An Unforgettable Excursion...

What a week & where to begin! Tuesday morning I left for an excursion with my class. I arrived first at Omaha beach in Normandy. I had no idea Hugh Nibley was here on D-Day and was a correspondent-he spoke perfect German. The museum was touching portraying the great degree of destruction and loss. This is the first battle where we went in from behind enemy lines using parachutes. Dwight Eisenhower was the commander in chief at the time. I then walked down to Utah Beach-it has been left untouched so the terrain is marred with crater-like scars from the bombings. Ensuite, I saw the Bayeux Tapestry. It was full of symbolism and enormous!-Longer than a football field and depicting the life of William the Conqueror. I spent the rest of the day at Saint Malo, a quaint sea port village. The village is walled, so I walked the perimeter. There were also some old war bunkers on the shore, so I explored those and the cathedral with my friend Elizabeth. That evening, eleven girls and myself decided we should try the renowned seafood in the region and walked to a beautiful restaurant. We all felt gutsy enough to try escargot-and I’m thrilled to say, the taste of a snail is much better than the thought of eating one! There is so much garlic that there’s no image of it crawling down the sidewalk. ..Wednesday, I had an unexpected and incredible spiritual experience. We arrived at Mont Saint Michel in the morning for a tour, with a guide who spoke several languages, named Catarina. I walked next to her and the Welch’s and she asked after the first few rooms, “Why are you so different? Your group is so different?” In the next room, the acoustics were beautiful and it was too early for many tourists, so someone suggested we sing a hymn. Catarina gave us permission, so we began; within moments this composed French woman’s eyes were tearing up, and by the last verse, all the tourists passing through stopped and watched. When we finished, she and a few others said, “Chantez encore, s’il vous plaît…” The only other French hymn we knew how to harmonize was Je suis enfant de Dieu-I am a child of God, and that one was received just as well. Obviously Mont Saint Michel is a holy place, but I never expected to feel the spirit. We had to continue, but she was trying to figure out what was so different about us. I told her, “We believe that our hymns are, in fact, prayers to God.” She said, “Yes, I know. I can feel that.” Madame Welch told her, “Just because we’re not Catholic Catarina, we are still believers.” She asked us to sing twice more during our visit. When we finished, she treated us to cookies in the town and Brother Welch suggested I offer her something to remember us by, I asked if he had an extra French hymnal, he ‘just so happened’ to have one, and a Book of Mormon. By this point I was terrified because the first time I gave a Book of Mormon away was six years ago in Rouen, France and the woman was offended and returned it. But, taking a deep breath, Diane and I took Catarina aside and I said, “We’d like to leave you with a gift-our songs and our beliefs.” She replied, “I can’t read the notes, but I love the words…and this (she gripped the Book of Mormon)...I am very interested in this and seeing what makes you so different.” I thought I was going to faint and was squeezing Diane’s hand so tightly…I now understand why missionaries in France often have a hard time-to penetrate the shell of the French is difficult, but when it happens, it’s incredible. The great news is that there are missionaries in Cannes who are going to seek her out as soon as possible.
..Thursday, we started our visits to the castles of the Loire Valley; what an entirely different perspective than Paris! The history behind all six that we saw was so fun. I came to France thinking I would fill some sort of void of knowledge yet in fact, have just initiated the desire to learn more and more! I have become such an enthusiast of Jeanne D’Arc-Joan of Arc. What a woman-I’m dying to read Mark Twain’s biography of her. Even President Faust believed her to be inspired. I passed the wall she jumped over when preparing her troops for battle. My favorite historic chateau was probably Chenonceau. It is considered the women’s castle because of the notorious Catherine de Medici and Diane de Poitier who reigned there. Picturesquely speaking, Chambord was impressive. It would be a dream to wander the grounds all day either on horse of by foot.
Friday..We spent the night in the Convent Bon Pasteur. It was so neat to eat, talk, and stay with the nuns. Some wore their habits, some didn’t. They are wonderful women from all over who dedicate their lives to prayer and service. The one I spoke with was Sri Lankan. We visited the Tapestry of the Apocalypse later that day. Waking up early, we went to Leonardo de Vinci’s home which was a fun experience! Many people don’t get past his art to see his inventions, sketches, and philosophy. His home was filled with his quotes, and all the inventions he’d sketched out, a modern man built and they're displayed! Of the citations, my favorite was, “It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”
Saturday..Our last day was packed full, but my favorite part was visiting Chartres cathedral and hearing Brother Welch discuss the Good Samaritan window. I was fascinated to learn that the parable is actually an allegory of the plan of salvation! I had no idea. It is one of the few that we have an explanation for. I’d always thought that the Priest and Levite who pass the fallen man (Adam, who represents all of us) ignored him insensitively, when in fact it was that they couldn’t help him. The circumstance necessitated a Savior, the Savior to come. I wish I knew the stories behind every foot of the 25,000 square feet of stained glass.