Sweet Missionary Moments

August 5th, 2024 Catherine Frodsham

Tim and I have been serving as missionaries in Lyon France for 9 months now. We are halfway through our mission. We have had some sweet miracles that I don’t want to forget so I am going to write about a few of them.

We had some missionaries (Elder Adams and Elder Brown) call us and ask if they could come over and bring one of their special “Ami’s”. They said you will like him. So we set up a time and they came for dinner in May 2024. This young man just turned 21 and is one of the most Christlike individuals I have ever met. He met the missionaries last January 2024. He had just left the Jehovah Witness congregation and noticed our missionaries wearing white shirts, ties and name tags. He started asking them questions. Those two missionaries were Elder Sumsion and Elder Beard. They were our zone leaders in Lyon and some of the best missionaries. They taught him about the church. He soaked it up like a sponge. He has since gone through several missionaries and when we talk to him, he knows more about the Book of Mormon and Bible than most members. He wants to be baptized but his parents are Seventh Day Adventist, and his grandparents are Evangelists I believe. They are not happy that he has broken with their traditions and their faith. He was told if he was baptized, he would have to move out and take care of himself. Basically, they would disown him. Oh how sad. He is such a good young man. So, for now, he attends church every week and participates in every way but has not been baptized. We had him over a few nights ago for the second time and the missionaries as well. He said his parents are on vacation for two weeks. I said, “Yes, you can get baptized, and they will never know!!!!” Haha. He did chuckle but wants them to support and be happy for him. So, in January it will be a year that he has chosen to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are hoping and we pray that Clemont’s parents’ hearts will soften and can sustain him in his decision to be baptized. I hope he will be baptized while we are still here, or we will have to fly back – I love this young man that much. When I looked at him, I told him – we are here for you. He is one that we are in Lyon to support. Maybe his parents will come to dinner at our apartment. I do know that the Lord puts people in the paths of others for reasons. Here is a picture of Clemont, Elder Adams, Elder Brown, Tim and me.

Also, the two missionaries that first met him. Elder Sumsion and Elder Beard who are home now.

Another sweet missionary miracle is Segolene Perez. Segolene is in our Port des Alpes ward in Lyon. I would see her on Sundays sitting by an older woman and man that I just found out are her parents. They did not smile much and were very quiet. We have lots of French members that do not smile much and are private and quiet. It seems to be the culture here until you get to know them. So, I taught Relief Society a month or so ago. I had written some of my personal stories that I wanted to tell them in French, and I wrote the words phonetically so I could read it correctly. I have not learned French as I hoped. But I don’t let it hold me back. I had a power point with quotes in French and pictures of my family so they could get to know me. I never shy away from telling my weaknesses or what trials I have gone through. I have been through some tough tragic events that I believe I went through so I can help others go through tough times. I am not afraid to tell hard stories if it can help someone else. So, I told a few from my life. I told of how members of our ward and stake had shunned my sweet daughter and me because she had gotten pregnant at a young age. I talked about how it is our choice to be offended if someone treats us badly or we think they are treating us badly. Sometimes we think they are being mean but most of the time people just don’t know what to say or how to act. It is out of ignorance on their part. There was a new older widow in our ward in Relief Society that Sunday named Jennine Roux. I asked her when her husband died was there anything we could do to make her feel better? She said no. I said what about us coming up to give you a hug and tell you we love you? She said that was comforting. I said the only thing we can do is not ignore but at least offer love and maybe take a meal in or give them a ride or take them grocery shopping, etc. Ignoring someone when they are hurting is the worst thing to do. I made a comment about being on the floor when my husband died, and I couldn’t get up. I prayed and Heavenly Father sent angels to lift me up off the floor. I talked about let’s be each other’s angels to help us off the floor when we need help. So now I get to the story of Segolene. She had never talked to me before, but I could tell she was touched in the lesson. She came up to me and said, “some of us in this room today are still on the floor.” What a profound statement and I gave her a hug. The next Sunday she came up to and told me she is married to a man who is not a member. He has started to ask questions. I told him about your lesson last week and he said I could invite you and your husband over to dinner at our home. MIRACLE!!!! I said we would love to. So, we went over last week. Tuesday, July 30, 2024. They have a lovely, very nice apartment on the 7th floor of a nice building. It has a deck around the entire apartment and air conditioning. We had a wonderful time. Her husband’s name is Serge. He was so kind and pleasant. We want to be friends, and we are friends. We talked about his family and our family, hobbies, jobs and education, etc. We laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. We will have them over to our apartment when they are back from their vacation in a few weeks. We are here in Lyon for Segolene and Serge Perez.

Here is a picture of Serge and Segolene Perez and Tim and me.