Greetings from Reims. You guys are the best.

This week's awesomeness didn't exactly measure up to last week's awesomeness, but we're we're still breathing. We had to push back both of our baptismal dates. Fred is pushed back 3 weeks and we're not sure about Ivan. It's super frustrating. It's super humbling.

However. Why was it a great week? Lot's of reasons.

-Elder Pieper, Adam (recent convert), and I are all going to read the Book of Mormon in 4 weeks. Today is day one. I'm excited.
-The tram in Reims opened this weekend. It is way neat. There were lots of creepy entertainers on stilts all over town. We laughed so much. In the evening we watched the fireworks from our balcony.
-I found a Pokémon card in the street.
-We celebrated my 10 month mark
-Even when we had really bad days we could just look at each other and laugh about it.
-We had a rendez-vous with a man that referred himself to the church.
-We both tasted champagne for the first time. Just kidding.
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-My testimony was strengthened.

So... you know that little rule that says missionaries aren't allowed to have pets? Well. I accidently bought a goldfish at an open market last Pday. It was only 2 euros. I named it Schtroumpfie ("smurf" in french) and put it in an old pretzel container with a bunch of shells and stuff. So Schtroumpfie chilled on top of the fridge all week. Awesome right? No- no no no. Schtroumpfie was bad news bears. From the moment we got him everything started going wrong. Like, everything. So by the time friday rolled around we decided to get rid of him. We called Guillaume, a recent convert, and asked if he likes goldfish. He does. So the next morning Schtroumpfie found a new home. And wouldn't you know it? As soon as we gave away that stupid fish the week started getting better again. And that's where we are now. Devil fish.

I don't think I'll ever have a goldfish again in my life.

We've talked a lot this week about trials and adversity. I think that this week was necessary for us. It led us to reconsecrate our efforts. Even though everything kept falling through this week, I think we got the tiniest taste of the dissappointment that Christ feels when we choose not to follow him. We love our amis so much and it literally hurts us when they make bad decisions that push them further from Christ and baptism.

I also learned that miracles come into our lives when we believe and act, not just when we expect. The moment we become casual in our work, miracles can cease. I think that is a becoming a problem in our mission. We want to be great, but we expect it to come for free.

I love Reims. I love Elder Pieper. This may be are last full week together if he gets transfered. We're praying that he doesn't. This transfer has gone by faster than anything. ever.

I love you.
I smile when I think about our family.

Elder Benny Boy C.