Tag: grandchildren

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

Read

Tim Frodsham: 17 July 24

When reading the Book of Mormon, I try to do so with a theme in mind. Several times, I have read the Book of Mormon from the perspective that the events leading up to the first coming of our Savior are a sign and a type of the events that lead up to His second. There are times I read it for history, other times, I am looking for doctrine. On one reading, I read the Book of Mormon from a missionary perspective. This reading, I am reading with President Nelson’s statement from the October, 2022 conference in mind.

“So many wonderful things are ahead. In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns “with power and great glory,” He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful.”

That is a powerful statement. One can apply this citation to not only the Book of Mormon, but to all scripture. Any miracle, any manifestation we read about in the scriptures will be manifest and more in these latter days. Here are but a few examples:

1 Nephi 4, Laban is delivered into Nephi’s hands.

1 Nephi 16, Lehi and his family are guided by the Liahona.

1 Nephi 17, Nephi is instructed on how to build a ship

1 Nephi 18, Nephi miraculously calms a storm

2 Nephi prophesies of the last days

Jacob 7, Sharem demands a sign and is smitten

Mosiah 18, the people of Alma flee from king Noah. Even their children and pregnant women out pace the soldiers of Noah.

Mosiah 24, The people of Alma are persecuted but their burdens are made light, then they miraculously escape from their Lamanite persecutors. This is one of my favorites.

Alma 14, The people of Ammonihah reject Alma and Amulek and then destroy the believers in front of them. The prison walls tumble to the earth and their persecutors are slain.

Alma 15, Alma heals Zeezrom, a lawyer who was astounded and converted by the teachings of Alma and Amulek.

Alma 17, Ammon slays the enemies of the king at the waters of Sebus.

Alma 18, Lamoni, a king of the Lamanites is miraculously converted

Alma 24, The conversations of Lamanites when the Ammonites willingly laid down their lives

Alma 30, Korihor, an anti-Christ challenges Alma for a sign. He is struck dumb and eventually trodden down by the Zoramites

Alma 31, Missionaries are filled with the spirit and go their separate ways to preach the gospel

Alma 56, the Sons of Helaman fight with miraculous power

Helaman 5, Nephi and Lehi are preaching to the Lamanites and are cast into prison. Clouds of darkness overshadow the prison, the prison shakes and Nephi and Lehi converse with angels. There were 300 Lamanite witnesses.

Helaman 11, Nephi calls a famine down on the land, Nephi and Lehi receive many revelations

Helaman 16, Samuel the Lamanite prophesies and cannot be slain

3 Nephi 1, the signs of the Savior’s birth

One of my favorite stories is about the prophet Nephi who led the righteous saints just before the death, resurrection and appearance of the Lord. I marvel that his ministry to the saints preceding the coming of the Lord in the meridian of time, will be surpassed in our day. It is worth including passages concerning his ministry.

3 Nephi 7:17 And he did minister many things unto them; and all of them cannot be written, and a part of them would not suffice, therefore they are not written in this book. And Nephi did minister with power and with great authority.

18 And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily.

19 And in the name of Jesus did he cast out devils and unclean spirits; and even his brother did he raise from the dead, after he had been stoned and suffered death by the people.

20 And the people saw it, and did witness of it, and were angry with him because of his power; and he did also do many more miracles, in the sight of the people, in the name of Jesus.

The power the adversary wields in our world today is seemingly unbearable and insurmountable. We fear for our children and the whirlwind of lies, subterfuge and deceit that envelop them. Without hope and faith in His plan, it all seems hopeless. The Book of Mormon is replete with miracles that will be duplicated and surpassed in our day. It is not a coincidence that the bulk of the Book of Mormon, from Mosiah to 3rd Nephi, is dedicated to the years before His first coming. They are a mirror of our days. The miracles of those days will be made manifest and more in the dispensation of the restitution of all things and I have mentioned only a few of the events that transpired among the righteous who lived in the time preceding his first coming. We need always remember that the Lord is aware and in charge. He is wielding His power with finesse and authority far beyond our feeble understanding. We, in our day and our time, will witness and be surrounded by many of these miracles. We will see them individually as well as collectively as our Lord works tirelessly though us to gather the remnants of his flock before the whirlwind of his judgment.

6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

12 For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith. (Ether 12:6,12)

Yes, the Lord promises to try our faith and he will not manifest His power to those who have no faith. But as with the faithful people of Alma, surrounded by trial and persecution, they were also surrounded by miracles. The power of God has and always will surpass in glory and light anything from the adversary.

That is why we are serving a mission. We are here because of a faith that the Lord will magnify our feeble efforts to bring about His will, and add to the uncountable miracles transpiring in these last days. We have faith that the blessings poured out on our families will far outweigh our absence. We testify of this work. The Lord is pouring miracles, small and mighty upon his people and all those seeking righteousness in the time before He returns.

Tags Book of Mormon, christianity, faith, france, grandchildren, jesus-christ, lyon, miracles, Missionary work, missions, nephi, scripture

Mission

Here Come my Girls

I was jumping up and down on the sidewalk outside our apartment in Lyon. My GIRLS are coming to visit!!! Whoo hoo!! Aubrie and Ben landed in Paris on June 22, toured Paris and Normandy, and then visited a castle in the Loire valley on the way to Lyon. France is a beautiful country full of history and castles. I am thrilled to have my daughter Aubrie and her family here. I see them!!!! The first one I see is Little Penelope sitting on her mamma’s lap in the front. They stop in the middle of our tiny one way street, which is what the French do, and turn on their hazard lights. Penny gets out but the door is in the way and I can’t grab her and hug her so we walk around the parked car and I take her into my arms. YAYAYAYAY!! Then Mae, Reese, Eva, Aubi and finally Ben. Hugs all around. Tim and I are excited to host our family! We take them into our apartment while Ben and Tim go and park their car. Parking is hard here in Lyon. Sometimes you have to drive around for a while and then you have to pay for parking. So Tim parked our car in a parking space earlier in the day, then pulled out so Ben could park his car while Tim parked our own car in our underground parking garage.

I took the girls and Aubi to our mailbox and told them “here is what we do everyday”. We walk up, open the box and say “nobody loves us”. Of course I was a bit over dramatic, but I think it worked. We put all of their bags in our tiny elevator and Aubi went with the bags. We ran up the one flight of stairs to meet the elevator on the 1st floor. I opened the door and they were able to see our apartment and all of the pictures of our grandchildren and families that are taped to the wall. Lots of pictures of Jesus and temples as well. It is a missionary apartment for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for sure.

They were all famished, so we heated up some taco meat, made burritos and had some fruit, French bread and cheese. I also bought some croissants, plain and chocolate, and some assorted desserts from a Patisserie. After showing them around we went for a walk down Roosevelt Boulevard to the Rhone river. We then decided to cross the bridge to see the beautiful Bartholdi fountain, designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi who had earlier designed the Statue of Liberty in New York. It was fun to talk them to some beautiful parts of Lyon. Eva stayed home and slept.

The next morning Tim took Ben, Aubrie, Eva and Mae on the metro to the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière. I needed to stay at home and save my feet from our trip to Avignon that afternoon. Penelope, Reese and I stayed at our apartment, drew pictures, laughed, talked and enjoyed just being together. I sure love these girls.

We all loaded up and drove to Avignon which is about 3 hours away. I had arranged for us to stay in an apartment very near the Popes Palace. Parking was terrible. We enjoyed seeing the huge palace and we walked through some shops. The girls love to shop. We had a great dinner and headed to bed. We had hoped to see the Lavender fields of southern France. We did see some but to see the hills covered with Lavender we needed to drive off the main road, so that was a bust. The next morning we got ready and drove 2 1/2 hours to Annecy. On our way to Annecy we lost Ben and Aubrie and their phones didn’t work so we had no contact. We had Penelope and Reese with us and drove to the hotel, which was our only meeting point. Finally, Aubrie and Ben stopped in Annecy, borrowed a man’s phone and texted me. I gave them the address and we met there at the hotel.

Annecy is known as the Venice of France. It is a beautiful city in the Alps by a lake and the town has canals and bridges like Venice. WE LOVED ANNECY!! See the pictures. We sat and put our feet in the cool water and walked all around. We ate ice cream and had a yummy pizza dinner outdoors like the French enjoy doing. It was such a lovely day and we were so blown away by the beauty of this beautiful French town.

We got back to the hotel, showered and my heart started to feel heavy. I knew I was going to have to say goodbye to my girls the next morning at 5:00 am. It was hard to sleep. We got up and the girls got ready. I gave big hugs because I knew I would not hug my sweet girls for another 11 months. ugh! Little Penelope walked down the hall and kept looking back and my heart sank. I miss my family more than I can bare sometimes. I am trying to stay focused and commit to my Savior as His disciple. Sometimes it is very hard and then miracles happen, like the miracle we had at church the next Sunday, but that is another post.

I love you Ben and Aubrie! Thank you for bringing Eva, Mae, Reese and Penelope to France to see us. It meant the world to me. Now you know where I am living and can relate to things you see in pictures. May 6, 2025, Nana and Tim will be home.

Tags annecy, Chamonix, europe, france, grandchildren, lyon, Missionary work, travel

Mission

Serve Now

Catherine and Tim Frodsham, 29 April 2024

There are thousands of reasons why not to serve a mission, and Catherine and I can check the boxes on most of them. I have my first two grandchildren getting married this summer and another special sealing in Catherine’s family. Both of us have family with medical conditions, and it wrenches our heart not to be there to help, console and simply be present for them. In the next year, Catherine and I have four special grandchildren that will be baptized and a new grandchild on the way. We also have a high school graduation of a sweet granddaughter.

Grandsons and tonsils

We will be missing priesthood ordinations, family reunions, graduations and of course, 40 birthdays among our grandchildren and 22 among our children and their spouses. Why did we pick this time to go on a mission? Why so early after our marriage? Why did we not wait until things were more calm in our families, with fewer family events? Why now?

A fathers blessing

There will always be family events, celebrations and hardships no matter when we choose to serve Him. To be frank, there is no “good” time to go on a mission. The ‘right’ time will never come. Our advice to anyone considering a mission, and even to those who are not, Go Now. There may be extreme circumstances why you need to postpone a mission. The Savior understands and will prompt you to the right course to take. Otherwise, Go Now. Your lives will certainly be blessed, but more important for Catherine and I, His spirit will intervene, comfort, guide and bring gently home our children and grandchildren, those who matter most.

As Senior missionaries, there are times when it is appropriate to take a quick trip home. We are planning one trip home during our mission to be present with our families for some life changing events. I believe the Lord aware of the conflicting demands on senior missionaries, and understands the needs for us to serve our families as well. Here is a quote shared with us in one of our central Europe Area devotionals.

Christmas

Elder Bednar, Adriatic North Mission, April 2023

“To you couples, I promise that the most powerful testimony you will ever bear to your children and grandchildren is your absence. Those grandchildren will pray for you now in a way that they will never again pray for you.”

“When you return home, the testimony you bear in person will be magnified because you weren’t there. Your testimony of absence will be far more powerful than anything you can do now or in the future. It will augment that testimony in miraculous ways. I promise in the name of the Lord.”

For the younger generation; prepare now. plan your finances, your job, your retirement and most important of all, build that mindset now. There is every reason to postpone a mission, but there is one good reason to go: Serve Him. We have been in tears a time or two, aching to be with our families at a time of crisis or celebration, but we both feel an overwhelming peace from Him that we are in the right place. Some of the celebrations we are missing are precisely because we are here, events that are happening at home because His Spirit is working on our children and grandchildren in our absence. Our advice to any senior couple: Go now. Don’t wait for the right time, don’t wait for the right finances. Don’t wait. Serve Him and the blessings will be poured out on your family. Yes, you will miss them and yes, there will be times of almost overwhelming sorrow because you are not there, but His spirit is behind you and He will carry you gently in His arms.

You will also experience times of unbounded joy, peace and satisfaction for the time you spend in His service.

Tags faith, family, france, god, grandchildren, grandparents, love, Missionary work

Mission

Family

Catherine and Tim Frodsham: 30 March 2024

We had the first of our rather large family visit this week. Anika Davis, Catherine’s granddaughter and her husband, Brigham.

At the Part Dieu train station

Theirs was the quickest trip possible. They took a train from Paris on a Thursday, spent the night with us and then took a train back to Paris Friday morning. When I saw my Anika I screamed, “SHNIKES!!” when I saw her on the walkway coming down to meet us! She said, “only my Nana calls me that!” We picked them up from the train station at around 9:30 am and brought them to our apartment to drop their suitcases off and then we headed out using the metro and a walking tour of Old Lyon.

Catherine and Anika at the Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere * Our apartment is near those tall buildings in the background.

The city was founded before the time of Christ, and for many centuries was the capital of France. It was a major shipping and transportation hub in France and had a thriving silk industry.

It’s a bit of a jar to pop out of the metro to some Roman ruins in the middle of the city. The amphitheater and the theater were built at around the time of Christ, and early Christians were persecuted here.

Anika and Brigham at the Fountaine Bartholdi

We took the Metro to the Basilica and walked from there through the old city to the Fountaine Bartholdi. The fountain was designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who also designed the Statue of Liberty in New York.

We walked around Old Lyon and ate lunch there. One of the highlights for Brigham was the candy shop! haha! We had a wonderful time and beautiful weather.

It was hard to see them go the next morning. Way too short of a visit but made my heart happy!

Miller family at Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere

Two days later, Elise and her family drove in from their visit in Normandy. We took them on the same walking tour.

Mya, Elise, Michael and Lydia at lunch near the Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Lyon

Walking through old Lyon, Elise stumbled on the cobblestones, and twisted her ankle.

At the Roman theatre

We were all to drive to Chamonix where the Millers wanted to ski in the Alpes. Michael took the girls with him to ski. Elise, Catherine and I came later to enjoy the sights.

On the streets of Chamonix

Nestled in the Alpes and a stones throw from Mount Blanc, the views in and around Chamonix are breathtaking. We spent just one night, plenty for missionaries taking a break with family.

Standing in the “Void”Looking towards Mount Blanc

We love family. We are missing so many family events; baptisms, graduations, marriages and more. We are delighted when family comes to visit, and though we are missing much, there is no place we would rather be than here in France on the Lord’s errand.

Tags france, grandchildren, lyon, Mission, Missionary work

Mission

Feeding the Missionaries

In our call as Welfare, Self-Reliance missionaries, our responsibilities include all of French speaking Europe as well as the Netherlands. Because of this, we don’t work as closely with the local members and missionaries are those called as Member-Leader Services (MLS) missionaries. We put in extra effort into our relationships with the local missionaries and members of the church to build a comradery and feel of their testimony and enthusiasm.

Catherine and I talked about this for some time and decided that one thing we would do is periodically offer a waffle breakfast for the missionaries on their preparation day. Catherine contacted the Zone leaders to pick a time and to notify all of the Elders in the zone and within easy traveling distance of our apartment. What to serve was a no-brainer. We love waffles, and I have been tweaking a recipe for years. It has whole wheat flour, rolled oats, butter milk, chia, and if I can find it, ground flax seed and a dash of Zantham gum for a little bit of crunch. It’s a staple for us, we will make up a batch for breakfast and then freeze the rest for meals to come. If we’re having waffles, we have to have homemade buttermilk syrup. Nothing healthy to see there . . .

I was skeptical that even a handful of Elders would show up, they are busy and their schedules are tight. P-Day time is precious. All 14 available Elders showed up and filled our tiny apartment. We mixed up four double batches of waffles and used every drop. Mingling with these Elders always restores my faith in the future of the church. They exude a spirit of faith, testimony and enthusiasm. After breakfast, we gathered in our living room for a group picture. In a spontaneous yet powerful gesture, the Elders linked arms and began to sing a hymn. Afterwards, one of the Elders asked to say a prayer before they departed. The faith and spirit in that room could have moved mountains.

The next Monday, we extended the same invitation to the Sisters serving in Lyon. Though the zone takes in a large area of Southern France, there are many missionaries serving here who have access to the Lyon metro system and our apartment is two short blocks from a stop on one of the major city lines. I had more faith this time, and indeed, all of the available sisters showed up for breakfast.

Catherine was in here element. She has been around youth most of her life, and taught seminary for many years. To be with groups of stalwart young men and women who have dedicated themselves to His service is for her, pure joy.

This was too good not to be a reoccurring event, the question is how often? Once a transfer, about once every 6 weeks is our current thought. We are working on other activities to draw closer to the members and missionaries here, but that is for another blog.

This week, we have talked at length about our mission service here. Yes, there were a thousand reasons to stay at home. We will miss the wedding of my first grandson, too many baptisms, high school graduations and the list continues. If one waits for the perfect time to serve a mission, if we have done family right, that time will never come. Of one thing we are sure, in choosing to serve the Lord, all of the other reasons fade in the perspective of His service. Miracles happen while we are away.

Tags france, grandchildren, Mission, missionaries, missionary, Missionary work, missions, service

Mission

Paris

Thus far, I think Zone Conference is my favorite part of serving a senior mission. In order to serve a mission in France, the young elders and sisters have to have completed seminary, which they need in order to get a minister’s license here in France. In part, because of that requirement, the missionaries here are incredibly faithful and motivated. Zone conferences are run mostly by the young missionaries, with the assistants to the president, the zone leaders and sister missionary leaders making the presentations. The theme was chapter 10 of Preach My Gospel. “How can I improve my teaching skills” but they spent a lot of time on finding as well.

Sister Liz Hardy (Office Sister) with Catherine

President Léporé spoke at the end of the conference for nearly an hour. He encouraged us to “bind our selves to Christ”, and to seek those “look moments”, referring to the admonition of the angel that led Nephi through is vision, encouraging him to “Look”.

Our contribution to the conference, green salad and a large container of ranch dressing. It was the dressing that was a hit, Ranch is simply not available in France. (Some of the missionaries have eaten at our home and they know Elder Frodsham makes a mean green salad with so many goodies in it. When we brought the beautiful salad, the missionaries said “that’s an Elder Frodsham salad!!”)

Saturday morning we were up before dawn and driving to Paris. We wanted to make the 11:15 session at the temple and meet another couple serving as Welfare Self-Reliance missionaries in the Paris mission. Using headphones, I have listened to the ordinance session many times in French, but this was the first time I have attended a session entirely in French. I have been studying French for several years now, and it surprised me how much I understood as we progressed through the ceremony. (Cathy again…I had headphones to hear it in English but they didn’t work so I listened in French and knew what was going on. At the veil I had Bro and Sis. Allen from the US who was called to be a new sealer there.)The Paris temple is within walking distance of The Palace of Versailles. It does not have a huge front entrance and we didn’t get a picture of the front. We will have to do that another time. It is beautiful, and is the only temple in France. Many of the workers drive from all over France to get to the temple to work their shifts. We are very blessed to have temples close to us in California.)

From the temple we drove to the town of Évry to assist with a Welfare Self-Reliance devotional Saturday evening. It was a small ward, but there were nearly 80 people in attendance and many of them signed up for one of the self-reliance courses. Momo Djamai, our manager here in France gave the presentation. He had the baptism of a young lad in his branch a few hours before, was in a hurry to get to the Évry ward building and forgot his bag with computer and sign up materials. He borrowed a laptop from the Bishop of the local ward and gave a stellar presentation on the fly. He later admitted that the presentation he gave that night was far better than the one he had prepared.

WSR devotional in Évry

At the end of the devotional, Catherine and I stayed during the potluck meal just to chat with the members. One young woman took a liking to Catherine and came to our table several times to converse. Catherine asked her genuine questions about her life and goals, to which she answered honestly. I think she enjoyed that someone cared. We realized we were very late getting out and excused ourselves quickly to leave. The ward had music playing in the background, the the number playing at that time was perfect for a Hustle so we danced for a few minutes in the middle of the floor. I do not like to be the center of attention in normal circumstances, but I felt that we should show the members there that senior missionaries have a life as well and we can enjoy it.

We drove to Amboise to spend the night with our manager here in France, Momo Djamai and his wive Pascale. It was a 2 and a half hour drive and we did not want to arrive after 22:00. We were late, but not by much.

The Frodshams and the Snyders with Momo and Pascale Djamai

Pascale was an incredible hostess. She was born on the Island of Jersey in the English Channel, and was educated in Scotland. She welcomed us into her home with grace, charm and humor. The next morning, we traveled to Tours to attend Sacrament Meeting where the four of us spoke, all in French. Again, Catherine mingled with the sisters there with such ease, making fast friends.

Catherine with a young woman scheduled to be baptized on the 3rd of March

We spent several hours back at the Djamai’s home, eating dinner and conversing around the dinner table. I love the French custom of lingering over a meal to talk. Laughter binds us together and we made many bonds that day.

We lingered a bit too long at the Djamai’s home and knew we would not arrive back in Lyon until after nightfall. In addition, there was rain and high winds most of the way home. During the calm stretches, I went with the flow of traffic, and the tattle-tale electronics let the mission president know that I exceeded the speed limit of 130 kph (80 mph). I must tell you in all honesty I did not exceed 160 kph (100 mph) at any time . .(One would expect this of me…not of Tim ;-))

We do have a life in Lyon. Catherine celebrated her birthday the day after Valentine’s day and decided to made a cake to celebrate. Yes, I should have made the cake, but I was busily putting together a major presentation our manager requested at the last minute, and wanted us to present that evening to church leaders in Central Europe.

The best German Chocolate cake I have ever eaten

We enjoyed several slices and then shared with missionaries and investigators alike as they wended their way through our home.

We are also working on a humanitarian project, putting together the supplies for homeless kits the missionaries will use in their work. They will assemble the kits during zone conferences, add a card and personal note, and then distribute these kits as they travel through their areas.

No, Nutella is not part of our humanitarian project, but I am addicted to the stuff, and during our visit to a local “PromoCash”, a store somewhere between “cash and carry” and “Costco”, searching for homeless supplies, I couldn’t help taking a picture of the two things I love most. The other picture? Out on a walk, we discovered a tiny restaurant serving Kabobs. It’s sort of like a falafel, but with a French twist.

There are a lot of things going on at home and we are missing out on so many events in the lives of our children and grandchildren. There are always reasons to delay a senior mission, but my advise is to go. Go now. We miss our families terribly, but we can see the blessings our mission is having in their lives as well as our own. We love our Savior and have placed ourselves in His care as we serve as His hands.

Tags europe, france, grandchildren, missionary, Missionary work, missions, temple, travel

Mission

Friends, 15 February 24

Catherine and Tim Frodsham 15 Feb 24

First and foremost, Happy Birthday to Catherine. Her birthday is the day after Valentines Day, which makes it easy to remember.

This will be more of a photo blog of the people who have touched our lives in the first three months of our mission. When I was young and foolish, age having solved one of those issues, I loved to take scenery pictures. On walk-abouts with my children, I would focus on the scenery and take the occasional people picture. The people pictures are the only ones I look at anymore, so no, this is not going to be a travelogue.

These family pictures were taken when we were set apart to serve this mission the 4th of November, 2023. We entered the Missionary Training Center (MTC) on Sunday the 5th.

We flew from Sacramento to the Salt Lake City airport, and Adam Shaeffer and his family picked us up there and drove us to the MTC.

We met several young elders we knew while at the MTC. Tim was the home teacher, then ministering brother for the Istook family. The Rodriguez family were good friends in the Oregon ward as well. Gabby and Ella were Catherine’s seminary students, attending school at BYU. Sheila is a long time friend of Catherine.

Catherine is a magnet for friendship. At times, I step back in awe and watch her magic as complete strangers become lifelong friends. We worked with the Hatfelds in the MTC and the rest in training in Frankfurt, Germany. She still converses with her friends in Frankfurt, even though we were there only a few days.

Missionary couples we are working with in France. The Gannaways and the Hardys work in the mission office, taking care of the auto fleet, apartments, visas and finances for the mission. There jobs are much more defined than ours, which is a good thing. At times, we struggle a bit with the ambiguity of our mission call, but we love following the spirit to define many of our contributions to the saints in France

The McBrides serve as the mission medical for both the Lyon and the Paris mission. Bernadette McBride was right there to help when we arrived in Lyon, sick with COVID. They are stationed in Chalon, but we get together every time they come to the mission office in Lyon. We traveled to the Chalon branch the 2nd week in February to speak in Sacrament Meeting and to present the self-reliance courses the second hour.

Youth missionaries we work with in Lyon. Elders Guiernot, Dane and Last are Chinese speaking elders in the area (Yes, there was a transfer between photos). We spent a day with them, cleaning an apartment which had been locked up for months. Unfortunately, the last elders there turned off the refrigerator before leaving . . . We picked up Sister Nash at the airport, flying in from the Provo MTC. Her arrival was delayed so she was the last missionary to fly in for that transfer and there was no one in the mission available to pick her up. We remember our arrival in France, so we were delighted to welcome her to her mission.

The sister missionary trio are media specialists for the mission. They are teaching Machilo once a week in our apartment.

Most of all, are the friends we have made in the ward, or should I say, the friends Catherine has made in the ward.

After she bore her testimony in Relief Society, Soeur Meyer came up to her and exclaimed ” You have to learn French, and you have to do it now!” Yes, I used an exclamation point. For those keeping track, It has been at least a decade. She wanted so much for Catherine to push through the language barrier and testify to the people here in their native language.

In the collection, I had to add the shop keeper in the silk district who was Catherine’s best friend from the instant we walked into the shop. Also included is the street musician she befriended outside the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière in Lyon. He was a charming, articulate gentlemen and they did their best to converse in between numbers he played for her.

Last of all, I am including some photos of us as we have worked and traveled in our mission. We are not here as tourists, we are here foremost to push forward the work of our Savior in France. During our assignments, we have a goal to visit Lausanne, Switzerland where my grandmother was born, Marseilles, France where Catherine spent some months as a youth, and Normandy, which has so much history for us as Americans.

The Frodshams at the Basilica Notre Dame, overlooking Lyon

Every day we grow to love our mission and the people of France. We miss our children and grandchildren terribly, baptisms, ordinations and as we just heard, the first wedding of one of Tim’s grandchildren. If we were to wait till there is nothing to miss at home, we would be waiting forever. We know that innumerable blessings will come to our family because of our service here, we have seen His hand already.

The Frodshams

Tags france, grandchildren, lyon, missionary, Missionary work, missions