Christlike Love

November 11, 2013
   Today I was shown an example of Christ like love by a woman I never knew.
   This morning Vance and I got up extra early in order to get to a church building in Twin Falls so I could register for classes and so that Vance wouldn't be late for work because of it. After getting registered for all the classes I needed we drove over to Vance's work and he headed in. Well because I am still getting used to driving and I knew that the church building by the temple was open I headed that way. While driving up I saw an old woman go in the building, so I decided I would make sure she knew I was there (I didn't want to scare her) and to see if it was ok for me to stay there. I got to the building and tried the doors, they were locked but that wasn't the side we went in before so I walked around and went in. I heard the organ playing and headed for it. I was expecting her to turn when I came in but nothing, not even when I got right up on the stand. When the music got a little quieter I made a little noise trying to get her attention. I told her my plans and she said it should be fine but  how long was I going to stay and replied till about 3:00, it was only 7:30am at the time and I told her my reason. She just sat there for a little bit and then asked if I wanted to go home with her, the church building didn't have any heating on yet and her house was a warm 76 degrees. I kindly declinded and said how I had brought stuff to do and I dont mind the cold. Well that wasn't good enough for her she told me that she was going to practice the organ for a little but more then we were going to head back to her place.
   Well we left and headed to her place, which was just across the street. We got in and she showed me her house and how she came to live there.
   She used to live in Logan taking care of her mother who has Alzheimer's. Because the temple was so close on Logan she was able to go there and back before her mother woke up. Soon her children told her she needed to move close to at least one of them, she thought about it when one day one of her daughter's called her and told her that Gordon B. Hinckly had been to Twin Falls and announced that there was to be a temple. She was going to move now. At first she lived on the other side of town in an apartment. But she layer got a call from her other daughter who is in releastate and told her to see if there was any property near the temple and if so to buy it. She found a lot right across from the temple and bought it with the promise that her daughter was going to build a house there for her. Now she lives literally facing the temple.
  Anyways... so after the tour I sat down at the table (I was too shy to sit anywhere else) She would talk to me know and then about her kids and what not. While I wrote in my little blue journal. Once I was done with it we talked a little while she cleaned her kitchen. Soon I got a call from Vance just asking if I wanted to eat lunch with him, since I was actually in town. I told him a little about my situation and declined the offer because that would mean more driving by myself... which I didn't think I could handle. He understood and we said goodbye and hung up. The woman asked me if that was my husband unsaid yes and told her what was going on. Well she surprised me yet again. She told me that she going and feeds her mom lunch at that time (her mom and her husband are both in a nursing home now) and if I wanted she could take me over to have lunch with Vance and pick me up I was done. I immediately said yes, thank you and I called Vance back.
  We still had a while till then and when she was done with what she was doing she asked me what I was working on (my little blue book) I told her that it was a journal I was keeping off all the "adventures" my husband and I had had and I asked her if she wanted to look through it. She was so excited. She needed to go visit a friend who just got out of the hospital but she couldnt wait to go through the book.
   While she was away I got a little more comfortable and moved to a comfier seat and called my mom to tell her all how I got kidnapped by an old lady in a church building.
   Once she got back she commented on how she was happy I moved to a softer chair :) I asked her about the pictures she had in her house (her kitchen had a little outside counter thing full of them) and she proceeded to introduce me to everyone, to her children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren! Her family was huge full of blood relatives and people who just adopted her as their grandmother. her house was also covered in pig things, she told mw how's she collected them and then proceeded to show me some of the funnier once that her son had given her, like a beanie baby kosher pig that he had a butcher do for him, it had the stamp and all.
   Pretty soon it was lunch time, she had some coconut covered marshmallows and gave some to me to share with Vance for dessert. We left and ended up stopping at Kmart because she needed to pick up something's. After that she dropped me off to where I was going to meet Vance and then headed off to the nursing home. I told Vance the whole story and we laughed about how crazy it was. 
   Vance headed back to work and I only had to wait a little bit till she came back. Once back at her place we were about to get started on my journal when her daughter called her. Earlier we had picked up some donut holes for this daughter. I guess this is something that she does everyday. She helps her daughter out in her class (she's a teacher) and brings her donut holes everyday. So we headed out to where her daughter worked, she wanted her to meet me so her daughter wouldnt get on her for bringing a stranger home.
   Once back we started on the book. I told her how I was the one to chase Vance not him chase me and she laughed because that as kinda how her and her first husband had met. (I say first because she had been married before he current husband. He died when his truck was blown over by the wind. The amazing thing is how he would usually take their son with him but this time he decided not to. But anyways her first husband is the one she is and always will be sealed to, she said she is never giving it up) anyways she told me how when she was registering for classes, back when you do it all in person, she had seen him across the room and their eyes met. She went home and told her mom that she foo d a guy she wanted to go on a date with, and later she learned that he went home ans told his mom that he and found the girl he was going to marry. Well everyday for weeks she would walk ( she said stomp) past all the class rooms hoping he would see her and ask her out. Until finally one day he did. I guess he was expremely shy on the date and ended by said that he had a question he wanted to ask her but he was afraid she was going to say no, she just said it never hurts to ask and so he said, "will you go steady with me?" She was so excited, finally! Haha
  So we continued on with my book she would ask about every picture and comment on them. saying how cute we were together and how handsome Vance was. When we got to the section on Skype I told her how for a period of time we were apart and had to Skype. This lead to her telling me another story about how only after going steady for a few months her husband had to go to Korea of training, he was going into the marines. The first letter she got from his was different than she thought it was going to be instead of the dry, hi how are you I am fine... it was Hi Honey!!! 
   We talked and talked and I just learned and learned we kept going through the nook and told each other stories of our loves.
   Finally the time came for me to leave and go get Vance so she drove me back to my car and before I got out I just told her thank you and hugged her. Then she did something very unexpected, from a pocket in her car she pulled out a 20 dollar bill and said do something fun with you husband. We said I love you too each other and I left.
   Earlier she told me how miraculous is was that we met. She usually practices earleier because she helps her daughter with class but since there was no class she decided to be a little lazy and wait, which I guess is very rare for her. And then she said how the doors shouldnt had been open for me to get in.
   Spending my day with her taught me so much I loved hearing all the stories she had and how our lives were so similar. All throughout the day she was giving me advice that I hope I never forget And the funny thing is its stuff that I have been trying to learn and had been struggling with. She didn't know, she had barely just met me and was following what she thought her Heavenly Father wanted from her. When I was telling Vance about her he told me how she reminds him of me. I hope that one day i can be as kind and loving as her, that I can have the courage to invite someone in need into my home.
   When we were first talking about my book she told me to cherish every moment I have with my husband and to cherish the little blue book. I barely even know this woman but I can truley and honestly say I love her... Eloise Shirley Bringhurst.

Flight Back to the States

We left the hotel around 7 in the morning, with everything (or so we thought). Once we were at the airport Melanie realized that she had left her purse (thus her passport and all) back at the hotel… It was decided that Gladysue and Mel would just have to change their flight to tomorrow and I would just head back with this flight since I had to catch a flight tomorrow to get back to California. Luckily I have an amazing aunt and she was able to (all while still being in Paris) arrange for someone to pick me up from the airport and for someone to take me tomorrow. So I continued on without them.

The actual flight was long… I had finished The Hobbit while waiting in the airport and on the plane I finished Call of the Wild as well as watch two and a half movies. I was only able to fall asleep once and a while and not for long (the longest was about an hour). Near the end I was anxious to get off, my legs and back hurt a lot.

As the plane parked I called Gladysue and figured out what was going on. Her roommate was going to pick me up and take me back to her (Gladysue's place).  I made it through customs and headed out to where we were going to meet and them came back to the house, where I just relaxed, wanting to sleep but I wouldn’t let myself at least not until later… but that didn’t end up happening… After about an hour I woke up to Skype Vance and fall back asleep.

Our Last Full Day in Paris

So I forgot to say this yesterday but we finally had escargot (snails) they really weren't that bad once you got past what they were.

 

Now for today well not much happened, Mel and I slept in till about 12 but didn’t actually do anything but read till 1. From there we got together with Gladysue and got lunch (I had one of the best burgers in the world!)  then headed to the shopping around the Louvre for last minute  shopping. Which is also where we got more rose ice cream.

 

I got strawberry this time to make it look even more like a rose… But yeah after shopping we headed back and just relaxed we were all really tired after this week…

Rose Ice Cream and a Ballet

Today is my relax day. As our trip has progressed the days have become more and more relaxed. After sleeping in I took my time in getting ready and then headed to the Metro station. My plan for the day was to go to the Louvre and just leisurely go through it, but once I got off the Metro I realized that my Museum Pass was done. Since it was my relax day I decided I didn’t want to go through the hassle of ticket lines and crowds of people so I walked through Tuileries (the garden/park by the Louvre)

 

(I found a Carousel)

After wandering around a bit I headed to the shopping area under the Louvre to get a rose shaped ice cream.

 

It was delicious… I was kinda sad that I had to destroy the flower though…

Another thing I wanted to do besides the Louvre was go to a book store I went to earlier that week and get some books.

 

One was a Doctor Who version of Where's Waldo, and the other was a book on Joan of Arc by Mark Twain, which I guess Twain thinks is one of his best works, so needless to say I am very excited to read it.

There wasn’t much I wanted to do in that area so I headed back to the hotel where I relaxed and wrote on postcards.

A little later once homework was finally finished Gladysue and Melanie got back from the conference and we went to eat. After dinner we got ready for the ballet and headed out. The Opera House was huge.

 

(ok so this picture is from yesterday… I didn't bring my phone or camera… so yeah…)

But anyways… we say the La Sylphide (I think that is how its spelled) overall it was pretty good but I will admit that I prefer plays. The whole time I found myself overthinking the plot… I guess I need more to think about than just the dancing… ANYWAYS… Once it was over we headed out and walked until we found a place to get crepes, then off to the hotel.

Shopping in Paris

We all got up around 6 this morning to meet up so Wesley could head to the airport and Melanie could move back to our hotel. Once finally back to the hotel we went back to sleep and slept till around noon. But that was ok because Mel and I were only going to go shopping today.

After finally getting up we were off to find a dress. Mel remembered a store, Disigual, that she thought I would like. Once at the store we found the dress.

 

It wasn’t what I would usually go for but I still loved it. Before coming to Paris my grandpa, Papa, had given me some money for something that I usually would not have gotten and with that money I got the dress :) (oh and the store was having a 20% off week so I got it for 63 euros instead of 74) After getting the dress we headed over to the Lafayette Galleries which is this HUGE shopping center full of designer everything. There we walked around and talked getting to know each other again as we looked at all the clothes. We got lost a few times and then headed out to Notre Dame area to find the mask shop where I got a MASK!!!

 

Vance and I have always loved Masquerade Masks so he told me to splurge and so I did :)

We needed to meet Gladysue for this fancy dinner for the conference at 5 so we headed off to the hotel then off to the restaurant… But as things are we ended up waiting for hours till it started… But yeah once dinner was done we headed back to the hotel.

Becoming a Little more French

Well last night was a wonderful sleep after my busy day yesterday. I woke up around 8 in the morning to find a Voxer message from about ten minutes earlier, so in hope to catch him before he goes to bed (it was midnight his time) I sent a message back. He was still up so we Skyped! It was so nice to be able to see him at the beginning of the day. I am grateful to at least be able to see him at the end of the day, but today made my day even better by seeing him at the beginning. Right before he headed to bed and I went off to get ready he decided to play the piano for me since it has been so long since he has had access to a good piano. It was beautiful, I love listening to him play his little songs.

 

Well it was getting to the time were we needed to say good bye and start my day. After a quick work out and getting ready I headed out to where I was to meet up with Mel and Wes. I found a nice bench and waited, while waiting I admired the Arc de Triomphe and read the scriptures a little. Eventually they showed up and we headed to a café to get some breakfast. I got a crepe with Nutella on it… I like nutella but they put way too much on the crepe… While we ate it started to pour outside and of course I didn’t bring my umbrella with me so I got a cheap one from a little shop on the road…

 

Once done eating we headed for the Arc, it was HUGE just like everything else in Paris. We were able to climb up to the top where we over looked the street and got a really nice view of the Tour Eiffel.

 

Next we headed to the Catacombs. On the way I ended up having to get more metro tickets which lead to a fun experience. As I waited to get up to the machine to get my tickets a lady came up to me asking for help… in French. When I tried to tell her I only spoke English instead of moving on to someone else she stayed with me and tried to explain what she needed. She needed help with getting a pack of ten tickets (that was what I needed too) when I showed her how I did it she said no, too much (in French and very very poor English) I told her I don’t know and she moved away saying Merci, I then went to get my tickets instead then realized I need to get change and ones I was back so was she this time she understood a little more of what she needed to do but she still needed me to push the buttons for her, she showed me a cheaper ticket to get. Once she had her tickets instead of saying Merci and leaving she then "helped" me get my tickets by pushing the buttons for me and staying until I had them in my hand. When we both had our tickets we said Merci and went separate ways. Even though I could not understand her and she could not understand me we were still able to communicate and help each other out. It was such a fun and great learning experience.

I was finally through and we were able to start on our journey again… of course until we needed to wait for Mel to get more tickets :) Once to the area of the catacombs we stopped at a Patisserie where we each got a Macaroon.. They are DELICIOUS!!!

 

I was still hungry so I got a bagget (I know I spelled it wrong but I have no idea how to spell it, it the long French roll thing) We then found the long line for the catacombs to later learn that if we stayed in line the place would be closed once we got there sooooo we left and headed for the Musee L'Amree where we got to see the tomb of Napoleon and stuff about WWI and WWII. But of course we got kicked out because it was closing so we found a bench and sat waiting for Gladysue. There I made a new friend with a pigeon who I feed bits of my bread too. While we waited we walked around the area. Once Gladysue was there we ate and headed back to our hotels.

Bigger and Bigger

After going to bed at 2 in the morning I really did not want to get up… but I did anyways. Gladysue and Melanie had their first day of the dance conference so it was me and Wes. But of course the conference was going to Versailles as well so we were just going to meet up with them. With the help of the kind Metro worker we got our tickets and map to Versailles (it was a lot easier than I thought). As we walked towards the courtyard it just kept getting bigger and bigger. The line was almost equally as big (ok I guess it wasn't that bad).

 

On a sad side note, as we were heading towards the line we noticed a man lying on the ground with people around him, the next thing we know there is an ambulance headed towards them. We don't know what happened but the paramedics started to do CPR and as time went on more police and medics came. I don't know if he survived or not but it was intense. If you looked beyond you could see a girl (who didn't even know him) trying to keep control of her friend who was having a hard time with it. And I will admit I had a hard time as well. And yes I know that there is a life after this, where we get to go back home with our loving Father in Heaven, but I think of who this man may have been and the pain that his family is most likely going through because of what happened.

Anyways, there was nothing we could do but pass by… The line moved quickly which means soon we were in Versailles. Gladysue and Mel still weren't there yet so we headed to the Château. I think in it my favorite room was the Hall of Mirrors.

 

One wall is windows and the other is ALL mirrors. I would have loved to see what it was like back when it was used for its purpose. Full of people and lights making the party go on forever. Once all through the Château part we waited for them some more then finally they came, but because we had already gone through part they went to the Château and we went to the gardens (its ginormous!!!!)  and to Marie Antoinette's estate. We definitely got  a work out walking all that way. A bit later Gladysue and Mel wanted to get to a lecture so we all got together for lunch then went our separate ways again. Wes and I headed to the Pantheon. On our way there it started to rain and little by little it got harder and harder. Luckily before it got too bad we made it inside.

 

It too was a lot bigger than I expected. Underground there are crypts of  famous people in literature, science, history and more. We saw the graves for Voltaire, Marie Curie, and Victor Hugo.

 

After the Pantheon and the rain had stopped we went to find a Patisserie (Pastry shop) Then we headed back to the hotel. (which I was very happy about because the day pooped me out)