Miracles and a missionary mascot

Soeur Williams in Valenciennes

I love Valenciennes and the people here more and more each day I'm here... I'm excited to tell all y'alls about my week!

Monday, April 21 -
We went to pass by some less active members on Monday, and that wasn't really successful, but as we were waiting for the tram, Soeur Cameron had a strong impression to talk to a woman who was waiting by us. The woman's name was Leila and she was really nice and was very interested in why we are here. She was Muslim, but very respectful of our religion and said she was glad she met us and learned a lot of things she didn't know before. This just shows me that I shouldn't be afraid to talk to anyone about the gospel, because even if they aren't interested in learning more, I've done my best and I have helped them have a little more light in their life.

Tuesday, April 22 -
Soeur Cameron had to do her legality on Tuesday morning so that she could stay in France for the rest of her mission. She was really worried about it so we did a lot of praying. Once we started talking to the legality lady, we found out Soeur Cameron didn't have all of the papers that she needed. We prayed in our hearts, though, and the lady was nice and printed out the papers so that Soeur Cameron could fill them out. It ended up being really easy and Soeur Cameron passed and is now legal to stay in France! :D
Then we went and taught Selena (she's 11) and Joanna (she's 9), two sisters whose parents are less active members. They're really great girls. They're the ones who encourage their parents to go to church, they're the reason that their mom is going to church now. They're good examples and it was fun teaching them, because they were so willing to read the Book of Mormon every night when we asked them to, and they already have such great testimonies.

Wednesday, April 23 -
We had a really awesome District Meeting that took up pretty much half of our day because we had to take a train to Lille. I got to see Elder Nez (one of the elders from my MTC district) because he's in my district. We combined the districts and had a lesson where the Zone Leaders taught. I was really inspired by what they taught. They did an object lesson where they hit their hand with a giant can of peaches and it hurt, but then when they slammed it down on their hand with all their strength, it didn't hurt at all. They likened that to missionary work, how we need to give our all and do all we can to let God's children know about the gospel. They said it's a lot more painful to debate contacting someone and not do it than to just do it. I know that's true, because I always feel much better when I just talk to someone, even if they say they're not interested, than when I don't talk to someone and feel like I should.
Soeur Cameron and I were inspired by this, and since we didn't have anything planned after District Meeting, we decided to do some contacting. We got on a bus, and Soeur Cameron told me to get off when I felt like we should. I wasn't sure I'd be able to know when to get off, but I decided to get off at one stop and we went down a street near the bus stop and into a neighborhood. In that neighborhood, we saw a woman walking her dogs and she said she was interested in learning more. Then we knocked on a woman's door and she said she was having a hard time and that she would like us to pray for her and to come back and teach her more. Then we knocked on some doors and walked longer and I felt like we should go down a certain street and we found this hidden little neighborhood and decided to find people there. There were a bunch of adorable little kids at the first house we went to, and their mom said that we could come back later and talk to her and her family. Then at the very next house an older woman answered the door. Her name is Marie-Christine and she said she didn't really believe in God anymore, but we talked to her a little bit and asked if we could come back and teach her more and she said she love for us to do so. Soeur Cameron said afterwards that she felt like she knew Marie-Christine, that Marie-Christine was the reason she'd stayed in Valenciennes.
Finding all of those people was a huge miracle, especially in France. I know Heavenly Father helped us because we were giving him everything and following the guidance of the Spirit. Because we exercised faith in him, he gave us miracles.

Thursday, April 24 -
We taught Magalie in the morning on Thursday. Soeur Cameron told me that when she'd first started teaching Magalie, she was a woman without hope and without faith in God. She was depressed and angry. When we taught her on Wednesday, I saw none of that. She had a light in her eyes and she was happy and kept saying how we need to have faith and how we need to act on our faith, and how grateful she was that the missionaries came. Soeur Cameron bore her testimony and testified of the Savior's love for her. Magalie started crying and I could feel the Spirit so strongly. This lesson showed me how much the gospel can change peoples' lives if they open their hearts.

Friday, April 25 -
We knew we wanted to contact people in the morning on Friday, but we didn't know exactly where to go, so we decided to flip a coin -- one side meant we should go left, the other meant we should go right. And, strangely, it worked. We talked to a lot of young mothers who were walking with their children and a lot of other nice people. As we were going back to our apartment, I felt like I should contact a woman in our path. I talked to her and when I asked her how she felt about Christ, she said she was mad at him and told us about all the hard things that had happened and were happening in her life. As I listened to her, I felt such a great love for her. I testified of God's love for her, and how though I didn't know exactly how she was feeling, Christ knows perfectly. I was able to testify of that because of the hard times I'd had in the past. I felt the Spirit and I know that she did. She told us that it was a delight to meet us and that she was so grateful she did. I was so glad to meet her and I'm grateful Heavenly Father helped me know what to say.
After that we ate some Belgian frites (French fries) and sausage. After eating it, I felt a little bit nauseous. It was so delicious. And greasy. :D

Saturday, April 26 -
We had to get tickets at the gare in order to go to Paris this Tuesday, so we decided to walk there and talk to people on the way. There was a woman walking toward us that both Soeur Cameron and I felt like we should talk to. We talked to her and she started speaking English to us and told us her husband was British so she knows English. Her name is Eve and she was interested in learning more about our church because there's a lot of things the Catholic church does that she doesn't agree with.
After that, we spent the rest of the day with the ward. Soeur Cameron felt like when she came here that her reason for being in Valenciennes was to strengthen the ward. I think that's really important, especially since none of the recent converts here are active -- because they were offended and not welcomed by ward members. Now that Soeur Cameron has worked on strengthening the ward, I can see that the ward is so much more loving and welcoming, and I'm going to continue to work with the ward, even after she's gone.
So... we went to the park with a bunch of the little Primary kids and did some exercise - we ran around the paths and used the exercise machines that they had all around the park. Then as we walked back to the parking lot, the kids all sang church songs and it was so cute and I could feel the Spirit and I hope the other people at the park could as well.
Then we went to a dinner that the youth had prepared. There were four different groups and four different tables they'd assigned people to: the diet table, the mountain table (cheese), the Italian Ch'te (Ch'te is a special Northern France language, though I'm not sure I spelled it right) and the American table. Of course, as sisters we were assigned to the diet table. :P The food was pretty good, but the decorations were better (at our table, at least) -- there were flowers everywhere and our names were written on leaves to mark our places. Some of the members at our table (all adults, mind you, and one of them is in the Stake Presidency) started throwing the fruit and vegetables (strawberries and tomatoes and radishes) that decorated our table at other tables. Then when that ran out, we all started using our straws to spit paper at people. One of the members even suggested flipping the table over and using it for cover if things got too intense. :D I love our ward here. I don't think I can say that enough. :D

Sunday, April 27 -
I'd say the highlight of my Sunday was when we went back to talk to Marie-Christine. We stopped by her house and she said we could come in, and at first neither of us knew what to say, but then I said a little prayer in my heart and felt like I should just testify of Christ, and that brought the Spirit in, and we talked about a lot of good stuff after that. Marie-Christine had so many questions and she's been searching so hard for the truth, and that she's so tired of searching. She is an amazing lady and I really admire her. I know that as we follow the direction of the Spirit, we can guide her to the truth and help her know the truth of this gospel. It's such a miracle that we found her and I know the Lord guided us to her.
Another miracle that happened is that we passed by a less-active's house that we'd gone by a few times but she wasn't there, and this time she was there and said we could visit her this next week.
Also, I found a Power Ranger action figure on the sidewalk while we were walking to church. I'm not saying that's a miracle, exactly, but I am saying that he's my mission mascot dude and I'm going to keep him for the rest of my mission. :P

D&C 101:16 - "Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God."
I know that we've seen so many miracles this week because we had such a trust in God. We let go our own fears and weaknesses and desires and let God lead us to where we needed to go, to people who were searching for the gospel. We did all we could and he blessed us and helped us.

Thanks for reading!
Soeur Williams

All the things what happened this week...

Well, hello!
This week's been a little crazy, just like last week. Silly weeks don't know how to act. They should be less crazy. It's easier that way. But it was fun at the same time, so I guess it's okay.

Tuesday, April 15 -
On Tuesday, Soeur Johns and I taught Tsleng (still not sure how to spell his name) the Chinese guy we'd met while doing Easter porting (knocking on doors). We taught him about Christ's Atonement, how we can be clean because of Christ, how he can give us peace and happiness, and how we can be with our families after we die because of his resurrection. Tsleng said he wants to learn more about Christ because he doesn't feel like he knows him very well. I think he felt the Spirit during the lesson, because I sure did. I know the Spirit is always present when we testify of Christ.
After that we got some delicious pastries (I got a white chocolate raspberry brioche and a pistachio eclair) and I did a lot of packing. That pretty much took up the rest of our day, then at night we ate at a member's house.

Wednesday, April 16 -
I took three different trains on Wednesday, and luckily there were missionaries at the train station to help me find my way to my next train, because I probably would have gotten lost otherwise. There were a lot of other missionaries in Paris for transfers, so I got to meet a lot of new people.
After many hours of travelling, I finally met Soeur Cameron, my new companion. She is so kind, fun, loving, friendly, and open! I'm so excited to learn more about her and become friends with her. In fact, I feel like we're already friends. And I've learned so much from her. She trusts so much in the Lord and does pretty much everything with by the direction of the Spirit.
After we got to the apartment, Soeur Cameron called a recent convert who said we could come over in ten minutes, so we quickly planned a lesson and went to teach her. Her name's Chantelle and she's a funny older woman who's having some health problems. We taught her about the power of Christ's Atonement, how it can give us strength to change our lives and do the things we need to do. I felt the Spirit guiding me as we taught and I didn't feel as afraid as I should have considering we hadn't really prepared a lesson. I talked about as much as Soeur Cameron, and I got to know Chantelle better.

Thursday, April 17 -
On Thursday, I contacted a lady in the park all on my own and she gave us her number! It was awesome. I think I'm getting to be a little more comfortable with contacting people.
We visited a less-active named Soeur Manet who'd been a member for a while, but hadn't really ever come to church. She was really kind and had some good insights on the talk we watched with her from this conference by Elder Christofferson about the Resurrection. Also, she gave us lots of food. It was good. :)
We then taught some really awesome recent converts named Marie-France and Didier. Marie-France is overweight (she weighs around 300 pounds) and is having a lot of health problems right now, so when we came into her house to visit her, she was not feeling well. She had a migraine and seemed really unhappy. Her husband, Didier, was really great. He did so much for her to help her. He's such a Christ-like, loving person. We watched the same talk with them as we did with Soeur Manet, and it was great. After listening to the talk, Marie-France had changed. She seemed happier and had more hope. She and Didier bore their testimonies about Christ, and I'm so impressed by their faith and their strong testimonies. I felt the Spirit so strongly and I could tell they both love the Savior so much.

Friday, April 18 -
So, most of Friday consisted of Transfer and Weekly Planning, so I didn't do much. We did eat a really good pastry called Merveilleux Nord, which is basically two pieces of meringue with spekulos filling in the middle, with spekulos frosting all around the outside, then a half of a spekulos cookie on the top. It might have been the most delicious thing I've ever tasted.

Soeur Williams with a Merveilleux Nord

After that, we ported for a few hours, sharing the message of Easter with people. Though no one let us in, we met a lot of cool people, and we might go pass by them later.

Saturday, April 19 -
Most of our time on Saturday was spent at the home of the bishop, Bishop Kimpe, because we have to take trains to get to his house because it's really far away. I love him and his family. We met two of his kids, Pauline (she's nine) and Samuel (he's 7, I think) and they're so adorable. Their family was so nice to me, asking me questions and taking an interest in what I said. Pauline had a neighbor friend over, named Leslie, who isn't a member. We watched a short video about Christ's Atonement and resurrection, and Pauline explained it to her friend and afterward both of the children testified of the Savior. It amazed me how much they knew, and how their simple testimonies brought in the Spirit so strongly. They're really good examples.

The Kimpes children with Soeur Cameron and Soeur Williams

The Kimpes family with Soeur Cameron and Soeur Williams

I'm so grateful for the Easter things we've been doing, testifying of Christ and his resurrection while contacting and porting, teaching lessons about his Atonement, because I've gained a much stronger testimony about Christ's atonement and resurrection. I'd understood it before, but I didn't really feel the importance as much as I do now. I know that because of the Savior, we have everything good in our lives, and because of him, we can have greater things than we can ever imagine. We can be happy and have peace and strength when we need it because of him.

Sunday, April 20 -
Happy Easter! :D
My Easter was great. I ate candy my parents had sent. Probably too much, actually... then some more that ward members gave us. I went to church and we taught the Young Women's class, because the young women in this ward need extra help and examples. Then we taught Amanda, a 9 year old girl with a baptismal date, whose parents are active members but never taught anything about the gospel to their children. Then I bore my testimony in sacrament meeting, which was scary, but I think I did pretty well considering I've only been in France for six weeks. After sacrament meeting I talked to a lot of members. They're so kind and they are really interested in helping the missionaries. I can't wait to get to know them better!
After church, we visited Marie-France and Didier again, and it was amazing to see the difference in Marie-France. Some members had just visited her and she had such hope in her eyes, she seemed much lighter and more joyful. She had more energy than the last time I'd seen her. We watched the video about Christ and she loved it so much. We testified of the Savior's power to enable us to do anything, how he knows all we're going through and will be with us every step of the way. They both said they knew that was true. Marie-France even said she'd try to go to church before Soeur Cameron leaves next transfer.

I found a scripture that I love a lot, and I thought it would be good to share considering it was Easter yesterday:
Alma 7:11-12  - "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and tempations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmites."
I know the Savior knows us so well, that it hurts him when we're hurt or we've gone away from him, and that he is always with us, ready to strengthen us when we need it as we come to him.

I'm excited to be in Valenciennes now! I'm sad that I had to leave Soeur Johns and Rennes and all the people I came to love in Rennes, but I know that this is where I need to be right now, and that Soeur Cameron is meant to be my companion. I know I'll learn so much here, and be able to find the Lord's lost sheep find their way back to him.


-Soeur Williams

Ma semaine folle

Heya everybody!
This week has been a little bit crazy, but also not very busy with missionary work at the same time. If that makes sense, well... lemme tell you about it :)

Monday, April 7 -
So, somehow between the time I did my emailing at the cybercafe and when I got back to the apartment, I lost my journal. Not a big deal though. It just contains everything that's happened since I've gotten to France. And my notes from personal study, Zone Conference, and General Conference. I'm hoping I can find it...
At the end of the day, we picked up some sisters (Sœurs Melville and Allred) from the gare because they were staying at our apartment so they could get to the Sister's Conference in Paris the next day.

Tuesday, April 8 -
So pretty much the entire day on Tuesday was filled with the special Sister's Conference in Paris. These conferences don't happen very often (it's Soeur Johns' first since she's been here), so I'm glad I was here when they held it. All of the sisters in our mission met together in Paris. I got to see Soeur Rasmussen and Soeur Ridd, my MTC companions, which was fantastic. Soeur Rasmussen was on crutches because she'd fallen off of a bus the day before. I'm surprised I haven't done something like that yet. :D

Soeur Williams, Ridd and Rasmussen at the Sister's Conference

Soeur Poznanski talked to us about our behavior around the elders, then President Poznanski talked a lot about faith and miracles and how we can and will experience miracles on our mission as we exercise faith. Then we split into our areas and our Sister Training Leaders taught us about loving and serving others and loving ourselves. After that, we did something I wasn't expecting. Soeur Poznanski told us that there were going to be three different stations that we would rotate through: one where a woman taught us how to do makeup, another where we learned how to accesorize, and another where we made crafts. I'm being serious here. Though I'm not terribly interested in any of those things, it was pretty fun. At the end we got to choose from rings, necklaces, scarves, bags, etc. that people in different wards in our mission had donated. That was cool. :)

Tables at the Sister's Conference 

It wasn't quite the spiritual experience I was expecting, but it was a really good day, and I got to meet a bunch of my fellow soeur missionaries.
Oh, also, we took a picture of all the red-head sisters in our mission. There are only six of us. Sadly I didn't have my camera with me, so I don't have the picture.

Wednesday, April 9 -

The two districts that meet on Wednesdays. The numbers are how many transfers they are on. This is Soeur Cathryn's first! 

In the morning, we met Elder Wood and Elder Turley (our zone leaders) to give them a package that we'd picked up at the Sister Conference, and they'd just gone to a bakery and bought some cookies for us. So nice of them. I devoured mine in like two seconds while Soeur Johns delicately ate hers as we waited at the bus stop. I woman came up to us and just stared at Soeur Johns' cookie. Finally, she asked if she could have a taste. Soeur Johns broke off a piece and gave it to her. The woman said it was so good and started talking to us, still staring at the cookie. She asked if she could have another taste, and Soeur Johns gave her some more. Then the bus came, and the woman got on and sat by us, still talking to us. Before we got off, Soeur Johns gave the woman the rest of her cookie, and that lady was so happy. I like meeting slightly crazy people. It's fun.
We had an FHE with Frere Moal (our ward mission leader) and Annabelle about prayer. We figured since he is very logical, and she's very logical he'd be able to help her understand the importance of prayer. I think she understood, but I'm not sure if she will apply anything. I hope so.
After she left, we ate with the Moals and talked with them. They're a really great family, and I loved talking to Frere Moal, because he's a writer and he's in the process of getting his books published. They actually sound really good, and I want to read them after they're published. :) He gave me some writing advice and told me about some good books.

Thursday, April 10 -
We had to leave in the morning for the Rennes Prefecture so that Soeur Johns could get her legality done so she could stay in France for the rest of her mission. She was really nervous because Elder Wood had tried and been rejected four times, and Elder Turley had been rejected once. We did a lot of praying and she had a lot of paperwork that she brought to the Prefecture. The man there was really nice, and Soeur Johns was her usual friendly, charming self and she easily got her legality. She was so happy, and Elder Wood was so jealous.
We taught Maimouna again, kind of. We wanted to start teaching her about the plan of salvation and set a baptismal date with her, but she invited us to eat instead. So we said a prayer and talked a little about the gospel, but mostly we just ate. :P The food was really good (I had my first quiche I've had in France!) and she is so nice, and I love seeing her and her kids. Hopefully she'll have time to meet sometime this next week, though, because I know the gospel will bless her life so much and help her family become even stronger than it already is. Soeur Johns made Maimouna's kids promise that they'd come to church on Sunday, just to make sure she'd definitely be there. :D

Friday, April 11 -
We taught Jocelyne about the spirit world and how those who haven't had the opportunity to hear the gospel in this life will have it preached to them in the spirit world, and how everyone would be able to dwell there after death, in the presence of God. Jocelyne seemed happy about that because her 90 year old mother isn't doing very well, she has to spend most of her time taking care of her, and her mom isn't in the right state of body or mind in order to be able to learn about and accept the gospel.
We passed by some houses where we'd dropped off Easter Flyers last week. Most people weren't too interested, but there was one house where we were let in. It was the house of a Chinese man named Tsleng. He was really nice, we talked for a while, he let us pray with him and said we could come to his house again on Tuesday to teach him more.

Saturday, April 12 -
So, sad news... Judas' baptism has been moved to a later date, so they didn't end up having it on Saturday. I was going to say the prayer and Soeur Johns was going to give the talk, but we don't need to worry about that any more, I suppose. They had to move the date because Judas is still working on parts of his testimony, but he does still want to be baptised.
We stopped by Tsenge's house, but she wasn't there. :( She went to Paris on Monday to work on her legality papers, and she said she'd be back on Wednesday. We still haven't heard from her, though we've tried calling and texting and visiting her. I hope she's okay!
We met a girl named Tamarie, who we didn't know, but whose number was in our phone. She said she wanted to meet with us, so we met her at her house. She's a student here, from Georgia (the country) and she's one of the cutest, nicest people I've met. She gave us food and chatted away with us for a while. We talked a bit about prayer and how our church is different from other churches, then we fixed a RDV for a week later.
Also, we taught Annabelle, and she told us she'd finished the Book of Mormon for her second time. The problem is, she doesn't seem to really feel anything, or want to. She's mostly just reading the Book of Mormon and learning about the church for intellectual reasons. She told us she had no intention of changing churches or getting baptized. It's possible we'll have to drop her.

Sunday, April 13 -
Maimouna and her children came to church on Sunday, and they seemed to like it. In fact, her little 6 year old girl didn't want to leave. :)
I love fast Sunday! Heavenly Father answered my prayers and helped me with the things I was fasting for. I actually talked to a lot of people in the ward, which was really hard for me before. I usually don't talk to pretty much anyone, but this time between classes and after church, I was always talking to someone! :) I know I could not have done that without the Lord's help, and now that I've done it once I know I can do it in the future. I have a huge testimony of fasting and prayer, and of the Lord's ability to enable us to do the things he requires of us.
After church, we went to the Letort family's house. They made a chocolate cake and we ate it and talked. We shared some spiritual thoughts and asked if they needed any help. They just said to pray for them. They are some of the nicest people I've met, pretty much ever. They barely know me, but they always take an interest in me, asking questions and acting like everything I say is important. I took pictures with their family because, well...
I'm leaving Rennes. :( Soeur Johns is staying in Rennes and I'm going to Valenciennes. I'll have a new companion and she'll finish training me. So, that should be an interesting/exciting/different experience. I'll miss Rennes, but I'm excited to get to know and love more people.

Just so you know, there will be a picture below of Soeur Johns and some random guy. I was walking along taking random pictures because I realized I haven't taken many pictures of Rennes. Some dude walked up to us and asked if I would take a picture of him with Soeur Johns. So I did. There you go.

Soeur Johns with random guy. 

I got the scripture this week from my daily scripture study, 'cause I'm re-reading the Book of Mormon. Here ya go:
1 Nephi 17:3 -
"... And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them."
I know that this is true. I have personally experienced it. Though it's really hard for me to talk to people, I do it because as a missionary for the Lord that's what I'm here to do. And each time I do so, I feel Heavenly Father strengthening me and supporting me.

It sure is fun living next to a mental hospital.

Soeur Johns and Williams with bon bons. 

Hello Everypeoples!
I hope you are all doing fantastic! 'Cause I am. :) Time for me to tell you about this week:
Monday, March 31 -
When we were doing our P-Day shopping last week, I decided that I wanted to try some of the chocolate here, because I hadn't yet. So, I bought some Crème Brûlée flavored chocolate and some Spéculoos (cinnamon cookie-ness) flavored chocolate and they were both really delicious and I probably shouldn't have eaten so much at a time. :D
After P-Day was over, we went and had a family home evening with the Letort family. Soeur Johns had previously asked Soeur Letort to cut her hair, so while she was getting her hair cut, I helped make the dinner - croque monsieurs (pretty much just delicious grilled cheese sandwiches). After Soeur Johns' hair was done, and after we'd eaten, we taught a lesson about how much joy it brings to share the gospel. Then we asked each family member to invite someone to have a family home evening with them on one of the days of the week before Easter, and they said they would. As a side note... Soeur Johns was not happy with her hair. It was a lot shorter than she'd thought it would be (only a few inches past her shoulders instead of halfway down her back) and she is still lamenting the loss of so much hair. Hopefully it will grow back to the length it was before, before she goes back home in six months.
After we got back to our apartment, Lo called and tried to ask Soeur Johns on another date. She asked him if he was coming to our RDV scheduled for the next day, and he didn't seem interested, so we had to tell him to go to the elders if he was serious about learning more about the gospel, and not to call us again. So, I'm pretty sure we're done teaching Lo.

Tuesday, April 1 -
We had District Meeting on Tuesday, as usual. I usually am too afraid to participate very much, but I did a lot more this time. We learned about teaching simply, then practiced. Soeur Johns and I brought zucchini cake and the other sister companionship brought spéculoos cheescake. Both were delicious. And while we were eating, Judas came early to a RDV with the elders and gave the elders all of his ashtrays, because he was determined to quit smoking. He is great! He also took pictures of our district together, because this could be the last time we'll see each other for a while, since the transfer's pretty much over.
After the District Meeting, we went to pick up the Sister Training Leaders at the gare (the train station) for our exchange. I was really worried because since we were staying in Rennes, I had to tell Soeur Hafen (one of the STLs, the one who was my companion for the exchange) about our amis, and I had to lead the way and not get lost going to places. But she was really nice, and I didn't get lost. Yay! We were supposed to teach Frederique, but he wasn't there, so Soeur Hafen and I had a talk on the playground next to his apartment and practiced contacting. Then we contacted on the way home. Soeur Hafen is awesome at contacting, at talking to people in general. She helped me know what to say and to be less afraid of contacting.

Wednesday, April 2 -
Soeur Hafen and I taught Mamie Renaud in the morning. Mamie Renaud is 93 years old, and she's an inactive member only because of her health. She's not allowed to go outside unless the weather is absolutely perfect. She was one of the first three members in Rennes, and she's the coolest old lady ever. We came with a message about faith being an anchor, and about General Conference, and she taught us. She also told me that I needed to only read in French and speak in French, because when I read the article we'd brought from the Liahona out loud (in French) she said I did well. She wouldn't let us leave until we'd eaten some cookies and had some juice. :)
We then went to a neighborhood in our area and put flyers about Easter, about the Resurrection of Christ, that said we would come back later and talk to them about Easter, in the mailboxes. Also, Soeur Hafen made me contact along the way, even though I had no idea what to say and it freaked me out. But I did it. :D She even made me contact a lady who was getting into her car, which was fairly awkward. :)
After our exchange was done, we said goodbye to Soeur Hafen and Soeur Holmes at the gare, then went to teach Sophie. We taught her about Patriarchal Blessings, and at first she wasn't sure she wanted one, but once she understood them more, she decided she did want one. We want to find a way for her to be able to get her blessing in Chinese so she'll understand it better.

Thursday, April 3 -
We did Easter contacting (where we center what we say on Easter and Christ's resurrection) in the morning after studies, and I was able to switch off with Soeur Johns. I didn't make her talk to people that she asked me to talk to. I did it all by myself. :D
Then we met with Nadia, who had met a lot of missionaries, but had never really been taught. She'd met them through an English class taught by missionaries, which we're not supposed to do anymore. She invited us over to eat with her, and she was really great. She only seemed interested in being our friend, however, and not too much in religion, so I'm not sure we'll see her again.

Soeur Cathryn Williams with Nadia. 

After that, Martine (a member who is awesome) took us to find some new boots for Soeur Johns because hers are falling apart. Then Martine came with us to teach Jocelyne, which was a great experience. It was good to have someone there as a friend to Jocelyne, because I think Jocelyne needs to feel wanted and loved. We talked about talents, and Martine talked about Jocelyne's talents and how she could help others with her talents. Martine also offered to help Jocelyne, because Jocelyne is always taking care of her 90 year old mother and hardly ever has time to herself. Martine offered to take her out one day for a little break, and Jocelyne seemed grateful.
When we got back to our apartment, it was pretty late, but not quite time to go back inside, so we went out contacting. There wasn't really anyone outside, so Soeur Johns and I stopped to pray to be able to find someone. We started walking again and there wasn't anyone there, but as we kept walking, we saw a woman and stopped her. She ended up being able to speak English really well, so we spoke English with her. Her name is Victoria and she's from Russia, and she gave us her phone number. I know that Heavenly Father answered our prayer and sent her to us, because there was absolutely no one out, and those who were out were either creepy men or people who didn't want to talk to us. I'm so grateful for the power of prayer.

Friday, April 4 -
We taught Annabelle with a member named Clement, which made it a lot easier because he'd just barely gotten back from his mission and he's a native French speaker, so he was able to explain things a lot better than we can. We taught about the Priesthood, and Annabelle seemed to like it, though she knew most of it already. We just can't seem to help her feel anything. She just thinks very logically and looks at the gospel as another intriguing subject to study. Clement suggested that we talk with Frere Moal, our ward mission president, because he's very much the same way, very logical and philosophical.
We went and taught Sophie again. We had to keep it short because she's really busy preparing for exams. We gave her some more Liahona articles, which she was really excited about, then taught her some scripture masteries from the Book of Mormon.
We went back to our apartment for lunch, but accidentally stayed way too long because our stupid clock is broken :P So, we thought we had an hour left before we had to leave for our next RDV, but when we looked at our phone, we saw that we had stayed 45 minutes longer than we'd planned. So, we hurried to our next RDV with Sasrey, taught a short lesson on praying to confirm our testimonies, then went to our meeting with Frere Moal (which we were 30 minutes late to). Then we went to my first ward council meeting, of which I understood about 50 percent. It was confusing. :P

Saturday, April 5 -
We got to teach Maimouna again! She really is the coolest person ever. She is definitely progressing. We taught her a more in-depth Restoration lesson to make sure she understood. She was really interested and asked all the right questions and had some really good comments. We emphasized the impotance of studying the Book of Mormon, having a real desire to know, and of praying to know the truth for ourselves. She completely agreed that it's important to search for the answer and to pray, and she was excited to really start reading the Book of Mormon. She's a really nice woman with a sincere desire to know, and I love her so much. :) We might try to set a baptismal date with her next time we meet.
Then, after that we went to watch the broadcast of Conference at the church. Thankfully they had a room for us English speakers. We watched the Women's Broadcast and the Saturday Morning Conference session, then we went back home. I love conference so, so much! I'm so glad we have living prophets today.

Sunday, April 6 -
Sunday was pretty much just a continuation of Saturday. We did some planning, then we watched more General Conference. We watched the Saturday Afternoon session and the Sunday Morning session. Sadly, we weren't able to watch the Sunday Afternoon session because we'd have to stay up until midnight, and missionaries aren't allowed to do that. :D Mais, ça va (but, that's okay), 'cause I can just read it when it gets put up on the internets. :) I'm so glad I got to listen to conference. I always feel so much better afterward, spiritually strengthened and uplifted. I can't wait to apply the things I've learned, and I can't wait to read the talks when they come out. :) I especially loved Elder Bednar's talk on how the Savior knows every single thing we go through, how there's nothing he doesn't understand, nothing he can't help us with. I know we can always go to him for strength and succor.
We missed the bus(es) because they don't come very often on Sundays, so we had to walk home. As we got close to our apartment, Soeur Johns pointed out a man dressed in blue who'd jumped behind one of the bus stops. We were wondering why, when a big, white van sped up to the curb by us and stopped. Immediately, two doctors from the mental hospital jumped out and ran to the bus stop, grabbing the blue dude, pulling him into the van, and speeding away. It sure is fun living next to a mental hospital. :D

Here, have a scripture I found, just for you. :D
1 Nephi 2:16 -
"... having great desires to know of the mysteries of God... I did cry unto the Lord; and behold, he did visit me and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father;"
I like this scripture because I know that if we even have just a desire for a testimony, a desire to believe, or if we have a question we want answered, that the Lord will answer our prayers and soften our hearts, helping us believe. He will help us find the answers and the faith we are searching for.

Au revoir! Passez une bonne semaine!
Soeur Williams

I seem to have forgotten to take my camera to yon internet café, so no pictures for you again. Sorry. Maybe next week. :D