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