Family,

It sounds like it was a great week. That is really cool that Kira came up for a suprise and you guys enjoyed a fun time at the beach. Today we stopped by the beach for an hours to just relax on our Pday. It is the first nice day we had in a while so we felt blessed that it was on preparation day. I am glad to hear that the boys enjoyed Prom. You two need to write me and tell me all about it. It is always really nice to hear that everyone is enjoying life.
Well this was a great week for us. The whole start of the week was pretty normal and we were able to see a few people and stop by some less actives. Then we had a district meeting and we were lucky because the Elderly couple in Lille (who were in the MTC with Grandma and Grandpa) made us a really good meal. Best one that i have had in a long time. Well when we got back we were able to teach this family that was given to us as a referral from our branch president. It went really well. Then the next day it was hard because it seemed that everything else we had planned fall through for some reason or another. So it was pouring rain and we decided we really had no other choice so we went our and knocked doors. We started to do this area and had a quick pray before we started, after 3 houses we just felt like we need to go some where else so we just started to walk and as we came to an area not to far off we started to knock again. It seemed that everyone was extra mean or maybe it was i was just wet and cold, but we were starting to feel down. Not to long after that we knocked on a door and right after we said who we were the man invited us in. At first i was confused because it was so quick and easy, but when we got in he started to tell us how he used to be believing but he had lost the faith but his wife still had the faith. Then he told us how a few years earlier his wife got sick and i am not sure what exactly it is but it is making her body slowly shut down. Well we talked to him about pray and asked if we could have a pray with them. So he went to the other room and brought his wife in on her wheel chair and we had a pray. We then fixed another time to come back by and left. Then the next day just after Church we got a call from a number we did not know and it was that man Christoph. He had called just to thank us because he said that it was the best night that his wife has had in a long time, because usually she has hard nights, but everything was peaceful that night. He told us that he knew it was because of the pray we had given and just called to thank us. It was a really cool experience and i learned a lot from it and am super excited to start teaching them. It really humbled me and pushes me to be better so i can be prepared for people like them who really are humble and need this gospel. It now seems funny to me because i was really mad that everyone canceled on us that day and now i am so grateful that we had the opportunity to go out in the rain and find someone who needed Christ back in their life. Also yesterday i gave a talk in church and it was funny because i was so nervous but i prayed that it could just all go well and touch someone listening. After i felt that it went really well and i don't know if it helped anyone else, but i had the assurance that God was there helping me. It is funny how often while we are out fulfilling our calling in helping others we seem to grow and get so much out of it for ourselves.
Well i just want to say that i am enjoying the experiences here in Dunkerque and hope that you are all doing your best to come closer to Christ each day. Thanks again for all that you all do for me. JE T'AIME! I miss you! Make it a great week!
Elder Davis

PS Dad i have not been to the WWII memorial yet and i am not sure where it is, but i will ask and see if we can go by next monday. Thanks Dad you are the best!

Family,

    It sounds like everyone had a great week. That is cool that Grant was able to come down and visit. I am sure that the boys loved that. Mom and Dad seem to be busy , but still doing great. It sounds like the new ward is doing well. It is cool to hear about everything that is going on back home. Have fun at Prom this week Bryce and Paul. 
    It was a great week this week. Well it was a really hard week, but that is what makes it a good one. We had so many things fall through and it was raining a lot so we were out knocking doors in the rain. But through it all we seemed to be so happy and just enjoying life. Also it has driven us to work even harder to have a better week this week. I was able to spend one day up in Lille this week. I was with Elder Mayne. He is great and we had a really good time. It was nice to be out in a big city for a day. Things were hard this sunday because all our amis were involved in the Presidental Election so we could not get them to church. Out side of all of that we have started teaching a new guy named Ahkim. He is really cool and we are excited for him. It is just so great to be out in the work of the Lord. Oh also this week we had interviews with President. It was really good and we had a training on how to use the scriptures better when teaching. It was amazing to see the difference when you use the scriptures to teach and answer questions compared to trying to just explain it yourself. Also president talked about how to help our amis gain testimonies and keep commitments. I learned a lot. It was really good to be able to talk to President and to learn how to be a better teacher. It showed me that I need to keep working to improve in every aspect of missionary work. The mission is so great!
    One thing that i really learned this week was the importance of forgeting yourself and really just working your hardest. It really hit me at church this week as we were getting the sacrament ready. I was a little upset over our amis not coming to church and i started to think about what i was doing. I relized that i was preparing the sacrament and what a blessing it is. After that all of church seemed to be telling me to just stop worry and do my best. God directs this work and if i forget about myself and just work then things will work out and that is how i will become the person that i want to be. It is still so amazing how God gives us personal revelation as we pray, read scripture, go to church and do our best. We are not alone.
   Well i am so greatful for all of you. I recieved a letter this week that really just reminded me how lucky i am. I miss you all so much and am so grateful for all that you have done for me and the support you give me. Be strong and continue to be examples to everyone around you. Je t'aime!!
Elder Davis

Family,
It is great as always to hear from you all. That is crazy to hear about the new boundries and new bishoprics. I loved the Pauba ward!
Bishop Pennock was such a great bishop, if you see him send my thanks for all he did for me and the ward. That sounds like it was fun having the Hartzells over for the week. I am sad that i missed out and i hope that you all had a blast. Mom i got the package that you sent. Thanks so much I LOVE YOU! My companion is also very greatful for all the candy, hahaha.
Well it was a great week this week. We were really close to hiting all out goals so that was really exciting. We had a really good experience this week. The zone leaders have been traveling around and spending one day in all the ville, to help work and also to share a little training the next morning. It was really fun having them over and we had an amazing day with four missionaries in Dunkerque. We saw a lot of miracles and found a lot of people. The next morning they shared a small training on desire and how we have to put in the extra effort to achieve that which we desire. I really enjoyed it and it got me re-excited to go out and be an even harder working missionary, so that i can be more of what God sees me as and do more for the people of Dunkerque. Our ami Madeline is doing really good. This is the best intergration i have seen of a member into a ward or branch. All the members are really great to her and they have been inviting her over and been sharing there testimonies with her. You can really see the impact that it has had on her. We are really excited about it. We also had a good experience with an ami named Anatole. We have had some trouble fixing a baptismal date and him coming to church, but this last week he really felt the importance of it all and the next time we went to teach him a lesson he had his work and school scheduals all ready so we could plan everything out and set a date for his baptism.
We are really happy as the work it starting to really move forward here in Dunkerque. We hope we can do our best to keep it going.
One this that i really learned this week, was the importance of actively trying to improve. I found that in a lot of aspects of our lives we let things go on cruse control and think that it will just improve on its own. When you really want to overcome something you struggle with or just impove anything in your life, you need to set a goal and start working towards it and praying for help and then you will see the huge difference in working towards your goal.
Well know that everything is going great for me here in Dunkerque. I love you all so much and hope that you all continue to been great examples for me and everyone around you. Make it a great week. 

JE T'AIME!!
Elder Davis

Family,

Sorry this is going to have to be a quick email this week. I was not able to write yesterday because it is a holiday and here in France the day after Easter everything closes down. So we don't have to much time today. Well it is good to here about every ones week. Dad and Bay Happy Birthday!!! I hope that you both have a great one. I think i will have to do something small to celebrate it here, like bye a pastry and eat it for you haha. Well it is too bad to hear about Bryce's knee and Bay's noses. You two need to be careful, haha. Like that will stop you. Well that is great that Bryce is getting his eagle this week and i can't believe he is starting his mission papers, wow. Have you heard how Tanner is liking the MTC yet? I am glad that you all had a great Easter. This last week has been a great week, but very difficult at the same time. We had a good week and were able to see a lot of people. The hard part was we have been putting extra time and effort into finding new people, but we did not find a new ami this week. That is life some time we will keep it up and i am sure that as we keep working and praying we will find the ones who are ready for the gospel. Well my Easter was a really good day. I was able to meet everyone in the Branch, because last week was conference and i was not able to meet them all. It was a really good meeting and i really felt the spirit. We had our ami there and she really enjoyed it. Then after a member invited us and our ami over for an Easter lunch. It was a really nice lunch. The French love to have really big and elaborate lunches, but it was really good so i can't complain. Then we visited another ami we are teaching and after finish up the day knocking doors. It was really cool because people were so nice to us. It might have been because it is a holiday, but either way you have to love it when everyone is really friendly to the missionaries. This week i have been really studying about time. At first it started with how can i use my time effectively here and i ended up learning a lot. It is cool to think that God has given us all time here on earth to do our best to learn and grow. We have both happy and difficult times and through it all we progress. The real thing is when you look at it all is how are you going to use the small about of time that God has given you. I found that the best way to use your time to make yourself and God happy is to use it in the service of others. God's work is to bring about the eternal life of man and if you help in that great work, God will bless you. Well things are great here in Dunkerque. Keep us in your prays, we are excited to see the work move forward and to help the branch here grow. Have a great week! Je t'aime!!
Elder Davis

Happy Easter!!

I looked up Dee's address in France and this is where he is living!

Family,

Happy Easter!!!! this week i hope thar you all enjoy it. It is great to hear that you enjoyed the vacation and conference. It really was so great. I was able to go to a city called Lille and watch it there. I got to watch half of it in English so that was really nice. We did not get to see the last session because of the time change, but we will get the ensign magazine when it comes out. Conference was so amazing. We are so blessed to have the opportunity to listen to the prophet and apostles. I learned so much from it and feel that all my questions were answered. It is so amazing how through the spirit we all here the same message but it hits each of us in a personal way.

It was a strange week because i was getting ready to leave Reims and saying my goodbyes to everyone and then on Wed i took a really long train up here to Dunkerque. It was sad to leave, but i am thankful for how much i grew there and am excited for the future. I really like it here in Dunkerque. It is a smaller city, but still a good size. We live right over a bay and today we are going to look at the beach. It is a super nice city. It has been pritty cold and windy but hopefully it will warm up us the season goes on. We have two really soild amis and they both have baptismal dates. I have not met a lot of the members yet but i hear we have a strong little branch of about 12 active members. It will be good and i will have fun getting to know them all. I feel that is the blessing here, because there are not that many i can build strong relationships with them and work closely to move this work forward. I really am so pumped to get the work moving here.

My new companion is Elder Burgess. He is from New Zealand and is really cool. He only talks to me in his American accent because he said he wants to start talking better in it, hahaha. He is only in his 4th transfer and this is his second ville. He is the youngest in his family and the second of two boys to go on a mission. He played rugby all growing up so that is pretty cool. It is funny everyone keeps joking because i have lived with so many islanders. I guess i just work well with them. That or God puts them with me because they are the only ones that can deal with me hahaha. Well we get along really well and i think it is going to be an exciting transfer.

Well i love you all so much and want you to know that i am so grateful for your prayers and support. I truly do feel it each day as i go out to work. I wish you all the best and hope that you all were able to gain from conference, and also that you will gain from Easter as it approaches. Remember the true meaning and share his love. Je t'aime!

Elder Davis

Hey Everyone,So i am leaving Reims here is my new address.
Elder Davis
Les Missionnaires
150 Quai des Anglais n°125
59140 DUNKERQUEFrance

Bonjour,
It is so good to hear all the news about the family. Sorry that i have not sent any pictures, hopefully in Dunkerque there will be an easier way to send the pictures. It sounds like you are all going to have such a fun trip. Let me know all about it and send pictures hahaha. So i leave to Dunkerque on Wed and that is also when i will meet my new companion. I know that is name is Elder Burgess and that he is from New Zealand. I will let you know how it all goes next week . Well this last week was really great. It was strange because i was expecting to stay and we thought that Elder Williams was going to leave, but we had it wrong. Well we were able to see most of our amis and had 5 of them at church on Sunday. It was so cool to see how much the work has grown sense being here. We came to Reims with nothing and as i am leaving there is tons of things happening and hopefully three baptisms next month. Serving in Reims was such a blessing and i am so grateful that i had the opportunity to serve here. It is always sad leaving a ville but then again there is so much excitement in what the future holds. Well here is a cool stories from the week. One was a man that we have had a lot of trouble getting a hold of and seeing him regularly, but when ever we do things go really well. We got a call during church and he said he was near the church but could not find it. We went and found him and he made it just in time for the last talk. The man talked about the family and how much the church blesses his family and at the base that is the center of the church. Right after church he told me how his friend had just passed away and he has not been able to stop thinking about the real purpose of life and what he can do for his family. We then had a lesson with him and taught the Plan of Salvation. For the first time it really hit me how much of a blessing in was to have this knowledge that seems so basic to us but really gives us a purpose and hope for the future and more importantly our family. It just really hit me this week how happy it makes you to share the message of the gospel. It is just so cool to see all the great relationships you make with Companions, the other missionaries in the district, amis, members and all the other people you meet. So many good memories. Well i just want to say that i love you all so much and wish you luck and all that you are doing. Remember to stay close to Christ that is where you will find the most comfort, love, joy and help that you need to get through all the bumps through life. Je t'aime!
Elder Davis

Family,

As always so good to hear from everyone. That is cool that grandma and grandpa were able to come up an eat dinner with you this week. How are things going for them? It is great to hear that Mom and Dad are doing great. I am excited to go to the temple when i get back haha. Hearing that you were able to go this week got me really excited about it. Also i just heard that things are progressing well with the Temple site here. Well surprisingly this week actually felt a lot longer then normal. But that was a good thing because i really enjoyed this week. The week before, we had to push back Mairie-Blanche's baptism and then we had trouble contacting a lot of people. We sat down at the start of this week and really planned out how we could move the work forward and achieve all our goals. Through that along with a lot of hard work and prayer we experienced so many amazing things this week. Things really picked up and we had a packed week. I am also excited because things are looking great for this week. It is the last week of the transfer so i will let you know on Sat what is happening. To answer some questions and explain a little bit more of he routine of the mission i guess, each transfer is six weeks and the Sat of week six we get an e-mail saying if we are staying or leaving and who our new companion is. Right now i am is a district with the four Elders here in Reims and 4 other elders in Paris Lilas ( The east area of Paris and just outside of it.). We go up to Paris once a week for a district meeting, usually on Wen. This week President is coming to the district meetings for our whole zone so we are excited about that. I hope that that answers some questions if not feel free to ask more. I feel that i am bad about explaining about my week in the letter haha. Oh i wanted to share a cool miracle that happened yesterday. We were waiting at the door for our amis and a man with his two sons walked in and told us that he was exploring the different religions and wanted to learn more about the church. So we invited them to church and they really enjoyed it and will be coming back next week. It was cool too because we had set a really high goals for amis at church and had been praying that week to obtain it. With them there we hit the goal and it was so exciting to see this family really searching for a true church. Also we had a lesson that day and we wanted to invite a member to come with us. We ask a few members and the ones we wanted were busy. We then felt like we should ask this one member that i would have never thought of before. To sum it up the RDV went perfect and he is so great to teach with. The lady was really excited about the gospel and we hope to set a baptismal date with her this week. I always feel so blessed when you see how the spirit has guided you throughout the day. Well i love you all so much and hope that you make it a great week. JE T'AIME!!!
Elder Davis

Family,

Well it sounds like you are all having a great time back home. I am glad that Mom and Dad enjoyed there time in Anaheim. Sounds like Nicole and Eric are doing really well. How are the boys doing with school and sports? Also it blows my mind that Bryce is about to graduate. How is that going, you holding in there? I am glad that you two were able to go to the mission prep fireside. That is cool that you were able to speak with Elder Ford. To answer your questions yes it is hard but i never expected it to be easy. This is a work to bring souls unto Christ and something that important, i would expect it to be hard. Satan tries to stop the Lord's work from moving forward, but remember God will win. Plus when you look at all the blessings that come with it all you can do is be grateful and happy. I was actually listening to a talk the other day that talked about the loneliness of leadership and trials we go through. I love that they made the point that we will have hard times, feel lonely, and trials that seem unbearable, but if we use our free agency to stay on the path towards Christ and follow his commandments we have the promise that we will have the comfort, peace, and companionship of the Holy Ghost as we go through the trials and after they are through we will have grown so much and become one step closer to what God sees us as and what we want to become. We can do it! Well this was a good week. We were excited to find a new ami named Yannic. He is really cool and had so many questions. He told us how he had been looking for a church and now it has been a long time sense he has really gone to church because he could not find the truth. It makes his a little hesitant to listen, but also so great that he really is searching for truth. Also we have an ami named Serge and we were not really sure if he was interested or just meeting with us to be nice. Well this last RDV we taught the Plan of Salvation and half way through it he started to take notes and ask us a ton of questions. You could see that the spirit hit him and he just wanted to keep learning more. Another cool thing this week is the young family we taught last week. They are still really interested and have started to read the Book of Mormon every night. It is funny because i feel that the work has slowed down a little bit the last couple weeks, but as i am writing i see how many great things are happening. Well thanks for all the support you give me and know that all is well with me. Please pray for me and my companion (Elder Williams) so that we can continue to find people to teach. I love you all so much!
JE T'AIME!!
Elder Davis

Hey Everyone,

Glad that everything is going great for all of you. I am also really happy to hear that Grandma is doing better. This week was a interesting week. It was a great week and at the same time a really hard week. It was hard because we had nearly everyone cancel on us for this week because it was a break and they were all going places for vacation. So that was hard not being able to see everyone we hoped to see. It did give us a lot of time to find more people, which is always really good. We found some people that i am really excited about.

A highlight of the week was our Zone Conference. It was really good. One huge thing they focused on was the power of a simple testimony. Often we go off on huge tangents and try to speak too much. When you share your testimony no matter how big or small, that is when the spirit will speak to the heart and they can feel the message is true. I really loved the whole training. I have seen as I have stopped and shared my testimony of this gospel more people have felt the spirit and understood the message we are sharing. Also during the zone conference I was able to reflect on the goals I have set for myself and I received ways on how I can better achieve them and set higher goals.

Well one other thing that was interesting this week. Right after me and Elder Williams had finished a lesson we were going to start an exchange with the other team here in Reims. Well we got a call and were told to meet them at the hospital. When we got there we found a member from the States who had come down to visit a friend here in France. His friend had passed out when walking into a café that morning and was rushed to the hospital. He did not speak any French and we came and helped translate for him. To make a long story short the lady he was visiting ended up being alright but had to stay in the hospital for a week for the doctors to watch her. The problem was the man's plane left the next day from Paris. So we had another member pick us up and we went to get his stuff and help him catch a train to Paris. It was a quit the day. One cool thing about it was he was telling us about how his son was 19 and did not know if he should serve a mission, but after we had help him he said he is going to go home and tell his son about it. He said that seeing us come to help him when he was lost and did not know what to do was an answer to his prays and he wants his son to have the opportunity to make a difference in others lives. It is funny because to us it was such a small thing to just go over and help translate, pick up his stuff and take him to the Gare (train station). Sometimes just giving a little of your time to others makes all the difference in their life.

It still amazes me as i look back at each day on the mission. I learn so much and can see the hand of the Lord directing his work. There is so much joy in sharing the truthfulness of this gospel. I invite you all to find a way you can share this joy with others. Whether it be giving a little more of your time, a small testimony, giving out a Book of Mormon, or just being an example to others, you can make a difference in someones life and feel the blessings of being part of this amazing work. I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week. Thanks for all that you have done and still do for me. JE T'AIME!
Elder Davis

Family,
It was good to hear from you all. I did not know about grandma. I hope that everything will continue to improve and that is so cool that everyone could go up and be with her. I will have her in my prayers. That is good to hear about Bryce and Paul, it sounds like things are going good for them. I am glad to hear that Nicole got a Job. Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICOLE!!!!!! I hope that it is a good one. I will be writing you a letter! Also it is great to hear about Grandma and Grandpa Davis, we were just talking about how much we wish we had a missionary couple here in Reims. It is such a blessing to the ward. It is just amazing how much this gospel has blessed us and continues to bless our family. Well this was a good week. We started planing Mairie-Blanche's baptism and she is getting really excited. It is amazing how much it has already changed her life. We found a lot of good people this week and just yesterday we taught a young family and it was so amazing. I felt like it was the perfect lesson. They were answering the questions and asking a lot of really good questions. They also shared experiences they have had that have strengthen their faith in Christ. They were truly prepared and i could not hold back how happy i was to see their family together and learning of God's plan for them. It was such a great experience. It made all the hard work and long days feel so worth it. I am excited to keep teaching them and hope that they continue on this path to Christ. Also another cool experience we had happened the other day. We were getting on the tram when we saw a big group of guys that saw us and started to laugh. So right away i judged them and walked to a near by seat. Then my companion started to talk to them and we learned that one of the guys was very believing and we ended up getting his number and setting a rendez-vous. It really showed me that i can never judge others, even when they are laughing and being horrible to me. It has been said that kindness is the key to enter a hard heart and stubborn soul. It is amazing how if we follow Christ example in all we do we have so much more joy. I am so grateful to be here on a mission and to be part of this amazing work. I have had a blessed life. Thank you!! Well i hope that your week goes great and you continue to be amazing examples to me and so many others. Je t'aime!!!!!!
Elder Davis

Family,
Well it sounds like it was a fun and busy weekend for everyone. I am glad that Mom and Dad had a great time in northern California visiting Aunt Patti. Happy Birthday! Also i hope that everyone enjoyed having Kira down for Brittney's wedding. That is crazy Britt is married i hope all went well at the wedding. Well it was a good week. We were sad that Elder Newell left, but excited to have Elder Lee here. He is so great he is Tahitian and does not speak any English. It is good though because it makes us speak french all the time and we have him around to answer out vocab/grammar questions. We all get alone really great and i think it is going to be a great transfer. The work here is still moving forward. We were able to set rendez-vous with everyone this week. Also Mairie-Blanche is going to get baptised the 10th of next month so have her in your prayers. It was sad this week because we found out that our bishop here in Reims passed away on the 16th. We will being going to his funeral on the 22nd. It was really sad he was recovering from cancer and all seemed to be well and then he passed away in his sleep unexpectedly. So it was a hard week for the members here, but also it really pulled everyone together. Sunday was really sad but it is amazing how great this gospel is, to know that there is a plan for us and that it is not end after we die. Also he passed away on the 4th anniversary of being sealed in the temple with his wife. It is an amazing story he came out of inactivity a few years ago and prepared himself to be sealed with his wife and soon after became Bishop, Wow. It all started just because one of the members invited him back to church because they cared about him. It really is amazing how if you help someone, purely out of your love for them, you can be the first step of endless joy and blessings for them. This gives me more of a drive to love the people i meet and do my best to bring people one step closer to Christ. There is so many blessings and so much Joy in this Gospel and all we need to do is open up our mouths and love people a little bit more. Well everything is going great on the end of things. I am still loving Reims. The members are great and i really like the city. We were able to see more of it the other day because i may or may not have left my bus pass and we had a list of addresses to stop by. It actually was really nice to walk through all the streets and see more of the city we are serving in. Well i hope that all is going well for everyone. I love hearing from everyone! Je t'aime! Make it a great week! Vous me manquez tous!
Elder Davis

Happy Valentines Day!!!!

Family,It was so good to hear from you all this week. I miss when all the family would come over to our house. I hope that everyone had a great time. Well Valentine's day is tomorrow and because as a missionary that does not mean much i guess i can can just say I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!! And take this holiday to also focus on the love of the savior and how you can share his pure love with those around you.This was a good week! We got the e-mail for the transfer and i am staying in Reims with Elder Williams, i am so excited about it. Also we found out that Elder Newell is leaving and the new Elder coming to Reims is Elder Lee and all i know about him is that he is from French Polynesia. I will let you know more after he gets here on Wed. He has been out for a couple months, so i don't know if he speaks English. Well the work was really good this week. In the middle of the week we got stuck in Paris because the trains home were full. We ended up having to reschedule some rendez-vous, but after that everything went great. This week we did a lot of finding, well we always do a lot of finding, but this week we found some really good people. Yesterday was such an amazing day. Really it was just a day of miracles for both me and the other team here. One really cool thing is that one of our amis got really mad in church and started to yell at everyone because she got really offended by what someone said and then she told us she was done being taught. So we just started praying and first she decided to stay for sacrament meeting. After that the whole meeting seemed to just be so full of the spirit and after she knew that she needed to keep going with the lessons and forgave the people who offended her. Then on top of that she ran into a friend and started to share the gospel with her and we got her number. She told us that her friend had so many questions and she wanted us to teach and answer them. She even invited her friend to church. As the day went on we kept seeing more and more miracles and that night we started to tell the other Elders about our amazing day and they had just as many stories to tell us. We are on the lords mission and he does direct it. Well a few other things about the week. The temperature is going up so i am happy about that, after it snowed two more times hahaha. We were able to get a hold of all our amis that we lost contact from and things are going well. Last I just finished transfer deep cleaning and i think that our apartment has never looked so clean. This morning i was actually reading a talk on learning and it talked about before we have good teachers we must learn to be good learners. At first i did not really get it but i ended up getting so much out of it and learned a lot on how i can improve. Some things that stood out to me is that if we are ever bored in a meeting, lesson, class, sacrament, ect.... It is your fault. The spirit can be there and will testify and bring you personal revelation but only if you put in the effort. The other thing was to always be learning. Look for opportunity and pray for it. Well that just really hit me on how much more i can be getting out of each day and how important it is that we constantly are growing and improving. I Love you all so much. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!! JE T'AIME!!!!Elder Davis

It Snowed!!!!!

Family,
It is so good to hear about all the missionary experiences that you are all having back home. Keep it up Bryce and Paul that is so great. Wow, Dad i did not realize that you traveled so much. Let me know how it all goes. Mom you are the best. I love getting your emails. It is so funny how much yours and Dads emails correspond to each other, it made me laugh. I can't believe that Brittany is getting married so soon. Well it is good to hear that everyone is doing so well. So i will send pictures as soon as i can. I have been having trouble sending them because i used to always barrow the card converter from my companions but right now no one i am with has one so maybe i will have to look how much they are or find another way, but i will send pictures as soon as i can. It snowed this week!! It randomly dropped like crazy and has been really cold. Haha i lost one of gloves on the Metro, so i need to get new ones because waiting for buses is starting to get hard. Luckily Sunday was supposed to be the lowest and now we are going uphill. Well the work here is going great. Yesterday both Marie-Blanche and Stela came to church and we set a baptismal date with Marie-Blanche. Also we finally met up with a man that we saw our first week here and it went really well. The work just keeps moving forward and we are excited to continue to find, teach, and bring more people to Christ. This is the last week of the transfer, can you believe how fast that went. We find out on Sat what will happen, i believe that i will stay, but you never really know what the lord has planed for you so i will keep you updated. So i feel that i finally am really used to typing on a french keyboard, just thought i would share that with you. This week i found an old conference magazine in our apartment and started to read through it. To my surprise i remembered a lot of the talks. I guess that when i was little and i was so focused on finishing my bingo (in between my naps hahaha) i really did get a lot more out then i thought. Thanks Mom and Dad, i really have seen how much all that you have done for me has blessed me. JE T'AIME!!! One other cool experience i had this week was after a long day of finding and it being really cold i felt a little down because we had spent all day working hard and i felt there was nothing to show for it. I had prayed that we could at least find one person who was ready for the gospel. We got on the bus to go back to the apartment and then a man sat across from us. We ended up talking to him, after one of the moments where they are trying really hard to read your name tag and trying to be sly about it but really they are way obvious. We got his number and it was a testimony builder to me that sometimes it is when you have gone to the edge and felt that you can't give any more and turn to the lord to find that strength, that is when miracles happen. Well i love you all so much and pray for you. Make it another great week.
Elder Davis
JE T'AIME!! Tu me manques!

Family,

It sounds like the wedding went really great. I am glad to hear that everyone enjoyed it and to hear how happy Aubri is. That is cool to hear about your goal to go to the templemore, that is so great. I am excited to go to the temple again when i get back. Oh were you able to look at the website on the temple being built here? That sounds like a cool video that you were watching about two brothers growing up together and going on missions. It made me think about when we were all little and the games we used to play. They always ended and someone getting hurt, usually Bay hahah. I love you Bryce and Paul! Hope that everything is going great. Well this week was a great week. I had an exchange where i went up to Paris for a day. It was really nice, but it was the outer part of Paris not the area i served in. We did a service this week serving food to people in need. That was really fun and it was cool how you could really see that the people who were truly thankful and kept saying thank you were the ones who were happier. It showed me that if i will be more grateful and express it to God, companions, and amis, it will not only let them know that i care but i will also be more happy. We found two new small families this week. One we stopped by this ladies house because we ran into her on the street and she gave us her address, but did not really seem interested. Well when we stopped by she agreed to listen and then ended up coming to church on Sunday and we have another lesson planed. Her name is Stela. The other lady is Mairie Brigette, she is a lady that had heard the missionaries years ago but did not believe in God. They left her with a Bible and a few years after she found faith in Christ and then she ran into us and wanted to hear our message again. Also Marie Blanche the lady we have been teaching came to church and really enjoyed it and now said she is going to be praying for when she should be baptised. Things are just really moving forward here. Also the other team here is doing really well. And lets not forget that there are still a lot of people out there waiting to hear the good news. I am just excited for this work. Thanks for all the prays i know that they are being answered and i fell your love from back home everyday. Oh another thing from this week that i thought you would like to hear is we were at a members house and i showed some pictures of our family and some of cousins and they were all talking about how great you all look hahah. All is good here. Well except for i have spent my whole day trying to fix a leak in the bathroom. In the end we don't have water until tomorrow afternoon and we have to catch a train to Paris in the morning, so i think we are going to have to figure something out, hahaha. But despite that dilemma, I am still enjoying everything. My companion is great and Reims is awesome. Je t'aime!!! Have a great week!

Elder Davis

Hey Everyone,

To start of i have to say CONGRATS to Tanner for his mission call. That is so exciting, it is crazy how close he will be. I also just hear that there is one area that if i was to serve there once a month you go over to Germany and stay with the Elders there to go to a small branch on that sunday, that would be crazy if we some how both ended up in those two areas. Also I can't believe that Aubry is getting married this week. give her a big hug from me and send my love to her. Also Nicole good luck on your tests this week, you will be in my prayers. It was cool to hear about your Stake Confernce, it always amazes me how inspired the leaders really are. Also that was cool to hear at the 100 years of seminary they had some french speakers on the video, i wonder if i know any of them, haha. Well things here are going great! Our week started off with us having to drop our first amis because he told us he would not pray or read and that was really hard, because he was so close but would not just do the simple acts. We left him with the Book of Mormon and i hope one day he reads it and finds the missionaries again. Then we had president interviews. They were really good and the training was so great. It was for starting the new year and we talked alot about goals. Last training we talked about breaking down the walls that our holding us back and this time it was about now that we have broken everything down we need to build it up with righteous goals and desires. My interview with presdient was really good. President Poznanski is so amazing and truly inspired. So as the week went on we had a huge line of RDVs that just did not happen because of a bunch of different reasons and we had to go back to square one and keep looking. But as the weekend rolled around we saw the blessings of all our hard work. First we had a RDV with a lady named Marie-Blanche and she is so great. She has 4 kids and said that she is done with the catholic church and is just looking for truth and something more that she feels is missing. We had a strong first lesson with her and we will see her again tonight. The other miracle is a young guy named David he was interested in the fact that we have a living prophet today. Also we just got a hold of some more people whos we are really looking forward to. It is just the start, but it is so exciting to see the effect and power of the Gospel in peoples life. Well Church was so amazing yesterday. At first I was really tired and felt a little stressed out over eveything and i had a lesson that day. But then i started to think about why i was at church and i thought about a question i had and how if i really listen and pray my question will get answers at church. Well to sum it up i recieved my answer and the comfort that God is there and we need to sometimes take a step back and really look at life how he would want us too. Not get stuck in the actions of each day but make sure that you are really working with your best. That is actually mine and my companions goal this week to work to our best ability and then continuously make such it really is our best. Also we have a goal starting tomarrow to go a whole week with only speaking french, not just when we are out of the apartment, but all the time, it will be fun hahah. Well all is going good over here. I hope that you are all enjoying life and have a great week. JE T'AIME!!

Elder Davis

PS Dad my companion is from a city called Antelope

Family,

How is everyone doing? It is good to hear about the Bryce's and Paul's sports. I am also so happy to hear that Mom is doing good. I love you! Well to start i will answer your questions by opening a new area i mean we came to the city and started a team that was not here before. So we started with nothing and have been able to go out and just start finding new people. My Companion Elder William is great! We get along really well and have already started to see a lot of success. He is from Northern California and did track and field. He is the opposite of me in the sense that he has two older brothers and two younger sisters. He is a really hard worker and really has the language down. He also came from the other mission when we merged so i don't know any of the places or people he served with before hahah. The city itself is also really great. It is one of the cleanest cities that i have been in. Also it has a lot of things to see and makes me think of Temecula because there is a lot of wineries. The ward is so great. The are really good at working with the missionaries and one even helps us with french once a week. Oh another thing is the apartment here is the nicest one that i have seen so far. The other set of Elders are so great. We have a lot of fun living together. Well this week we had to go up to Rouen,a city in Normandie, for Elder William's legality. It was a really cool city. To sum of the whole thing we ended up waiting in lines for a total of 6 hours waiting for his legality. That and the train rides back plus getting through Paris with a box of Book of Mormon ( les Livre de Mormon), lets just say it was a long day. I have to do mine soon so hope that here in Reims it is less crazy. We found three new people to teach this week and a lot of potentials. I am getting really excited about the work here things are just moving forward. One amis we saw this week was so cool. He had so many questions we could hardly keep up and even had to write a bunch down because we just were not sure. But he is really looking for the truth and wants to know why he is here. I can't wait to see him again. One thing that i really learned this week is how important it is to work hard but not lose track of what is most important. We were out everyday just talking to anyone and everyone, but not until we really started to show interest in the people, more then just we are looking for people to teach, did we start to find the ones who are prepared for the Gospel. It really showed me how showing your love and care for others is so powerful and so much more important then all the tasks we feel so pressed to accomplish each day. If we don't focus on the ones we love and people we see each day, it seems to me that all the other things we do could have just gone undone because where things really count nothing happened. The Pure Love of Christ. Moroni 7:45!! Well i am so happy to be out here and feel so blessed that i have such amazing family and friends. JE T'AIME!!! Thanks for everything! I will be praying for you all! Hope you have a great week.
Elder Davis

http://www.templemormonparis.org/

PS here is the sit that just came out on the temple here in France!

First week in Reims

Family,

How is everyone doing? It is good to hear about the Bryce's and Paul's sports. I am also so happy to hear that Mom is doing good. I love you! Well to start i will answer your questions by opening a new area i mean we came to the city and started a team that was not here before. So we started with nothing and have been able to go out and just start finding new people. My Companion Elder William is great! We get along really well and have already started to see a lot of success. He is from Northern California and did track and field. He is the opposite of me in the sense that he has two older brothers and two younger sisters. He is a really hard worker and really has the language down. He also came from the other mission when we merged so i don't know any of the places or people he served with before hahah. The city itself is also really great. It is one of the cleanest cities that i have been in. Also it has a lot of things to see and makes me think of Temecula because there is a lot of wineries. The ward is so great. The are really good at working with the missionaries and one even helps us with french once a week. Oh another thing is the apartment here is the nicest one that i have seen so far. The other set of Elders are so great. We have a lot of fun living together. Well this week we had to go up to Rouen,a city in Normandie, for Elder William's legality. It was a really cool city. To sum of the whole thing we ended up waiting in lines for a total of 6 hours waiting for his legality. That and the train rides back plus getting through Paris with a box of Book of Mormon ( les Livre de Mormon), lets just say it was a long day. I have to do mine soon so hope that here in Reims it is less crazy. We found three new people to teach this week and a lot of potentials. I am getting really excited about the work here things are just moving forward. One amis we saw this week was so cool. He had so many questions we could hardly keep up and even had to write a bunch down because we just were not sure. But he is really looking for the truth and wants to know why he is here. I can't wait to see him again. One thing that i really learned this week is how important it is to work hard but not lose track of what is most important. We were out everyday just talking to anyone and everyone, but not until we really started to show interest in the people, more then just we are looking for people to teach, did we start to find the ones who are prepared for the Gospel. It really showed me how showing your love and care for others is so powerful and so much more important then all the tasks we feel so pressed to accomplish each day. If we don't focus on the ones we love and people we see each day, it seems to me that all the other things we do could have just gone undone because where things really count nothing happened. The Pure Love of Christ. Moroni 7:45!! Well i am so happy to be out here and feel so blessed that i have such amazing family and friends. JE T'AIME!!! Thanks for everything! I will be praying for you all! Hope you have a great week.
Elder Davis

New Area & Companion!!!!!

Les Missionnaires
Elder Davis
135 Boulevard Pommery
51100 REIMS
FRANCE


Hey,

So that is my new address. So It is was really sad to leave Paris this week. Before i left i was able to do a lot of work and see everyone. I just got a call and three of our amis have set baptismal dates, it was exciting to hear things are still going well in Paris. Ok well Reims is a really cool city. It is funny because it is actual french people again hahah. Paris was just a huge mix of everyone from everywhere. Well so opening a new team means that we come here and we don't know anyone or have anything to start off of hahah. We are lucky though, because there is another set of missionaries that are here already and we all live together so they updated us on transportation and stuff. Well this week has been going around getting to know the ville and members and every other sec is out looking for people who are ready for the Gospel. I really do love the city. It has a good feel to it and people are a little more open here so that is a really good thing. The ward is really strong and they are working on a mission plan for this year. I think that they will really get excited about the work as we start to get things going. Also this city has the Cathedral where every French King has been crowned. So that is a random cool thing hahah we are going to see it today hahah i heard it is way better then Notre Dame so i will let you know. So my new companion is Elder Williams. We get along really well. He is a really good worker and a just an over all great missionary. I am excited to be working with him. He is from Sacramento, Ca (Antelope to be exact). He is a track athlete. He ran distance, middle distance and did high jump. The other two missionaries that we live with are Elders Hartley and Newells they are really fun and good missionaries. This will be a good transfer. Well it was good to hear that everyone is doing great. I can't wait to hear where Tanner gets his mission call. I am hoping France or at least french speaking hahaha. It is exciting to hear about all the missionaries in our family. Well i am doing good and can't wait to see what is going to happen next. Thanks for all the letters and emails! Keep being awesome. JE T'AIME!!!
Elder Davis

BONJOUR!!! Ca va?

I hope that everyone is doing great. It is good to hear that you all enjoyed the rest of your break. I am glad that Mom has been ale to share the pictures and key chains with everyone.
Oh Wow that is such great news that Kylie is expecting a baby. I am so excited for her. I need to write her that is so cool. I can't believe it GRANT IS GOING TO THE SCOTLAND/IRELAND MISSION. That is so awesome! I am so excited for him. He is going to love it. Tell him that he needs to email me i want to talk to him. So ok there was a big shock for me this week, I am leaving Paris : ( When i found out i was so surprised i thought i would stay for at least another six weeks. I am going to Reims (haha good look with saying this one hahah my comp laugh at me when i first said it). It is just east of Paris and i am going to be opening a new team there so that will be crazy. I will let you know how it goes. I leave on Wed. After i found out i have just been all over Paris and last night i was able to go see the Eiffel Tower light up at night. I hope that i get to serve around this area again. But i know that this is what God wants haha. Elder Liao, the Chinese speaker i live with, was telling me that i was just loving live to much so God needs me to go open a new team and start having some trials so i can grow some more. hahah I guess he is right. I know that there is a reason i am going there and am excited to see what amazing things are in store. Oh and my new companions name is Elder Williams and that is all i know about him right now so i will let you know more about him next week. Ok well a little on this week, we worked really hard but because everyone was gone for holidays most of our time was finding and contacting. But we did have an amazing experience where a women (Isabell) that we had given a Christmas DVD called us and said that she loved it and wanted to know if she could have a Book of Mormon. We had a RDV with her and it was just perfect. She is so prepared and in the end she was crying and just kept thanking us and called us after and then sent a text with how happy and grateful she was. It was a really cool experience. We have found over 40 people and have 4 amis really working towards baptism, i am excited to hear how things go here next transfer and just feel blessed to be a part of it and have a bright future, full of so many amazing experiences to come. I love you all and hope that as the vacation is finishing up and you get back to you normal everyday life that you remember all the joys and blessing that you have been given. JE T'AIME!!!!

Elder Davis

Happy Christmas!!

Family,

It was so good to speak with you all yesterday!! I hope that the rest of your Christmas went well and that you all enjoyed the time together. I guess a little bit on my Christmas day hahah. The highlight of course was talking with the family even thought I was just so excited to see them on skype i don't know if I said really anything I wanted to. I love you all!!! Well church was really good and they had a music program that was amazing. Also one of my old companions was there with his family visiting the mission so that was cool to be able to talk to him. It made me think back and see that even though I feel like I have not been out that long, it is amazing to see how much I have learned and grown and I am almost to my year mark crazy. We then went over to the Chinese's amis house and ate lunch with them. After me and my companion had time to go look at the Arc de Triumph and the Eiffel Tower before going to eat dinner. That was cool to see but it was so packed with people for Christmas day. The dinner was funny because it was the most diverse group I think I have ever been in. The only common language for everyone was French but there was only one person there who was actually french. It was a really fun night. Then I talked to you all until I had to head back to our flat. This week of Christmas was just a really exciting. We were not able to see everyone we wanted to because they all had Christmas plans and left for the holidays, but that just gave us a lot of time to find more people who are ready for the Gospel. We did contacting where one missionary would play Christmas songs on his violin and the rest of us would stop people coming by. It was a cool experience and we all found a lot of people so I hope that that really gets the work moving forward as the holidays come to an end. Christmas time really is such a great time of the year that we need to hold with us for the rest of the year. I don't have much more to say, hope you had an amazing Christmas and that you were all able to feel the spirit of Christ during this special season. I love you all so much!! JE T'AIME!!! Keep being the great people that I love.

Elder Davis

Family,

How is everyone doing? I am so excited to talk to you all this week. It sounds like you are all getting ready for Christmas and are excited for the break. This week was a really good week. It went by so fast i really have to think about what we did. Haha the start of the week i guess was kind of slow, but as the week went on things really started to pick up. So i am so happy that you got the stuff i sent. I have not got the package yet but i am sure it will come soon. That Russian lady was so nice, thats funny she told you about our little Manger thing hahah. Well it was so cold this week. I think i have never been this cold in my life hahah i felt kind of lame because i was just so cold. It is funny because I finally dressed really warm one day and i was all happy because i was so warm and then we got on the metro and it was really crowded and i was dieing. I got so hot and i was stuck on the metro. I fell like there is just no winning some times hahah. But it has been cool the city is starting to really get Christmasy. They opened an ice skating in front of the Eiffel Tower and Hotel de Ville. Hopefully we will find time to go. Well the work is still just going really well. We set a baptismal date with one of our amis and he is a little scared to make such a huge commitment but he really has the desire to do good. Also i have really learned how much God helps people in need. This week i felt that a lot of our Amis were having problems and by showing them how much God will help them through pray scriptures and church seemed to solve everything. It showed me that i need to trust a little bit more and God and stop thinking i have to solve everything on my own. Turn to the lord and he will help you through anything. Also I was really touched when we met with Alejandro the man who was just baptized. We were talking and he started to tell us that when he started taking the lessons he felt that he needed to fix all the unsolved things in his life so he called up an old friend who he had not talked to in years because of a fight they had. After he said sorry and told them that he wanted to have that friendship they once had again, his friend was surprised and said this is not you. I have known you for years and this is not you, who is making you do this. Well to make a long story short he started sharing with her the joy he had found and now her and her family are interested because they feel that they have a lot of problems in their life and that God is the only way to solve them. It is amazing how when someone comes to know Jesus Christ they feel the need to change and share his love. I feel that is the sign of what the gospel has really done for him. It is just too amazing!! Well life is good and i am excited to talk to you all in six days and i just have to say now hahaha i hope you enjoy the presents because i am not very good at shopping hahaha. I love you all JE T'AMIE!!!!!

Elder Davis

Bonjour,

It was so good to hear from you all this week. It sounds like things are a little crazy right now for everyone, but Christmas is just around the corner so don't worry. Also i will be praying for all of you. It missed the Nativity Festival this year. hahaha Well this week was so amazing. We saw a lot of people this week and found tons of new potential people so that was really exciting the work here in Paris never stops hahah. Well we had our Christmas mission conference this week. It was such a blessing when i got the letters from home. That was exactly what i needed! It was so great to get the letters and we had a little bit of time to read them and just think. It was so cool as all the missionaries were reading their letters from home, you could just feel the love and spirit in the room. I feel so blessed that you are all there for me and i feel your prays each day. Thank you!!! The rest of the conference was games, the video of the last year, and a message from the president. It all was just so good. Then later in the week we had our ward Christmas party. It was good! The missionaries had to do something so we acted out the Birth of Christ, it was kind of funny because we were all really bad at it, but in the end it went really well. The whole party was so good. It made me feel a little bit at home just talking with all the members and watching the Primary program, hahaha they are always the best. Also we had 4 amis come to it and really got along with the members so that is so great. Ok so the highlight of the week. THE BAPTISM, It was so good. Everything went perfect. I will send you pictures soon. Four people were baptized, it was just such a happy day. Also after they all bore their testimonies and it was all based on how they feel they have joined a family and they want their actually family to be part of it. It was cool to see how much love there was and how the Family really is at the center of God's plan for us. We are so blessed! Well this week really has just been perfect. Oh and it was really cool because last night we were out contacting and we ended up over by the Louvre, but there were to many people and tourist to talk to anyone so we went down by the river and started walking towards Notre Dame. At first no one was down there so we thought it was not a good place to be, but then we saw a young guy who was just walking and we started to talk to him. It ended up turning into a huge conversation and we sat down and talk for a while. It was cool to see how he just was so interested, but he did not know why. He just felt something, but then would keep saying that he just did not believe in a God. Well after we finished talking he just thanked us and we had made his day haha he walked away so happy. It is strange because i feel like nothing was really special about it. We just talked, got to know each other and told him things that i know are true and what has helped me. But behind it all the spirit was really guilding and working with him and us. I guess the experience just showed me that you never really know what is going on in someones heart and how God is working with or helping someone. So we just do our best, be kind, help out, and love unconditionally and we will be bless to see God work the small miracles of each day. Well i feel that i am just rambling on. I just feel so blessed to be here and to have family and friends like all of you. Life is good! I miss you all but the joy that i found shows me that i am doing what God wants me to do. Plus today i went to see Mona Lisa hahah. So i guess we just have to count our blessings. Thanks for all you do. I LOVE YOU!!!! JE T'AIME!!!! Make it an amazing week!
Elder Davis

Happy Birthday Dee!!!

Bonjour!

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes! It was so nice to hear from all of you. I think that this year it will be an easy answer to Mom and Dads birthday question. Favorite thing of my 19th year Well ummmm GOING ON A MISSION!!!!!! It is just so good! I hear that i got a package in Cholet from the Hjelmstads and they are bringing it up to me this weekend. Tell them thanks so much and they are amazing. oh and Dad thanks for renewing my license. That is exciting that you got all the Christmas decorations up. I found a box of some Christmas stuff in our apartment storage and we did a little decorating. It is kind of sad but it still made me happy to have something. Also in China Christmas is not that big of a deal so Elder Liao keeps laughing because i get so excited about Christmas, but hey what is there not to get excited about. It is great to hear that Bryce and Ralphy are enjoying Wrestling. And good Job Bay and Ralphy on working towards eagles. It is cool that Grandma and Grandpa go to the MTC today, they are so great. When you see them give them a big hug and kiss for me hahaha. I have not seen the Christmas devotional yet but i hope i will be able to. Well this week started off just crazy and i was so tired from running around everywhere. But once when i got used to it, now i love it so much. Also this last week we have been able to teach so many people and i have just been loving everything. One day we went contacting for a long time and right when i was feeling kind of done we turned the corner and there was the Eiffel Tower and that gave me exactly what i needed. I am so happy to be here and i am going to just keep giving it everything i have because this Gospel is just to amazing. Well Juan and Alejandro and still on track for getting baptized this week. I am so excited! Also we have just started to teach Lauren and Audrey, and they are just the perfect amis. We are also working with François and Gracila. And it is so true i feel like i have been teaching people from all over the world. All over Africa, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Philippines, Elsalvador, and even an american amis. It is so great. Well today i went to Hard Rock for a birthday lunch and have been going all over Paris to just see things. It was a good day s far, I do miss all of you but i am glad to be here. So Christmas here is cool each day the city just gets more decked out. Also there is a lot of Christmas music and concerts coming. We have a Christmas party this week and the Christmas mission conference. So it is going to be a busy week along with the Baptisms. Well i hope that everyone is enjoying the Holiday Spirit and sharing it with others. Life is going great here. JE T'AIME!!!!!!

Elder Davis