Well... Thanksgiving and Christmas won't be in Nancy this year. I'm being transferred on wednesday to be zone leader up in Lille with Elder Godfrey -which is super awesome- but I'm pretty sad about leaving Nancy so soon. I guess I shouldn't have finished my presidents letter last week with the phrase "do with me whatever the Lord needs." Hahah. All four of us here were counting on staying for Christmas together. SADDDDD!!!!! We were super sad when President called us to tell us. So sad that I guess I forgot to send you an email telling you about transfers :) Even more crazy than me leaving is that poor Elder Hales is being transferred to be secretary in the office (which isn't all bad. I mean, Christmas in the mission home certainly has a nice ring). We have too much good stuff going on to just "whitewash" us both out of Nancy at the same time, so Elder Hales will stay in Nancy for 3 more weeks as a tripanionship with the two new zone leaders to introduce them to our investigators, etc... Parting is such sweet sorrow. Not even really that sweet though if you think about it... :) This is the first time that I'm not really "ready" to be transferred. But anyway: IF I am being transferred (and I guess I am), there is nowhere I'd rather be than in Lille with Elder Godfrey. Lille? It's the 4th biggest city in France, and is riggght up on the north tippy top. Practically in England. Everyone says that it is like a miny Paris (it even has it's own underground metro!). Also, the people up there are supposed to be the nicest people in France :) Our zone over there is more compact and close together so that might mean a littttle less traveling :) My district leader will be Elder Johnson, my mtc companion -so that's sweet. Ok. As for Elder Godfrey? In the mtc there were 3 of us that were ridiculously good friends (and still are). Me, Elder Hales, and Elder Godfrey. In the mtc we always talked about how lucky the others would be if two of us ever got to serve together. Well, guess what? Elder Hales and Elder Godfrey already spent two transfers together, and I just spent two transfers with Elder Hales, so now the triangle will be complete with me going up to be with Elder Godfrey. CRAZY. How in the world does that even happen in a mission of 180 missionaries? We must be doing something right :) I have had the best companions EVERRR on my mission. The last 4 have been dreams. 4 sweet comps, 3 sweet cities. So Thanksgiving and Christmas in Lille will be about as good as I could wish for.

This morning in my studies I was reading in 1 Nephi 17 about Lehi's family arriving in Bountiful and starting to build the ship. He chose to call the land bountiful because of all the fruit and honey that was there. Nephi explains two times why they decided to call it bountiful. It is exactly the same for missionaries. We choose whether or not to call our areas "bountiful." We choose our attitude and outlook toward the missionary work in every new city that we go to. Next, Nephi asks the Lord where to go to get stuff to build the ship. Once in "bountiful," do missionaries still need to ask the Lord where to go to do his work? Then Nephi finishes by saying that he was led in his work because he kept the commandements of God, and that he knew that he would be guided if he did. They called on me this morning for the spiritual thought during the ZL conference call, so that is what I shared. So being transferred on wednesday will be leaving bountiful and going to bountiful. I guess I'm not even really being transferred??

This week we had an incredible lesson with Erasto and fixed a baptismal date. He is amazzzing. The Spirit was very strong that evening. I told him that I didn't even see it anymore as him "waiting for his answer," but that he was in the middle of getting his answer. We talked about how we have been meeting him for 3 months and he has only had good feelings during the three months. Elder Montigné (who was on exchange with me) told him that he thinks that God has already told him that it's true, and that his prayers should now be to help him realize that. For Erasto, fixing a baptismal date is the "real intent" that it talks about in Moroni 10. He is my favorite ami here after all is said and done. I will be really sad to leave him. I pray that his baptism will go through :)

I was talking to the missionaries in Evry yesterday and they said that they are really close to fixing a baptismal date with Sony. Remember Sony?? Elder Riley and I contacted him at the end of my first transfer. He is amazing. I've always been sure that he will be baptized. Go Evry.

It is about 50 percent possible that Lille will be my last city on my mission. I have 5 transfers left now and it's not unheard of to stay 5 in a city. I wouldn't mind that. I bet though that President will put me as a district leader in one last city somewhere for a couple transfers at the end. He likes to do that with the zone leaders so that they can then "train" new zone leaders by being their district leaders. I have never been a district leader or a trainer on my mission. Only zone leader. I would really like to be a district leader/trainer to finish off my mission. Speaking of that... it is coming reallllllly fast. And that's all we'll say for the moment.

So next time I write I'll be up in Lille. Weird. It is the first time on my mission I've really broken the east-west line. I've always stayed basically on a flat line with Paris -all the way across France.

Lots of traveling love,

Elder Coburn

Lille: