Final P-Day (in the MTC)

Salut, my friendly peoples!
This is my last P-Day in the MTC before I go to France, so next time I email, I will be typing on a crazy French-ish computer. :D

Here is how my week has gone since you last heard from me:
Wednesday, Feb. 19th -
We taught a lesson over Skype to people on Wednesday. It was an interesting experience... We were actually supposed to be teaching someone who lives in France, but they were all at work when we tried to teach them, so instead my companions and I taught Soeur Chard's (our teacher) dad. He spoke French really well because he'd grown up in France and gone on his mission to France. Then he took a picture of my companions and me and sent it to our parents, which was awesome of him.
So... Soeur Ridd decided it would be funny to highlight a random verse in Elder Teh's scriptures while he was gone. When he found out, he and Elder Wallace decided to get back at her by highlighting a verse in her scriptures with rainbow colors while she was in the bathroom. She was not very happy about it. :D
I'm not sure if I've mentioned Elder Pichon before, but I feel I must now. He is one of the Elders who came from France to learn Tahitian at the MTC. He likes to use his French accent to his advantage and tends to have many girls around him wherever he goes. Page 33 in the mission rule book talks about relations with the opposite sex, and how we're not supposed to flirt, so every time we pass by Elder Pichon, we hold up the number 33 on our hands. :D He either glares or smiles and tells us that it's not on page 33 in the French rule book.
This probably won't be relevant to anyone but the people I was friends with in high school, but I taught Soeur Ridd the fishy handshake, and she loves it. That's how we congratulate each other now.

Thursday, Feb. 20th -
I liked Thursday. Verily, 'twas a good day. :D
We taught Siliane about families and about how the Atonement can help us love our families and forgive them even when it's hard. Siliane has problems with her family and hasn't talked to her mom in a really long time. I was able to share some experiences and I really felt the Spirit during that lesson. My companions asked inspired questions and helped Siliane soften her heart and feel the Spirit as well. Soeur Chard says that was one of our best lessons.
However, Siliane said she couldn't go to church on Sunday when we invited her, because she had work. So we needed to figure out how to help her understand that it's important to go to church, and that it will bless her and help her grow.
Soeur Ridd was really sick on Thursday. She kept throwing up and was really pale and weak, so we stayed in the residence area during gym time, even though Soeur Ridd was stubborn and kept trying to get Soeur Rasmussen and I to go to the gym, insisting she was fine. Silly Soeur Ridd.
I'm actually glad that we stayed in the residence, because that was when I got some of the clearest inspiration/answers I've ever gotten. I decided to jog around our residence hall area since it was gym time, and as I did so I pondered about what we could say to help Siliane go to church. As I thought and jogged, I realized that going to church could be related to running. No one can run forever. We need rest in order to have the energy to run more, to build up our strength. It's the same with church. We get worn out, physically and spiritually, throughout the week. The Sabbath day is provided for us so that we can rest and be recharged spiritually and physically, and that energy lasts throughout the rest of the week until the next Sunday when we get to go to church again. I also received more inspiration as I ran toward the picture of Christ hanging in the residence hall. I realized that we need to go toward Christ so that he can help us. He won't be able to help us as we need if we don't come to him and allow him to help us. I was so happy after receiving this help for my lesson from the Lord that I skipped down the hallway instead of running. Yep. I'm strange like that. :D

Friday, Feb 21st -
For our service project, we put up the 32 flags in front of the MTC. They didn't have the French flag for some reason...
A really awesome experience on Friday was when our elders gave a blessing to each one of the sisters. Soeur Ridd was still sick, so Elder Bigelow gave her a blessing. Soeur Rasmussen is still having troubles sleeping, so Elder Nez gave her a blessing. Then the elders decided I needed a blessing too, so Elder Wallace gave me a blessing of comfort (I've been getting nervous a lot lately) and it was an amazing, powerful blessing, one of the best I've had. I felt so much better after that, and I didn't even know I was feeling that bad before. :D
Even though Soeur Ridd was sick, she decided she wanted to teach Shuang-Bai on Friday evening. It was a really good, simple lesson about the 10 commandments, and Shuang-Bai seemed to enjoy it. I really liked it because he testified of how much his life has changed, how much happier he is, and how much more loved he feels in his life since he's heard the gospel. I know he's not a real investigator, but I loved seeing how much he's progressed, and how happy and at peace he is now. Frere Kellett said he was happy we decided to teach, because he likes our lessons and knew we would all feel better after teaching.
Also, I talked about the good ol' days in Syracuse with Elder Bigelow. It's funny how we knew of each other, but we never really talked to each other before our missions. Apparently he's even driven past our house, and didn't even realize it.

Saturday, Feb 22nd -
Saturday was another wonderiffical day. We taught a lesson to a "less-active" member (played by Frere Kellett) named Jean Michel. It. Was. Amazing. The Spirit was so strong as each person in our companionship sought to simply listen to Jean Michel, love him, and help him with the things he was struggling with in his life. We shared our favorite scriptures, scriptures to give him comfort and help him know that he can turn to God in all the struggles in his life and know that the Savior will welcome him and give him peace no matter what he's done.
Soeur Chard told us a story about how when she was on a mission, she and her companion went and taught this creepy old lady who had 17 cats that were hanging all around her teeny apartment. She had a raspy voice and she looked like a witch, apparently. After she told them she didn't want to hear what they had to say, Soeur Chard and her companion left, and as she left she took a picture of the old lady in the window of her apartment, staring at them, with cats gathered all around her like evil minions. If I can get the picture from her, I shall send it. :D
We taught Siliane again. We'd had her read the 10 commandments as a commitment, and she bought up a question about honoring her father and mother. She was wondering since she wasn't talking to them because of the things they'd done to her if she was breaking that commandment. We were planning on teaching about keeping the Sabbath day holy, but instead we mostly taught about how Heavenly Father knows she's trying and will help her as she tries to follow him, that he knows the desires of her heart. Also, she said she'd go to church. Yay!
I saw Tayzia and Annie after lunch! Huzzah!

Sunday, Feb 23rd -
The devotional on Sunday night was really good. It was about baptism, and why we should be inviting investigators to be baptized. We shouldn't be doing it for ourselves. We should be doing it because it will change their lives, bring them greater happiness and peace, and help them grow closer to the Lord. An interesting question he asked that helped me understand how to better teach investigators (about baptism and other things) was : If you weren't a member, and the missionaries had taught you, would you want to be baptized? And why?
I said goodbye to Tayzia on Sunday. She was a bit crazy... :P I think she scared my companions a little by her sheer awesomeness.  I know she'll be an amazing missionary.
Soeur Ridd made Elder Teh try a peanut butter and banana sandwich because he'd never tried one before, and he started choking on it a little bit. Soeur Ridd said, "Yes! My plan worked! It is the end of Dictator Teh's reign of terror!" His last act was to make Elder Bigelow the new dictator in his place. Elder Wallace was offended that as his companion he wasn't chosen to be dictator. Thankfully, we avoided conflict with such things because Elder Teh survived the sandwich. And he said it was delicious, so all is well. :P

Monday, Feb. 24th -
Um. Not much happened. The French people started comparing everyone to animals. Apparently I'm a bat. I like bats, so I'm good with that. Soeur Ridd, however, was not happy with her animal - a pigeon. Pauvre Soeur Ridd...

I'd like to share a scripture that helped me a lot this week, in Isaiah 41:10 -
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

Apparently people are actually reading my letters. That's exciting. Thanks everyone, for your support!

A bientot!
Soeur Williams

In the picture... I stuck my camera underwater in the fountain at the temple and took a picture.

Only 12 Days Until France!

Hello again, all you amazing peoples!
I hope I'm not boring you with my long letters about the MTC. If I am boring you, you should be excited because I'm leaving for France in 12 days, and next Tuesday will be my last P-Day in the MTC. Then I will send you long letters about France.
Now, for the fun-tastic happenings in the Missionary Training Center:

Wednesday, Feb. 12 -
We got to teach some church members who had gone to France on missions or just spoke French for some reason or another. At first I was really nervous and un-excited about it, because my companions and I hadn't really had time to prepare much of a lesson. But after we taught some old guys who had gone to France on their missions a while ago, I felt a lot better. It was fun hearing their testimonies and stories, and I felt like some of the things my companions and I said actually helped them, despite their being all knowledgeable and wise.
Wednesday was Elder Teh's birthday, so my companions and I got him some candy from the bookstore. He was really confused by the Watchamacallit I gave him, because he had no idea that was a word and he said it didn't make sense to him why they would call it that. Soeur Ridd, Soeur Rasmussen, and I also all chose out some little candies to give him in a bag. Soeur Ridd loves Fireballs (those hot cinnamon candies) so she thought Elder Teh would like them too. Not so. Elder Teh ate one and he only lasted a few seconds before he spit it in the garbage, telling us he is now sure he does not like cinnamon-flavored candies. We decided maybe he would like Warheads more, so Soeur Rasmussen gave him one of hers. Surprisingly... he didn't like that, either. His face was pretty funny to watch though.
I saw Tayzia at dinner on Wednesday, which was awesome! I was hoping I'd see her, but it's hard to find anyone in the MTC who isn't in your district. We talked for a little bit (well, for a while, actually) but then I had to go get my dinner. I've seen her a few times since then and she seems to be doing well. :)
In class, Frere Kellett asked if anyone had a French Vocabulary book he could borrow, and before I had a chance to say anything, Soeur Ridd grabbed hers (it was actually mine... the thief! :D ) and gave it to him. And he said "Soeur Ridd gets one point!" and wrote her name on the board, and one point under it. I didn't even know we were getting points. I want points... :P
Another Elder Teh moment happened on Wednesday as well. They're sadly happening less and less as he's adjusting to our weirdness. But, anyway... during class I got chalk on my hands and I wiped it on his suit. He went all dictator-mode on me and looked at me with horror/disdain/dictator-ness, and said "Do you know what you have done?! Do not defile me once more!" Then walked away. I'm not sure about his choice of words (but he is from Malaysia, so I'll give him a break), but it was pretty funny.
I had a fun surprise when I went back to my residence... a cupcake sitting on my desk! It was from Erin, and it was supremely delicious. It made my day. (Thanks Erin! :D )

Thursday, Feb 13 -
I can't actually remember anything from this day, and I only have one thing written down on my notebook of remembering-ness, so... apparently the only thing exciting that happened that day was Soeur Ridd got her really-super-extra-thick glasses in the mail. Tee hee. She usually wears contacts so it was amusing to see how blind she was. And Elder Wallace loved it even more than I did. He stole her glasses and walked around the room, running into walls and saying how he wished he had bad vision. Strange child.

Friday, Feb. 14 -
Oh my awesomeness! I got a great surprise on Valentine's Day. I got a bag filled with chocolate and love from my family. :D I'd been waiting for it for a while and it was fun to get notes from my family. And chocolate. So much delicious See's chocolate. Mmmm.
Soeur Ridd got five packages on Valentine's Day, so now she has a drawer completely dedicated to candy in our room. And her aunt sent her a huge package filled with a dozen donuts and 3 roses - one for each person in our companionship. Seriously, her aunt is the best. :D
We taught two lessons in one day, and neither of them went very well. We didn't really feel like we had the Spirit with us, and we were very discouraged. Right after our lesson with Shuang Bai/Frere Kellett, Frere Kellett asked saw that we were feeling discouraged and asked if he could say a prayer for/with us. He did, and it was one of the most amazing, sincere, and inspired prayers I've ever heard. It helped a lot, and I'm so blessed to have a teacher that cares so much about us.

Saturday, Feb. 15 -
Everyone in our companionship finally got rid of our scripts, and we were afraid, but it went well. (Also, Elder Wallace is creepily standing behind Soeur Ridd and I while we write, and he says to say hello, so, um, hello for Elder Wallace... I suppose). Anyway... it was one of the best lessons we taught. We basically just had a rough outline of what we wanted to say, and we taught simply and by the Spirit. We all felt much better about our teaching after that.
Frere Kellett is pretty good at seeing when our district needs help, and he knew we'd all been getting discouraged lately, so he had us all take out a piece of paper, write our name on the top, then pass our papers around the room and have everyone write positive, encouraging things about each person in the class on their piece of paper. It was really helpful, it cheered me up and helped me feel closer to everyone in our district.
Everyone in our zone is supposed to write a talk for sacrament meeting on the topic assigned to us, in French, then a few random people are called on to give a talk in sacrament meeting. I was worried I was going to get called on, so I worked hard to write a talk about our topic -- enduring to the end. Soeur Anzi, one of the French sisters, walked by and kindly offered assistance in correcting my French. There were many scribbles/corrections on my talk after that. French is scary. :P

Sunday, Feb. 16 -
Guess what. I was called on to give a talk on Sunday. Quel suprise. People said I did well, but I can hardly remember it because I was so scared.
Relief Society was really good this Sunday. The Young Women's General President, Bonnie Oscarson, came and spoke to us. She had had all of her children and other family members who had gone on missions write to her about their missions and advice they would give missionaries. Her talk made me want to work harder, to give my whole effort to serving the Lord. She spoke of how the Lord can make us better than we can make ourselves, and how he can help us change our hearts.
For our devotional on Sunday night, President Matthew S. Holland came and spoke. Which was great in and of itself, because his talk was amazing (more about that later) and he's Elder Holland's son. One more added thing of awesomeness was that I was in the choir and we got to sing Praise to the Man at the end, which was a great experience. Another awesome thing was that a special choir came in and sang throughout his talk, which really brought in the Spirit. Yet something else that was awesome was that his mom came because it was her birthday, and we all sang happy birthday to her. The last piece of supreme awesome-ocity was that, since his wife came, Elder Holland came as well. And he is the best ever. :D As soon as he came in the room, I felt the Spirit. Then when he spoke - and he spoke only to introduce his son - the Spirit was so strong tears came to my eyes. I know he truly is called of God.
Now for the talk that President Holland gave: it was one of the best talks I've heard. It was about Joseph Smith and really strengthened my testimony of his role as a prophet. What impressed me was how he stayed true to the Lord even through the many, many trials that came all throughout his life, and how those trials shaped him to be the great man that he was. It struck me that some of the best people are usually those who have struggled the most. It makes me realize that our Heavenly Father really knows what's best for me, and all the hard things I go through are helping me to be a better person, a happier person, and most importantly, closer to him and to the Savior.
Elder Wallace finally asked Soeur Rasmussen if she wanted a blessing for her insomnia, because Soeur Ridd and I had told him we thought it would really help her, but she wasn't going to ask anyone for help. I could tell Soeur Rasmussen was really grateful for the offer, and hopefully she will get that blessing soon. She wants Frere Kellett to do it, but we're waiting to see if that's allowed.

Monday, Feb. 17 -
I love teaching without a script. Siliane's lesson was amazing. She had some fears about being baptized. She said she didn't feel like she knew enough, and she wasn't sure if she was getting an answer to her prayers. Soeur Rasmussen got some inspiration as she'd prayed for Siliane the day before, and she mostly guided our lesson. We all bore our testimonies to Siliane and tried to help her with her concerns, then knelt down with her as she prayed to know if this is the true church and if she should be baptized. After the prayer, we asked her how she felt, and she said she felt peace and comfort. I testified to her that that was how I had felt when I'd asked to know if the church was true. I told her I hadn't heard any words in my head or seen any visions, but I'd had an undeniable feeling of peace and love, and I told her I knew that was  her answer. It was really powerful and increased my testimony of the ability of the Spirit to guide me to say what I need to. Siliane is going to be baptized on the 1st of March. Soeur Chard said that lesson was our best lesson we've ever taught.
I'm so grateful for the blessing I've gotten to be on a mission. I have times when I'm discouraged, but unlike when I'm at home, that discouragement doesn't last even a whole day. The Lord always does something to help me feel happy and feel his love. I'm so grateful to be doing this work.

Thanks for reading my rambly-ness! Also, thanks for all the letters and emails I've received! I really appreciate them. When I get them, they make my day better.

Au revoir!
Soeur Williams

Ok. Pictures... one is Elder Wallace wearing Soeur Ridd's glasses. The other is Tayzia and I. :D

Happenings at the MTC, Part 3

Hello friends, family, and any random strangers who might be reading this!

I'm finding that there's less and less to write because every day is pretty much the same at the MTC: food, class/teaching, food, studying, food, class/teaching. :D I do love it, but it doesn't make for terribly exciting reading. But I shall attempt to enthrall you all with tales of the wonderrifical, um, mysterious... happenings at the MTC.

Tuesday, Feb 4th -

Since it was a P-day, they let us missionaries outside of the MTC so we could go to the temple. I loved it. I love going to the temple because I feel such peace there and I know the Lord is watching over me and guiding me.

While we were waiting for our laundry to be done, Soeur Rasmussen dragged Soeur Ridd and I outside because it was snowing. Soeur Rasmussen is still excited by snow. She ran around in the snow, threw snowballs at us, and stomped her name out in the snow. I eventually joined in, building two more little missionary snowmen. Soeur Ridd didn't enjoy it as much. She does not like snow. :P

We went to choir practice after dinner and practiced singing "Be Still My Soul". The choir director is awesome. He always gives a little background or elaborates on the meaning of the song we're singing. He said that "Be Still My Soul" was the perfect song for missionaries, because it's basically us talking to ourselves, telling ourselves to be still and trust in the Lord because he's with us, that through every trial he is by our side.

Wednesday, Feb. 5th -

So, Wednesday didn't start out too well. I wasn't feeling great, I was really tired, and I was having a hard time keeping my thoughts straight. Then we found out that we needed to go teach some members a lesson in French, ten minutes before we had to do it. Apparently we were supposed to know about this beforehand, but no one had told us. So we had ten minutes to prepare a lesson in French to members who already knew a lot about the gospel. Our companionship decided to teach about the enabling power of the Atonement, about how Jesus Christ knows all of the trials and challenges we're having and he will give us the strength to do what he has asked us to do. We were so nervous that we were close to tears, but the lessons ended up going pretty well. We had a lot of good scriptures to share and we bore our testimonies a lot (because we bore our testimonies every time we didn't know what else to say). It was pretty great, because Soeur Ridd bore her testimony, and she's been having a hard time with French. She started crying during her testimony, and she says that that was the first time she'd really felt the Spirit while teaching in French.

A missionary in our Zone named Soeur Frost had to be with us from Wednesday until Sunday because she was leaving soon and her companion was doing training at Temple Square. Soeur  Frost is amazing. She's been a member of the church for a year and a half, and she has a really strong testimony. Every time she bears it and every time I get to hear her teach, I feel the Spirit so strongly.

I had a good discussion in class with Soeur Ridd about how prayer has such an important role in conversion. We talked about all the experiences we've had with prayer and how grateful we are for prayer. She had some really good insights, and I gained a lot more respect for her because of our conversation. (Not that I didn't respect her before. :D )

Thursday, Feb. 6th -

Our district went outside with the French district, and we had to go contacting, talking to the French-speaking people (in French) about the Book of Mormon and give out our Book of Mormon. It was really hard for me, because I didn't know what to say, in French or English. I didn't do very well, and the sister only took my Book of Mormon because she felt bad for me. I started being a little bit mopey after that, because I was disappointed in myself, but then I started thinking outside myself and realizing the reason I'm here is to  help people, and if I do my best to learn, the Lord will help me with the rest.

We had a meeting of all the sisters in our zone on Thursday night. We went around the room and everyone shared why they were on a mission. I felt the Spirit more with each sister that explained why she was on a mission. I found that the common reason was because we love our Heavenly Father, and that the gospel has brought so much joy to our lives that we want to help others find that joy.

I'd say the crowning point of the day, however, was dinner. You see, they were serving dirt cups (you know, the pudding stuff with Oreos and gummy worms), and Soeur Ridd, Elder Wallace, and I had wanted them last week, but they were gone before we could get to them. After we sat down at the table and commenced our consummage of much food-ness, we looked around and found that there were people walking around with dirt cups on their trays. We immediately leaped out of our seats and sprinted (in a dignified, missionary-like fashion, of course) to the line we thought was the source of this deliciousness. It was not, however, where the precious dirt cups were being kept. So we continued on our quest for the treasured dirt cups. Alas, when we got to the line that was serving them, someone took the last one. (The fiends!) We sat back down at our table, dejected and defeated, when all of a sudden Soeur Ridd pointed, barely able to speak as she gestured to an Elder carrying a dirt cup on his tray. We again journeyed in a dignified manner to procure our dirt cups, and this time we were successful. We returned to our table, victorious, and devoured our prize. And it was quite delicious. :D

Friday, Feb. 7th -

Not much happened on Friday. We did teach Shuang-Bai again, and I thought we did very well at teaching him simply and with the Spirit about prophets.

Saturday, Feb. 8th -

So, I haven't said much about either of my teachers, so I shall tell you about Frere Kellet. He is wonderfulamazingstupendous. At first he was really nervous, because this was his first time teaching at the MTC, but now that he's gotten used to it, he's hilarious. He cracks jokes all the time and likes to speak in French with a Southern accent. I'm not sure how, or why, exactly, but he does. He was tired on Saturday so we took out pictures of our families and described them. In imperfect tense. Yay for learning stuff, but not really learning at the same time. :D

We taught Siliane on Saturday, and it went really  well. I think it's been my favorite lesson that we've taught so far. The Spirit was present throughout our lesson, and I was able to share a personal experience that almost made me cry, but I was able to control myself. Soeur Chard says that if I'd just let there be a little silence after sharing my experience, Siliane would have opened up to me, because she'd had a similar problem. Anyway, awesome lesson, and at the end when Siliane prayed, the Spirit was a lot stronger than it's been in any other lesson before this.

Sunday, Feb 9th -

I was really scared I was going to have to give a talk in French during our zone sacrament meeting, because they give everyone a topic, then we have to prepare a talk according to that topic and during sacrament meeting they call on 2 or 3 random missionaries to speak. And I really wasn't prepared. Thankfully, I wasn't called on. That made it a really good sacrament meeting. :)

Soeur Frost left on Sunday. I shall miss her, but she's gonna convert everyone in New Caledonia where she's serving. Pretty sure that's a possibility. :D

I love Sundays. I felt the Spirit all day because we heard a lot of awesome talks and had hours to read and study the scriptures.

Stephen B. Allen spoke again. He gave another amazing talk, just like last time. He showed us Mormon Messages and then spoke about them, relating them to missionary work. As he gave the talk, I felt Heavenly Father's love, and I knew that he called me to France for a reason. Stephen B. Allen spoke a lot about how we need to be ourselves and not compare ourselves to others, because the Lord needs us, who we are with our strengths, different personalities and talents. I also felt strongly just a hint of the joy it will bring me to share the gospel with others, and the joy it will bring to their lives.

Monday, Feb 10th -

I learned lots of French tenses and verbs on Monday. It was painful. I will speak no more about it because it was a tragic, scarring experience. :P

Our teacher, Soeur Chard, made a little square out of tape on the floor of our classroom. That is the only area in the classroom that we're allowed to speak English. Stupid square. But... it is already helping us learn the language faster.

We taught Shuang-Bai again, and he's getting baptised. Whoo! I'm so excited! I was really nervous about this lesson, because this was the first time I taught without a script. I remembered everything, but I said "um" a lot. My companions did really well on this lesson. They each bore their testimonies and brought in the Spirit.

Soeur Rasmussen and Soeur Ridd are both having health problems, which stinks. Soeur Rasmussen is having a hard time sleeping and has a cold, and Soeur Ridd is having other more serious health problems, so we went to the clinic yesterday. Soer Rasmussen got drugs and Soeur Ridd is going back to the clinic on Wednesday. I feel really bad for them and I've been praying for them.

Extra stuff that I have no idea when they happened -

I saw cousin Erin and we took some magniflorious pictures! It was awesome to be able to see her.

While my companions and I were practicing a lesson, we put pens above our lips like mustaches

because we were pretty sure it would help us speak French better because we looked like Frenchmen.

I dominate at four square during gym. Except I accidentally keep hitting people on the head with the ball. That is all.

I love you all! Je vous aime beaucoup! I miss you (even you, random strangers)! Until next week...

Soeur Williams

Week 2 - Fun, learning, and snow

Friends and Family,
Bonjour! It's been a week since I've written last, but it feels like it's been longer. And shorter. If that makes any sense at all. If not... oh well. I shall update you on my oh so exciting happenings at the MTC. :D
Thursday, 30th -
I learned lots of French. Lots. And lots. It made my brain melt a little. But I do feel like I'm improving pretty quickly. Well, until I talk to the district of missionaries that just came in from France. When I talk to them, I feel like I've been learning the wrong language for the past five years. They speak so quickly! But they're really nice, and they're trying to learn English, so we help each other.
My companions and I taught Quentin, and it didn't go as well as we'd hoped. He did accept our invitation for baptism, but we confused him with one of the scriptures we gave him that said something speaking with the tongue of angels, and we didn't know how to explain what it meant in French... I felt like I could've done better at teaching with the Spirit.
It snowed on Thursday, and Soeur Rasmussen was way excited because she's lived in Provo all her life. She grabbed some of the snow and threw it up into the air with a look of pure amazement on her face. Awesomeness. Also an elder in our district, Elder Teh, who's from Malaysia, was excited about the snow too. I also love snow and I was distressed by our not-the-best lesson, so I built a 'lil 6" tall missionary snowman to release my stress. :D He even had a name tag.

Soeur Ridd was also unhappy about the lesson, and her progress in French, so Elder Wallace gave her a pep talk about how learning French was  like Mt. Everest and she had to climb a little and then rest on a plateau to get used to the air, and eventually she would be a sherpa doing jumping jacks on the top. Very inspiring. Now we have a mountain drawn on our chalkboard, Soeur Ridd climbing it, and me belaying her.

Last thing I remember from Thursday... I think I told you one of our elders (Elder Amaya) was advanced to a different district because he was so amazing at French. Well, Elder Wallace was his companion, and he used to ask him a lot of French questions. Now that he can't do that anymore, he uses his French/English dictionary and has named it Elder Amaya. We told Elder Amaya this and he didn't seem too happy about it for some reason... :D

Friday 31st -
During gym time Soeur Rasmussen was in a not-fantabulous mood, so Soeur Ridd and I cheered her up with jokes. Also, we took pictures of ourselves while we were doing service cleaning the bathroom. And we took a picture with my poor melted snowman.

I really felt the Spirit while my companions and I were preparing our lesson for Quentin. Ideas and feelings kept coming to us and we knew exactly what we needed to teach him. Sadly, "Quentin" revealed himself to be our other/new teacher, Frere Kellet, and he told us he would stop playing Quentin and be a different investigator named Shuang-Bai. I know it's kinda weird since Quentin's not real, but I'm gonna miss him. :)
Frere Kellet is awesome, though. He taught us how to use our personal studies better so that they would carry on into our companionship studies and help us prepare for our lessons. While I was studying with our other new investigator (Siliane) in mind, I had random scriptures pop into my head, and all sorts of ideas to help Siliane with what she needed. I know Heavenly Father was helping me know her needs and what to say to her. Then we talked as a companionship and everyone had amazing ideas about how to teach her.
So, I don't know if I've told you peoples how awesome/hilarious Elder Teh is. We now have a book of Teh, a notebook with his funny sayings/situations in it. One that happened on Friday was when my companions and I looked through one of the windows into a room where Elder Wallace was playing the piano and Elder Teh was looking out the window with his hands behind his back. (I took a picture if I can figure out how to send it :D ) It looked very dramatic, and we told Elder Teh he looked like a dictator. Later, when we were leaving, Elder Teh looked out the window one last time and said, "The world is a beautiful place." Then he walked out the door, looked back at us and said, "But I, Hitler, must destroy it."

Saturday 1st -
I felt pretty crappiflapnasty (maybe ask Gabrielle if I spelled that right) on Saturday. I felt like I wasn't very good at teaching with, following, or feeling the Spirit. But then we went to a Zone Teaching Conference and we had to get to know someone in 5 minutes, then pray to know their needs and prepare a lesson for them by the Spirit. Well, the sister I was with pretty much asked me questions the whole time, so I didn't really get to find anything out about her. So I prayed and asked the Lord to help me know what she needed the most. I felt like she was really worried about how well she was doing at French and that she was so stressed by all of the things required of her each day. I felt prompted to look at where I'd been reading in the scriptures and I found some amazing verses nearby. (In Doctrine and Covenants). I had her read them and asked her questions that I wouldn't have thought to ask without the Lord's help, and she thanked me because she said that was exactly what she needed to hear that day. I'm so grateful for the Lord and for his love for me, that he knows what we need, what I need, and gave me the opportunity to teach that day so I could feel better about how I was doing, and rely on him more.

Sunday 2nd -
Okay, my email time is quickly depleting, so I'll have to talk about this briefly. But we had Mission Conference on Sunday. It was fantastic. We also had our devotional and watched the Joseph Smith movie. Throughout it all, I felt like I needed to give my whole heart to the Lord, to trust him more and put the Savior more in the center of my life.
Our zone walked to the temple on Sunday. We took a plethora of pictures. My face hurt from smiling so much. On the way to and from the temple, Soeur Rasmussen threw snowballs at us. She's still not tired of the snow. We shall wait and see if that changes...

Monday 3rd -
We taught Siliane and Shuang Bai. Siliane committed to baptism if she felt and knew that what we were teaching her was true, even though it was our first lesson. Shuang Bai was a bit more difficult to teach because he had no religious background. At all. So we started at the basics. I think we did pretty well, but I always think I can improve.
We had companionship inventory, and we went around saying what we liked about each other. I think it helped us grow closer as a companionship.

Well, that is all I can write for now! I love and miss you all! Live long and prosper! :D May the Spirit be with you!

Soeur Williams

I will send pictures later. This computer is not the awesome.

Yay, we finally heard from Cathryn!

Dear Family & Friends,

I hope this letter makes some sort of sense, because I am SOOO tired! :D My days are definitely very full here at the MTC, but I love it. So I don't forget anything, lemme just go through the days one at a time...

Wednesday, Jan. 22nd -

So, when I got to the MTC, it was crazy-overwhelming. They herded me around and I had no idea what was going on. I was a little bit late because someone (*cough* mom *cough*) wouldn't let me go. :D I have two companions, Soeur Ridd and Soeur Rasmussen. They are both amazing and I've come to love them so much even though we're all very different. (Me = nerdy/weird/shy, Them = outgoing, sporty, AWESOME!) They're both from Arizona, so they knew each other a little bit before they came here. Like I said, I love them. It feels like I've known them for years instead of days. We're already good friends.  I also love my district! We get on random tangents (like one day I asked Soeur Ridd how she felt when she repented, so she could bear her testimony about it in French, and she said "I feel happy!" And we got off on a random Monty Python tangent). Anyway... on Wednesday, we had a teaching experience thing where all the new missionaries contributed and tried to teach an "investigator". I remember feeling unhappy that I didn't participate. Wednesday was confusing and I only got 3 hours of sleep on our hard bed. I prayed fervently for comfort and help from the Lord until I fell asleep.

Thursday, Jan. 23rd - 

It's amazing how Heavenly Father answers prayers so quickly sometimes. On Thursday I felt 1,000 times better! I felt the Spirit so strongly when we went to a purpose workshop where we talked about how we're supposed to invite others to come to Christ, not convince or manipulate them. And that everyone has some sort of connection with God, that he is in everyone's lives, whether they realize/believe it or not, and that we are supposed to help them see that connection and help it grow stronger. As a district, we learned a lot of French. Soeur Ridd had only taken Spanish before, so she was worried about how she would do. But she's progressing really quickly. There was actually an elder in our district who did so well at French that they gave him a test and moved him to an advanced language district. They gave me the same test, but I'm still in my same district, so I'm thinking I didn't pass. Which is okay with me, because I love my companions and my district so much. Plus I help them know how to say stuff in French. :) Besides learning French, we prepared a lesson for our first "investigator" (someone who speaks French, playing someone interested in the Church), Quentin. We also met our branch presidency and their wives. I can tell they love us so much.

Friday, Jan. 24th - 

On Friday, we did our service project. My companions and I did some cleaning in the main building, which reminded me of my janitorial job at Smith Optics. And that was actually a good thing, because I loved working there and I seriously miss it (especially the people there!). Which seems kind of strange, but it's true. We also taught Quentin, and it went better than I thought, considering we didn't know French very well. We taught him about how Heavenly Father loves each of us, how he is our literal Father, the father of our spirits, and that he has a body like we do. We also taught him how to pray. The most amazing part of the lesson was that I felt an instant love for Quentin and wanted him to have the pure joy that the gospel brings. I know the Lord loves him so much and can help me love those I teach. (Even though Quentin is a fake investigator, we're supposed to treat him as if he were a real investigator, so I am, and it's working pretty well). After teaching Quentin, we were much more united as a companionship. We were a lot closer and more comfortable with each other. I was a little bit less shy. It was fantastic.

Saturday, Jan. 25th-

We went to a workshop about using scriptures in lessons that helped me know how to teach Quentin better. I know that if I study the scriptures, and do my best, that the Spirit will bring them to my mind when I need them. We also studied a flapjack-load of French on Saturday. That was the day we got distracted by Monty Python. And a Flight of the Conchords song got stuck in our heads because Elder Wallace and Elder Amaya (he's the one who is in the advanced district now) started singing it. 

Sunday, Jan. 26th -

This was an amazing, wonderiffical, fantabulous day. A sister in our branch/zone gave a talk in French, and I can tell she'll be an amazing missionary, because I felt the Holy Ghost so strongly during her talk. Even my companion who didn't understand her felt the Spirit. Janice Kapp Perry came and talked to the sisters for Relief Society. That was a great experience. We sang some of the songs she'd written, and I felt the Spirit. I knew without a doubt that this is where the Lord wants me to be, and I had a greater desire to be more like Jesus Christ in my everyday actions. The best part of the day was when a man from the Quorum of the Seventy came and talked to us. He said he didn't have a talk prepared and that we should pray to have questions answered, and that he would follow the Spirit and answer them. I felt the Spirit so strongly. I felt peace and had my testimony confirmed that God really is there, that the Savior loves me, and that this is his true church. There was no doubt in my mind and no way I could ever deny it. That feeling was stronger and more effective for me than any physical evidence would have been. My questions were answered that day.

Monday, Jan. 27th-

On Monday, I had to... um... poop in a cup. 'Cause in order to go to Belgium we had to be tested for parasites. It was a distressing/traumatizing experience. That is all.

Also, we taught Quentin about the Restoration, and it went pretty well.

Tuesday, Jan. 28th-

Yesterday we (my companions and Elder Wallace) flew to San Francisco at 3 in the morning to go to the Consulate and get our visas. Then we went to Ghiradelli Square, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Chinatown.

I hope you guys are doing fantastic! I'm actually taking way more time than I should to write this, so I gotta go!

Love, 

Soeur Cathryn Williams

I'll send pictures later when I figure out how.

Dropped off at the MTC

Well, we dropped Cathryn Soeur Williams off at the Missionary Training Center in Provo a few days ago (Wednesday, January 22nd at 1:50 PM to be precise), and we already miss her plenty.  Particularly since we haven't heard a peep from her since then.  We're not sure when her preparation day will be, when she will be able to send us e-mails, but hopefully it's soon!

We had a "last supper" of take-out Thai food the Tuesday night before, then the stake presidency and bishopric came over to set her apart. We had an awesome little meeting in our living room where the stake president, then me, then Sandi, then the bishop and the two stake counselors all bore testimony.  After that all the Melchizedek Priesthood holders stood in a circle around the seated Cathryn with our hands on her head while President Cook set her apart to serve as a full-time missionary in the France-Paris Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. After that, Cathryn bore her sweet sincere testimony of the church and her desires to serve the Lord.  It was a wonderful, special evening.

The next day we had a going-away lunch for her at Famous Daves, with Ribs and burnt ends and all sorts of tasty barbecue.  We took the two younger girls out of school, and began the long journey to Provo.  We got there plenty early, so we took a break at the University Mall to pick up a bunch of chocolate at Kara Chocolates at half price (store closing sale).  The chocolates were good enough to remind me of chocolates we'd had in Belgium, and got me thinking a lot about where my baby would be in 6 weeks!

We made it to the MTC with a few minutes to spare (we were supposed to be there at 1:45, got there at 1:40), so we went across to the MTC park there and took a few photos as a family.  Cathryn was worried because we were now a few minutes late, but when we got there at 1:50, there were a bunch of missionaries waving us in, a couple with a lot of style, enjoying their job.  We were told we had 2 minutes to park, unload, take a picture, hug, and get out of the way! We unloaded Cathryn, took a few pictures, and tried to leave, but Sandi wouldn't let go of Cathryn in her hug, so we had to pry her apart.  Then we left my baby in the able care of a nice sister missionary who took some of her luggage (she was packed to the maximum limits!) and off we went. :(  But I felt enough joy and excitement at what Cathryn has to look forward to, that the sadness wasn't too overwhelming.  I know she'll be a WONDERFUL missionary with her sweetness and sincerity, and come back an even better person for this service she is giving to our Heavenly Father.