And it came to pass...

Hey Friends
This week in Paleo Faliro (Old bay, south part of Athens) was really great. We talked to a lot of people. We met also a lot of different people and we had good conversations. One of them was with a man from Canada who has a hard time believing in religions because of the human nature. It is true that it is hard to believe in a world full of wars, disease and sufferings but these things happen because of the choice of men. I know that each of us has enough knowledge to choose to be a good person. I also know that God will protect us if we follow His commandments.
I love how Greek people love missionaries. They don't know who we are, what we do but they can see in our attitude and dess and grooming that we are helping Greece to be a better world. It's too bad that Greek tradition and the Greek Orthodox Church are so bound to each other, otherwise a lot of people would feel the need to listen to our message instead of claiming that they are Christian Orthodox.
This week was also great because I really felt a lot of support from Heavenly Father and my family. Even members of our little branch were really supportive. We have a member, Dimitris that always start Priesthood meetings by asking when are our teaching appointments during the week so that he could plan to come. He served an English-speaking mission in Colorado and decided to learn Spanish during his mission to be able to talk to more people. After his mission he decided to learn Sign Language to be able to help our Sign Language speaking members in our Branch. He also knows a little French! He is a really helpful member!
Thanks for your prayers and your letters!
Elder Clement Gaillard

Lovely Greece

Hey Friends!
Another week in South Athens! This video was taken last week from the old port of Athens. I guess there were already boats coming here more than 2500 years ago! Athens is a lovely city in fall. It's not too hot but still enough to enjoy it and they are less tourists.
I felt my Heavenly Father love a lot this past week. It's crazy how much He is blessing us when we need him! It was a hard week but I felt discouraged He sent something to comfort me. I have been here for 5 weeks already but Greek is still very hard! But I love it! It's crazy how much we actually use Greek in English or French. For example, "monologue" is made of two Greek words, mono (one) and logue (voice). It is also a good language for gospel studies like the word metanoia (repentance) which is made of the words meta (change) and noia (mind). So repentance is a change of your mind, behavior,...
I love being a missionary in Greece. I know that even if it's hard, I was given the capacity to be a good missionary here, I kust need to use them!
Thanks for your love and prayers.
Elder Clement Gaillard

One month done, 21 left !!!

Hey Friends!
I loved this past week. We had a lot of fun here in Athens. I actually improved a lot with my Greek but it still needs a lot of work!
I met a French philosophy teacher last night and we had a really good conversation. That was the first time I used my French in 3 months so I was really happy to talk. Even if we did not see any result with this man, we still left a good impression and he saw that something good was coming from us. I loved seeing that everyday in my mission!
The work is hard here in Greece. We often meet people who try to show us that we are wrong. It's always interesting to listen to them and sometimes I wish I could have enough Greek to leave them with a principle or a doctrinal point that would make them think different about what we are doing.
Last Saterday we went on a exchange and I spent a day in the old Port of Pireias. It's beautiful with a lot of boats of all kind. I loved it. Athens is really big but it has a lot of cool place to visit.
Thanks for your love and prayers. Good luck for those who come to school!
Elder Clement Gaillard

Athens is actually awesome!

Hey Friends!
This week's post will be short but I posted photos on Facebook from the MTC and my first weeks in Athens. We had another crazy week here. We are really busy actually!
We went streetboarding this week. It was a lot of fun and we talked to a lot of able. When we were still setting our whiteboard and it was still all white people started to ask us questions!
It was also a hard week. We were expecting a lot and not a lot happened. Even with good planning and lot of faith the work is still hard and we could get discouraged pretty easily. However we have everyday experiences that makes us smile and we feel that Heavenly Father loves us very much! I'm really grateful for being in Greece and doing what I'm doing. I am tired everynight but I am also happy!
Last friday we went for drycleaning and the guy working there was really nice. He really saw us as good people and representatives of Christ and we had a really good conversation. Greek is full of people like that and that's why I like to go out everyday!
Thanks for your love and prayers!
Elder Clement Gaillard