Hididdlydoo, neighborinos!
This week has been a weird one. I feel like we did so much, but then when I tried to think of stuff to write about, I couldn't think of a whole lotta stuff. 'Twas a good week, quand-même.
Tuesday, June 24 -
We had District Meeting on Tuesday and it was really good. We talked about how we can become disciples of Christ as we give up all we have and come to him, letting us change us, and try more and more to follow his example.
Wednesday, June 25 -
Okay, so in France there's this thing called Soldes that lasts about a month. It's where every single store has a sale on their items and the closer it gets to the end of Soldes, the cheaper everything is. But at the end there's also less stuff because everyone's bought it all. Wednesday was the first day of Soldes and Soeur Holmes decided that she wanted to take advantage of that and buy some clothes and shoes for when she went home, so we took some time out of our P-Day to do missionary work, then shopped on Wednesday morning. And, oh, how I love shopping... it actually wasn't too bad. Just a few hours of crazy peoples trying to get the pair of shoes they wanted before anyone else. :D
After that, we went with a member in our ward named Soeur Foulon. She's an older woman and she had told us she would drive us around to visit less actives in her city (Cambrai) with us. Then when we got there, she told us that her husband needed the car, so we ended up walking. Which meant that we only had time to visit one less-active member. But, we did get to hear Soeur Foulon tell us mission stories as we walked, which was cool. She loved her mission so much, and she's let it influence and change her whole life afterwards. Also, the less-active woman we met with was very nice and very happy to see us because she's old and lives all alone and no one visits. She talked for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, about her health problems, then we shared a scripture with her and prayed with her.
Thursday, June 26 -
We taught Zahia, the lady we met on the tram, about the Restoration of the church, and it was really awesome. She loves learning about different religions (she goes to a Catholic church every 2 weeks and she lets the Jehovah's Witnesses come over to her house) and she especially loves learning about Jesus Christ, even though she's Muslim. She's very open to learning more and wants to know the truth. She has a desire to become Christian, but she said her family would never talk to her again if she joined another church. I know that as we keep teaching her, she'll come to know that the things we teach are true and it will change her life.
In the evening we ported a lot of houses. And we had no success. No one was even semi-kind to us. As we were about to go back home, we decided to port a few more houses. So we did. And at the first house, a teenage boy answered and was really kind and said he believed in God and would love to learn more, but that his parents were gone and that we could come back when they were home. He said they'd like to talk to us as well. Then at the very next house, when we told the woman at the door that we were there to pray with people and share a message about Christ, she put her hand on my shoulder and with a big, genuine smile said that she'd love to let us in and hear what we had to say, but that she was expecting someone. She said she would love it if we came back another time. She was probably one of the nicest people I've ever met. These experiences showed me that sometimes we have to work until we get to the very last dredges of our strength, then as we still continue to work, Heavenly Father gives us huge blessings.
Friday, June 27 -
On Friday we had to go take a train to Paris because Soeur Holmes had to pick up her papers for legality. As we were at the train station, walking to our train, we saw a familiar little girl and realized it was Denise's daughter (Denise is one of our African amis) standing in the middle of a ton of suitcases. We asked her if she needed help. She said yes, so we started carrying the suitcases up the stairs to their train. There we saw Denise, who was so surprised and happy to see us. She said that of course God would send her the missionaries at the last minute to help her. She was leaving for Africa with her family for two months, and it was a miracle that we saw her and were able to help her and say goodbye to her. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father gave us that experience.
When we got to Paris, we met up with Soeur Cameron and her companion, Soeur Linton, because Soeur Linton had to get her legality papers as well. It was really awesome to see Soeur Cameron again. We all walked together to the mission home so that the office elders could take us to the prefecture, and right as we got there, we saw President and Soeur Poznanski getting into their car. They were so surprised to see us. Soeur Poznanski started crying, and she hugged all of us, and President shook our hands. They were just about to leave the mission home forever and go pick up the new President. Yet another miracle. We were probably the last missionaries to see President and Soeur Poznanski before they left. Right before President left, he told us we were all great missionaries. That was awesome. :)
We got falafels for lunch (they were SO GOOD) and then Soeur Holmes and I got macaroons with ice cream in the middle, and Soeur Cameron and Soeur Linton got gelato that had been shaped like a rose on top of the cone. That was probably some of the best food I've had while I've been in France. Mmmm.
We stayed the night in Paris because Soeur Holmes had gotten permission to see one of her friends who was visiting France, but he was late, so we missed our train. It was really fun to be with him and his family, though. He had served in this mission, and you could tell how much he'd loved it, and that he'd let it change him. Soeur Holmes was really happy to see him, because they've been friends for a while.
Saturday, June 28 -
Um. Not much happened. We missed our train in the morning, too, so we were late getting home and we had to take another train. Then we passed by some people.
Sunday, June 29 -
The missionaries got to teach the lesson on Sunday, because it was the 5th Sunday, and they've decided that every 5th Sunday that the missionaries will teach. I was really freaked out, but it went pretty well. We talked, of course, about member missionary work, and how they could talk about the gospel to their friends. We'd had them write down questions that their friends asked that they didn't know how to answer and we answered some of them, then had them go into groups and roleplay a situation where their friends asked a question and they had to answer. Then we testified that as we had love for the Lord, love for the gospel, and love for those around us that we would have a desire to share the gospel with other people, because we want them to have the blessings that we have. We testified that if we trusted the Lord and prayed for his help, that he would be with them and help them know what to say.
After church we visited Nadege in her shop. She didn't seem to be doing very well. She's having her baby in about a week, so I can understand that. We taught her a short lesson about the Savior and where we go after this life. She told us that she had found answers about God and Christ, because she was always confused because people said they were the same person, but in some scriptures it was obvious they weren't. So she prayed and studied in the Bible and found her answer that God and the Savior were different people. It's so awesome that she already studies and finds answers for herself, because not many people do that. We asked her to pray to know if she should be baptized, and she said that she would. I know that she has an open heart and is willing to do whatever the Lord wants her to do, and I know that she will be baptized one day. Sadly, we won't see her for a while, because she's going to stay with her baby in Belgium for a month or two. She promised that she would continue studying and praying, though, and I believe her.
After dinner, we ported a neighborhood, and everyone was unkind to us and no one would listen. Then we knocked on the last door and a man answered and we told him we were there to share a message about Jesus Christ and how he can help us. The man said it was really hard for him to believe in God because he's had a lot of hard things happen in his life, that he used to believe in God, but he doesn't anymore. We testified that God is there, that he loves us, and that through all of our trials Heavenly Father is there to help and strengthen us. We told him that the Savior suffered all of his pains and knows exactly how he feels. I could tell the man was feeling the Spirit and I know I felt it so strongly, and I felt Heavenly Father's immense love for him. Though the man told us he couldn't believe and didn't let us inside, I know we planted a seed in him, that he'll think about the things he felt and the things he heard. Maybe one day some missionaries will come by his house again and he'll be ready.
Doctrine and Covenants 101:38 - "And seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life." I know that as we seek the Lord every day of our lives, he will direct us to happiness, to hope, to becoming the best people we can be. He will guide us to eternal life.
I love you all!
Soeur Williams
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