More Missionary Stuff I'm Doing

Hello Everyone, and welcome to yet another Soeur Williams Email, where we'll be talking about more stuff that happened this past week:

Tuesday, May 20 -

We taught Chantal, a recent convert who's been having a hard time understanding a lot of the stuff that goes on in church and understanding the Book of Mormon. The last time we saw her, we told her to read the first 3 chapters of 1st Nephi. When we got there this time, she had read it and she'd even written down questions that she had. We went over her questions and read with her, going slowly through the chapters she'd read until she understood. During it all, I felt Heavenly Father's immense love for her and I felt him working through me to help her. By the end, she understood better and was so grateful that we were willing to help her. All she needed was people to love her and be patient with her and work with her at her level.

Then we visited Jacqueline again, the old lady who's been taught by the missionaries for 9 years. She spent a while showing us her photos of her family and her when she was younger. Then we shared a scripture in the Book of Mormon about perfect love casting out all fear, because she's afraid to change and afraid of what her kids will think if she joins the church, and invited her to baptism. Earlier that week, she'd had a close call where she could have died, where it was a miracle that she hadn't, and we told her that Heavenly Father had saved her because he knows that if she becomes a member of his church, if she gets baptized, she can be a huge example and help change the lives of her family. The Spirit was so strong, almost the strongest I've ever felt it, and I felt God's love and knowledge of her. She didn't say no, but she did say she knew Heavenly Father had saved her and she said she'd pray to know what he wanted her to do.

As we were about to leave, the sky started to become covered with gray clouds, and Jacqueline was afraid it would be too cold for us to walk home in. She asked us if we could stay over for the night, or if she could call us a taxi. We assured her we could walk the 5-10 minutes home, but she was still worried about us, so she opened her closet and search through her cute little old lady clothes and got us some scarves and jackets. We had a really hard time not laughing as she did so... but we managed not to until we got outside, sporting our new/old clothes. Then we walked home, and though it barely sprinkled outside, I was grateful for Jacqueline's generosity and thoughtfulness in letting us borrow her clothes. :) She is such a wonderful lady.

Wednesday, May 21 -

We spent the whole day in Iwuy, a beautiful little town about 45 minutes outside of Valenciennes by train, where the Rousseaux family (a family in our ward) lives. We prayed with them, then started working in their area, porting and contacting. We didn't find anyone, but we've only ported half of the town, so we shall see. Then we ate barbecue with the Rousseaux's, which was probably one of the most delicious things ever. And we had really, really good frites (French fries) which were so delicious, because Frere Rousseaux is from Belgium, where they have the best frites. Then it was their little daughter Lylou's birthday (she turned 3) so we opened presents with her and she got a rocking horse and a baby buggy. She was so happy. I wish I could describe the look on her face when she found out the horse whinnied and its mouth moved when she pressed a button on its ear. She is so adorable and the Rousseaux family is so great and involved with the work here.

Thursday, May 22 -
After visiting a member in the ward named Jan (who is so awesome), we took our dinner hour to go to a museum in Denain (a little village where a few members and amis live). The people that work there were so excited because I bet hardly anyone visits it, and I doubt any Americans have, 'cause Denain isn't a very touristy place. But it was really cool to find out the history of Denain. It's really rich with some interesting history, and it's sad it's fallen so far -- it's one of the poorest cities in France. The lady that gave us the tour of the museum was really awesome, one of the nicest people I've met in France.

Then we went and taught Denise. At first we talked about baptism and she got a little bit offended (because she'd already been baptized into the Catholic church) and at first I was worried we were going to lose her, but then I just calmed down and said a little prayer for Heavenly Father's help. Then I let the Spirit lead me, and we were able to show her we loved her and taught her about how she could receive an answer that what we were telling her was true, and once she knew she would have the desire to be baptized. We also shared about Heavenly Father's plan for her and how much he loves her. I really felt the Spirit and Heavenly Father's great love for Denise. The lesson we taught her was truly powerful and I know it was Heavenly Father who led us to know what to say and how to help Denise. I couldn't have done it without his and the Holy Ghost's help.

Friday, May 23 -

Er. Not much happened that I can talk about. We went to the Duez's (Ward Mission Leader and his wife) house and Soeur Duez made Filet Mignon with mustard sauce. It was so delicious. And I got to talk to Soeur Duez, which was awesome because she's one of the greatest ladies ever. :)

Saturday, May 24 -

We spent most of the day at Amanda's baptism. Amanda is the 9 year old girl who is in a member family but whose parents never taught her anything about the gospel. It was great to see her testimony grow as we taught her, to see her progression and her love for the Savior. I really felt the Spirit at her baptism, telling me that Amanda will be a strength to her family, an example, and that she will be a strong, faithful church member.

Then we went and stopped by the carnival that is pretty much right in front of our apartment to get a kebab and frites to eat during weekly planning. That mixed with the neighborhood party (which we weren't invited to! Mean neighbors) where some drunk dude was singing and playing the accordion, made for a lot of noise... late into the night.

Sunday, May 25 -

Lots of stuff happened on Sunday... we taught the Young Women's lesson, which we were nervous about, because the Young Women in our ward can be unkind at times... which is why after praying and studying we decided to teach about charity. At the start we talked about personal revelation and how we'd received revelation to teach about charity. We gave them paper to write their impressions from the Spirit on as we taught. The lesson went so well with the help of Heavenly Father, and all the girls took notes and I could see a change in them. They really are good girls and I can see that they all love the Lord and are trying to do better.

After our lesson, we went to go pick up Denise, who said she'd come all the way from Denain to go to church. She even brought all four of her kids, and they were all dressed up in their best clothes. I'm impressed with her willingness to do that, to come to our church even though she's a practicing Catholic, and that shows me that she's serious about finding the truth, finding the answers she's looking for. I really love her and I'm excited to continue teaching her. The ward was really great, too. They welcomed her once they saw she was new at church, and they helped her with her kids. They even offered to help her and give her transportation if she needed it to come to church and church activities.

Then we went and taught Nadege in her shop. When we first started teaching her, we thought she wasn't serious about learning the gospel, but she definitely proved us wrong this time. She had read the whole Restoration brochure we'd left with her and she said she liked it, but she was having a really hard time believing Joseph Smith could see God, because she's been taught her whole life that no one can see God because he's too powerful. We just bore our testimonies to her and told her we'd try to find scriptures in the Bible that show that God's shown himself to others in the past. Without us even saying anything, she said she knew she needed to pray to know the truth, and that she wanted to know if it's true or not. She's an amazing woman. I love her so much.

Also... we got a call Sunday night from President Poznanski saying that Soeur Cameron is going to Torcy (a city right outside of Paris) to be a Sister Training Leader! I'm not surprised... she's helped me so much, and though I'm sad she's leaving, I know that's where she's meant to go. Also, she will be doing exchanges in Valenciennes, and since I'm still going to be in Valenciennes... she'll be doing exchanges with me! It's amazing the little ways Heavenly Father shows he knows us and loves us.

Fun stuff that happened:

While we were porting in Iwuy, we found someone who's name was Sexy Pedro. Not kidding. It was even written on their mailbox. It turned out to be some old lady. Hmm.

After Amanda's baptism, some cute little kids in our ward volunteered to do the dishes and they were so excited about it. They even wiped off the counters afterward.

Scriptures:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16

"Greater love hath no man that this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." -John 15:13

I've been studying charity a lot this week, because charity is truly the greatest characteristic we can achieve - it is related to all things, and without it anything we do is meaningless (according to 1 Corinthians 13). Charity is the pure love of Christ, and we manifest that love by giving - not just by giving money or gifts, but giving of ourselves. Giving everything we have, everything we are to Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and to others. Once we have that pure charity, that's exactly what we'll want to do. Heavenly Father is an example of that charity - he has given us everything. He gave us the earth, our bodies, the gospel, his son. The Savior is the same - he gave his whole life to serving others, and at the end, he literally gave all his strength and his life to us in the ultimate act of charity, the Atonement. I know that as I've focues on loving others with a pure love, and giving my whole heart to them and to Heavenly Father, I've felt guided more in my life and in the lessons I teach. I've felt Heavenly Father's presence more in my life. And even as I give back to him by giving everything I have, he gives me more because of his endless charity. I will always owe him for the countless blessings I have each day of my life.

Until next week!

Soeur Williams

Finally a Normal-ish Week

Hey all you people,
So pretty much every single week that I've been in Valenciennes has been kind of weird/crazy. I've either had to go to Paris or do legality or do other stuff that takes time away from teaching lessons or finding people. But this week we didn't have to do anything like that and that was really nice because that means we had more time to do some serious missionary work-ness.
Monday, May 12 -
We had an FHE where pretty much the whole ward came, and Soeur Cameron and I were in charge. We watched "Because of Him" (pretty much you can't ever go wrong with that video) and aksed the members to share how Christ has blessed their lives and how they can show they're grateful for the blessings he's given them. As we showed the video and discussed, I saw that many of the members had tears in their eyes. They bore powerful testimonies of the Savior and the Spirit was so strong.

Tuesday, May 13 -
Errr... not much happened on Tuesday. We taught some lessons, but nothing too special. Oh, and we went to District Meeting.

Elder Walton and the rest of the district. 

Wednesday, May 14 -
We were going to spend the whole day in Iwuy with some members in our ward, but they cancelled because the father was in the hospital because of a relapse of malaria, which he'd contracted while on his mission in Africa. He got a blessing and he's okay now.
So, instead of going to Iwuy, we went to the Elders' part of Valenciennes to find new amis for them because the Elders are having a hard time right now. We didn't find anyone for them to teach, but a Muslim man did come up to us while we were on the tram and asked us about our religion. He started explaining his religion to us as well, and was willing to listen to what we had to say. When some people on the tram started pointing at us and laughing at us he said not to pay any attention to them because their minds were too closed and they couldn't understand the good we're doing. He said it's important to respect and love others no matter what they believe. I think it was a little miracle that the Lord sent this man to talk to us, because it was encouraging and we both felt better afterwards.
We were going to go visit some less-actives after that, but instead we decided to visit a family in our ward, the Pierach family. First we visited their neighbor, who was open to talking to us about the church and was very kind. Then we went to say hello to the Pierach's. Soeur Pierach took us home. We sat in her car with her outside of our apartment for about an hour and a half while she told us about how she'd been hurt and offended by some things that had happened in our ward and how she and her husband had considered leaving the church. I know we were inspired to visit the Pierach's because we knew they'd been having troubles, but we didn't know it was that bad. Soeur Cameron and I talked about it afterward and decided that we need to strengthen the ward, that that is why the Lord called us to serve in Valenciennes. Because every single recent convert here in Valenciennes in the past twenty years has left the church because of something the ward did. The Pierach family was the last recent convert family left, and they're still considering leaving the church or going to another ward. We need to help this ward have love and charity for those around them, we need to help them be more involved in strengthening the new members and helping them through their first years in the church.

Thursday, May 15 -
Thursday was a day of miracles. I definitely saw the Lord's hand in the little details of our day.
We decided to fast to know how to help the ward, and that gave us a lot of miracles, strength and ideas. We focused our studies in the morning on the needs of the ward and both Soeur Cameron and I found some really good ideas and inspiration. In fact, the answers we'd gotten were pretty  much the same, and that shows that the Lord's hand was in it, guiding us to the things we needed to know.
Then we went and saw Christelle again, but with a member this time. As we talked to her, she started crying and said she was still having such a hard time with her husband's death. I could tell she had no hope, that she was in despair. We told her she could have comfort and peace, she could have the hope that she needed through the Savior and his Atonement. We told her we were there to help her and that we know our message will help. She went inside to get her phone so she could give us her number, but her kids and all the neighbor kids that like to hang out at her house were causing problems. We heard a lot of yelling and screaming from inside the house, and we decided to pray for her to help her and her family, to help her find peace and happiness, to feel the Lord's love. As we did, I felt the Lord's love for her and I felt comforted, that he was with her and would take care of her as much as he could. I know that we'll be able to help Christelle's life change for the better, we just need to meet with her somewhere less chaotic, like at the church or a park.
After that, we decided to pass by Catherine, but she wasn't home. I felt like we should go visit Chantal, a woman we'd found a few weeks earlier and hadn't had the chance to see again. Miraculously, she was there and she said she had a few minutes to talk to us. We shared some scriptures from the Bible about the Savior and about how he would help her carry her burdens and find peace, because she was worried about the surgery she would be having. The Spirit was definitely there and I know she felt it. She was different, more peaceful and hopeful, when we left. We gave her a Book of Mormon and she was happy and said she'd read it while she was recovering from her surgery.
A member, Soeur Duez, came to teach one of our amis, Marie-Christine, with us after that. But Marie-Christine said she was busy, so we decided to go visit an inactive member named Soeur Manet instead. It ended up being perfect because Soeur Duez and Soeur Manet connected and related to each other really well and ended up talking to each other like they were old friends. We shared some scriptures and Soeur Duez gave good insights and testimony that helped give Soeur Manet comfort about her difficult family situation. I know it was in Heavenly Father's plan for us to visit Soeur Manet instead of Marie-Christine, because it ended up working perfectly.
Then we taught Denise, an ami we'd just found last week. We were afraid we'd be late, because the first two of the trams that went to her city were too full, so we had to wait thirty/forty minutes to get the next tram. But we prayed and we ended up getting to Denise's house early. Denise is a mother of four children, a practicing Catholic who's having a hard time because her husband can't find a job in France, so he went back to Africa to work there. She can't find a job because they won't accept the degree she got at a university in Africa, and she really doesn't like the neighborhood she's living in becuase it's really shady and run-down. We shared with her about the Lord's love for her and how he'll help her through this hard situation she's in. I truly did feel Heavenly Father's love for her, and it was so incredible.
The last thing we did that day was visit Marie-France and Didier. As usual, Marie-France wasn't feeling very well. But we studied a chapter of the Book of Mormon together, and as time passed Marie-France began to smile and laugh and joke. I know that the gospel can truly help us with any of our problems and I've seen that each time we visit Marie-France and Didier and how the Spirit changes them into happier, more hopeful people.

Friday, May 16 -
Not much happened on Friday... we did weekly planning and met with the Ward Mission Leader and went to Ward Council. We talked about the problems the ward has been having and how we can help them.

Saturday, May 17 -
We met with an ami that I hadn't seen yet named Jacqueline. She's probably 80/90-ish years old and she'd been meeting with the missionaries for 9 years. She was really distressed when we came to visit her. She told us of all the problems she's been having with her health and her family, and apparently she'd also gotten scammed and had barely any money left. We prayed with her, shared scriptures with her and followed the Spirit in helping her. I could tell she felt a lot more peaceful by the time we were done. It was fun meeting with her because she had so many stories to tell about her childhood and about the history of Valenciennes, plus she's so cute and nice.

Sunday, May 18 -
On Sunday, the Pierach family came to church, which was a miracle in itself because they weren't planning on coming. But another miracle was that the missionary that baptized them had come back to France to visit, and he was there that Sunday to talk to them and help them. And the talks during sacrament meeting were really inspired, perfect for the family's situation and exactly what they and the ward needed.
We taught Amanda the Law of Chastity, which was really awkward to teach a nine year old who doesn't know anything about such things. Her mom wasn't really any help, either. She was embarassed as well... but eventually we taught it so that Amanda understood, then she had her baptismal interview. She's going to be baptized this Saturday, and I'm so excited!
After church we went and visited Denise again and taught her about the Restoration. She seemed to understand remarkably well. We told her she could find out if it was true for herself and we testified of how the gospel would help her have more direction and strength in her life and find the answers she's searching for. She was willing to pray and ask and listen to what we have to say, even though she's a strongly practicing Catholic. I think she feels the truth of what we taught her and knows it can help her with the situation she's in.


I'm going to share a scripture that we shared a lot this week, because it helps me so much and it helped the people we taught:
Matthew 11:28-30
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
I know that the Savior knows all of us so perfectly and that he knows exactly the things that will help us with any questions or worries we might have. I've learned by experience that all we have to do is just come to him and he will help you have peace, he will make your burdens light, he will make up the difference in those things you can't do by yourself.

Soeur Williams

So, I found a baguette vending machine and thought that was hilarious/awesome/something that needed to be shared with the world, so there ya go.

And we found a really pretty park while trying to find people for the Elders.

Learning Stuff is Good

Belated Happy Easter photo

Howdy persons!
I'm so happy to be a missionary and to have the opportunity to help others learn and grow closer to Christ and to learn and grow closer to Christ myself. I did a lot of learning and growing this week. :D

Monday, May 5 -
On Monday we had an FHE with a few of the ward members (two to be exact, though there are usually more) and Catherine, one of our amis, came. We taught a lesson on faith and growing our faith, then we played a card game and I didn't lose, so that was a nice change. I also learned a lot more about Catherine. I found out that she was abandoned and raised by nuns and that she has 14 brothers and sisters and that her mom died and she's never met her dad. She's had such a hard life, yet she's kept her faith through all of it. I know that the gospel will help her so much and I'm excited to talk to her more and to get to know and love her even more than I do.

Tuesday, May 6 -
We had a really good district meeting about how God loves us so much and has shown us so much love and how we have a responsibility to share that love with others and help them feel it once we have felt that love. It was really cool, because Soeur Cameron had been praying that we would be able to know what to teach a less-active member named Danielle (the one we'd seen the week before) and we got the answer to simply love her and help her see how much Heavenly Father loves her.
We saw Danielle later that day and brought Frere Deladerriere with us. They were really excited to see each other and catch up because it had been 30 years since they'd seen each other because Danielle had stopped going to church 30 years ago. There were also two other people at her house who we found out lived with her -- a woman and a man who were old and alone. They work on researching the history of Valenciennes together. We showed the video "Because of Him" and testified of Christ's love for us and perfect knowlege of us and our circumstances. We testified that we were there to help others know of and feel that love and come closer to the Savior so he could help them. Danielle started crying and the other woman there seemed to have a longing in her eyes. Then Frere Deladerriere shared his conversion story and explained a little bit of the plan of salvation and the Spirit was so strong. Without him there, I don't think our visit would have been so spiritual and powerful. It's so great working with members. This visit with Danielle was a miracle and I'm so glad we got to meet with her again. I felt the Lord's love for her so strongly.

Wednesday, May 7 -
We taught Chantal, a recent convert, and at first it was a little bit stressful and the Spirit wasn't there. She said that she didn't want to go to church anymore because she didn't feel like she learned anything and she didn't like all of the commandments we follow in the church because she feels like they restrict her. We prayed in our hearts and felt like we should just concentrate on the Book of Mormon. We talked to her about how the Book of Mormon is powerful and can help her find answers and peace in her life. By the end of the lesson, she had changed so much, she had softened her heart and she said she would like us to help her by studying the Book of Mormon with her so she could understand better and apply it more in her life. I know the Book of Mormon is powerful and it will help her.
It was pretty interesting, because the next lesson we taught was about the Book of Mormon, too.  We met with Patricia, the Protestant lady we'd prayed with the week before. She had some questions because she'd finished reading the Book of Mormon and had started reading the Index/definitions... and had already gotten to the letter "M". It was pretty crazy. I hadn't ever heard of anyone reading every single page of the Book of Mormon before. The problem was that she hadn't prayed to know that the book was true and she didn't understand why it would be important for it to be true. So we explained it to her and shared that it could bring power into her life to help her with her problems and that if it was true, that would mean our church was true. I hope she prays about it, because I know the Lord will answer her.
Then we went to Paris for exchanges. I went with Soeur Finneran, and we didn't have that much time, so we went out contacting and contacted a Chinese family who had no idea what we were saying.

Thursday, May 8 -
On Thursday we were still on exchanges. I went out with Soeur Finneran again, and we visited an excommunicated member named Soeur Jacquet. She was a very nice woman and she had a lot of good insights as we talked about our purpose on earth and Heavenly Father's great love for us. I really came to love her in just that one lesson and I'm sad I'm probably not going to get a chance to see her again.
Buuuut... we both felt we needed to vacate Soeur Jacquet's apartment pretty quickly, because apparently the African food we'd all eaten the night before was not doing good stuff to our bodies. We ran through the rain back to the apartment and realized Soeur Cameron and Soeur Linton had the keys. So we frantically called them and begged for them to come back to the apartment so we could use the bathroom. So, they did, and we did. This will definitely forever be an exchange I will remember. Yay, food poisoning! :D

Friday, May 9 -
We went and stopped by Christelle again, the woman who'd lost her husband, and she couldn't let us inside because there wasn't any room for us because of her children and their friends. But she was willing to stand on the porch and talk to us. Her kids also peeked out once in a while and asked us questions in English because they thought it was funny that we were Americans. Christelle and her family definitely have a long way to go, but I thought it was really cool because Heavenly Father helped me have such great love for them and see their potential... as I looked at them I saw them as how they would be as members of the church and the positive impact that would make on their lives. I know this gospel is what they need right now, and I know Christelle knows that too, which is why she is so willing to talk to us. She feels she has no hope left, and I know our message can give her hope.

Saturday, May 10 -
We did planning and ate a really delicious pastry that was probably the most delicious thing I've ever had in my life ever (an eclair type thing, but more like a sandwich, with cream stuff in the middle, hazelnuts, then chocolate-covered pecans and walnuts, with caramel all over everything) then we went out and ported and met some nice people.
After that we visited Marie-France and Didier and listened to Elder Hales' talk from this conference about keeping the commandments. I asked them what blessings they'd seen in their lives from keeping the commandments, and they shared how much hope the gospel has given them, and what a great change it's made in their lives. Marie-France had been feeling down and sick at the beginning, but at the end she was more open and willing to talk, happier and more hopeful.
At the end of the day, we went back to our apartment and found a bag on the apartment steps from the elders. They'd bought us ice cream and written a note thanking us for all the work we do and for our examples and testimonies. It was really thoughtful of them, and I know they were inspired because Soeur Cameron and I had been feeling a little bit down, especially on the tram ride home when we had to have a bunch of gross men around us talking about not-good stuff and trying to hit on us. It's so amazing seeing how the gospel and how the priesthood changes men as they hold it worthily, and it was great seeing the contrast between the men on the tram and the elders.

Sunday, May 11 -
On Sunday I got to Skype my family! Woohoo! It was awesome seeing them! :D Now the next time I'll talk to them is Christmas...
After we Skyped, the elders came to talk to their families, too. First they told us a really awesome thing that had happened to them right before they came. They had been in their apartment and someone rang the bell, so they went down to talk to them and found it was a homeless man named Cristoff who they talked to a lot. He told them he'd tried to kill himself by slitting his wrist a week before, and someone had found him and taken him to the hospital. As soon as he got better, he went to go see the elders because he considered them to be his friends. The elders saw that his arm was really hurting him and he could barely move it, so they asked if he wanted a blessing. Cristoff was hesitant at first, then he said yes. So they gave him a blessing, and he said he felt something so powerful, that he felt a great peace and comfort. And then he found out that he could move his arm without it causing him any pain. He was so amazed, and he said he wanted to start taking lessons from the elders.
Okay, so after Soeur Cameron and I Skyped our family, we went out to visit a less-active who lives near us. But, she wasn't there. So then we saw Cristoff walking down the street, so Soeur Cameron said we should follow him to see if he was up to anything sketchy. So, creepily, we did. Then he stopped and we had to pass him, but we still wanted to see what he was doing, so we went toward a bus stop to sit down and a woman sat there. We decided to talk to her and said that she could find hope through Christ. She started crying and said her husband had died. As I listened to her and testified that she could see her husband again, I felt such a great love for her and desire to help her. We prayed with her, a prayer of comfort and hope, so she could feel that God was there for her. After the prayer, she cried more and said she felt Heavenly Father's love, and I know I felt it too. I know that he loves all his children no matter what situation they're in (this woman was a heavy smoker with almost no teeth, had been drinking to drown out the pain, and had a bag full of alcohol) and is always there for them to comfort and help them. I know he sent us to help this woman when she needed it.

My scripture has a lot do do with that, in fact -
Moroni 7:47-48  -- "But charity is the pure love of Christ and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. Wherefore my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."
I know that love is so important. Probably the most important thing in missionary work, the most important thing to guide our whole lives. As we love others with the pure love of Christ, which we can pray for and the Lord will give us, we will want to share the gospel with them because we know it can help them. It's so important to know God loves us so perfectly, and it's so important to love others and to act toward them in a loving way, no matter who they are, no matter what they say or do. That has helped me so much as I've understood and realized that more on my mission.

That being said... love you!
Soeur Williams

Soeur Williams' and Cameron's legs. Guess which is whose. 

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.