Tag: france

Calling Senior Couples

Catherine and Tim Frodsham. 14 February, 2025

Happy Valentines Day! When I married my first love, LaNae, we planned from the beginning to serve a senior mission, something I had contemplated even since my young mission service in Quebec, Canada. My financial plans, retirement funds, timing for retirement, revolved around serving missions. We wanted to serve at least three, with a year or two in between to visit children and grandchildren. The best laid plans of mice and men. Just a few short years before my planned retirement, LaNae passed away. At the time, single men, well aged such as I, were not allowed to serve missions, and I started looking at other options.

I considered serving as an ordinance worker at the temple. Again, the single man question reared it’s head. A young acquaintance of mine with some disabilities and never married, served at the temple. On his 30th birthday, he was told he could never serve in the temple again. It turns out that at the time, single men over thirty could not serve as ordinance workers. One exception was men that were married in the temple and then widowed. I fit that exemption, but in good conscience, I could not serve knowing that other single men, much more worthy than I, could not work as ordinance workers in the temple..

I did work as a temple engineer. Each Saturday, to allow the full time staff weekend time with their families, I would come to the temple early, greet the night shift guard at the temple door, and then wake up the temple. Turn on and check lights, monitor and log the air conditioning and heating systems, check the chemistry in the baptismal font, wake up and check the audio visual systems for each endowment room and continue the checklist. The walk through took about 2 1/2 hours, and I would spend the rest of my shift indexing, answering the phone, responding to problems, and if all was quiet, walk the temple and converse with the temple workers. At that time, it was the best way for me to be His hands.

Ten years after loosing LaNae, I am on a full time mission with Catherine. From the time I met my second love, we talked about serving a mission. In fact, no desire to serve a mission would have been a deal breaker for each of us. We submitted our mission papers as soon as Catherine finished the semester teaching seminary and were well into our mission on our first anniversary. I wonder at times why it took 10 years to meet Catherine. We could have several missions under our belts by now. I have asked the Lord many times why it is that those who are the most willing to serve, who would make wonderful leaders, missionaries, mission presidents and bring about much righteousness in His kingdom cannot due to circumstances beyond their control, request the call. He has a much bigger picture of His children than I, and though they cannot serve a mission, He will use them and challenge them in other ways.

In the first years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young would call missionaries from the pulpit during church meetings, even during General Conference. These were not 18 year old boys, but fathers and husbands. They were expected to depart within weeks, or even days. These missionaries left wives, children, farms, businesses, civic and church responsibilities to answer the call. Many had no idea how their families would survive financially while they served. I have nothing but admiration for these early missionaries. It was their mission and their faith that converted my ancestors in England and Switzerland.

Would we have such faith today? How would you, a senior couple surrounded by comfort, children and grandchildren, respond to a call from the pulpit? Could we, with a notice of a week or two, pack up and travel to the other side of the world? “Could we?” is the wrong question. For most of us, the more relevant question is “Would we?”

Humanitarian missionary training conference in Vienna

According to the unofficial statistics I found, about 1/2 to 1 percent of eligible seniors serve missions. Increasing that to even 5 percent, one couple in 20, would mean 5 to 10 times more senior missionaries serving the Lord around the world. In Athens, Greece, we had a humanitarian couple, yours truly, and two senior sisters serving in the remote mission office (the mission president and the official office are in Sofia, Bulgaria). Last month, two more senior couples came to serve in Athens and the whole dynamic of missionary service changed. These wonderful senior missionaries have been called to branch positions, providing a rock of support to our faithful but inexperienced branch president. Visits to members, active or not, are bolstering the faith and the faithful in this historic part of the vineyard. There is a synergy and a spirit of camaraderie and dedication among we seniors.

Rather than a surprise call from the pulpit, we have options to choose when we are going to serve, the length of our service, and to some degree, where we are going to serve. We have cell phones and internet to stay connected with our families, and jet planes to take us home for those events that cannot be missed. I listed all the reasons to serve a mission in my “Serve Now” post, so I won’t list them again. The delightful senior sisters in the office, whom we lovingly refer to as “The Angels of Athens” say it best. “Who wouldn’t want to be us?”

Bulgaria Greece senior missionaries in Ioannina, Greece

However, I need to add a word of caution here. You have no set schedule and few set responsibilities. You are your own boss and you have to be self starting and self-motivated. There is more work to do than you can imagine, but you have to find it and make it your own. Our own mission has been divided into two parts: Serving in France as WSR or welfare self-reliance missionaries and in Greece doing humanitarian work. Very different missions, and in both cases, we invented our mission. We dug in, looked around, asked around, and most important, we laid it before the Lord. If ever this verse of scripture is relevant, it is while serving a mission. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs, 3:5,6. Our paths have been directed as we have served as His hands.

Souliers, Miners, Hardys, Dinkelmans, Frodshams
Life Long friends – Senior missionaries in Lyon, France

We are not assigned over the pulpit to serve missions, but the obligation and the need is no less paramount. Over the years, the church has and is moving away from obligatory assignments. Home Teaching is now ministering. Ward budgets, building and temple funds come entirely from tithing funds. It is easier to attend temples than ever before, and attendance is neither required nor tracked. The church is following the council of D&C 58:26-28:

“For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.”

The Frodshams and Snyders in Paris, France

Serving a senior mission is not compulsory, and we are all the more blessed for following the wise and gentle council of our Brethren and choosing to serve.

Cathy here, I can’t even imagine being called over the pulpit. That was definitely a sacrifice. Our mission is a sacrifice but not like the early saints. Tim and I have thoroughly enjoyed serving our mission(s). At times we have had to be very proactive and look for ways to serve. Our mission presidents (Pres. Lepore in Lyon, Pres. Soulier in Lyon and now Pres. Nelson in Bulgaria/Greece) are so busy with all of the young missionaries. We Seniors need to be offering time and talents and helping to further work of gathering. It takes prayer and an open mind to see what needs to be done and to be available to answer a call at 10:00 pm to go give a blessing or pick up a missionary or mission president at the Airport. Service is never convenient whether you are serving a mission or serving at home.

I can honestly say yes, I have had bouts of homesickness- even with tears but then I look at my sweetheart and know we can do this and we can do it well. We are giving ourselves to our Savior Jesus Christ at this time and happy to be here in Greece. Now that we are about 4 months from returning home, we feel as though there are so many things we want to do before we leave. It is going by fast. We hope our children and grandchildren have been blessed by our service. That was one of the reasons we came to the mission field.

Both Tim and I had talked for years with LaNae and Zane about serving a couples mission. Our children all knew how important that was for us. We are grateful each other wanted to go right away after we were married. WHAT A HONEYMOON it has been!! Serving in FRANCE and then in GREECE; this was a 2 for 1 mission and we are so grateful to be disciples of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Seriously – WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO BE US?

Note: We wrote this post before learning that Jason Soulier, President of the Lyon France mission had passed away. We love him and pray daily for Sister Jennifer Soulier.

Tags christianity, church, faith, france, grandchildren, Greece, lyon, Mission, missionary, Missionary work, missions, Soulier

Mission

Returning to France

Catherine Shaeffer Frodsham. 19 January 2025

We loved having our young missionaries in Lyon over to our apartment and having their “Amis” (friends) over to have dinner and talk with them. We loved being able to testify of the truths they were teaching. Oh how we loved our missionaries. We consider them our grandchildren!

We kept in touch with them when we moved to Athens, Greece. Elder Tate Last and Elder Enzo Patelo messaged me to let me know that one of our friends who I love with all my heart named YeBei was going to be baptized. I was so excited!!! I had told YeBei that when she was ready for baptism we would fly back. So in October they said come back. I would do anything for YeBei.

I contacted our mission President , President Soulier to see if we could stay in our old apartment that was still vacant since we left. He said check with the office and its OK by him. So we bought out tickets.

A few days before we were to leave for Lyon, the missionaries called me and said there might be a problem. YeBei needed to ask her husband for permission to be baptized. We knew that might be a problem because he was not happy about YeBei meeting with the missionaries and attending our church. He referred to it as a cult. In Preach My Gospel missionaries are told to try and keep peace in families and harmony in the home. When YeBei asked her husband he said no. We were so sad for YeBei. But we went anyway because we had our tickets and our friends were going with us. We had friends from Oregon, the Petrowskys that were coming to visit us in Athens the same time. We said come for a day to Athens and then we are flying back to Lyon for a baptism. They agreed and we were grateful. We rented a car and after we landed we went back to our apartment. I must tell you that it was a bittersweet moment! It was like going home – kind of a weird feeling. I love Lyon, France and we have some very sweet memories there and wonderful friends.

I called our sweet missionaries and they said come to the church building we are meeting with YeBei. So we surprised YeBei and went right to the church, walked in the chapel behind her and she jumped up and we hugged. She apologized for making us come all the way and there was no baptism. We were happy to be there and to let her know we loved her and would support her in anyway we could. It was so wonderful to visit all together.

We went to church the next morning and saw our wonderful special friends in our old ward! It was so nice to see them again. It was wonderful to see Machilo and Munashe and little Elsie! Oh how we love them. Then we say our sweet friend Jeannine Roux who Tim and I love so much. Martine Meyer is so special to me and Teresah and her kids and my sweet Relief Society President Laeticia! Laeticia said her daughter Helena had some news she wanted to tell us. She got her mission call to Washington D.C.!! She is so excited to go. Laeticia and Patrick her husband are going to pick up Helena after her mission and take her to BYU. We are looking forward to having them to our home in Bear Lake when they come. Segolene my sweet, beautiful friend was there! So nice to see her. So wonderful to see our young missionaries there in Lyon!

Then that night I had a dinner at our old apartment and invited the missionaries (6 of them) and YeBei, Machilo, Munashe and Elsie, Martine, Teresah and our friends the Petrowskys. It was a wonderful visit to feel the spirit our good people that we love. I know that YeBei will be baptized. In the meantime, she is involved in the Porte Des Alpes ward and the ward loves her. I am so happy to have met my wonderful friend YeBei. I look forward to the day that we can go to the temple together.

The experiences we have on our mission have taught us how thankful we are to have been able to get to know wonderful, kind, loving , interesting, strong, spiritual people wherever we go. We LOVE YOU OUR FRIENDS IN LYON!!! THE RELATIONSHIPS WE HAVE MADE ARE ETERNAL!!

Tags Baptism, christianity, church, faith, france, grandchildren, lyon, missionary, Missionary work, missions

Mission

Thank You President Soulier

Post author By Tim Frodsham
Post date December 29, 2024
1 Comment on Thank You President Soulier

Catherine and Tim Frodsham. 29 Dec 2024

Late last night, Catherine was scanning Facebook, something she rarely does, and found that President Jason Soulier, Mission President for the France Lyon mission, had passed away in his sleep early that morning. We were shocked.

The Souliers started their mission service in June, and we served under them for several months before our urgent transfer to Greece. In that short time, we became fast friends. Catherine, in particular, formed an instant bond with Jennifer Soulier. The couples in the mission office were new, and although we were WSR (Welfare and Self-Reliance) missionaries, we were the most experienced senior couple in Lyon and developed a warm relationship with the Souliers as they began their mission.

In an earlier post, I compared the three mission presidents under which we have served. I love and admire all three of these couples, capable and humble servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray for Sister Soulier, far from home, with so many missionaries under her care. Abruptly losing a spouse is scary, heart wrenching and extremely painful. It leaves one numb and in a fog for a time. Tim and I pray for Sis. Soulier as we know how that feels. We wish there was something we could do to help or relieve some of the pain. Tim and I both know there are no words that help but we want Sis. Soulier to know we care for and love her and are praying for her and her family. We pray for their family, children and grandchildren who have lost such a powerful and worthy father and grandfather. We are also praying for our sweet senior missionary friends and our young missionaries serving in the Lyon Mission. They are in our hearts. We love them and are asking angels to attend to all of them. This news has ripped the rug out from beneath all of us and they need our prayers.

Thank you President Soulier for your example. Thank you for you dedication, love, compassion and passion for the work. Thank you for your devotion to, and focus on each and every missionary in your care. Thank you for genuine friendship and Christ-like Example. Till we meet again, till we meet at Jesus’ feet. We love you President and Sister Soulier!

Tags christianity, church, faith, france, grandchildren, lyon, Mission, Missionary work, missions, Prayer, Soulier

Mission

Changing of the Guard

30 September, 2024 Tim Frodsham

Last July, our mission president, Roland Léporé. And his wife, Amie, completed their three years of service to the people of southern France and returned home. They were replaced by Jason and Jennifer Soulier. They could not be more different.

President Léporé is a quiet, soft spoken man whose spiritual presence dominates the room. In zone conferences and other meetings, he stayed in the background for most of the meeting, speaking occasionally and allowing his missionaries to conduct and present. Many missionaries told us that when they were in the presence of President Léporé they felt they were in the presence of Christ. He was true shepherd. The young sisters and elders knew he was a true servant of the Lord, and they loved him.

President Soulier was a salesman in his former life, and exudes the confidence and energy of a motivational speaker. Where President Léporé’s meetings were quiet and thoughtful, those of President Soulier tend to be more loud and boisterous, They both work. I understand there is little overlap as one president replaces another. One president and his family leave before the other arrives. I think the brethren do that for a reason. They want the incoming presidents to follow the Savior, to use their own talents, and that of their companions in their sinngular manner, to move the mission forward as servants of Jesus Christ, using the talents unique to them.

Both couples are powerful men and women. Both are servants of Jesus Christ. Both have a mantle of leadership. Both focus on the work of the Lord and bring that work to fruition in utilizing their unique talents and gifts endowed from on high.

Unfortunately, we served with the Souliers for just a few months before we were transferred to Greece. During that time, I was impressed with their insight and problem solving abilities. Like their predecessors, they are people of faith. They are called, and are responding to that call to the best of their abilities and more, abilities that are magnified by the power of the spirit.

We are now serving with President David and Emily Nelson of the Bulgaria Greek mission. Not many missionaries have the experience of serving under three mission presidents. We are just getting to know them, and they too have a unique style of leadership. He is gentle, thoughtful and willing to listen to even the smallest need. They love the missionaries, love of the Lord and the Lord magnifies their talents as well in His infinite, intimate way. We are truly blessed.

Tags bible, christianity, church, france, Greece, jesus, Missionary work, missions

Mission

Lavender Anyone?

August 2024 by Catherine Frodsham

(I have several posts from our mission experience in Lyon, France. I will post these over time as we continue our experience in Greece.) I LOVE LAVENDER! In Southern France they grow Lavender, and it only can be enjoyed 1 month out of every year. It is usually the end of June through July or sometimes July through the beginning of Aug. Well, we kind of missed it but still saw some beautiful fields. They just weren’t as colorful as they can be. We drove down for a couple of days for our P-Days – missionary preparation days. We drove to a small little town near Toulon on the Mediterranean. It had a beautiful beach that we walked on but we didn’t bring swimsuits on our mission. Although we can swim, we just didn’t think about it. We had a beautiful hotel and a wonderful restaurant right on the beach. Here are pictures of the hotel and beach.

The next morning, we drove to Gordes, France which has the Abbaye of Senque where monks live and sell Lavender products, etc. That was beautiful. Here are pictures of the Abbaye and Gordes.

Next, we heard that the little town of Sault has the best Lavender fields, but it takes a bit to drive there on two lane roads. It was so beautiful. We found a field of Sun Flowers which I love as well and produce stands. The lady at the produce stand gave me a bouquet of Lavender and she said it is dry and not pretty. I loved it. As we got closer to Sault, we saw many Lavender fields and it was beautiful. I wish we came a week or two earlier the color would have been so brilliant!! But it was worth it because we won’t be in France the next time it is in bloom. (How little did we know how true that would be.)

Here is a picture of the town of Sault. So, French and cozy. We loved it. I found a few Santons as well. The one thing I want to get in France to take home is a Nativity made from Santons. They are a French ceramic figurines. Some are small and some are large.

I bought 3 when I was in France as a teenager and my kids have looked at those for all these years. haha! It was an art started back in the 1700’s where the Santonairs would make clay people doing French things. Like a baker, farmer, store owner preacher or butcher etc. They are all from their daily lives and beautifully made. I hope before we leave, I can find some that I can bring home.

We did make a quick trip to Marseilles when we got the call that we would be moving to Greece just before we left France and I was able to purchase a nativity set. Above is the Santon Store in Marseille.

We love France. We love the people, the members of the church who are so stalwart. We will miss them. We love the countryside, the beauty of France. We are lucky we got to see so much, but there is so much more we wanted to see.

Tags europe, france, gourde, lavender, lyon, marseille, Missionary work, provence, Santon, sault, travel

Mission

Forever Friends

31 August 2024 by Catherine Frodsham

(We successfully transferred to Greece and are coming up to speed on the many humanitarian projects sponsored by our church. This post is as much for us as for anyone else, to remember the incredible friends we have made in our 9 months of service in Lyon — Tim) Probably one of the most fun things about our mission is meeting the wonderful missionaries! We consider our young missionaries our grand kids or “Petite enfants” as they would say in France. Then our special senior couple friends are awesome.

We first met the Hardy’s. Liz and Dave from the state of Washington. They worked in the office and because our instant friends. We sure love them. They went home a month ago and we miss them so much.

We also met the Gannaway’s. Trish and Joe. They also worked in the office, and they served for 29 months with Lepore’s, our mission president. They were lots of fun as well. We enjoyed visiting them in the office and we went to dinner and had them over for dinner. The Gannaway’s and Hardy’s are home already.

We got new Office missionaries. The Dinkelman’s, Linda and Gary from Utah. Such wonderful, nice people. Also, the Miners’s, Jennifer and Larry from Utah as well. Such fun nice friends.

We also have about 10 more senior couples that are serving in the Lyon France Mission. We have a Senior Chat on Messenger so we can all talk to each other. We have 3 that are from France that speak French.

So here are the Powers – Kim and James that serve with the Young Single Adults in Geneva. Bernadette and Kelly McBride serve in Chalon sur Soane. She is the mission medical advisor

Here are the Herzog’s and the Barray’s that work together in Corsica. It’s so fun to be together.

Catherine has made many friends in the Porte Des Alpes ward. One sabbath day, just before sacrament meeting, Soeur Martine grabbed Catherine by the cheeks and told her “you need to learn French” The women of the ward felt Catherine’s spirit and wanted desperately to talk with her

Soeur Roux is the sweetest, most Christ-like woman one could ever meet. She lost her husband several months after we came to France. She is so gentle, so loving and has a fabulous sense of humor. Just a week or two ago, she fell and broke her shoulder. Thibault took one of our EnglishConnect classes and we met him in person at the CAJAF. We had to include one of many instant friends we have met along the way. Catherine met her at a my path devotional in Evry, France

The missionaries brought their friends (we used to call them investigators) into our home to have discussions, or just to feed them dinner and chat around the dinner table. We never let a moment go by that we didn’t testify of the truthfulness of the things the missionaries were teaching them.

Special friends that were taught in our apartment for months, Munashe and Machilo. They had their baby, Elsie, were married several months later and then Machilo was baptized the next week. As you can see, Catherine will not let go of that baby

There are many others that we have met along the way. An accordion player who sits outside the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière. Catherine would place a large bill in his pocket every time we visited the Basilica. Florian, the hostess at the B&B we stayed at in Saint Clair Sur L’Elle. Segolene and Serge, whom Catherine mentioned in an earlier post. Gisele, who we met in Caen and who took one of our EnglishConnect classes. The Snyders, our counterparts in Paris, and Dorothee Cannon, our MTC tutor, who stayed at our apartment with her family for two nights while she picked up her son, here on a mission.

We had several group gatherings. For general conference, single adult activities and church meetings.

General Conference at the San Souci building

We started a tradition of inviting missionaries over once a transfer on a p-day morning to have waffles. We figured that once every 6 weeks would not be disruptive, but often enough that missionaries would remember and it would be something to look forward to.

Here are some of our missionary grandchildren…oh how we love them!!

We will miss our friends in Lyon and the work we have been doing here. We also look forward to our next adventure in Athens, Greece,

Tags christianity, france, Greece, lyon, Missionary work

Mission

Emergency Transfer

Tim Frodsham 21 August 2024

The beginning of August, we got a call from the Central Europe manager, Christian Ottiker. He explained to us that the husband of a senior couple, the Hoffmans, had a stroke. He was healing and the damage done would be minimal, but he would have to return home to recover. They were serving in Athens, Greece and were managing a number of humanitarian projects for refugees and disaster victims in the country. Their position was critical, and it would take too much time to call and train a new couple. Brother Ottiker decided to ask us to transfer to Greece to fill the position instead.

There is very little humanitarian work to do in Southern France. We have been inventing our mission as we go along, supporting the local ward, visiting members, working with missionaries and inviting their investigators into our home. We have also been teaching EnglishConnect and assisting with self-reliance classes. When Brother Ottiker called, we asked him for a day to consider. We will go wherever the Lord wants us to serve, and with careful prayer, we accepted the transfer. We are flying to Athens on the 27th of August.

It is hard to be a member in France. The saints are spread so thin, distances are long and there are so many who need ministering. We love France, we love the people whom we were called to serve. We love the members of the church here, serving them has been an honor and a labor of love. We will miss them terribly.

We have already talked to the mission president, several couples serving in the mission and an angelic pair of senior sisters serving in Athens. They have already gone through our apartment, cleaning and re-arranging furniture, and have called and messaged Catherine daily. They are already fast friends.

We will be serving in the Bulgaria Greece mission. The mission office and home are in Bulgaria. The mission covers Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus, with about 40 young missionaries and ten or so couples. https://www.ldsliving.com/missionaries-on-mars-hill-church-near-the-acropolis-what-its-like-to-be-lds-in-greece/s/82104 Transfers like this are rare, and though we will miss our friends and fellow missionaries in France, we will have served in two separate missions when we return.

Tags france, Missionary work

Mission

Marseille – my home 50 years ago!!

Post author By Tim Frodsham
Post date August 16, 2024
4 Comments on Marseille – my home 50 years ago!!

16 August 2024 by Catherine Frodsham

This might sound strange to some of you who know me so well. But when I was 15 years old, I was a rebellious, rotten teenager. I had some bad friends and an older brother, Mike, who had some bad friends. We hung out together. My Aunt Donna and Uncle Wes Peterson decided to go on a sabbatical from their teaching jobs for 7 months. They had a son named Jon Peterson who I loved as a brother. We were pretty close. So, they took both of us on this sabbatical to Europe. We lived in Marseille, France. a rather large port city on the Mediterranean Sea. It was beautiful. We lived at 161 Bis Boulevard Boisson, Marseille France. I still remember that address.

I am not sure if that was a punishment for me to send me to Europe?? I wish I could have offered that punishment to all my kids when they were in their teens. It saved me. I grew close to my sweet Aunt and Uncle and my cousin Jon. Jon and I read the Book of Mormon together and we learned to love that book, and our testimonies grew at that time in our lives. The missionaries would come over and teach Jon and I missionary door approaches. “Bonjour Madame est Monsieur, Mais ami et moi nous sommes American. Nous sommes des missionaires des l’Eglise de Jesus Christ des Dernier Jour. Est qu’on vous en parler pour quelque minute? Jon could go out proselyting with them, but I couldn’t. We had a 6-month Eurail pass to go anywhere in Europe. We visited, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Brussels, Austria. What a blast! We went to many museums and Jon, and I needed to write reports and take pictures of what we saw to turn in for school credit when we got home. It was an amazing experience. I saw beggars, gypsies, all types of people and learned to see them through different eyes than I had before. I had never seen homeless people in the US but there were many homeless people wherever we would go.

Here is what I learned 50 years ago. God loves all His children. It matters what we do in our life. I am grateful for my family. Lessons learned so long ago still apply.

When Tim and I were called to Lyon France Mission it was like Heavenly Father knew what this country meant to a girl who turned 16 years old the day we landed in Europe. I remember the night my aunt and uncle and cousin and I were on the train leaving to go back to the states, Jon and I leaned out the train window and yelled, “We love you Marseille!! We will be back!!” I never thought it would only be me to go back to Marseille, 50 years later. My cousin, Jon died last year so this trip was bittersweet. I felt Jon with me on my visit to 161 Bis Boulevard Boisson. I even smiled because He and I were happy there.

It is hard to believe this apartment building looks so good after 50 years. But it is still there, and I remember being on the 3rd floor.

Good memories. I miss my Aunt Donna and my sweet Uncle Wes who was more of a dad to me. I also miss my bro – Jon.

Lessons learned as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Lyon France Mission:

God loves all of His children. He knows us each by our name. If we trust Him and let Him, He will bring us home to live with Him and His son Jesus Christ. Repentance is for all. What a blessing that is to know we can be forgiven. The temples bind families together forever. We can receive revelation in the temple. I am grateful to be wearing the name of Jesus Christ on my missionary tag every day. We must all endure to the end which is so hard sometimes when things seem unjust or bad decisions from others cause us or our loved one’s pain and sorrow. We must still turn the other cheek. That is hard for me at times, especially when it comes to my children or grandchildren. I am still being refined. I am still “BECOMING”.

Tags Book of Mormon, christianity, faith, france, Missionary work

Mission

The Girl in the Temple

August 12th, 2024 Catherine Frodsham

There is a young single sister in our ward. She has born her testimony a few times and I noticed her. I never really talked to her except the normal greetings “Bonjour, comment ca va?” She seemed to be struggling in life by her facial expressions and staying to herself at church.

Tim and I went to the Bern Temple a few months ago. We took another senior couple from Geneva to the temple with us to get to know them. They are James and Kim Powers, also serving in the France Lyon Mission.

While I was in the endowment room, I kept looking at the back of a young woman and I wondered if it was the one from our ward. I don’t even know her name. I still don’t. In the dressing room, I saw her come out from a dressing stall and I said you are from my ward. She said yes, I recognize you too. She spoke pretty good English. I said how are you. Then she started to pour out her heart and soul to me. She told me of how she came to the temple today to seek answers. I said what are your questions. She said I have a boyfriend, and he is not a member, and he doesn’t want to be. He doesn’t like my standards and wants to live together. I am afraid if I say no, he will leave. I said you came to the right place today. You are worthy to come to the House of the Lord to receive revelation just for you. How did you feel today. She said I feel as though I should leave him. I said then you have your answer. She said now will be the hard part, breaking up. I said yes it will be hard. But sometimes we learn the most from going through the hardest times. I said, I am so proud of you for knowing where to come for help from the Lord. He has spoken to you. What a blessing that is. I love you. I believe that we are here together because I can physically give you a hug from your Heavenly Father and tell you He loves you. I love you. When one door closes another door will open. I promise you that. We hugged and that was a very spiritual moment for both of us. AND I DIDN’T”T EVEN KNOW HER NAME!! But I knew her.

Here is a picture of my temple friend Anne-Flore and her new boyfriend! July 14, 2024

A few months passed and my son Zane was visiting us in Lyon with Zane, Weston and Bennett! I was on the stand to lead the music, and I saw her! By now, I knew her name: Anne-Flore. She was beaming and looked so happy. I went to give her a hug and she said, “I will never forget you. Thank you for talking to me in the temple. I want you to meet my “new “boyfriend!” She emphasized “NEW”. He is the brother of the 2nd counselor in our bishopric. He is a member and temple worthy!!! What a miracle!!! Heavenly Father knows each of us by name and He loves us, and He will help us through our trials and sometimes he will use those around us as His hands on earth. We need to always be willing to open our mouths and our hearts when we are prompted to do so even when we don’t know them by name. It doesn’t matter that I don’t know her name because I know her, and I love her. When she said I will never forget you, I said I will never forget you either!

Tags Bern Temple, bible, christianity, faith, france, god, jesus, Mission, Missionary work

Mission

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.

Tags faith, france, Mission, missionary, Missionary work, missions