La Mission Francaise de Bordeaux (1990-1992)
It has been 20 years since President Neil L. Andersen (now a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) was called to serve in the France Bordeaux Mission. The Friday before General Conference we attended a reunion in Sandy. Kevin served in Toulouse, Bordeaux, Bergerac, Montabaun, and Tarbes and cannot believe that it was really that long ago. In anticipation of the reunion he looked through some pictures from his mission--somehow the mature, confident, suave man that Kevin was as a missionary has been replaced in the photos with a naive-looking teenage boy!
The reunion was mostly an informal social and potluck dinner, followed by a fireside featuring Elder Andersen and his family. It's probably similar in some ways to going to a high school reunion--we wouldn't know since we have skipped all of those (including our 20th, which was this year). It was strange to see faces from a past that seems almost like a different life. People were not surprised to hear Kevin was teaching biology classes. Kevin was not surprised to learn that one of his companions that was always talking about guitars now teaches guitar lessons. Another that was a sports fanatic now coaches high school basketball in Las Vegas (as well as teaching French). Some people looked almost the same as Kevin remembered, while others were rather difficult to recognize.
The event brought back various memories and raised a lot of questions about people Kevin remembers. The man who served as branch president in Bordeaux when Kevin was there had come with his wife. Kevin talked to them about various members he remembered--unfortunately most of them have since fallen into church inactivity and no further update was available. France is a difficult place to be a missionary, and a difficult place to be a church member! Kevin would like to take April and the children someday to visit the places he served, but that's on the big list of "someday/maybe" goals.
Kevin saw several missionaries he knew but only got one photo of the socializing part. This is Elder Patterson who he served with in Bergerac (made famous by Cyrano!).
The reunion was mostly an informal social and potluck dinner, followed by a fireside featuring Elder Andersen and his family. It's probably similar in some ways to going to a high school reunion--we wouldn't know since we have skipped all of those (including our 20th, which was this year). It was strange to see faces from a past that seems almost like a different life. People were not surprised to hear Kevin was teaching biology classes. Kevin was not surprised to learn that one of his companions that was always talking about guitars now teaches guitar lessons. Another that was a sports fanatic now coaches high school basketball in Las Vegas (as well as teaching French). Some people looked almost the same as Kevin remembered, while others were rather difficult to recognize.
The event brought back various memories and raised a lot of questions about people Kevin remembers. The man who served as branch president in Bordeaux when Kevin was there had come with his wife. Kevin talked to them about various members he remembered--unfortunately most of them have since fallen into church inactivity and no further update was available. France is a difficult place to be a missionary, and a difficult place to be a church member! Kevin would like to take April and the children someday to visit the places he served, but that's on the big list of "someday/maybe" goals.
Kevin saw several missionaries he knew but only got one photo of the socializing part. This is Elder Patterson who he served with in Bergerac (made famous by Cyrano!).
Elder Andersen has an incredible memory and recalled everyone's names and tidbits about them. Much of his talk was informal--he wanted his children and wife to each share thoughts and memories, and then he asked for recollections from those in attendance. He told us about how they had planned on staying in Florida for the rest of their lives, but after being called to France they have also been called to serve in Brazil and various places in South America and Europe. He has had many experiences he never dreamed of that are all related to his conviction to "follow the brethren." In addition to speaking about sacred topics, he also spoke of everyday life. He told us that 20 years ago he did not have the heart to tell us how hard life would be, but that by now most of us had figured that out. He commented on how quickly those 20 years had passed and reminded us that in another 20 we would be the age he is now. And 20 years after that we would be old and he would be gone. Life truly is but a fleeting moment!
We used some of our fleeting moments to wait until after Elder Andersen had visited with everyone so we could get a family picture together.
We used some of our fleeting moments to wait until after Elder Andersen had visited with everyone so we could get a family picture together.
We felt blessed that on the evening before General Conference we had the privilege of spending an evening with one of the Lord's apostles.
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