It's looking like something big is going to happen...

Hello Friends!
Christmas is coming! The streets and shops of Nicosia are full of lights. The air smells like winter. People go Christmas shopping. Pretty soon we will take out the Christmas tree from storage and try to make it look nice haha! Elder Okazaki is leaving and going home in one week so he does not really care about it. Good for him!
This transfer was really fast. It brought me to the end of my first fourth of my mission. Soon I'll be home haha! I love the mission, I love Cyprus and I love our Nicosia Branch. This week we visited the Kykos Monastery up in the mountain. It was freezing cold but really interesting. The monks have painted a lot of events from the Bible, the life of Christ and his apostles on the walls of the Monastery. It is really impressive (even if it's really Orthodox!).
We were invited by Jenny yesterday for a Chinese lunch. Their food is so good! I am very grateful for the Chinese members in our ward. They help us a lot with our investigators and they are always coming to activities to support the Branch, even if they have exams or work.
Last night we had a lesson with Amelia. We set up her baptism date. Hopefully if everything is ok she will be baptized next Tuesday youhou! She is a really nice girl who always wanted to be baptized but had a lot of opposition from her friends. She kept coming to lessons and learned about the Gospel until she was really convinced that she was coming to the right Church. And she is! I know that this Church is really the Church of Jesus Christ on Earth. It is true!
I miss all of you friends. Enjoy your Christmas times home!
Elder Clement Gaillard

Two Frenchmen in Nicosia!

Hey Friends!
We had a good week here in Nicosia! We did a lot of good things! Let me share some of them. We did some shopping on P-Day at Ikea but we mainly enjoyed the 50 cents hot dog deal there haha. On Wednesday I made a really good chili con carne. I love cooking on my mission! We celebrated Thanksgiving on Wednesday night with the other Elders in Cyprus. We gathered at the Zone Leader's apartment for a sleepover and I cooked a chicken with mash potatoes and gravy. It was excellent! Happy Thanksgiving! On Thursday we had Zone Conference with Elder Causse, our French General Authority from the First Quorum of the Seventy. We were taught by him for more than 6 hours but it was great. What he said completely changed a lot of my vision of missionary work and as I apply his teachings I can see my missionary skills go on the next step. It is great! Then on Saturday we went down to Larnaka for exchanges. I had a good time with my friend Elder Rimmel. We also had some Indians member cook us a spicy meal!
Well, just to let you know the mission is more than just eating. We are also working hard! We have good investigators but a lot of opposition too. Hopefully all will go well!
Thanks for your love! Enjoy December!
Elder Clement Gaillard

Baptism Day!

Hey friends!

We had a great week in Cyprus with two baptisms! This Saturday Cherry and Linda were baptized and it was wonderful! Here on this picture you can see from right to left: Elder Escher, Linda, Cherry and me! Funny thing, this Saturday was exactly one month since we met Cherry. We were able to see with Elder Okazaki a real conversion. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is really the way that we have to follow in this life!

This week was also good. We made lasagna and banana bread... The weather is still good and warm but since the sun usually disappears from the sky around 4:30pm now, it's getting cold around 9:00pm when we bike home. Anyway we still enjoy the good Mediterranean climate!

This week is Thanksgiving. We are planning something good with Elder Okazaki. I'll tell you next week!

November in Cyprus

Hi Friends!

We had an excellent week here in Cyprus. Elder Okazaki and I are doing great. We teach and find people. We try to improve our teaching skills and do our best. This transfer is a great one. I learn so much and we are blessed with so many opportunities to teach and help people to come closer to Christ.

This week great experience for me was to see how our investigator Cherry is having a change of heart. It is wonderful. When we first taught her, she said she was confused and she could not understand why we decided to sacrifice 2 years of our life to come here. But now she says she understands and she is so grateful for it. Every week she is cooking us some delicious Chinese food. She is a wonderful person! You can actually see on her face how her life is becoming better and how she does feel closer to Heavenly Father. I am so grateful to be here as a misionary and being able to see that. If you don't know if you should serve a mission or not, do it! It will change your life. It will help you understand the Gospel better. It will help you to know how to work hard. It will help you to have a better life. It is worth every minute of it!

I have been a missionary for 5 months already... I miss people amd home but I love the work. This week I really learn that when you have a problem, the solution is to kneel down and ask God's help, and then go to work. It works!

Thank you for all your prayers!

Elder Gaillard

I ask her, and she said "Yes, next week?"

Hey Friends!

As the title of this post says, we ask one of our investigator if she wants to be baptized and she answered "Yes, next week?". Cherry has such a desire to learn and follow the Gospel. We are excited for her baptism, on November 28th. Waouh! It feels really good. I've thought a lot about it. One of the first thing I learned when I came in this mission is that I should not expect to bring anybody to baptism because Greece and Cyprus are full of strong Greek Orthodox but this is wrong. Always expect high and give the best of yourself. Heavenly Father is preparing a way for us to accomplish what we have to do. On my mission I learned that I have to work hard, have a lot of self-discipline and get on my knees to receive the help that I need. This is how it works. I am really grateful that I've learned that. I still have a lot to learn and a lot of Christlike attributes to develop.

I was reading some news from my friend Elder McLaws in Taiwan. I am really grateful for the great example he is. One thing he wrote is that sometimes he feels so ingrateful for all the things that he is receiving on his mission. As missionaries we receive so much and as I realised how ingrateful I am too, I want to work harder, do the right work, do all that I can because sometimes I don't, even if I know I should. The mission is great. I have learned so much about myself and about our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. There is so much to do and learn and I have still 19 months!

Good weather came back at Nicosia. We went on the Turquish side of Nicosia. We crossed the no man's land between the two countries. It is a modern battlefield in the middle of the city. It felt weird to know that these people have the same heritage, the same past but war separated them. They now have a different culture, language, religion,... Anyway, we discovered with Elder Okazaki Turquish Delight. It is so good. It is a really good confection made of starch and sugar and fruit flavored. Really good!

Nicosia is getting ready for Christmas already. I am very excited to see how it is what we are going to do as missionaries.

I am very grateful for all that our Savior Jesus Christ did for us. I am trying to follow his example.

Thank you for your love and prayers!

Elder Clement Gaillard

NIcosia is awesome

Hey friends and family!
I had a wonderful week here in Nicosia. We have great investigators!
I received a letter full of messages from the Young Adult of my Stake. That was really cool. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers! It really helps us to know that as we work hard and try to loose ourselves in the work, we have friends back home that will be there in 20 months! Except for a couple of you who will be on their mission I hope!
This week was really stormy and we often were under the rain with our bikes. Sometimes we come back home all muddy but happy! We had a cool experience last night. We were trying to contact less-active members when it started to rain really hard. We were close from having to go back home for the night but we decided to visit this last member. We went to his apartment and met him and we discovered that he had no idea that he was a member and that he was baptized. We really felt that we had to leave the place (who was a shared apartment of Nepalese people). We managed to leave and as we were asking ourselves why we had to through storms and mud and strange people we met this student who wanted to know who we are and what we do. We got his number and we realized that he was the last name we needed to meet all our goals of the week, in these last few minutes of the day. We went home all wet but happy that we finished the week well. Sometimes you just have to do the work, even if it's hard, and then you see the blessings and the fruit in such a different way.
I love this work, I love the Gospel!
Thanks for your support!
Elder Clement Gaillard

A summer in Nicosia

Hey everybody!

I am doing great! We had a really good week with Zone Conference and District Conference. Our Mission President, President Charles (from England) is such an inspired man! He really has a vision of the work of our Heavenly Father on earth and he is giving us missionaries such a faith and energy!

I have been in Nicosia for one week already. It's a student town with a lot Asian students. Most of them are opened to hearing about the Gospel and we are able to have a lot of discussions. With Elder Okazaki we are also in charge of English classes and outreach (center for young adults) and it's very successful! We have high expectations for this transfer!

What I like in Cyprus is that we are on bikes! I love riding and here in Nicosia there is not a lot of traffic so biking is a really good enjoyable experience. And I will be able to lost a couple extra pounds from the MTC haha!

This week we met a lot of people who think that we only need to believe in God and love others by being a good person. They end up believing in that because of all the bad things that we can see in the world. It is true that there are a lot of bad things but we should also be grateful for all the good things in our lives. Let's look around us and see all our blessings!

I love being a missionary. It's great!

Thanks for your prayers and love.

Elder Clement Gaillard

Transfer Surprise! I'm in Cyprus!!!

Hey friends!
Transfers calls were made last last Thursday and President Charles announced me that I was leaving for Cyprus! I was really surprised because I really thought that I was going to stay in Paleo Faliro in Athens. Anyway, I am in Nicosia since yesterday, with Elder Okazaki. We are looking forward to have a great transfer! We are living in the center of the city and I love it. It is more quiet and less dirty than Athens but it is also very hot and humid! I am going to have a great winter. I actually cannot tell you a lot about my area and Cyprus because we have only been there for one day but it is a great place.
We ride bike (with helmets) and we have to ride on the left side of the road (Cyprus used to be an English island). It really changes from bus and I really enjoy it.
I will send more news next week. My new address is

Elder Gaillard
6 Princess Anna Street
Flat 23
2373 Agios Dometios
Nicosia
Cyprus

Thanks for your prayers and your support
Elder Gaillard

Oh no not you again!

This week we were in a building doing some door knocking and it was just crazy. Every floor had something crazy and there was a lot of weird noise. "Oh no not you again" was written on one of the front door carpet. We also ended up being locked inside. Greece is a crazy country!
This is the end of my first transfer and I am probably going to stay in Paleo Faliro but I will have a different companion! I had a really good first transfer and I am excited to have 10 more!
I have thought a lot this week about my purpose and goals as a missionary. I have come to enjoy being a missionary, even if it is hard to talk to people and to keep faith. But I have been blessed so much for this past four months. I can really feel Heavenly Father's love for me. I know that if we follow His son Jesus Christ and we choose to live according to His Gospel, then we can feel this love from God!
Another funny story this week. We were door knocking one morning and we were really excited for the day. We were able to enter in a garden and a woman start to talk with us until a small dog showed up and try to play with us. It was messing around until it got bored and found another game, biting my shoes! So yeah a dog tried to eat me and he actually almost bite my leg haha. We finally decided to leave but the dog kept trying to eat me. That was really funny. Our Mission President told us that Satan could control the dogs and that's probably why all the dogs in the entire world are always trying to eat missionaries!
Thanks for your love and support!
Elder Clement Gaillard

4 fantastic months done, 20 giga-fantastic more to go!

I cannot believe that I have been a missionary for 4 months now. The mission is going really fast! We are really busy everyday and when we're not we feel lazy so we work harder! This week was interesting. I had a lot of conversations with Greek people and it was good. It helps me to know my mistakes and improve my Greek.
This morning we were jogging with Elder Gifford and we saw a very interesting cemetery. We decided to visit it and it turned out to be an English military graveyard from World War II. It was really cool to see that. Sadly we didn't have our cameras but we're planning to come back to take pictures. A lot of English soldiers gave their lives for the freedom of Greece and it is really nice to see that these people are rewarded with a beautiful memorial.
Anyway Greece was more alive this weekend. It was the elections and the orientation of the government changed. Something funny about elections weekend in Greece is that most of the people spend this weekend out of Athens, in their villages. It's a nice tradition. Too bad we can't go and visit these villages. The people there have probably never met missionaries!
I hope you all enjoyed General Conference. It will be translated for us in a couple weeks so don't tell me anything! Haha we are really excited for it. I hope it was good like always! This year it made me think about how we should be grateful for the Church organization that allows us, wherever we are to receive modern revelations from prophets. It is a real blessing that only a few people on earth have!
Thanks for your letters and prayers. You are in mine!
Elder Clement Gaillard

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

Already 2 weeks!

Hey Friends!
My second week in Greece was great! I still have a hard time understanding Greek and speak to people but I can definitely say that I'm doing better with language. I can't wait to be fully effective in a couple weeks!
Here is a picture of my MTC group with President and Sister Charles. We are on Mars Hill, he place where Paul preached in Acts 17. Read it. We stood at the exact place where he preached and we shared our testimonies. It's amazing how we are teaching the same Gospel that Paul preached. It is the true restored Gospel of Jesus Christ!
It's still hot and sunny in Greece but summer is ending and people go back to work and studies. The city was almost dead last week and now people are back. We have more opportunities to talk to people and it's great. We met an old guy who was still believing in the 12 antics gods. He was funny. Most of the people are not interested and some are just grateful that we talk about Christ to people but they don't want to listen to our message. Greek people are really interesting.
This week we had a great experience. We visited two inactive sisters and after our visits they felt that we really cared for them and that we really wanted them to come back. Hopefully they'll come to church on Sunday. One of them is also ready to help the missionaries. It's great! We really felt the Spirit with them and they have great testimony. Some people just need to feel love to be better people. So try to care more for people and you'll feel this love back from Heavenly Father!
I love being a missionary in Greece, in the South Athens Branch. It's great. I'm so grateful that I decided to serve a mission! Thank you for your love and support!
Elder Clement Gaillard

7 days in Greece, 7 days in Paradise

Hey Friends!
This week was crazy fantastic! I can't believe I have been in Greece for already one week! It's a beautiful country. I am in Athens and I live close to the sea. It's great. My trainer is Elder Gifford from Texas.
I feel like all the things I learned at the MTC are gone. I cannot understand the Greeks and they cannot understand me!!! It's coming little by little and I am excited for that! Greek people are very curious and nice about the Church but they are not interested at all. Hopefully we are blessed with a couple people who listen to us and we are happy to teach them and see them progressing. We found a young Greek, Constantinos and we have a lot of hope for him.
We also met an old lady while we were door knocking. She just saw that we were wearing nametags with the name of Jesus Christ and she started to bless us with Orthodox prayers and she told us that we were angels. She then offered us watermelon (so good here in Greece). That was great, I'm sure this old lady will make it to the Celestial Kingdom, even if she doesn't get baptized!
We also had a lot of forest fires just outside the city. It's adding smoke to the very polluted city of Athens. This city is huge but where we live it's pretty quiet, espacially in the early morning...
I love the work. It's hard, but was it easy for Jesus Christ and even Paul when he was in Greece? I know that what I am doing is true and important. I love being a missionary!
Thanks for your love and your support. You can write me at the adress on the right or email me on eldergaillard@gmail.com
Take care
Elder Clement Gaillard

I'll be in Greece on Monday!

Hey Friends
I received my flight plans last week. I'm leaving the MTC on Sunday and I'll be in Athens on Monday morning. This is so exciting!
These nine weeks were really fast but I loved them. The MTC is great. I'm going to miss it. So I'm getting ready for the great departure. Greek is doing great but I am terrified to talk to real Greek people. I pray everyday so that my trainer will be the best prepared and that he will help me to get the language!
This week was kind of hard and the results were not the one I wanted but I know that if I work hard, Heavenly Father will always to be there to help me through the mission. My goal is to bring people closer to Christ and I know I can do it. I am really grateful to able to serve a mission and help my Heavenly Father in His work. I saw many blessings in my life since I have been set apart. It is just awesome!
Thanks for your love, support and letters. Next time I'll write from Greece!
Elder Clement Gaillard

Greek is awesome!

Hey Friends!
I love Greek. It is the coolest language ever! This week we finished studying the grammar and now we just need to practice a lot so that we don't think 2 minutes everytime we're looking for a word in our mind. I can actually teach a Greek person now and I'm really excited to tract down the streets of Athens and Greece!
The NTC is still a great place. I am going to miss it. With my companion Elder Rodriguez, we're teaching a "fake' investigator, Bobby Jamison but this man is acting so well that it feels real. We really love teaching him and we're exciting to invite him to get baptize pretty soon.
I love being a missionary! It's really changing my life and I'm excited to help people change their lives pretty soon!
The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Plan of God for us are really great! Study it again and again. It is so wondeful!
Thanks for your letters and support. Take care!
Elder Clement Gaillard

Three Weeks left!

Hey Friends
Thanks for your message of this past week. I really appreciate ;)
This week was really fast. At the MTC, days are long, but weeks are short. Anyway, I enjoy everyday learning the beautiful greek language and how to share the beautiful message of Jesus Christ.
I should receive my flight plans in this coming weeks. I will be in Greece in 3 weeks. I am so excited for it. Last night we were evaluating our teaching skills by teaching the message of the Restoration to a (fake) investigator. My colleague Elder Rodriguez did really great with Greek it was awesome and we were able to touch this person's heart. It was wonderful. I know that God really loves us and blesses us when we follow His Son Jesus Christ.
This week we had a devotionnal about the Book of Mormon. It was very powerful. The Book of Mormon is a real testimony of Jesus Christ and whoever wants to know more about our Church should read it. I know it is true and that it was translated by the power of God.
I read a quote from Elder Ballard this week "the safest place for a 19-21 years old young man is the mission field" I know that I am doing the right thing at the right place at the right time. I love being a missionary!
Thanks for your love and support!
Elder Clement Gaillard

Hey Friends
I am pretty much halfway through the MTC. It is crazy but I am sure I will miss the MTC.
Greek is doing great. Yesterday for the first time we taught a full lesson in Greek. That was hard but I learned a lot. It is easy to teach a lesson in a different language, but it is really hard to teach someone and express yourself so that you touch the investigator's heart. I also learned the First Vision in Greek. It is awesome to be able to teach the Restoration in Greek. It's my favorite thing to teach because it brings a strong Spirit when you teach it.
I know that this work is true. I learned this week that it is bigger than me and you. It is an eternal cause, to teach the truth to people and invite them to come unto Christ.
Thank you for your love and your prayers. I love receiving your news and I do my best to answer your letters. Have a great week.
Love
Elder Clement Gaillard

Hi Friends!
I've been at the MTC for one month already and I have ten minutes to tell you how's life ;)
Life is actually great. The greek is coming along very well and next week our challenge is to teach the first lesson in greek. It is amazing how fast we learn.
The spirit at the MTC is great. We learned everyday about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I can really feel the blessings from God in my life. We had the visit of several General Authorities and we had a Devotionnal with Elder Holland. He taught how central is the role of the Holy Ghost in our lives and in missionary work. Always keep the Spirit with you.
Being a missionary is great. I really feel that I am doing the right thing at the right time and I cannot wait to be in Greece to preach people about Jesus Christ. He is our Savior and He loves us.
My companion is Elder Rodriguez. He is from Italy and he is really funny. We are doing a great job together.
I will try to write every week. You can now send me emails at eldergaillard@myldsmail.net or through dearelder.com
Thanks for your love and your prayers. I'm trying to answer to all your letters.
May God bless you
Elder Clement Gaillard

Adresses

Hey friends!

I'm going to be set apart tomorrow night and I'm taking the plane on Monday morning. I'm flying from Geneva to Paris and finally to Salt Lake City. I should be landing at 2pm Utah time.

Here are my adresses for the mission:

At the MTC, from June 16th to mid-August:
Elder Clement Gaillard
Greece Athens Mission
Provo MTC
2005 North 900 East
Provo, UT 84604
USA

In Greece, from mid-August to June 11':
Elder Clement Gaillard
Greece Athens Mission
Panayias Eleftherotrias 9
PO Box 51178
145 63 Kifissia
Greece

I will do my best to answer your letters :)

You can also email me eldergaillard@gmail.com

Next post will be from the MTC ;)

Take care and see you in two years!

Peinao Sa Lukos is online!

As an LDS missionnary I'm going to spend two of my most exciting years of my life in Greece and Cyprus. These two years have a great value for me. I've been preparing for them all my life and I'm now really excited to go.

I'm creating this blog for three reasons: 1st it allows you to come and freely read my news whenever you want to do it. I don't like the idea of sending an email to everyone because I know that some of you wouldn't read my emails for more than two months. So when you go on your mission or you get engaged or you get bored, I won't "spam" your email box. 2nd I simply send my posts and pictures to this blog by email to publish them. It's fast and simple. 3rd this blog is linked to my facebook and twitter accounts so you'll be able to follow me on your favorite social networks or feed readers (links are on the right).

I hope you'll enjoy it! I've met most of you at BYU but some of you are friends from the US or from my stake. I know that some of you don't really know the church but you're great friends and I hope you'll discover a lot through this blog. By the way I'm sorry for the people who don't really speak English like me but I'm going to write most of this blog in English and not in my wonderful French...

Anyway I'm exactly reporting in one month (June 16th) so you've got time to put this blog in your bookmarks and send me some of your news before I'm leaving.

One more thing, I'll bring back a souvenir to the person who will first find the French translation of the blog title ;)