Vous Respirez La Paix

Dearest friends and family,

Missionary work is radical.  In the same sense that the Lord made the raw meat in the wilderness sweet to the taste of Lehi and his family, the Lord makes spaghetti sweet for his missionaries.  After nearly 2 years of doing the exact same thing week after week, I only get more satisfaction in doing it.

Once on my mission, someone that I contacted said something very interesting.  He said, "Even if no one listens to you, the world mocks you, your message is rejected, don't be discouraged, everything that you do serves at something greater than you.  You BREATH peace."

This week most of our miracles were accomplished because of the faith of members.  For example, remember Yannick, the super cool business professor, smart, funny, good-looking.  We taught him again with his former student, our Elders Quorum President.  The rendez-vous was a testimony to me that the Spirit truly can change our hearts.  He, and he only, can teach us truth.  At the start of the rdv, Yannick had evidently read some anti-mormon material on the net between the two visits.  He came in with the attitude that he knew Joseph Smith was a fraud, that he had the whole system figured out and that he was going to teach us something.  We were patient.  We listened to him.  We let him speak.  There was no conviction behind his words, he was just confused and spitting out the things ideas that he gathered.  We showed the Joseph Smith film, in which there is a quote staying "I do not blame anyone for not believing me, if I had not lived what I lived, I would not believe it myself".  The member who was with us bore a sincere testimony of the Book of Mormon.  We shared our testimonies as well.  Little by little the spirit worked on the heartstrings of his heart as he understood the things that we were telling him.  By the end of the rdv he was completely recommitted to relying on God, the source of all truth, praying and reading the Book of Mormon.  That evening we got a text from him that said, "I read, I prayed, I was very tired, I didn't feel the warmth in my heart, but I do not dispair, I am going to redouble my prayers and finish by getting an answer.  It is beautiful to believe in God and to have faith."  Later on the week he said, "I've been praying, but I haven't heard anything yet, but I love it.  I've also been watching videos of the Church of Jesus Christ done by the great bishop in Salt Lake (  :)  )"  He then asked for another chapter to read in the Book of Mormon.  I know that he will receive his answer in the Lord's time and in his manner.  Faith, real intention and sincerity are the only requirements.

Last night, we were with a wonderful recent convert who is preparing for a mission.  We were supposed to teach Leo, but he had fallen sick and could not see us.  The member we were with received the inspiration that we needed to go and visit someone who Elder Smith and I had taught with him nearly 3 months ago.  This was someone who called me after our first lesson with her and told me that she was no longer interested and asked if she could give me back the Book of Mormon.  I told her to keep onto it, that it was our gift.  Despite the circumstances, we followed the member's inspiration and went to this woman's appartment.  I told her on doorbell call phone that we were in the neighborhood, we'd thought of her and that we'd like to share a short message with her.  We were very surprised when she let us in.  Her attitude towards opposed that of the last time I had spoken to her.  She was very warm and she offered something to drink.  She was happy to start our message with a prayer.  She listened very opening to the things that we had to say.  At the end of our message she said the closing prayer.  A very sincere prayer thanking God for sending us to her that evening.  She had commited to read a passage that we left her from the Book of Mormon.  She also invited us to come back over this weekend.  I am grateful that we decided to follow this member's spiritual prompting.

I'm starting to recognize and appreciate the lengths that our Heavenly Father went to to make this mortal journey, based on how we choose to use it, an incredibly enriching, delightful and happy experience.  Life is wonderful.  I testify of the love our Heavenly Father.  He loves us.  Even when we don't deserve it, he loves us.  The light, strength and power that comes from this love is amazing.  He manifested his love by sending his beloved son, Jesus to us.  He showed us how to love.  He breathed peace.  He did the greatest act of love for imaginable (or rather unimaginable). For these truths I am grateful.  Let this love guide us to obedience in our daily life!

I love you.

Avec amour,

Elder Kunzler

Croître, Remplir La Terre

Dearest family and friends,

So I've heard from several of you that there are some serious snow storms in Oregon in winter and a pretty snowy winter in Utah.  I am pleased to announced that I have yet to see a flake of snow this winter.  Not a lick.  Last week it was pretty rainy, but yesterday the sunshined bright!

This last week had it's highs and it's lows, like every week in missionary work.  It's nice to finally be off of crutches and to give everything to the work.  We saw some pretty cool fruit this week, as we now have two new investigators who have committed to baptism!  The first was Leondro, which turned out to be a pretty miraculous experience.  I was on an exchange and we had already taught 3 lessons that day and were wondering what we ought to do with the few hours that we had at the end of the day.  I called Elder Behling, who was in Cannes to ask him what he thought we ought to do and proposed a few names of people that we hadn't seen in a while, one of which being Leondro, who we hadn't seen in nearly a month.  We decided to pass by his apartment and sure enough, he was there!  He is 18 years old and it turns out that he is actually at a point in his life where he is needing to make some huge decisions to determine his future.  We talked to him a bit about the gospel, being an anchor in life and he accepted to prepare for baptism!  I would have never thought to pass this person or that he might be at a time in his life when he humble and searching, so I'm glad that my companion is really in tune with the spirit! :)

The next was George, who we have been teaching for a few weeks now.  George is from Madagascar and has had some strong spiritual experiences in his life that have helped to know his Savior Jesus Christ.  This week we got to have dinner with him in the home of a Malagash family in our ward.  He really profited from the Spirit that was felt in their home.  We spent some time singing hymns together with the piano, and he loved to wonderful spirit that this invited.  He understands the sacred nature of baptism and does not think that he is worthy to make this covenant with God, but we have been helping him to see that the Atonement of the Savior can have a real and immediate effect on him if he is willing to lean on Christ.  He accepted to prepared himself to be baptized and confirmed (on my birthday!)

Kisky is still progressing really well, but it is hard because we aren't able to see him as often as we would like.  He works often and can rarely make it to church.  We had a lesson with him that was probably the best so far.  Something that he has been struggling with lately is understanding the difference of the Holy Ghost and the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  We were able to, certainly through the Spirit, help it click and him to understand the difference.  He really loves the lessons, probably more than anyone else I've ever taught on my mission.  I think it is because he loves to feast upon the words of Christ.  He will make an extraordinary member.  He told us that one day he is going to know the Book of Mormon even better than us... good luck :)

Many other incredible experiences this week that I will not have the time to recount to you.  Administering to the sick, teaching the gospel, etc.  Every day of the mission is so jammed-packed of killer experiences!  I look forward to being able to telling you them all!  I love my mission because I am very happy.  The promises of the Lord are great for those who work diligently in his vineyards and I can testify that these blessings and promises are real!  And they are not only accessible to the full-time missionary, but to every worthy member for the rest of his life!  I encourage to follow Elder Ballard's council and pray for missionary opportunities this week and then ACT on the promptings you will receive!  God speed the right!

I love you

Avec amour,

ELDER KUNZLER

Je Te Rendrai Fort

Dearest family and friends,

I am healed!  I am no longer on crutches, limping from place to place like a dog on three legs!  I am free!  It feels good.  There is still a tiny little scab on the top of the foot, which should disappear this week.  I think that it is finally over... unless there still rests a tiny piece of wood in the foot, only time can tell.

This week was excellent.  It was rainy in Nice, but being an Oregon boy who is used to that kind of weather 9 months out of the year, I did my best not to complain.  One of the biggest miracles of this last week was that Kisky finally came to church!  We have been teaching him twice a week for about a month consecutively, and this I think will be a turning point for him.  He was starting to plateau in his progression and I think that it was just the right time that he come.  He even brought a friend, another brother from the Congo, who seemed to really enjoy himself, we'll be seeing if we can't start to teach him as well.  :)

The thing about Kisky is that he needs a testimony from the Holy Ghost of the divinity of the Book of Mormon.  Once he recieves this conviction, everything else will fall into place.  He is very intelligent, very critical and very open.  But what he needs is to really tell himself that at this point, he "lacks wisdom" and that he must "ask of God".  This humility will lead to an answer.  The heavens closed and stopped revealing truths to mankind at the start of the Great Apostasy because men thought they had all they answers, everything that God would ever give them, and thus they stopped asking for more.  Joseph Smith was visited by God and Jesus Christ once he turned to them asking a simple, but very important question.  It is the same principle with Kisky, he needs to come before God, humbly, without a preconceived answer already in mind and ask God with sincerity, real intention and faith.  Then wait and see what happens.  We hope he will do so, and we are continuing to encourage him.

Remember Mina?  She is great and not forgetten.  She just finalized her divorce last week and is currently going through some emotional and physical trials that have hindered her from being able to meet with us in the recent past.  But she has stayed diligent in her reading of the Book of Mormon and we hope to meet with her soon.

Remember Stella?  The mysterious German woman?  We finally got back in contact with us.  She did not forget us, she moved and now lives just a little distance outside of Nice.  She hopes to meet with us again, before she returns to Germany and the end of the month.  She also has continued faithful in her prayers and reading of the Book of Mormon.

Remember Richard?  I think it was only last week that I told you about him.  He was the catalyst for a now strong latter-day saint in meeting the church and missionaries.  We will be meeting with him this evening and I will keep you updated on how he progresses.  Speaking of which, Edwyn, the man who Richard introduced to the missionaries a few years ago, is currently hospitalized.  This last week, I had the opportunity to give him a priesthood blessing, and his room companion, who observed this whole process silently, began asking us questions afterwards.  Edwyn had told him a bit about the church and eventually the man told us that once he got out of the hospital, he would be interested in coming to church with him and seeing how that goes.  It was a testimony to me that we can do missionary work in any circumstance that life puts us in.  A witness of God in all times and in all places. ;)

All in all, the church is true!  Jesus Christ leads this church through divine revelation, the rock which Christ promised to Peter he would found it upon.  There are still many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God that are yet to be revealed!  Isn't that exciting!  A church in which asking questions is encouraged!  Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you.  Let us all ask for missionary opportunities this week and then walk into the door that will be opened up to us!

Avec amour,

ELDER KUNZLER

Nicolas' baptism

Dearest family and friends!

Yet another week passes by in the history of time and the Kingdom of God is truly on the earth.

Some pretty amazing things happened this week in Nice.  First of all, there was a baptism!  A man named Nicolas, made his first covenant with his Heavenly Father.  To be 100% honest with you, these are the most joyful experiences of the mission... even if you are on crutches and have 5 stitches on your foot.  So it was the sister missionaries that found and taught Nicolas.  The way he was found was pretty miraculous.  One of the sisters had the impression in her morning prayer about 3 or 4 months ago that she needed to help a "Nicolas" that day, even though she had no idea who that would be.  So they were surprised when they contacted him and at the end of the contact asked if by chance his name was Nicolas.  He freaked out a bit and said it was!  I had the opportunity to do the baptismal interview with him and got to feel of his meek and humble spirit.  He had read the entire gospel principles manual and a good portion of the Book of Mormon.  He had even gone to the local library and researched more about the prophet Joseph Smith.  He had a strong testimony that he was a prophet of God.  I felt very honored when Nicolas asked if I would perform the ordinance.  I arrived in Nice at about the time that he first started getting taught, so we've been able to get to know each other a bit since I've been here.  It was a wonderful service and when we were in the changing room after just having gotten out of the warm waters, I got to talk to him a bit and he told me that he felt like he was starting a new life.  He really is.

Kisky is on fire.  It's ironic that I say that because one of the issues that he is having is that he believes that he has already been baptized by fire.  He thinks that he already has the gift of the Holy Ghost.  He knows the Bible like the back of his hand and he believes that, like Cornelius (who actually only had a manifestation of the Spirit)  some people are baptized by fire before being baptized by water.  But he is on fire nonetheless.  He is ready the Book of Mormon between all of our visits and is truly "feasting on the words of Christ" like Nephi invites us to.  It's funny because he just read that chapter and loved it.  He progresses very well and has promised us that he will be coming to church this sunday since he does not work.  Yes!  This week he accepted to live the Word of Wisdom without asking any questions whatsoever.  This is a really sign of conversion because before he used to question many of the teachings, but now he is having much more confidence in them.  The only real problem is coffee, which he drinks to keep himself awake because he works in security and it is always the night shift.  But he has agreed to live this commandment!  Joy!

A pretty cool miracle happened actually right after our last appointment with Kisky, I was crutching my way over to the tram stop with Elder Behling when we began talking with a big man with a Detroit hat and a salt and pepper (mostly salty) beard.  He looked like an American truck driver.  We came to find out that he knows the church very well.  We did a little more investigating and came to find out that he was actually the person who introduced someone who was baptized into the ward a few years ago to the missionaries!  He told us that there was one thing that he had never done and that he would like to do and that was to be baptized by water for a remission of his sins.  Wowee!  We told him that he had met the right people, that we had the authority of God to do so.  He knew that there was a disciplined preparation for baptism and we told him that we would love to start helping him to get prepared right away.  We are planning on seeing him this week and pray that he is truly ready to make this covenant with God!  It was a pretty cool experience.

Dearests, the mission is the greatest!  The sun is shining here in Nice and there are people who are waiting to come to a knowledge of the truth!  I will be off crutches this week, I get the stitches out on Tuesday and I'll be walking and running like normal in no time.  Thank you for all the prayers and support.  Apparently the photo of my foot has become the internet phenomenon of the mission.  I've heard that is you google "France Lyon Mission",  on Google Images, a picture of my foot is the first thing that comes up.  Yes.  I will always have a beautiful scar that will remind me of Christ, my master, for whom I suffered!  May we all remind him, keep his commandments and truly take his name upon us as his disciples!  I love you much!

Avec amour, Elder Kunzler

"It was.... SOAP POISONING!"

Dieu vitesse le droit

Dearest family and friends,

The operation went well.  I have six stitches in my foot.  I think that it was the first time that my french surgeon had seen a size thirteen foot.

Remember how I told you about the business professor that was brought to church by our Elder's Quorum President?  Before digging into more about what happened last week, I'd just like to go into a bit more detail about what happened last sunday.  So he came to church and really had a good experience.  After church, he went home and really did some reflecting.  He then decided to say a prayer sometime that evening.  In his prayer, he poured out his soul to God and had a very strong spiritual experience.  He told us that he felt a warmth that came into his chest that brought peace to his soul, like someone was saying to him that everything was going to be alright.  He then responded by asking God what he should do and he felt like the answer that he received was that he should continue to come to church and that this was the path that he ought to take.  It was at this point that he called Tahiana and he fixed a first appointment with us.

The first appointment went well.  He is an incredible person who is going through a bit of emotional torment at this point in his life.  He is a bit ruled by his emotions, he let them take him a bit too far and now he is separated from his girlfriend and he doesn't get to see his daughter as often as would like.  He is also feeling remorse for some other things that he has done in his life.  We taught him, for these reasons, about the Atonement of Jesus Christ so that he might now to what source to look to for a remission of his sins.  I don't know if it is good to publish other people's personal and spiritual experiences like I am, but I hope that these stories that I tell you serve you in some way.  The people who I teach have a big influence on me.  I will never be able to capture these experiences with just a few words in the time that I am given.  I love these people.  I am grateful for their humility and their sincerity.  Sometimes I only teach them once, with other people it is several lessons.  However many times it is, I am grateful for every teaching experience that I have.

Elder Behling and I are pleased to announce that we will be staying together here in Nice!   The best city in France, the perfect ward, the greatest people!  The conditions are perfect.  Baptisms are soon to follow.  Did you know that Joseph Fielding Smith did not have a single baptism on his mission to England?  I think that this interesting.

Kisky is the coolest investigator on this side of the Mississippi.  He knows the Bible like the back of his hand and reads the Book of Mormon vigarously, like a thirsty panther on the jungle floor.  He is seeking.  We taught him about the plan of salvation this last week and think that that is exactly what he needed.  He understand it perfectly and he asked the perfect questions.  He needs the testimony that Joseph Smith is truly a prophet and revelator.  And it will come.  He also needs to come to church.  And he will come.

This is the greatest work, the best two years.  I love every minute.  God speed the right!

Avec amour,

Elder Kunzler

D'un Jour Meilleur l'Aurore Luit

This delightful woman that we contacted yesterday let me borrow her hat!

Dearest family and families,

As some of you have already heard from the mission office this last, I confirm that my foot will be operated on this afternoon!  Last week, we did a bit more investigating (with an ultrasound) and found that there is still a 2.1 cm long sliver of wood still hanging out underneath my skin.  This explains why my foot has been ejecting puss nearly nonstop for the last 5 or so months.  The operation should be quite simple and the recovery is not really going to affect the work, which is huge blessing as we are seeing many miracles in this area at this time.

This last week we were to teach 10 lessons, the most I've taught since I've been here in Nice and we have 4 new investigators.  As I explained last week, some of our investigators who had previously been showing progression or potential have been either difficult to contact or have not been show sincere desire.  That is why it is really cool that the Lord has been willing to bless us with sheaves on our backs right when we thought we were losing investigators!

I would like to start by sharing some really cool experiences that we have had very recently in aiding in the member missionary efforts.

First, on Saturday night, our awesome, young Elder's Quorum President, Tahiana gave me a call and told me that his former business management professor would be coming to church the following morning and that he would like me to be the one to welcome him to church, because, according to him, he was JUST like me.  So, I wasn't very surprised when a beautiful, intelligent, funny and incredibly nice man showed up to sacrament meeting with a huge smile on his face.  Hehe.  After the hymn that we sung, he said that he felt very relaxed and at ease.  After the meeting, Tahiana and I were able to chat with him.  He had a ton of questions and we had an epic conversation.  He is Christian, but he has lots of doubts about things like the creation and Adam and Eve.  He is just a very good person who is searching for something that will bring him peace and solace in this world.  My companion and I had to go in the middle of the conversation, but Tahiana called me later and told me that after I had left he met the bishop and they stayed and chatted for a while.  After leaving, Yannick (Tahiana's friend) called him and told him that he had been reflecting and he thinks that this is the path that he ought to take.  We will be teaching him on Wednesday!  Member missionary work is the best!

Tahiana's brother, Tanjona, our former WML comes with us to play basketball on Saturdays with some of his friends and another member's friends.  During basketball this week, Tanjona explained to us that one of his friends who was there had received a Book of Mormon and had come to a few Young Adult activities in the past.  He asked us to do a follow-up with him.  So after the games, we were able to walk out of the courts with him and get to know him a little better.  He's a really cool Christian who doesn't really go to church, but lives better values than a lot of people who do.  He lives the Word of Wisdom à fond.  We invited him to church and he said he would come!  Then he showed up at 8:45, 15 minutes before the meetings even started!  Tanjona was so stoked to see him there.  He loved church and we will be doing an FHE with him tomorrow evening.  Some cool potential.

We are also now teaching a solid young man from the Congo.  His name is Kisky.  Yeah, it sounds like a rapper name.  He knows the Bible better than any one I've ever taught on my mission.  He was actually contacted and passed to us by the sisters here.  He is originally Catholic, but he converted to an Evangelical church a few a years ago, but he doesn't really practice that any more.  He has a super huge desire to know if the Book of Mormon is true.  He told us that he was going to read and deeply study whatever we gave him to read between appointments and seek divine help in determining if it is true.  He read 3 Nephi 11 after our first meeting and loved it.  He is fun to teach, because he understands the magnitude of EVERYTHING we teach and he understands why we are there, to help him to prepare to be baptized once he gets an answer.  He said that he would be baptized if he receives his answer that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet!  Cool.

A few other cool other investigators I will not have the time to tell you about, Michel, a 20 year old Brazilian and Lilian a delightful French woman who is looking for truth.

Nice is the best.  Miracles are happening everywhere.  In Cannes, there was a baptism on Saturday.  Someone who had been coming to church and receiving the lessons for the last 2 years (even has an institute diploma).  He just up and decided that he was ready.  Joy!

I know that this work is the most rewarding of all and I encourage you all to join in the greatest of all causes!  I testify of the fulfilling feeling that God grants us as we engage in the same cause to which He himself consecrates all his time and energy (even though he lives in eternity and has a resurrected body), "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".

God speed the right!

Avec amour,

ELDER KUNZLER

Israel, Israel, Dieu t'appelle

Stella's Christmas gift, Das Buch Mormon!

Dearest friends, family, acquintances, kinsfolk, and strangers,

The time has come.  The Lord is gathering in his sheep.  He is gathering them from the four corners of the earth (I've never really understood this expression, because the earth doesn't have any corners), from the northern countries.  The first shall be the last and the last shall be the first.  The Lord's work is being accomplised even in the city of Nice, France.  Where there are 10 full time missionaries bringing in the harvest this beautiful month of January.

Over a month and a half ago I gave the Book of Mormon to a Jewish man named Izak, who was about to leave to go the Holy Land, the country of Israel.  I told him that I would contact him upon his return.  Now this man has come to church three times in a row, and yesterday he committed to be baptised at the end of the month.  This is someone who did not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ.  A man who used to worship God in synangogues.  He is someone who has taken time and energy to teach and help understand, but who has little by little progressed and received testimonies.  He loves to do missionary work.  Have already met over half a dozen of his friends and been able to teach about half of them.  He is excited to be able to share "l'église Mormon" with his friends.  Good example.

High on the Mountaintop, a Banner is Unfurled (over Nice)

Let me tell you about a few of his friends that we teach.

First there is Stella.  Stella is a wonderful German woman who is only staying in Nice for a few months.  She came to France on a bit of a spiritual journey and she met us her first week and has read from the German Book of Mormon that we gave her nearly every day since Christmas.  She is afraid to go come to church, however, because she doesn't want members getting the idea that she Izak's wife.  Hehe.  She already has a very strong testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and she is loving the things that she is learning with us.  A wonderful woman who will stay here until the end of February and is progressing in her study of the restored gospel.

Then there is Alain.  Alain owns a shop that is just a couple blocks from our apartment.  We actually just ran into him on the way to come do our emails.  He is an evangelical christian convert, he was born catholic, but he considers himself a true convert of only a few years.  He, however, has kept some of the catholic doctrines that pleased him, one's that are not found in his current church, while rejecting others.  We will be teaching him for the third time this evening and will be sharing the Plan of Salvation, which he has many questions about.  Teach the gospel to friends of investigators is really cool.  Almost as good as teaching the friends of members :).

Des cuisses de grenouilles! Frog legs!

Unfortunately, we have been unable to get into contact with a few of our other investigators.  Mina and Moise are sure to get into contact with us very soon.  Keep them in your prayers, please.  The last time I talked to Mina, she was going through some family difficulties.

Happy New Year, one and all!  2014 is sure to be a wonderful year!  Let us be committed to serve the Lord this year in whatever capacity or situation God has given us!

Avec amour,

ELDER KUNZLER

Christmas morning- Did a spiritual thought with some radical latter-day saints!