Gauffres and Frites and Durum, Oh my!

Aloha, Childrens!
Basically the highlight of my whole week was Monday and Tuesday when I got to go to Belgium for Zone Conference. We spent our whole P-Day in Belgium, stuffing ourselves with delicious foodstuffs like gauffres (Belgian waffles - mine was covered in speculos butter and strawberries and whipped cream), frites (French fries :D ) and a durum (umm... a kebab-ish thing in a tortilla that's not actually a kebab and tastes better than a kebab).
Then came Zone Conference...
Tuesday, June 17 -
Zone Conference was so good! Since it was President and Soeur Poznanski's last Zone Conference, they did some special stuff. There were a lot of musical numbers, the Poznanskis gave their last testimonies/words of wisdom, and the Sister Training Leaders did a special training. It was all really amazing and spiritual. The Sister Training Leaders talked about how we can become better missionaries as we try to become more like Christ, because he was the perfect missionary. I learned from President that I should look at everything as an opportunity to learn and grow, to realize that everything that's happened in my life has prepared me for something greater even later that he has planned for me, and that though we are weak, the Lord isn't and he'll strengthen us in our weakness. Soeur Poznanski talked about how she saw these plants that had grown through the asphalt and talked about how we can be like those plants, pushing through hard times towards the sun, towards the light of Christ, and that we should never give up and always be reaching toward the Savior and holding on to his hope.
But, the best part of the whole conference was when I got to break a mission rule and hug President Poznanski! :D Soeur and President Poznanski had decided to let all of the missionaries hug them, which was awesome. Soeur Poznanski started crying more and more as each missionary hugged her. I love her and President so much and I will miss them!

Wednesday, June 18 -
We visited Jacqueline with Soeur Deladerriere. And it was perfect, just like the last time we worked with Soeur Deladerriere. We're always afraid to teach with her because she's really blunt and rough, but she's been perfect with both of our amis she's taught with us. With Jacqueline it was good because Jacqueline likes to go off on tangents and tell stories so our RDVs end up being like 2 hours long. But Soeur Deladerriere would just say, "That's great, but that's not what we're talking about." Then she'd bring it back to our lesson. And the lesson was so good. We were talking about how Jacqueline could do the work for her family and have them baptized and sealed to her. She said she really wanted to do that and we told her that she had to be baptized first before she could do that for her ancestors. Soeur Deladerriere asked Jacqueline if she knew that the things the missionaries had taught her were true and Jacqueline said of course she knew they were true. She just said she was scared to change because she thinks she's too old to change and she's afraid of the reactions of her children. It was a really spiritual lesson, and Jacqueline was so close to fixing a baptismal date. We just have to help her replace her fear with faith.

Thursday, June 19 -
We visited a member family, Jacques and Carolina Moerman, on Thursday night, and it was a great experience. I didn't really know them very well because they're both kind of shy, but when we were at their house we got to know them better and hear their testimonies. We shared about trusting in the Lord, and they bore their testimonies about how he's helped them. Carolina has been having a really hard time, especially since she comes from Guatemala and her family lives far away, and she says that the church has really helped her. She's been a member for 2 years, and you can see how much it's changed and strengthened her.
We contacted a little bit in their area and everyone we talked to was really nice to us. We got the information of a woman and her daughter who were interested.

Friday, June 20 -
We taught Samira, our Muslim ami, about the Restoration and it was so amazing how open she was and how willing she was to learn about things that are so different from what she believes. She said that she isn't going to teach her son the Muslim beliefs that Jesus Christ isn't the son of God because she wants him to choose for himself and find out for himself what he belives. She was really interested in what she taught and I can see her progressing in the future. Far in the future because she's leaving for Algeria for 2 months.

Saturday, June 21 -
We did a service activity at the Gillot's house. They have a big house and a big yard, but the problem is that their house isn't finished and their yard is filled with junk. So Soeur Holmes and I, the elders, and some ward members came and helped clear out all of the scrap wood, rotting furniture, garbage, and other gross stuff out of the Gillot's yard. We found a lot of bugs hiding under the things we threw away, especially under a soggy mattress we found. It was actually a really fun service activity because I love doing service and it looked so much better afterwards. I wish we got to do service more often, but French people don't like to say they need help, even when they do. So they won't let us serve them. :P
In the evening we stopped by Francoise, an older lady, and her son Alexandre. While we were riding there on the tram we talked to a nice Muslim lady named Zahia and her hyper little daughter. Zahia said she isn't a very practicing Muslim and that she'd like to talk to us again. It was really fun meeting them and talking to them.
When we got to Francoise and Alexandre's house they were both so excited to see us. We talked to them about the Savior and how he can help us change and grow, and they both shared beautiful experiences. It was really cool because I got to hear their conversion story (they were both baptized 3 years ago, and they were the ones who had contacted the missionaries instead of the other way around).

Sunday, June 22 -
After church we stopped by Nadege in her shop. She was really tired because she's pregnant and having her baby in a week, so we taught a short Plan of Salvation lesson. She told us that she'd still been worried/doubtful about Joseph Smith being able to see God, so she was studying in the Bible and found that Adam and Eve walked with God, so she said she didn't have a problem with it anymore. It's so awesome that she was willing to find the answer to her question, and that as a result Heavenly Father gave her the response she needed. If all of our amis were willing to do that, it would be so much easier for them, and so much easier for us.
We walked from there to visit a less-active we'd tried to pass by before but had never met, and as we approached her house we realized that we didn't remember her name and I hadn't brought the ward list for some reason, even though I always have it with me. So we decided to knock on the door and say what we would say with someone who wasn't a member (that we were there to pray with them/to share a message about the Savior) and a nice lady answered and said she was Catholic and busy then but that we could come back later. She told us her name and when we went back to our apartment we looked on the ward list and saw that the names were different and that the less-active must have moved. It was a cool experience to see that the Lord had guided us so that we could find someone who was ready.
As we were walking back toward our apartment it was really hot outside and Soeur Holmes and I started talking about how much we wanted ice cream. We kind of half-jokingly prayed to be able to find someone who would let us in and give us some ice cream. Shortly after, we saw this tree in someone's yard that was laden with gorgeous, round, red, juicy cherries. Some had already fallen on the ground and had started rotting. We decided that this was a perfect opportunity to do some service. Clearly whoever lived there was too old to pick cherries on their own, so we could pick some for them and buy the rest. We knocked on their door and a woman answered. We told her we'd seen her tree and were wondering if we could buy some cherries. She told us that they hadn't treated the tree this year, so the cherries were inedible. But she told us she had some for us, so she disappeared into a room in her house and came out carrying... a Magnum ice cream bar box. Soeur Holmes' and my eyes got so wide and we just looked at each other in amazement. We thanked the woman, took the box, and walked down the street. The Magnum bar box was, of course, filled not with ice cream, but with cherries. They sure were delicious cherries, though.

2 Nephi 25:26 -
"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."
I've been thinking a lot of the Savior this week, and what a great example he is, and of all the many things he's done for us. I know that as I follow his example more and more in my life, the happier and stronger I am, and the more love I have for others. And every time I testify of Christ, in lessons or on the street, the Spirit is so strong. Everything in the church links back to the Savior and his Atonement.

Soeur Williams

I somehow got a virus on my card reader thingy, so I can't share any pictures until I figure it out. So, maybe you'll get some next week! :D