Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 15:30:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: Flippp <geatravel@yahoo.com>
Subject: True Companions Part V - P Day Afternoon I

This is the continuation of a fictionalized story set during the early
1970s in my mission in France and Belgium. Though based on real places
and some real situations, it is fiction and is only meant
as something I would have liked to have happened.

Gary

---------------

Part V -- P Day Afternoon I

After leaving the Municipal Baths, Elder M and I dropped our gym bags
back at the apartment and then went over to the local department store
and picked up some supplies including soap, tooth paste and
shaving cream. Elder M also needed some shoe polish and I bought some
handkerchiefs to help with the black air around us all the time. After
finishing our purchases, we walked to the several shops you had to hit in
order to buy food. Like the French, the Belgians had yet to discover the
"supermarche" where you only made one stop for your weeks groceries. We
had to go to 3 different stores every day to get our food.

As it turned out, Elder M was a lot better cook than me. He could make
hamburger and rice look actually tempting. And he was a whiz with pasta
and beans. My other two companions could barely boil water so I did most
of the cooking with my "Seventy's Bookstore Missionary Cookbook" that my
girl friend bought me. It contained 17 different green jello recipes! Too
bad Belgium didn't have any green jello! But with Elder M, life was good.
He cooked up vegetables and deserts on our little two burner stove that
would make you want seconds. He said he learned it from his father who
loved to cook while his mother was a miserable failure in the kitchen.

Today we got some baguettes, ham and cheese and took them home. We made
sandwiches to take with us into Liege where the entire Zone was going to
meet for an activity at the new Liege Chapel. To this day, I
still buy a long baguette at the store when I can find them and slap on
some ham and brie cheese along with Dijon mustard and have a feast! After
loading up a bag with sandwiches, M and M type candy, some apples and
oranges and some dried up cookies, we took off for the bus station to
catch a bus into the big city.

The Liege Zone had districts in Verviers and Seraing along with 3 in
Liege. So we had 14 missionaries all together meeting at the Chapel. The
Zone Leader (we called him the Zap) and his companion (the baby
Zap) had a VW bus they drove around the zone in to work with us on
occasion. The ZL was Elder Simpson. He was at the bus station picking us
up along with his companion Elder Bertrand, a native Frenchman
from Beziers in the south of France. We waited around for the Verviers
elders to arrive. Verviers was a town 20 minutes east of Liege and had
two elders, Sorenson and Peters, who I hadn't met yet.
Elder M had been in the zone for nearly 4 months and knew everyone else.
I was the newest elder and had yet to meet any of them.

"Elder Simpson and Betrand, this is my new companion, Elder Roark," Elder
M said as he introduced me to the Zap and Baby Zap. Elder
Bertrand understood English well enough not to need a translation.
Unfortunately for the native French elders, we tended to speak English
when together and they needed to adapt. We tried to be empathetic but
testosterone loaded 20 somethings frequently forget
that stuff. Elder Simpson was tall, about 6 foor 4, athletic with blond
hair and blue eyes. He was from Logan, UT and was going home in a month.
Elder Bertrand was smaller, about 5 foot 7, and had black
hair and smaller features but not at all unpleasant looking. Together
they formed an interesting team walking down the street or at a door.

"Welcome to Liege, Elder," the Zap said as he extended one very large
hand to me. "Elder Millett speaks highly of you on the phone." I wasn't
aware I had been the subject of conversation between the two.

"Enchante," said Elder Bertrand while offering his hand as well. Of
course, Elder Bertrand only offered his hand and, in typical French
style, didn't bother to shake my hand when I grabbed his. It was sort
of like two limp wrists meeting. He didn't say anything else.

"The Verviers Elders should be here in about 5 minutes," Elder Simpson
said while looking at his watch. "Elder Sorenson wanted to come earlier
but I told him to come so you guys would get here at
about the same time. How was the weekly shower?" Elder Simpson looked at
Elder M and winked.

"It was great. Man, it feels so good to finally get clean all over,"
piped back Elder M. Apparently, the Seraing apartment was the only one in
the Zone without a private bath.

"Ah, good, here comes the Verviers bus." Elder Simpson said while
strolling over to the arrivals area.

Elders Sorenson and Peters stepped off the bus. It's never difficult to
identify to American Elders among the Belgians. Elder Sorenson was taller
than Simpson even and had brown hair and eyes. He was from
Seattle. Elder Peters was my height, 6 foot, and had black hair and blue
eyes and a five o'clock shadow - one of those beards that grows faster
than you can shave it off. I was instantly attracted to him.
He was from a small town in Ohio that I can't remember.

We all gathered our bags and stuffed the VW Bus with them and our bodies
and took off for the Chapel which was on the south bank on a hill
overlooking the city in a very chic neighborhood.

The 6 other missionaries where already there, including two sisters from
one of the Liege districts. Sister Allen was from Northamton
England while Sister Fuchs was from Bonn in Germany. They were nice
looking sisters, not at all like the stereo type I had grown up with of
old maids on missions for the lack of something to do. In fact,
Sister Allen was a nurse at the time of her call and Sister Fuchs was a
student. They tried to tolerate the overwhelming influx of American
missionaries that filled the building. The other four elders were also
from Liege. Elder Caldwell was from the LA area. Elder Anderson was from
Salt Lake City. Elder LeSueuer was from Virginia. All four looked like
they stepped out of a Church video showing glowing
missionaries so we all would want to go on a mission.

The whole Liege Zone was now together, ready to share food and fun. These
are the times that keep missionaries from going bonkers. They are times
of necessary insanity. Let the games begin.