Week Four

Bonjour!!!!

Maybe someday soon I'll gain a more varried vocab and make my emails more entertaining! haha So the computers are being dumb and I lost 5 minutes of my time...so sorry if this email is a shortie! Of course the longer we are here the more routine everything is becoming and the less stories I feel like I have haha. The MTC is still amazing. It amazes me all the time how smoothly everything runs despite there being 2000 plus missionaries here at all times. The devotionals are great and are always a much needed boost in the week. This week our "investigators" have been going well. One of our teachers/investigators has a reputation for being very difficult...and the most realistic for a french person. Its tres difficult because although his life isn't perfect, he also doesn't have major problems that would cause him to be searching for something. Its a challenge to find a way to apply the gospel to his life- even though I know it does! But you can't really just tell someone their life will be better because of the gospel...and expect them to accept that haha. But its been great- every day I feel like we grow leaps and bounds. The MTC ( pronounced slightly like you have a southern accent in french...like emm-tay-say)  is truly a wierd time warp in which things move so quickly and so slowly at the same time.

 

The highlight of my week was seeing Gramsie and Grandpa at the temple! (which feels like it was forever ago...) Gramsie emailed me that she was sad she was going to be in the Provo temple on Friday and be so close to me yet so far...and then I was like wait a minute...I go to the temple on Fridays!!! So I emailed her with my last 30 seconds of my time on the computer. It was the best feeling ever to walk up to the temple and see Gramsie and Grandpa sitting on the bench outside waiting for me!!! Loved every second of it! The worst part of the week was that half of our zone left for the field this week. Which is GREAT for them!!! It was such a neat feeling to look around at church and think that within 3 days all these elders would be all over the world preaching the gospel...in french!! And it was great to see how excited they were to leave. But made me sad to think we won't seem most of them ever again...wierd how close you can grow in 3 weeks when you have a common goal. But made me TRES excited for when that day comes for me and we get to head to France!!!! (only 6 more weeks! haha)

 

Other than that the week has been pretty same old same old. Two other sisters and I have become work out buddies. We've been pushing ourselves at gym and it honestly helps give me energy during the day! And we figure we need to prepare for all of those french pasteries awaiting for us! haha We met two elders this week here, one from France and one from Belgium. The one from France was discouraging...he said the French people will never trust or listen to us. But he just made me more determined to love and earn the trust of the French. The one from Belgium couldn't speak much English...but let me tell you if all the men Belgium have dimples like him then I'm moving there permantly haha (maybe you should edit that one out mom lol) Anyways...they both made so excited to be able to speak french because it is so beautiful when people really know how to speak it. And they made me so determined to teach all the people I can! The elder from Belgium is a convert...and although he couldn't communicate enough to hear all of his story I know that if he as a teenager could accept the gospel without his family's support...then there are other people there waiting for the gospel!

 

Oh one other thing this week was that we got a new sister in our district! So everyone in our district is going to France...but this girl came into the MTC all by herself and she is going to Fiji!!! So cool eh!? I'm way jealous ( well you know besides thinking my mission is the best one ever) But we're still trying to get to know her and introduce her to the life in the MTC. But we're excited to have her with us.

 

Oh and I keep remembering little things. Thank you so much for the letters this week! Today I had a record day and recieved 7 letters in one day! I'll tell ya I felt pretty popular! haha It was a nice feeling...thank you (especially my sisters) for writing...really makes my day! Anyways...Sorry if this letter is a little lacking! Life is quite routine here...give me 6 weeks and I promise to have some entertaining stories about my attempts to communicate in French...which hello...I'm so excited for!!! I love you all, I pray for you daily and I know this gospel is the only thing that brings true happiness!!!

 

Je vous aime ( see my practicing my pronouns... you could probably care less...but to me its proof of me understanding French vocab bit by bit haha)

Soeur Smith