Paris - Day 7

A few days earlier we befriended a refugee family: a dad, mom and three girls. They didn't speak English, and we had a difficult time understanding where they originated, but they had at least been through Turkey and Italy. They lived in a makeshift tent somewhere, and their daughters were not in school. Despite our inability to communicate, we connected with this little family and wanted to help them. We bought them some groceries and invited them to join us for Thanksgiving dinner, but when we went to meet them, they weren't there.

Day 7 was a Sunday. After attending a local LDS church, we spoke with an LDS woman about resources for refugees. She didn't know of any, but in a closet at the back of the church they collected clothing for refugees and we were able to get some coats, scarves, hats and gloves for our friends. The little family was grateful for the warm clothing, and we said our goodbyes. It was our last day in Paris.

We've wondered a lot about this family since. What more could we have done? We wished we had more time to assist this family in getting their children in school, finding an apartment that is warm and safe, and assisting in paperwork, setting appointments, etc. Above all, letting them know they are not alone and someone cares about them. In Utah one can adopt, or mentor, a refugee family. When we get back to our regular lives, I want to do this. It may be a drop in a sea of refugee needs around the world, but it will make a difference for one family, and that may bless generations.

After church we met up with one of Geoff's YGL (Young Global Leader) friends and his wife and son for a long lunch. Andre works with the President, Emmanuel Macron. We learned about the French and their divisions during the last election, about what President Macron is trying to accomplish, and France's challenges. It was very interesting. These friends were wonderful, intelligent, kind and very fun lunch company. (Tennie wasn't feeling well and stayed home to rest.)

We walked through the historic district, Le Marais, which we'll definitely explore more next time, as we just got a glimpse of the beautiful architecture and charm!

We ended our day at the Picasso museum. Geoff and the girls explored the museum while I read in the lobby, as I don't like Picasso. (Am I even allowed to say that out loud?)

Here they are with Picasso faces...

The next day was a travel day. Packing up, trains, airports and planes.

Some of us had to get sleep whenever possible.

We arrived in Tel Aviv, went to dinner, got to our Marriott rooms on the beach and realized that Adele had the wrong, identical suitcase. Uh-oh. As we considered how to get Adele's back and return the one we had, Geoff checked his email and someone had reached out with our suitcase! Not only that, it happened to be a nice couple we had talked with on the plane and in the airport! They were at the airport trying to sort things out when we called. They swung by our hotel in a taxi, we switched our identical suitcases, and that was that. Easy peasy. We counted our blessings.