Day 5 Romance in France

June 26, 2011


Dear Family,

Nimes is one of the towns that Ryan served in when he was on his mission. We were anxious to attend the ward there and see if there was still anyone there that he recognized. Miraculously, we found Jean-Michele Ribera, (whom Ryan had baptized in Perpignan, May 27, 1992, some 19 years ago) was in that ward with his wife Isabelle ,and there three children, Lorita, their middle son, and Samuel. Samuel was receiving the priesthood as it was his twelfth birthday and Ryan was able to stand in the circle for that.

After church we were invited to Samuel's birthday party at the Dodard's residence. It was beautiful, though warm, in the garden behind their home and the food was fabulous. We also met a very interesting family there from Switzerland who had rented a chateau somewhat nearby where they were staying with their French teacher in an attempt to help their children learn French. They had just returned from a year long trip around the world which had included 10 days in Israel, a church history tour, and many other interesting destinations around the world. All of this they accomplished with their five children ages 9 - 17. The father in the family is a financier from Switzerland and simply took a full year away from his work.
After the fabulous lunch and visiting in the garden, we returned to the Ribera's and visited more about their experiences as church members in Europe, and in Nimes particularly. It is very difficult being in an area where there are not a lot of church members who are families. The kids are essentially the only ones in their schools who are members, but also the only ones in in the Young mens, young women's and primary ( previously for Samuel, now that he is twelve ). Their oldest daughter, Lolita dreams of going to BYU but the expense would be too great, particularly since secondary schooling is free in France. She just wants to be surrounded by members for a while. They would love to see a church school in Europe where members of the church in Europe could gather and go to school in the church type of environment. It is difficult for Isabelle as well, without other families in the ward to relate to and help make the work enjoyable.

The Euro has also been a struggle for the family. Initially, there were six francs to one euro, and a loaf of bread would cost one franc. Now a loaf of bread costs one euro. It is a struggle for most families just to get by. One of Ryan's other friends said "it used to be that I could buy my bread and my wine, now I can buy my bread or my wine.". For these reason, Isabelle, at least, would love to emigrate to the states, where things would be easier.

We ended up staying late, visiting with the Riberas, and it was nearly 11 pm by the time we reached our hotel in Cassis. Partly this was my fault, as I ended up misunderstanding the GPS, ( the directions are in French ) and heading the wrong direction. Since it was a toll road, it was a number of miles until we could exit and get started back the right direction. In this instance, there was an extra charge for the side tour.

Despite arriving late in the port town of Cassis, we found that things were still hopping there. The restaurants on the port were still full of diners out on the porches, enjoying the warm summer evening. The Hotel Golfe, though not fancy, was adequate for our needs. And, we needed a goof night sleep to be ready for kayaking on Monday.

Sincerely yours,

Michelle