Tag: travel

Family from Home

Catherine Frodsham 1 May 2025

We had visitors!!! After visiting Portugal for 4 days where Ari served his mission for our church, Ari and Alyssa flew into Athens on March 18th! It was so much fun hugging these two wonderful kids of ours!! We drove home because it was in the evening and then we walked to our favorite restaurant near our apartment. GREEK FOOD EVERYONE!!!

We had only two days to give them a tour of Greece. So Wednesday we went to the Metro and went to Athens Monastiraki Square. There you can see the Parthenon on the Acropolis. We hiked up the hill and they were able to see the beautiful ruins of the Parthenon. Then we walked to Syntagma square. I am trying to remember if we saw the changing of the guard? but we did for sure go to the Olympic Stadium where the first international Olympic games were held in 1896! I love that stadium. They have a museum where all of the torches from all of the Olympics since then are hung on a wall. It is so cool!!! They have posters you can buy of many of the Olympics, and I bought about 6.

We then took a taxi to Lykabettus Hill which is higher than the Acropolis so you can see all of Athens and the Aegean Sea. It is stunning. It is so much fun to show off our town of Athens. We ate up on top of the hill at a restaurant. CATS EVERYWHERE!!! Ugh…. It was so beautiful to see all of Athens!

We came home and Alyssa helped me with my Appreciation Event Thank you bags. It was very helpful.

The next morning, we went to Sounio which is my favorite place in Greece. It is at the tip of the peninsula under Athens, and it is called the “Temple of Poseidon” I LOVE THIS PLACE! you can see all around the Sea and so many islands are all around. It is beautiful. We then went to lunch right on a beach under the temple of Poseidon. We had some icky fish that Ari and Tim and Alyssa like. See the pictures. Gag me with a spoon!

But I can always find something yummy on the menu. We then headed to Corinth. We stopped at the canal that was built in 1893. Then we went to the ruins of the old city of Corinth where Paul taught the people for about 18 months. Paul was beaten and tried in Corinth. Poor Paul, wherever he went he was beaten, tried and put in prison.

We came home and might have gone to the restaurant again and bakery right by our restaurant. There is good food here in Greece and good baked goods. The Greeks love honey and seem to douse all the sweets in honey like baklava is juicy and smothered in honey. They have an orange cake that is dripping with juicy sweet honey sticky juice. Not my favorite… I told Tim I can’t wait to get home and have a good donut…..even if it is plain!!! The sweets in Europe so far are not my favorite! They look beautiful but they are just sooooooo sweet. the sugar is very different here. They don’t do cakes like we do at home for birthdays. They have cream or honey or different things in them no frosting its different.

So, every night my Ari would yell from his bedroom. “Good night mom!!” Tim and I would just laugh our heads off. Ari has always been my little boy. My last child, my buddy in crime, my sweet little boy. He has my heart. He and Alyssa were hard to say goodbye to because they are so easy and fun to be around. WE LOVE YOU BOTH! Thank you for coming to see us on our mission in Athens, Greece.

Tim and I drove home and washed the sheets because we had more family coming the next day!! Elise and Mike and their four children , Lydia, Mya, Collin and Emma came to visit. They came from Ammon Idaho. Their visit was much longer. They arrived on Saturday. We showed them around our apartment and then took off to the metro and downtown Athens. I felt so sorry for them, the kids started falling asleep on the metro. It is a very long flight from Idaho to Greece.

We took them to Monastiraki Square which I love and we took them to my favorite jewelry story. My favorite girl that works at the store’s name is Kelly and just for information that was her last day at work. It was meant to be that we went that day. She gave me her phone number and wants to go to our church.

We had fun shopping and took them to the Acropolis and Parthenon and the Agora. Then we got an ice cream at our favorite Divinci’s place. Then Mike had a restaurant that he wanted us to try it had great reviews so we walked 100 miles to find it. It was good. Then we headed back to the metro and home. The next day was Sunday so we all got ready for church and they got to attend our little Athens branch in the Illicia Hotel. Yes, we are meeting in a hotel for now while our building is being renovated. I play the keyboard and Collin helped pass the sacrament and Elise said the closing prayer. Everyone is needed in this little branch. They loved meeting our family. Then we came home and I stayed to cook dinner because we were having missionaries and Kostas over for a missionary discussion and dinner. Tim took his family down to the Olympic stadium and Syntagma square and they got back just in time for dinner. We had a great time with the missionaries. We all LOVE Kostas – he is a favorite of mine here in Greece. He met the missionaries over a year ago and has taken the lessons on and off. He was called as a translator for our ward even though he is not a baptized member. We absolutely love him.

Well on Monday I believe we went to Sounio and Corinth and had a fabulous time. See the pictures. On Tuesday Mike, Elise, Mya and Lydia left for Istanbul. So, they got up and drove to the airport or Tim took them. They spent 3 days in Istanbul. We had Collin and Emma and had a ball. I am sure it was not as fun for them but Tim and I took them to JUMBO which is Greece’s dollar store on steroids. They picked out some games and a puzzle and bubbles and nerf guns. YES NERF GUNS. Nana’s favorite. We still needed to do missionary work. We also had zoom meetings that we attended some in our apartment and some in the car! We have a young man named Dimitrious in our ward that is filling out mission papers. He needed an interview with someone in the Area by zoom so he asked if he could come do that at our apartment. Tim took Collin and Emma out for lunch and to play at a little park by the restaurant near out apartment. So Dimitrious could have his meeting in private. He is a great kid and we love him. (His papers are now in Salt Lake and we are waiting to see where he will be called. His parents aren’t members so it is not easy for him to go.)

When Mike, Elise and the girls got back on Thursday night from Istanbul we packed up to go for a few days down the Peloponnese peninsula. Melissa and Brian just arrived today from California. Yay we are all here together. We have 2 blow up beds and 2 couches all being used! The more the merrier! We got up Friday morning and drove to a beach town called Tolo!! That place was beautiful and right on the beach. The kids had so much fun running on the beach and they actually went swimming in the cold sea!!! Yikes!! Too cold for Papa and me. Mike and Elise went in too! Tim and I walked on the beach – so beautiful.

I don’t remember all of the names of the places we drove to but we drove to a Malakasa and stayed two nights at a beautiful hotel. The only thing that was sad was their pool was not filled and they had their beach access closed off. We were just out of season. The kids were not happy but we went to some cool places. We drove to Sparta and Olympia. In Sparta we walked around the ruins and saw the stadium and very cool ruins. We also saw some VERY old olive trees.
I love the Olympics and Olympia is where it all started thousands of years ago. It was so cool to see those ruins. We found the place that the Olympic flame is started for every Olympic game. They get a magnifying glass and use the sun to start the flame.

Then they light the torch and run it in to Athens stadium and then send it to where ever the Olympics is going to be held at. It is so cool to know that history!! We saw some cool castles and whenever we saw something we wanted to look at we would stop. We had a good time. We had our car with 3 girls and Tim and I and then Mike and Elise rented a car and had Melissa and Brian and Collin in their car. We had a great time all together.

Thank you, Mike and Elise, Mya, Lydia, Collin and Emma for coming and spending 10 days with us!! Mike and Elise and family left on Tuesday April fools!! Then Wednesday Melissa, Brian, Tim and I drove to Meteora and stayed up there. That place is awesome. It has to be one of the seven wonders of the world! How did they build those monasteries on top of those peaks?? We had fun there and drove home the next day. Then Tim, Melissa and Brian drove to Napflio to stay on the beach and see that beautiful city. They got home on Saturday and then left on Sunday April 6 – General Conference day! Thank you, Melissa and Brian, for coming and spending 10 days with us! We loved having you with us!!

Then we hurried to do laundry because we were having senior missionaries coming to stay with us for Mission Zone Conference the next week!! Devin and Wendy Lamb came on Tuesday. We love those friends. Devin actually grew up in Newcastle, CA!! Isn’t that funny! Of all of the places! He is much younger than I but we do know a lot of the same people. Frank Delaney who was in my Stake in Roseville and then a Temple Recorder when I worked in the Sacramento Temple Office was Devin’s Bishop! Such a small world. We took a picture and sent it to him!! I will write a different post about our last Zone Conference.

Well, if you all can believe it The Lambs left on Saturday and on Monday morning my Zachary and his wife Rachel came!!! We went to the airport at 9 am and we were waiting at the gate and I get a call and its Zach!! He says where are you mom? I said I am at the airport where are you?? They landed and walked outside?? What??? By the time Tim and I got there, which wasn’t late, actually they were out front! We were both on our phones talking to each other when we saw one another!! I ran to him like a gazelle on a Safari!! He picked me up and swung me around. It was so great to see each other.

But we only had Monday and Tuesday and then they were leaving on Wednesday. My kids don’t stay long? ha-ha! Zach and Rach had first gone to Rome and Florence and had a great time. It is hard to leave littles at home. So, we called my niece Emily and she met us at IKEA parking lot and we picked her up and drove to Sounio. You all know how I feel about that Temple of Poseidon. It is my favorite place in Greece so far. We then had lunch in a little beach town. It is so pretty on the coast. Then we drove Emily to her car and she went home to meet her husband’s family. Then we took Zach and Rach to Corinth. We saw the canal first and then went to the ruins. It is a place where the Apostle Paul spoke and taught the Corinthians. Then we drove way up on the hill above the ruins where there is a huge fortress. It was closed but we have pictures.

The next day we took them into Athens by the Metro. What an experience that is!! We got off at Monastiraki Square and then hiked up to the Parthenon on the Acropolis Hill. Mars Hill is up there as well but they have blocked it off. Tim and I let Zach and Rach go to the Parthenon by themselves because we have been there quite a few times. It is a hike with a lot of marble stairs. We then took them to the Olympic Stadium which is my favorite. Tim and Zach had a race. Tim is a fast runner and I think in the end Zach won but Tim gave him a run for his money. ;-|) My favorite spot there is the museum which houses all of the Olympic torches from all of the Olympics!! So cool. Then we walked to our illicia building where there was a concert for our little branch by a man named ? he was pretty good. It was nice of him to come to our little branch to sing for us. The missionaries brought friends and it was good for us to be there. They got to meet our missionaries we serve with and our friend Kostas. Then the next morning it was time to take Zach and Rach to the airport. My kids come and go so fast!!

Luckily, we are going to see all of our kids and grand kids in a few weeks. We have missed them so. We have great families. Tim and I feel very blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful children and grandchildren!

Tags acropolis, athens, europe, Greece, methoni, olympia, sparta, travel

Mission

Aubrie and Ben’s Visit

Catherine Frodsham, December 2024

Aubrie and Ben came to Greece a few weeks ago! This momma’s heart needed this visit. It was a short visit but we packed it full! They flew in from San Francisco, layover in London, then flew to Athens. We picked them up and took them to our apartment. We ate Greek food, then they needed some sleep because we were leaving at 9 am in the morning to drive 3 1/2 hours away to Meteora, Greece. Meteora is in northern Greece near the Albania border. It is a beautiful unique mountain area with huge sandstone mountains that rise up and the monks built monasteries on top of these peaks. It is so amazing they could build these so long ago. It is so worth seeing. We stayed the night in Meteora and walked through the town and had several authentic Greek meals. The food is amazing in Greece!

We had a beautiful hotel and then got up and drove to Delphi that is on the way back to Athens – kind of. That was also so beautiful. We could see the Mediterranean Sea through the drive. In fact, after Delphi, we stopped at the Sea and got out and put our feet in the water – well Aubrie did. It was so beautiful! Greece has so much water all around and in and out of Greece. There are 300 islands small and large. One thing we discovered though that it is a 2nd world country. Lots of needs here.

We got back to Athens and went to dinner at our favorite restaurant, about a 5-7 minute walk from our apartment. It is great food. Although , I think Ben ordered lamb sausages and I don’t think he liked that. Aubrie had Moussaka. I had Giant Beans. We all had Greek salad that you can only get in Greece. Greece is known for its feta cheese. You have a huge slab of feta on every Greek Salad. It is very yummy. There is no lettuce, only tomatoes, red onions, olives, cucumber, g. pepper and feta and olive oil and spices. YUMMY.

The next day was Friday and we had a Zone Conference. We also had a few missionaries going home so a tradition in our mission is a testimony at Mars Hill early in the morning to watch the sun rise. The departing missionaries bear their testimonies and the new missionaries just coming to the mission also get a chance to bear their testimonies. Aubi and Ben got to be with us at Mars Hill to witness that special event. We also had Pres. Gerard and his wife from the Europe Central Area Presidency with us for our mission zone conference.

Tim went to the zone conference and Aubi and Ben and I walked over to the Acropolis. It is a lot of stairs and I have been there a couple of times so I sat on a bench and watched the people all around me while Aubi and Ben enjoyed the Acropolis. We then met my niece, Emily in Monastraki square for lunch and she took us to a cool place with more ruins and the museum. Emily married a Greek man 5 years ago and lives in Athens now. It has been so fun to have her here to visit and have family so close. She and Aubrie are the same age and have enjoyed keeping in touch over the years on Facebook and were excited to see each other.

We took the metro back to Emily’s car and she took us to a beautiful outdoor restaurant by her home. She only lives about 15 minutes from me. That was a miracle for us to be so close in this HUGE city of Athens! We had great pizza and visited with her husband , Thanasis. Tim drove to meet us there for dinner as well.

The next day on Saturday we decided to take a boat to one of the close islands – Agenana- the Pistachio island. There are ruins there too. ACTUALLY there are Greek and Roman ruins EVERYWHERE!!! We bought tickets and took the metro down to the port in Athens. There was a BIG storm coming in that day and our first ship cancelled. So we went to another bigger ship and they went for it. So we took that boat to the Island. It was so cool. I think Aubrie got a little seasick. But she was tired too. So it took an hour to get to the island.

On the island Ben and Aubrie decided to take a motorcycle to tour around. Tim and I walked around the little port and had lunch and shopped. It was a great day. It started to rain alot so we found a restaurant to hang out in until our ship came back. It was several hours but so fun to visit and eat and enjoy each other.

The next day was their last day!!! It was Sunday, so we drove to church. Our little branch meets in a hotel right now and it seats about 70 people. We sometimes have up to 50 visiting tourists but we didn’t have that many that day. We have about 30 members that come. So Aubi and Ben were able to see our little branch. There are lovely people there and wonderful missionaries. There was a young man who comes every week but he is not a member. He translates into English for us. IN fact, he was just called as a non-member to be our branches translator. WE LOVE HIM!! His name is Costas.

Costas is the young man making the peace sign

The picture above is at our apartment in Athens and all of the young and senior missionaries serving in Athens. We are few but we are mighty!

Side note: A miracle just happened last week we invited Costas to come to dinner at our apartment along with all of the young and senior missionaries in our branch. The missionary who found him a year ago and taught him the gospel is back in Athens and I invited Costas to have Elder Wahl teach him again in our home starting next Sunday. He agreed!!! We love him. We believe in miracles and things don’t just happen. The Lord is in charge and we know that. We just say what do you want us to do Lord!!

So after church we came back to our apartment and packed up Aubi and Ben. WE love those two so much. We took them to the airport and I cried all the way home. What a wonderful visit. THANK YOU FOR COMING Aubie and Ben!!

Tags adventure, athens, Aubrie and Ben visit, Emily, europe, Greece, Meteora, travel

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

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

Caen, Normandy

We had the occasion to assist with a self-reliance devotional in Caen, France. The self reliance devotionals are a ward or stake wide event, where members and non-members alike are invited to hear about the churches self-reliance groups and sign up for a group appropriate to their needs.

Sister Frodsham with Gisele, a good friend taking our EnglishConnect class

We worked with the Snyders, the WSR (Welfare, Self-Reliance) missionaries who live in Paris. They also spend several days a week staffing the Paris family history center.

Frodshams and Snyders at the family history center

Caen was a major objective in the WWII invasion of Europe, Operation Overlord. Since we were already in Normandy, we took the opportunity to spend several days exploring the places of such bloodshed and heroism almost 80 years ago.

The Museum at Utah Beach

We stayed at a little bed and breakfast in Saint Clair sur l’Elle, and on an early morning walk, I went to the town square and was fascinated by a WWI statue dominating the square. It had been vandalized, arms broken off, the rifle broken, and I wondered at it’s history. An old gentlemen (and by old, I mean about my age) walked up to me to chat, and I asked him about the statue. It was built after WW1 to commemorate the soldiers who had given their life in the war from that small town. When the Germans occupied the town, they vandalized the statue, braking off anything they could without actually bringing in a truck or other vehicle to pull the statue down. The statue remains in the square as a symbol of defiance and freedom.

WWI statue in the town square of Saint Clair sur l’Elle

Our Bed and Breakfast in Saint Clair sur l’Elle

Sainte-Mère-Église, attacked by parachutists of the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions, was one of the first towns liberated during the invasion. A replica of parachutist John Steele hangs from the spire of the local cathedral. Parachutists overshot their landing zone and dropped directly in the town.

In the church of Angoville-au-Plain, two medics Robert Wright and Ken Moore, treated civilians as well as American and German soldiers alike, When the town was briefly retaken by the Germans, the medics declined to leave. German soldiers honored request of the two medics and left their rifles at the door. During the conflict, a mortar pierced the ceiling, but did not explode. during a later restoration, the local members of the parish decided to preserve the blood stains on the benches.

The Church at Angoville au Plain

Robert Wright grave marker, Angoville Au Plain

The cliffs at Pointe du Hoc were scaled by the 2nd ranger battalion, who suffered a 70% casualty rate in finding and destroying guns overlooking Omaha and Utah beaches. Had these guns been brought into operation, casualties would have been much higher for the allied landing.

At Pointe du Hoc, the bomb craters from the aerial and naval bombardment proceeding the landings are still visible.

On Utah Beach where general Roosevelt stormed the beach with his men. Strong currents swept them from their landing spot. “Well start the war right here. As with the battles throughout Normandy, it was the bravery of a few men who turned the tide of the battle. Utah beach had far less casualties because of the accuracy and precision of aerial and naval bombing of the shore batteries moments before the landing.

It is in some ways reassuring to see people playing and enjoying where so much devastation and hardship in the name of freedom had occurred 80 years earlier

German batteries near Longues-sur-Mer fired at allied forces on D-Day, but were damaged by allied naval bombardment. They were captured the next day and played no further part in the war. They are one of the only remaining intact gun batteries along the Normandy coast, and a testament to the forces to be overcome by the allied soldiers.

For me, the most poignant was the cemetery at Omaha Beach and the beaches themselves. now a playground with horse trotting and skim boarding. There is still a spirit of the thousands of men to struggled here, many of them giving their last full measure of devotion. The American cemetery a testament of the sacrifice of so many young men.

The German cemetery near Omaha is a testament as well to young men who were following their leaders. The feeling at the German cemetery is much different than that of the American, a feeling of hopelessness and loss. In both, the spirit of brave men who gave their lives for their country.

Through out the Normandy battle sites and museums, the horrors of war were apparent. The evil intentions of a very few lead astray whole populations, something king Benjamin and King Mosiah warned about in the book of Mormon

Mosiah 2:18,19 Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another? And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!

Mosiah 29:16,17 Now I say unto you, that because all men are not just it is not expedient that ye should have a king or kings to rule over you. For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!

We may not call them kings today, but many act as such, bringing whole nations to sin and unbelief. Events in the Book of Mormon tell us of the wickedness and suffering that can be caused by one individual or a handful of people. Unfortunately, people today are looking to a leader to change the nation, leaders who will right all the wrongs in our countries. What will permanently heal our nations will come from the bottom up. It was apparent as we toured the battle sites of Normandy that is was a few who turned the tide of war. A few who let to victory operations that were doomed to defeat. The future will be shaped by fathers and mothers, teachers and leaders changing our world one family at a time, which is why we are here serving a mission.

Tags Book of Mormon, caen, christianity, D day invasion, d-day, france, history, Missionary work, normandy, omaha beach, travel, utah beach

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