Joyeux Noel from Phil and Delys

 Joyeux Noel from Phil and Delys Snyder in Paris.

Christmas in Paris means streets full of lights, dark days (today is the shortest day of the year, the sunrise coming at 8:40 a.m.), Christmas markets full of food and trinkets, shoppers everywhere, fresh Christmas trees with log stands, cold and rain, tourists and traffic at every turn. Phil likes listening to Mary Chapin Carpenter’s Christmas album Come Darkness, Come Light and God Shuffled His Feet by Crash Test Dummies and Son of Dad by Stephen Wilson Jr. Can you guess which one of the three albums I tolerate out loud and which two he listens to with his air-buds?  (Thanks Heidi and Travis for adding him to your Snyder family Spotify subscription. It keeps him sane and serene no matter what’s going on.)

We have a new apartment in Chatou, a cute suburb of Paris where we have a Wednesday and Saturday outdoor market, about two train stops closer to Paris than before. We have two huge windows with a long balcony, a gorgeous view of the hills to the west, and an apartment full of IKEA furnishings.  Thanks IKEA. I like living this minimalist Swedish sort of existence, especially when we had a nice snowstorm. Phil had a terrific craving for meatballs with potatoes and gravy with some lingonberry jam on the side that day.

I saw a horse-drawn carriage near a local church, and we see mounted police officers every so often in downtown Paris ready to control whatever protest is going on that day. 

We said goodbye to some of our favorite missionaries (every 6 weeks are transfers and old missionaries go home and new ones come) the last couple of transfers, but are getting to know the new ones. Sometimes we make van runs to the airport transporting bags and missionaries. We take care of them like we would our grandchildren. Phil says it’s probably the most important thing we do. 

At the La Defense Christmas market we had some hot chocolate, potato treats, and a Brazilian dinner. We also made friends with some vendors. One friendly woman, who was selling things from Africa, talked to us for 30 minutes mostly about religion. We bought a creche from her. She said we were sent from God because she can’t go to church (she works when church is going on) so God sent church people to her–Us!  

We also talked to a man who sold beautiful textiles from India and Pakistan. We also had a talk about religion for maybe 45 minutes. We bought a wall hanging made from squares of the fancy dresses of many women from the India-Pakistan border. Kind of like an Indian crazy quilt. I love looking at this work of art in our apartment.

We decided we needed to add some religious artwork to balance out the impressionists, so we got a copy of Da Vinci’s Last Supper for the dining area and a copy of Vermeer’s Mary and Martha for the entryway. We also sent for some more standard things from Harry Anderson that are ubiquitous in LDS culture. Phil sometimes forgets his name, so he just calls him that Seventh-Day Adventist dude.

Both Phil and I have finished Duolingo (130 is the top score you can reach in Duo).  That, unfortunately, does not make me fluent, but I can read very well! Phil, on the other hand, has wonderful French. In fact, French people ask him if he is Belgian, which I don’t think he takes as a complete compliment coming from them.

We spend most of our days on computers working on humanitarian issues or in zoom meetings. We are delighted to help missionaries.  Two recent highlights were a senior missionaries conference and Elder Soares speaking to our mission. 

Sometimes we take time for museums. Here we are at the Pompidou, the museum of modern art. At the top floors we could see all around the city. Inside we saw the work of some of our favorite artists and some art that was not as moving.  Such is modern art

We also spent an afternoon at Chateau de Monte-Cristo, the mansion that Alexander Dumas built across the Seine from where we used to live. Dumas, author of Les Trois Mousquetaires, reminds me of Dickens because he was unbelievably prolific. He changed from theater to novels when the market changed. He embraced many different cultures and traveled far. I was surprised to find out that his father was a French nobleman in Haiti, and his mother was a black slave. 

We are excited to see some grandchildren who are visiting Paris this Christmastime.  

We are relatively healthy (for a couple of senior missionaries) and love being called to the Savior’s missionary work. We celebrate His birth, His life, His atonement, His resurrection, His love, and His mercy at this time of year and all year. May you feel His influence in your life too.

Delys and Phil

France-Paris Mission