Remember Me?

Hey there... so my name is Elder Jacob Von Simonson... I don't know if you all remember me or not... but believe it or not I was once your (son, brother, cousin, friend, grandson, or that one kid) you go ahead and choose one.... but that is me and I am still alive. HAHA
Well all is well here in Le Vésinet. The France Paris Mission is great. They are a bit different than our mission but ultimately the same. At first I was freaking out a little, just the weird ways they did things, but the more and more I think about it, I realize it really doesn't matter at ALL.. the same thing happens and all the little bureaucracy doesn't matter. So to clear up a few questions from Mom. They are on the same transfer cycle as we were so don't get your hopes up, I am still coming home the same date. When we first heard of the merger we thought that they were on a different transfer cycle but it ended up being the same. BUT.... Question.... Are plane tickets cheaper to Paris???? Think about it.. because with all these changes and all that has happened.. going home won't be the same experience that it would have been and if you want to come.. I wouldn't be completely against it... because then I could go back to Bruxelles and see everyone before I leave. Just something to think about. I know you probably love me and are thinking man he is about as indecisive as his father or Clinton.. ha :) Um so Elder Mecham and Elder McKay were the Assistants, but now it is just Elder McKay and I are the Assistants and Elder Mecham is on his last transfer and is training a sweet newb. I thought I told you in the last email that last Friday we spent all day doing transfers with President Stahlei it was crazy. I guess that brings us to this week; probably the craziest weeks ever.... SOOOO much stuff to do and stuff going on and people complaining and people with tons of dumb little questions and re-working forms and just a bunch of busy work. It has been crazy. I literally have not been out of this office since I got here on Thursday of last week. This last week was transfer week, so Monday we had stats and then we spent the rest of the day mapping out transfers and how they were going to work because we did them two different ways and the Paris France missionaries were freaking out because we do them differently and visa versa.... wow.. so we were on the phone for hours .... Then on Tuesday, The new missionaries came in so we had our little program with them..as usual it was awesome, you gotta love new missionaries. Then we had the Departing missionaries on Wednesday. There was a missionary named Elder Andrus from Post Falls Idaho... he asked where I was from and I said Pocatello and he got this look on his face and then I said, "Hey do you know the Andrus' in Pocatello?" and he said, "Ya, they are my cousins we were there all the time." He told me that the one of the youngest, Kim I think her name is.. is married.. hmm cool.. That brings us to Thursday.. that was our day to plan out for this next week and also we met with President to talk about our mission leadership council that was for the next day... ... so there went that day... believe it or not... And then Friday we had Mission Leadership council, where we cleared up a bunch of stuff... With the changes and the merger.. there have been SOOOOO many questions and everyone is just kinda feeling lost.. so that is why it took so much planning and what not.. But the meeting yesterday went well.. we are finally all on the same page. But then after that we came back to the office because we had to finish and finalize plans for this next upcoming weeks of Zone Conferences..... FREAK.. it feels like i just got done planning for Zone conferences and did them...OH WAIT I DID.. that is one of the differences.. the week after transfers they have their Zone Conferences. whereas we did Zone Conferences the week before transfers... it all works out the same except now that means I have almost 4 weeks of complete craziness. Another very different thing is that President Stahlei used to have his assistants go to all the interviews and go everywhere with him so they were never in their area and they never really go to much time to be regular proselyting missionaries. Luckily that will change this transfer.... I am just soooooooooo hungry to get back out to the field... ya I am still a pros missionary while assistant but I don't have 100 percent focus on the area with all the responsibilities etc.. so that is my little dream if you will; to go back to being just a measly senior companion and working my butt off... we'll see what happens; maybe I just need to wipe my tears away and pull up my pants and get out working now... Ya I think that is it. So if all goes well and as planned, after next week it will be home free we wont have to do anything but go out and teach people the gospel and search for some sweet miracles.. One cool thing did happen this week.. On my way into Paris on the metro/train.. I started talking to this guy and he used to go to church in Bordeaux... and he was a really cool African guy.. he wanted to come to church and doesn't live to far away from the church in Versailles.. Another fun fact; Elder Gerald Caussé, a Seventy, lives in the Versailles ward.. so how does that make you feel??? haha Well that is about all for me this week... next week will be Zone Conferences we'll go to Angers France and then stay here in Paris twice, and then up to Bruxelles.. my home... ahhhhhh Belgium here I come...
Sorry I haven't had a pday to go into Paris yet so I don't have cool pictures to send to you; I have a dumb little picture of the area around the mission home but that is really about it.. lame I know. Well love ya lots..
-Elder Jacob Von Simonson