Anyway, the good news is that I'll be staying in Versailles another transfer. That means that I'll be killing Elder Hill in six weeks! It wasn't a huge surprise, because President told us earlier that we'd stay another transfer since they need us more in the mission office. It's still nice and comforting to see our names in the "Versailles" column.
We had some time last week to see Sainte Chapelle, which was one of the more amazing things I've seen thus far. It's just a tiny little church in the middle of the city, but the high walls are completely covered in stained glass depicting all the stories of the Bible. From there, we went to the Conciergerie, the prison where Marie Antoinette was kept. They had some modern art in the main room, one of which was a piece that consisted of a few dozen fake old people in wheelchairs that moved around automatically. It kind of freaked me out to turn around and see a fake angry old man racing toward me in a wheelchair at full speed. I got cornered by the freaky things.
We went to Notre Dame again too, but what was more exciting was the puppy store. Wohoo! We were standing outside a Sisters' apartment on Wednesday with Elder Prince, and mozied through a puppy store while we were waiting for them to get home. Whoever thought to put a Sisters' apartment next to a puppy store didn't think it through, because they probably are late to all their lessons to stop and look at puppies every day. Just kidding. We did rate them all on their adoptability. No, I won't be doing the same thing with any of my future children.
The Sisters came back eventually, and what greeted us in their apartment was definitely less enjoyable than a puppy. They had a clogged drain, and we unscrewed the pipes to pull out a chunk of slimy hair the size of a golf ball. Merci, sisters. I still can't decide if the best part of the experience was the apple pie they gave us, or the reaction from one of the Sisters when she gagged and almost threw up after seeing the hair we had pulled out.
We got a phone call this week after an Elder decided to stand on top of the toilet seat for some reason. He apparently slipped and fell in the toilet, breaking the seat in the process. Elder Prince is trying to get his hands on a used toilet seat so he can get some "instructions for use" inscribed and give it as a Christmas present.
Other than that, we headed down to the cities of Angers and Tours on Thursday and Friday to fix some leaky toilets and do some other odd jobs. McDonald's twice in one day, anyone? It's pretty amazing down there. Just from the highway, we passed chateaus every 10 minutes. Those things are everywhere.
We got back in time for a staff meeting to plan out transfers and have a baptismal interview with a lady named Catherine. She's super nice and awesome, and she got baptized on Saturday. We couldn't find a piano player, so Elder Hill was volun-told to learn to play two hymns. Afterwards, we had a feast of beignets, chocolate and tarts. She was really happy, and practiced her testimony in front of us a few times before doing it in front of everyone. She's great.
We got a referral from Mormon.org of an American family living in Versailles, so we'll see what comes from that.
To end the week, the Paris Stake had a Christmas concert put on by the choir and everyone who can play a classical instrument. It was pretty well done, and it made me feel classy driving in a suit to a concert in Versailles. I got humbled again once I stepped out and remembered I drive a beat-up delivery van.
So hey, that's the week in a nutshell. Happy holidays.
Elder Wilson
From the top of the Eiffel Tower
Sainte Chapelle
La Defense
From the van window ... Thanks, Elder Hill
The Versailles District
Sunrise from our apartment window one morning
