July 20, 2010 Dinner at the Cohen's

We met Josiane Cohen while walking in the park. She asked if we were Americans and a friendship started there. We were invited to a lovely dinner at their home on Tuesday evening. Meryl, their 19-year old daughter returned that evening from a holiday in Cannes with her friends. She speaks excellent English. Jean Cohen owns a large shipping company with offices in Lyon and Algeria. Their fabulous apartment overlooks Parc de la Tête D'Or.

We had a delightful time discussing different religions since Jean is Jewish and Josiane is Catholic. Meryl has not decided what she is yet. Josiane fixed a French dinner that started at 8:30 and ended at 10:45. She is a fabulous cook so we were able to try cucumber gazpacho and caramelized zucchini. She had a beautiful fruit plate for each of us that had a large fig in the center. We hope they will come to Utah some time to ski and will stop in to see us.

More pictures of the Tour de France race

Here are a few more pictures of the Tour de France bicycle race.

July 18, 2010 The baptism of Constance Konan Orieux

Sunday, July 18th, the baptism of Constance Orieux took place at the Ecully Stake Center after the morning block of meetings. Constance was baptized by the stake president, Mathieu Bennasar. She is originally from Abidjan, Côte D'Ivoire in West Africa. In the top photo, I am holding Constance's baby. The second photo is of Constance and President Bennasar. The last photo is of the wonderful buffet the African members prepared for those who attended the baptism.

July 17, 2010 Reactivation Day

The young single adults met Saturday morning to make cards with messages for the less active young adults in Lyon. They were very ceative with the colored paper, fancy scissors and glue. They worked all morning and then stopped to have a taco salad lunch. Many of them had never tried taco salad before but everyone seemed to enjoy it since they came back for seconds and thirds. After the lunch, they packaged cookies and other treats that we had made, attached the cards and set out to find the "lost sheep." Frank (Elder Badger) took Hakim and Coraline to an area outside of Lyon. A small miracle happened because they were able to find the apartment when they had started out with the wrong address and no apartment number. Priscilla, the young adult they were searching for, was not at home, but her niece was and she was thrilled to receive the card and treats for her aunt. It was a successful activity that will be repeated often in the future.

July 14, 2001 The Tour de France at Chambery

On July 14th, Bastille Day, we drove to Chambery to watch the start of the tenth stage of the Tour de France. My brother, Scott Richards and his son, Justin, were visiting us as they were on their way to Moscow, Russia to visit Scott's oldest son, Ben, who is an interpreter for the embassy there. Scott is a avid cyclist and the Tour de France was his dream. We arrived in Chambery early and were able to watch all the parades, signing in of teams, etc. We found a shaded place to sit/stand to watch the race. To our utter amazement, Lance Armstrong, Scott's idol, pulled up right across from us. He was last in line of all the riders. Scott was thrilled. Lance is the rider in the red and black jersey in the second photo. It was truly a day to remember!

July 14, 2010 Bastille Day Celebration

After a full day at the Tour de France in Chambery, we returned to Lyon where we had dinner and rested for a while. When it started to get dark, we drove to downtown Lyon and walked down to the Rhone River. There are cement steps leading down to the water and we took advantage of these to sit and watch the fireworks display that originated up on the hill in front of Fourviere, the beautiful Catholic cathedral. Bastille Day is France's independence day.

July 16, 2010 Visit to the Medieval city of Perouges

Friday morning we drove to Perouges, a medieval city about thirty kilometers from Lyon on the way to Geneva. We arrived around ten o'clock and the shopkeepers and boulangeries (bakeries) were just opening. We walked around the village and Justin bought a baguette that he ate all by himself. Scott bought some little figurines for his wife, Mary. It was difficult walking on the cobblestones. They are raised somewhat but I don't know for what purpose.

July 10, 2010-Chinese dinner at Sheng and Ying's

Sheng and Ying are our Chinese friends. They have been to our apartment for Mexican food so this was their turn to fix Chinese food for us. They also invited the Villeurbanne elders. They planned the meal for eight o'clock thinking it would not be so warm. It has been unseasonably hot these last few weeks. Before we were finished with the meal, it had begun to thunder and lightning. We ate a little faster so we could be home before the storm hit.

July 6, 2010 Lunch at the Brenders

Bishop and Soeur Brenders invited us and the Gerland elders to lunch at their home. We had a delicious French meal with the typical four courses. Joa May, their daughter, made the dessert that was fabulous. It was a parfait with strawberries and bananas. We were able to hear the story of the conversion of the Brenders shortly after their marriage in 1973. Bishop Brenders was the first stake president in Lyon. He has been a bishop twice. They have been valiant servants of the Lord every since their baptism. They have five active children, four that are married, and ten grandchildren.

July 5, 2010- Missionary Family Home Evening

The Lyon elders and sisters put on a missionary presentation for Family Home Evening on July 5th. Elder Wèry gave a short recitation on what a missionary morning schedule is like. Then he showed a film clip that he and Elder Zarate had made depicting a typical morning for missionaries. Elder Leichty was the lazy missionary in the film. It provided a good laugh for everyone. After the film, the young adults were assigned to a missionary and were given a pass-along card to give to someone on the street. In the second picture, you see Soeur Rossi with Lorena, Estelle, Lorien and Mathilde. When the groups returned, they discussed their experiences. After the meeting, refreshments were served.

July's Break the Fast meal- July 4, 2010

We celebrated the Fourth of July this evening at our "Break the Fast" meal at the Center. We sang the Star Spangled Banner as our hymn during our short meeting before the meal. I had baked a cake for Leyris's birthday and decorated it like an American flag. We had an American dinner of sloppy Joes, watermelon, cantaloupe, deviled eggs, chips, veggies and dill dip. The young adults were good sports to celebrate our country's birthday. France's independence day (Bastille Day) is July 14th.

July 3, 2010 Another great meal at Soeur Georges' home

Soeur Georges is an amazing cook. She invited us and the sisters and elders to come to a dinner at her home. It is always four or five courses. She even invited two widows from the ward. We doubly appreciated Soeur Georges' efforts because it was so hot and humid that day. She is the sister sitting by me. The Georges family plan to visit us in Ogden next summer after Sarah completes her mission in California.

July 3, 2010 Cleaning the Center for Young Adults

Saturday, July 3, on a very hot and humid day, the young single adults descended on the Center to give it a thorough cleaning. Windows were washed inside and out, the library was dusted and organized, the storage area under the stairs was straightened out and the bathrooms were cleaned until they sparkled. After a lunch at noon, we all went back to work. At the end of the afternoon, the Center was shining and even smelled clean.