First Baptism in July!

July 6, 2015

Yeah we are totally fully charged with things to do here! That is for sure, sorry I didn't get to email you yesterday either cause I was at a zone interview thing in Aix all day meeting and spending some time with the Browns. And frankly they are so cool! I love them already, they are so nice and cool. They have been here for not even a week and I don't junk they have slept a full 4 hours straight since arriving here but they were still able to have a great energy and love at zone conference. He is big and a pretty soft spoken man, but he makes me feel like he real,y cares about each of us individually which is a good trait I have noticed right off the bat. But my birthday was last week too, all we really did out of the ordinary was we took our lunch time to go to Hard Rock Cafe and spend a little bit time in what is as close to America as it gets here. And I kept the tradition and got up at 5:30 and went on our back balcony and watched the sun come over the buildings more or less haha. But aside from that it was a pretty normal day, we did also walk and take a couple pictures by the coast but that's all that changed. And then the Fourth of July we were at Frere Faudins house and doing yard work but we were on exchange and doing a blitz so I was with elder Stutz from vitrolles sector and we did all the yard work and Elder Tihopu and Elder Arts did a move. I sweated so much haha all while over looking his pool...the temptation was so real... Haha yeah I would have loved to light those fireworks off with Nate. Maybe next year sometime we can do that. But I went to bear lake my first scout camp and I had so much fun! It is the best one and I got a ton done there too. 

On a daily basis we usually have stuff planned with Amis or members or less actives that we see pretty regularly so we are usually running from one thing to another, but the coolest person I met this week was President Brown and Sister Brown haha I don't know if that's cheating but yeah. This week is the baptism of Maria so I will be sure to send you pictures of that, if she passes her interview tomorrow which she should... Yeah there are a lot of cool members Frere Faudin and Thibault who is our new DMP are both really cool and love the missionaries. It is hot hot hot here all day everyday, I am always sweating no matter when it is. Night I can't sleep with blankets or anything I have to lay out and have a fan on me or I get too hot and can't sleep. But it should be going down maybe soon.... not maybe I will get moved to the mountains.. Haha Anyway I love you all and hope everyone is doing good! 

July 13, 2015
Well I do not know President Browns vision or focus seeing as he has been here a week and hasn't even met the whole mission yet... But yeah it will be interesting to have a new leader holding the reigns and going at it in his own direction and own style of doing things. But yeah this week got really a lot more busy once we got a confirmation that Maria could be baptized we had to set up everything so we spent a couple days putting things together and seeing her and preparing her

even further to make these covenants. We got people to talk and give prayers and got a member of the bishopric and everything so we were able to move forward with the baptismal service on Saturday and it was really cool! She brought her daughter who is not a member but she really likes church and everything but she lives with her dad is is pretty Catholic so it is not always easy to teach her or get her to church. But it was a cool little miracle that she came! I will try and add your email to the thingy so you can see my pictures. I will see what I can do. 

But my birthday package is at the office and I should be able to pick it up at the next zone conference which I don't know when that is.. Maybe a month maybe less maybe more. But yeah I will let you know how everything came across in shipping once I lay my claim to it. But for now it is in the office. 

I am glad to hear everyone had fun (more or less) on their camping adventures this week! I would have loved to go camping! Me and Mitch used to just pack up and go to bells canyon and sleep the night haha nothing like a couple of Eagle Scouts playing around in the forests of Utah. But Nate is

getting big and getting a little silly I guess! I gotta watch my back he can't be funnier than me when I get back. He can try I guess.. But nah. And for grandma I am sad to hear her situation is getting so bad, when I left it wasn't too bad she was still there more or less, but I am sure it is getting tough now. Acts go unrecognized not by ungratefulness but just by age and other things of that nature I am

sure. I wonder how she will be in a year from now. When I get back it will be really interesting to see what she has to say. 

But I love you all!

Maria's Baptism Day- July 11, 2015

July 20, 2015

Pierre is doing well his smoking is still a problem but he is getting

better everyday, and we also have some new part member families we are

gonna work with. So we should be seeing them and teaching them soon!

And Maria is doing pretty well we started to see her daughter and

Maria is very happy still like she always is so it is going well with

her.

We got to go fishing this week with Berthe and one of her friends on

Saturday because he really wanted to meet us and also really wanted us

all to go fishing so we headed out to the Ciotat and did some fishing

there, we didn't end up catching anything but he caught a couple

little ones. We were there from 9 until 4 in the sun so that is why I

got so burned! I didn't wear any sunscreen, but I did remember water

so that was good. But we passed the whole day there and then the rest

was spent getting an apartment ready for the new missionaries who are

coming to Marseille... Sisters.... Hahaha my oh my they can barely get

elders here but pres is sending an equipe of sisters to work here in

Marseille mostly in outer villes where they are safer but still...

It's really cool. Things are changing here fast with pres. Brown. And

by the way I am staying to do my 5th transfer here in Marseille and I

am staying with elder Tihopu for this next transfer. So I will do my

6th month and 1 year marks in the same city! I will have been here for

almost 8 months by the time this transfer is over.

July 27, 2015

Yeah I liked that talk a lot but I wouldn't say it reminds me of myself very much at all but I will go through and re read that talk this week and let you know what I think about it a little bit more next week. Mary doesn't want to drive? Haha you know I haven't driven a car for a year almost? By the time I get home Mary will have more experience than I do behind a wheel of a car. I don't even remember what it is like to drive a car, I am just so used to being in the back or shotgun positions now. But I do know how to take the metros so that is cool! It's kinda like a big car... Lake Powell again? That means it has already been 6 weeks since the last trip. Time is flying by this summer it is probably the last lake Powell trip for everyone in the family then this summer I would assume. But you gotta tell my man Ryan Lunt I say hi! He was super fun last year and next year I should be there so yeah... We will have some more good times taking the boat out ourselves and surfing and what not. As for Ella I don't hear anything actually, that was the first update of her summer I've heard since summer started really. But I'm sure she is doing fine or whatever. And you two seem like you are still bff's so keep it up. Haha our investigators are good we have a new ami named Marie, she is Nigerian and has three kids named Godswill, Christopher, and Marvis who are all younger than 7 but she is really cool. She just moved from Paris so she has only been here for about two weeks and she is still looking for work and everything but we will see how things go with her these next few weeks.

As for Phillipe he is actually in Lyon right now taking care of his mom so he is seeing the Lyon elders hat is why I don't have a lot of news about him really he has to go up there every summer to watch his mom and he should be coming back right before school starts. And Berthe is good, I did t see her this week because I was on exchange out in Aix (another place we need to go after the mission) with elder price where we did a cake night at their church! We made some cookies and everything it was super fun but I think only 1 ami showed up haha but it's ok. And Berthe's friend isn't really her boyfriend he is like special, I don't really know what their relationship is. Berthe is really particular, but she is nice. But we haven't really seen him since or anything cause Berthe hasn't really talked to him that much since or anything she said but we will see if he maybe shows up to church or something. 

I got my package! The elders were in Lyon on transfer day so they brought back my package and we opened it up and the Doritos are like gone, and me and elder Tihopu ate a whole box of cereal one morning so I guess you could say it has been well used so far. Oh and within the first day we lost one of the balls in the neighbors yard.. Haha classic lacrosse problems. But I love the sticks they are super fun and make me feel a little bit more normal! I just throw fakes all day in my apartment so by the time I get home I will be good at faking I guess. Unique food.... Well to be honest we don't eat that much unique stuff here. People here eat almost exactly the same as we do only they eat more bread and more pastries. But we did cheese last week. French cheese is always a good time I decided my favorite was Comté but that's it. I have had a lot out here but I don't get what all the hype is about. 

Our work load hasn't changed since the Sisters got here because they were brand new and only some ward members knew they were here, but maybe in the next few weeks things will change but I do t think so. We mostly have all our stuff figured out and they will start to get theirs figured out and we will work in harmony... I hope. They did steal a weekly dinner appointment from us so now it is only every other week that we get to go to our new DMP's house to eat. But that's all. Haha and as for my hair I cut it myself. It's the style here, short side, long top. But after the mission I'm going long hair again and then I am bleaching the tips. 

Oh and more business side of things, surgery, what is the plan you guys had in mind with all of that cause we will have to look at school schedules and start to figure that out in the next couple of months. Just something to start making ourselves aware of.. Anyway! And I will have another niece I hear?! Dad spoiled the news in his letter so when Katie told me I already knew haha so I was officially the last one to know, when last time I think I was the very first. Maybe second. That will be so crazy! The baby will be just a few months old when I get back just enough time to miss out on all the horrible stuff before and get to benefit from it right away haha I think it is great timing! But really I am excited that is a cool step for their family. They will have their handful but it will be tons of fun as well! 

Love, Elder Schettler

Les Missionnaires

Benjamin Schettler

30 Avenue de Toulon

13008

Marseille

France

Email: benjamin.schettler@myldsmail.net