We got ahold of Elder Cornette, Don's missionary companion and made arrangements to visit him at his home. Elder Cornette has leukemia and has been undergoing chemo. His most recent treatment was pretty rough and he had only been out of the hospital for 4 days before our visit. It was awesome to hear Don speak fluent french for over six hours as they reminisced and caught up from 30 years ago. It was a beautiful drive and we got some really great pictures. In Iowa, there are cornfields on both sides of the road. In France, there are sunflower fields on both sides of the road. It is magnificent.
Sunflowers on the road to Avensac.
The Cornette family lives in a remodeled home that was built in 1862. It is pretty interesting to see how old the home looks on the outside and then you go inside and see this beautiful home, with electricity and modern plumbing.
The traditional side of the kitchen.
The modern side of the kitchen. Check out how big that loaf of french bread is.
Sylvie served us the most wonderful duck. She sautéed it right before she served it. It was so tender and one of the regional specialities.
Sylvie setting the flowers on the table so perfectly. We had a wonderful visit in the yard under the tree. It is truly beautiful in the country in France.
Don and Gerard visiting on the couch. Here they are a couple of hours later looking at Elder Cornette's scrapbook from his mission.
What a treat to meet the missionary companion I'd been hearing about for years and to meet his lovely family.
Sylvie, Melanie, & Rhoca
After dinner we had a wonderful concert . Gerard and Sylvie both played the guitar and they sang for us. It was so great to see them having so much fun performing for us.
Our departure was very emotional. We were all crying and knew that this was truly a unique opportunity.
