's the furthest south place in the la Mission Française de Paris. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited...et en plus, I will be with an Elder named Elder Rigby, who was the MTC companion of Elder Kendall. :) I'm pretty excited. I'm definitely gonna miss Cergy though.

News on Elder Tivles, we did go shopping to get the rest of the stuff that he needed, but Elder Dussere wouldn't let anyone else pay. So Elder Dussere paid for everything...so I guess you can take the 50 back...but thanks anyways. :)

Yesterday in church, the bishop asked me to give a little goodbye speech. I thanked the members for all their work they do with the missionaries and encouraged them to continue with their efforts. I then bore my testimony of l'évangile rétabli. Many members came up to me after and said they would miss me, it was pretty sad...ha. And then later on the bus ride home, a little 4 year old named Sophie was playing guessing-games with me (to guess what number she's thinking of, or what color, etc.) And after the bus ride, I shook her hand and said goodbye, then she hugged me...it was pretty cute.

I don't really have any more else to say. I love you all!! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask and we'll see if I respond ;) just kidding, I will respond. :)

Love you!

-Elder B. Stanton Wilson