Another Week in Valenciennes (and Paris)

Heyo!
Each time I think that life can't get any more fantastic, Heavenly Father surprises me with more awesomeness. Seriously. I thought last week was amazing... but this week was amazing, too. I just keep experiencing so many miracles, big and small.

Monday, April 28 -
After every P-Day, we generally have an FHE with the ward that we try to invite amis to, but this Monday was the first one since I've been here where we've actually been able to do so. Though we didn't have any amis there, it was really awesome. Soeur Cameron and I were in charge of the spiritual thought (even though it was the elders' turn... the slackers) and we showed the video "Because of HIm" (in French, of course) which is so powerful every time I watch it. I could see that it touched the ward members that were there and I felt the Spirit so strongly as Soeur Cameron and I testified of the Savior, and as the members shared their testimonies and love for the Savior. It was really cool to hear because each one of them were converts. That's generally how it is in France.
After the spiritual thought, we played a fun French card game called "Six qui prend", then we ate delectable crepe-y goodness.

Tuesday, April 29 -
This Tuesday was a little bit insane. We went to Zone Conference in Paris instead of Lilles because the day we had our Zone Conference in Lilles (April 30) we would be in Paris for my legality stuff. So, we took a train early in the morning to Paris for the Zone Conference. I loved it. I learned so much. Soeur Poznanski talked about how if we have faith and are obedient to the things the Lord asks of us, we can see miracles. She compared it to Joshua and his army as they obeyed his instructions to make the walls of Jericho fall down. President Poznanski talked about how we can truly see miracles as we have faith and exercise that faith. He taught that we should contact people and knock on doors expecting people to accept, expecting the Lord to help us, because that's how we show our faith in him. Expect to be able to change lives with the Lord's help. We had a good zone teaching thingy about seeing each of the many blessings the Lord gives us, then sharing those blessings with others.
After that, there wasn't room for the people from the Lille Zone to have district meeting in the building we were in, so we decided to, you know, just have a lil' district meeting by the Eiffel Tower. 'Cause... France. Yeah. That was cool. Not only could I see the Eiffel Tower out of the corner of my eye as Elder Walton taught us, but his lesson was really amazing. He was worried because he hadn't prepared anything, but what he taught helped so much. We went in-depth through the story of the brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon. There were a lot of great things, but basically my favorite part was when Elder Walton talked about how the brother of Jared didn't immediately see the Lord's hand as he touched the stones, that he had to look for the Lord's hand, believing it was there. He testified that his mission was a lot better and happier as he looked for the ways the Lord's hand was in his life each day, and challenged us to do the same. That really inspired me, and now I'm keeping a little notebook where I write down the blessings the Lord gives me each day.
After that we went back to the church and had interviews with President and Soeur Poznanski. I loved those interviews. It was a really sacred experience for me as I spoke with President Poznanski, and all I will say is that I know that the Lord knows me perfectly and that he's been strengthening me and will continue to strengthen me.
Then we went sight-seeing around Paris, got some paninis and crepes, and I bought a cool journal themed after Saint-Exupery, the man who wrote The Little Prince. It's so gorgeous. :)

Wednesday, April 30 -
I did my legality pretty much all day Wednesday. It was really cool because I got to see everyone in my MTC district because they had us all do it on the same day, so I got to talk to them and see how they were doing. Then... I did my legality stuff. It was awkward. And uncomfortable. That is all I would like to say about that experience. Oh. And, I passed. :D
We were almost late for our train home, but we prayed and Heavenly Father gave us strength to run quickly to the train, and we barely made it.

Thursday, May 1 -
So, I'm not sure if I've talked about this already, but French people like to have random, bizarre holiday things where no one works, nothing is open, and there's absolutely no transportation. May 1st was one of those days. So we decided to do planning that day instead of Friday.
After planning, we ported in the neighborhood where we'd found Marie-Christine. It was so cool, because everyone was so kind to us, which doesn't happen a lot. Soeur Cameron said that was the nicest neighborhood she'd ever ported in.
Then we went and stopped by Catherine, a woman who we'd met while she was walking her dogs. She was really nice to us. She let us in and we had a lesson with her. She talked to us about how her sister had died from cancer and we testified that we knew she'd see her sister again. We prayed with her and the Spirit was so strong. I love her so much, and I could see and feel a difference in her as we left.

Friday, May 2 -
We were really excited for Friday, because we were going to spend a whole day with a member family, pray with them and find people in their area. But... they cancelled, so we had pretty much a whole day where we didn't know what to do. So we prayed and asked Heavenly Father what we should do and felt like we should go and pass by less actives in a nearby town called Anzin. We went to 6 or 7 different houses and we found out some people had moved and so we were able to make notes to update the ward list (which hasn't been updated in like ten years :P ). Then we decided to go to a less-active family that was technically the elders' family and who'd said they weren't interested. But... we felt like we should go, so we did. When we knocked, a little girl answered the door and said her mom wasn't home, then their dog ran out the door, so the girl opened the door a little bit wider, and then their mom walked up to the door because the dog had escaped so we were able to talk to her. At first she was very closed, and didn't want to say much to us. She said she was recently divorced (so the elders couldn't teach her anyway because she's a single woman). As we showed love to her and let her know we were just there to help her, she opened up more and said when she was a little less busy we could come by and see her again.
Then we were about to go meet with our ward mission leader, but he cancelled as well, so we decided to go visit Danielle, the less-active we'd met last week. There were Jehova's Witnesses there when we got there and they pretty much tried to get us to contradict ourselves and destroy our beliefs, but we just testified and asked Danielle if we could come back another time and she said no, that she studied with the Jehova's Witnesses now. When we left we were a bit discouraged because we'd been so excited to meet with Danielle. As we walked along the street, feeling a bit down, Soeur Cameron decided to contact a woman in our path. She testified of God and the hope he can bring us. The woman, whose name was Jeanine, said she believed in God, but it was hard for her right now because she had a handicapped son and she needs to move to a bigger house because she and her husband and her son all sleep in the same room, but she doesn't have enough money. She says it's really hard to take care of him, and it's really hard for her family right now. We offered to pray with her right then, and we did. Afterwards, she had tears in her eyes and said we'd given her so much comfort and that she was glad she met us. We testified of God's love for her and said he is listening to her prayers. It was amazing the love I felt for her, probably the strongest love I've ever felt for someone, stronger than I though was possible, and I knew I was feeling the love Heavenly Father has for her. I know Heavenly Father sent her to us, and that we and Jeanine both left feeling so much better than we had before.
After that miracle, Heavenly Father decided to send us another miracle. We talked to a member, Frere Deladerriere, and he said he knew Danielle and that he wanted to visit her with us. We prayed and decided to go back to visit her again, even though she said she didn't want us back. We explained about Frere Deladerriere, and she was so excited. She said she'd love to see him with us. We ended up just talking to her for half an hour, and setting another RDV with her for the next week.

Saturday, May 3 -
Not much happened on Saturday. In order to support the ward, we went to a baptism of a kid in our ward, a child of a previously less-active family. It was great, and the Spirit was there.
Then we visited Marie-France and Didier. Marie-France wasn't doing too well, but as we read the Book of Mormon together and as Soeur Cameron and I testified, I saw hope come into her eyes. I know that the Book of Mormon has a great power, and as Marie-France and Didier read it together that their lives will improve drastically, that they will be given the strength that they need.

Sunday, May 4 -
I just have to say that I love fast Sunday. I felt a lot of strength and a lot of love for others, and the Spirit more strongly as I fasted.
We taught Amanda, the 9-year-old girl who's getting baptized this month, and she is so cute. We gave her gospel pictures and asked her to explain them and teach us, based on what she'd been taught by the missionaries. She knows so much and I know she's ready to be baptized. I love her so much! :)
There's a recent convert family in our ward, the Pierach family, that does so much, a lot more than some of the long time members do, and we're getting worried about them because we can see they're getting worn out and no one in the ward seems to notice/appreciate all that they do. So we dedicated some study time for them and found really good scriptures and I felt the Spirit guiding me to know what they needed as we studied. It was really awesome. We wrote a note for them and wrote down the scriptures, put it on plate of cookies and dropped it off at their house. I hope that helps them!
We went to visit Patricia, an ami I haven't met yet. She's an older lady who has a lot of health problems, is Protestant, and has a brother with a mental illness who she takes care of. She was unbelievably kind to us and I felt a great love for her. She said that the missionaries (Soeur Cameron and her last companion) came on her worst day, the day she needed help the most, and she knows the Lord sent us to her. I felt that was true, especially as we prayed with her.
After that we went to contact someone a ward member had told us to contact. She's a woman who'd recently been widowed and was having a really hard time. She has three kids and doesn't really have any hope. We were about to knock on her door, but we heard a man's voice and that freaked us out 'cause French men are generally creepy and we knew it couldn't be the woman's husband. So we prayed and walked by her house, and the moment we walked past her house, the door opened and she came out. We talked to her and told her we were there to help people find hope and see their families after this life. She said she didn't believe in God, but as we told her we knew she could see her family after she died, and asked her if that was something she wanted she opened up and told us about how her husband had recently died. When we asked if we could see her again, she said we could. I know that was definitely a miracle, and that this is something she needs in her life.

"And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord." (Ether 6:9)
I really love this scripture because at this time in the chapter, the brother of Jared and his family were being tossed to and fro by the winds and they were stuck in a teeny boat for a long, long time. Yet, they thanked the Lord without ceasing because they knew the winds were leading them to the promised land.
Something that I've really learned this week is to look for the ways the Lord's hand is in my life, the little blessings he's given me. As I've done so, I've really felt happier and I've felt the Spirit more, and I've seen how much he truly does give me and how much I'm indebted to him.

-Soeur Williams

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

Les Printemps en France

Coucou! (Another way of saying hello)
Everyone in the missionary emails I've been getting has been talking about how it's Spring-y feeling and stuff outside, but here in France it's about the same weather as usual. Sunny with rain sometimes. Sometimes meaning for days at a time, with a little bit of sun in between. Yep. That's why it's so green and pretty here. All that rain. :)
Now for the happenings of this week:

Monday, March 24 -
Not much happened on Monday besides a lesson with Frederique, who I'm still not sure about, whether he's interested in the church or in showing how much stuff he knows. Another relative was there this time, so we taught him too and we fixed another RDV with him.
On the way home from the meeting with Frederique, we met that old German guy with flowers again at the bus stop and talked to him. He's pretty awesome. Maybe we'll meet him again at another random bus stop.
We contacted on the way back to our apartment that night, but it was really rainy and there weren't that many people out. I contacted one lady and started with, (in French, of course) "Hello, my name is Soeur Williams, and my companion and I are here to help people..." and she cut me off and told me she didn't need any help. Okie dokie... I guess I didn't even need to get to the religious part of what I was saying for her to reject me. I think she might need the gospel to make her happier. :D

Tuesday, March 25 -
We met with Lo again. I'm not sure that he really wants to know the truth, or if he just wants to ask questions and have a conversation. Apparently after we'd left last time, he looked up "Mormons" on Google, so when we came on Tuesday to teach him he had even more difficult questions. We answered them, but he didn't accept our answers. We told him he needed a base of a testimony, to pray to know the truths of the things we taught, before more complicated things would make sense to him. We told him we weren't there to convince him, that he had to find the truth for himself through study and prayer. We taught him about the Restoration, and I bore a really sincere testimony of Joseph Smith. Right after that, Lo looked at Soeur Johns and said that he'd seen the light too, and it was Soeur Johns. Seriously. He's still been texting Soeur Johns and asking her on dates, but less and less frequently. Thankfully. :D
After meeting with Lo, we had a lesson with Tsenge and Tugsuu. Tugsuu translated the things we were saying into Mongolian for Tsenge, and testified. We talked about baptism, gaining a testimony, and about Jesus Christ. It was Tugsuu that did most of the teaching, though. She bore her testimony and told Tsenge how she'd gained a testimony (b/c she's a recent convert) and Tsenge seemed touched. At the end of the lesson, we asked Tsenge to say the prayer, and she actually said she would. I was happy about that, because it's been hard to get her to pray in the past. We all knelt down, and though Tsenge prayed in Mongolian, I felt the Spirit so strongly, and after she was done, I opened my eyes and saw that there were tears in her eyes. We explained that was the Spirit she was feeling, and that was her confirmation from God. That was probably one of the best lessons I've had so far.

Wednesday, March 26 -
We had a RDV with Annabelle on Wednesday morning. We talked about baptism again and read Alma 32 with her, talking about faith and how we need to just desire to believe, and act on that faith and the Lord will bless us. But Annabelle is still hesitant about baptism and told us she'd tell us when she was ready. I wish there was something I could do to help her see her answer and recognize/feel the Spirit.
Carine and Shaina were after that. Carine's still having a hard time quitting smoking. And... apparently she's pregnant. Gah. Not good. We definitely need to help her stop. We've been praying for her and sending her encouraging texts. In that lesson we taught about the Atonement and how she can be completely cleansed through repentance and Christ can help her do anything. I love her and want her to be happy, so I hope we can help her in the way she needs.
We met with one of our few remaining texting amis named Liliane. But, there was some confusion. When we came, Liliane seemed confused and she said she thought it was the elders who had texted her and called her, but Soeur Johns told her it was us. So, we taught her a small lesson about the Book of Mormon and found out she already had one. At the end of the lesson, someone came up to the doorway of the room and I looked up and saw it was the elders. And they looked very confused. Probably about as confused as Soeur Johns and I did. Apparently the elders had been teaching Liliane and we didn't know about it. So. Liliane got to meet with two sets of missionaries that day. Lucky her. :D The elders will be teaching her from now on.
We met with a member family and talked for a really long time and shared a message about doing missionary work. Then we ate some sausages wrapped in galettes. They were delicious. But, we got home really, really late that night because the family liked to talk and we were relying on them for a ride home.

Thursday, March 27 -
Jocelyne tried to cancel our appointment for that day, but we wouldn't let her. We saw her and we were planning to talk about talents and how we can share them with others, but instead I ended up sharing Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 (Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God) and asked Jocelyne if she thought she had great worth in God's eyes. She said no. :( So, we ended up talking about how God loves all of his children, and that because we are his children we all have great worth, no matter who we are or what we've done or how the world views us. The Lord sees our great potential, and doesn't concentrate on our weaknesses. We told her to pray to know her worth to God, and she said she would. I love her so much and I hope she sees her worth, because it is great! :)
We dropped by the house of an ami named Salwa, who we'd never been able to get a hold of, and she actually answered! We talked to her for a little bit, and she was really kind. We said a prayer with her and left. Hopefully that won't be the last time I see her.
It was really late after that, and I was really hungry so we got a kebab, my first one ever! It was super delcious.

Friday, March 28 -
We saw Tsenge again on Friday! I'd prayed really hard beforehand that she'd be able to understand us, because it's so hard to teach the gospel to her in French and have her understand the gospel words. But, she actually understood! We taught her an in-depth lesson just about Christ, because she doesn't know much about him. Afterward she said she understood better. We asked her more about her experience with the prayer at Tugsuu's and she said she felt really good, that she felt a sort of energy and she loved it. We explained again that that was the Holy Ghost, and that she could feel that way all of the time after baptism. She was so excited, and she for sure wants to be baptized, but she said she needed to study more (we'd given her pamphlets to read about Christ in Mongolian) before telling us which day she'd be comfortable being baptized. I'm so excited! Tsenge is so much different now, happier and more peaceful, with more hope for the future.

Saturday, March 29 -
In the afternoon, we went and met with another texting ami, Maimouna. The elders had met her at a bus stop and she'd given them her information to give to the sister missionaries. Maimouna was fantastically amazing. She has two young kids and her husband is American. He's working in America right now because he doesn't really speak French and was having a hard time finding work. Maimouna's dad is Muslim and her mom is Catholic, so she believes in kind of a mix of the two, but said she was really confused about all of the churches and their different beliefs. We taught her the Restoration, why our church is different, how Joseph Smith had the same question about all of the churches, and how this church is Christ's church restored to the earth. We also taught about the Book of Mormon and asked her to pray to know if these things are true. She said she would, that she knew she would have to work to find the answer herself. We asked her if, when she knew the truth of these things, she would be baptized. She said that she would. I actually talked about the same amount in this lesson as Soeur Johns, and the Spirit was there. Soeur Johns said that was the best first lesson she's ever taught.

Sunday, March 30 -
We ate lunch with a member family, the Bertollas, on Sunday afternoon before church (church was at 3:00 this Sunday because of a Young Adult special sacrament meeting that morning, for all of the YAs in our stake). They have three little kids and they love the gospel. We gave them a challenge to find one person to have a family home evening with the next time we meet with them, and they said they would.
Judas, Tsenge and Jocelyne all came to church on Sunday. Jocelyne came to all three hours and even stayed an hour after to talk to people! I can't even describe how happy that makes me. But, something that makes me even happier is that Judas is getting baptized on April 12th! He is so, so, so amazing! He is so excited to learn the gospel and wants to change his life. He's already quitting smoking, and he came to all three hours of church again this week.
I'm excited for General Conference this next Sunday! It'll be my first General Conference on my mission. :)

Here, have special extra bonus fact that I just thought of-
- Every ami we invite to have a lesson with in the church, or those we invite to come to church, (who actually come) think that Soeur Johns and I live in the church. We have to explain to them that we aren't nuns.

Here is another scripture for you, about Christ inviting others to come to him:
3 Nephi 9:14 -
"Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me you shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me."

With much love and joy-ness,
Soeur Williams

(Sorry, no pictures this week!)

Quoi de neuf?

^ That means what's up in French. Now you can all use it and sound like cool French peoples. Or not. I don't actually know if it's cool to say in France. I just know how to say it. :D

Now for this week's exciting events:


Monday, March 17 -

It was Saint Patrick's Day, so I wore green. But no one else did. Silly French people - don't they know the great importance of Saint Patrick's day? If they do, they should tell me, 'cause I don't, besides that it's Irish and you get to pinch people.

After P-Day was over and we got to work again, we went to visit Frederique (the man we'd talked to before who said his name was Jesus) and Olivia, his wife. Frederique's brother was also there, and his name was Danny. We taught a brief Restoration lesson, because they didn't have much time. I'm not sure if Frederique actually wants to learn about the church or if he just wants to show off his knowledge, because he kept insisting there were no prophets today and he didn't believe Joseph Smith was a prophet. We told him to pray about it, and we'll talk more about prophets next time we meet with him. His brother seems interested and he said he wants to see the missionaries where he lives in Bordeaux, so we'll send them over to him.

I can't remember if I talked about this in my last email, so I'll re-explain it because it's important and awesome. So, last Sunday Soeur Johns texted everyone in the phone that we didn't recognize, and we got a lot of responses and a lot of RDVs (rendez-vous/appointments) fixed for last week. In fact, We found 6 new amis (investigators) last week, which Soeur Johns says is the most she's ever found in a week and she's been on her mission for a year. One of the amis we found by texting was Gweniel. She seemed excited and very willing to meet us. When we met up with her by the metro, she seemed very confused. She told us she'd thought she was meeting with the bonnesoeurs (the nuns...) not the sister missionaries. Apparently Gweniel had just briefly spoken with the elders before, and not with the sisters. It was pretty awkward as we walked to her apartment with her. She'd made a nice meal for us/the nuns, a vegetarian meal because she was giving up meat for Lent. We talked to her a little bit about her beliefs. She's a very devout Catholic, she doesn't have a job because she says she's dedicating her life to serving Jesus, and she has a homeless man living in her apartment because she likes to help people. We talked to her about the Book of Mormon, and she said she'd read it, but she wouldn't come to church because she stayed at her chapel all day on Sundays. Near the end of our visit, she showed us crosses that had been burned into her wrists. She said that God did it to her because she was so faithful and righteous. It was a very interesting RDV... I did learn a lot from her, though. She had a peace about her that comes from putting your complete trust in the Lord and desiring to serve him and do only his will. I admire people that dedicate themselves to doing good, and I want to do that, but maybe not burn crosses into my wrists.


Tuesday, March 18 -

We met with another ami we talked to over texting. She was a bit late getting home from work, so we did a short, quick lesson about the Book of Mormon. She said she's talked to the missionaries a little bit before and gotten a Book of Mormon, but the person living with her (who isn't living with her anymore) threw away the Book of Mormon and wouldn't let her meet with the missionaries anymore. She was really nice and she gave Soeur Johns some cough syrup because she's sick. We set an appointment to meet with her again. Yay!  :D

After that we went to the Ario family's apartment. They had invited a non-member friend to come eat with us and have a little lesson, but that friend never showed up. Sophie unexpectedly came though, so we talked with her and the Arios and ate some food and shared a message on prayer.

Throughout the whole time we were there, another one of the texting amis named Hadeb kept calling. He was supposed to meet with the elders at the church because we're not allowed to teach men unless we have another girl with us, but he kept calling Soeur Johns and saying he didn't know how to get to the church and that he wanted to meet with us and not the elders. The elders ended up having to text him and tell him to stop calling and that if he was really interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and his gospel he could meet with the elders, and he needed to stop calling Soeur Johns. Neither the elders nor Soeur Johns heard from him after that, so I guess he was more interested in the sister missionaries than the gospel.


Wednesday, March 19 -

In the morning we met with yet another texting ami, Judas (pronounced Joolda, for some reason) at the chapel. Pretty much he's the best ami ever, and sadly we had to give him to the elders to teach after the first lesson with him, because we can't teach men. He was really interested in the church, he says he doesn't drink, he's trying to stop smoking, and his sister's really sick in the hospital. We taught him about the Book of Mormon, and he says he loves the Bible and was really excited to start reading the Book of Mormon. I love him already and I only taught him once and saw him just a few times after that, and I know the gospel will help him so much with all the trials he is going through in his life.

After that, we had another lesson at the church with Annabelle. We tried to get her to bear her testimony by asking her some questions, and she bore a very strong testimony of God and how much he's helped her in her life, and we had a really good discussion with her. The Spirit was very strong, and we felt impressed to ask her again if she would be baptized. She said she needed to know more still, and she didn't really understand why she needed to be baptized when she already was as a baby. We explained how the power of God/the Priesthood was lost after Jesus and the apostles were killed, and how the Priesthood was restored to Joseph Smith, and how our church is the only church with that authority and you need that authority to be baptized as the Lord has commanded. She seemed very interested by that, and seemed to consider even more before she said she needed more time to think before she could set a date for baptism. We knelt and prayed with her and asked her to keep praying for an answer and she said she would. After the first lesson with Annabelle, I wasn't quite sure what to think, because she's a very different kind of person, but after this lesson, I love her so much and the Spirit helped me understand her so much more. I know without a doubt she's ready to be baptized, (she has faith in all the fundamental, important parts of the gospel, and she's doing everything she should be doing) we just have to help her realize that herself.

We met with Tsenge again and had a very simple lesson completely on baptism to help her realize what it is, what it means, how it's done, why it's done, and what blessings you receive from baptism. It's really hard for us to communicate, though, because she doesn't understand French very well. I think that she understands what baptism is now, though. In our next lessons, we'll have Tugsuu with us to translate everything into Mongolian so Tsenge can understand better.

At the end of the day we met with Sasrey, an inactive member who's not really that inactive, because she's come to church every Sunday for the past 2 months. She's the only active member of the church in her family, so she told us to pray for them to have the desire to go to church, because it's really hard for her to go alone.


Thursday, March 20 -

So, Thursday started out pretty excitingly... Soeur Johns was telling me something but I got distracted looking out the window because there was someone running into the street. Soeur Johns realized I wasn't listening to her, so she turned to see what I was looking at and we both stared out the window, watching as a patient from the mental hospital across the street ran in her straight-jacket (is that how it's even spelled?... I dunno) at cars while a worker at the hospital ran frantically after her, trying to catch her. It was quite entertaining to watch. Luckily no one was hit by the cars because the cars were able to stop in time. I think it will be pretty interesting living next to a mental hospital. :D

After that, we met with a texting ami named Lo. We were under the impression that Lo was a woman, because that sounded like a womanly name to us. So we were very surprised when a tall black man came out to meet us and show us to his apartment. He was very funny and very curious about the church. He asked some interesting questions that we told him we'd study and answer next time. I knew how to answer, but not in French. Stinkin' French. :P But I'm thinking it would be a good idea to pass Lo on to the elders, because during the lesson he kept saying how he had been praying to Jesus, asking to be able to marry a beautiful sister missionary, and there she (Soeur Johns) was. Also, he's been texting Soeur Johns, declaring his love for her. He even asked her if she'd go to a restaurant with him. Yep. I'm so glad I have this natural talent where guys don't generally notice me. Soeur Johns said creepy guys would come up to her all the time when she was with another companion, but so far we've just had one creepy drunk guy come up to us on the street, and the elders were there to protect us.

Jocelyne was next. We had to keep it short because we had someone else to teach soon after her. We showed her we loved her, we talked for a little bit, then we talked about baptism, about how we felt after our baptisms and then we asked how she felt after hers. She was baptised almost two years ago and she says she still remembers how peaceful and joyful she felt, like Heavenly Father was there and that he was taking care of her. It was really awesome hearing her conversion story, as I hadn't heard it before. I always love talking to Jocelyne, and I feel like I relate a lot to her. She's the awesomest. :D

On our way to meet another texting ami named Grace, our bus broke down in the middle of the street. And the streets are not very wide in Europe. There were many people behind us who couldn't get past and who couldn't turn around. One lady even came up to the bus driver and yelled at him and told him to move the bus. Silly lady. 'Tis hard to get a bus to move when it's broken. Another bus came and picked us up while the other bus was being worked on. We were a little bit late to see Grace, but she didn't seem to mind. She was very kind, she had talked to the missionaries before, but hadn't seen them again because she was busy all of the time. She told us she doesn't want to change churches because she wants to stay faithful to hers, but she says she likes to talk to everyone about their churches. So, we shall see how this goes.

The next texting ami we met with was Christelle. She's Vietnamese and she speaks French, English and Vietnamese. It was pretty amusing as we met her at the bus stop, seeing a little Vietnamese lady waddling toward us, a grin on her face. But when she got to us she scowled and hit my arm, and said "Why you not meet at my apartment?". Apparently she was very offended that we'd asked to meet at the church, but since we had no idea who she was we thought that would be best for our first meeting. We told her we'd meet at her apartment next time. As we taught her, she insisted we speak English even though she's not very good at it and didn't really understand what we were saying. We eventually switched to French, and that worked better. We just talked a little bit about the Book of Mormon and about God and Christ. She says she's Buddhist and believes in Christ but she's not Christian. I don't think we got anywhere with talking to her this time, but hopefully the next RDV will be better.


Friday, March 21 -

Friday was my very first Zone Conference! Wahoo! It was good, but hard to understand at times because everything was in French. I did learn a lot, like how to simplify our teaching, because if we don't teach simply and the amis don't understand the basics of the gospel, they're not going to gain a testimony. I also felt more motivated to just talk to people, not to think about it but just to do it despite my fear, and the Lord will help me as I do so. As I act in faith in him, my faith will grow and my fear will decrease.

We were given a challenge for this next month called the Easter Challenge. We are supposed to relate everything to Easter (Paque in French), to Christ and his resurrection, as we contact and go porting. People have already tried it and they're seeing a lot of miracles, so I can't wait to start!

Another really fantastic thing about Zone Conference was that I got to see my MTC buddies who are in the same zone as me! I saw Elder Teh, and I was surprised at how exciting it was to see him. I guess it's good to see someone familiar after weeks of meeting strangers. He told me about his adventures in Angers. Apparently he and his companion found a lady in an alleyway who had jumped of the building, pleading for their help and they got her to a hospital. She's doing okay now, but I think Elder Teh is scarred for life. I also got to talk to Soeur Ridd, my awesome MTC companion. We talked about how we were doing and took pictures together. She, Elder Teh and I all talked about how much we miss our MTC district. It's strange how much we all miss them, but not really because they were pretty much the greatest people ever. :)

Elder Teh, Soeur Williams & Soeur Ridd 

Saturday, March 22 -

A lot of our day was taken up by a Relief Society Multicultural Celebration, which we'd invited all of our amis to. But... only Sophie showed up. Because she's amazing.

As the only Americans besides one lady in our ward, Soeur Johns and I were responsible for bringing American food... so we made pancakes. And the other lady made PB&J sandwiches. Yay 'Murica! :D There was a lot of good food there from all sorts of different places, because there's sisters in the ward from all over (Mongolia, China, Belgium, New Caledonia, Tahiti, and lots of other places I can't remember). I tried everything. Twice.

Then there was a talent show based everyone's different cultures. We Americans couldn't think of anything to do, so we recited the Pledge of Allegiance. And Soeur Johns forgot the words. Sophie brought a Chinese scroll and read off of it, other sisters read poems in their language, sang songs from their country, played instruments, etc. It was pretty fun. :)

The little American table. 

The cultural celebration

In the middle of the celebration when things were slow, we went and taught Sophie a small lesson about General Conference and gave her a conference magazine and asked her to read a talk a day every day until Conference. She was so excited and said she'd love to read them. I don't know how such an amazing person can exist. :D

After the activity, we went to teach Carine, finally, after she hadn't shown up once and had cancelled/changed the RDV several times. Her daughter, Shaina, a recent convert who's 9, was there as well. I really love Carine and she seems to want to change but isn't sure she can. We concentrated mostly on showing our love for her and gave her ways she could stop smoking, because she's been trying for a while. I bore my testimony about prayer, and that through prayer we can do anything, even the most difficult things. As we pray sincerely, Heavenly Father gives us the power to do what we need to.

It was interesting, because after seeing Carine, we went to another RDV with the Toribio family, who we haven't taught before. I prayed in my heart on the bus to be able to have the courage to talk to people, the trust in the Lord I needed to do the things he asks of me. When we got to the neighborhood where the Toribios lived, I felt energized and excited to share the gospel. We got there early, so I suggested to Soeur Johns that we go porting (knocking on doors), and we did it and though only one person answered their door and then rejected us, I felt so happy that I had the courage to talk to them, to even suggest that we go porting in the first place, because that was really hard for me. I know that I was able to do so because the Lord had answered my prayer.

After that we went and taught the Toribios. They have three adorable, crazy children. We taught about the Book of Mormon, and I actually talked more than I usually do during a lesson and I felt good about it. They said they didn't have time to read the Book of Mormon, that they barely had time to meet with us at all, but we challenged them to try to read it anyway. They asked us to teach why our church is different, so we taught about the Restoration, too, which we weren't planning to do. I thought it went pretty well, and the Toribios want to see us again.


Sunday, March 23 -

A lot of amis came to church on Sunday, among which were Judas, Tsenge, Annabelle, Marie-Christine and Frederique. That was amazing-awesome-wonderful-fantastic.

So, as I said before, Judas is the best. The elders said he wanted to go to all three hours of church (which isn't normal for an ami) because he figured if he wanted to know the truth he needed to commit all of the way. Then he took notes on everything during church.

The class for amis was really full, of people and of the Spirit. We just had a discussion more than a lesson, talking about the Spirit and how we need to feel the Spirit and find out for ourselves if this church is true. Recent converts testified about how they had found out the truthfulness of what the missionaries had taught. It was an awesome class, and I hope our amis felt the Spirit as much as I did.

After church we met with Marie-Christine (a really faithful ami who goes to church every week and who has a lot of faith in and love for the Lord) at a member's house. The member is named Martine, she's from Belgium and she's really outgoing and hilarious. Also, the Letorts were there as well, which we weren't expecting. We watched the Testaments together and discussed Christ and his Atonement. Then we had a delicious dinner of soup and crepes. And the crepes were the best crepes I've ever had. Ever. I had to stop myself on my third crepe, because I realized other people might want to hav them, too. French people sure know how to make some delicious crepes.


Now that you have endured to the end of my email, you get a prize...

It's a scripture, congratulations!

Hebrews 2:17-18 --

"Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted (or tried/subjected to trial), he is able to succor them that are tempted."


I love those verses because I've been thinking of the Savior and his Atonement a lot lately. Life is hard, a mission is hard, but the Savior understands. He was on our level, he suffered everything we have suffered and will suffer (trials, sorrow, sickness, temptation, pain, all of our weaknesses, our sins... and so much more) so that he knows how to help us. It amazes me that he loves us so much that he would be willing to go through all of that just to help us, when so often we disobey him and do things that cause him sorrow. I'm so grateful for the Savior's Atonement, he's already helped me so much on my mission, giving me comfort and helping me do things I wouldn't be able to do otherwise.


A la prochaine!
Soeur Williams