New plans...a humbling experience?

Dear friends,

Thanks for your support and your comments...we have soon realized how much we missed our friends and the people that have been blessing our lives since we came to BYU and, well, we have decided that we could not take it anymore. Despite the glamor of being in romantic cities and surrounded by century-old buildings and monuments, we are going back to Provo, Utah! On a serious note, there is much more to our latest decision, and believe me it has been quite humbling to go back on our tracks, but there it is.

We have had an amazing time with my family in Paris. We will cherish the memories of evenings around the family table playing Boggle, having passionate discussions, and eating pastries (pains au chocolat, croissants aux amandes, pains aux raisins) amongst other things. We enjoyed walking by the Institute of Pierre and Marie Curie, seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the night, and touring Paris by night in the bus.

The most unforgettable experience, for me though, was fellowshiping with the Saints of the Antony ward and feeling the Spirit so strongly among them. I was moved to feel of their testimony and to see their happiness and humility. We saw the home-teaching list in the hall and we were amazed to see that a set of home-teachers had up to 10 families to visit! Talk about dedication! Keep in mind that the ward boundaries cover incredibly large areas.

I also was approached by friends from the church I used to attend while growing up about my being LDS. It hurt to hear them say that they considered me as damned and blind, but as I shared my testimony of the Savior, I could feel the Spirit burning inside of me, confirming what I believed and said. I was scared and apprehensive at first, but later on that night, I was grateful for that discussion or accusation, should I say, because it strengthened my testimony a thousand fold.

During the month we have lived in Paris, Eve's French vocabulary has quite expanded and she loves playing with her uncle and her grandma; I am glad that she has had this opportunity to get to know them and bond with them since we used to live so far away (and we are going to for awhile now).

I apologize for the lack of pictures, but I promise they're on their way and they are worth the wait!