Off to Eglise we go!

Here are directions to finding church if you are ever in Paris. First, navigate the crazy Chatalet underground metro and take line 11 to Rambuteau. Second, keep walking past the Pompidou, but don't go all the way to Notre Dame. Turn left on Marie Iles Rue and wonder, "Ugh...are you sure this is the right street?" Don't be alarmed, just gather with the other clueless Americans in front of a giant blue door that won't open until a member walks up the street, presses a tiny button, pushes the door and lets you into the courtyard! Of course, the obscure button will let us in, how silly of us. Inside you will find a square courtyard and at last see this sign. Hooray, you've made it!

The ward in Paris is quite interesting. Due to the fact that there are constantly so many travelers, there is an influx of people every week speaking a slew of different languages. We found out that of the permanent members, there are 7 different languages in the ward! A sister missionary speaks into a microphone and translates into English for those of us who want to wear headsets, but this doesn't reach all the language needs. We learned that there are several Chinese speaking missionaries who are having quite a lot of success converting the Chinese people, but because of the language barriers, they stop coming when the missionaries are relocated. Obviously, this presents a unique challenge that most wards don't have to deal with and it is easy to see why some members might fall away without the opportunity to build relationships with other members.

Also, due to the weekly occurrence of one time visitors, the members have not been very welcoming. I'm not sure if that's just a ward thing or a French thing, but we haven't had much success making acquaintances through church the last 2 weeks. However, there is clearly a need for help as the missionaries seem to be juggling callings, so Burke and I were able to talk to the ward clerk about getting our records here this week, so we can get callings and help out for the brief time we are here. I hope they will take us up on it and put us to work!

This is one angle of the courtyard because I can't get a picture of the whole building. Apparently, this downtown real estate costs the church quite a bit of money to rent each month. They would like to buy the building, but there are residents in the top apartments who are unwilling to move at the present time. Going to church was another reminder of how easy we have it back home. In St. George, our ward building is three blocks away, directly across the street from the temple, where we can speak our native tongue and fulfill our callings. It just blows my mind that in a city of 8 million people, there were less then a hundred people filling our little chapel. Being a worthy priesthood holder here is an absolutely invaluable thing. Pray for the growth of the church in Paris!