NOEL
Christmas is so awesome!
I love it. The members of Perigueux spoiled us. So, Christmas Eve, we went to
the famille Donadier's house, which so so much fun. They have a son on a
mission right now and two others that are home who are really cool. We got to
their house at around six and then Frere Donadier was like "So, do you
want to watch a Disney movie?" So, we sit down and he puts in
"Frozen" which is probably the best movie of all time. I loved it so
much. When we first sat down to watch the movie, I couldn't really get
comfortable. It was just weird being in front of a television but as the movie
starting going I got more comfortable and really enjoyed it.
Once the movie was over,
Maggie and Mario (other members who were invited) arrive and that is when we
sat down at the table and gorged ourselves. So many courses. It was great. We
started out with smoked salmon, caviar, and calamari. Then moved on to some hot
appetizers like this scallop gratin thing, which I could have eaten gallons
of.
Once we got through all
of the little courses we got to the main course, it was turkey with hazelnuts,
green beans, and sweet potato’s, which were all really well done. Soeur
Donadier was like... "I'm sorry you have to come to my house to eat for
Christmas. That is lame. I'm not that good of a cook." She is a liar. lol.
Before we came over though, she asked if there was anything that we
traditionally eat for Christmas dinner so that she could maybe make some or
something. I told her that we eat squirrels in Arkansas, which absolutely
horrified her. LOL. She thought it was so funny though. Now she calls me the
"Mangeur des écureuils" which literally means "Eat of
squirrels" lol.
We were able to stay out
until 11 PM on Christmas Eve so we had a ton of fun with them. They are a super
cool family. They really made Christmas awesome for us.
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| Christmas breakfast - Bacon and Pancakes |
THEN on Christmas day we went to Frere DeOliveras house... and he literally made an entire pig. Like in the movies! It was a sight to behold. I didn't get a picture but I think Elder Brill did. I'll have to ask him for it. It was enormous and oh so delicious. He has Portuguese origins, so we had a little bit of spice in our food (which was nice because French people generally hate spicy). We ate an early lunch with them from 12 to 5ish.
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| Fun Christmas socks from Julie & Lucy :) |
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| Present from Cody. lol |
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| Add caption |
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| Skyping with his ugly siblings. |
After our family Skype,
Soeur Mas fed us a small dinner of leftovers and then we all drank Caro (which
is like Postum/coffee substitute)... So French. lol.
Up to this point, our
week was wonderful! UNTIL
ILLNESS STRIKES
Due to several factors,
Elder Brill got REALLY sick and we couldn't leave the apartment for two days. I
went crazy. I had cabin fever so bad. Being stuck in the apartment is literally
the worse thing that can happen to you as a missionary. You can only read you
scriptures, clean, make so many phone calls and sleep before you get really,
really, really, REALLY bored. I thought I was going to die.
Fortunately we were able
to go to church and breathe some fresh air... otherwise I think I would have
reenacted "The Shining". After those two days I just wanted to run
like 10 miles or something. It was not good for my mental health and apparently
my physical health too because now I have the same cough as Elder Brill but I
guess that is what happens when you are stuck in an apartment with a sick
person for 48 hours straight.
Anyway!
Despite illness, we had a
great Christmas! It was so much fun. As I said before, Christmas as a missionary
is the best thing ever. I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year! I'm excited
to set some resolutions. The New Year is like a huge empty canvas just waiting
to get paint thrown on it. Especially since this is my last year in France. I
want to tear it up.
Well!
I love you! Happy New
Year!
Elder Johnson
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