E's Baptism

Baptisms in the Manosque Branch are done on Sunday.  They have no baptismal font so the baptisms are done at the ward building in Aix en Provence 56 km to the southwest.  We had driven by Aix when Mike brought us home to Greoux from the airport.  Except for Marseille, it was the largest city (abt 150,000) we went through.

Because of the travel time involved, those from the branch going to the baptism will bring food to share for a lunch after church meetings are over, and before they drive down to Aix.  The lunch is usually held at the church, but we had the opporunity to go to the home of the Pope's for lunch.  They lived in our stake in Utah while Bro. Pope got his MBA at BYU, so when we walked into sacrament meeting the first week, he greeted Wayne with a cheerful "Hi, Pres."  He now works at ITER, where Mike works.  After a lovely lunch on their deck, we drove to Aix and were greeted by 6 missionaries and several branch members at the church.

E was the only one to be baptised that day, so the program was presented mostly by the Francom family and was done in English except for the closing song which was "I Am a Child of God" (Je suis enfant de Dieu). The missionaries had one investigator there, so they translated into French for him. Sister Pope and Wayne gave the prayers, A and I gave talks, A, S & J sang "I Like To Look for Rainbows" and Mike baptized and confirmed E.   The primary president and the president of the Manosque Branch, President Roll, also spoke. President Roll, who is French, did a wonderful job of speaking in English.  After the program, we all had treats in the multipurpose room.  The Rice Krispie bars were a complete hit with the missionaries and it was great fun for us to talk to them.

Outside the meeting house in Aix.

The family--minus E

Talking with President Roll.  Notice the Hello Kitty bag.  He has 2 small daughters.

E with a big smile after her baptism.

E's candy lei was sent to her from her Primary teacher in Utah.

E shared her candy lei with her friend who has the same name and is also 8 years old.

Members of the Manosque Branch eating treats after the baptism.

More friends.